In the aftermath of the incident, an older video from the same location has gone viral on social media. The clip captures a woman trapped in the Moksha Margam passage, unable to move as she gasps for air. Devotees around her can be seen trying to free her as she remains stuck for several anxious minutes. She was eventually pulled out safely, avoiding what could have turned into another tragedy.

Watch the video:

A few days ago, Manikumar (36) from Rajamahendravaram, Andhra Pradesh, got trapped in the narrow rock passage known as Moksha Margam (Moksha road) on the southern path of Arunachala Giri in Tiruvannamalai. He suffered severe breathing problems and later died.

Now, just days… pic.twitter.com/jTQkn7EcJ9

— Aparajite (@amshilparaghu) July 28, 2026

Reacting to the video, one social media user wrote, “Claustrophobic me suffocating watching this”. “They should keep a width gauge for people before the entrance just like there are height gauges for vehicles entering a tunnel to avoid such mishaps,” another suggested.

A third user questioned the belief associated with the ritual, writing, “Don’t understand the logic of doing all the worst things in life and getting ‘moksha’ by just crawling through a rock or drinking water from a river etc.”

The Moksha Margam is located near the Idukku Pillayar Temple, one of the shrines visited by pilgrims during the 14-km ‘Girivalam’, the traditional circumambulation of Arunachala Hill.

For years, many devotees have believed that passing through the narrow rock opening—popularly known as the “path to liberation”—can remove obstacles, ward off negative energies and ultimately help a person attain moksha, or liberation from the cycle of birth and death.