CHAPTER ONI-

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Man has to be mechanical and dynamic in his attitude and

temperament in these days of ever-changing, at the same time fast

changing world to earn a decent livelihood. He runs from pillar

to post to enhance his material welfare and finds no time to

think about his spiritual elevation. Going on amassing wealth or

furthering one's corporeal life, will not bring peace and

tranquility in his life without a parallel effort to increase his

spiritual attitude. By acquiring spirituality, man can fra©

himself from the monotonous and mundane life he leads and find an

escape from the cares and worries afflicting him due to his

relentless pursuit of worldly life. So he seeks an institution

for fulfilling his craving for spiritual elevation or improving

his spiritual potentiality and this is provided by a temple.

The temples of Southern India are the most important of all

the institutions established to make a man's life meaningful and

purposeful. They give rise to ^temple culture', that develops a

life consecrated to God. Moreover, they create ~God-awareness'

in man and goad him to think and act righteously in his worldly

life.

The temple was not merely a house of god or a place of

worship but also the most beneficial institution of medieval

India. Its activities touched the life of the people at many

points, enriching and ennobling their lives. It offered comfort

and solace to the faithful who believed in a good life and hoped 1

for salvation in the life to come. It was furthermore not an

archaeological essay but "a sermon in stone' suggesting by its

symbolism or rhythm of the cosmos teaching the lessons of the

universal life and recording the sacred traditions of the Indian 2

people. It is indeed our rich heritage, and no wonder, the

learned historian, R.N. Majumdar has rightly spoken of it as the

"configuration of India's personality".

TEMPLE AND ITS ROLE

The temple, it is no exaggeration to say is the greatest

gift of medieval Hinduism to Southern India. Its role in the

secular life of the people cannot be belittled. In the past, the

temple, apart from looking after the spiritual needs of the

people, acted as the hub round which the activities of the people

revolved. It conditioned every aspect of human activity. It

S.R.Balasubrahmanyam, Early Choia Art.,Pt.l (New Delhi : Asia Publishing House, 1966), p.23. 2 E.B.Havell, Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India (New Delhi : S.Chand & Co., n-d,), p.180.

took care of the economic welfare of the people by acting as a

landholder, an agent of poor relief, ci local bank, lending money

to the poor and the needy, a consumer of goods and services and

last but not the least, the largest employer having on its rolls

a host of employees like the priests zo conduct the rituals; the

manradis (shepherds) to look after the cattle donated to the

temple, cultivators to look after its lands, garland-makers,

washermen, drummers, pipers, the pandal-erectors and variety of 3

artisans. It strove for the material and spiritual welfare of all

classes of people in the locality including the priests, as a 4

class. Often the temple as an institution maintained refuges for

the sick and animals ; it dispensed charity to beggars and

relieved the poorer citizens in times of distress and famine.

Like the medievel European monastery, it granted land and 5 ,

privileges to its servants in princely-wise. Besides, the

temples served as educational centres, schools (patasalas),

seminaries (mutts) for cultivators of Vedic and Tamil studies and

other branches of knowledge were patronized by them. Lands

granted to learned scholars by the village assemblies were called

as ~vedavritti', ^bhattavritti', ^vaidyavritti and the like. The .*r ** --. -^

national epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and the

3 K.V.Raman,"The Role of the temple in the Socio-Economic life of the people". Temple India. (Triplicane : Vivekananda Kendra Prakasham, 1981),Vol.X,p.102. 4 S.R.Balasubrahmanyam, Early Chola Art - Part I, pp.25,26. 5 A.L.Basham,The Wonder that was India (New Delhi : Rupa & Co., 1987), p.202.

puranas were expounded in the halls of the temples. The lands 6

granted to BhSrata-expounder were known as "Bharata-Paflgu" and

were tax-free. Similarly the lands assigned to a dancer was

called sakkakani'or "nrtyabhoga'. Music, dancing and theatrical

presentations of popular tales and legends which were educative,

didactic and religious usefulness formed part of the ordinary

routine of the temple. They received special attention on festive

occasions; and "natakasalas' were specially constructed for these 8

purposes. The ^devaradiyars' attached to the temples used to

dance before the deities daily during specified time of the day

and they were great exponents of the art of dance. Thus the

temples gathered within its precincts the best talents in the

country down the centuries.

