Oldest shrine dedicated to goddess Cauvery ‘detected’

March 20, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 10:05 am IST - THANJAVUR:

Kaveri Nangai worshipping Lord Siva at Tirukovilpattu village in Thanjavur district.— Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam

Kaveri Nangai worshipping Lord Siva at Tirukovilpattu village in Thanjavur district.— Photo: R.M. Rajarathinam

Establishing a direct connection between a site, referred to in the Karanthai Copper Plates of the 10th century AD, and an old Shiva temple at Tirukkoilpattu near Thanjavur, archaeologists here claim to have detected the oldest shrine dedicated to goddess Cauvery in the Cauvery delta region.

Studying Tirukoilpattu-Arunthavapuram villages near Ammapettai in Thanjavur district, archaeologist Kudavayil Balasubramanian was able to correlate the site as one among the 51 villages that were served by the massive Tribhuvanamadevi Pereri, named by its creator King Rajendra Chola I after his mother and spouse of King Rajaraja I, Tribhuvanamadevi.

In the Karanthai copper plates of King Rajendra Chola, preserved in the Government Museum, Chennai, Tirukoilpattu is referred to as Rajarajeswarapuram and the temple, that is now known as Sri Vajrapureeswara, was then called Rajaraja Eswaram, Dr. Balasubramanian told The Hindu .

At the Vajrapureeswarar Temple near the Dakshinamurthy Goshtam, bas relief images of the Cauvery worshipping Lord Shiva with folded hands are found etched on the wall.

To clearly indicate that the woman worshipper is indeed Cauvery, line art image of a flowing river replete with tortoise and fish is inscribed on the wall above the deities.

There is a separate shrine dedicated to the Cauvery in the temple and that is referred to as pidari amman safeguarding the huge tank.

In fact, the studies have revealed the boundaries of the Tribhuvanamadevi Pereri, again referred to in the Karanthai copper plates, between Saliyamangalam and Ammapet feeding 51 villages including Tirukkoilpattu. Satellite imagery and revenue records shed light on the boundaries of the Pereri, Dr. Balasubramanian disclosed.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.