Temples in Arakandanallur

Oppilamanisvara temple

Arakandanallur in the Tirukkoyilur taluk of the South Arcot district has been celebrated by Tirujnanasambandar in a decad of verses, where the place is described under the name of Araiyani nallur, which means “the place adorned by the rock”; this is also the form in which this place is described in the several inscriptions found in this temple. But the name of the deity in the inscriptions is Opporuvarumillada Nayanar, which means ‘the Lord who is unequalled or incomparable’. This name, however, does not find mention in the Devaram hymns.

(I) The cave temple

The main temple of Oppilamanisvara is located on the top of a great hummock of rock on the northern bank of the river Pennai, and close by on its eastern side is a small declivity where there is an unfinished rock-cut cave consisting only of two aisles; the quality of the rock naturally found here and in which these aisles have been excavated is poor, with the result, perhaps, the main cells for housing the deities of this incomplete shrine were never possibly excavated. The cave would appear to belong to the Pallava period but in the absence of any epigraphical evidence, little more could be said about it.

(II) The central shrine

The main temple consists of the central shrine, with two mandapas in front, one of them being known as the Navaratri mandapa; the temple is encompassed in a compound wall which thus provides the prakara; adjoining the wall is a pillared raised verandah; in the south-eastern corner of it is the kitchen; there is a second prakara in which is located the utsava mandapa; in addition there is a shrine for Amman with a verandah in front of it.

From an incomplete record (ARE 118 of J934-35) found engraved on a rock in the first prakara of the temple, dated in the 24th year of Rajaraja I, registering a gift of sheep for burning a lamp in the temple of Opporuvarumillada Nayanar at nallur we may be led to assume that, this being the earliest record in this temple, the latter should have come into existence by or been in existence before the 24th year of Rajaraja I with perhaps only one wall of enclosure. The central shrine was completely renovated in the 32nd year of the reign of Kulottunga III (a.d. 1210) by a certain Pattanasvami of Pandimandalam.

The relevant inscription (ARE 387 of 1902) reads as follows:

Svasti Sri Tribhuvana Chakravartin Sri Kulottungasola devarkku yandu 32-avadu, Irajaraja Pennai vadagarai Udaikkattu nattu yani-nallur udaiyar Opporuvarumillada nayanar koyil it-tirukkarrali saattuvittan Pandimandalattu Vadavellarru Attamburil Attamburudaiyan Tirukkalatti Udaiyan Aduvanan Pattanasvami (SII, VI, 1019; ARE 387 of 1902).

In the process of pulling down the original structure the care of the Sembiyan age was no longer exercised; and thus we have lost much of the valuable information which must have been recorded on the walls of the original structure. The present central shrine will thus be ascribable to the age of Kulottunga III. From inscription ARE 390 of 1902, we learn that in the 11th year of Kulottunga III, an image of the Goddess was set up.

(III) The navaratri mandapa

The mandapa in front of the central shrine and the Navaratri mandapa should have come into existence during the early part of the reign of Kulottunga I as they bear inscriptions in large numbers of Kulottunga I and Vikrama Chola, which are found engraved on the north-west and south walls of the former as well as on the east wall of the latter.

We learn from a record relating to the 46th year of Kulottunga I that a gift was made of the receipts from taxes levied on the lands and residents of Virasolanallur, a devadana village in Kiliyur, by Malaiyaman^[1] Nanurruvan Malaiyan alias Rajendra-sola Chediyarayan for the purpose of worship and lamps to the God Dakshinamurti deva set up by him in the temple (a.d. 1116). The gift was made on the day of the asterism Uttiram which was the natal star of the donor. We have a few records relating to the period of Kopperunjinga as well. A ninth year record of Kulottunga III (ARE 135 of 1934-35) refers to a gift of tax-free land called Kannanedal in Devanpur by Attimallan Edirilisola Vanak-kovaraiyan for the daily worship of the goddess Palliyarai Nach-chiyar consecrated by Malaiyan alias Kulottungasola Chediyarayan of Kiliyur in the temple of Opporuvarumillada Nayanar at Tiruvaraiyaninallur alias Virasolanallur in Udaikkattu nadu.

