CHENNAI: Ukkal, a small village in Thiruvannamalai district, has two small temples, one for Siva worshipped as Vaidyanatha Svami and the other for Vishnu, wherein this deity is called Bhuvana Manikka Perumal. The numerous inscriptions in this temple reveal that it existed as early as the Pallava times of the 9th century AD while in the subsequent Chola era, it received many donations and was an important temple in this area. According to stone records of the Chola times, this temple was called Bhuvana-Manikka Vishnu-griham and Ukkal was known as Sivachudamani-Chaturvedimangalam alias Srivikramabharana-Chaturvedimangalam.
The temple faces east and is in a dilapidated condition, but has been spruced up in recent times. People enter the temple precincts which is sans gopuram, through an ancient entranceway with pillars. Proceeding further inside into the spacious prakaram, there is a raised granite platform of the Chola times, with steps on the north and south, which would have been the base of a mandapa in the past. Further inside is the central sanctum which enshrines Bhuvana Manikka Perumal, a small image in a standing posture, holding the Sankha and Chakra in the upper left and right hands respectively. His lower right hand is in abhaya-hasta (blessing worshippers) and lower left hand is in kati-hasta (resting on the hip). Perumal is flanked by Goddesses Sridevi and Bhudevi.
That this temple is only a shadow of what it once was, not only from its dilapidated state, but also from the information given in the numerous inscriptions that have been discovered here. These epigraphs also clearly show that Ukkal was once a large and important village. The earliest stone records in this temple belong to the time of one of the last Pallava kings named Kampavarman and can be dated to the 9th century AD. They clearly mention the sabha or the administrative organisation of Ukkal.
In the Pallava, Pandya and Chola times, the village assembly called sabha or maha-sabha played an important role in the administration of villages, taking care of all the local needs. The most important inscription which deals in detail with all the aspects of the sabha is in the Vaikuntha Perumal temple in Uttiramerur, which is approximately fifteen km from Ukkal. One of the inscriptions of Kampavarman in Ukkal mentions that the ‘annual supervision committee’ of the Ukkal sabha agreed to strengthen the bund of the village lake.
The Chola epigraphs start from the reign of Aditya Chola I in the 9th century AD, and include those of Parantaka I, Aditya II Karilala, Parantaka II, Rajaraja I, Rajendra I and Rajadhiraja I. There is one inscription of the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III dated 955 AD and another of the Telugu Chola chieftain Vijaya Gandagopala of the 13th century, who ruled over a large part of the ancient Tondaimandalam region. This chieftains’ inscription mentions the name Ukkal and also its other name Vikramabharana Chaturvedimangalam which was situated in the territorial subdivision called Pagur-Nadu in Kaliyur-Kottam in Jayamkonda Chola Mandalam.
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