Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvottriyur – Inscriptions
There
are several inscriptions inside the temple dating back to Pallava period. Stone
inscription from variegated sources proliferate the temple, bearing testimony
to the eloquence of the royal patronage extended to this temple. Stone
inscription from variegated sources proliferate the temple, bearing testimony
to the eloquence of the royal patronage extended to this temple. All the
information from these stone inscriptions have been collected and published by
the Tamil Nadu Government as documents in the collection “South
Indian Temple Inscriptions” and in the collection "Epigraphia
Indica".
Stone
inscriptions which belong to the periods of the Chola kings, Madurai Konda
Gopura Kesarivarmam, Utthama Chola Devan, Raja Raja Chola I, Rajendra Chola I,
Rajadhiraja Chola I and Kulothunga Chola I have been found. From the Pallava
period, inscriptions from the periods of Vijaya Abarajitha Potharaiyar,
Kovijaya Niruthungavarmar and Kovijaya Kamba Varma have been found. Among the
Pandyas, inscriptions from the periods of Jatavarma or Thirubhuvana
Chakravarthy Sundara Pandian have been located.
From the
Rashtrakutas, inscriptions bearing the name of the king of Kanchi and Tanjore,
King Kannara Devan have been seen. Inscriptions from the Vijayanagar Kingdoms
that have been found are said to belong to the reigns of Sayanna Udaiyar,
Devaraja’s son Punnana Udaiyar and Veerappradaba Devaraja Maharayar. Stone
inscription from the Sambuvarayar dynasty belong to the reign of Sakalabhuvana
Chakravarthy Raja Narayana Sambuvarayar.
Kambar
learnt the Ramayana from Pandit Sathuranana all day and composed poems in Tamil
by night. Pandit Sathuranana, a Keralite, was well versed in many languages. He
was a student of Niranjana Devar, who had been training several students on the
precepts of Saivism. During the tenth year of the rule of the Pallava King
Kovijayakamba Varma, son of Nandivarma III, he incepted the temple Niranjana
Devechuram at Thiruvottriyur. He donated several lands for this temple. Pandit
Sathuranana joined as a disciple of Niranjana Devar.
He was a
friend of the Rashtrakuta King Vallaba, when young. Later, he came to Chola
Nadu and assisted King Rajaditya Chola. In a battle that ensued between the
kings, Rajaditya Chola killed King Vallaba. Heartbroken after this incident,
Sathuranana renounced the world to become an ascetic. A stone inscription dated
to the times of the twentieth year of the rule of Krishnadevaraya III gives
this information. After Niranjana Devar’s demise, Sathuranana became the head
of the institution and others who followed him named themselves by the same
name. Therefore, there is a profusion of Pandit Sathurananas in various stone
inscriptions between 10 A.D. and 12 A.D.
Stone
inscriptions say that many disciples studied various scriptures at the
Sathuranana madam. Kambar learnt Valmiki’s Ramayana from him. Legends say that
Kannagi who burnt Madurai appeared as Vattapparai Amman before Kamban with a
torch of fire and bade him to compose a poem on her. The Pandit Sathurananas
during the reigns of the Chola kings Rajendra I and Kulothunga I were well
versed in their subject. A stone inscription says that Pandit Sathuranana, who
owns the Sathuranana madam and the crematory grounds of Thiruvottriyur gave King
Rajendra I,450 coins on his birthday. The same reference is made in several
other inscriptions.
Sage
Vakkesa came from Kodambakkam and taught Saiva Siddanta to the students at Thiruvottriyur.
During the ninth year of the reign of King Rajadhiraja II, the Panguni Uthiram
festival conducted at Thiruvottriyur. The king had also attended this festival.
On the sixth day, the representation of Padampakka Nathar was placed under the
stalavriksha. On the same day, the ‘Aalludai Nambi Sripuranam’ was presented.
Amongst those who were present were Sage Vakeesa and Pandit Sathuranana. Sage
Vakeesa is said to have given an explication of the Purana. Besides this, Sage
Vakeesa has written a book titled ‘Gangaamirtham’ which explains the nuances of
Saiva Siddanta and gives an in-depth analysis of the subject. This book is
considered an authority even today.
The
inscription dating 954 CE, the fifth year of the Chola King Gandaraditya
indicates that 90 sheep were gifted for burning lamps and ilavilaku, a lamp
made in Sri Lanka. The inscriptions dating from 1046 CE reveal that the 64
bronze Nayanmar (Shaivite Devotees) statues were installed in the temple. There
were equal number of dancing girls called Devadasi in the temple, who were
divided into two groups - the Valankai Dasis danced for Sri Thyagaraja, while
the Idangai dasis danced for Goddess Sri Vadivudaiamman.
