R. Nagaswamy
Utaramerur
Uttaramerūr through the centuries
The village carries inscriptional records on the walls of its different temples, furnishing a clear overview of its history from 8th cent to the present times. It was under Pallavas, Cholas, later Pandyas, Sambuvarayar, Vijayanagar rayas and Navaks.
Pallavas
Four Pallava rulers are mentioned in the village records from 7 50 to almost 900 AD. The earliest king mentioned is Nandivarman II (750 AD) who was the founder of the village. He seems to have performed a Mahādāna i.e. great gifts among which one was Bhūmi dāna (Gift of land) that consisted of gifting the whole of this village, to 1200 Vaishṇava Vedic Brāhmins. In ancient times Kings performed maha-dānas consisting of 16 great gifts, called shodasa mahādānas, for their prosperity, health, and for the welfare of the people. Among the gifts, one was Meru-dāna, gift of gold heaped as a symbolic hill called Mahāmeru, (considered the golden mountain), the gold heaped later presented to temples and scholars. Another gift was Bhūmi-dāna, land gifts. Being Emperors they gifted not plots of land, but a great village itself to Brahmins and such villages were called Caturvedi - maṇgalams. As Nandivarman performed such a dāna he assumed the title Uttara Meru and named the village Uttarameru Caturvedi maṇgalam. It was during his rule the Sabha-maṇdapa, the Village Assembly hall, (the present Vaikuntha Perumal temple), was built at the center of this village. The Sundara-varadap-perumal temple was also built during his time. Both the edifices carry his inscriptions. His inscriptions also speak of great Āgamic experts living in the village under whose guidance, an architect named Parameśvara from kañcīpuram built the Sundara-varada temple.
The village tank called Vairamegha tatāka situated to the west of the village was enlarged and its bund raised in the reign of Nandi’s son and successor Danti-varman (802 AD). However it was under the rule of Kampa-varman (868-900 AD) great attention was paid to improving its storage capacity and bringing large areas of the viliage under cultivation. Kampa varman's rule was a glorious poriod in the history of irrigation of the village. There are 25 inscriptions of this Pallava king in the village, six of which speak of endowments of a permanent nature for regular maintenance of the tank. The 9th cent laid the foundation for the village to flower into a leading agrarian unit in the region.
Cholas
The Cholas of Tanjore captured Tondai-mandalam region the end of the 9th cent. Records of the Cholas, begaining from Parāntaka I, and moving on to Rājarāja Chola I, Rajendra I, and Kulottunga I are found here. The 10th cent witnessed consolidation and further expansion of the agrarian activities of the village. The first half of the l0th cent saw the village being brought under an elected system of Village Assembly which may be termed the true democratic and extraordinary vigilant administrative control exercised by the villagers. There was a leap in agricultural production and economy that ushered in a prospereus and religious life. The first half of this century was commanded by the Chola Parāntaka I in its electoral system while the second half by Pārthivendra varman, identified with Aditya karikāla, the elder brother of Rājarāja Chola I, As many as 32 records of this letter ruler are found in this village, the highest among the Cholas. Most of them refer to provisions made for pūja, food offerings, Sribali and perpetual lamps to almost all temples in the village mirroring the wealth of the village. Two of his queens visited this village and made gifts, including construction of a temple to Rāma and arranging for festivals. The 10th cen is the golden age of Uttaramerūr.
At the beginning of the 11th cent Uttaramerūr was under Rājarāja I. 25 records of of Rājarāja are found in this village. Most records of Rājarāja are found in the Sundara Varada Perumal temple, except two found in the Subrahmaṇya temple and one in the Kailasanātha temple. The Sundaravarada temple received best attention under Rājarāja. Rājendra Chola the able son of Rājarāja succeeded his father. His inscriptions are found from his third year onwards in the village. In his 4th year he visited this village, performed a great mahādāna, gifted the village to brahrnanas,and renamed the village after him as Rajendra Chola Caturvedi Maṅgalam. (Uttarameru was changed into Uttaramelūr) Rajendra also rebuilt the Sundara Varada temple and renamed it Rajendra Chola Vinnagar. He also inspired Vedic studies in this village and the study of Sanskrit Vyākarana, Nyāya, Nirukta and other subjects, with commentaries.
