Sathyagirisvarar Temple,
Thirumayam – History
This temple was built by the Pallava Emperor Mahendravarman
I (590 – 630 CE). This temple is considered older than the adjacent Sathyamurthi Perumal Temple due to the presence of musical inscription, now mostly
obliterated, written in the Pallava Grantha script similar to the
celebrated musical inscription of Kudumiyamalai. Inscriptions dating to
Chola Emperors Rajaraja Chola I & Rajendra Chola I and Pandyan Kings
Maravarman Sundara Pandya II & Parakrama Pandya can be found in thistemple.
Lord Shiva was called as Nayanar Thirumeyyamalaiyalan
/ Thirumeyyattu Mahadevar in the inscriptions. The present name,
Sathyagirisvarar, might have been influenced from the name of the presiding
deity of the adjacent Vishnu temple. There is an inscription dated to 7th
century CE found on the north wall of the cave. It was written in Sanskrit and
Tamil using Pallava grantha script. It records the method of playing the
musical instrument Parivathini
(Veena with seven strings, mentioned
in Amarakosa, Raghu Vamsam and Buddha Charithiram) and praises the divine
qualities of the instrument.
There is another inscription of Pallava Emperor
Mahendravarman I dated to 7th century CE found on the north and
south wall of the cave. It was written in Sanskrit using Pallava grantha
script. It records the names of the musical notes in a certain order. However,
the majority of the inscription is defaced. This inscription might be the exact
copy of the celebrated musical inscription found at Kudumiyamalai.
An incomplete inscription dated to the 19th
regnal year (1004 CE) of Chola Emperor Rajaraja Chola I can be found on the
left side of the entrance to the cave. A damaged inscription dated to the 21st
regnal year of Chola Emperor Rajendra Chola I (1033 CE) can be found on the
left side of the entrance to the cave. An inscription dated to the 7th
regnal year of Pandyan King Maravarman Sundara Pandya II (1245 CE) can be seen
on the south side of the cave mandapam. This inscription is written in Tamil in
47 lines. This inscription records the settlement of long-standing dispute regarding
the sharing of property between the Shiva and the Vishnu temples.
This settlement meeting was held in the presence of
the Shaivites, Vaishnavites, village assembly and the officials. This meeting
was presided over by Appanna Dandanayaka, the brother-in-law of Ravideva
Dandanayaka who was one of the Dandanayaka of Hoysala King Veera Somesvara. It
was resolved that 3/5 portion of the share was given to Sathyamurthy Perumal
Temple. The inscription also records the removal of the old inscription, since
it was written in an unknown language.
The Pallava era musical inscription on the southern
side of the cave was chiseled out to engrave this inscription. The duplicate of
the above inscription is engraved on the rock to the north of the tank. Another
inscription of Pandyan King Maravarman Sundara Pandya II can be seen on the rock
to the west of the cave temple. An inscription dated to the 8th and
11th regnal years of Pandyan King Maravarman Sundara Pandya II records
a grant of land for the rituals and administration of the temple.
