Article - Melattur plus - Anantha Krishnan

As the utsavam at the Siva temple is in full flow, the utsava-murthis take couple of rides, morning and evening, through the agraharams on a tractor drawn carriage. In Nallur, it is still the bullock cart that serves this need. A fairly large temple, Siva here is called 'Unathapureeswarar' and guess what, the Ambal has a name that is in line with the times, Sivapriya (wow, what a name!). The temple entrance tower is flanked by 2 Ganesha idols of antiquity. The lingam is swayambu and the temple Kurukal told me that Markandeya had performed puja there. The pond across is huge but dry. I was curious about this temple as I recalled reading an article in The Hindu back in 2004 on the inscription of Kulothunga Cholan (12th century) that talked about women empowerment in those times. There are inscriptions at the temple belonging to Vikrama Cholan period as well. As the temple was getting set for Kumbabishegam, I requested the management that the white washing done over the inscriptions be cleaned too to give readers an easier time. With Melattur leaning and being a certified epigraphist now, may I request if Ms. Swarnamalya and team could possibly take this temple in quiet setting as a 'testing ground' and throw more light into what more is written 'in stone.'

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