Syambulingeswarar Temple, Sivapuripatti, Sivaganga
Syambulingeswarar
Temple is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva located at Sivapuripatti, a small
village located in Sivagangai District of Tamilnadu, India. This place is blessed with bright natural
scenery. The nearest town to this village is Singampunari. It is located at a distance of 60 km from the
city of Madurai in Tamilnadu.
It is
also believed that the village could have been among the 300 hamlets that
constituted the kingdom of Pari. The Sangam literature sings the glory of
Piranmalai which is close by and Sivapuripatti could have very well been a part
of Pari nadu.
The
Temple
The idol
of Lord Shiva in this shrine is believed to be a Swayambhu (self-originated). Lord
Shiva is an
important deity for the Hindu mythology, is worshipped from times immemorial, and
is still popular as ever. In this shrine, apart from Lord
Shiva, deities of Lord
Vinayaka, Lord
Muruga, Chandikeshwarar
and Navagraha are housed. Also there is a separate temple for
Amman (Goddess) adjacent to it, with a pond in front. A Karuppar idol
is located in between these 2 temples.
Another
rare idol found in the temple is that of Jyeshta Devi, along with Nandikeswarar
and Agni. This can only be found in Pandya period temples. Jyeshta Devi was the
clan-deity of Pandyas and symbolizes fertility. The temple reflects both Pandya
and Chola architectural elements. The short vimana is a trademark style of the
medieval Pandyas.
Inscriptions
Over 60
inscriptions can be found on the stone walls of this 1000-year-old Shiva temple
in Sivapuripatti. There are four inscriptions by Kulothunga-I Chola. Few
Inscriptions date to the reigns of medieval Pandya kings Srivallaba, Parakrama,
Kulasekara, Sundara and Vikrama Pandya. Some also refer to Vijayanagara kings
like Achutharaya and Nagama Nayaka and the much later Polygars such as Vijaya
Ragunatha Sethupathi of Ramnad and the Marudu Brothers of Sivaganga.
One of
the inscriptions records the existence of 10 dancers in the temple and a
nattuvangar who choreographed the performances during festivals. Another refers
to a peace treaty signed between two clans that ruled the region – Nishada
Rajans of Pon Amaravathy and Dwarapati Velans. It elaborates on the practice of
giving lands in charity to families of martyrs.
Yet
another inscription talks about how King Maravarman Sundara Pandya installed an
idol of his predecessor Moothanayagan in the temple premises. The Inscriptions
state that Sivapuripatti was called Nirubasekara Chaturvedi
Mangalam and Chola Marthanda Chaturvedi Mangalam during various
eras.
Connectivity
Sivapuripatti
is located in Sivagangai District of Tamilnadu, India. The nearest town to this village is Singampunari. It is located at a distance of 60 km from the city
of Madurai in Tamilnadu. Sivapuripatti is well-connected
by road. Sivapuripatti is two kilometres from Singampunari and can be reached
via Kottampatti.
Madurai Junction has direct connection to Mumbai, Chennai and many other important towns in India. From the railway station, a taxi could be hired to
reach this place.
Madurai Airport is around 60 km from Sivapuripatti
and serves many of the regional airlines in India. People could get there via Chennai International Airport that has frequent services
to Madurai. From the Madurai airport, taxi could be hired to reach this place.
