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International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences(IJRESS) Available online at: http://euroasiapub.org Vol. 8 Issue 2, February- 2018 ISSN(o): 2249-7382 | Impact Factor: 6.939 | A STUDY ON TIRUPPERUNTHURAI ATHMANATHASWAMY TEMPLE – A REVIEW Dr.W.ROSY GUEST LECTURER DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY GOVT. ARTS COLLEGE FOR WOMEN(AUTONOMOUS) PUDUKKOTTAI. INTRODUCTION Tirupperunthurai (also called the Athmanathaswamy temple) is located in Avudaiyarkoil. It is a Shaiva temple situated near Aranthangi in the Pudukkottai district of Tamil Nadu. One of the sacred books of Tamil Saiva Siddhanta, Manikkavacakar's Tiruvacakam, originated from this shrine. Manikkavacakar is said to have converted the king to the religion of Shiva and built the temple with money that had been intended for war-horses. The temple is supposed to have been built by Manickavasagar. Being the prime minister, he spent all the money given to him by the Varaguna Pandya II king to buy horses in building the temple.[7] As he was bereft of money, Shiva displayed one of his Thiruvilayadal(holy prank) by transforming foxes to horses and once they were given to the king became foxes. Varagunavarman II was a king of the Pandyan Dynasty whose reign lasted from 862 until 880 AD.He was the contemporary of the great Saivite saint and author Manikavasagar who wrote the epoch making book Tiruvasagam. Also he seems to be the later contemporary of the Jain revivalist saint Ajjanandi. The most significant event of his life is the battle of Kumbakonam or Thirupirambiyam. Thirupurambiyam is a small town near Tanjore in Tamil Nadu state of India. The battle was mainly between the Pallava king Aparajita and Pandya king Varaguna Pandian. After the Pallava king Nandivarman III died in 869 AD, the differences arose between his eldest son Nripatunga and another son Aparajit. The other forces in South India got involved in the family battle of the Pallavas. Nripatunga was supported by Pandians whereas Aparajita was supported by Pallava family members. Aparajita also got the support of Ganga king Prithvipathi I and Aditya Chola I. This battle should have happened in 879 AD. The Pandians were defeated in this battle. Although Pallavas won the battle, the Ganga king Prithvipathi was killed in the battle. Hence, the maximum benefit of victory went to the Chola king. Pallavas gave many regions around Tanjore from Mutharaiyars to Chola king as the token of appreciation. This incident led to revival of the Chola regime under the Vijayala line. International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences 121 Email:- [email protected], http://www.euroasiapub.org (An open access scholarly, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, monthly, and fully refereed journal.) International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences(IJRESS) Vol. 8 Issue 2, February- 2018 ISSN(o): 2249-7382 | Impact Factor: 6.939 ARCHITECTURE OF THE TEMPLE The presiding deity is formless (Atmanatar); there is no Shivalingam but only a pedestal {Avudayar} located in the sanctum, hence the name Avudayar Koil.[9] His consort is worshipped as Siva Yoga Nayaki (Yogambal) in iconless form. There is no Nandi bull icon. The God faces South in this temple ( Dakshinamurthy or Guru form). There is deep spiritual significance in the queerness. Hinduism allows deity worship only for beginners in the initial stage. As the devotee and his devotion matures, he has to realise the truth of formless. To illustrate the theology, the temple has been designed. This is the only Saivite shrine in whole of India to portray the supreme truth symbolically. Since the soul(athma) has no form, the deity is called Athmanathar.[ There are multiple halls in the temple that has exquisite carvings. Some of the notable halls are Panchakasra Mandapam, Natana Sabha, Deva Sabha, each of which is named after Shaivite theological terms. There are five lamps in the sanctum indicating the five time scales and 27 lamps indicating the 27 stars. The temple is noted for the zephyr(granite) roof work. The ceiling of the Kanga sabhai(golden hall) is a grandeur creation in stone. The ropes, rafters and nails all are made of granite. The bow wielding Muruga, Kali and Siva's rudra thandavam(wild dance) are the finest specimen in sculptural art. The composite columns of Virabhadra holding sword and horn are found be additions of the Vijayanayagara kings during the early 1500s. Similar columns of Virabhadra are found in Adikesava Perumal Temple at Thiruvattaru, Meenakshi Temple at Madurai, Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli, Kasi Viswanathar temple at Tenkasi, Krishnapuram Venkatachalapathy temple, Ramanathaswamytemple at Rameswaram, Soundararajaperumaltemple at Thadikombu, Srivilliputhur Andal temple, Srivaikuntanathan Permual temple at Srivaikuntam, Vaishnava Nambi and Thirukurungudivalli Nachiar temple at Thirukkurungudi. Many renovations have been carried out, much of the current structure dates to the fifteenth CCE. The temple covers an area of over 10 acres (40,000 m2) and faces south, constructed