Annamalaiyar

Annamalaiyar is the presiding deity of the renowned Annamalaiyar Temple at the foot of the sacred Arunachala hill in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. This form of Shiva is manifested as a linga representing the element of fire (Agni), one of the five primordial elements (Pancha Bhoota) in Hindu cosmology. According to the Shiva Purana, Arunachala is the cosmic pillar of fire that appeared when Brahma and Vishnu disputed over supremacy; Shiva assumed the form of a limitless column of light to demonstrate his transcendence.

The Arunachala Mahatmya, a section of the Skanda Purana, extols the hill itself as a manifestation of Shiva and describes the greatness of circumambulating it (Girivalam). Iconographically, Annamalaiyar is worshipped as a linga, often with a small flame or lamp symbolizing the fire element. The temple's annual Kartigai Deepam festival, celebrated in the Tamil month of Kartigai (November–December), commemorates this event by lighting a massive beacon atop the hill, visible for miles.

The deity is closely associated with the 20th-century sage Ramana Maharshi, who spent most of his life at Arunachala and taught that the hill is the spiritual heart of the world. Regional traditions hold that Annamalaiyar is a form of Shiva particularly accessible to devotees, and the temple is a major pilgrimage center for Shaivites. The consort of Annamalaiyar is the goddess Unnamalai (a form of Parvati), and his mount is Nandi.

The temple's rituals and festivals, including Maha Shivaratri and daily Girivalam, draw thousands of devotees. In Hindu cosmology, Annamalaiyar represents the fiery aspect of the divine, symbolizing both destruction of ignorance and illumination of wisdom.

Linga form. Associated with the Arunachala hill. The Deepam festival involves lighting a huge lamp on the hilltop.