Before the pandemic hit, our last outing was to Tiruvannamalai early 2020. Arunachala Shiva had struck us like lightning. It had been a short trip, deeply moving but we’d not had time to collect all the ticks on the list of things to do there. There was no doubt in our minds that we would first make our way to Arunachala on this trip of ours.
The journey was a long one. With stops at Karur and Salem, it took us 14 hours to traverse 425km; we pulled in at Tiruvannamalai at around 7.30 in the evening. An unwise choice of a robust thali for lunch left us a bit nauseous and we could do nothing that day but tend to our stomachs and sleep. We knocked at the doors of Ramana Ashram the next morning. A beautiful place, where we bowed to Matrubhuteshwara, sat in the benevolent quietude, grateful for this space that Ramana has left for us to soak in.
We had plans for that day: Virupaksha caves, a visit to Seshadri ashram, a spot of lunch… but instead we sat in the hotel room, requesting to be sent several bottles of water as we puked our guts out. Around 4pm, the worst was over and we felt that we could perhaps salvage the day after all. We went first to Arunachaleshwara and straight into the inner-most shrine. Gracious, He accepted our homage and gave us leave to circumambulate the hill.
Out on to the main road, and a turn right to make our way around this sacred hill that draws devotees in thousands. Eight important lingams dot the 14km route and it is customary to visit them all as you walk the path.
Soon we left the traffic behind and climbed the hill road. The road is home to hundreds of sadhus who have gravitated towards Tiruvannamalai. Some are attached to the numerous temples and ashrams that dot this entire path, some make do with rudimentary shacks of their own making. We saw food trucks from one of the ashrams make a slow trawl, offering annadanam to the holy men. We walked on, somewhat troubled by the fine gravel on the path. 14km would not have been challenging normally, but being barefoot, we discovered, added at least 2 hours to our time. It was night when we finished the circuit once again at the temple, which was closed by this time. We saluted the Lord from outside his gates, and celebrated with a light dinner comprising plain dosa and nimbu soda.
Our hotel, presumably used to folks limping in after their girivalam pradakshina, had a massage chair on offer. After a bracing bath, I went off to indulge myself and was taken by this marvelous machine that knows precisely how to treat sore calf muscles. I yielded the chair to Shweta and she nearly woke up the nearby guests by squealing in ticklish joy. She hadn’t anticipated that the chair would twist her ankles quite so well.
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The first thing we did the next morning was head to Arunchaleshwara again.
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| Approaching from the Raja Gopuram or the East Gate. |
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| The temple complex is dazzling in its scale and beauty |
Morning darshan was quick and sweet. We reached the Devi Unnamalai Amman just as the abhishekam started; happily, the priest let us linger a little longer than usual in front of the shrine. We spent some time at the patala lingam, the cave temple where Ramana spent much time. Once decrepit, now restored, it is a place to linger and try to comprehend the resolution it takes to approach the Truth.
This was a pattern we followed for the most part through our journey. Arrive in the afternoon, make one visit to the main temple in the evening and yet another the following morning. We spent the hot, afternoon hours on the road getting from place to place.
The prasadam stall at Arunchaleshwara temple is a good one, and we asked for puli sadam, sweet pongal and vadai. We ate it right there in the mandapam, and in a while, washed that down with fruit juice near Seshadri ashram.
We walked over to the ashram of Yogi Ramsuratkumar, who is affectionately referred to as Visri Sami. A mystic who came from Uttar Pradesh and settled here within view of Arunachala. This is a place of serene beauty. We had prasadam here, wandered across the hall reading the wonderful life events and teachings of the master.
Thanks to our lost day, we did not have time for Virupaksha cave once more. Next time for sure. We left Tiruvannamalai, craning our necks to catch final glimpses of the sacred hill. To be summoned again in a span of two years… lucky indeed.
