23rd
December 2018.
This
visit to this temple was a part of the "Vellore Heritage Walk" organized by the "History of Vellore". This is one of the Heritage structures/Temples that exist in the Bhagavathy Hills. The hill is an
abode for Jains and Hindus. The lesser-known Kalki Bhagavathy Amman and
Bhagavathy temple are at the top of the hill. The Hill has natural cave/rock shelters, which were once occupied by the
prehistoric human beings and later by
the Jains. The
Rock shelters bear the inscriptions in Tamil and Kannada. Rashtrakuta king Kannaradevan’s (Krishna-III) period 10th-century Tamil
inscription is inscribed on the back of a rock inside a shelter. The 11-line
inscription reads as.
- ஸ்வஸ்தி ஸ்ரீகன்னரதெவற்கு யாண்டு இருபத்தாறாவது
- படுவூர்க் கொட்டத்துப் பங்கள நாட்டு வடக்கில் வகைச்சூ
- தாடு பாறை மெல்ப் பன்னப்பை எடுப்பித்த
- பன்னப்பெஸ்வரத்துக்கு பொகமாக இந்நாட்டு வெலூ
- ர்பாடி எந்மகன் நுளம்பன் வீரசோழர் பக்கல்
- சூதாடுபாறைமலை அகப்பட தாரை அட்டுவித்துக் கொ
- ண்டு சந்தராதித்தருள்ளவும் உதகபூர்வஞ் செய்
- து குடுத்தென் நுளம்பன் திரிபுவனதீரனென்
- இதந்மம் ரஷித்தாரடி என் முடிமெலன் ஸ்ரீபல்ல
- வமுராரி இத்ந்மம் இறக்வான் கங்கை குமரியிடைசெ
- ய்தார் செய்த பாவங்கொள்வான்.
As
per the inscription, this Pannapeswarar Temple was built by a small Chieftain
Pannapai under the Rashtrakuta King Kannaradevan’s (Krishna-III) 26th-year rule.
This temple is on the “Soothadu paarai” at Bangala Nadu in Paduvur Kottam. The
village Velurpadi was gifted to this Temple. It was said that Present Vellore
is the one mentioned in the
inscription. Some experts believe that the present Velapadi at the
base of the Hill may be mentioned as Velurpadi and not the present Vellore.
PRESENT STATUS
Since
this inscription is inscribed on the rock, it survived, but the fate of the
temple is not known. Old structures of the temple, like pillars and stone
fragments, are strewn around the top of the hill. Whether these fragments belong to the
temple is also not known. Near the
inscription, there is a Temple called Sri Kalki Bhagavathy Temple. In front of
Amman, there is a Rishabam. The rishabam seems to be unique and beautiful. The
Rishabam is molded from metal. Looking
at the design of the Rishabam, it is awesome and may belong to the old temple.
Beautiful Rishabam
Rashtrakuta king Kannaradevan's (Krishna-III) 10th-century inscription
Kalki Bhagavathy Sannadhi - This is the original Shiva Temple, where the Rishabam is in front
A Vinayagar bas-relief on the left side of the inscription
The pillar may belong to the old temple
Sri Kalki Bhagavathy temple in front is the Rishabam (This may be a Shiva Temple during the Rashtrakuta period)
---OM
SHIVAYA NAMA---
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