Dadapuram Sri Manikantesvara (Manikkesvaram) Temple, Villupuram

Address

Dadapuram Sri Manikantesvara (Manikkesvaram) Temple, Dadapuram, Tindivanam Tehsil, Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu 604207

Diety

Sri Manikanteesvara (Manikkesvaram) Amman: Sri Manickavalli, Sri Kamatchi

Introduction

Dadapuram village is located in Tindivanam Tehsil of Viluppuram district in Tamil Nadu, India. Dhadapuram is the gram panchayat of Dadapuram village. Dadapuram is now an obscure village in the Tindivanam taluk of South Arcot district about 3.2 kms (two miles) from Vallimedupettai. Dadapuram is the corruption of Rajarajapuram. The Siva temple now called Sri Manikantesvaram is named in the inscription on the temple walls that of Manikka Isvara, evidently after one of the titles of Rajaraja I. The neighbouring village of Ennayiram is called the taniyur of Rajaraja-chaturvedimangalam. If not identical with it Rajarajapuram might at least have been part of the city-complex of Rajaraja-chaturvedimangalam. There are three inscriptions, of the 19th 21 st and 25th years of Rajaraja I on the walls of this Siva temple.

Puranic Significance

An inscription of the 21 st year of Rajaraja I on the wall of the Sri Kari-varada Perumal temple here gives a list of vessels and ornaments made of gold, silver and pearls and presented to the temples of Kundavai Vinnagar, Manikkaesvaram and Kundavai Jinalaya built by Parantakan Kundavaip-pirattiyar, daughter of Ponmaligaitunjina devar (Sundara Chola) in the city of Rajarajapuram (modern Dadapuram). Another inscription of the twenty-first year of Rajaraja I in this temple also refers to the construction of the three temples built by Princess Kundavai Pirattiyar in the city of Rajarajapuram referred to above and it records that, on receipt of a royal writ, the administrative officer in charge of Panaiyur ordered the temple treasury to be examined and a list of the various gifts consisting of vessels and ornaments of various descriptions made of gold, silver and pearls, to be engraved on stone in the respective temples. The inscription of the twenty-fifth regnal year of Rajaraja I mentions a gift of ten lamps made by Parantaka Kundavai Pirattiyar. The inscription of the fourth year of Rajendra I also refers to gifts made to the above temple. Thus it is clear that this Siva temple must have been built of stone sometime before the nineteenth year of Rajaraja and we may add that the temple of Rajarajesvaram at Tanjavur should also have been built about the same time.

Special Features

1.Ganesa: A double lotus petal pitham, short stout legs, big belly, the necklace, the, the drapery, the broad sash with loops and tassels falling over the right leg and the semi-circular umbrella above deserve notice. 2. Jnana Dakshinamurti: The jatabhara is elaborately worked out; a smile on the lips instead of the usual deep contemplative look is note-worthy. 3. Vishnu: The four-armed god stands with his proper right and left hands in abhaya and katyavalambita poses respectively, and holds sankha and chakra in the other two. He wears kirita-makuta, necklace, keyuras, bracelets and anklets. The uttariya has a central loop with a knot on the right side. 4. Durga: The eight-handed goddess stands in the tribhanga pose with her proper right and left hands in abhaya and katyavalambita poses respectively. In the remaining hands she holds a khadga, a chakra, a sankha, a long bow and a ketaka. She wears a karanda-makuta, channavira and kesabandha. The central loop and the side knots and tassels of the drapery are in evidence. There is a semi-circular chhatra over her head. Subrahmanyar, Jyeshtha and Bhairavar: These should have been the deities of the ashta-parivara alayas—a feature of the Early Chola temples, found even in the temples of Rajaraja I