Last remnants: The remains of the Shiva Temple appeared on Udampatti in Melur Taluk. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The 800 -year -old Shiva temple of the later Pandya period was discovered in the village of Udambatti in Melur Taluk.
Professor P. Devi Ariva Selvam, a temple architect and researcher of statues, says that although only the foundation of the temple remains, the inscriptions on the culvert are significant because they reveal how financially independent the temple was.
While the documents published by the State Ministry of Archeology Tamil Nadu described the existence of ancient temples in this belt in 1974-75, most of them are in ruins and some almost disappeared. So it was a surprise for historians when boys recently played on open ground in Udampatti, Malampatti Panchayat, hit a broken stone structure covered with mud.
The villages pointed out the villages of the administrator (VAO) and Mrs. Devi. With the permission of the VAO, the area was cleaned. The foundation of the temple with a stone base on the north and south side intact appeared.
With the help of engravings on the basic stone and Silpa Sastram, it was found that the temple was dedicated to Lord Shiva.
C. Santhalingam, an archaeologist and secretary of the Pandya Nada Center for historical research, which was decrypted by two Tamil inscriptions found on a stone base, he says they can be dated to 1217-1218 CE, during the reign of Maravarman Sundar Pandy.
The inscriptions say that the name of the village was atetur and the temple was called the then navanisvaram. “It should be noted that Thennavan is actually the title used Pandyas,” says Mrs. Devi.
The inscriptions are sales list of water boda from one Alagaperumal, Chief of Kalavalinad, one nambi pernobal Kuthan alias Kangeyan. Water – water called naganku, along with wet and dry soil, was sold for 64 cash (coins). Four Earth boundaries and water storage were defined in the inscriptions. It was also mentioned that the tax due to the country should be given to God the thenhonavaniswanaam from the atetur for his daily expenses.
For historians, these inscriptions reveal the ancient name Udambatti, which was then called Attur, as well as the socio -economic dynamics that was the edge during the later period of the pandy.
Published – 6 June 2025 20:47