The temples, moreover reflect the pinnacle of glory, the

ancient Tamils had attained in the fields of Art and

Architecture. They may rightly be said to represent philosophy

in brick and stone and the temple worship gave an impetus to the

development of sculpture and painting and music and dancing. It

was an art gallery, even as it was a hall for concert, lecture 9

or transactions of local affairs. In the temple courts,

children played unforbidden; at the temple gates, the beggars

6 Annual Report on Epigraphy. No.63 of 1897. 7 . A.R.E.No. 250 of 1926. 8 A.R.E.No. 199 of 1907. 9 Haridas Bhattacharya, op.cit.. p.509.

found the most profitable place of business. All the larger

temples were places of pilgrimage on holy days, centres of jolly

religious fairs, to which peasants came from many miles around 10

with the intention of combining religious business with pleasure.

The religious fairs constituted in short, parliaments of

religion, moving universities and national exhibitions of arts 11

and crafts.

The temples also patronized hospitals and functioned as the

principal feeding house of the village. All strangers, ascetics

and men of learning were fed sumptuously in the temples. They

acted as veritable store-houses of public documents and centres

of national archives recording on stone and copper, the numerous

endowments by kings, public bodies and private citizens. Further

they functioned as Registration and Record Offices. In the

olden days, they were safe places of refuge for people at times

of foreign invasion during wars and at times of flood and storm.

One of the great services rendered by the temples was in the

field of reclamation of waste and forest lands by bringing them 12

under cultivation. As' a matter of fact, the temples served the

society in multifarious ways as "a nucleus gathering round itself 13

all that was best in the arts of civilized existence".

10 A.L.Basham, A Cultural History of India (New Delhi : Oxford

University Press,1975), pp.81,82 11 Haridas Bhattacharya, op.cit.. p.501.

12 K.V.Raman.op.cit., p.18.

13 K.A.Nilakanta Sastri,The Colas (Madras : University of Madras,

1975), p.654.

There ie eoarooly a street without a tejnple, large or small

f) «!.he «.owne and villages of Tanllnad because it is held by most

to be impious to live in a street without a temple. The South

Indian temples grew in the golden age of the Cho^as of vijayalaya

line into large establishments through a process of gradual

expansion and adaptation and attracted the imagination of the

populace and the benefaction of the rich; they reached a secure

position of pre-eminence in the society in the days of the Cholas

whom the erection of the temples was the be-all and the end-all 14

of their life. The Cauvery basin abounds in temples, big and

small and of Saivite and Vaish javite persuasions of Hinduism.

Some of them are of great antiquity and date back to the Sangam

Age in regard to their origin. One such ancient temple with a

hoary past is the VedS aijyesvar temple at Ved'Sranyam in the newly

formed Kagai-Quaid-"e-Milleth district.

AIM AMD SCOPE

The Vedaranyesvar temple at Vedaranyam has been playing a

conspicuous role in the life of the community of the region. The

temple as it were has had the privilege of having been sanctified

by the visits of the Saiva Saint-poets Appar, (Snanasambandar and

Sundarar of the Hindu Revivalist Movement of the medieval Tamil

history and celebrated in eleven 'padigams' of "the Devaram'.

The inscriptions numbering 106 in all and found in the premises

of the temple belong to the period of the rulers of the dynasties

14 K.A.K.Sastri, The Colas. p.635

of the Later cKoJas, Vijayanagar, Paijdyas and Taftjore Mahratj^as.

