Kaniyamur or Kaniyamaruvur as it is referred to in the epigraphic records is situated on the Ulundrupet–Salem highway, 15 km from Kallakurichi. Driving down the narrow cement roads of the village, one manages to reach the rear entrance of the 10th–11th century temple dedicated to Siva as Pon Parappina Choleeshwarar. The temple is named so due to the patronisation of Pon Parappina Vanakovaraiyar, the feudatories of the Cholas who ruled this region then. Today it is known as Kanaka Choleeswarar temple.
An architectural wonder, this temple has a stunning vesara vimana and a kalasa made of stone. Though the temple campus is simple with just one prakara around the main shrine, the geometric perfection, crisp architectural features and exquisite icons chiselled to perfection by unknown Chola sculptors make it a rare gem. The epigraphic records in this temple are well preserved sans any oil stains and hence easy to read. Some of the inscriptions found here throw light on certain unique and almost-forgotten temple traditions.
Around the 13th century, the 11th regnal year of Maravarman Sundara Pandiyan II (1249 CE), the annual festival of this temple was a grand nine-day celebration in the Tamil month of Thai (mid-January to mid-February). A long-running inscription in the lower portion of the south wall of the mahamandapa narrates in detail the daily events of the celebration. On the first day, a flag bearing the rishaba and other sacred emblems is hoisted on the dwajasthamba. It is interesting to note that the traditional community of weavers, Kaikkolars as they are referred to, have been bestowed with the privilege of offering a hand-woven fabric for the flag and a rope to hoist it. This tradition of the weaver community offering the fabric, exclusively woven for the flag, is practiced in several other shrines including Chidambaram. This inscription also mentions a unique ritual on the same day in memory of Tirunavukkarasar, the 7th century saint poet. Loincloth and rice grains are distributed to devotees who have gathered at Kaniyamur to participate in the festival. Incidentally, a similar ritual of distributing loincloth in memory of Tirunavukkarasar on the day of flag hoisting is observed at Sri Tyagaraja Swami temple, Tiruvarur.
_Chandeeshwara_on_the_northern_corridor_of_the_shrine.jpg?w=640&auto=format%2Ccompress)
The inscription goes on to elaborate the offerings to be made every day of the celebration, in cash and in kind. Paddy, oil, sandalwood paste and flower garlands are common offerings on almost all days of the festival. One day is dedicated to Gnana Sambandhar, and what would be a better offering than sweetened milk to this blessed child poet who was fed by the divine couple themselves? An endowment to offer milk and palm jaggery to Sambandhar makes one wonder about the amount of detailing that has gone into conceptualising and constructing these festivals, while also ensuring remembrance of these saints and their services for eons. The festival comes to a close with offering large quantities of cooked rice spread like a carpet in the front mandapa, called a Tiruppavadai, to the deity. Offering silk robes and gold ornaments to the deity is also mentioned.
Just above this inscription is another record from the 13th century CE, which refers to the deeksha or initiation process of the Adisaiva priests of the temple. A married member from the community undergoes the initiation ritual and thus becomes eligible to perform the daily rituals and festivals in the temple. One unfinished inscription records an event where the hereditary temple priest from athreya gothra, a certain Sanga Kozhundhu Periya Pillai alias Periyanattu Bhattan, after initiation rituals, was also employed in the temple with land endowed towards his remuneration.
The other half of the same wall bears a land donation made to Rajanarayana Avudaiyar and Ulagam Uyya Thiruvayiru Vaitha Nachiyar, deities probably in a subshrine in the same temple, for food offerings and anointing them with sandal paste. The order mandates that the land be demarcated by installing corner-stones with an image of the trident, the weapon of Siva, on it. The written command notwithstanding, it was also ordered to be engraved on a copper plate.
The shrine for Chandeeshwara on the northern corridor has a record that says the deity was installed by a certain Neela Madanamadam Udaiyan of Dhavanur in the 21st regnal year of Veera Pandyan. In addition, this donor vows to ensure regular food offerings are made to the deity he installed. Tax-free land donations to the temple, endowments for remuneration of odhuvars employed, setting up of temple gardens and donations by the devaradiyars are some of the other inscriptions here.
The temple enjoyed a well-patronised status till a couple of centuries ago. It is unfortunate that today even the path leading to the temple has been encroached upon and the main entrance is unapproachable. This charming temple with unique architecture and great inscriptional value is a classic example of stone construction by the Cholas. The temple needs to be revived and the state of the premises calls for immediate attention. On enquiry, the author learnt that maintenance work at the temple has been set in motion by the government authorities.
(The author is thankful to Dr Arunkumar Pankaj from Kallakurichi, a dentist and an epigraphy enthusiast, for introducing this temple to him and also helping with a copy of the inscriptions)