Our ever-expanding city may trace much of its history from colonial times, but every now and then, we receive reminders that the region, as a whole, goes back far beyond. One such is the ongoing 10-day Masi festival at the Vadivudai Amman Adipuriswarar Temple in Tiruvottiyur. Central to it is the event to be observed on the 9th day, namely February 24, when the wedding of Sundaramurthy Nayanar, one of the greatest devotees of Siva, to Sangili Nachiyar, a damsel from Tiruvottiyur, is celebrated.
The event happened sometime in the 8th Century, and in a remarkable continuity of tradition, it has been commemorated ever since.
The story behind the wedding is well-known and does not need recounting here (for further details, see When the Lord played Cupid, written by me and published in The Hindu dated February 14, 2015). But what is of importance is the poetry that survives from that era, and the descriptions it gives of Tiruvottiyur. Most significantly, this was a shrine that was sung about by three ardent devotees of Siva — Appar, Sambandar, and Sundaramurthy. The first two were coeval and lived prior to Sundaramurthy. Between Appar and Sundaramurthy in particular, Sambandar’s verse being essentially an adoration of the Lord, they give us a word picture of the village of Tiruvottiyur, which was true of the place till recent times.
The sea is still a mighty presence here and the verses reflect that. Appar in his Manamenum Toni Parri describes life itself as a voyage across water — he asks the Lord that he be granted the ability to remember the Almighty when the rock of passion strikes the vessel of desire in which he, with ego as his oar and anger as cargo, has set sail. To Sundaramurthy, the air here is laden with moisture and the waves bring conches, shells, precious stones, and gold and deposit them on the shores. He also makes mention of the small harbour that once existed here, with tiny vessels bobbing in the waters. Sundaramurthy also draws attention to the fact that different denominations of Siva devotees practised their austerities here.
Vestiges of these still survive by way of sub-shrines, stone carvings and monasteries that have become temples all around the place. Another interesting reference that Sundaramurthy makes in connection with Tiruvottiyur is of sugar cane. The same imagery is taken by the 10th Century CE saint Pattinathar, whose samadhi is in the vicinity when he describes the Lord at the temple entirely drawing parallels to sugar cane.
The temple here has connections with the Cholas, the great Rajendra having built a part of it. The Cheras played a role, as did the Vijayanagar rulers. Great scholars in Tamil and Sanskrit taught the languages here and courtesans, known for their erudition and mastery of the art, were recognised at the temple.
In European times, Tiruvottiyur was eyed more for its commercial scope — salt panning which went on for long here was a major attraction. The Dutch held it for a while, and then it was with the Nawabs. The British eventually gained control of it and were faced with a problem that still persists — incursion of the sea, which has only increased after the construction of the city harbour. And the temple continued to grow. Not many may be aware that the Tiruvottreeswarar shrine in the middle of the precinct is a 19th Century addition.
In its own way, the magnificent Tiruvottiyur temple holds up a mirror to our city’s past.
(V. Sriram is a writer and historian.)
