Monday, March 22, 2010

Vijayamangalam Samana/Jain Temple


"Once a flourishing place of worship for the Jains in Kongunadu and said to date back to the 6th Century, the temple is now a neglected stone monument that has suffered the ravages of time. The temple, built by King Konguvelir, is an art lover's delight. According to the inscriptions in Pali and Tamil found on the pillars, a few Jain munis had attained mukthi here by fasting till death. The birth of Mahavira and his life is carved on the top as a panel.A dance mandapam, dating back to the 13th Century, is another highlight."

The shocking part of the coverage was "Unfortunately, the idol of Chandraprabha Tirthankar was stolen some months ago. Now only an idol of goddess Kushmandala Devi and that of Mahavira remain. "

More from the article "There are similar shrines in disrepair at Thingalur and Seenapuram, 10 km away. The one at Thingalur is set in scenic surroundings but is a nightmare once you open the door, as it is now a haven for bats. The priest hurriedly clears up the bat droppings to reveal a temple that must have stood out for its architecture centuries ago. "


Writer Subha J Rao expresses her anguish "The beauty of this Jain temple complex leaves you feeling sad and awe-struck at the same time for it has no power supply, no guidebooks, no one, except the priest, to tell you more about it."

Jainsamaj.org gives some more information abt the temple:
Pullava, the younger sister of chamundaraya (978) the great minister of Ganga king rajamall-4, died performing this rite (salekana - fast until death) and a slab was set up within the chandranatha basti at Vijaymangalam. The dead sravika pullavva is shown on the upper niche seated in padmasana with folded hands.

The village is celebrated birthplace of Jain Monk Bhavanadi, he is the author of the tamil grammer book - Nannul.
Incidentaly, Tolkaapiyam , the oldest grammer book in any language was written by Tolkaapiyar, another Jain monk.

9 comments:

m.d. rajendran, chennai said...

Before his incarceration, Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamy of Kanchi Mutt visited Tirupathi and mentioned that it is "NOT A VAISHNAVITE" temple, which invited hue and cry from Jeeayars of Vaishnavite Mutts. Though he did not mention about the real identity of The Idol he was admitting the facts posted in this blog about Thirupathi temple.

Anonymous said...

Aryan theory itself is a theory and possibly a myth...is it not? read Dr. Kumarasamy Thangaraj's research work (luckily he is a Dravidian as per your language). For heaven sake, do not divide people in the name of caste, creed, religion, aryan and Dravidian.

mahesh said...

its realy an eye opener

Kodumudi said...

I remember once my father said , 'Bhavanandhi' , author of Nannul lived in Cheenapuram 'actually jainapuram' not far from vijayamangalam.

Unknown said...

i and my group from erode are intrested in re construct the damaged part of jain temple in vijaymangalam but dont know whom to contact

Unknown said...

Yes it looks really true that the most of this temples are jain since jainism has very deep history in sub continent. Tirupati devasthanam should show full image of deva idol in public.

Anonymous said...

We are all Indians let's not talk about which God belongs to which community.If the creator has not differentiated in making the mankind why are we classifying the almighty God with any community.

Believe me the superpower will bless all of us in any form be it jain Dharma be it brahma karma. All roads will lead to the same goal of achieving Supreme Abode. Make world a better place for our comming generations

k.v.k.Raj said...

While going through various books on Thirupathi Venkatachalapathi I doubt on writers whether they are writing real matters or just for money and publicity and/or to confuse the public. I have also come across a book which says that the idol of Venkatachalapathi was originally that of Subramanyar and the Vaishnavites converted as Venkatachalapathi. It is also said that one serpent NAGAM (COBRA) hit on the forehead of the idol whereupon a print of NAMA was seen and that is why the Vaishnavites (Iyengars) apply NAMAM on their forehead. There is a story that Venkatachalapathi idol was that of Jain. Which to be believed - which to be discarded. Pity. Such things only make the people to disbelieve gods. It is recorded that a two lakhs years old Shiva Temple was unearthed and damaged Lingam is exhibited in the Museum at California (US). So Lingam only was worshiped throughout the world. I am made to think that Founders or their followers of different religion/sects wrote stories of stories to their taste and sculptor carved the gods from stone to his imagination. This only divides human community. There is only one invisible god i.e. THE NATURE WHICH RULES US. Whether it is Hindus or Christians or Muslims or their subs, all inhale same invisible air. One can live without praying to God for his whole life - can live without food for number of days - can live without water for many hours but from any religion or caste one cannot live for one twinkling time without air.

Sushil Gothane jain said...

You are RT Dusre ki thali me ghee hamesha Jyada hi dikhai deta hi# invaders are always encroaches others property weather JEr Jameen Joru# They should be demoralise, that's it.