Temples made of bricks were rebuilt with granite during Chola regime. Sembian Madevi, wife of Kandaraadhitha Chola was deeply involved in this process as she envisaged long life for the structures made of granite. She continued to contribute to many Temples even after the demise of her husband. The effort of Cholas in this direction is commendable as granite was not available in their Kingdom. They had to transport the stone from far away places by bullock carts. It is not enough to admire their devotion but it is imperative to vouch for the safety and preservation of the great Temples built by them.
Huge cost involved in building new structures with granite was the reason why the Temples of later period were built with bricks once again.Well ground lime paste was applied between the bricks and people switched over to easily available materials like cement. There are places where the bricks have whithered due to ageing and poor maintenance.One such Temple is at Mangudi, about 4 km from Thiruvidaimarudur near Kumbakonam. This place justifies its name as one can find good number of mango trees throughout the route.
The Shiva Temple at Mangudi is ruined and the shrine of Goddess is literally hanging with the help of the remaining bricks. The structure may collapse at any time due to lack of support. The idol of the Goddess is not there.
Brackets are seen to accomodate Deva Goshtas but we find a mutilated idol of Dakshinamurthi where a well carved figure of lion is shown near His feet. It reminds us the sculpture of Dakshinamurthi, seen at Vyagrapureeswarar Temple in Pulivanam near Uthiramerur. All other Goshtas are empty.
Many huts have occupied the Temple premisses. Even the local Panchayat has encroached the Temple by building new rooms for their mid day meal scheme. As no objection is made against these illegal occupation, tresspassers continue to stay there. When Mangudi is about to lose one of its marvels, is it not our duty to retain it for the future generations?
Having witnessed the pathetic sight of the Temple, our Sabha felt that an initiative to restore the Temple followed by evacuation of huts was the need of the hour. Plastering Shiva sannadhi was taken up immediately after an hour long discussion with locals. Materials are being procured and the work will start in a day or two and expected to be completed by the end of the month.
Special mention has to be made here about the involvement of a Sri Vaishnavaite who is a native of the village . He was instrumental in renovating Mariamman & Perumal Temples of the village. He has come forward to join the good cause of rebuilding the Shiva Temple. We wish to thank for his gesture as he stands as a good example for others in preserving the village Temples.
Readers may recall the post in this blog,posted on April10,2009 about a newly constructed Temple at Edamanal,near Sirkazhi. It is a classic example of coordinated work ,done in a professional manner. Mahakumbabishekam of this Temple will take place on 31st May,2012 with six "Kala" pujas. No stone is left unturned by the Trustees who have shown lot of enthusiasm in constructing the Temple to fulfil their father's vision of building the shrine in that village.
We also refer to our earlier post citing the good work done at Marudur by the sivacharyars who are the heredetory Trustees of Rajarajeswarar Temple here. One should visit the place to see the hard work carried out by them. It is said that King Sarjofi had deputed his minister to build the west facing Temple in order and arranged to send Veda Pundits from different places to reside at Marudur. The Trustees are understood to have taken legal steps to get back the Temple lands which are allegedly occupied and enjoyed . However, steps have been taken to renovate the Temple and devotees are requested to contact Sri Swaminathan at 0435-2442483 for more details.
