Aragalur

Aragalur (six moat place) (ஆறகழூர் : ஆறு அகழி ஊர்) is a village in Salem district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is about 6 km from Thalaivasal and 70 km from Salem.

Etymology

Aragalur literally means "six moat place" or the village having six moats. One of the recent records suggest that the moats could have been in concentric circles. Most of the moats have been filled and flattened to keep up the population growth.

History

Aragalur (Arakalur / Aragaloor / Aragazhur) was the capital of Magadai mandalam ruled by the well known Bana Chieftains around 1190-1260 CE. Aragalurudaiya Ponparappinan Rajarajadevan alias Magadesan was the greatest in this dynasty. Pallava inscriptions say, Chief Vanakovaraiyan Rajarajadevan Vannenjan alias Vannenja, a subordinate of Kopperunjingadeva - Kadava dynasty, lived in Aragalur around 1254 CE. The chief at Aragalur also has a family title of 'Ponparappinan'- referring to the gilding of the central shrine of the Arunachaleswara Temple [1] at Tiruvannamalai and 'Bana' the clan / family title. This dynasty ruled at the same period as Kulothunga Chola III, and Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I. Pandian won over Magadesan in 1251 CE but returned the kingdom back. Magadesan ruled Aragalur with out being subordinate and hence was captured and kept at Sankagiri fort. Magadesan's insignia was Rishabha the sacred Bull and the Garuda the sacred eagle and his elephant was called Airavata.

Government

In 2007 Village Panchayat President Election Mrs.K. Sumathi was selected.

Politics

Aragalur is part of the Gangavalli (SC) State Assembly seat and Kallakkurichi (SC) Parliament seat. It is interesting to note that there are more Scheduled castes and scheduled tribes constituencies near Aragalur. State ST: Yercaud, Sendamangalam & Uppiliapuram. State SC: Thalaivasal, Perambalur, Varahur, Mangalore & Ulundurpettai. Parliament SC seats: Rasipuram, Perambalur & Chidambaram.

Geography

Vasishta Nadi carries the drainage of Kalrayan Hills and flows through Attur, Thalaivasal and Cuddalore district with check dam at Pakkampadi and Periyeri / Aragalur border. This river flows in Tiruchirapalli and joins Sweta Nadi before flowing into the Bay of Bengal. Vasishta Nadi flows on the north and east part of the village. The Eri (argiriculture resorviour - diverted from river) feeds many parts of the wet lands. Other areas are feed by and deep open wells or borewells tapping the aquifer. There is also a concern that the ground water table is going down in this region due to excessive exploitation of ground water for agriculture.

Surrounding Places

Neighborhoods

Anna Nagar Santhu, Bazaar Street, Meenavar Street, North Street, Boyar Street, Theepetty Colony, Marriyamman Kovil street, Velippalaiyam, Palaiya Colony, West Colony, East Colony, Kattukottaikal, Tharodum Street, Solisvaran Kovil Street & Mannathi Street. As an elder put, this village is very well organized based on the labor skills that they provided. It can also be seen as segregation based on caste system.

Regions include: Agraharam, Raja Vedi, Valayalkara theru, Kottai (Fort?) Street, Vannara Street & Cheri.

Microsoft. Map of Aragalur – Bing Maps (Map). Cartography by NavTEQ, Inc. http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?cp=11.560762~78.788624&style=h&lvl=18. Retrieved 2011-02-10. 

Economy

Aragalur is primarily an agriculture village. Cattle (Cow, Buffalo, Goat, and Chicken) are grown for the milk, meat, leather and as working animal. Also as a hub for the neighboring villages, the village Sandy (Farmers' market) is held on the Wednesday. There, you can get the fresh farm produce sold mostly by the farmers themselves. The market street has small businesses that cater to the daily needs of the population. There are private medical practitioners and a veterinarian to take care of the people and the large cattle population.

Transportation

The mode to reach Aragalur is by taxi from Thaliavasal or Attur. Alternatively, you can also reach it by a bus from Attur/Thalaivasal that runs approximately once every hour.

Nearest railway station: Thalaivasal (TVSL).

Aragalur is landlocked and depends on the Port of Chennai for most oceangoing freight.

Nearest airport is Salem Airport (IATA: SXV – ICAO: VOSM) which is 70 km away.

Communication

Indian Postal Service operates a Sub-Office (636 101) at Aragalur. There is a telephone exchange catering to the land line telephones. Recently the usage of mobile phones has increased in the village and shops selling them are available.

Education

Educational institutions include

1. Bharathi Vidya Mandir Matriculation School
2. Panchayat Union Elementary School
3. Government Boys Higher Secondary School
4. Government Girls High School

Demographics

People of Aragalur are predominantly of Hindu faith speaking Tamil language. There is a significant number of Sengunthar community who are primarily weavers. This village has many temples including Sri Kamanada Eswar and Solesvara (Ashlar walls)- dedicated to Lord Shiva and Karivarada Raja Perumal dedicated to Lord Vishnu. There is also a 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) Buddha idol and a 3 ft idol in the village of Thiyaganur on the outskirts of the Aragalur.

