ஸ்வஸ்திஸ்ர் _ _ _ _ ஆதித்தம் பூதியேன் என் மகன் பூதி பராந்தகன் அந்நப்ராயஞ்
செ[ய்]கின்ற இடத்து தக்ஷிணையாக பிரமதேயம் ஈசான மகலத்து _ _ _ _ ம் உடும்போடி ஆமை தவழ்ந்தது எப்பேர்ப்பட்ட நிலமு முண்ணிலம் ஒழிவின்றி குடி நீக்கிய தேவதானமாக நீரோடு அட்டி இறையிலி சந்திராதி _ _ _ _ படி திருவமிதுக்கு பதக்காறு குத்தல் பழவரிசி சிறுகாலைக்கும் உச்சம் போதைக்கும் ஆக சூல நாழியால் பதின[¡]று நாழிக்கு நிசதி நெல் ஐங்குறுணி இருநாழி உரியாழாக்கான ப[டி] _ _ _ _ கலனே இரு தூணிப் பதக்கினால் நிலம் ஒன்றரையே யொருமா முக்காணி அரைக் காணி முந்திரிகையும் தூப்பருப்பு நாழிக்கு நெல் நானாழியும் நெய்யமிது முழ[¡]க்கி _ _ _ _ க்கு நெல் அறு நாழியும் காயத்துக்கும் உப்புக்கும் புளிகும் நெல் முன்னாழியும் தயிரமிது போது நாழியானபடி முன்னாழியால் நெல் குறுணி ஒரு நாழியும் ஆகநிசதி _ _ _ _னே முக்குறுணியால் நிலம் இரண்டேய் ஒரு மாக்காணியும் கணவதியார்க்கு நிசதிப்படி அப்பம் அமிது செய்ய அரிசிக்கு நெல் முன்னாழியும் நெய் யாழாக்குக்கு நெல் முன்னாழியும் சர்க்கரை இரு பலத்துக்கு நெல் இருநாழியும் ஆக இப்பரமெச்வரருடைய கணவதியார்க்கு நிசதி குறுணியானபடி
ஆண்டுவரை முப்பதின் கலத்தா - - - - - - - ம் முக்குறுணி முந்திரிகையால் நெல் நால்க்கலனே அறு நாழியுமாக நெல் நானூற்றுக் கலத்துக்கும் நிலம் நால் வேலியும் சூல காலால் வேலி நூற்றுக் கல வரிசையால் என் மகன் பூதி பராந்தகன் அன்ன பிராயஞ் செய்த நான்று இ* (incomplete)
The above inscription is in the ‘jagathi’ in front of the central shrine (sanctum sanctorum).. The inscription reads – Adithan Pudhi, on the occasion of the ‘annaprasanam’ of his son Paranthakan made a gift (devadanam) of lands, to the lord of the temple – Chandrasekaraswami, and also Lord Ganapathi located in the temple, for daily offerings in the morning and noon.. It also describes how the rice should be used for this purpose. And the offerings have been detailed as Ghee Rice, Curd Rice, appam (pancake) and the ingredients needed for this e.g. pulses, salt, and sugar (jaggery).. The measures then prevailing have also been indicated – uri, nazhi, azhakku, uriazhakku etc. (Inscription and Reading – courtesy Dr. Lavanya’s article “Kalvettu Aayvu” in the e-magazine Varalaaru)
The very first line reads ‘Adhitham Pudhiyen en magan Pudhi Paranthakan – Who is the ‘Adhithan pudhi’ mentioned in this inscription? Isn’t it a coincidence that the father is Adhithan, and the son ‘ Paranthakan’ and if one is to identify the Adhithan , referred here, as Adhitha Chola I, whose son is Paranthakan then this would clearly place the period of construction of the temple to Aditha I period -- It is also a legend that Aditha I, built Siva temples along both banks of the River Cauvery .. It is possible that there might have been a resident at the Tiruchendurai village by name Adithan Pudhi, whose son was called Paranthaka – one cannot deny such a possibility.
This inscription is found in the ‘jagathi’ in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple (karuvarai) a location possibly kept for the nobles of the times – By the very title Pudhi, this person should belong to the higher class and we already know the pudhi family is closely related to the then Chola rulers.. and the gift itself makes one wonder if an ordinary resident could have contributed this much!
As stated earlier Vijayalaya’s medieval chola empire continued its reign for over four hundred years from the year 848 A.D. to Rajendra’s reign (1246-1279 A.D.) The three periods that we are concerned with are
Aditya I … 871 – 907 A.D.
