Embrace the spirit

The Nandi at Tiruvannamalai only recognises the "original". Intrigued are you, read on as Jayanthi Chandra writes about her visit to the Arunachala Hills

Nandi

Did you notice that the Nandi is not facing the Linga directly but slightly turned to one side,” my friend Pratibha said. When we asked the temple priest about it, he smiled and said, “The Nandi recognises only the original”.

We were visiting the magnificent Arunachaleshwara temple in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu at the foothills of Arunachala Hills.

The priest explained that Lord Shiva manifested as this infinite column of fire symbolising His supreme impersonal nature, the earthly form of which is now known as Arunachala Hill.

Since the ancient hill is worshipped as Shiva, the Nandi’s gaze is on the hill and hence his head is slightly turned away from the Linga.

Chola Kings built the geometrically designed temple back in the 9th century and later the Hoysalas, Sangamas and Vijayanagara kings became patrons of the temple successively. The presence of the great Hoysala King Veera Ballala III is felt as we enter the main shrine through Vallala Gopuram. Of the four gateway towers (gopurams) the construction of the majestic eastern tower known as Rajagopuram (11 storey high) was begun by Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara dynasty, and completed by Sevappa Nayaka.

Inside the doorway of the east tower, there is a thousand-pillar hall and a huge tank (Shiva Ganga tank), both built by Krishnadevaraya.

The pillars in the hall are carved with images of the mythical Yazhi (body of lion and head of an elephant), a symbol of power.

Sri Ramanashram in Tiruvannamalai remains as the spiritual centre of the world today. It was established by Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi who revealed the direct path of practice of self-inquiry and awakened mankind to the immense spiritual power of the holy Arunachala Hill.