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| (The land of
salvation) |
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Chennai |
Mamallapuram
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Kanchipuram
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Tiruvanamalai
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Chidambaram
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Kumbakonam |
Thanjavor |
Tiruchinapalli
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Madurai |
Rameshwaram
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Kanyakumari
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Ooty |
Kodaikanal |
Coimbatore |
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The small historic town of tiruvanamalai lies 95 kms south of
pondichery, at the base of arunachala hill. One of the holiest towns
of tamil nadu, and locally considered the home of shiva and his
consort parvati. This is an important shaivite town, where lord
shiva is revered as arunachaleswar, as aspect of fire.
It is the mukti stalam (place of salvation) for several saints like gugai
namachivayur, seshadri swamigal, ramana maharshi etc. it is also
called ‘sonachalam’ in Sanskrit meaning red mountain symbol of fire.
This is a major piligrimage centre. The site is becoming very
popular and each full moon it swells with thousands of piligrims who
circumnavigate the base of the mountain.
Places of attraction :-
Arunachaleshwar Temple:
It dates from 11th century and is situated
at the foothills in Tiruvannamalai. It has four large gopurams one
at each cardinal point with the eastern one rising to 66m. During
the Karthigai Deepam festival devotees flock to the temple and to
the ashram of the Saint Sri Ramana Maharshi which is 3 kms from the
temple.
This temple itself covers some 10 hectares and is one of the largest
in India and was built mainly under the patronage of the
Vijayanagara Kings. It is dedicated to Shiva as God incarnate of
fire.
Ramanasramam Ashram:
2 kms southwest of Tiruvannamalai draws
devotees of Sri Ramana Maharishi a guru who died in 1950 after
nearly 50 years in contemplation.
Gingee (Senji) :
Gingee is 37 kms from Tiruvannamalai has a
remarkable 15th century Vijayanagara fort with much to explore.The
Vijayanagars constructed it mainly in the 16th century; various
armies have occupied the fort. It is well off the beaten track very
peaceful and in beautiful surroundings. There are four temples
within the fort among which the Venkataramana Temple is the largest.
Buildings within the fort include a granary a Shiva temple a mosque
and the most prominent-the recently restored audience hall. Open 9am
to 5pm. |
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