They speak of the extent of patronage the temple received from

various sections of society ranging from royal personages to

ordinary individuals. The inscriptions throw a floodlight of

information on the various facts of the life of the people from

the 9th century to the 19th century A.D. An interesting aspect

about the administration of the temple is that a representative

of the 'Varani Adheinam' (mutt) of Jaffna in ^ri Lanka acts as

its Managing Trustee. This fact and the mention of ^Ilakkasu'

in inscriptions amply prove that there had been active commercial

and cultural intercourse between Sri Lanka and Tamilnadu from

the dawn of history. This thesis on the temple of Vedaranyesvar

is an earnest attempt to highlight the ancient glory of the

temple, its current social relevance and its rich cultural

heritage.

i

LOCATION

Vedaranyam is a coastal town situated on the south-east of

the Vennar basin in the Nagai-Quaid-e-Milleth District in

Tamilnadu. It is classified as a Selection Grade Town Panchayat. o o 16

Its geodesical position is 10.22" N and 79.50" E. It lies 115 and

60 kilometres south-east respectively of Tarrtjore and

Tirutturaipuhdi on the line between Tiruvarur and Karaiku^i. 15 Oral Collection made through interview with S.Ramavyan.Block

Statistical Inspector. Vedaranvam.22 Januarv^1992. 16 ^ ,^. Imperial Gazetteer of India j. Provincial Series, rpt.(New Delhi: USHA,1985), II p.168.

There are frequent bus services to Veda'ranyam from

Tirutturaipundi, Nagapa^tinam and Pattuk}cottai. Its elevation is '- 17"

about 2,2 metres above Mean Sea Level. It is a Taluk

headquarters in the Manriargudi Revenue Division. It is also the

headquarters of a Panchayat Union. The Taluk of Vedarajiyam

consists of 64 villages. There are a number of government

offices,besides those of the Taluk and the Panchayat Union. There

are a Sub-Post Office, a Sub-Registrar's Office, a Police Station

and a Public Library. A Primary Health Centre at Vedaranyam and

the Government hospital at Karuppampulam meet the medical needs

of the people. Two Higher Secondary Schools, one for boys and

girls run by the government and the other exclusively for girls

managed by the Kasturbha^ Gandhi Kanya" Gurukulam, a Government

Girl's High School, five Middle Schools and two Primary schools

cater for the educational needs of the children of the place.

The great "Veda'ranyam Salt Swamp", lying a few kilometres west of

the town and the Vedaranyam Canal, a now-defunct inland waterway

connecting Vedaranyam with Nagapa^^inam are the two important

landmarks in the vicinity of the town. There is an observatory

to monitor the climatic conditions of the place. Units of Indian

Navy are stationed at "Arcottuturai and Ko(|iyakkarai.

17 Data register. Office of the Block Statistical Officer,

Vedaranyam.

VEDARANYAM SALT SWAMP

The Vedaranyam Salt Swamp covers a tract about 28,567 18

hectares. It is filled by two periodical high tides or floods

called ^Chitraparvam' and ^Visakave^Jam' occurring on or about

the Full Moon in May and June respectively and retains the sea-19

water to a depth of 2 feet over a considerable area. The water

evaporates and salt is formed in large translucent blocks. The 20

salt thus got is called VEDARAJJYAM SPONTANEOUS SALT. The salt is

"excellent, clean, heavy, well-knit together and very pure 21

containing 99% of sodic chloride". It is stored in the

government factory there and transported by train and lorries to

other parts of the State. It was some decades ago transported to

Nagappjtinam depot by the Veclaranyam Canal, now gone out of use.

VEDARA JYAM CANAL

The Canal was designed for the transport of salt. It is one

of the two water courses in the h/agai-Quaid-l-Milleth district

and connects Vedaranyam with N'ag¥pat inam. The other is the one

connecting Tranquebar with Tandavankulam noar Tirumullaiva'sal.

The Vedarapyam Canal excavated in 1869 has a total length of 35

18 Data Register. Office of the Block Statistical Officer,

Vedaranyam. T.Venkasami Row,A Manual of the District of Tan3ore (Madras :

Lawrence Press, 1883), p.8. 20 ibid.. p.709.

21 T.Venkasamy Row, p.711.

and 1/2, miles made up of 13 and 1/4 of the existing channels

of three rivers, Adapparu, Ve"lla"ru and Kaduvaiyaru, 10 and 1/4

miles of drainage streams intercepted in their passage down to

the sea and 12 miles of new cuts connecting these together. The

TrangueKar-TaTndavankulam Canal running to a distance of 19 miles

on the north for navigation was constructed in 1854-55, as a

drought relief measure. The need for reviving the Vedaranyam

Canal as a cheap means of transport for internal trade has of

late been receiving the attention of engineers, academics and

bodies like the Bharathidasan University. Recently a seminar

organized by the Earth Sciences Department of the Bha'rathidas'an

University on the need for reviving the now-defunct Buckingham

Canal connecting Kakin'SdaT in Andhra Pradesh with Merkapam in

South Arcot district suggested the link-up of that canal with the

Veda*ranyam Canal for promotion of internal trade and traffic by

digging two link canals one between Merkanam and T^p^avankujam

and the other between Tranqueba'r and Nagapattinam where the

Vedaranyam Canal terminates.

