The Murugan Temple in Tirunelveli, known for its historical significance is located in the basin of the Thamirabarani river and often gets submerged during river floods. Meena, a second-year postgraduate archaeology student from Manonmaniyam Sundaranar University, along with classmates Sukanya, Bharati, and Ramana, are conducting archaeological research on this temple.
They discovered two inscriptions; the first one, located near the temple at Padithura, partially lies beneath a pillar in the step hall built above it. The visible part of this inscription, which is incomplete, consists of six lines in contemporary Tamil script, suggesting details about the temple’s architectural and structural elements dating back 950 years.
Approximately 500 meters from the temple, in a dilapidated hall, a second incomplete inscription was found, detailing the division and channelling of river water through a dam. Like the first, this inscription is also dated to be 950 years old, as confirmed by the shape of its script by Assistant Professors of Archaeology, Murugan and Madhivanan.
The central shrine of the temple, carved from a single rock, along with the mandapam, shows the temple’s antiquity, suggesting that while the mandapam is 950 years old, the sanctum sanctorum might be over a thousand years old. Meena noted that the temple has endured approximately 1000 floods over a millennium, illustrating its resilience and historical endurance.
In the Kerala floods last month, as the water level of the Periyar River continued to rise, the Manappuram Sree Mahadeva Temple in Aluva was submerged in floodwaters. Visuals showed that the main temple building and the surrounding premises were underwater to a depth of about three metres.
Adding to the worries of Kerala citizens, the Meteorological Department has forecast more rains, especially in the northern areas, till July 19. A yellow alert has been issued for seven districts – Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad.
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