Erumbeeswarar Temple, Thiruverumbur – History
Erumbeeswarar
Temple is an ancient temple. This 1300-year-old temple’s unique feature is that
Lord Shiva’s form is Erumbeeswarar, a Lingam in the form of an ant. Erumbeeswarar
Temple, locally known as the Kailash of South India, is the 7th Shiva shrine on
the southern banks of River Cauvery. It is revered by the Tevaram hymns of
Saiva Nayanars, the 7th century Tamil saint poets. It was mentioned and praised
in the Thevaram hymns of Saint Tirugnanasambandar. It comes under the
classification of ‘Paadal Petra Sthalam’ or shrines mentioned in the classical
Tamil songs.
Erumbeeswarar
temple in its current form was built by the Chola king Aditya
I (871-907 CE). Aditya won a battle in Thiruppurambiyam
and to commemorate the victory, he built a series of temples along the banks of
the river Cauvery. The temple has 49 inscriptions from the Chola
period (850-1280 CE). The inscriptions numbered 101, 104, 105, 127, 130 and 133
of 1914 are believed to be inscribed during the 5th to 7th year of the reign of
Aditya and hence believed to be between 882 and 885 CE.
Another
set of inscriptions from the Sundara
Chola (957-970 CE) period
indicate gift of land to maintain four signs of Tirupadigam. One
another inscription indicates the donation of ten kalanchu (a
measure) of gold to the deity by a temple woman in the year 875 CE. A king by
name Siruthavur Sembian Veithi Velan from Kiliyurnadu is believed to have constructed
the vimana (structure over the sanctum).
The
temple was the only temple that Malik
Kafur (1296-1316 CE) could
not conquer in 1311 CE, during his South Indian expedition. The temple is
a declared monument of the Archaeological Survey of India on account of the
inscriptions in the temple. During the war between British & French during 1752, the
temple acted as an infantry for the French troops. In modern times, the
temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board
of the Government of Tamilnadu.
