Nellaiappar Temple
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| Nellaiappar Thirukoil | |||
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| Name: | Nellaiappar Thirukoil | ||
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| Creator: | Pandyas | ||
| Date built: | 700 AD | ||
| Primary deity: | Nellaiappar(Shiva) | ||
| Architecture: | South Indian, Kovil | ||
| Location: | Tirunelveli | ||
Nellaiappar Temple (also spelled Nellaiyappar) is located in the heart of the town of Tirunelveli in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the famous Tamil Nadu temples, deep in tradition and history and also known for its musical pillars and brilliant sculptural splendours.[1]
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[edit] History
The temple dates back to 700 AD and in the temple are inscriptions going back to 950 A.D. It is believed there were two distinct temples. They were built for Shiva and for Parvati, the consort to Lord Shiva, by the Pandyan kings. The Sangili Mandapam {a big terranced hall) linking these two was built in the 17th century. The towers also date back to early 17th century.
Vishnu and Agastya are believed to have worshipped Shiva here.
[edit] Temple
The temple is a comples of two huge temples covering an area of 14 acres aand linked by the Mandapam which has pillars with beautiful life-sized sculptures carved into them as do many of the Mandapams there. The 1000 pillared hall is of great beauty. The musical pillars in the Mani Mandapam produce sound in various pitches when struck are from the 7th century AD.[2]
This is a vast temple with many unique features such as the Manimandapam near the Nandi mandapam that has two huge pillars carved out of a single stone. Each giant pillar has 48 small pillars which produce musical sounds when struck.[3]
This temple houses a shrine to Shiva and to Parvati. There is also a shrine to Vishnu near the sanctum signifying the belief that Nellai Govindan (Vishnu) visited Tirunelveli to officiate the divine marriage of Shiva and Kanthimathi. There are several other legends associated with this temple.
There is a legend that there is a tunnel behind the Ravana sculpture in the temple corridor that connects Thirunelveli and Madurai. This tunnel was supposed to have been used by the Pandya kings & their spies on secret missions.
[edit] References
- ^ Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli. Retrieved on September 17, 2006.
- ^ Nellaiappar Temple at Tirunelveli. Retrieved on September 17, 2006.
- ^ Tirunelveli Shivastalam. Retrieved on September 17, 2006.
