Nellaiappar Temple – History
According to the Puranas, both the Gopurams were built
by Muluthukanda Rama Pandiyan and the other important parts of the temple were
constructed by Nindraseer Nedumaran who reigned in the 7th century A.D. The Mani
mandapam with its famous musical pillar was built by Nindraseer Nedumaran in
the 7th century A.D. Originally the Nellaiappar and Kanthimathi temples were
two independent structures with spaces in between. It was in 1647 A.D. that
Thiru Vadamalaiappa Pillaiyan, a great devotee of Siva linked the two temples
by building the "Chain mandapam".
To the western portion of the chain mandapam is the
flower garden that was set up in 1756 A.D. by Thiruvengadakrishna Mudaliar. In
the centre of the Flower Garden is a square Vasantha Mandapam with 100 pillars.
The Nandi mandapam is said to have been built by Sivanthiappa Nayak in 1654
A.D. The flag stand near the Nandi was set up in 1155 A.D.
There are a number of stone inscriptions in the temple.
The most important of them are those Veerapandian who regained about 950 A.D.
and those of Rajendran I and Kulothunga chola I. The inscriptions of Maravarman
Sundara Pandiyan refer to the Lord as "Wodeyar" and
"Wodeyanayanar" and the Goddess as "Nachiar". From the
inscriptions of Kulasekara Pandiyan we learnt that he defeated the Chera, Chola
and Hoysala kings and built the outer walls of the temple with the war booty.
Siva is said to have been worshipped by Agastya in a
bamboo grove and by Rama after having killed Mareecha some nine miles away at
Manoor. There is also a shrine to Vishnu near the sanctum, signifying the
belief that Nellai Govindan (Vishnu) visited Tirunelveli to officiate the
divine marriage of Shiva and Kanthimathi. A little south of Swami Nellaiappar
Gopuram stands the Gopuram of Arultharum Kanthimathi Ambal temple. It was here,
where composer Sri Muthuswami Dikshithar composed the Carnatic song 'Sri
Kanthimatheem' in Hemavathi Ragam.
