Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvottriyur – Inscriptions

Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvottriyur – Inscriptions
There are several inscriptions inside the temple dating back to Pallava period. Stone inscription from variegated sources proliferate the temple, bearing testimony to the eloquence of the royal patronage extended to this temple. Stone inscription from variegated sources proliferate the temple, bearing testimony to the eloquence of the royal patronage extended to this temple. All the information from these stone inscriptions have been collected and published by the Tamil Nadu Government as documents in the collection “South Indian Temple Inscriptions” and in the collection "Epigraphia Indica".
Stone inscriptions which belong to the periods of the Chola kings, Madurai Konda Gopura Kesarivarmam, Utthama Chola Devan, Raja Raja Chola I, Rajendra Chola I, Rajadhiraja Chola I and Kulothunga Chola I have been found. From the Pallava period, inscriptions from the periods of Vijaya Abarajitha Potharaiyar, Kovijaya Niruthungavarmar and Kovijaya Kamba Varma have been found. Among the Pandyas, inscriptions from the periods of Jatavarma or Thirubhuvana Chakravarthy Sundara Pandian have been located.
From the Rashtrakutas, inscriptions bearing the name of the king of Kanchi and Tanjore, King Kannara Devan have been seen. Inscriptions from the Vijayanagar Kingdoms that have been found are said to belong to the reigns of Sayanna Udaiyar, Devaraja’s son Punnana Udaiyar and Veerappradaba Devaraja Maharayar. Stone inscription from the Sambuvarayar dynasty belong to the reign of Sakalabhuvana Chakravarthy Raja Narayana Sambuvarayar.
Kambar learnt the Ramayana from Pandit Sathuranana all day and composed poems in Tamil by night. Pandit Sathuranana, a Keralite, was well versed in many languages. He was a student of Niranjana Devar, who had been training several students on the precepts of Saivism. During the tenth year of the rule of the Pallava King Kovijayakamba Varma, son of Nandivarma III, he incepted the temple Niranjana Devechuram at Thiruvottriyur. He donated several lands for this temple. Pandit Sathuranana joined as a disciple of Niranjana Devar.
He was a friend of the Rashtrakuta King Vallaba, when young. Later, he came to Chola Nadu and assisted King Rajaditya Chola. In a battle that ensued between the kings, Rajaditya Chola killed King Vallaba. Heartbroken after this incident, Sathuranana renounced the world to become an ascetic. A stone inscription dated to the times of the twentieth year of the rule of Krishnadevaraya III gives this information. After Niranjana Devar’s demise, Sathuranana became the head of the institution and others who followed him named themselves by the same name. Therefore, there is a profusion of Pandit Sathurananas in various stone inscriptions between 10 A.D. and 12 A.D.
Stone inscriptions say that many disciples studied various scriptures at the Sathuranana madam. Kambar learnt Valmiki’s Ramayana from him. Legends say that Kannagi who burnt Madurai appeared as Vattapparai Amman before Kamban with a torch of fire and bade him to compose a poem on her. The Pandit Sathurananas during the reigns of the Chola kings Rajendra I and Kulothunga I were well versed in their subject. A stone inscription says that Pandit Sathuranana, who owns the Sathuranana madam and the crematory grounds of Thiruvottriyur gave King Rajendra I,450 coins on his birthday. The same reference is made in several other inscriptions.
Sage Vakkesa came from Kodambakkam and taught Saiva Siddanta to the students at Thiruvottriyur. During the ninth year of the reign of King Rajadhiraja II, the Panguni Uthiram festival conducted at Thiruvottriyur. The king had also attended this festival. On the sixth day, the representation of Padampakka Nathar was placed under the stalavriksha. On the same day, the ‘Aalludai Nambi Sripuranam’ was presented. Amongst those who were present were Sage Vakeesa and Pandit Sathuranana. Sage Vakeesa is said to have given an explication of the Purana. Besides this, Sage Vakeesa has written a book titled ‘Gangaamirtham’ which explains the nuances of Saiva Siddanta and gives an in-depth analysis of the subject. This book is considered an authority even today.
The inscription dating 954 CE, the fifth year of the Chola King Gandaraditya indicates that 90 sheep were gifted for burning lamps and ilavilaku, a lamp made in Sri Lanka. The inscriptions dating from 1046 CE reveal that the 64 bronze Nayanmar (Shaivite Devotees) statues were installed in the temple. There were equal number of dancing girls called Devadasi in the temple, who were divided into two groups - the Valankai Dasis danced for Sri Thyagaraja, while the Idangai dasis danced for Goddess Sri Vadivudaiamman.