Flora and fauna

Lake fed areas are cultivated with rice and cotton, while the dry lands are more suitable for peanuts (goundnuts) and casava. Coconut is one of the common tall trees. The eri is planted with trees to retain the soil and also retain water due to improved cover from hot sun. The wild animals in this area include lizards, crows, sparrows and rarely rabbits. கறிவேப்பிலை karivepallai, Curry Tree, was introduced in the early 2000s in and around Aragalur.

Tourism

Temples are primary attraction and few select days in the year are special for each of the big temples. Taking the god for a tour in the evening happens on auspicious occasions around the Raja Vedi. Aragalur celebrates many festivals like Pongal where the friends and relatives of nearby villages are invited.

Shiva: Bhairavar puja is celebrated in a grand way at the Sri Kamanada Eswar temple on the 8th day after the new moon day (Ashtami) at midnight. This is probably the only temple having like this Bairavar pooja in Tamil Nadu. On the day before Panguni Uthiram, morning sun-ray directly falls on the Lingam and is worshiped at this time by small number of traditional local families. This next occurs on March 18, 2011. This temple has a Temple tank, though dry for most part of the year. Kameshwara temple stala Purana indicates that the Kamadeva woke up Siva at this place. There is a village named Kaamakkaapaliyam in this locality. Sri Kamanada Eswar temple was built prior to 1206 CE and hosts many Epigraphs of historic and Archaeological importance and it is maintained by Tamil Nadu Government Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments ministry. The epigraphs were collected by the British Raj in 1931CE and numbered it 408 - 455. Bhirava pooja here is recent phenomena - since September 17, 1993CE, and it is getting very popular and the village bustles with transient business. The vimana is of 3 levels and it has Temple tank.

Vishnu: Rajaraja Vanar Kovaraiyan built Karivaradha Perumal Kovil (Vishnu) in 12th century that is facing West. There are nice Dasavatara murals with the 9th avatar as Budha. This temple has a Temple tank having water. Its water is not used or minimally used for the ritualistic activity. This is parrikara sthalam for the people with stars Uthiradam, Thiruvonam, Avittam & Moolam. The vimana is of 3 levels and it has Temple tank.

Both the Sri Kamadada (consort's temple pillar) and Karivaradha Perumal (roof) temples have the sun, moon and the dagger Royal Insignia of the Vijayanagara Empire embossed on the granite wall/pillar.

Solesvaran Temple: This temple gives the old name for the village as 'Thayinum nalla chozhiswaram'. The temple is constructed using Granite stones with no mortar. There is one inscription in the temple, Nandi in separate Mandapa. There is another small temple for the goddess adjacent to the Solesvaran temple and the construction is similar to the mail temple. Locals believe that this was constructed by/in honor of Kulothunga Chola III. In 2007, volunteers have cleared the vegetation over growth on the roof of this temple.

Ambairamman temple, on the Vasishta Nadi, has 2 Vinayakars that's not as common.

Temple cars: (Donated by Eramanchi Tulukanna Nayaka 1518 under Vijayanagara Empire ruler Krishnadevaraya) in ruins - not maintained. The art work is brilliant even in the current condition.

Buddha temple: The Budha temple and Buddha statues are found in the neighboring village Thiyaganur is another attraction to visitors.

For the visitors who have extra time on their hand there is no shortage of temples, small and big, in this small village. There are 21 temples for the tiny population of this village.

Bronze Jain statues were present in this village. They are probably moved to Salem museum.

International tourists have visited Aragalur in 2007 as part of Agritourism due to promotion of Organic Farming by few enterprising farmers - using the Hospitality service.

There are couple of restaurants that provide basic food to the locals and tourists. For accommodation, Attur is the nearest desirable place.

There are 12 Siva temples located on villages through which Vasishta Nadi flows. These include the panchaboodhas (Five Classical Elements or Tattva): Belur Thandodreswarar (land), Ethapur Sambavamoortheswarar (water), Attur Kottai Kayanirmeshwarar (Fire), Aragalur Kamanadeshwarar (Air) & Koogayur Swarnapurieswarar (Sky).

References

1. The Hoysaḷa Dynasty, By University of Mysore. Dept. of History
2. Madras District Gazetteers, By Madras (India : State)
3. Gadyakarṇāmr̥ta of Sakala-Vidyācakravarttin, S. S. Janaki, Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute.

External links

1. official district web site
2. block map
3. Inscription 408-455 year 1913CE
4. Research team visit to Aragalur Solesvara temple
5. Book on Pon Parappina Vanakovaraiyan & his contribution to Art
6. Aragalur travel guide from Wikitravel