Vaniyambadi temples: Athitheeswarar, Azhagu Perumal and the old shrines of the town

In short. Vaniyambadi's oldest temple is the Athitheeswarar (Shiva) temple in Old Vaniyambadi, where six inscriptions from the 10th century to 1297 CE are carved on the walls. It is the temple of the Saraswati legend that gives the town its name. The Azhagu Perumal (Vishnu) temple in Periyapettai and the shrines of Udayendiram, 2 km away, are the other old temples of the town.

Vaniyambadi history, the overview · History, century by century · What the name means · Festivals and temple rituals · தமிழில்

Athitheeswarar temple (அதிதீஸ்வரர் கோயில்), Old Vaniyambadi

God	Athitheeswarar, a form of Shiva; called Virundindevar and Virundin-nayanar in the inscriptions
Goddess	Periyanayaki (Bruhannayaki)
Sacred tree	Vilva
Tank	Shiva Theertham
Also in the temple	A shrine to Saraswati in the outer corridor
Where	Old Vaniyambadi, about 2 km from the bus stand, near the west bank of the Palar
Oldest dated record	An inscription of the 10th century
Festivals	Chithirai Brahmotsavam (April to May), Maha Shivaratri (February to March), Margazhi Thiruvadhirai (December to January)
Darshan hours	6:30 to 10:30 AM and 5:00 to 7:00 PM, as listed by the Dinamalar temple guide; check locally

The story the temple keeps

The temple's purana, written down in the Salem District Manual of 1883, tells how Brahma cursed Saraswati to be dumb, and how Shiva released her here. The place was named for her, Vani-padi, because Vani is a name of Saraswati. In the 1883 version she begins to speak; the retellings told at the temple today say she sang in Shiva's praise, the place where Vani sang. Either way, the goddess of speech and learning found her voice in this town, and she has her own shrine in this Shiva temple. More on what the name means.

What the walls record

The Archaeological Survey of India copied six inscriptions from this temple and published them in its report for 1963–64. Read in order of date:

Inscription	Date	What it records
No. 181	10th century, 8th year of Parthivendradhipativarman	The village is called Vaniyanpadi, also Narasimha-chaturvedimangalam
Nos. 183, 184	48th year of Kulottunga I, about 1118 CE	Records of the Chola emperor's reign
No. 185	1221 CE	A chief of Arumbakkam gives ten cows and a bull for the temple lamps and builds a shrine up to its finial
No. 182	1233 CE, 18th year of Rajaraja III	The village is called Vaniganpadi, also Madhurantaka-chaturvedimangalam; a festival in the month of Tai is endowed for the god
No. 186	1297 CE, Hoysala	The temple's lands are made tax-free

A chaturvedimangalam was a village granted to scholars of the four Vedas. So for at least three hundred years, from the 10th to the 13th century, this was a Vedic village grouped around its Shiva temple, with gifts from local chiefs who served the Cholas.

How old is the temple itself? The inscriptions prove the 10th century. A temple researcher who studied the pillars dates parts of the building to the Pallava period, the 7th or 8th century, from their style; no inscription found so far confirms that, so we give the 10th century as the documented date. The same temple is already listed as "Athithesvara Swami" among the endowed temples of Vaniyambadi in 1883.

Azhagu Perumal temple, Periyapettai

God	Sundararaja Perumal, Azhagu Perumal, with Sridevi and Bhudevi
Goddess	Sundaravalli Thayar
Listed by	The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, as Arulmigu Alaguperumal Temple, Periapettai, Vaniyambadi
Where	Periyapettai, Vaniyambadi
Dating	The department dates it to the Chola period from an inscription naming Madhurantaka Chola

A temple researcher records a Chola inscription on the base that names the place Madhurantaka Chola Chaturvedimangalam, the same name the Athitheeswarar inscription of 1233 uses, and Vijayanagara-era inscriptions on the walls of the sanctum. An "Alaga Perumal Swami" temple is among the endowed temples of Vaniyambadi in 1883. One local story ties the two temples together: Saraswati offered food to Shiva by the river, Vishnu claimed his share, and Shiva asked her to sing. It is told on a temple website without a source, so we give it as a story.

Udayendiram: copper plates and a Perumal temple, 2 km away

Udayendiram lies about 2 km north-north-east of Vaniyambadi. In 1850 a buried chamber there gave up bronze images of Vishnu and several sets of copper plates. Two were published in South Indian Inscriptions, Vol. II:

• a grant of the Pallava king Nandivarman Pallavamalla, in his 21st year (the editor suspected it was a later copy);
• a grant of the Ganga-Bana king Prithivipati II Hastimalla, made in the 15th year of the Chola king Parantaka I.

In 1895 one set of these plates was held at Udayendiram's Saundararaja Perumal temple. They are the oldest written records found next to the town.

The town's other temples

The state's temple department lists the Vinayagar, Ganapathi, Murugan, Throwpathiamman and Amburpettai Ponniamman temples; the municipality's list of places of interest adds Ponniamman of Periyapettai and the Om Sakthi and Venkateswara temples:

Temple	Where
Varasidhi Vinayagar	Amburpettai
Lambodhara Ganapathi	Kottai (the fort quarter)
Palani Andavar (Murugan)	Vaniyambadi
Dharmarajar Throwpathiamman	Nimmiyampattu
Ponniamman	Amburpettai and Periyapettai
Om Sakthi	Bazaar
Venkateswara	Vaniyambadi

In 1883 the endowed temples of Vaniyambadi were Alaga Perumal Swami, Lakshmi Narayana Swami and Athithesvara Swami, with an endowment for a Ponniamman festival procession (jathirai) at Amburpettai. Ponniamman's festival then fell in August. See festivals and temple rituals.

Visiting

The Athitheeswarar temple is in Old Vaniyambadi; the Azhagu Perumal temple is in Periyapettai. Check the day's timings at the temple office before you travel. If you keep a temple here and can share its sthala purana, festival days or inscriptions with a source, write to 2boysfromtown@gmail.com and we will add them with credit.