Annamalaiyar Temple – Fourth Prakaram – Adimudi Kana
Annamalaiyar Shrine
Thiruvannamalai is above all its mountain, which
symbolizes the pillar of fire from which Siva emerged. This myth has given rise
to two iconographic representations. One of them is well-known: the
Lingodbhavamurti. The other is a later development, specific to
Thiruvannamalai, and which does not stretch back earlier than the 16th Century.
In this other representation, Lord Siva and the Goddess
Parvati are figured on a stele covered with semi-circular incisions to
represent the mountain; on the rear face of this stele is a linga, which is
visible from the back. This representation is known locally as ‘adi Mudi’, the
high and the low, after the same words in poems by Sambandar and Sundarar,
referring to the directions in which Brahma and Vishnu sought the extremities
of the Column of Light.
“The Adimudi stele is carved on one side with a linga as
background and half circles (crescents) representing the mountain. On the
other side Siva and Parvati are seated on the bull, or standing close to the
bull. At the top of the stele Brahma is represented as a bird and below Vishnu
as a boar. The same two gods can also be standing with clasped hands (anjali)
in anthropomorphic form at the bottom of the relief.”
There is a small Vinayaka shrine next to the Amavasai
mandapa. Adjacent to this shrine is the important shrine called Adimudi kana
Annamalaiyar. The image inside the cella is very rare. The upper part contains
both Lord Siva and Parvati and the lower part has the image of Adimudi kana
Annamalai. This image is unique in the Annamalaiyar temple.