please help me how to know about my native place vriddhachalam in cuddolre distict of tamilnadu in anyway relates to chola history and i am very eager to know about the temple there viruthagreeswarar temple. while going thru poniyin selvan i found it was funded by sembian mahadevi for its renovation. please put your valauble inputs,
I am not a historian but a religious person who looks history on religious angle.
1. Kandaradithan built on gopuram which was thundrstuck about 100-150 years back. It was in that condition for long time and renovated 30 -40 years back.
2. Sambandar 3, appar 2 and sundarar 1 thevaram each.
3. Virudhachalam is Mudukundram in Tamil. Considered almost equal to Kasi. ( Kasikku veesam kammi)
4. Intrestingly the puranams tell that there was a hill and went underground, on which the temple stands today. Hence Vridha"chalam" or Mudu " Kundram" ( Old hill). It is proved today geologically that the rocks are very old underground, Lignite in the sorounding areas ( neyveli). So believe your ancestors
5. Kanchi Paramacharya always recited the Padigam ( Idar kalayum Padigam). However this thevaram is not much popular and Thirunedunkalam padigam only is sung as idar kalayum padigam in parayananms.
6. Sundar's Got Gold from Siva, As per his advise put it in Manimutharu river and as assured went to Kamalalayam tank of Thiruvarur , informed all and startedsearching for gold. It didnot come. Paravai snubbed him " Droped in River and Searching in a Tank" ( origin of Tamil Palamoli Attulappottu Kulathula tedarathu) Sung a beautiful thevaram saying Paravai nakkalidkkara., manatha Kappthu"Got his money. Both temples have a "Matruraitha Vinayagar" who checked the Gold before dropping and after getting.
7. Sembian Madevi and kandaradithan have done lot of renovations for the temple.
8. Swami Virdhagireeswara and ambal Virudhambika meaning both are old . Sundarar refuced to sing them as " Kilavanaiyum Kilavyaiyum Pada matten:". Then They installed another ambigai" balambikai" ( Young) and Sundarar sang. 9. There is another story on Gurunamachivayar. he used to get food from ambigai daily. On travel he came at midnight to Virudhachalam and sung a song as usual. He made a pun on the name Virudhambigai as .... Kilathi in every line. Ambigai refused saying being a kilavi ( old woman )cannot cook. Then he sung as ela mangaye,then she gave food. That is why Balambigai is installed. 10 Like Murugas Arupadaiveedu, Vinayagar also has aru veedu. ( 6 houses). The Virudhachalam Padala vinayagar is one in that 6.
Re: N A M E S - Chozha way :: Krishnan Iraman .. (1)
dear Meena thiru muthu kundram ( vridachalam)means old this hill was formed before and vanished before the rest the rock bed below the temple is given as evidence. however the name old is added as prefix to the god and amman sundarar refuses to sing here because he is irritated by the name. why sing about an old man? so another idol- balambika is installed and sundarar sings
what does he sing? he asks for gold for his dancer wife then he drops the gold in the mani muthar here and picks it up in thiruvarur temple tank- kamalalayam.
(so tamils first thought of speed transfer of funds)
co incidentally balaambika is the name of the second amman in malapaaadi and thirukadaiyur( perhaps they meant junior amman)