CHENNAI: Pon Vilainda Kalathur, a small village near Chengalpattu, is home to four important temples. Three are for Vishnu and one is for Siva, worshipped here as Mukudumishwara. According to the Sthala Puranam (traditional account) of the Siva temple, the wife of the priest once wore the garland which had been offered to the deity, although it had to be given to the king of that region everyday.
The priest was horrified at this act of his wife, but had to subsequently give the garland to the king who found a strand of hair in it. When the enraged monarch questioned the priest about this, the latter, in order to save himself from the king’s wrath, said that it was from the matted locks (jata) of God Siva which was on the Linga.
The disbelieving king asked to be shown this and in order to protect the devoted priest, the Siva Linga sprouted jata. The king repented having suspected the priest and also requested the deity not to have jata as it would frighten devotees. God Siva did as told, and appeared only with a tuft of hair in front. Hence the Tamil name ‘Munkudumishwara’ which means ‘the God with a tuft of hair in front’.
The temple’s entrance is now on the southern side, although it was originally on the east as seen from the position of the Nandi. Though it may have existed earlier than the Chola times, the principal sanctum enshrining the Lingam, is ‘Gajaprishta’ or apsidal in design, and belongs to the Chola era. The word gaja in Samskrit is ‘elephant’ and prishta is back and this refers to shrines with an apsidal shape.
The maha-mandapa, in front of the central shrine, has another Nandi, the bali-pitham and dvaja-stambham and also the south-facing shrine for Goddess Parvati, worshipped here as Minakshi. A shrine in this mandapam is for Kootruva Nayanar, one of the sixty-three Nayanmars (important devotees of God Siva).
This warrior who was an ardent worshipper of Siva, wanted to be crowned by the priests of Thillai (Chidambaram), but they refused his request as they had traditionally crowned only Chola monarchs. Dejected, Kootruva begged God Siva to crown him with His foot and the deity acceded to his request. It is said that Kootruva Nayanar prayed in this temple. The pillars of the maha- mandapa and the central ceiling are covered with numerous sculptures.
Many inscriptions, belonging to the Chola and Vijayanagara dynasties and also to those of lesser-known rulers like Rajanarayana Sambuvarayar, are seen on the base of the outer walls of the main sanctum. They mention the name of the main deity as Perunthirukovil Mahadeva. Pon Vilainda Kalathur was originally known as Kalathur alias Gangaikonda Chaturvedimangalam.
The word Chaturvedimangalam shows that it was peopled by scholars of the four Vedas while the prefix Gangaikonda, a title of Rajendra Chola I, clearly reveals that it was a thriving village in the Chola times. Kalathur was situated in the territorial sub-division called Kalathur Kottam in Jayamkonda Chola Mandalam. This temple is a protected monument under the care of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The Sthala Vriksham (sacred tree) here is the Naval maram (Jambu tree).