Alambakkam, now a laid back village near Tiruchi , was once an important administrative centre, with several surrounding villages coming under its jurisdiction. K. Sridharan, retired archaeologist, State Archaeology Department, says the village was established in the 8th Century C.E. as a Brahmin settlement (Brahmadeyam) by Pallava king Dantivarma. In Pallava inscriptions it is referred to as Dantivarmamangalam, and in Chola records as Madurantaka Chaturvedi Mangalam. The Siva temple here must also have been built by Dantivarma, for the deity is known as Dantisvara. “Further proof of the Pallava presence comes from the name of the lake given in inscriptions — Marpidugu Eri. The famous Swastik well in nearby Thiruvellarai was built by Kamban Araiyan, who gave it the name of Marpidugu Kinaru, during Dantivarma’s reign. Marpidugu was one of the royal titles of Dantivarma. So perhaps the lake in Alambakkam was also built by Kamban Araiyan,” says Sridharan. “The Tiruvellarai inscription says Kamban Arayan is the brother of Vijayanalluzhan of Alambakkam. In the Chola period, the Marpidugu Eri came to be called Madurantaka Pereri.”
There are four temples in Alambakkam: Chelliamman temple, Ayyanar temple, Varadaraja Perumal temple and Kailasanatha temple. “The Chelliamman temple also known as Pidari temple in inscriptions has the earliest epigraphical reference- (932 C.E. -25th regnal year of Parantaka I) to a temple for Saptamatrukas,” says Sridharan. “What is now the Chelliamman temple must have been a Saptmatruka temple in Parantaka’s time.”
The inscriptions also talk of temples that no longer exist. Sridharan says that there is an inscription belonging to the 8th regnal year of Raja Raja I (985-1013 C.E.) that talks of a Krishna temple at Tiruvaypadi, but this temple is lost. Another inscription refers to Chitrakuta and Aypadi, which must have been hamlets of Alambakkam, but no one knows where these villages are now. Sridharan says that the deity in the Kailasanatha temple was also known as Amaresvara. “Some of the inscriptions are damaged, as for example, one inscription in the Kailasanatha temple, where the name of the King is not clear. But from the prasasti ‘Thingalertaru,’ one can guess that it is Rajadhi Raja I”, says Sridharan.
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Valanaadu was a name used during Raja Raja I’s period for a large administrative division of the land. The name of the Valanaadu in which Alambakkam was situated changed many times. In the time of Rajadhi Raja I, the Valanadu to which Alambakkam belonged was called Rajendrasainga Valanadu. In the time of Kulottunga I, it was renamed Tyagavalli Valanadu, Tyagavalli being the name of Kulottunga I’s third queen. In Vikrama Chola’s time (1118 – 1135 C.E) it was named Tribhuvanamuzhududaiyal, after the king’s second queen. In Raja Raja II’s period (1146 – 1178 C.E.), it became Mukkokizhanadigal valanadu, so named after his queen.
“An inscription recording donation of land to the Varadaraja temple, refers to it as Metraliperumal temple, and the boundaries of the land are given as Marpidugu eri and Sridevi vaikkaal.”
An inscription of Rajadhiraja II, says that some Siva Brahmanas of the village borrowed money from the temple treasury, but for some reason, they abandoned their lands and their homes and left the village. Other Siva Brahmanas of the village took over the abandoned land and decided to sell it to the
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temple. “The Pandyan wars of succession must have had some connection to the sudden exit of the Siva Brahmanas,” says Sridharan.
“The Kailasanatha temple comes under the State Archaeology department, and in 2005-2006, a recurrent problem we faced was flooding during the monsoon. Outlets from the lake had been encroached upon. The temple was unapproachable during the rains. Our department brought in experts from the water and drainage board, and outlets were provided that would take water away from the temple, in case of an overflow. But the Alambakkam Varadaraja temple was not under our department. It was dilapidated and surrounded by bushes when I last saw it,” says Sridharan.
To my surprise, however, when I visit the Alambakkam Varadaraja temple, I find all the vegetation around the temple has been cleared and its boundaries marked. A compound wall is coming up. The temple structure is surrounded by scaffolding. I am told that one part of the wall had collapsed and that the temple was being put back together. The temple is a mada koil — the sanctum at an elevation. The deity — a seven foot tall Varadaraja, flanked by Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi has been moved to a temporary structure nearby. The deity is in a seated position, with the left hand is in AhvAna (beckoning) posture and the right in abhaya (protecting) posture. The temple is not under the State Archaeology department, but the restoration work is proceeding methodically, with all the stones having been numbered.
However, the Kailasanatha temple, which is under the State Archaeology department, presents a sorry picture. It is surrounded by vegetation, and looks pathetic. Is this the way to treat a historically important monument?