The van stopped in the middle of nowhere. To one side were fields, and a village. To the other side, rice fields stretching as far as the eye could see.
We got out of the bus, and went down a narrow street, that went around a village. There it appeared; a temple wall, in the middle of more paddy fields, some vimanam sticking out above the wall. In the van, Pradeep had mentioned to us that the temple was practically unused. For us, the priest and the local collector had opened up and cleaned it.
Through a small gopuram, we entered the temple. Pradeep asked us all then to maintain silence, for a few minutes. He asked us to take in the atmosphere of the place. We stood in silence, around the entrance. Total silence, except for the call of a few birds.
Then we entered. The temple has a narrow entranceway, so we entered few at a time. Inside there was some place to sit, with a large area and a few pillars. The next sanctum, the sanctum sanctorum, had the Lingam.
Pradeep then asked us to close our eyes and sit for a few minutes. Then he explained :(for the benefit of readers: this is all to get people curious as to what was unique about the place).
This temple, was actually built on the sight of the burial place of Rajendra Chola's aunt. She was a patron of temples, so when she died, a Shaivite sect asked to use her resting place as a temple. The Shivalingam rests over her body.
This sect believes that the fastest way to reach God is through death. And to die, they do whatever is shunned by society. They rub ash from cremation sites over their bodies, live among the dead, and and live a very unhealthy lifestyle.
There are quite a few Pallipadais in South India. They are usually built over the resting place of a king, or important royal person in society. One has already been covered by me: Rajaraja's grandfather, Parantaka I's Pallipadai, in Melpadi.
We then left the inside of the temple through a small opening in the wall, and went around the outside, admiring the niche idols, and the inscriptions.
One of the inscriptions mentions Panchavan Madevi. Right before that, the word Pallipadai has been scratched out. This sect held prominence in the court of Rajaraja and Rajendra, but in the ensuing years, they lost prominence. Disgusted with that way of life, later on, someone has defaced the inscription, trying to remove that segment of the temple's life.
Entrance gopuram
The smudgy place was where the word Pallipadai was
Just inside the temple
The temple from afar
From here, our plan was to go to Thiruvudaimaruthur, but a man who was a local historian, who happened to be there at the Pallipadai when we were, told us of an Aditya I Brick temple, just a short walk away. So we walked back to the van, and took the parallel street to a magnificent Chola temple.
This temple, built in the reign of Aditya, in the traditional brick style, was said to be built in 888ad. (or 15th year of reign) Towards the end of his reign. This region falls under the old Parzeyarai (or 'old court') region, where the Chola kings ruled from, before VijayAlaya captured Thanjavur.
The temple was supposed to have had a bronze image of Brahma about 4 feet tall, but which was stolen some years back, narrated the historian, BalaPadhmanabhan. The idol, luckily, was found in Trichy a few months later. It is now kept locked up, and only an image has been put on display.
The temple is more or less falling apart. The roof of the first room has gone, and the doors of the sanctum have been replaced with grill gates. The temple is very simple, built in brick, with plastering, but the plastering is slowly falling off.The niche idols are all the old Chola ones, but in a couple of cases, like the Brahma, only images are displayed. There is, leaning against a subshrine, an inscription from the year of construction of the temple, mentioning Aditya I having commissioned it.
Thirumetrali Aditya temple. (warning: the priest may not be available at all times to open the temple. )
temple from the end of the road
view of the temple through the remains of the doors
If you notice, the area in front of the temple has only walls, and a floor, no roof. The roof may have crumbled, and/or been vandalised, as is more likely, over the centuries.
some old pillars which were probably in the first room, now lying discarded.
Vimanam
Nandi
After spending some time here, we went back to the van, and headed to Thiruvudaimaruthur, but first put in a stop at Parzeyarai. The temple of the city was locked, though, and our guides decided not to ask for the key!
The Gopuram alone of Parzayarai was fascinating enough. The lower section is made of stone, and the top is brick, with plants growing out of it. We stood around for a while, looking and talking, before heading on to Thiruvudaimaruthur.
Main Gopuram
Just inside
Some traditional games on the floor
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