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Two places celebrated in the Devaram lie to the South

of Vedaranyam. They have acquired religious importance on account

of the temples in those places and their close association with

the Vedaranye'^var temple. One is Agastiy*ampalli noted for its

temple dedicated to Agastlsvar wherein a separate shrine is found

for the sage Aga^tiyar. The other celebrated place is

10

Kodiyakkadu of Kulagarkoil with its temple for Amirthaka^isvar.

To the south of Vedaranyam lies on a sand mound, a structure

housing a pair of blocks of foot-prints said to have been the

ones of Sri Rama. Another place of great importance from

religious and commercial points of view and lying near Vedaraiiyam

on the northern point of Palk straits is Point Calimere, also

called as Kodiyakkarai. It is famous for its wild-life sanctuary 23

and is a place of tourist interest. The wild-life sanctuary 24

covers an area of 2295 hectares. The swamps in its surroundings

are of great interest to ornithologists due to the abundance of

avifauna, especially the flamingoes visiting the swamps in

thousands in winter. It is unique in having a large

concentration of blackbucks or Indian antelopes, besides spotted

deer, wild pigs and wild ponies. It is a haven for bird-

25 watchers. The religious importance of the place lies in the fact

that a bath in the sea at the promontary near Point Calimere is

prescribed as an act of piety. It is done on the Thai Amavasya - - _ / 26

(December - January) and Ani-Adi Amavasya (July-August). An old

port in the coastal village of Topputhurai and another port in

22 S. Thaijdapani Desikar, Sri Vedaranvasvamin Temple

Sthalavaralaru (Vedaranyam, Temple Devasthanam,1975),p.8. 23 A.P.Muthuswami, ed..Census of India. 1981: Thaniavur District

p. 36, 24

ibid. 25 A.P.Muthuswami.op.cit.,p.38.

26 A.V.Thiyagaraja Iyer, Indian Architecture (Madras : A.V.T. Iyer

and Sons, n.d.,), II, p.136.

11

Point Calimere (Kodiyakkarai)help in the promotion of industries - _ ' * / 27

in Vedaranyam and trade with Jaffna in Sri Lanka. Point Calimere

lies at a distance of half an hour cruise from Jaffna. This

close geographical prokimity of Point Calimere to Sri Lahka"

facilitates interaction between the peoples of the two countries

in various spheres.

SOIL

Vedarapyam lies in the region of the narrow strip of beach

along the sea-coast where there are no hills or hillocks except

the ridges of blown sand. It is situated at the point where the

Vennar basin, sloping gently towards the sea, and the Great Swamp

to its South meet. The quality of the soil which is alluvial in

the district of Nagai-Quaid-e-Milleth recedes gradually as one

advances towards the sea. The land in and around Vedaranyam is 28

saline and arenaceous.

CLIMATE

The climate of the district of Nagai-Quaid-e-Miileth is

fairly healthy throughout the year. The climate from November to

February is full of warm days and cool nights, and from March

onwards, it rather becomes sultry and the mercury records an 29

upward trend. Summer rains hardly affect the temperature. But

27 ^ y F.R.Hemingway, The Madras D i s t r i c t G a z e t t e e r s i TaTijore (Madras :

G o v t . , P r e s s , 1 9 0 6 ) , p . 2 8 4 . 28

A .P . Muthuswami, o p . c i t . . p . 1 1 . 29

i b i d , p . 1 1 .

12

the summer heat is moderated by the sea winds. The North-East

Monsoon in October brings some relief. The average maximum and

minimum temperatures recorded at the Vedaranyam Observatory, o

worked out on the basis of the past 3 0 years records' are 32.4 C o 30

and 24.4 C respectively.

