Temples in Atti

 

Atti is in the Cheyyar taluk of the North Arcot district in Tamil Nadu. In ancient days this village was also known as Keralantaka-nallur (circa a.d. 1173, Rajadhiraja II; ARE 297 of 1912). Keralan-taka Vinnagaram and Krishnarayapuram were also the names given to this place. There are two temples in this locality:

1. A Siva temple, currently called Agastisvaram and referred to in the past as Edirili-Solisvaram Udaiya Nayanar temple according to a local inscription (ARE 301 of 1912); and

2. A Vishnu temple called Kariya Perumal temple, which was known in the early days as Edirilisola-Vinnagara-Emperuman temple, according to an eighth year inscription of Vijaya Ganda-gop&la (ARE 302 of 1912).

Agastisvaram (Edirili-solisvaram Udaiya Nayanar) temple

An inscription of the 18th year of Tribhuvana chakravartin Rajadhiraja deva II records a gift of 32 cows and a bull by Nira-mindan alias Sedirayan.of Panangudi in Uyyakkonda valanadu of Chola mandalam to the temple of Tiruvagastisvaram Udaiyar at Atti alias Keralantaka-nallur in Perunagar-nallur, a subdivision of Venkunra kottam in Jayangondasola mandalam.

This is the earliest inscription in this temple. As Rajadhiraja had the title of Edirilisola, it is likely to have been built duri his reign and named after his surname.

This temple also contains an inscription in Tamil verse of the Pallava Chief Tondaimandalam-kondarulina Pallavandar alias Manavalapperumal, who established his authority and built a fort and capital at Sendamangalam (a.d. 1191-1213); a more detailed reference to him will be made in a later chapter. He is said to have won a great victory over his enemies at Sevur, and is described as ‘the Lord of the Pennai basin, the Lord of the hill of Tiruvengadam, the conqueror of Tondai nadu by the strength of his arm etc. He was the father of Kopperunjinga (a.d. 1243-69) who dealt a deadly blow to the Chola power during the period of Rajaraja III.

Kariya Perumal (Edirilisola Vinnagar Emperuman) temple

The Vishnu temple now known as that of Kariya Perumal was called Edirilisola-vinnagar-Emperumal temple, in two inscriptions of Tribhuvana Vijaya Gandagopala of Kanchi, and a local over-mighty feudatory (8^th year, ARE 302 of 1912; and 18th year, ARE 303 of 1912) of the 13th century a.d. Both these inscriptions refer to gifts to the temple of Edirilisola-Vinnagar-Emperuman and the latter to a gift of land to the shrine of Krishna (Vennaikkadaiyarulina Pillai) in the Vishnu temple. There are three inscriptions of the Vijayanagara Emperor, Krishna-devaraya (a.d. 1525-26), in this temple.

Both the temples might thus have been built during the time of Rajadhiraja II, in view of their inscriptional names.