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Day 15 (January 22, 2000)
Circumambulating in the Temple of Fire The Tiruvannamalai Temple (Annamalai is it's Tamil name) is the temple representing the element fire. In fact it caught on fire a few years ago, and bamboo scaffolding covers one of the four huge goprums (gates) as repairs are made. It was dark when I visited, and the element of fire was emphasized. I approached the inner sanctum and was swept inside by about 30 women all dressed in bright red saris fervently pressing the already-thick crowd. Before I knew, I was being literally crammed into the inner sanctum, mashed up against people shouting for Shiva's attention. A smoky fire burned and a priest attended to the supplicants with ash and flowers and prayers. We were swept out again by the crowd into the outer hallway where more representations of Shiva, like this one here, were being circumambulated by devotees, their foreheads freshly smeared with ash and red kunkum. BACK TO HOME |
