freinds, yesterday i went to poompuhar. i took my freind to show the sampadhi amman temple near the sayavanam temple complex. it is situated inside a dense bamboo thicket on the western side of the temple. there is only a small groove takes you there. the temple is not yet declared as a protected area by ASI or state archeology dept. the villagers nearby told me that they have been adviced notto reconstruct the dilapidated old structure. so the amman has been brought out and housed inside a hut temple. the structure does not appear to belong to the sangam age. but the structures beneath the present temple may be having evidense of the old temple. the temple now is in a small elevated ground. hence it is possible there is an another old structure beneath the ground. it appears a tsunami swept the town 1500 years ago and the sea has submerged all the town for some centuries. later a new town could have come up where pallavaneeswaram and sayavanam temples were re-constructed. the excavations at the buddha vihara complex is completed and a museum is also functioning. the whole melayoor and its vicinity has lot of archeological treasures. but we know only the keezhaiyoor modern art gallery.
can anyone tell me where in silapathikaram the sambathi amman temple is mentioned? (the local guide told me that it was visited by kannaki herself !as per silapathikaram text).