Vanamamalai Perumal Temple, Nanguneri – History
The temple has many inscriptions, the earliest of
which is from 1236 CE. The inscription is from the period of Sundara
Pandya I indicate
a gift from him on the occasion of Adi Puram. Another inscription from 1275
from Kulasekara
I indicates the details of
tax collection in the region. The inscription on the Eastern Gopuram from the
period of Sundara
Pandya II in
1284 indicates gift of land to the temple. The gift of Vikrama
Pandya III is
inscribed on the northern wall in 1299. A gift of money to sculpt the image of
Sadagopar in 1305 is found in the Eastern wall in the second precinct. From the
Vijayanagara rulers, the temple came under the administration of kings of
Travancore. A sanyasi named Pushpanjali was entrusted with the
donations from the kings.
During 1447, the temple came under the
administration of Vanamamalai Mutt. The first pontiff of the temple arranged
for the installation of the idol of the consort of Vanamamalai from Tirupathi.
The Namboodris were also replaced by the priests from Tirupathi during the
period. During the 17th century, the then pontiff sought the help of the ruling
Naik king to resolve local disputes. During 1794, the Nawab of Carnatic, Abdul
Umra, endowed extensive lands to the Mutt. The presiding deity is called Devapiran
as he is believed to have married Varamangai, the daughter of the pontiff of
Vanamamalai Mutt. The temple is maintained and administered by the pontiff in
modern times.