This visit to the Bodinayakanur Palace, in Theni District, was a
part of Varusanadu Payanam, a Heritage walk to the temples and Heritage Sites,
organised by Aatrupadai, on 20th – 21st September 2025.
Thanks to திருச்சி பார்த்தி, Prabaharan, and Bala Bharathi.
Ramar Pattabhishekam
BRIEF
HISTORY OF BODINAYAKKANUR ZAMIN
Bodinayakkanur
was named after the Zamindar, Bangaru Tirumalai Bodi Nayaka, whose ancestors moved to Tamil Nadu from the Telugu-speaking region during the 14th-century
Muslim invasion. They belong to the Kambalathu Nayakas community. Initially, their main job was rearing cattle;
for this same, they moved to the south and settled in many places. It is said that Veera
Pandya Kattabomman belongs to this community. The Zamindars ruled that region
and lived like kings. They constructed their own palaces and decorated them with
foreign articles and artefacts.
Bangaru
Tirumalai Bodi Nayaka has become the Polygar or Zamindar of Bodinayakkanur
(1849 – 1862 CE). After the Zamindar Bangaru Tirumalai Bodi Nayaka’s demise in
1862, his heir Tirumalai Bodi Kamaraja Pandya Nayaka was a minor, so the
British first took over the administration of the Bodinayakkanur territory.
The portrait of Bangaru Tirumalai Bodi Nayaka
The
Bodinayakkanur Zamin lost its fame due to various reasons like… abolition of the Zamindar system in India (1949 – 1951), no income, lack of male heir, legal
battle among the heirs, etc. The Bodinayakkanur palace is in a neglected state
without maintenance and looks in a bad state. The present descendants struggle
to lead a normal life in the palace.
LAKSHMI
VILASAM
The
palace is called Lakshmi Vilasam, constructed with three floors, with bedrooms, a visitor’s hall, a Darbar Hall, an open courtyard on the back side, horse
stables, a granary, etc. The painting of Vadamalai
Nachiammannai, the family deity, is in the Pooja room, behind the darbar hall.
The Darbar hall, walls, and ceiling have the paintings of the whole episodes of
the Epic Ramayan. The details are written below each painting.
LOCATION OF THE PALACE: CLICK HERE
--- OM SHIVAYA NAMA---
No comments:
Post a Comment