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Sathya Vageeswarar Temple in Kalakkad, a village in Tirunelveli district in the South Indian state of
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...
, is dedicated to the Hindu god
Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...
. This Temple is Centered on Kalakad Town, It is located 45 km from
Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...
. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple has three precincts. Shiva is worshipped as Sathya Vageeswarar and his consort
Parvathi Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...
as Gomathi. A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines. The temple has a gateway tower containing 1,500 stucco images. The temple was originally built by Pandyas during the 13th century and Nayak kings commissioned pillared halls and major shrines of the temple during the 15-16th century. The temple has artistic sculptures representative of Nayak art. The temple has close to 200 paintings in the temple depicting Indian epic tales. The temple also has a granary made of masonry, which is believed to be commissioned during the 13th century. There is a hall of musical pillars, commissioned by the king of Travancore, Boothala Veera Udaya Marthanda Varman during the 16th century. The temple is open from 6 am - 12 pm and 4-8 pm on all days except during festival days when it is open the full day. Four daily rituals and three yearly festivals are held at the temple, of which the Vaikasi Visakam festival during the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
month of ''Vaikasi'' (May - June) being the most prominent. The temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the
Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...
.


Vaippu Sthalam

It is one of the shrines of the Vaippu Sthalams sung by Tamil Saivite Nayanar
Appar Appar, also referred to as ( ta, திருநாவுக்கரசர்) or Navukkarasar, was a seventh-century Tamil Śaiva poet-saint. Born in a peasant Śaiva family, raised as an orphan by his sister, he lived about 80 years and is ...
.மூவர் தேவார வைப்புத் தலங்கள், Muvar Thevara Vaippu Thalangal, தென்களக்குடி (களக்காடு) Thenkalakkudi (Kalakadu), 6-71-3
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History

Inscriptions from the temple from the 15th century indicate that the place was called Cholanadu Vallipuram and Vanavan Naadu. The inscriptions also indicate that the temple worship services and gifts to the temple were endowed by Marthanda Varman, while he was residing at Virapandiyan Palace. The temple was originally built by Pandyas during the 13th century. The
Vijayanagar Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...
and Nayak kings commissioned pillared halls and major shrines of the temple during the 15-16th century. The temple has artistic sculptures representative of Nayak art. There are lot of paintings in the temple depicting Indian epic tales. There is also an image of the king of Travancore, Boothala Veera Udaya Marthanda Varman from the 16th century. He is believed to have commissioned the musical pillared halls in the front portion of the temple. In modern times, the temple is maintained and administered by the Hindu Religious and Endowment Board of the
Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...
. A plaque in front the temple installed on 12 December 1911 indicates the coronation of king
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...
, when India was ruled by the British.


Architecture

A granite wall surrounds the temple, enclosing all its shrines and bodies of water. The temple has a nine-tiered gateway tower containing 1,500 stucco images in the outside, while there are 200 murals from the inside. The nine tiers can be climbed through a flight of steps inside the tower. The image of Sathya Vageeswarar in the form of
Lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotion ...
is housed in the sanctum. The shrine of his consort is housed in a west facing shrine. The sanctum is approached from the gateway through a flag staff hall, a Mahamandap and an Artha
mandap A mandapa or mantapa () is a pillared hall or pavilion for public rituals in Indian architecture, especially featured in Hindu temple architecture. Mandapas are described as "open" or "closed" depending on whether they have walls. In temples, ...
. There are shrines of
Vinayaka Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...
and Subramanya on the Mahamandap. The first precinct around the sanctum has images of
Dakshinamurthy Dakshinamurthy () is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge. This aspect of Shiva, as the original guru, is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. Thi ...
,
Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within ...
,
Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around comb ...
, Chandikeswara and Navagrahas. The flagstaff hall has a flagstaff, an altar and an image of Nandi, all axial to the sanctum and the gateway tower. There are also halls in the temple having ''yali'' pillared halls, atypical of Nayak art. The temple also has a granary made of masonry, which is believed to be commissioned during the 13th century. It is unique that usually temple granaries are made of wood. The stucco images depict various mythical themes related to Shiva. The murals depict stories from epics like
Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...
and
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...
and also Thiruvilayadal, the divine plays, Shiva's marriage to Parvathi, stories of
Saivite Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the God, Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates ...
saints and wedding of Sundarar. The paintings and stucco images were restored during 2008 when non-governmental organizations rebuilt the plasters with vegetable colours and natural ingredients. Historians believe that the paintings have a modern look and depicts the contemporary style of dress and ornaments worn during the period.


Festival

The temple follows Saivite tradition. The temple priests perform the '' pooja'' (rituals) during festivals and on a daily basis. As at other Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu, the priests belong to the
Shaivite Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
community, a Brahmin sub-caste. The temple rituals are performed four times a day: ''Kalasanthi'' at 8:30 a.m., ''Uchikalam'' at 11:30 p.m., ''Sayarakshai'' at 6:00 p.m., and ''Sayarakshai'' between 8:00  - 8:00 p.m. Each ritual has three steps: ''alangaram'' (decoration), ''neivethanam'' (food offering) and ''deepa aradanai'' (waving of lamps) for both Sathya Vageeswarar and Gomathi. There are weekly, monthly and fortnightly rituals performed in the temple. The temple is open from 6am - 12 pm and 4-8:30 pm on all days except during new moon days when it is open the full day. The Vaikasi Visakam festival during the
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...
month of ''Vaikasi'' (May - June) being the most prominent. During the festival, the temple chariot is drawn around the streets of Kalakkad, with the festival images of Sathya Vageeswar and Gomathi housed in it. Other festivals like Sivarathri, Thirukalyanam (sacred marriage) and Kanthasasthi are also celebrated.


References


External links

{{Vaippu sthalam Hindu temples in Tirunelveli district Shiva temples in Tirunelveli district