Tiruvannamalai
| Tiruvannamalai திருவண்ணாமலை |
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| State : |
 India
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| State : | Tamil Nadu | ||
| District : | Tiruvannamalai | ||
| Location : | 12 ° 13 ′ N , 79 ° 4 ′ E | ||
| Residents : | 144,683 (2011) | ||
Tiruvannamalai ( Tamil : திருவண்ணாமலை Tiruvaṇṇāmalai [ ˈtiɾɯʋaɳːaːmalɛi̯ ], also Thiruvannamalai ) is a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu with around 145,000 inhabitants (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 , around 160 kilometers southwest of Chennai . Tiruvannamalai is the administrative seat of the Tiruvannamalai District .
The history of Tiruvannamalai can be traced back to the reign of the Chola King Aditya I (871 to 907) using temple inscriptions . Around the middle of the 10th century, the Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna III. the city. The Chola probably only succeeded in recapturing towards the end of the reign of Rajarajas I (985 to 1014). From the 13th century, Tiruvannamalai came under the rule of the Pandya , the Hoysala , the Sultanate of Delhi 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 until 1947, with a brief interruption in 1816 when Tiruvannamalai was temporarily part of Mysore .
The landmark of Tiruvannamalai is the huge Arunachaleswara Temple. Around the central sanctuary of the temple complex - with an area of almost ten hectares one of the largest in South India - three inner courtyards are arranged, each of which is entered through artistically 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 pillar hall also dates from that time. The Hoysala added further extensions. King Krishnadevaraya (ruled 1509 to 1529) of Vijayanagar had the total of nine gopurams increased to their current height and splendidly 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 and thus created the symbol of the lingam . Pilgrims not only visit the Arunachaleswara Temple, but also climb or circle the legendary mountain after which it is named. Every year in the Tamil month of Karttigai (November / December) there is a pilgrimage festival called Karttigai Dipam . The Sri Ramana Ashram , named after the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950), is another attraction and pilgrimage site at the foot of the Arunachala .
Tiruvannamalai is one of the most visited Hindu pilgrimage sites in Tamil Nadu. In addition to Indian pilgrims, the place is also frequented to a lesser extent by foreign tourists. In 2011, Tiruvannamalai had a total of 8.1 million visitors.
83 percent of Tiruvannamalai's residents are Hindus , 14 percent are Muslims and 3 percent are Christians . As in all of Tamil Nadu, the main language is Tamil, which is spoken by 92 percent of the population as their mother tongue. 5 percent speak Urdu and 3 percent Telugu .
View from Red Mountain to the Arunachaleswara Temple
Inside the Arunachaleswara Temple
One of the entrance gate towers ( gopuram ) to the Arunachaleswara Temple
Individual evidence
- ^ Census of India 2011: Provisional Population Totals. Cities having population 1 lakh and above. (PDF; 154 kB)
- ^ The Hindu, March 1, 2012: "State attracted over 14 crore tourists during 2011".
- ^ Census of India 2011: C-1 Population By Religious Community. Tamil Nadu.
- ↑ Census of India 2001: C-16 City: Population by Mother Tongue (Tamil Nadu), accessed under Tabulations Plan of Census Year - 2001 .
Web links
- Private website about Tiruvannamalai ( Memento of April 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive )