Arunagiri Yogishwara
With the deepest most sincere gratitude for His Supreme Manifestation as the Parama-guru of the Supreme Pontiff of Hinduism, we offer our humble pranam and surrender at His feet with the following dhyana shloka of Arunagiri Yogishwara:
lalāṭe tripuṇḍrī niṭilakṛta kasturī tilakaḥ sphuran mālādhāraḥ sphurita kaṭi kaupīna vasanaḥ |
dadhāno dustāraṃ śirasi phaṇirājam śaśikalām pradīpaḥ sarveṣām aruṇagiri yogī vijayate ||
Translation: “The One who has the tripundri – the three lines of sacred ash – on His forehead, the mark of sacred musk applied on His forehead, who is the wearer of a glittering garland, who wears a loincloth on His radiantly glowing waist, who holds the unconquerable king cobra and crescent moon on His crown: victory unto Aruṇagiri Yogīśvara, the Illuminator of all beings.” ARUNĀCALA PURĀṆAM (Verse 1) Aruṇagiri Yogīśvara Vandanam
In this salutation, we offer our respects and gratitude to Arunagiri Yogishwara, the Embodiment of Paramashiva who is available until today to His intimate devotees in the gracious form of Arunācaleśvara, the presiding deity of the Arunācaleśvara Temple of Tiruvannamalai. With this salutation, we remember and thus invoke Arunagiri Yogishwara’s presence as we recall the great Līlā of His happening in the Avatāra Līlā (life of The Avatār).
Thus begins the entire Arunachala Puranam, the great epic of the Happening of sacred Hill of Arunachala which is the embodiment of Paramashiva Himself, and His subsequent manifestations, as well as the compilation of the descriptions and benefits of the worship of the Lord Arunadri (Lord Arunachala).
