First Day Of Vasantha Utsavam
On the first day of the Vasantha Utsavam, the Lord and his consort were taken around the temple premises for the darshan of his devotees. The temple elephant is also seen in the pictures.
Girivalam Timing at the Arunachala temple at Tiruvannamalai
Pilgrims believe that by worshipping at the Arunachaleswarar temple at Tiruvannamalai and go Girivalam on the new moon day will get the blessings of the Lord abundantly. Every full moon day of the month Girivalam is undertaken by the pilgrims. For this month the temple authorities have given the Girivalam timing as below:
Girivalam Timing: 17th August 2016 – 4:48 pm to 18th August 3:53 pm
A Special festival of Arunachala offering Darshan to Saivite Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar
There are 63 saints in the Saivite sect of the Hindu religion. All the saints devoted their life to singing the praise of Lord Siva in the form of deities in various temples across Tamil Nadu.
Among the 63 Saivite saints, Sundaramurthy Nayanar is considered to be among the best as he devoted himself at an early age to the service of praising, singing, writing songs on Lord Siva.
As per the folklore, Lord Siva, incarnated in the form of Agni (fire) – (among the 5 basic elements earth, water, air, fire, and space – each element is represented in temples across the state) in Thiruvannamalai as Lord Arunachala, offered a special Darshan to one of his favourite saints Sundaramurthy Nayanar in the temple premises at the Thittu vaasal.
This occasion is celebrated as a special day over hundreds of year as a tradition.
Thousands of devotees participated on this special occasion when the presiding deity of the temple, Lord Arunachala is taken on a procession to Thittu vaasal where the deity of Saivite saint Sundaramurthy Nayanar is also taken on procession where the Lord offers Darshan to the saint.
