CHENNAI: Ukkal, a small village, fairly close to Kanchipuram, once known as Sivachudamani-mangalam alias Vikramabharana Chaturvedimangalam, has two temples, one for Siva and the other for Vishnu, both rich in history. The Siva temple, which is small in size, is now known as the Vaidyanatha Svami but in the Chola times was called Peruntiru Koyil Mahadeva and Peruntiru Koyil Udiaya Nayanar. The central sanctum enshrining the Siva Linga worshipped as Vaidyanatha Svami faces east, but the entrance is from the south.
There is a modern entranceway, but no gopuram at the entrance, which leads to a wide open space, having the bali-pitham, dvajastambham and the Nandi mandapam. To the right is the way to go to the main sanctum, in front of which are worshipped the images of Nataraja, Somaskanda and other deities. A prakaram (enclosure) is seen around the main sanctum and while circumambulating this shrine, devotees seen the devakoshtas (niches) on the outer walls of the sanctum with the images of Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma and Durga. In the prakaram are the sanctums for Ganesha; Subramanya with Valli and Devasena; and Chandikeshwara.
There are a number of inscriptions in this temple, particularly on the outer walls of the main sanctum. One of the earliest inscriptions in this temple is dated 10th century AD and belongs to a Chola king who had the title Parakesari. It is unfortunately damaged, but refers to a gift of land to the temple by a merchant of the village. A stone record of the time of Rajaraja Chola I dated 1014 AD records a donation of land by the king for conducting a seven-day festival every year in the temple. In this inscriptions, the name of the village is mentioned as Vikramabharana-chaturvedimangalam. One more epigraph of this king, who is referred to famously even elsewhere as ‘Kandalur Salai….’ Seems to record a provision for the supply of ghee everyday to the temple of Peruntirukkoyil Mahadeva. An epigraph dated 1041 AD of Rajendra Chola I’s time states that this stone temple was constructed by an officer named Kumarakalan Vasuevan alias Atisaya Chola Muvendavelar. Interestingly, Atisaya Chola was a title of Rajendra Chola I.
An inscription of Vijayagandagopala, a chieftain of the Telugu Choda dynasty, who ruled over this area and contributed much to temples mentions that a mandapa was constructed by a person named Virapperumal Alappirandan alias Rajaraja Sambuvarayar. A Pandya inscription of Maravarman dated 1321-1322 is also found here recording an order remitting certain specified taxes due from the temple. A Vijayanagara epigraph of the reign of Harihara II mentions that this village was situated in the geographical division called Pagur-nadu in Kaliyur Kottam. The Sthala Vriksham of this temple has traditionally been the Konrai maram.
Know your city - Ukkal
Ukkal, a village in Thiruvannamalai District, is about 20 km from Kanchipuram.
Chithra Madhavan
cityexpresschn@gmail.com
The writer is a historian who focuses on temple architecture