I have made previous posting referring to the famous Pathala Lingam at Arunachaleswarar Temple, the most recent of which can be found at this link here.
On a recent visit to Arunachaleswarar Temple with friends who were visiting Tiruvannamalai for the first time, took the below photographs of the Pathala Lingam itself.
The below is of the Pathala Lingam in the 1940s before its renovation. Its condition is similar to how it would have been during the time Sri Maharshi performed his tapas at the Lingam.
"The background of Sri Pathala lingam is connected to a mutt that belonged to the Thondaimandala Vellalas where the thousand pillared hall stands. The head of the mutt, Azhiavradam Poonda Tambiran lived here, worshipping the Sivalinga and spreading Saiva philosophy. The Sivalinga he worshipped was the samadhi of a jnani. When Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanaar wished to build the thousand pillared hall in the
[Extract from “Arunachalam” by Shivani]
In the next photograph the Pathala Lingam is in the foreground and the background corner is where Ramana Maharshi sat in meditation.
“Eventually he moved into an underground cell in the courtyard of the first prakaram of the Thousand Pillared Mandapam of the