RAINFALL

The district of Nagai-Quaid-e-Milleth receives copious

rainfall during the winter months (from October to January) as a

result of the advent of the North-East Monsoon winds. It also

experiences a fairly good precipitation under the influence of

depressions in the adjoining sea during the winter months. The

rainfall from the South-West Monsoon is much lower than the

rainfall during the North-East Monsoon. The rainfall recorded in 31

Vedaranyam in 199 2 is 875.9mm, the lowest recorded since 1986.

The highest precipitation there occurred in November 1992, the 32

amount being 413.7mm.

POPULATION

The population of VedaTranyam, according to 1991 Census was 33

29.835 and of which 14,558 are males and 15,277 are females. The

majority of the people belongs to the Backward Class.

30 ibid, p.11.

31 Data Register. Office of the Block Statistical Officer,

Vedaranyam. 32

ibid. . --33 ibid..

13

Agamudaiyas and Ambalakarars constitute the major segment of the

population of the town.

OCCUPATION

A great majority of the local population are engaged in

agriculture. Paddy is the staple food grain raised in the

fields. Cash crops like groundnut, cashewnut, coconuts are

raised in vast areas. Agriculture, salt industry producing

edible salt, the Mettur Chemical Industry producing industrial

salt and the tobacco-processing unit of the Swastik Company

employ a large work force. Fishing is another major industry

carried on vigorously in the sea near Vedarainyam. Prawn culture

has been undertaken in its neighbourhood in a large scale. The

chief export of the place consists of tobacco, casuarina,

cashewnut, prawn, jasmine and salt and the import consists 34

chiefly of rice, kerosene and fertilizers.

OTHER INFORMATIONS ABOUT VEDARANYAM

V^daranyam, apart from being famous for its temple and its

beautiful landscape has the reputation of having been the birth

place of sages and saints such as Par5njoti, the author of

Tiruvilaiya'dal Pura'nam and Veda"ranyam Sthalapur"anam, AghHra

Thambiran, the author of Veda"ranya Puranam and Thayumanavar, the

great Saiva saint-poet of the 18th Gentry A.D. who stood for

34 Data Register. Office of the Block Statistical Officer,

Vedaranyam. 35 Bahirathan,Maraik}clttil Qru Man ickkam (Vedaranyam; Kasturbha

Gandhi Kanyagurukulam, "• 1986) , p. 12.

14

"Universal bliss". Saint Arunagirina'thar, the author of

Tiruppugal had visited the place and composed devotional songs in

praise of Lord Muruga" in the premises of the temple of

Vedaranye'^var. Niramba Al^agia D'e^ikar, the author of

Sethupuranam and guru of Athiveerar'ama Paij^ian belonged to

Vedaranyam.

During this century, the place Vedarapyam shot into

prominence on account of the enactment there of the ^Salt

Satyagriha' on April 30, 1930 under Raja^i. Now a monument

stands in the place where the Salt Satyagriha" was enacted to

commemorate this event of great consequence in the history of

Freedom Struggle in India. Sardar Ved^ratinam Pillai, a true

Gandhian, a philanthropist and a freedom fighter belonged to

Vedaranyam and he came in the line of Thayumana Swamigal. The

Kasturbh^ Gandhi Kany^ Gurukulam founded by him had a strength of

1913 on its rolls in August, 1990 and of them 150 students were 38

orphans.

_ 39

"Vedaranyam Vilakkalagu" is a panegyric about the

illumination of lamps done regularly in the temple during evening

services and in a large scale on festive occasions. The senser 36

ibid., p.10. 37 _ Elangovan, "Valkayai Sollitharum Gurukulam". The Kalki, 5th

August 1990. 38 Bahirathan, op.cit.. p.12.

39 ibid., p.10.

15

lamps fitted to the frames on the sides of the entrances to the

main shrine and its parts and the traditional bronze lamps with

three or four wicks strung on an iron cord and hanging from the

ceiling would produce an enchantment of illumination, very

pleasing to the senses. A majority of the inscriptions in the

temple premises speak of gifts of lamps or sheep to supply ghee

for burning perpetual lamps or half lamps (for day or night only)

in the shrines in the temple precincts. It is said that

Kulottunga" I and his successors used to light large number of

lamps in the temple premises and pray to the Presiding deity for

bestowal of success on them in their wairs with the Sinhalas 40

before actual commencement of them.

