The ancient land of Bharata is unique with its longest surviving civilization. One of the significant reasons for this survival is the presence of our glorious temples which spread far and wide across length and breadth of this land. They are living proofs of the spiritual awareness, dedication, faith, craftsmanship and scientific knowledge of our ancestors. It is very saddening to note that many of them are in a state of collapse due to apathy and continued negligence. One such gem which is in the brink of disappearance is Poundarigapuram Sri Somanathaswamy temple, an excellent example of the superiority of Chola architecture.
Ananda, Karkodaga, Poundariga, Suresha, Takshaka, Visolpha, Sangasooda are the seven prominent naga devatas. One amongst them, Poundariga worshipped Lord Shiva here and hence this place got its name Poundarigapuram. It is a parihara sthala for kala sarpa dosha. In ancient times, it was also called Enadimangalam. This ancient temple belonging to later Chola age is located in Kumbakonam district, Tamilnadu at around 2 kms from Ayyavadi-Murukkankudi. It is understood that this beautiful temple with exquisite architecture would have been built by Kulothunga Chola I during 1110 CE.
There are more than 20 smaller shrines for different Maheshwara forms which are all in extremely dilapidated state. The huge temple is extensively built with granite stone and one can see with moist eyes, the poor state of various vigrahams like Veenadharar, Sankara Narayanar, Bikshadanar, Aalingana Moorthy, Tripuranda Moorthy, Chandrashekara Moorthy. Lord Shiva also blesses us in his rare form, Chandesha Anugraha Moorthy similar to Gangaikondacholapuram. Another rare form, Kiraataarjuna Moorthy (Lord Shiva blessing Arjuna with Paasupataastra) is also seen. Such a wonder is in extreme ruins and if this apathy continues, it will be lost forever.
During those days, our ancestors' brought granite stones from hundreds of miles away to built these exquisite temples as Cauvery delta region was devoid of granite. Devotion was their inspiration and they created such unmatched treasures. Do we let them to rot by wilful negligence? Let us ponder.
Temple Address:
Sri Somanathaswamy Temple,
Poundarigapuram,
Kumbakonam dt,
Tamilnadu.
Pin: 612202
The google map link is https://goo.gl/maps/UjfPyiccHKHLv3XYA
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