KARPAGA VINAYAGAR TEMPLE

KARPAGA VINAYAGAR

NAME OF THE DEITY : கற்பக விநாயகர் ; Karpaka Vinayakar

LOCATION : THIRUPPATHUR, SIVAGANGAI (Dt)                TAMILNADU, INDIA

DATE BUILT : 4th CENTURY

HISTORY

Pillaiyar patti Pillaiyar temple is an ancient rock-cut cave shrine dedicated to Ganesha, located at Thiruppatthur (1 km from Thiruppatthur bus stand or Thiruppatthur Thiruthalli nathar Temple (One of the Thevera Temple), Sivaganga district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India

The Ganesh Chaturthi / Vinayaka Chaturthi festival, is celebrated for 10 days in a grand manner every year during the months of August and September. During that time, great number of pilgrims gather and participate in the Car Festival.Like all Shaivite temples, Pillayarpatti temple also has Lord Shiva as its presiding deity. Lord's name is Arjunapureeswarar. This temple is more famous for the rock cut Vinayagar (Ganesha) sitting majestically inside a cave.

Pillaiyarpatti is located in Thiruppathur, Sivagangai District of Tamil Nadu. It is situated between Kundrakkudi and Tiruppatthur. Pilliyarpatti is just one Kilometer away from Thiruppatthur and 3 kilometers from Kundrakkudi. Pillaiyarpatti Karpaga Vinayagar is carved out in a cave of Pillaiyarpatti Hillocks. Lord Vinayagar is carved out from the rock of the cave. Lord Thiruveesar is also carved in the rock of this cave. The temple was built under patronisation of Pandyas. The age of the cave temple is 2500 years or more. There are 14 stone Sculptures in the cave ( dated from 500 BC to 1284 AD ). These stone Sculptures state that ancient names of Pillaiyarpatti as Ekkattoor, Thiruveenkaikkudi, Maruthangudi, and Rajanarayanapuram.

Pillaiyarpatti temple is a rock - cut temple located in Thiruppatthur, Sivagangai District. It was built after viewing a hillock by the early Pandiya kings and the image of Pillaiyarpatti Pillaiyar and that of a Siva Lingam were carved out of a stone by a sculptor called Ekkattur Koon Peruparanan who put his signature on a stone inscription found even today in the sanctum. He put his signature in Tamil Language which was in use between 2nd and 5th century AD. It can be concluded that the icon of Pillaiyarpatti Pillaiyar must have been carved around 4th century AD.

Pillaiyar (Vinayagar), the God of Victory is the main deity here in the name, Pillaiyarpatti Pillaiyar.

This temple is the only one in Tamil Nadu which contains a 6 feet rock-cut Pillaiyar idol. The Thumbikai of Lord Pillaiyar is curled towards his right side and so the God is also known as Valampuri Pillaiyar. The chettiyar (nagarathar) community has done/been doing an outstanding job in maintaining the temple and the temple is clean.Still now chettiars are the only community whose subcaste are divided based on Sivan Temples. For e.g. there are subcastes like Pillayarpatti, Elayatrankudi and etc.

• Vinayagar’s trunk is curved at the right side ( Valampuri Vinayagar) which is also a unique feature. Lord Karpaga Vinayagar is seated facing northern side.
• There are deities in this temple such as goddess Karthiyayini ( who arrange marriages), Nagalingam ( who gifts offsprings ), Pasupatheeswarar ( who showers all wealth).
• Vinayagar Chathurthi is the very important festival in this temple. It is 10 days festival. Kappaukkattutual and hoisting temple flag begin before 9 days. At the 9 th day car festival and much celebrated decoration of sandal covering ( Santha-na-kkappu) to Pillaiyar takes place.
• Devotees who observe Chathurthi Fast for a year come to Pillaiyarpatti on Avani Sukkilaptcha Chathurthi day (Festival) and fulfills it. They observe fast on Chathurthi day in front of vinayagar sannaidhi and take part in “ KumnaJebam” and receive holy pot of chanted holy water.

ABOUT THE TEMPLE

The town of Pillaiyarpatti is named after 'Pillayar' - the tamil name for Ganesha, and this ancient temple houses rock cut images of Shiva, Lingodbhavar and others as well as several other shrines. Steeped in the tradition of Agamic textsthe temple bears testimony to the vibrant temple culture of the Tamil people, passed down through centuries.

Antiquity: Over 15 inscriptions are found within the temple, that help establish the age of the temple. The Stalapuranam published by the temple classifies the growth of this temple into three distinct stages.

The first stage goes back in time by about 1600 years. During this period, the innermost rock cut shrines housing Karpaka Vinayakar and Tiruveesar came into being. The uniqueness of the image of Ganesha is one factor testifying this date; the characters used in the temple inscriptions also help establish this date. The pillars within the shrine are of pre-Pallava origin.

The Pallavas were prolific builders of rock cut temples (Mahabalipuram, Mahendravadi, Mamandur, Mandakapattu, Seeyamangalam, Namakkal, Tiruchi, Nartamalai, Kudumiyanmalai, Tirukkokarnam, Tirumeyyam, Peraiyur, Malayadipatti, Tirukolakkudi, Kunrakkudi etc.). A number of these can be traced to Mahendravarman I (615 - 630 AD) and Narasimhavarman I (630 - 668 AD). However, the inscriptions at Pillayarpatti date further back to the 4th century AD. Also, given the location of the temple in the Pandya kingdom it would only be logical to associate Pandya patronage to this temple, especially in the light of Pandya patronage at the Kazhugumalai temple not too far from here. There are several inscriptions within this temple that date back to the period between 1091 AD and 1238 AD, making it apparent that the Pillayarpatti Nagarattar became the custodians of the temple during the 13th century AD during the second growth phase of this temple, when Vimanams and Rajagopurams were built.

The third phase of growth is much more recent and it involved the repair, rebuilding and refurbishment of the entire temple complex, including the renovation of the temple tank. The tank and the two Raja Gopurams provide an attractive approach to the temple, in this rather remote town of Pillayarpatti.