Sunday, February 21, 2016

Kalyanasundaresar Temple, Nallur – History

Kalyanasundaresar Temple, Nallur – History
The 7th century Nayanar saints Sambandar and Appar wrote of the temple in their poetic work, Tevaram. The original masonry and towers date back to the 9th century CE, as seen from an inscription in the structure made by Chola kings. The Chola kings ruled over the region for more than four centuries, from 850 CE to 1280 CE, and were temple patrons. 
The temple complex dates from the time of the 10th century AD Medieval Chola king Uttama Chola whose inscriptions are found in its walls. An inscription dated to the fifteenth year of Raja Raja Chola makes a reference to "Panchavanmahadevi chaturvedimangalam", which is another name for Nallur.
There are also inscription by Later Chola kings and by Hoysala monarchs. The inscriptions from the Chola kings record various gifts like land, sheep, cow and oil to the temple commemorating various victories of the dynasty. There are lots of inscriptions from the Sangama Dynasty (1336–1485 CE), Saluva Dynasty, and Tuluva Dynasty (1491–1570 CE) of the Vijayanagara Empire, reflecting gifts to the temple from their rulers. 
The majority of the gift related inscriptions are for land endowments, followed by goods, cash endowments, cows and oil for lighting lamps. The temple has been maintained by the Tiruvaduthurai Adheenam from the early part of the 13th century.