Towards the end of the 11th cent, Kulottunga I who ascended the Chola throne in 1070 AD built the Viṣṇu temple over the base of the original Sabhāmaṇdapa of the village, and named it Chola Nārāyaṇa vinnagar. By the end of the 11th cent, the Sabha maṇdapa lost its utility and obviously its superstructure fell into ruins that made Kulottunga rebuild the Viṣṇu temple. That temple is called Vaikuntaha Perumal temple in modern times.
In the 12th century the village retained its importance but not to the extent it was important three centuries before. However the Thiruppulivanam Śiva temple received greater
attention and the focus shifted from Uttaramerūr to the former village.
In the 13th cent the later Pandyas held sway in this region for a period followed by a Telugu Chola ruler Vijaya Gaṇdagopāla. He seems to have taken a personal interest in this village and renamed the village after his name as Saṇdagopala Caturvedi Maṅgalam. Thiruppulivanam had come to stay as a premier village in the region. Uttaramerūr had lost its prominence. With the collapse of the Chola power by the end of 13th cent Uttararnerur came under the rule of a number of dynasties like later Pandyas, Pallava Chieftains, Telugu Cholas, Sambhuvarayar, and finally Kumara Kampana who spearheaded the establishment of Vijayanagara rule in Tamilnād. Frequent change of rule with as many as five dynasties taking over the region, speaks of the unsteady conditions and decline in the economic status of the village. However Saint Arunagirinathar, the great singer of Thiruppuhaḻ visited - this village and sang the glory of Subrahrnaṇya of this village.
Not much information is available in records about the happenings in 15th cent. The Vijayanagara Emperor Krishnadeva rāya, the Great, visited this village in the beginning of the 16th cent (1512 AD) and bestowed attention on three temples namely Sundanra Varada temple, Subrahmaṇya temple and Kailāsanātha temple. He renovated the Sundara Varada temple and bestowed benefaetions. Prebably during his visit Uttaramerūr regained its position as the leading village in the region, ahead of Thiruppulivanam . The prosperity of the village was only short lived. The village fell again with the fluctuating fortunes of the Vijayanagar dynasty.
In the 17th cent, the fight between two Nayaks, Lingma and Yachama to wrest control of Vijayanagara kingdom for their protege brought the battle to Uttaramerūr. Several military activities were seen in the village. The villagers identify some of the portions of the village as Kottai-medu, Palace mound, the place elephant corps and horse stables etc recalling their association with military activities.
The military character of the village unfortunately continued under the colonial rule in the 18th cent when the English and the French clashed here in the vicinity of Vandavāsi in the Carnatic wars.
There was a steady decline in the agricultural activities in this village from virtually the 14th cent. However the villagers known for their hard labour are now on the way to recovery after independence and are sure to improve their position gradually. The building of the new gopura of the Sundara Varada temple is perhaps a sign of its revival.
Pallava Kings
1. Nandivarman II, 2. Dantivarman, 3. Nṛpatunga, 4. Kampavarman, 5. Aparājita
Chola Kings
1. Parāntaka Chola I, 2. Pārthipendra varman, 3. Parakesari, 4. Rājarāja I, 5. Rājendra I, 6. Kulottunga. I, 8. Kulottunga II, 9. Kulottunga III, 10. Rājarāja III
Pandyas, others Kings
Jatavarman Sundara. Pandya, Telugu Chola Vijaya Gaṇda gopala, Rajanarayana Sambhuvaraya
Vijayanagara Kings
1. Kumara Kampana, 2. Virupāksha, 3. Pratāpa Devarāya, 4. Mallikārjuna, 5. shnadavamya
The streets mamd in the records
1. Avani Nāraṇan Vadi, 2, Pallava Nāraṇan Vadi 3. Tiru Nāraṇan Vadi, 4. Uttaramru Vadi, 5. Parameśvara Vadi, 6. Videlvidugu Vadi, 7. Marpidugu Vadi, 8. Uttarameru Vadi, 9. Vairamega Vadi
Ancient Canals
