VELUDHARAN TEMPLES VISIT : Sri Jalakandeswarar Temple / ஜலகண்டேஸ்வரர் கோயில், வேலூர், Vellore Fort, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu.

Friday, 14 September 2018

Sri Jalakandeswarar Temple / ஜலகண்டேஸ்வரர் கோயில், வேலூர், Vellore Fort, Vellore District, Tamil Nadu.

09^th September 2018.

This Sri Jalakandeswarar temple is inside a 16th-century Fort built during the Vijayanagara Period, before 1566 CE, by Chinna Bommi Nayakar, son of Virappa Nayakar and Father of Lingaboobalan. He ruled under Mahamandaleshwar Thirumalai Devar and Maharaja Sada Siva Devar.

Moolavar : Sri Jalakandeswarar

Consort : Sri Akhilandeshwari

Some of the important details are...

The temple faces east with an entrance 7-tier Rajagopuram on the South side. From the base up to the ceiling was constructed with granite, and the tower was constructed with brick and mortar. The Rajagopuram has no stucco images except dwarapalakas on each tier. From the adhisthana to the ceiling, Hindu deities of various forms and postures are carved.

ARCHITECTURE
The 3^rd praharam is immediately after the 7-tier Rajagopuram. In this praharam, Kalyana mandapam (Thiru kalyana mandapam) is on the southwest corner, a small mandapam is on the northwest corner, and another mandapam is on the southeast corner. The prakara floor is elevated to a height of 4 feet. The pillars are carved with deities, Rishis, Munis, animals, birds, etc.

The second-level Rajagopuram is with 4 tiers, with stucco images on all tiers. A Vinayagar Sannidhi is immediately after the Rajagopuram. In this prakaram sannadhi for Selva Vinayagar, Sri Venkatesa Perumal, Sri Valli Devasena Subramaniar, Akhilandeswari, Holy well Ganga Palaru, Bairavar, Navagrahas, Saneeswaran, 63var in stone, Sapthannis, Dwajasthambam, Nandi, and Palipedam. On the north side of the praharam, there are reliefs of solar and lunar eclipses on the ceiling, ie snake with the sun and the moon. To touch, a fee of Rs 5 is charged. It is believed that sarpa dosham will be relieved if one touches and prays.

The temple consists of the sanctum sanctorum, antarala, ardha mandapam, and a mukha mandapam. In the mukha mandapam, Natarajar is in a separate sannadhi. In the inner or 1^st praharam, 63var in metal & Urchavars. In koshtam Nardana Vinayagar, Dakshinamurthy, Lingothbavar, Brahma, and Durgai. The outside sanctum is of a moat type. In the sanctum, moolavar is in the form of Shiva Lingam and looks beautiful.

A brief description of the Kalyana Mandapam. The mandapa is supported by 48 pillars, of which 8 pillars are intricately carved with 3 layers of soldiers riding on horses, Yazhi, and Soldiers at the bottom. Each pillar is unique in its carving. Each detail is also unique and cannot be compared with others. Hindu, both Saiva and Vaishnava deities are carved with minute details. The carving of bas-reliefs depicts Shiva’s stories with Nayanmars and Shiva's various forms like Bairava, Dhakshinamoorthy, Natarajar, Veerabhadra, Etc. Bas-reliefs of Ambal, such as Kali, Durgai, Mahishasura mardhini, Etc. Vishnu's various forms like Ramar, Vamana, Narasimhar, Lakshmi Narasimhar, etc. The Pillar bas-reliefs also consist of Normal men, women, animals, and birds. The adhistanam has the reliefs of boothaganas, and in between bootha ganas, the reliefs depict the story of Hindu mythology. An awesome relief, with no words to explain the beauty.

The center of the third level has a raised platform of about 1 meter in height and sits on a tortoise. Ashta dhik balakas with animals like Simha, Elephants, and snakes are on all four sides of the platform. The first and second-level mandapa ceilings have extensively carved square panels consisting of ashtadhikbalakas and dancers. At the center, a full-bloomed lotus and the parrots holding with their mouths are shown. Most of the reliefs were disfigured by the Muslim rulers. It was said that these pillars were planned to be exported to the UK during British rule, which was abandoned due to the ship sinking at sea.

HISTORY AND INSCRIPTIONS

This Sri Jalakandeswarar temple is inside a 16th-century fort built during the Vijayanagara Period, before 1566 CE, by Chinna Bommi Nayakar, son of Virappa Nayakar and Father of Lingaboobalan. He ruled under Mahamandaleshwar Thirumalai Devar and Maharaja Sada Siva Devar.

There is a story about Moolavar. During the Muslim invasion of Adil Shahis, ruler of Bijapur in the 17^th century, moolavar was shifted to Sathuvacheri Vinayagar Temple, a nearby village, for safekeeping. The temple was without the main deity, Shiva Linga, for about 400 years (one of the 5 proverbs of Vellore, "The Temple without God"). After independence, in 1921, this fort with the temple was handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and it maintained the status quo till 1981. In 1981, the moolavar from Sathuvacheri Vinayagar temple was brought back secretly and installed forcibly by an aggressive section of Shiva devotees. The kumbhabhishekam was also performed in 1982. In 2013, the temple administration was taken over by HR&CE from the private trustees, after the high court's verdict, but ownership was retained by the ASI.

As per the inscriptions of 7 villages around Vellore, the villages were gifted to this temple, mentioning Moolavar as “Jvarakandeswara”, which later turned into Jalakandeswarar.

The inscriptions on the pillars installed on both sides of the Rajagopuram entrance record that the entrance was built by Kumarasawamiyar (Lakshitha Katteri) Chandra Pillai, an official or his official. (Thanks to Anbu Vathiyathevan). The inscription reads as ....