Temples of Munnur (Historical Study)
by R. Muthuraman | 2016 | 67,784 words
This essay represents a historical study of the Temples in and around Munnur, situated in the Dakshina Kannada district in the state Karnataka (India). Munnur is regarded as an important religious city for the followers of both Shaivism and Vaishnavism. The ancient history of Munnur traces to the reign of the Chola, from whom the city derives it's ...
Introduction: Munnur Society
The temples performed multifarious activities in and around their precincts during the medieval period. The temples extended their helping hands to the surrounding masses in various ways viz., from their needs, promotion and the preservation of the various ancient arts.The temples not only catered to the physical needs of the people but also to their mental peace and spiritual elevation. The Brahman had a greater opportunity in conducting spiritual rites and had education in Sanskrit language, where also as the lower caste men had their employment in manual labour. Several records reveal the fact that educational opportunities were open to the Brahmanas in these temples.
Any how people from all classes united to gather in promotion and preservation of the ancient traditions. Therefore these temples stood as spiritual centre, centre for mental peace, courts of justice, and center of learning, libraries, public record offices, centre of art and culture, employer, consumer, banks and feeding centre. This chapter throws light on the multifarious activities particularly the society of Munnur in detailed manner.
Temple as a Centre of Social life
The temples played a vital role in the social life of the people during the medieval period. In fact social life centered on the temples. The temples were not only spiritual center or places of worship, but also a powerful social entity. The temples were served as a smallest unit of administrative body exercised with the full co-operation of the local people. The inscriptions of Adavalleswarar temple and Arulala Perumal temple at Munnur describe the social structure of the village Munnur on those days. They enjoyed a devoted patronage from the rulers, chieftains, their subordinates and the public.
Social Structure of the Society
During the medieval period the Tamil society was become a castebased society. The Process of Ariyanisation and Varnashrama system[1] was assimilated in to Tamil tradition. Several inscriptions of Munnur reveal their social structures, viz., the Brahmanas, the Vellalas, the sub-castes, the status of women the Devadasis, and the endowments made by Women on par with men to the temples of those days.