அம்மைநாதர் திருக்கோயில் - சேரன்மகாதேவி
The Ammainathar temple is an important, ancient and elegant temple in Cheranmahadevi on the banks of the Thamirabarani. It is one the Navakailasa temples - the nine ancient Sivan temples along the Thamirabarani where the Moolavar is named Kailasanathar and is dedicated to one of the Navagrahams. This is the second most important. This temple is dedicated to Chandran or Thingal, the Moon God.
Legend says that this temple is 1100 years old. That dating appears to be correct, as you find both Vatteluthu (வட்டெழுத்து) and Tamil inscriptions here. The Cholans usually did not write in Vatteluthu. They preferred the script that evolved into the script that we today call Tamil script. The Pandians before the Chola conquest preferred the Vatteluthu. So this temple must have been built around the time of the Chola conquest in the mid 10th century. This temple is covered with inscriptions. It looks like the Pandians built this temple in the early 10th century before the Chola invasion and the Cholans expanded it. There is evidence that Kulothungan I renovated it in the late 11th century. Although the later dynasties did make minor contributions they appear to be subtle. Some of the sculptures are definitely from the 15th or 16th centuries, but are incorporated into the overall structure very tastefully.
Beautiful temple. We loved the subtle elegance of the pre Nayakkan era. Although the animated sculptures and colourful and crowded gopurams of the Nayakkan era are indeed fascinating , the softness of the Pandian and Chola styles are also beautiful and we see that in abundance here.
We visited August 2019 . We were based in Thirunelveli
Credits: Google Maps
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