முன்குடுமீசுவரர் திருக்கோயில், பொன்விளைந்தக்களத்தூர்
This temple was originally a Pallava brick and earth structure built by Nandivarman III. It was rebuilt as a stone temple by the Cholas. Vikrama Cholan and Kulothunga Cholan contributed most to the construction of the temple as it stands today. I could see some Vijayanagar and Nayakkan additions but no modern appendages. There are many inscriptions from Nandivarman III to Rajarajan III to Sundara Pandiyan.
The temple is small but has important architectural elements. The Sivan Sannithy has a Gajaprishta Vimanam or a Thoonganai Maadam. But the sanctum is rectangular as opposed to apsidal in a classic Gajaprishtam. It stands today in a quiet and beautiful village amid green paddy fields.
There is an interesting legend about why the Lord is called Munkudumeeswarar. Apparently in ancient times, it was customary for the local king to be presented with the offerings to the Lord (the Prashadam) after the morning pooja. One day the king noticed a long strand of hair in the bunch of flowers in the Prashadam. He was annoyed. The priest’s wife or the queen (different versions put the blame on different women) had worn the flowers on their hair which was taboo. The priest wanted to protect the lady involved and lied. He told the king that the Lord had grown hair. The king insisted that he would come the next morning to inspect the idol and if the priest had lied, his head would be chopped off. In answer to the priest’s fervent entreaties, the Lord grew a tuft of hair, a forelock or Munkudumi (முன்குடுமி) and to this day the idol has a forelock.
Ponvilaintha Kalathur means the village of the golden harvest. There are also many legends why this village got that name. The story goes that the Lord provided a harvest of gold to a poor farmer to get him out of trouble. There are many versions.
The author of the Nalavenba the poet Pukazhenthi was born here. It is also the birthplace of Kootruvanayanar one of the 63 Nayanmar.
This is a temple I have been wanting to visit for a very long time. For ten or more years I have read about it, looked at pictures and videos and when we finally reached there, it gave me a feeling of deja vu and goose bumps. This is an ASI administered Sivan temple and hardly anybody visits there. It is an inactive or minimally active temple and a priest conducts a pooja early in the morning and leaves. The temple is locked for the rest of the day. When we went there, the ASI guard opened the gate for us and then ran into the village to fetch the priest, who graciously opened the temple for us, conducted poojas at both sanctums, gave us a tour of the premises and explained the history and legends. We thought that they mistook us for some very important people they were expecting. We felt truly blessed.
It is about 8 kms from Chengalpattu and is about 75 km or 2 hours from Chennai. We visited in May 2023. We were based in Chennai.
Credits: Google Maps
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