Thursday, September 1, 2016

Syambulingeswarar Temple, Sivapuripatti, Sivaganga

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 VinayakaLord 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 MumbaiChennai 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.