Can you please share the documentary evidence to prove the authenticity of the statue? Since I am relatively new to this group, I would love to learn about it.
What about the Ancientness of Pillayar installed by Paranjothi ( narasimha pallva I 0 in Thiruchengattagudi in Nanilam Tk. Nagapattinam Dt. Tamil nadu.
* The most ancient ganapathi recovered so far is the Veerapuram Vinayagar (Andra) which dates back to BC. It completely demystifies the theory that Ganesh was a much later addition. Pillayar worship seems to be ancient in south than what was thought earlier
* The second most ancient is the one at Pillaiyarpatti. Pandiyan kudaivarai. The inscriptions on the wall have been dated by Iyravatham as 3rd - 4th cent AD. The inscription reads "Erukottur Perunthasan".
* The ones who follow pillaiyarpatti are pillayars all over pandiya land like kokarnam - kundrakudi - thirukkolakkudi - mahipalanpatti and few others.
* The paranchothi theory - I am not sure. Vinayagar worship was established in south tamilnadu well before narasimha's invation. Hence siruthondar was certainly not the one who introduced ganesh worship. I am not sure if sekkizar sings that paranchothi actually bought ganapathy from vatapi. But the present statue at thiruchenkattangudi bears no resemblence to chalukyan features and hence is certainly not of chalukyan origin.
Dear SPS/VENKATESH/SHANKARAN/GOKUL/SATISH and others
Please write about Kanipakam Vinayagar - how it was unearthed and what period belong - now a days the Tirumala visit is not complete without visiting Kanipakam for Andhraites. Dhivakar