Vandiyur Mariamman Temple – Teppakulam
The Temple
has its huge pond called Vandiyur Mariamman Teppakulam. Literally, Teppakulam means temple pond mainly used
for devotional festivals. The tank is connected to Vaigai River through an
ingenious system of underground Channels. It has total of 12 long stairs
(steps) made of granite on all four sides. The temple as well as the stairs was
built by the King Thirumalai Nayak. In the centre of the tank there is a
Mandapam called Maiya Mandapam (Central Mandapam) with Vinayakar temple and garden.
The area
of the tank, and the island pavilion with a garden in the center, is
approximately equal to the area of Meenakshi Temple. It is a huge tank in 16
acres. It is one of the largest temple tanks in South India and gets water
supply from the Vaigai River. There is a Vinayakar temple situated right in the
middle of the tank, which is dedicated to Lord Vigneshwara, the Elephant-faced
God.
King
Thirumalai Nayakar had excavated the soil in these lands to assemble the bricks
to establish his palace. The pit formed from the excavation is what stands
today as the Tank. Measuring approximately 290 meters wide and 305 meters in
length. It was built in 1636 and was commissioned by Thirumalai Nayakar in
1646.
