Girivalam or Giri Valam is a spiritual Hindu festival observed on every Pournami day (full moon day) at Tiruvannamalai, Tami Nadu. The Girivalam ritual is connected to the Holy Mountain of Arunachala and large numbers of devotees perform this Girivalam to seek the blessings of Lord Arunachaleswarar at Arunachaleswarar Temple or Annamalaiyar Temple in Tamilnadu.
Girivalam at Tiruvannamalai
Girivalam literally means circumambulation of the hill - in Tamil language, “Giri” means “Mountain” and “Valam” means “Circumambulation”. It is said that proceeding one foot bestows equal benefit of Yagam (a ritual of sacrifice), second foot offers the benefit of Rajasuya Yagam and the third foot gives the benefit of Aswamedha Yagam (horse sacrifice) and continuing further provides the beneficial of all Yagams. Visit hindu devotional blog for more hinduism articles. Girivalam is sometimes referred as “Malaivalam” by the people in Arunachala.
The Sacred Arunachala Hill
It is said that the 2668 ft high Arunachala Hill was Agni (fire) during Kirthayugam, Manikkam (Emerald) during Threthayugam, Pon (Gold) during Dwaparayugam and rock during Kaliyugam. The total circumambulation path is 14 km and it is auspicious to perform Girilvalam during every full moon day. You can see numbers of Siddhars on the hill during the day. Visit hindudevotionalblog.com for more hinduism articles. There are eight lingams, eight nandis more than 350 tanks and many mandapas around the Arunachala hill.
The Ashtalingams or Eight Lingams around Arunachala Hill
Devotees come across eight lingams known as Ashtalingam (Ashta Lingas) while walking around the hill. They are set at different locations and each lingam signifies different directions of the earth.
These Asta lingams are named as
1) Indra Lingam or Indra Linga (direction East)
2) Agni Lingam or Agni Linga (direction - South East)
3) Yama Lingam or Ema Linga (direction - South)
4) Niruthi Lingam or Niruthi Linga (directon - South West)
5) Varuna Lingam or Varuna Linga (direction - West)
6) Vayu Lingam (direction - North West)
7) Kubera Lingam (direction - North)
8) Esanya Lingam (direction - North East)
Significance of Ashtalingams in Tirvannamalai
How to perform Girivalam at Tiruvannamalai Arunachala Hill
It is said that to obtain the full benefits of Girivalam, devotees should walk around the hill barefoot and chant the mantra "Om Arunachala". Also one should view the peak of the Arunachala hill during the circumambulation. Hindu Devotional Blog. Performing "Girilvalam" during night on every Pournami day (full moon day) is said to be very auspicious and bring great goodness in life.
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