so that the setting sun strikes the sanctum even though it is cloistered within three circumambulatory paths. The thousand pillared hall has several delicately crafted pillars with depictions of the Oordhwa Tandavam of Shiva, Kaaraikkaal Ammaiyaar, Dhanurdhara Subramanya, etc. As at Chidambaram and Tiruvanaikoil, here Vedic rituals are performed, unlike the Sivachariyar or Adhisaivar temples who follow Agama rituals. In this case the temple is administered by Nambiar Brahmins – a class of Vaideeka Brahmins said to be descendants of Rowshayadana, a saint who originated from Agni, and were taught the Vedas by Atmanatar himself. They are said to number three hundred and are also called Munnothioruvar. This agnivesha is also famous International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences 122 Email:- [email protected], http://www.euroasiapub.org (An open access scholarly, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, monthly, and fully refereed journal.) International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences(IJRESS) Vol. 8 Issue 2, February- 2018 ISSN(o): 2249-7382 | Impact Factor: 6.939 author of a magnificent ancient medical treatise called agnivesha kalpasutra spanning 77000 verses that discusses treatment for many types of diseases and medicines. They are said to number three hundred and are also called Munnothioruvar. At Tirupperunthurai, as in Chidambaram temple, Aruvam is worshipped. Tirupperunthurai is also known as Kokozhi, Sivapuram, Akasha Kailasham, Vadavoor, Chatur-Veda-Mangalam and Adi Kailasam in Sangam literature and Atheetha Sabha as it has six Sabhas, the Kanaka Sabha, Chit Sabha, Sat Sabha, Ananda Sabha, Ratna Sabha and Deva Sabha in comparison to five Sabhas at Chidambaram. It is believed that Manikkavacakar himself built these six sabhas, and covered the Sabhas with 21600 plates of copper. Manikkavacakar or MaanikkaVaasagar was a 9th-century Tamil poet who wrote Tiruvasakam, a book of Shaiva hymns. He was one of the main authors of Saivite Tirumurai, his work forms one volume of the Tirumurai, the key religious text of Tamil language Shaiva Siddhanta. A minister to the Pandya king Varagunavarman II (c. 862 C.E. – 885 C.E.) (also called Arimarthana Pandiyan), he lived in Madurai. His work is a poetic expression of the joy of God-experience, the anguish of being separated from God. Although he is a prominent saint in Southern India, he is not counted among the sixty-three nayanars. HISTORY OF THE TEMPLE Many renovations have been carried out, much of the current structure dates to the fifteenth CCE. The temple covers an area of over 10 acres (40,000 m2) and faces south, constructed so that the setting sun strikes the sanctum even though it is cloistered within three circumambulatory paths. The thousand pillared hall has several delicately crafted pillars with depictions of the Oordhwa Tandavam of Shiva, Kaaraikkaal Ammaiyaar, Dhanurdhara Subramanya etc. The annual festivals celebrated here are Aani Tirumanjanam and Maargazhi Tiruvaadirai as in Chidambaram Nataraja Temple. Worship or Pooja is done six times a day. Nataraja Temple, also referred to as the Chidambaram Nataraja temple or Thillai Nataraja temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Nataraja – Shiva as the lord of dance – in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The temple has mythical roots and a Shiva shrine existed at the site when the town was known as Thillai. Chidambaram, the name of the city and the temple literally means "atmosphere of wisdom" or "clothed in thought", the temple architecture symbolizes the connection between the arts and spirituality, creative activity and the divine. The temple wall carvings display all the 108 karanas from the Natya Shastra by Bharata Muni, and these postures form a foundation of Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance. REFERENCES International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences 123 Email:- [email protected], http://www.euroasiapub.org (An open access scholarly, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, monthly, and fully refereed journal.) International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences(IJRESS) Vol. 8 Issue 2, February- 2018 ISSN(o): 2249-7382 | Impact Factor: 6.939 1. http://tnmaps.tn.nic.in/vill.php?dcode=22¢code=0009&tlkname=Avudayarkoil%2 0%20332209 2. http://pudukkottai.nic.in/taluks-avkoil.htm 3. http://tnmaps.tn.nic.in/district.php 4. http://pudukkottai.nic.in/blocks-avkoil.htm 5. Das, Sisir Kumar; Akademi, Sahitya (1991). A History of Indian Literature. Sahitya Akademi. p. 574. ISBN 81-7201-006-0. Retrieved 2008-06-01. 6. Footprint India.Roma Bradnock 7. V., Meena. Temples in South India. Kanniyakumari: Harikumar Arts. p. 18. 8. Smith, David (2003). The Dance of Siva: Religion, Art and Poetry in South India. Cambridge University Press. p. 230. ISBN 0-521-52865-8. Retrieved 2008-06-01. International Journal of Research in Economics & Social Sciences 124 Email:- [email protected], http://www.euroasiapub.org (An open access scholarly, peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary, monthly, and fully refereed journal.) .