Tiruannamalai Temple - Some Info

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Shankaram Siva Shankaram

 

Successive kings of South India have given great importance to

Tiruvannamalai and the temple of Arunachala. For a thousand years

these kings have built prakaras outlying temples, gopurams and

compound walls, dug ponds, offered jewels and donated gold for the

upkeep of temple lands. Historically famous kings like Raja Raja

Cho-zhan, Rajendra Chozhan, Harihara Bukkar, Krishna Deva Rayar as

well as kings of Chera, Chozha, Pallava, Pandya, Rashtrakotta,

Hoysala and Naik dynasties were proud to have Tiruvannamalai as part

of their kingdom. Some of them made it their Capital. Though caught

in political crisis and engaged in battles, they continued to hold

onto Tiruvannamalai, which they considered vitally important to them.

 

Historical details about Tiruvannamalai and the Aruncahalewsara

temple are available to us through stone inscriptions on the prakara

walls and copper plates. These inscriptions refer to a period of

about thousand years starting from 750 A.D. The earliest

archaeological findings from these stone inscriptions point to the

fact that the greatness of Arunachala was known to the kings from the

spiritual works Thevaram and Thiruvasagam. We come to know that

Tiruvannamalai was historically and spiritually famous even from

those ancient times. We have clues that the temple was small during

the visit of Appar, Manikavasagar, Sambandar and others. Kings who

read about the great glory of Aruncahaleswara from the Thevaram and

Thiruvasagam began to expand the temple and beautify it. We owe a

debt of gratitude to the four great Saivite saints, the kings,

queens and chieftains for their service. They had great faith in and

devotion for Arunachaleswara.

 

The temple and outlying areas, as also the town were built and

maintained by successive kings. Many stone and brass inscriptions in

Sanskrit and Tamil have been found giving further details of the

history of this temple. These inscriptions also tell us about the

economic and social changes of the times, and the great service

rendered to the temple by the kings.

 

Tiruvannamalai was earlier known as " ThiruAnna Nadu " and the

president deity was known as Thiru Anna Nattu Mahadevan.This region

was called Thondai Mandalam and was ruled by the Pallavas.It then

passed into the hands of the Rashtrakootas, a dynasty to which

belonged Krishna III, who undertook important renovation work during

the tenth century A.D. The region then came under the rule of

chieftains like Kadavaraya, the Banas and Sambuva Raya. From the

thirteenth to the fourteenth century, the Pandya kings ruled over it.

Then came the Hoysalas who made Tiruvannamalai their capital they

waged war to establish their power. The Vijayanagar kings who took

over from them spent enormous amount of money for the worship and

other requirements of the temple. Poets like SaivaEllappa Navalar

have sung in praise of the Naickers of Tanjore who came to power

after the Vijayanagar kings, for the great service they rendered to

the temple. Important renovation work was done in the sanitorium by

Aditya Chozha-III in 750 A.D. and Parandhaka Chozha-I in the tenth

centuryA.D.

 

When we observe the general structure of the temple, we notice that

there are five small gopurams on the inner boundary and four big

gopurams on the outer boundary. The inner gopurams are known as

Kitti gopurams. There are two gopurams in the East and one gopuram

each for the other three directions. The first of the two Eastern

gopurams is called Kili gopuram. There are indications that this was

built in the 11th century. The gopurams built during this period have

no more than five stories. The Kili gopuram was built by Veera

Rajendra Chozhan around 1063 A.D. He is referred to as Maharaja

Thiribuvana Chakravarthigal in the inscription.This name was also

given to the gopuram. The Kitti (smaller) gopurams, except the top of

the western one, were built by the Hoysala King Vallala Maharaja

III. His name is given to the biggest Kitti gopuram which is in the

East.

Let us now look at the outer gopurams. Historians say the western

gopuram is the oldest. The base was built by Vallala Maharaja. The

top belongs to a later style. Inscriptions attribute this to Krishna

Deva Raya of Vijayanagar. This king had undertaken important

construction work in this temple. It is said, he built the base of

the other three gopurams. But the architectural style of the base of

the Western gopuram was constructed first and then those of the

South, East and North. Though the Eastern gopuram, known as the

Rajagopuram looks older, it was built after the Western one. This

was constructed by Krishna Deva Raya and renovated by king Sevappa

Naicker of Tanjore. There is another view that this was completely

built by Sevappa Naicker. Tamil and Sanskrit inscriptions on the

Western gopuram dated 1690 A.D. bear witness to this. Krishna Deva

Rayer of Vijayanagar also constructed the hundred pillared and

thousand pillared halls in the temple. He dug the Sivagangai Thirtham

in front of the thousand pillared hall. As mentioned earlier, he

built the base of the three gopurams and either began or finished the

Eastern Rajagopuram with eleven stories.

 

All the kings mentioned above and chieftains like Kadava Raya,

Sambuvaraya and Banas expressed their devotion to Arunachaleswara by

building small temples inside the Arunachaleswara temple as well as

around the mountain and elsewhere in the town. These kings were also

responsible for digging many ponds in this region. To the devotees

visiting the town and the temple, its architectural splendour and

sculptured beauty, its rich lands and ponds, its jewels and

appurtenances, the inscriptions and the wealth of literature praising

the glory of Arunachaleswara are glowing evidence of the love that

the lord has commanded in the minds of kings and commoners through

the centuries. Critics may take exception to the absence of

continuity in the architectural style but there is no lack of

continuity in the depth of piety of the kings who built it.

 

The atmosphere of the temple and the sensation one feels inside it

are indescribable. The variegated architectural style of generations

of kings who built and renovated its massive gopurams and halls,

the living presence of the great saints who stayed here and sang the

Lord's praise and above all, the infinite compassion and grace of

Arunachala gives this holiest of holy places a timeless quality.

 

 

Love,

Siva