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Nellaiappar Temple is located in the heart of the town 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.
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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 terranced hall) linking these two was
built in the 17th century. The towers also date back to early
17th century. Vishnu and Agastya are believed to have
worshipped Shiva here.
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Mythology
It is one of the most beautiful temples in India and is hailed
as one of the 5 Pancha Sabhas of Nataraja housing Tamra Sabha
(the copper hall) - a beautiful hall with exquisite woodwork,
where Natarajar is worshipped during Arudra Darisanam. The
image above is that of the approach to the Tamrasabha, with
the Sandana Sabhapathi shrine behind the dance hall. This
shrine is regarded as the 14th of the Tevara Stalams in the
Pandya region of Tamilnadu. It is believed that food grains
collected for worship at the temple were protected from the
floods by a fence of grains and hence the name Nel Veli.
Agasthyar & Vishnu are said to have worshipped here. |
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The Temple Architecture
In reality the temple is a complex of two huge temples for
Nellaiappar and Kantimati linked by the Sangili Mandapam which
has several life sized sculptures adorning the pillars.The
Oonjal Mandapam and the 1000 pillared hall are of great
beauty.There is a Nellai Govindan shrine near the sanctum.
Periya Sabhapathi and Sandana Sabhapati are the other two
Natarajar images enshrined here.
This temple is known for its sculptural splendor and its
musical pillars. It could take days, if not hours to soak in
the grandeur of this temple. An example of its several unique
features is the Manimandapam near the Nandi mandapam with 2
giant pillars carved out of a single stone. Each of these has
48 small sub pillars which produce musical notes when struck.
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Festival
Six worship services are offered each day here. The annual
Bhrammotsavam is celebrated in the Tamil month of Aani for an
extended period of time. Arudra Darisanam in Margazhi
witnesses a lot of festivity.
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