ERODE: Yaakkai Heritage trust, an NGO, has called upon the district administration to restore a Murugan temple at Kanagapuram in Modakurichi, which is believed to have been built in the 19th century.
Kumaravel Ramasamy, secretary of the trust, said,
“The temple is locally called as malai koil and is the main place of worship for people of Kanagapuram. Inscriptions were found in the Artha Mandapa of the temple. Yaakkai Heritage Trust took an estampage and deciphered the inscription.
Rajagopal Subbiah, a retired epigraphist of the state archaeology department and consultant of Yaakkai Heritage Trust, read the inscription and said it dates to early nineteenth century.” (Estampage is the method of getting an exact copy of an inscription.)
“As per the inscription, the Murugan temple was converted into one of stone and was known as Katrali. The inscription confirms that the temple was built in 1839 CE. It specifies that the temple was completed on the eighth day of the Tamil month Thai and Tamil year of Vikari varusam,” he added.
“The inscriptions contain information about Kalingarayan who built the Kalingarayan canal that made Erode district prosperous. The temple’s sanctum and rear walls have crumbled over time. Preserving this historical site would be an invaluable gift to future generations,” he added. Officials from the district administration said steps to restore it will be taken.