THE TEMPLE OF VEDARANYESVAR

The temple of Vedarany'esvar at Vedaranyam is one of great

antiquity. Its origin dates back to the post-Sangam Age. It is

a big Saiva centre of worship and sanctified by the Saiva Saint-

poets Appar, (Siana^ambandar (7th century A.D.) and Sundarar (8th

Century A.D) . The temple occupies an area of 692 feet east-41

west by 372 feet north-south . It faces the east and has two

enclosures. The temple-complex consists of five big shrines and

a number of small ones for the secondary deities. Entrance to

the temple can be had from the west and the east as well. The

40 ibid.,p.10.

41 S.Thandapani Desikar, op.cit.. p.11.

16

entrances are surmounted by five-tiered towers. The place is one / • / 42

of the "SAPTHA VITANKA STHALAMS."

The temple owns 13,051.7 acres of v/et and dry lands spread 43

over 49 villages. Services are conducted six times a day. The

"Brahmotsavam' for 18 days in the Tami.". month of Masi and the

"Tirukkalyana Utsavam' in the Tamil month of Chitrai are the most

important festivals held in the temple. The administration is 44

carried on in accordance with an approved scheme framed in 1963.

The temple is virtually a treasure-house of Art and Architecture.

42 ythah i rathan op. cit. . p. 11.

43 S.Thandapani Desikar op.cit., p.81

44 ibid., p.78.

17

SOURCES

A. EPIGRAPHS

There are one hundred and six inscriptions in the temple

precincts, some of them are either badly damaged or built-in.

Ninety-nine of them belong to the period of the Later Cholas

beginning from Aditya I (A.D.871-A.D.907) . Three of them relate 45

to the reigns of Prauda-devaraja Maharaya (A.D.1449-A.D.1465) 46

and Virapratapadeva Maharaya* (date lost) of.^Vijayanagar Empire.

Three inscriptions in Devana'gari script belong to the reign of

Pratapasimha Maharaja (A.D.1216-1238) of Tarijore Mahratta

^ • ^ . ^ / - ' "

dynasty. One belongs to the reign of Maravarman Sundara Pan^ya of

Madurai (A.D.1216-1238).

The texts of one hundred and one inscriptions have been

published by the Archaeological Department of the Government of

India in 1904 in Vols.XIII, XVII and XIX of South Indian

Inscriptions. One inscription is that of a Copper Plate numbered

40 in Robert Sewell's List of Inscriptions.

A majority of the inscriptions are donative records and they

speak of donations in cash and kind made to the temple of

Vedaranyesvar.. Forty-six inscriptions refer to gifts of sheep

(ewes) made to the temple to provide supply of ghee for

maintenance of lamps in the temple for earning religious merit

45 A.R.E.No.489 of 1904.

46 A.R.E.No.490 of 1904.

47 A.R.E.NO.491 Of 1904.

-1

18

for oneself or of expiating an offence. The gifts of sheep were

calculated at ninety for a perpetual lamp, (nanda vilakku) and

forty five for every day or night lamp (half lamp). The donors as

found from inscriptions were not only kings and members of the

royal household but were officials of the realm, local

chieftains, corporate bodies like the merchant guilds and village

assemblies and many private individuals, men and women. All the

inscriptions of the Ch*ola times start with the eponym such as

'Parake^ari' or Rajakls ari' of the ruler of the day. The

inscriptions of the times of Rajaraja*I and his successors start

with the ^prasa^ti' or ""MeykkTrti' (historical introduction) of

the concerned ruler. From the time of Kulottunga I, the

inscriptions carry the appellation 'Tirubhuvanachakkravartigal'

(the lord of the three worlds) and the ^prasasti' of the

concerned ruler followed by his eponym. A feature of a great

ma;]ority of inscriptions in the temple of Vedaranyesvar is that

they bear the regnal years of the rulers of the day. Some of the

inscriptions give astronomical details of the day when the gift

was made but none of them furnish the era of the year, either

Tamil or any of the other eras such as Saka", Kaliyuga and

Kollam. Except for three inscriptions in Devanagari script, all

other inscriptions in the temple premises are in Tamil

interspersed with grantha characters. The astronomical data

furnished in some of the inscriptions were discussed thoroughly

with the help of ephemeris by the learned scholar Kielhorn and

necessanry corrections in them were made in six of the

inscriptions for attaining chronological results of precision and

19

48 value . A careful study of the inscriptions throws much welcome

light on the administrative machinery and practice of the time.

