Arunachala, Arunachaleshwara, Arunagiri Yogishwara!
smaraṇāt mukti aruṇācalam
Just by remembrance (of Him), He liberates!
Arunachala – The Hill that beckons!
In the opening verse of the ‘Annamalai Venba’, the great Saint of Tiruvannamalai – Guhai Namashivayar sings:
Aadhi nadamaadum malai
andriruvar thaedum malai
jyothimathi aadaravam soodum malai
neethi tazhaikkum malai
jnaanaththabothanarai Vaavendrazhaikkum malai
Annamalai!
The translation goes:
That hill is a place where the Adi, the Existence lives and the Divine resides and the great science of Enlightenment, Dharma spreads. That is the hill so powerful to pull Enlightened Masters from any zone.
Formless in form, timeless in time,
nameless in name: Arunachala
Paramaśiva Himself describes Arunachala in its changing glorious forms, indestructible through Yugas – the four ages of Time that repeat cyclically:
சத்தியயுகத்தில் பொன் மலையாகவும்,
திரேதாயுகத்தில் மாணிக்க மலையாகவும்,
துவாபரயுகத்தில் வெள்ளி மலையாகவும்,
கலியுகத்தில் கல் மலையாகவும்
As the Fiery Golden Mountain in Satya Yuga
As the Manickam gem-stone Mountain in Treta Yuga
As the Silver Mountain in Dvapara Yuga
As the Stone Mountain in Kali Yuga
Paramaśiva is worshipped as Annamalayar or Arunachaleshwara through the main Shivalinga. Devi is worshipped as Unnamulai Amman or Apithakuchambal in a separate shrine.
“Of all the Shiva Linga temples, Tiruvannamalai is considered to be the mula linga (source linga). That is why the main linga is called Lingodbhava – the first ever manifestation of Paramaśiva as a ‘form’ which happened in Tiruvannamalai. Of all the Nataraja temples, Chidambara Natarajar is considered the mula or source Nataraja. Of all the Ardhanareeshwara temples, Tiruchengode Ardhanareeshwara is considered the mula…”
Annamalayar
Unnamulai Amman
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