Seeyamangalam is a small village in Vandavasi taluk in Tiruvannamalai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The major occupation of the people living at this place is agriculture. , it had a population of 1665. The place is known for the Avanibhajana Pallaveshwaram temple.

Etymology

The name "Seeyamangalam" might have evolved from the older name of this village "Simhavishnu Chathurvedhi mangalam" ( ta, சிம்ம விஷ்ணு சதுர்வேதிமங்கலம்) named after the Pallava king, Simhavishnu, father of Mahendravarman. Another possibility is that it might have derived from the name "Simhamangalam" ( ta, சிம்மமங்கலம்) named after Pallava king

Narasimhavarman I Narasimhavarman I was a emperor of the Pallava dynasty who ruled South India from 630 CE – 668 CE. He shared his father Mahendravarman I's love of art and completed the work started by Mahendravarman in Mamallapuram. During his reign famo ...

Location

Seeyamangalam is located southwest of Vandavasi, southeast of

Chettupattu Chetput is a major town and a municipality in Tiruvannamalai district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Chetput's major economical activity is processing paddy and the town is home to one of the largest organised paddy exchange market of the s ...

and northeast of district headquarters Tiruvannamalai.

Transportation

From Vandavasi, town buses No:144, to Gingee and No: W2 to Magamaai Thirumeni go through Seeyamangalam. One private bus named V.M. from

Desur Desur is a Town panchayat in Tiruvanamalai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Geography Desur is located at . It has an average elevation of 114 metres (374 feet). Demographics India census, Desur had a population o ...

to Gingee also go through Seeyamangalam. However, frequency of buses to this village is less. Hiring auto from

is a good option to reach.

About the village

Seeyamangalam village has more than 1500 years old heritage. It has two historically important rock cut cave temples, 7th century C.E. Rock cut Shiva Temple and 9th century C.E. rock cut Jain temple. Famous Buddhist Acharya and Philosopher Dignagar (6th century C.E.) was believed to be born in Seeyamangalam.

Rock Cut Shiva Temple

This rock cut Shiva temple was built by Mahendravarman I in 7th century C.E. The main deity Shiva, is called here as Thoon Andar in Tamil ( ta, தூண் ஆண்டார்) and Stambeshwara in Sanskrit. "Thoon" means pillar and "Andar" refers Lord and hence thoon andar means Lord of Pillars. This name is because of the presence of two pillars in front of this cave temple. Two dvarapalas are located on the either side of the entrance of Sanctum sanctorum of the shrine. The interesting feature of these dvarapalas is the presence of trisula prongs in them. Unlike other temples, here the main deity Thun Andar is facing the west direction. Lord Shiva was carved in the temple pillars as Natarajar and Vrishbhantika. This is the first temple in Tamil Nadu having the image of Lord Natarajar. Also, the dwarf

Muyalaka According to Hindu mythology, Apasmāra also known as "kaal" or "brahm" is a dwarf who represents spiritual ignorance and nonsensical speech.Natarajar image. This temple was renovated and extended by various kings as it is evident from the presence of various inscriptions in Tamil and Grantha characters by Pallavas,

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

and Vijayanagara empires.

Rock Cut Jain Temple

This rock cut Jain temple was built by Western Ganga King Rajamalla II during the end of 9th century. This temple is seen in a hillock named Vijayadri (as per inscription of Rajamalla II) located northern side of Thun Andar Shiva temple. Inside the rock cut, recently a new Mahaveerar statue is kept and worshipped by nearby Tamil Jains. On the top of the rock facing east, relief sculptures of Mahaveerar, Parshavanthar and Bahubali are seen. Seeyamangalam Jain image

On the either side of Bahubali, his sisters Brahmi and Saundari are seen. On the top, left side of Bahubali,

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

sitting on elephant and right side, two Gandharvas are seen. The left hand of the Bahubali was damaged. The head of Parshavanathar is surrounded by five headed snake. The left and right side of Parshavanathar, his attendants Padmavathi and Daranendran can be seen. Both the images of Bahubali and Parshavanathar were carved in standing posture. The image of Mahaveerar, sitting in

Sukhasana Lotus position or Padmasana ( sa, पद्मासन, translit=padmāsana) is a cross-legged sitting meditation pose from ancient India, in which each foot is placed on the opposite thigh. It is an ancient asana in yoga, predating hatha ...

position on a Simhasana with his attendants on either side is seen at the extreme southern direction. Though many people visit Rock Cut Shiva temple, they are often unaware of this rock cut Jain temple.

Jain Inscriptions

There are two inscriptions found in this hillock.P. Venkatesan, The Journal of the Epigraphical Society of India, Volume 11, pp.21-24, 1984, The epigraphical society of India, Dharwar. First one is seen near to relief sculptures (right side of Mahaveerar) and it was engraved in Grantha script and Sanskrit language. It is a mixture of prose and poetry. It explains that Rajamalla established two temples for ''Jinaraja'' in Vidyadri (hillock) in Saka 815 (892-93 A.D). It also explains ''Arunkal-anvaya'' (school of Jain Monks), which was adorned by illustrious pontiffs, who had successfully crossed the vast expanse of the sea of knowledge of all the sciences, belonged to ''Nandi Sanga'' of ''Jinendra Sanga''. Though the inscription mentions two temples, the second one is not yet found. The second inscription which was engraved in Tamil (Tamil portion, prose) and Grantha (Sanskrit portion, poetry) characters, located at the foot of the hillock in the northern side of the temple. The Sanskrit portion explains the exaltation to the ''Arunkal-anvaya'' belonging to the ''Nandi Sanga'' of ''Dravida Sanga''. The Tamil portion records that Vajranandhi-Yogindrar, the disciple of Gunaviradevar who was the ''Mandalacharya'' of ''Arunkal-anvaya'' caused to be constructed a flight of steps. These steps (see the picture gallery) are still in good condition. Rajamalla II had built another Jain rock cut temple in Vallimalai in Vellore district during the same 9th century C.E. This leads to the conclusion that some parts of northern Tamil Nadu was under the rule of this Western Ganga King Rajamalla II.

Picture gallery

File:Seeyamangalam Natarajar.JPG, Nataraja File:Seeyamangalam dvarapala1.JPG, Dvarapala_1 File:Seeyamangalam dvarapala2.JPG, Dvarapala_2 File:Seeyamangalam Nandhi.JPG, Nandhi File:Seeyamangalam Jain Inscription.JPG, Jain Inscription_2 File:Seeyamangalam steps.JPG, Foot steps (1000 years old) File:Seeyamangalam hillock.JPG, Vijayadri hillock (South west view)

Satellite picture Location

SeeyamangalamThun Andar Rock cut Shiva templeVijayadri HillockJain Rock Cut templeJain Inscription_2

References

External links

{{commons category
Seeyamangalam Jaina cave and sculpturesSeeyamangalam Jain images VideoJain Inscription Videoauthor's site
Villages in Tiruvannamalai district 9th-century Jain temples Jain rock-cut architecture Jain inscriptions