Tiruvanamalai-Tirukoilur- Ulundurpettai-Vridachallam-Chidambaram (145km) Part - 1
A glance from the hotel room window exquisitely exposes the call of Annamalaiyar and bustling early morning activity of this temple town,getting into the scheme of things the day begins with cycle check up,loading up the requirements for the ride since today the heritage sites to pass by are few and so its just going to be cycling all the way.Pedaling onto the State Highways that leads us to Tirukoilur,we reach this historic town located on the banks of River Pennaiyar,This was called the Nadunaadu and Chola's inscription's mention this place was located in Madurdaka Chaturvedhimangalam a subdivision of Kurukkai in Maladunadu,this place was under the Atiyaman Chieftains and was the capital of Malayaman as mentioned in Purananuru (2nd AD) through the writings of Avvaiyar (1st-2nd AD,incidentally an intimate friend to Atiyaman) and Paranar,the Satyaputra Inscription at Jambai near to this place mentions the ruler as Atiyaman Neduman Anchi. The Tiruvikrama Perumal Temple here is very ancient,the first three Alvars (Mudal Alvars,6th AD) met each other here according to the Vaishnava pantheon.It contains numerous inscriptions one is by Vira Rajendra Chola (1057-58) it mentions that Narasimha Verma a feudatory of Maladunadu reconstructed the central shrines of the temple with granite,it witnessed many activities by the on coming kingdoms till this place was used by the British as a fortress during the Carnatic Wars.Another historic place here is the Veerateshwarer Temple.But the most important information available is this was the birthplace of King RAJA RAJA CHOLA the Great (985-1014) also called as Arulmozhi Varman (remember Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan),this is vouched by Tiruvalangadu Copper Plate Inscriptions which mentions the Chola Lineage,also according to the pioneer in Tamil History K.A.Nilakanta Sastri his mother was Vaanavan Mahadevi daughter of Malayaman Kaari dynasty of Tirukoilur.King Rajaraja Chola built the famed Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur,he accomplished many overseas victories,he was one of the best Chola kings (titled Mumudi Cholan) who established a powerful Chola Empire.Other important sites include Kabilar Kundru a mini hillock temple for Saint Kabilar on the river,nearby places include Killur,Manampoondi and Anthilli Temples,the first Danish Missionary Siloam Arcot Lutheren Church (1869). After a brief halt we next proceed towards Ulundurpettai,the Konenkuppam Periyanayagi Madha Shrine constructed by the great Jesuit priest Father Beschi (Viramamunivar) (1680-1742) is just few kilometers away,the most important place nearby is Koovagam where the Koothandavar Temple famous for its annual festival of transgender and transvestite individuals in the Tamil month of Chitrai (April/May).this festival has close association with Aravan Cult in Mahabharata,another landmark place is famous Parikal Narasimhar Temple,now crossing over the National Highways we reach Vridachallam one of few towns with a Sanskrit name in Tamilnadu,this route takes us through a few landmarks located in the nearby vicinity notable are Sethiyathope closely associated with Tamil Saint Vallar (1823-1874), ancient temple's of Srimushnam and Kattumanar Kovil,Veeranam Lake biggest in this part of the world are near to this place ... thus pedaling around 140km we reach the town of Cosmic Dancer the Thillai Natarajar of Chidambaram.Its mission accomplished, the evening sojourn to Chidambaram Temple is something to look forward ...
A glance from the hotel room window exquisitely exposes the call of Annamalaiyar and bustling early morning activity of this temple town,getting into the scheme of things the day begins with cycle check up,loading up the requirements for the ride since today the heritage sites to pass by are few and so its just going to be cycling all the way.Pedaling onto the State Highways that leads us to Tirukoilur,we reach this historic town located on the banks of River Pennaiyar,This was called the Nadunaadu and Chola's inscription's mention this place was located in Madurdaka Chaturvedhimangalam a subdivision of Kurukkai in Maladunadu,this place was under the Atiyaman Chieftains and was the capital of Malayaman as mentioned in Purananuru (2nd AD) through the writings of Avvaiyar (1st-2nd AD,incidentally an intimate friend to Atiyaman) and Paranar,the Satyaputra Inscription at Jambai near to this place mentions the ruler as Atiyaman Neduman Anchi. The Tiruvikrama Perumal Temple here is very ancient,the first three Alvars (Mudal Alvars,6th AD) met each other here according to the Vaishnava pantheon.It contains numerous inscriptions one is by Vira Rajendra Chola (1057-58) it mentions that Narasimha Verma a feudatory of Maladunadu reconstructed the central shrines of the temple with granite,it witnessed many activities by the on coming kingdoms till this place was used by the British as a fortress during the Carnatic Wars.Another historic place here is the Veerateshwarer Temple.But the most important information available is this was the birthplace of King RAJA RAJA CHOLA the Great (985-1014) also called as Arulmozhi Varman (remember Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan),this is vouched by Tiruvalangadu Copper Plate Inscriptions which mentions the Chola Lineage,also according to the pioneer in Tamil History K.A.Nilakanta Sastri his mother was Vaanavan Mahadevi daughter of Malayaman Kaari dynasty of Tirukoilur.King Rajaraja Chola built the famed Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur,he accomplished many overseas victories,he was one of the best Chola kings (titled Mumudi Cholan) who established a powerful Chola Empire.Other important sites include Kabilar Kundru a mini hillock temple for Saint Kabilar on the river,nearby places include Killur,Manampoondi and Anthilli Temples,the first Danish Missionary Siloam Arcot Lutheren Church (1869). After a brief halt we next proceed towards Ulundurpettai,the Konenkuppam Periyanayagi Madha Shrine constructed by the great Jesuit priest Father Beschi (Viramamunivar) (1680-1742) is just few kilometers away,the most important place nearby is Koovagam where the Koothandavar Temple famous for its annual festival of transgender and transvestite individuals in the Tamil month of Chitrai (April/May).this festival has close association with Aravan Cult in Mahabharata,another landmark place is famous Parikal Narasimhar Temple,now crossing over the National Highways we reach Vridachallam one of few towns with a Sanskrit name in Tamilnadu,this route takes us through a few landmarks located in the nearby vicinity notable are Sethiyathope closely associated with Tamil Saint Vallar (1823-1874), ancient temple's of Srimushnam and Kattumanar Kovil,Veeranam Lake biggest in this part of the world are near to this place ... thus pedaling around 140km we reach the town of Cosmic Dancer the Thillai Natarajar of Chidambaram.Its mission accomplished, the evening sojourn to Chidambaram Temple is something to look forward ...
References: K.A.Nilakanta Sastri " A History of South India", N.Subramanium "History of Tamilnadu" and Google Search
 |
| On the way to Chidambaram |
No comments:
Post a Comment