Tiruvannamalai

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Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: திருவண்ணாமலை Tiruvaṇṇāmalai [ˈtiɾɯʋaɳːaːmalɛi̯], also Thiruvannamalai) is a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu with a population of about 145,000 (2011 census). It is located on the edge of the Ponnaiyar River valley at the foot of Mount Arunachala, a foothill of the Eastern Ghats, about 160 kilometres southwest of Chennai. Tiruvannamalai is the administrative headquarters of Tiruvannamalai District.

The history of Tiruvannamalai can be traced back to the reign of the Chola king Aditya I (871 to 907) through temple inscriptions. Around the middle of the 10th century, the Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna III captured the city. The Chola probably succeeded in recapturing it only towards the end of the reign of Rajaraja I (985 to 1014). From the 13th century onwards, Tiruvannamalai came under the rule of the Pandya, the Hoysala, the Delhi Sultanate and finally Vijayanagars. In the 17th century, the former governors (Nayaks) of the Vijayanagar Empire took over the city. Towards the end of the 18th century, it came under British rule, which lasted till 1947 except for a brief interruption in 1816, when Tiruvannamalai was temporarily part of Mysore.

The landmark of Tiruvannamalai is the massive Arunachaleswara temple. Around the central sanctuary of the temple complex - with an area of almost ten hectares one of the largest in southern India - three inner courtyards are arranged, each of which is entered through elaborately decorated gopurams (gate towers). The innermost gopuram, the "parrot tower", was donated in the 11th century by the Chola king Rajendra I (r. 1012 to 1044). The pillared hall also dates from that period. The Hoysala added other annexes to it. King Krishnadevaraya (r. 1509 to 1529) of Vijayanagar had the total of nine gopurams raised to their present height and magnificently furnished. The Arunachaleswara temple is dedicated to the god Shiva Lingodbhava, who is said to have appeared on Mount Arunachala near the city in the form of a pillar of fire, thus creating the sign of the lingam. Pilgrims not only visit the Arunachaleswara temple, but also climb or circle the fabled mountain after which it is named. Every year, a pilgrimage festival called Karttigai Dipam is held in the Tamil month of Karttigai (November/ December). At the foot of Arunachala, another attraction and pilgrimage site is the Sri Ramana Ashram, named after the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950).

Tiruvannamalai is one of the most visited Hindu pilgrimage sites in Tamil Nadu. Besides Indian pilgrims, the place is also frequented by foreign tourists to a lesser extent. In 2011, Tiruvannamalai recorded a total of 8.1 million visitors.

83 percent of the inhabitants of Tiruvannamalai are Hindus, 14 percent are Muslims and 3 percent are Christians. The main language, as in the whole of Tamil Nadu, is Tamil, which is spoken by 92 percent of the population as their mother tongue. 5 percent speak Urdu and 3 percent Telugu.