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Annamalaiyar Temple, a breathtaking temple complex dedicated to Lord Shiva, is located in the bustling town of Thiruvannamalai, at the base of Annamalai Hills in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is significant to the Hindu sect of Saivism as one of the temples associated with the five elements, the Pancha Bhoota Stalas, and specifically the element of fire, or Agni.

In Hindu mythology, Parvati, wife of Shiva, once closed the eyes of her husband playfully in a flower garden at their abode atop Mount Kailash. Although only a moment for the gods, all light was taken from the universe, and the earth, in turn, was submerged in darkness for years. Parvati performed penance along with other devotees of Shiva. Then her husband appeared as a column of fire at the top of Annamalai hills, returning light to the world. He then merged with Parvati to form Ardhanarishvara, the half-female, half-male form of Shiva. The Arunachala, or red mountain, lies behind the Arunachalesvara temple, and is associated with the temple of its namesake. The hill itself is sacred and considered a lingam, or iconic representation of Shiva.

Another legend is that once, while Vishnu and Brahma contested for superiority, Shiva appeared as a flame, and challenged them to find his source. Brahma took the form of a swan, and flew to the sky to see the top of the flame, while Vishnu became the boar Varaha, and sought its base. The scene is called lingothbava, and is represented in the western wall at the sanctum of most Shiva temples. Neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find the source, and while Vishnu conceded his defeat, Brahma lied and said he had found the pinnacle. In punishment, Shiva ordained that Brahma would never have temples on earth in his worship.

The 25-acre temple complex is located at the base of Annamalai Hills and faces east. The complex has four gateway towers, one on each side, which is also known as gopuram in the local language. The eastern tower is one of the tallest towers in India with a height of 66 metres. It is also called the Rajagopuram and is made of granite. The walls on the East and West of the complex extend over 700 feet while the walls on the south and North extend over 1400 and 1500 feet respectively. The structure has inscriptions of the rulers that ruled the town since the temple was built. Various offerings were made to the temple by numerous dynasties and empires and these offerings have also been inscribed at different locations on the entire temple structure.

The five precincts in the Annamalaiyar temple have a huge idol of Nandi, Lord Shiva's sacred bull, in front of each one of them. The shrine of Lord Shiva (the main shrine) faces east and is the oldest structure in the temple. The structure houses images of Surya (the Sun) and Nandi (Lord Shiva's sacred Bull). The walls of the sanctum adorn images of Venugopalaswamy (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu), Gajalakshmi, Durga, Arumugaswami, Nataraj, Dakshinamoorthy, Somaskandar and the Lingodbhavar (Shiva emanating from the Lingam.  The Shrine of Parvati, known as the shrine of Unnamulai Amman is in the second precinct of the sanctum. The idol of Parvati here is in a standing pose and beautifully adorned in her traditional attire. The Shrine of the Elephant God, Sambantha, lies to the North of the Bali Peeta (the platform of sacrifice). The shrine of Subramaya lies to the south of the thousand-pillared hall, and the Shivagangai Vinayagar lies to the north of the Sivanganga Tank. The underground lingam, also known as the Pathala Lingam, is located where Maharshi Ramana is believed to have performed penance.