(IV) The nritta mandapa

A Malaiyaman Chief, Periya Udaiyan Iraiyuran Sarrukudadan, a contemporary of Rajadhiraja II and Kulottunga III, was among the more well-known Malaiyaman chiefs, who contributed to the temples of their area. Known also as Rajaraja Chedirayan alias Vanniyarayan, he built the Nritta mandapa in the temple of Opporuvarumillada Nayanar here (ARE 171 of 1934-35). An inscription at Kollur (ARE 204 of 1934-35) mentions that his wife, Kudi-uyyavandal, instituted a festival in the month of Aippasi in this temple.

(V) Amman shrine

On the east wall of the mandapa in front of the Amman shrine in this temple, right of the entrance, is a record of the fourth year of Tribhuvanachakravartin Vijayarajendra deva (i.e., Rajendra III) which mentions that a shrine for the goddess Ponmnaiyar in the temple of Opporuvarumillada Nayanar was built of stone in the 39th year of Tribhuvanavira deva and that one Atti Tiruvan-namalai Udaiyan alias Irungolan of Kurukadu made a gift of the taxes from Perunilaiyar-nallur for the expenses of providing worship in that shrine. This shrine should therefore be dated in a.d. 1216-17. It is possible that this native of Pandi-mandalam held some important position in this outlying province, to which/ Pandyan influence had by then extended.

(VI) The utsava mandapa

The Utsava mandapa in the second prakara of this temple belongs to the 14th century as seen from a record dated in the tenth regnal year of Maravarman Tribhuvanachakravartin Sundara Pandya and found on the east wall of the Utsava mandapa; and similarly the eastern gopuram has to be assigned to the 15th century a.d. on paleographical grounds; a record on the east wall of the gopuram mentions that the “gopuram of the temple of Oppilada Nayinar was the gift of Goppu Nayakarayyan, Valu Nayakar, Bommanar Bappu Nayakar and Nagama Nayakarayyan.”

(VII) The na taraja shrine

There is a shrine dedicated to Nataraja in the north verandah in the first prakara of the temple. There are two records found on the lintel of the entrance to the shrine and on the south wall of the shrine respectively; we learn that this shrine was built by one Kuttanjayasingadevanof Tirukkottiyur. The latter record, which begins with the introduction samastabhuvanaikavira etc., has to be assigned to the period of Vikrama Pandya and records that Alvan Kuttan Jayasingadevan of Tirukkottiyur in Keralasinga valanadu, a district of Pandi mandalam built this shrine (tvruvarangu). From a fragmentary record of this Pandyan ruler found in this temple, we learn that a gift was made to the god for the success of his digvijaya. This may refer to the extensive wars of conquest that he undertook early in his reign, after which he gave himself the title of samastabhuvanaikavira. Taking Vikrama Pandya’s accession as in a.d. 1269, we may presume that the Nataraja shrine came into existence in a.d. 1273 (i.e., almost towards the end of the Chola rule (Rajendra Ill’s period). Apart from building this shrine, the same Alvan Kuttan Jayasingadevan also built a portion of the tiru-nadai-maligai in this temple and named the same Vikrama Pandyan Tirunadai. This label ‘Vikrama Pandyan’ is found engraved on all the pillars of the circumambu-latory verandah.

Thus the Oppilamanisvara temple at Arakandanallur received attention at the hands of the Cholas and the Later Pandyas, as well as the local Chiefs. Dating back to the Devaram days, and beginning with a simple structure in the days of Rajaraja I, it underwent major expansion during the Later Chola period culminating in finer additions by the Pandyan and Vijayanagara kings.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See Appendix to this section for a note on the Kiliyur Malaiyaman Chiefs.