Kalahasteeswara Swamy Temple, Sri Kalahasthi – Inscriptions
Sri
Kalahasteeswara temple has a recorded history that goes back to a minimum of
1600 years and is closely associated with the “unparalleled devotion” of
hunter-prince Kannappa to Lord Shiva. “Kannappa devotion is an outstanding
story in the Saivite literature and he is venerated as one of the 63 Saivite
Nayanmars (saints)”. Srikalahasteeswara temple held a special appeal for the
Chola kings, who lavished it with gifts and kept expanding it with additional
structures and converted it into a big complex that it is today.
The
temple complex abounds in lithic records (stone inscriptions) of Chola kings
such as Rajaditya (regnal years 947-949 CE), Raja Raja Chola (regnal years
985-1014 CE), his son Rajendra Chola (1012-1044 CE), his son Rajadhiraja
(1018-1054 CE), Kulottunga I (1070-1120 CE) and Kulothunga III (1178-1218 CE). The
temple is also replete with the inscriptions of later Pandyas and almost all
the rulers belonging to the Vijayanagara dynasty. While the inscriptions of the
Chola and the Pandya kings are in Tamil, those of the Vijayanagara dynasty are
in Telugu. The story of Kannappa is fully told in a long inscription of the
Cholas.
The
inscriptions of the Chola and Pandya rulers provide a wealth of information on
the donations they made to the temple for its maintenance, for performing pujas
and celebrating festivals. During the Chola rule, Sri Kalahasti fell under the
revenue division of Attrur Nadu of Perumbanaipadi, which was a sub-division of
Tiruvenkata Kottam (Tiruvenkata Circle) under the larger division of Jayamkonda
Chola Mandalam. Raja Raja Chola had a soft corner for the Srikalahasteeswara
temple and the emperor had sent a golden diadem to the deity from his capital
of Thanjavur, which was carried with veneration by his army commander and officials.
The
temple has bronze portrait sculptures of Chola Mahadevi, one of the queens of
Raja Raja Chola, and of Kulothunga III, with inscriptions on their pedestals. Raja
Raja Chola founded a big commercial centre near Sri Kalahasti under the name
Mummudi Cholapuram. This commercial centre was in existence for more than 500
years and was active even up to 1600 CE – till the decline of the Vijayanagara
empire. The temple has an interesting inscription which refers to a Brahmin
from a village called Tiruindalaur, near Mayiladuthurai (Tamilnadu), who made
donations to the temple.
Recently,
an 85-copper plate charter issued by Rajendra Chola and 12 exquisitely
beautiful bronzes were unearthed from the Kailasanathar temple premises at
Kazhukkanimuttam in Tiruindalaur. Another interesting inscription is about a
local chieftain who killed 150 tigers in the forests around the hills and
protected the people from attacks by the animal. This inscription in Tamil,
dated to Saka year 1289 (that is 1367 CE), refers to “Valli Arasan, the lord of
Ayodhyapuram,” who killed 150 tigers and also assumed a title.
There is
an inscription in Telugu, of Krishnadeva Raya, which clearly states that it was
he who built the Rajagopuram of the temple. This lithic record is inscribed on
the western wall of the second prakara (corridor) and is dated to Saka year
1438 (that is, 1516 CE). The dhamma Shasanam (inscription) talks about how
Sri Krishnadeva Maharayalu built the peddha gopuramu (the big tower)
for the Lord in “Sri Kalahastiswarani temple.” There are inscriptions that talk
about local chieftains who had the title “Yadavaraya” and controlled the area
around Sri Kalahasti. Called “Sri Kalahasti deva,” they were proud
that they were devotees of both Sri Venkatachalapathy of Tirumala and Sri
Kalahasti Natha.
The Nagarathaar
community (Nattukkottai Chettiars) of Devakottai in Tamilnadu have liberally
donated for Sri Kalahasteeswara temple’s maintenance. There is a temple called
Sri Mani Gangisvara (Sri Manikanteswara) temple behind the main temple complex
and it dates back to the Raja Raja Chola period. On the rock surface near this
temple is a series of beautiful bas reliefs, representing various manifestations
of Lord Siva. Unfortunately, they have been garishly painted over in a riot of
polychromatic colours.