...a
Continuation post.
26th September 2016.
On the second day of our, Ponniyin Selvan meeting at
Thanjavur, Periya Kovil, Mr. Anusha Vekatesh, the historian and writer also
joined us for the Thirumalapadi and Mela Palur ( Constructed
by Pazhuvettarayar during 7th century ). For the second
day Program, we vacated the Lodge at Kumbakonam and hired the same Taxi up
to Thanjavur via Thirumazhapadi and Mela Palur.
THIRUMALAPADI / THIRUMAZHAPADI
During one of the Nandhiyamperuman’s Marriage
urchavam, I had the opportunity to see the function sitting on the banks of
river Kollidam. It is a
popular belief in this area that impediments to getting married will be
overcome if they see the marriage festival of Nandi Devar. Sundarar
has sung the Devara hymns starting with ‘Ponnar meniyane’ on this temple God Sri Vaidyanatha Swamy.
During morning darshan we had the opportunity of hearing this hymn through the
othuvar. During this time we looked at the temple from a History and
Heritage point of view. (For details of my first visit: Click
Here )
HISTORY
The antiquity of
this place goes back to the Sangam Period. It was an army camp of the valiant
Malavar Clan of the Sangam Age and hence called Malavar-padi and later Thirumalapadi. There is another saying that Lord Shiva danced in this temple
with a Mazhu in his hand for Markandeya Maharishi, hence called Thiru Mazhapadli. This temple has the devara hymns of Appar and Sambandar. It was also visited by Ayyadigal Kadavarkon who praised it in
his hymns of Shetravenba. This saint has been identified with the Pallava king
Simhavarman (540-558), the grandfather of Mahendravarma Pallava (598-630).
HERITAGE &
ARCHITECTURE
The outer walls of the temples have about 140
inscriptions of Chozha, Rajaraja -1, Marathas, and Vijayanagara kings.
Which speaks about the Queens
of Aditya–I, Rajaraja–I, and Rajendra–I made gifts to the temple in the form of
lands and ornaments. The first and second gopurams of this temple were built
during the periods of the Pandyas and Cholas respectively.
Chembian Mahadevi,
grandmother of Rajaraja the Great, hailed from Chembiakudi, 4 km from
Thirumazhapadi. Other historical places like Pazhuvur, Alambakkam,
Kandaradithyam (birthplace of Kandraditha Chola) are all situated within a
radius of 15 km. There are quite a few references to the Thirumazhapadi
Temple in the famous Tamil litterateur Kalki’s work, ‘Ponniyin Selvan’.
The Siva temple was built of stone during the period of
Aditya–I (871-907). Rajaraja–I ordered its rebuilding and was completed by
his son Rajendra–I. Again it was repaired by the Hoysala king Vira Narasimha in
A.D. 1235-36. They are superb examples of the meticulous care taken by the
Pallavas who rebuilt it in the 7th century CE. The 108-ft tall,
seven-tiered Rajagopuram of Thirumazhapadi Temple faces east and towers over
the landscape of the banks of the Kollidam. It looks magnificent when viewed
from the river bed. The second gopuram with five tiers is about 80 ft. tall.
Both the Rajagopuras are decorated with a rich array of stucco sculptures that
tell the many stories from the Thiruvilayadal, the history of Lord Shiva. The
Somaskandar of this temple is made of a single stone. The Vaidyanathaswamy Temple
at Thirumazhapadi and the temple of Sundarambika lie within a sprawling
10-hectare campus full of coconut and palm trees. The
Amman temple has the contribution of Nattukottai Nagarathars also.
For More Photos: CLICK HERE
..........
to be continued ( Mela Palur ).
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OM SHIVAYA NAMA:---
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