Uttiramerur

Uttiramerur (Tamil: உத்திரமேரூர்) is a small town situated near Chennai (Madras), India. Uttiramerur, once known as Chaturvedhi Mangalam (meaning a town with people knowledgeable of all 4 vedas viz rig, yajur, sama and atharvana), followed a highly organised democratic system. Uttiramerur is located 35 km from Kanchipuram. It is known for its temples, built over 1200 years ago by the Pallavas and Cholas.^[1]

Democracy

Democratic principles were followed in various fields like the treasury, educational committee, water tank maintenance committee and infrastructure maintenance committee.

The elections for those committees were conducted in a highly professional way where each contestants needed to meet strict eligibility criteria. The contestants needed to be well educated. They should never be convicted. The candidates should be between the ages of 35 and 70. One could contest an office only three times in their lifetime and an elected candidate could contest the office again only after two tenures by someone else.

The roads in Uttiramerur were very well planned. One can see a very advanced drainage system where all the rain water is collected in various tanks around the town. Forty-eight-foot-wide (15 m) roads can be seen, and the quality of their construction can clearly explain the success of a well-planned democracy. All of this information is available in the archeological carvings in Vaikuntha-vasar temple, Uttiramerur.

Sundaravaradhan

Sundharavaradhan temple, in Uttiramerur, was constructed by the Pallavas in 750 A.D. and later renovated by Cholas and Vijayanagars. Construction may have commenced even earlier, from the evidence provided by the building materials. The architectural design is highly advanced. The temple is a three storey building, constructed in such a way that devotees can’t walk above the deities.

The ground floor has all of its four deities standing; they are called varadhans (boon givers). The ground floor signifies the relationship between earthly devotees and God, where devotees expect a boon from the God and he is there to give it to them. The deities present in the ground floor are Sundharavaradhan, Kalyanavaradhan, Achutavaradhan and Anurudhravaradhan.

The significance of the seated deities on the first floor is that they all provide knowledge about truth to their devotees (the people who put their effort into worshipping gods on the first floor are qualified to gain the knowledge because of their eagerness). The gods present on the first floor are Bhagvath-Gita Krishnan with Arjun, Bhuvaragan (savior of the earth) with Lakshmi, and Yoga Narasimmar (lion God) and Vaikunthavaradhan.

The second floor has an Anathapadmanaban (very similar to Paranthaman in Parkatal), the significance being that knowledge and a little more effort can drive us to mukthi (salvation or liberation).

There is an underground tunnel which is supposed to connect to Kanchipuram from the temple.(Not verifiable)

References