They speak of the numerous taxes, tolls and dues of various

kinds.

The i n s c r i p t i o n s speak of t h e p l a c e a s T i r u m a r a i k k a d u i n

Kunru rnadu . I t came t o be compr i sed i n d i f f e r e n t ' v a l a n a d u s ' 49

s u c h a s ' D i n a c h i n t a m a n i ' v a l a n a d u d u r i n g t h e r e i g n of 50

K u l o t t u n g a I " D h a r a n i m u l u d u d a i y a l ' V a l a n a d u i n t h e d a y s of 51

K u l o t t u n g a I I and " U m b a l a n a d u ' d u r i n g t h e t i m e of

K u l o t t u n g a I I I . I n t h e I n s c r i p t i o n s of t h e p e r i o d of P a r a n t a k a I ,

T i r u m a r a i k k a d u h a s b e e n m e n t i o n e d a s ' P e r u n d e v a d a n a ' i n 52

"Umbalanadu ' o r s i m p l y a s " p e r u n d e v a d a n a ' . The p l a c e and t h e

p r e s i d i n g d e i t y came t o be c a l l e d by t h e i r S a n s k r i t names

'Vedaranyam' and ' V e d a r a n y e s v a r ' r e s p e c t i v e l y from t h e t i m e of 53

t h e M a h r a t t a s of T a n j o r e .

The p r e s i d i n g d e i t y has been spoken of i n i n s c r i p t i o n s a s

" T i r u m a r a i k k a d u U d a y a r ' , " T i r u m a r a i k k a d u d a i y a M a h a d e v a r ' ,

" M a n a v a l a n a y a n a r ' , " T i r u m a r a i k k a t t u A l v a r ' , ' T i r u m a r a i k k a t t u

Thambi ran , l l a m a r a i k k a d u d a i y a Nayanar and " V e d a r a n y e s v a r ' .

48 E p i a r a p h i a I n d i c a . V o l . V I I I N o s . 1 2 3 . 1 2 8 . 1 3 1 . 1 3 2 . 1 3 4 and 135

49 A .R .E .No .425 of 1904.

50 A.R.E.NO.422 of 1904.

51 A . R . E . N o s . 4 1 5 , 4 1 7 , 4 1 9 , 4 2 6 of 1904.

52 A. ;<.E. Nos. 444, 457 , 464, 465 , 466, 468 of 1904.

S . R a s u , I n s c r i p t i o n s of t h e M a h r a t t a s .of T a n i o r e ( T a m i l ) (Than javur : Tamil U n i v e r s i t y , 1 9 8 7 ) , p . 8 8 .

20

There are a lot of information about the commercial sense of

the people of the Cliol a period for standardisation of measures to

determine the exact extent of lands and quantity of things they

possessed or transacted. Land measures such as ~veli', ~ma',

^mukkani' and ^makani', liquid and grain measures like "ulakku',

•"Uri', "nali', "^kuruni', ~tuni' and "kalam' and weights and

measures such as ~palam', ~manjadi' , ard "kala'nju', have been

mentioned in the inscriptions. The capacity measure was

variously called as 'RTjak^sari' , 'Ve'davanan'ayakan',

"Tirumaraikka!dan' 'Keralantakan' etc. Moreover the inscriptions

contain the names of smaller units of currency in vogue during

the long period of the history of the temple, namely, 'kasu',

-pon', -panam', ~Ilakka^u', ^narkasu', and ~akkam', some of them

made of gold.

