The Arunachaleswarar Temple is built with five main enclosures or prakarams—sacred corridors that guide the devotee inward toward the sanctum. Each prakaram represents a layer of the human self, from the physical to the blissful, mirroring the five kosas: annamaya, pranamaya, manomaya, vijnanamaya, and anandamaya.

The mada veedhis (the four outer temple streets) form a sixth prakaram, and the 14 km Girivalam path encircling Arunachala is considered the seventh—extending the temple into the landscape.

Traditionally, the prakarams are counted from the inner sanctum outward. Over time, the temple’s expansions influenced the shape of the town itself, with priests and residents adjusting their homes around the evolving sacred space.