“The Architectural Gem Which Is Forgotten To The Nation”
– Dharshan K
The nellaiyapar kanthimathi temple is one of the largest and oldest temples of Tamil nadu located in the town of tirunelveli, this temple was not much reached to the modern world but it symbolizes as the pride of our great Indian heritage.
The Local Tale of the Temple:
The legend about this temple says that lord shiva himself took the form of lord nellaiyappar [the guardian of tirunelveli] to marry goddess kanthimathi [the form of parvati] in tirunelveli, the town got its special place in ancient and sangam Tamil literature, this town got the name ‘tirunelveli’ meaning – the fence of a paddy farm in Tamil terms. Once upon a time there lived a farmer who prayed to lord shiva to save his crops from the flood, hence lord shiva himself became the fence of the paddy farm and that place got this special name.
History and Significance of the Chariot Festival:
This temple was built by the pandyas in 7th century and tirunelveli was the second capital of pandyas after madurai, this temple was built to commemorate the marriage of nellaiyapar and kanthimathi. The chariot used in this temple is more than 500 years old and the third largest chariot in Tamil nadu, the incredible fact is that this huge and heavy chariot was not moved with any equipments but by the people themselves.
The Iconic Lingam:
The shiva lingam of nellaiyapar is decorated with beautiful flowers and the carved figure of goddess kanthimathi can be seen in the lingam showcasing the feminine strength over masculine dominance. And the temple has a shrine of kubera lingam which can be seen only in three temples out of 33,000 temple in Tamil nadu.
Nellai Govindar:
It is said that lord vishnu himself took the form of nellai govindar to witness the marriage of lord shiva and goddess parvati, and there is a shrine dedicated to lord nellai govindar.In the chest of lord vishnu’s sculpture the shiva linga can be seen instead of goddess Lakshmi this showcases the unbreakable bond of hari hara [the combined form of lord vishnu and shiva]
Musical Pillars and Sculptures:
In the halls of this big temple, there are pillars which when tapped produces different sounds, this tall carved pillars are called musical pillars. They tells us that India was at the cultural peak even in the 7th century and the advancements of ancient Indian sculptors. Thousands of sculptures can be seen in this temple which tells the popular tales of this town, the sculptures of this temple are made from granite and wood.
Iruttu Kadai – The Taste of Tirunelveli:
This temple is opposite to one of the oldest shops in Tamil nadu – the iruttu kadai, this shop was established in 1900 [literally 100 years old], this shop sells halwa which made tirunelveli famous for that, the local people state that even britishers waited in queue to buy that delicious ghee halwa served in banyan leaf.
This temple’s history and significance is very important as they are the one which rises the nation, in conclusion the nellaiyapar kanthimathi temple is the key example of Tamil nadu’s heritage and culture.
