While a section of the Tamil people have been going gaga over the latest Ponniyin Selvan film, the Udayarkudi temple, which contains actual inscriptions on Aditya Karikalan’s murder, is in terrible shape.
Anantheeswarar Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located in Udaiyargudi, a part of Kattumannarkoil Town in Kattumannarkoil Taluk in Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu.This temple was constructed by Parantaka Chola I. As Lord Shiva was worshipped by Ananthan, one of the Eight Nagas (snakes), this temple was named Anantheeswarar Temple.
The temple houses the inscriptions detailing punishments given to the conspirators involved in the mysterious assassination of Aditya Karikala Chola at Kadambur palace. This inscription dated to Rajaraja Chola I regime mentions the name of the murderers of Aditya Karikala Chola and the punishment given. The punishment was applicable not only to the persons involved but also to his close relatives.
Also, it is believed that marriage of Rajaraja’s grandmother Chembian Madevi’s marriage was held in this temple.
The temple is currently under the control of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department.
A video taken of the temple recently shows the dismal condition of the temple having such a rich heritage.
The pathetic state of preservation of the temple inscriptions was shared by Jayakumar Bharadwaj (through @krithikasivasw), founder of “Prastara,” an NGO that works for the conservation and preservation of Indian heritage, and one of the main resource persons for the Ponniyin Selvan film.
While the Tamil community is sailing in the sea of #PonniyinSelvan movie success, Udayarkudi temple with actual inscriptions on the killing of #Adityakarikalan is in a terrible condition. Half of it is gone due to cementing.
We are the only ppl who destroy their own heritage pic.twitter.com/DwQvv1ybCt— krithika sivaswamy (@krithikasivasw) October 2, 2022
In the video that went viral in social media, it can be seen that the addition of brick and cement has entirely ruined the inscriptions under Dakshinamurthy and Durga and has already destroyed half of the other priceless inscriptions.
Denouncing HR&CE’s negligence in conserving the inscriptions at Anantheeswarar temple, which provide us with the wonderful history of Tamils, netizens and devotees sought the creation of an expert panel to renovate the damaged inscriptions.
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