15, January 2015.
My
Tiny Village Pappavalasu is about 4 KM from Kunnathur in Erode district.
Whenever I used to cross Kunnathur to Gobichttipalayam or Coimbatore thought of
visiting the Kunnathur Shiva Temple. Somehow it could not happened. But during
my recent visit to my native Place Visited this temple. I completed my school
education at NRKN (NR Karuppana Nadar Kalvi Nilayam) High School and then I
did my Engineering Diploma at Government Polytechnic, Coimbatore. During my
school days, I was not an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva.
After
reading the book about Kongu Nadu published by the ASI
( Archaeological Survey Of India ), I feel very proud of being born in a historical place that had links to Hindu and Jain
religions and was ruled by Chera, Chozha, Pandya, Hoysala, Vijayanagara
Kings and Mysore Wodeyars, ( The Vijayamangalam was once a capital
to Kongu Nadu, is very near to my Native Place. The Vijayamangalam still
has a Jain temple which I have to explore yet ).
I
had made up my mind that I would cover one or two places of History during my
future visits to my native place. Hence I mentioned this post as PART-1.
Moolavar Vimanam with Chandikeswarar Sannadhi
HISTORY OF
KUNNATHUR IN KURUPPA NADU
The
old name of this Kunnathur was “Kundrathur”, in Kongu Nadu. Kongu Nadu was
called after the name Nectar. Kongu Nadu was divided into four parts North
Kongu Nadu, South Kongu Nadu, Mel Kongu Nadu, and Keel Kongunadu. The
present Erode district lies in South and North Kongu Nadu. This was divided into 24 sub-sections called Nadus once again. Kunnathur is in one of the
sub-sects of Nadu called “Kuruppu Nadu”, which comes under Perundurai. It was
believed that a large number of Kurumbu section ( குறும்ப இன மக்கள் ) people lived in this area. The
name Kurumbu later turned to Kuruppu. ( I used to wonder why the Name
“Kuruppu Nadu” is mentioned in the marriage betrothal ceremonies ( Nadu
Vilambuthal - நாடு விளம்புதல் ). Now I understand how I belong
to “Kupruppa Nadu” – we belong to “Kuruppa Nadu Kammalars” ).
KUNNATHUR
SHIVA TEMPLE.
As
per ASI, this temple was built during the 14th century with Hoysala’s
architecture. But this was completely changed to the present structure ignoring
the past. There is no trace of the old structure now. It is a shame of the
history. The present Shiva temple is a reconstructed one,
without any remembrance of the past glory and structure. There was
no epigraph, which might have been destroyed during renovation. I still remember the reconstruction of this temple during my school days through one
of my relatives. But after reconstruction,n the old beauty has gone.
Moolavar: Sri Kundrapureeswarar
Some
of the important features of this temple are..
The
temple is facing west. There is no Rajagopuram instead there is an arch.
There
are Sannadhis for Vinayagar, Navagrahas, Chandran and Suriyan. There is a
Deepasthambham/ Vilakku Thoon or Garuda Thoon in front of the temple. The
temple is under renovation for Kumbhabhishekam.
HOW TO REACH :
Kunnathur
is on the state highway between Gobichettipalayam to Tiruppur and Erode,
Perundurai to Coimbatore.
LOCATION OF
THE TEMPLE: CLICK
HERE
Ambal sannidhi Vimanam
Ambal sannidhi vimanam
Villakku thoon or Garuda thoon
SRI
LAKSHMI NARAYANA PERUMAL TEMPLE
Front view of the temple
Moolavar : Sri
Lakshmi Narayana Perumal
Some of the important features of this temple are...
This temple is just
opposite Sri Kundrapureeswarar Shiva Temple on the straight line facing
east.
There is no separate Thayar
Sannidhi since Sri Lakshmi is sitting on the left Lap of Sri Narayana Perumal.
HISTORY AND INSCRIPTIONS
The temple has a lot of
Epigraphs which proves that the temple was constructed during the 12th century.
Now the temple is under renovation. There is no change in the old base
structure.
Inscriptions on the Sanctum Sanctorum wall
At least we have to appreciate that this epigraph is kept standing near a washing area
HOW
TO REACH :
Kunnathur is on the
state highway between Gobichettipalayam to Tiruppur and Erode, Perundurai to
Coimbatore.
LOCATION
OF THE TEMPLE: CLICK
HERE
Moolavar vimanam under renovation for Samprokshanam
Dwarapalakar
Villakku thoon or garuda Thoon
Front view of the temple entrance
GOOGLE MAP FOR THE LOCATION:: CLICK HERE
--- OM SHIVAYA NAMA ----
I visited both these Siva and Vishnu temples while I was travelling from Coimbatore to Salem. When the present 4 lane was under construction, we used to take Avinashi, Perumanallur, Kunnathur, Perundhurai route only. During then I visited this West Facing Siva Temple. In 1990s, one SULLIKARADU was also famous in this region. But now many are not aware of it. I do not know why.
ReplyDeleteRegards
R Sukumar
Thanks Mr Sukumar for the information about Sullikaradu. I will cover the same in one of the up coming post.
ReplyDeleteNice post. Considered as the sixth largest city in Tamil Nadu, Erode is proudly called the Loom city of India for its handloom and powerloom textile products. A number of hotels in Erode solves the problem of tourists searching for accommodation here.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteVery informative, thanks for posting such informative content. Expecting more from you.
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