Nellaiappar Temple (Tamil Nadu)

This is a vast temple with many unique features
such as the Manimandapam near the Nandi
mandapam that has two huge pillars carved out
of a single stone.

Nellaiappar Temple (Tamil Nadu) Hindu Temples

Nellaiappar Temple (also spelled Nellaiyappar) is located in the heart of the city of Tirunelveli in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the famous Tamil Nadu temples, deep in tradition and history and also known for its musical pillars and brilliant sculptural splendours.

History

The temple dates back to 700 AD and in the temple are inscriptions going back to 950 A.D. It is believed there were two distinct temples. They were built for Shiva and for Parvati, the consort to Lord Shiva, by the Pandyan kings. The Sangili Mandapam, a big terraced hall linking these two, was built in the 17th century. The towers also date back to early 17th century. It is the largest Shiva temple in Tamil Nadu. The Aani Car festival is the most famous festival in this temple. The temple has five cars each for Vinayakar, Murugan, Nellaiappar, Kanthimathi, Sandikeswarar.

Nellaiappar Car is the third largest car in Tamil Nadu and it is the first largest man-powered car. Nellaiappar Temple is one of the Panchasabha (with the Thaamira Sabha). Lord Vishnu and sage Agastya are believed to have worshipped Shiva here.

Temple

The temple is a complex of two huge temples covering an area of 14 acres and linked by the Mandapam (pillared hall) which has pillars with beautiful life-sized sculptures carved into them, as do many of the Mandapams there. The thousand-pillared hall is of great beauty. The musical pillars in the Mani Mandapam produce sound in various pitches when struck and are from the 7th century AD.

This is a vast temple with many unique features such as the Manimandapam near the Nandi mandapam that has two huge pillars carved out of a single stone. Each giant pillar has 48 small pillars which produce musical sounds when struck. This temple houses a shrine to Shiva and to Parvati. There is also a shrine to Vishnu near the sanctum signifying the belief that Nellai Govindan (Vishnu) visited Tirunelveli to officiate the divine marriage of Shiva and Kanthimathi. There are several other legends associated with this temple.

There is a legend that there is a tunnel behind the Ravana sculpture in the temple corridor that connects Thirunelveli and Madurai. This tunnel was supposed to have been used by the Pandya kings and their spies on secret missions.

<< List Of Hindu Temples

Other links

temples