Chandramouleeswarar Temple, Arungundram – History
The Temples
of Chandramouleeswarar atop Hariharan Kundram, which had its
heyday once, was in ruins. The walls and vimana was in a highly dilapidated state. There were
no traces of the parivara devatas, ghoshta devatas and Sannadhi
of Parvathi Thiripurasundari. The only part that has survived is the
beautiful Chandramouleeswarar lingam. As the villagers made an appeal to
the Hariharan
Kundram Trust,
the renovation of this temple had taken place and has been renovated recently.
There were 108 Siva temples around this village. As the hill is
called Hariharan Kundram, it is surmised that there could have been a
temple for Hari(Vishnu) on the hill.
During the rule of Pallava dynasty (400 - 800 AD), Arungundram was a place
of busy activities. Jain Monks and Nuns lived in the hillocks near Arungundram.
Thirupaan Malai, in the outskirts of the village, had a dormitory of Jain Nuns.
There are seven cave temples in the hills, belonging to Nandivarma Pallava
period (740 AD). The hillock and the caves are now known as
"Panchapandavar malai" in Tamil. There is also a cavern atop the hill with a
spring. Sculpted figures of the famous monk Naganandhi and a Jain Yakshi are
seen near the spring. An inscription near the figure says "Naranan has
carved the figure of Pon Iyakki (Yakshi) for his guru Naganandhi during the
reign of Nandivarma Pothatharasar"
Another inscription belonging to Chola period tells
about the donation of a village Kooraganpadi, by a kind of Lada country, Veera
Cholan and his queen. Hearsay tells about a palace at the Malligai Medu village
(Lalaimedu) to the west of Arungundram. It is also believed that there existed
108 Siva temples in and around Arungundram village and the hills. Even now one
can see remnants of Siva temples and lingams scattered all around the paddy
fields of Arungundram. These temples are believed to have been damaged during
the Carnatic War between Arcot Nawab Chanda Saheb and East India
Company in
the middle of 18th century. The invasion of Hyder Ali is also believed to have
caused major damage to the temples around Arcot including Arungundram.
A dilapidated temple of Siva, Chandramouleeswarar Temple atop Hariharan
Kundram, a
temple of Sri Dharmeswarar at the heart of the village and a temple of Sri
Venugopala Swamy still exist in spite of invasions and wars. The Ponniamman
temple with shrines for Saptha Matrikas is revered as the Guardian Angel of the
village and a footprint of the Ponniamman on a rock is still worshipped by the
villagers. After the Arcot wars, most of the villages of erstwhile North Arcot
districts were badly ruined. People began migrating in search of jobs, safety,
education and to preserve their culture.
A few joined the army of Arcot Nawab and East India
Company, and
others continued to work for daily wages in nearby Vellore and Walajah. Years later, the descendants of
those who left Arungundram two centuries before returned to the village after
hearing stories of its beauty from parents and grandparents. Some were
high-ranking officials in their respective professions and settled well in
their lives. They visited the village many times, and grew to love their
ancestral village so much, they resolved to restore its former glory.