Pammal Arkeeswaram

Pammal is a suburban locality of Chennai, located next to Pallavaram. This place is well known across the state of Tamil Nadu, thanks to the famous personality Pammal Sambandha Mudaliar, the founding father of model Tamil theatre. However, this article is not about him, but about an ancient temple of Pammal named Arkeeswaram.

Legend

Arka is another name for Surya. As per the legend associated with this site, Arka worshiped Shiva Linga, and the latter is named  Arkeeswara, meaning the Lord of Arka. The place was initially called Arkeeswaram.

Devara Vaippu Sthalam

It is believed to be a Devara Vaippu Sthalam. (A Devaram Sthalam or a Paadal Petra Sthalam is a holy site of Shiva, which is mentioned in the works of Appar, Sambandhar and Sundarar, the Tamil Shaivite poets. All those hymns are compiled as "Devaram" by Nambiyandar Nambi in the 12th century CE. There are 276 such divine sites. Besides, many other important Shiva temples are casually mentioned in the hymns. They are called Vaippu Sthalams.)

Appar has casually mentioned this site in his hymn, which is recorded in 6th Tirumurai. (Reference no - 6.71.8). The hymn written in Tamil is given below. There are three other temples named Arkeeswaram, which are claimed to be the same Devara Vaippu Sthalam. They are located in Arkeeswaram near Alwarkurichi, Kanchanur and Tirukkaliyannavoor in Villupuram.

நாடகமா டிடநந்தி கேச்சுரமா காளேச்

சுரநாகேச் சுரநாகளேச் சுரநன் கான

கோடீச்சுரங் கொண்டீச் சுரந்திண் டீச்சுரங்

குக்குடேச் சுரமக்கீச் சுரங்கூ றுங்கால்

ஆடகேச் சுரமகத்தீச் சுரமய னீச்சுரம்

அத்தீச்சுரஞ் சித்தீச்சுர மந்தண் கானல்

ஈடுதிரை இராமேச்சுர மென்றென் றேத்தி

இறைவனுறை சுரம்பலவும் இயம்பு வோமே.

History

As Appar had written about the holy site, the original temple must have been built in the 7th century CE or earlier. However, there is no epigraphical evidence, and even this literary evidence is questionable.

A fragmentary inscription in this temple talks about the oil monger donating oil to the temple. Although the date could not be fixed, there is a high possibility that it might belong to the 13th century CE, similar to the other inscriptions found in other places in this village. (Reference Kalvettu Editorial - 25 January 2005).

Four 13th century CE inscriptions from Tiruneermalai temple refer to Pammal Nakka nayanar temple. I wonder if that was an alternate name for Akeeswara temple. There is no temple by this name today. 

The vimanas of the presiding deity and the village Goddess resemble the Chola-era style. 
In all probability, the temple might belong to the later Chola period, the 13th century CE. It is evident that there were some renovations done in the 19th century CE. Post that, it was in a dilapidated state for a long. In 2004 CE, the temple was renovated again and was consecrated. 

In 2004, when the new mandapa was constructed, eleven panchaloha Murtis were unearthed and discovered. They probably belong to the later Chola period. They are kept in a shrine in the temple.

Temple Layout, Architecture & Iconography

The east-facing sanctum enshrines 5.5 feet high Shiva Linga named Arkeeswarar. At the entrance, small icons of Ganesha and Subramanya seated on peacock are found. Shiva Linga is probably from the Chola-era. Subramanya seems to be from the Vijayanagara period.

Amrutambikai, the Goddess, is enshrined in a separate south-facing shrine.

There is a separate north-facing shrine for the village Goddess Pidari, also known as Soori Amman. The four-armed Goddess is found seated. Although the vimana looks Chola-era, the pillars of ardha and maha mandapas appear to be 300-400 years old.

Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Lingodbhava, Brahma, and Durga are the Koshta deities around the sanctum of Shiva Linga.

The beautiful icon of Chandikeshwarar appears to be of the Chola period.

On the prakara, there are sub-shrines of Sundaresa Ganapati, Valli-Devasena-Subramanya, Vishwanatha Linga and Vishalakshi. Among them, only Vishwanatha seems to be of the slightly old image. 

Navagraha, Shaneeswara, Bhairava and Anjaneya are other deities found in the temple complex. 

A well-maintained big tank spreading across six acres is found outside the temple premises.

Happy travelling.