Arunachalam Temple An independent guide to Tiruvannamalai

Editorial policy

How we research, write and update this guide, and the standards we hold ourselves to.

Reviewed by the ArunachalamTemple.org editorial team Last updated: Editorial policy

Arunachala hill under white clouds, seen from the Anna Arch junction in Tiruvannamalai
Photo: Adityamadhav83, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Who writes this site

Pages are written and reviewed by the ArunachalamTemple.org editorial team. We are independent. We are not employed by, affiliated with or endorsed by the temple, the HR&CE Department or any government body. We don’t claim credentials we don’t hold, and we don’t publish under invented author names.

What we publish

  • Practical information pilgrims need: timings, dates, routes, travel and stays.
  • History supported by credible sources.
  • Religious tradition, clearly presented as tradition.

Every page should answer a clear question a visitor actually has. If two pages would answer the same question, we merge them.

Sourcing

We follow the source hierarchy on the Sources page: official temple sources first, then government, institutions, reference works, published calendars and open data. Factual pages list their sources in a “Sources & references” box, with the date we last checked each one.

Religious content

We describe religious beliefs respectfully and attribute them (“according to the Arunachala tradition…”, “devotees traditionally believe…”). We don’t present faith-based claims as established fact, and we make no medical or other claims about the effects of prayer, meditation or pilgrimage.

Dates and time-sensitive information

  • Every page shows a Last updated date.
  • Festival dates carry a verification label (Official, Published calendars agree, Calculated, Sources differ).
  • We never guess a date. When sources conflict we show all candidates and cite them, and we don’t run a countdown.
  • Seasonal pages, such as each Karthigai Deepam, are published months ahead and updated as official information appears.

Listings, reviews and images

  • We don’t list hotels or restaurants until we can verify them, and we won’t publish fake reviews, testimonials or rankings.
  • Photographs are properly licensed (currently Wikimedia Commons, CC BY / CC BY-SA) and credited beside each image. We don’t use AI-generated images presented as real photographs.

Advertising and affiliates

The site may carry advertising or affiliate links in future. If it does, they will be clearly marked and will never influence what we write or which places we recommend.

Corrections

If something is wrong or out of date, please contact us. We correct factual errors promptly and update the page’s “Last updated” date.

This is an independent informational guide, not the official temple website. For darshan tickets, sevas and donations, use the official HR&CE temple website.