1. Ganapati Vāykkāl, 2. Subrahmanya Vāykkāl, 3. Sridevi Vāykkāl, 4. Sarasvati Vāykkāl, 5. Parvati Vāykkāl, 6. Bhagavati Vāykkāl, 7. Parameśvara Vāykkāl
Residential Colonies
1. Kesavac Ceri, 2. Nārāyaṇa Ceri, 3. Mādhava Ceri, 4. Govinda Ceri, 5. Viṣṇu Ceri, 6. Madhusudana Ceri, 7. Tṛvikrama Ceri, 8. Vamana Ceri, 9. Sridhara Ceri, 10. Rishikssa Ceri, 11. Padmanābha Ceri, 12. Dāmodara Ceri
Temples mentioned
1, Ayoddhi Perumān, 2. Ayyan Maha Sasta temple, 3. Bṛindāvana Perumān, 4. Periya Maṇdapattu Perumān, 5. Cettaiyar - Jyeshta, 6. Govarddhana, 7. Irattai Tali, 8. Jyeshtai - Kumanappādi, 9. Kedareśvarar temple, 10. Koneri-nangai temple - Kumanappaadi, 11. Kumanappaadi - Śiva tample, 12. Kurukshela Peruman, 13. Mahadeva temple - Kumanappaadi, 14. Mātrusthana - (Saptamata), 15. Perumal temple - Kumanappaadi, 16. Puliyur Mahādeva temle, 17. Śiva. temple at Thiruppulivanam, 18. Śiva temple at Thiruvonriyur, 19. Sri Kailāyam Udaiya temple (Śiva), 20. Sri Veli Viṣṇugraham, 21. Subrahmaṇya temple, 22. Thiru Āyappādi Peruman, 23. Thirumalirum Colai Perumān, 24. Tulābhāra Tali, 25. Tuvarāpati perumal temple, 26. Vadavāyil Celvi - Durga, 27. Vāstu Pidārimār, 28. Vellai Mūrti Perumān, 29. Viṣṇu temple at Somaneri
Recent Temples
l. Nookalamman temple, 2. Dharmarāja temple, 3. Nadutteru ariayamman temple, 4. Draupadi amman temple, 5. Aṇgāḷa Parameśvari temple, 6. Gaṇgai Amman temple, 7. Renukā Devi temple, 8. Merkatti amman temple
Types of ancient records
- Appointment of professors
- Construction of maṇdapas
- Construction of temples
- Election to Village Council
- Endowment for cure of snake bites
- Endowment for worship, food offerings, perpetual lamps etc.
- Exposition of grammar
- Punishment for accidental murder
- Recovery of fines imposed
- Relaying village roads
- Sale of manure
- Tank maintenance
- Tax exemption for charitable endowments
- Teaching Nyāya, Nirukta etc.
- Testing fineness of gold
- Vāstu pidaris
- Vedic School
The rule of Parthipendra Varman, who conquered Vīrapaṇḍya - (10th cent) saw an energetic renewal of worship, offering of Naivedya, Sri bali rite and providing perpetual lamps. A number of records, dated in 3rd year of the king, list one after the other all temples in the village receiving endowment of lands for worship from two sources. 1) The village assembly and 2) a rich merchant named Mayilatti of Kāñcīpuram who made several endowments of cash with which lands were purchased and gifted to the temples. Villavan-Mahādevi and Tribhuvana Mahādevi, two queens of the king Pārthivendra, made personal gifts to the temples. The following temples received such gifts: Brindavana, Govardhana, Thiruvayappādi, Kurukshetra, Thirumalirum Colai, Thiru Ayoddhi Perumāḷ, Kongaraiyar Sri Koyil, Sri Veli Viṣṇu gṛha, Durgai temple, Subrahmaṇya temple, Perumal Big maṇdapa, Ayyan Mahāsāsta, Koneri naṇgai, Kumanappādi Jyestha, Kumanappādi Śiva temple, Thiruuniyur Perumal, Śiva temple of Thirupulivanam, Puliyur Mahādeva temple, and endowment for treatment of snake bites
The temple of Ayoddhi Perumān was built by Villavan Mahadeviyār - who also got the image of Rāma made and consecrated the same. This king Pārthivendra Varman, is ientified with Aditya II, the elder brother of Rajārāja Chola I. He ruled under his father as the governor of northern Tamilnād - the Tondaimandalam region.
Rajendra chola I, the son and successor of Rājarāja I, a visit to this temple and performed probably a Tulabhāra ceremony, constituted a new village and gifted it to a number of Brahmins. After that Uttarameru Caturvedi Maṅgalam was renamed as Rājendra Chola Caturvedi Maṅgalam and the entire village administration passed on to the new village assembly. The name Uttarameru is seen mentioned as Uttaramelur. The change of name took place in the 4th year of Rājendra 1016 AD.
A Telugu Chola king Vijaya Ganda Gopāla renamed the village after him as Vijaya Ganda Gopāla Caturvedi- Maṅgalam in the 13th cent. He probably visited the village and performed a Bhūmi dāna.