6 a.m. at Arunachala

To avoid the fierce heat of the day, I take my dogs out for their daily jaunt early each morning. The below photographs were taken around 6 a.m. Most early mornings, there is a beautiful ethereal haze surrounding the top of Arunachala.

Arunachala Darshan through Haze

Early morning haze. Temple Gopurams right of Hill

Spur of Arunachala with Lord Murugan Shrine 

Close view of rock formation on Spur with shrine set further back

Even though Arunachala is known primarily for its association with Lord Siva, other Gods are also worshipped at this place. As mentioned in my recent post Panguin Uthiram -- Celestial Wedding at Arunachala, during this time the Wedding of the Gods is celebrated. At the top of an Arunachala Hill Spur (at Rajiv Gandhi Nagar near Sri Nannagaru Ashram), is a lovely Shrine dedicated to Lord Murugan at which the Celestial Wedding of Lord Murugan was celebrated during the recent Festival. 

The Shrine during Festival this year was visited by a large number of Murugan devotees, and from a distance during the nights of the celebration the Shrine at the top of the spur was beautifully lit up. If you ever want to have a nice view of the surrounding area and are not up to climbing to the top of Arunachala, one gets very nice darshan from the top of this Hill spur while also benefiting from a visit to the sweet Lord Murugan Temple