TIRUVANNAMALAI IN BRIEF: Tiruvannamalai (called Trinomali during British times) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is administered by a special grade municipality that covers an area of 16.33 km2 (6.31 sq mi) and had a population of 144,683 as of 2011. It is the administrative headquarters of Tiruvannamalai District. Roadways are the major mode of transport in Tiruvannamalai, while the town also has rail connectivity. Chennai International Airport is the nearest domestic and international airport to the town. Tiruvannamalai is named after the central deity of the Annamalaiyar Temple, Annamalaiyar. The Karthigai Deepam festival is celebrated during the day of the full moon between November and December, and a huge beacon is lit atop the Annamalai hill. The event is witnessed by three million pilgrims. On the day preceding each full moon, pilgrims circumnavigate the temple base and the Annamalai hills in a worship called Girivalam, a practice carried out by one million pilgrims yearly. Located on the foothills of Annamalai hills, Tiruvannamalai has been ruled by the Pallavas, the Medieval Cholas, the Later Cholas, Hoysalas, the Vijayanagar Empire, the Carnatic kingdom, Tipu Sultan, and the British. It served as the capital city of the Hoysalas. The town is built around the Annamalaiyar Temple like other Nayak capitals. Tiruvannamalai is administered by a special-grade a municipality constituted in 1886. Tiruvannamalai has an average elevation of 200 metres (660 ft) and experiences a hot and humid climate. Being a pilgrimage town, most of the people are employed in the teritiary sector. There are 25 elementary schools, nine high schools, 18 higher secondary schools, four arts & science colleges and four engineering colleges in the town. Tiruvannamali is a temple town and a major pilgrimage centre in Tamil Nadu. The town is the marketing and service town for the surrounding places. Being the administrative headquarters of the Tiruvannamalai district, Tiruvannamalai has a lot of teritiary sector activities. Trade and commerce and service activities are the major contributors to the economy of the town. As of 1991, 7.93% of the population was involved in primary sector, 21.34% in secondary sector and 70.73% in teritiary sector activities. The town had a female work participation of 11%. Due to the urbanisation from 1971, there has been dip in primary sector activities and a proportional increase in the teritiary sector activities. There is limited agricultural activity within the town limits. The secondary sector involves manufacturing and construction, whose growth has remained stable over the decades. There are a number of oil mills, rice mills and agro based industries within the Tiruvannamalai town limits. The teritiary sector activities of trade, commerce, transport, storage, communication and other services has been increasing due to the increasing number of tourists to the town. The patronage to Girivalam has increased informal economic activities around the town.[26][27][28] The major commercial activities are concentrated around Car Street, Thiruvoodal Street, Kadambarayan Street, Asaliamman Koil Street, Sivanpada Street and Polur Road.[29] All major nationalised banks such as State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India and private banks like ICICI Bank, Karur Vysya Bank have their branches in Tiruvannamalai. All these banks have their automated teller machines located in various parts of the town. The Annamalaiyar Temple is the most prominent landmark of Tiruvannamalai. The temple complex covers an area of 10 ha (25 acres), and is one of the largest temples in India.[31] It houses four gateway towers known as gopurams. The tallest is the eastern tower, with 11 stories and a height of 66 m (217 ft), making it one of the tallest temple towers in India.[31] The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls; the most notable is the thousand-pillared hall built during the Vijayanagar period.[32][33] The Annamalaiyar temple is one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalas, or five Shiva temples, with each a manifestation of a natural element: land, water, air, sky or fire.[34] In Annamalaiyar temple, Shiva is said to have manifested himself as a massive column of fire, whose crown and feet could not be found by the Hindu gods, Brahma and Vishnu.[35] Aathara Stala are Shiva temples which are considered to be personifications of the Tantric chakras of human anatomy. The Annamalaiyar temple is called the Manipooraga stalam,[36] and is associated with the Manipooraga chakra.[37] The temple is revered in Tevaram, the Tamil Saiva canon and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 276 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon.[38] The most important festival of the Annamalaiyar temple is celebrated during the Tamil month of Karthikai, between November and December, concluding with the celebration of Karthikai Deepam. A huge lamp is lit in a cauldron, containing three tons of ghee, at the top of the Annamalai hills during the Deepam.[39][40] To mark the occasion, the festival deity of Annamalaiyar circumambulates the mountain. Inscriptions indicate that the festival was celebrated as early as the Chola period (850–1280) and was expanded to ten days in the twentieth century.[41] Every full moon, tens of thousands of pilgrims worship Annamalaiyar by circumambulating the Annamalai hill barefoot.[39] The circumambulation covers a distance of 14 kilometres (8.7 mi), and is referred as Girivalam.[42][43] According to Hindu legend, the walk removes sins, fulfils desires and helps achieve freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth.[8] Offerings are made in a string of tanks, shrines, pillared meditation halls, springs and caves around the hill.[4] image of a religious sculpture in standing pose Image of the largest Jain sculpture of Mahavira in Tamil Nadu in Tirumalai temple Tirumalai is an ancient Jain temple complex in the outskirts of Tirvannamalai that houses three Jain caves, four Jain temples and a 16 feet (4.9 m) high sculpture of Neminatha dated from the 12th century and the tallest Jain image in Tamil Nadu.[44] The Ramana Ashram and ashram of Yogi Ramsuratkumar, located around the Annamalai hill are popular visitor attractions of Tiruvannamalai. The Sathanur Dam over the Thenpennair river located 20 km (12 mi) southwest of the town is a prominent picnic spot. Ulagalantha Perumal Temple in Tirukoyilur and Thiruvarangam, situated 20 km (12 mi) south of Tiruvannamalai are prominent Vishnu temples that are located around Tiruvannamalai.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 09:03:10 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015