Tirunelveli Nellaiappar Temple

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All about Nellaiappar Temple, Tirunelveli 

Chozan Thalaikonda Veerapandian stone inscription is the oldest found in Nellaiappar temple (946 - 966 AD). Also, the Nada Mani Mandapam contains 161 of these small musical pillars. To know more about the Tirunelveli Nellaiappar temple, log into our website, Tirunelveli Today.

An Overview of the Exclusive Features of the Nellaiappar Temple

The nellaiappar temple is situated at the centre of the city. The Tamirabharani River, sometimes known as "Porunai" by poets, surrounds the city. The city was once named "Venuvanam" as it was once a bamboo forest. It is claimed that after killing Mareecha, Lord Rama and Sage Agastya worshipped Lord Shiva in a bamboo forest.

The notion that Lord Vishnu came to Tirunelveli to perform the holy union of Goddess Kanthimathi and Lord Shiva is symbolized by the presence of a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu near the shrine. In order to offer the Lord, a destitute Brahmin named Veda Sharma collected rice grains. Veda Sharma begged the Lord to protect the grains when the rain started pouring.

The Tamil words for rice grain and fence are nel and veli. Thus, Tirunelveli city is also known as "Nellaiappar" or "He who protected the rice grains" because Lord Shiva formed a barrier to protect the rice crops. Tirunelveli was ruled by Swetha Kethu, a monarch who had no children. The monarch began to spend a lot of the time in the temple built for Lord Shiva. As the years passed and realized that he would soon pass away.

One day, when Lord Yamadharma Raja came to take away the king's life, Lord Shiva attached Yamadharma as the emperor was praising Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva informed the king that the Lord would decide the king's death. The stone carving located near the sannidhi of the temple of Lord Subrahmanyam shows the act of Lord Kalasamharamurthy.

When Lord Shiva took the form of Lingam, he visited Thirunelveli and made the place his home. The four Vedas surrounded the lord as bamboo trees to offer him shade. As a result, the Lord came to be called Venuvananathar and the Sthalam as Venu Vanarn. The word venu denotes bamboo, and Vanam implies forest).

All You Need to Know About the Architecture of Nellaiappar Temple

The temple has 50 stone inscriptions and more. Some of the notable features of this temple are:

• The musical pillars belong to the 7th century AD by Koon

• Pandyan or Nindrasir Nedumaran.

• The Somavara Mandapam contains a hall of 1000 pillars.

• The Tamira Sabha and its beautiful woodwork.

• The Vasantha Mandapam.

Numerous mandapams are decorated with realistic sculptures in this temple. The Sangili connects the shrines of Goddess Kantimathi and Lord Nellaiappar. Also, Tirunelveli is a place where God Shiva performed his dance, and each of these places has a stage or ambalam. The Thaamira Ambalam, also referred to as the Copper Stage, is located in Tirunelveli.

Within the inner precincts of the temple is a magnificent artwork called the Copper Hall of Dance. Just behind Thaamira Sabha is a shrine dedicated to the Lord Sandana Sabhapati. Thevaram, a Tamil canonical work by the holy Tamil poets called Nayanmars, was composed in the 7th century and honoured the reigning gods.

The 631,600-square-feet temple complex has rectangular walls concentrically placed around each of its shrines. The Cholas, Cheras, Madurai Nayaks and Pallavas erected the building. The original complex is said to have been built by the Pandyas.

A sizeable Nandi idol stands in the Nandi mandapam, similar to the ones at Rameswaram and Tanjore. The most distinctive feature is the "Mani mandapam", which is close to Nandi mandapam and has two huge pillars made of a single rock, each of which has 48 smaller pillars that sound like musical notes when they get struck.

The ability of one stone to generate various musical tones is proof of our ancestors' exceptional mastery of the "mathematics and physics of sound". In total, the Nadamani has 161 tiny pillars that produce sound. Tirunelveli is located one hundred and ten kilometres from Trivandrum and one hundred and sixty kilometres from Madurai. The town is accessible from cities like Chennai, Trivandrum, Madurai, and other important cities in Tamil Nadu.

A Brief on the Festivals Performed in the Nellaiappar Temple 

The types of festivals that are performed with great importance in nellaippar temple are Aadi Pooram, Aani Brahmostavam, Avani Moola Utsavam, Iypasi Thirukalyanam, Kandha Shasti, Puratasi Golu Darbar, Iypasi Visu, Margazhi Thiruvathirai, Masi Sivarathri, Chitirai Pournami Theerthavari, Koratham, Karthigai Thiruvananthal, Thai Amavasya, Panguni Uthram, Thai Poosam Theerthavari, Vaikasi Sheerabhishegam, Vasanthosthavam, and Visagam.

The Bottom-line

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