The consecration of Sri Umamaheswar temple in Konerirajapuram took place on May 29. An ancient temple that was eulogised by Appar and Sambandar and hence Padal Petra Sthalam (mentioned in the songs of the four Saiva saints), it is known for the magnificent Nataraja, the largest measuring six feet. It is so huge that it cannot be carried around as Utsavamurti and hence enshrined separately. The temple, in fact, is considered the 34th among the 275 Siva temples that are revered in the verses of Saiva Nayanmars during the period 6th to 9th century AD. The temple underwent renovation and the premises look spruced up.
Konerirajapuram is a fairly large village consisting of nearly 20 well-formed streets. It is located 20 km south-east of Kumbakonam in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, and about 275 km south of Chennai. Thirunallam was the original name of the temple site, which was later changed to Konerirajapuram as it got enlarged.
Archaeologists and research scholars have found evidences in the inscriptions around the seventh century temple, originally built in brick, which was renovated using granite blocks during 10th century AD by the Chola queen Sembian Mahadevi, wife of Kandaraditta Chola, mother of Uttama Chola and grandmother of Rajaraja Chola. On the southern side of the inner wall of this temple, one can find the granite sculpture where Kandaraditta is offering prayers in front of a lingam and Sembian Mahadevi standing behind him. Inscriptions underneath give details of the Chola renovation. The temple has also been renovated by the Vijayanagar rulers and the Marathas.
Beautiful paintings adorn the ceilings and the side walls of the front mandapam belonging to, possibly the early 20th century. They all depict scenes of the temple festival and the life around that time. But most of these are now in a damaged condition.
