Overview
Aruṇācala is the hill that tradition worships as Śiva himself — the hill of light of the Aruṇācala Māhātmya. The Aruṇācaleśvara temple spreads at its eastern foot, and the 14-km girivalam path circles the hill.
2 sources
- Purāṇa Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa — Aruṇācala Māhātmya
- Official Tiruvannamalai district portal (tiruvannamalai.nic.in) — Girivalam and places pages
Sthala Purāṇa tradition
The Aruṇācala Māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa tells of Śiva manifesting as a column of fire whose crest and base Brahmā and Viṣṇu could not find, then abiding as this hill — so that the mountain itself is the liṅga.
1 source
- Purāṇa Skanda Purāṇa, Māheśvara Khaṇḍa — Aruṇācala Māhātmya
Map
Related in the knowledge graph
Places on it
- Mandir
Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Temple, Tiruvannamalai
Aruṇācaleśvarar Tirukkōyil, TiruvaṇṇāmalaiTiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu
Associated with
- Pilgrimage
Girivalam — the circumambulation of Arunachala
Girivalam (Aruṇācala pradakṣiṇā)Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu
Companion resources from our family
Arunachala Samudra ↗
A site on Sri Ramana Maharshi's teachings — self-enquiry, meditation and silence, and on Arunachala, maintained by MandirPal's founding family.
A companion site from the family behind MandirPal.
Where traditions differ, MandirPal shows each view with its sources and declares none of them absolute. Sacred narrative is labelled as tradition, history as documented evidence. Timings and rules change, so confirm with the official temple channel before you travel.