Vaidyanatha Swamy Temple, Thirumazhapadi – History
The antiquity of this place dates back to the Sangam Period. It was an army camp of the valiant Mazhavar Clan of the Sangam Age and hence called Mazhavar Padi and later came to be called as Thirumazhapadi. Nayanars Tirugnanasambandar, Tirunavukkarasar and Sundarar visited this temple and sung Devaram hymns on Lord Shiva of this Temple. It was also visited by Ayyadigal Kadavarkon who praised it in his hymns of Kshetra Venba. This saint has been identified with the Pallava king Simha Varman (540-558), the grandfather of Mahendra Varman Pallava (598-630).
Thirumazhaipadi was an important place for the Chola Kings. Chembian Mahadevi, grandmother of Rajaraja the Great, hailed from Chembiakudi, close to Thirumazhapadi. Other historical places like Pazhuvur, Alambakkam, Kandaradithyam (birthplace of Kandraditha Chola) are all situated within a radius of 15 Kms. There are quite a few references to the Thirumazhapadi Temple in the famous Tamil litterateur Kalki’s work, Ponniyin Selvan.
The Shiva temple was built of stone during the period of Aditya Chola I (871-907). Rajaraja Chola I ordered for its rebuilding and was completed by his son Rajendra Chola I. Rajaraja Chola the Great (Rajaraja I) copied the inscriptions available at the time of renovation. Again, it was renovated by the Hoysala king Veera Narasimha in A.D. 1235-36. The Queens of Aditya Chola I, Rajaraja Chola I, and Rajendra Chola I made gifts to the temple in the form of lands and ornaments.
The first and second gopurams of this temple were built during the periods of the Pandyas and Cholas respectively. There are about 140 inscriptions in the temple from the reigns of Pallava, Chola, Pandya, Vijayanagara, Hoysala and Maratha kings and other local chieftains like the Mazhavarayars of Ariyalur. These give details about the offerings made by devotees for the maintenance of the temple.
An inscription of Rajaraja III mentions the construction of a well at the entrance of the temple, and the appointment of a person to draw water regularly from it and to store it in a tub so that devotees could enter the temple after washing their feet. There is a rare depiction of a linear measurement used by the sthapathis (master sculptors) and builders during the reconstruction of the temple by Rajaraja, which was called Idumadialavathi Muzham that was roughly 60 cms in length.