Gudalur Nambalakottai Temple, Nilgiris

Address

Kiloor Rd, Gudalur Town,

Nilgiris District,

Tamil Nadu 643211

Moolavar

Lord Betarayasvami

Introduction

Nambalakottai Temple is dedicated to Tribal God Betarayasvami (Lord of the Hunt) near Gudalur Town near Ooty Hill Station in Gudalur Taluk in Nilgiris District of Tamilnadu. This Temple is one of the ancient shrines in Nilgiris District. This Temple is significant to the cultural ethos, religious life, and rituals of the Mandadan Chettis. Gudalur is well connected to Ooty, Coonoor, Kotagiri and Kerala by Bus and private taxis.

Puranic Significance

Though Avvai Duraisamy Pillai seemed to have correctly identified (as early as 1957) this place as Umbarkadu of the Sangam period (Padirruppattu texts). The seriousness of the suggestion seems to have been ignored by several later authors on the subject. The tendency to identify Umbarkadu with Anaimalai in the Coimbatore region (mainly basing on the words meaning “elephants” and “hills”) is not quite sustainable. There is little evidence to show that Anaimalai would have been populous place during Sangam period.

On the other hand, Wayanad region wherein is situated Nambalakod (the present day form of Umbarkadu) appeared to have been a very active zone. The brahmadeya of 500 villages endowed by Imayavaramban Nedum Cheraladan in Umbarkadu to poet Kannanar is a pointer in this regard. Avvai Duraisamy Pillai further suggests that the present day Cannanore on the western coast was probably named after poet Kannanar. If this were so, the brahmadeya limits probably extended from Cannanore to Nambalakod.

A significant link in this connection is that the Nilgiri – Wayanad even during the British revenue settlement in the 19th Century had formed part of the jurisdiction of the Raja of Kottayam – a principality in the vicinity of Cannanore. The Badaga name for Nambalakod or Numbelahcotah is “Kottebetta”. It refers to the famous fort in Umbarkadu overrun by Palyanai Selkely Kuttuvan. The original site of the fort, even to the present day, exists a hoary shrine complex called the Betarayasvami Kovil (shrine of the “Lord of Hunt”) sacred both to the Todas and Mandadan Chettis. The shrine is maintained by the Janmi of Nilambur in Kerala. The priest at the shrine complex claimed that according to astronomical deductions based on documents at Nilambur, the shrine complex is 1700 years old.

The place is situated at about 3513 feet height, above mean sea level; the military importance of this place in the olden days cannot be overlooked. With the Nilgiri hills at the backdrop including a view of river Pykara and the vast expanse of territory running west towards the coast, the place must have indeed been a strategic one.

References

https://tamilnadu-favtourism.blogspot.com/2019/03/nambalakottai-temple-gudalur-nilgiris.html