Sri Veetrirundha Perumal Temple, Veppathur

Address

Sri Veetrirundha Perumal Temple Sy.No. 56-2, Thiruvidaimarudur Block, Veppathur, Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu- 612105

Diety

Veetrirundha Perumal

Introduction

Veetrirundha Perumal Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the village of Veppathur in the Thiruvidaimarudur taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamilnadu, India. The temple is dedicated to God Vishnu. The stone and mortar temple is believed to have been constructed in about 850 AD by the Pallavas and was later renovated by the Chola king Raja Raja Chola and by Krishna Devaraya in 1520. The temple is built on top of an older brick temple some of whose remains have survived. The remains constitute one of the two surviving Hindu temples of the pre-Pallava period, the other being the Subrahmanya temple at Saluvankuppam, and one of the oldest ones in Tamil Nadu.

Puranic Significance

Veetrirundha Perumal temple must have been built around 850 CE during the time of the Pallava ruler, Nandivarman III. He settled Brahmins in a part of Veppathur and called that area “Avani Narana Chaturvedi Mangalam” (after one of his titles) and the temple was called Avani Narana Vinnagar. “The temple with its 90-feet tall vimana formed the centre of the Avani Narana Chaturvedi Mangalam founded by Nandivarman III,” informs the expert. It was during the rule of Nandivarman III that the Pallava murals were painted (on the inner walls of the sanctum). The presiding deity at that time was a stucco figure. It was during the time of Raja Raja Chola that the presiding deity of Veetrirundha Perumal, and his two consorts, Nilamangai and Thirumangai, all made of granite, were consecrated in the sanctum. The frescoes of the Chola period were painted over the Pallava murals during the rule of Raja Raja Chola. About 520 years later, that is, in 1520 CE, the temple was renovated during the rule of Krishnadevaraya and fresh murals were drawn over the Chola frescoes.