Parantaka I … 907 - 950 A.D., and
Uttama Chola … 970 - 985
Many research scholars and intellectuals have already gone into this, at great length, and I would bring forth excerpts from their findings which place the construction of the temple during Aditya’ s period, and more precisely to the year 894 A.D. We should be proud to accept this finding as it shows that the Chandrasekaraswami Temple at Tiruchendurai is over a millennium old.
The scholarly K.A.Nilakanta Sastri in his book ‘The Colas’ published first in the year 1935 has made references to this issue and these follow:
*** Aditya I is praised for his having built, on both banks of the river Cauvery all the way from Sahyadri (the birth place Of the River Cauvery) to the wide ocean (Poompuhar) rows of tall stone temples of Siva which stood as the monuments of his success... In his reign, however, brick temples were also built.
*** Parantaka I was aided in his Pandyan campaigns, by the Velir chiefs of Kodumbalur, and records dated very early in Parantaka’s reign, show that prince Arikulakesari, one of the sons of Parantaka had married Pudi Adicha Pidari, daughter of Tennavan Ilangovelar of the Kodumbalur line. (p.125, The Colas)
*** We have only one inscription, its beginning lost, giving the genealogy of the Kodumbalur chieftains for eight generations or so. It is probable that there were collateral branches of which we have as yet no information and if, failing to allow for this possibility we seek to accommodate all the inscriptions in the genealogy of this single record, we come across a number of difficulties, not easily settled. It should be borne in mind that a title like Tennavan Ilangovelar may have been borne by several persons, and no identification can confidently be based on the recurrence of such titles in different inscriptions. At any rate if Pudi Vikramakesari was, as there are strong reasons to believe, the contemporary of Aditya II who took the head of Virapandian, it is difficult to believe that he was also the Tennavan Ilangovelar whose daughter Adicha Pidari had become the wife of Arikulakesari as early as the third year (AD 910) of Parantaka (p.136)
*** Of the reign of Uttama Chola we have many stone records and one set of copper-plates. The beginning of the latter, which probably contained a genealogical account of the dynasty in Sanskrit verse, is unfortunately lost… in some of the stone inscriptions and in the copper-plate grant the king is clearly described as Parakesari Uttama Chola; but a number of other stone inscriptions bearing only the Parakesari title can be assigned to his reign either on astronomical grounds or because they mention relatives of the king. (p.159)
*** In the Chola period the more usual standard of gold was the kalanju of twenty manjadis equal in theory to 72 grains, but sometimes going up to 80. It is apparently this unit of bullion weight that is employed in an inscription of the thirtieth year of Parantaka I which equates the kalanju with the niska. When exactly the Chola currency was brought in line with this weight standard does not admit of precise determination. (p.613 )
The other scholar who has dealt with this subject is Douglas Barrett in the book “Early Cola Architecture and Sculpture” 866 – 1014 A.D., excerpts from which have been sent to me by Amrith Ram recently, and which I am reproducing below:
*** The CandrasekharaTemple at Tiruchchendurai lies on the south bank of the River Kaveri, almost six miles west of Tiruchirappalli. Here an inscription reveals factual information about the foundation of the temple. In year 3 of a Parakesari, Pudi Adichcha Pidariyar, Queen of Arikulakesariyar, son of Koparakesaripanmar, made provision for offerings to the deity of the temple which she had constructed of stone. (Karrali). The same lady made offerings in year 2 of a Parakesari when this temple is also referred to as a karrali. Now Arikula was a son of Parantaka I, so we may be confident that the stone temple was already in existence in A.D.909. There is, however, another inscription on the temple of year 23 of Rajakesari, in which Pudi Adichcha Pidariyar also makes a gift. This Rajakesari is clearly aditya I, but as in this inscription the temple is not referred to as a karrali, I prefer to believe that the temple was constructed of stone in or about A.D.909 and replaced a brick temple which Pudi Adichcha Pidariyar had already patronized.
These inscriptions present an interesting problem. If Arikula of year 3 of Parakesari was about twenty years of age and was the same as Arinjaya who perhaps succeeded Gandaraditya in A.D.956, he must have been about sixtyeight on his accession. But Pudi Adichcha Pidariyar was presumably at least fourteen years of age when she made a donation in A.D.893. Unless Arikula married a lady much older than himself he must have been about twenty in A.D.893 and succeeded at the age of about eightythree. This would make Parantaka I about a hundred years old at his death, assuming that he fathered Arikula about the age of twenty. *****
- to be continued -
- Sethuraman
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