B. LITERARY WORKS

Next to epigraphy, literary works £:uch as the 'Devaram'

hymns of the canonized Saiv'a' poets Navukkarasar (Appar) ,

Gnaha^ambandar and Sundarar and devotional outpourings of sages

and saints like ParaTijoti Munivar, Arunagirinathar and

Th'iyumanavar are of immense value for an understanding of the

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place Vedaranyam, its landscape, the temple of Vedaranye^svar, the

divine attributes of the Presiding deity of the temple and the

extent of. religious fervour of the people down the ages.

The Devaram hymns and the Saiva hagiology, Periyapuranam

speak of Vedaranyam as "Maraikkadu', "Tirumaraikkadu', "Marai

vanam' "Vedavanam' and "Ilamaraikk" du' and the presiding deity of

the temple of Vedarany¥svar as 'Maraikkadar', "Maraikka'ttu

Man'alar' "Maraikkattu Selvar','Maraikkattu Maindar', "Maraikkattu • « 4 « • •» • • • •••

Isar' and "Maraivanart-amarnthaparaman' (Siva residing at

Maraiklcadu) . They give a vivid account in eulogistic terms of

the scenic beauty of Vedaranyam of their times and the divine

attributes of the Lord of the place as also the sacred sports of

His various manifestations.

/ — .~< — — —

The ^Sthalavaralaru and Paranjoti Munivar's Vedaranya -

sthalapurana" speak of legends and puranic stories about the

temple. Though their contributions to the temple's historicity

is little, they point to some morals unquestionably buried in

them.

22

MODERN WORKS:

Works of religious scholars and art critics on temples were

consulted by this researcher for a general understanding of the

significance of temple worship and the forms of gods and

goddesses and the attendant deities in the temple. For knowing

the legendary and puranic stories .about the origin and

development of the temple of Vedaranyesvar, this researcher

consulted the temple chronicle and the Vedaranya SthalapurHnam by

Paranjoti Munivar. For a general knowledge of the temple, its

various parts and its significance to the people , this

researcher relied heavily on works such as "Temple and its

Significance' by S. Vir'asami pathar, 'The Sucindram temple' by

K.K.Pillai, 'The Tirumalav"adi Temple' by Mooka Reddy, 'The Early »« •

Chola Temples' by S.R. Balasubrahmanyam, 'The Colas' by K.A. •« • • •

Nilakanta Sa'stri and 'Gangaikondasolapuram' by R.Nagasamy.

Moreover authoritative works on Art and Architecture of South

Indian Temples such as 'Indian Architecture' by Percy Brown,

'Early Chola Architecture' by Douglas Barrett, 'History of India

and Eastern Architecture' by James Fergusson, 'Early Ch'ola Art-

part I' by S.R. Ba'lasubrahmanyam, 'South Indian Bronzes' by C.

Sivaramam"urthy and the 'Early Chola Bronzes' by Douglas Barrett

to name a few were consulted. Besides this researcher made

frequent visits to the temple of Vedaranyesvar for having a

23

first-hand knowledge of the sculptural and architectural

features obtaining therein. Through personal interviews with

temple authorities and by having recourse to the temple records

and registers, details relating to the pujas and festivals held

in the temple and the administration of the temple were

collected.

Gazetteers, Manuals and Reports such as 'The Tanjore

District Gazetteer' by F.R. Hemingway, 'Imperial Gazetteer, ' A

Manual of Tha'njavur District' by T.Venkasami Row, and "the Census

Report-1981' were consulted by this researcher for relevant

materials. Periodicals and magazines like the Dinamani Kadir,

the Gnanabhumi, the Kalki, the Hindu and Om Sakthi containing

articles on the temple of VedaranyeSvar were also consulted.

The thesis on 'the Vedarapyesvar temple at Veda'ranyam

through the ages' consists of eight chapters.The first chapter

forms the introductory of the thesis. The second chapter deals

with the origin and development of the temple as evidenced from

the legendary and puranic stories, the Devaram hymns and the

inscriptions. The third chapter gives a vivid account of the

temple-complex while the fourth chapter describes in detail the

pujas and festivals taking place in the temple in a year. The

fifth chapter is about the temple and society. The sixth chapter

24

dwells at length upon the features of art and architecture

obtaining in the temple premises while the seventh chapter speaks

of the temple administration, past and present. The eighth

chapter is the conclusion of the thesis.

25