Murugan Temple, Saluvankuppam

Discovery

After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami subsided, archaeologists discovered rock inscriptions exposed by the tsunami waves close to the hamlet of Saluvankuppam, near the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site of Mahabalipuram. The inscriptions by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III and the Chola kings Parantaka I and Kulothunga Chola I spoke of a Subrahmanya Temple at Thiruvizhchil (present-day Saluvankuppam). S. Rajavelu, epigraphist with the ASI, identified a nearby mound as the temple site.

In 2005, archaeologists unearthed an 8th-century Pallava temple under the mound. G. Thirumoorthy, ASI Assistant Archaeologist, believed the shrine could be the oldest Murugan temple excavated in Tamil Nadu. Further excavations revealed that the 8th-century temple was constructed over the remains of an older brick temple. According to Thirumoorthy, the garbhagriha of the brick temple was filled with sand and covered with granite slabs upon which the newer temple was built.

Sathyamurthy, Superintendent of ASI Chennai Circle, said the brick temple could be dated to the Sangam period as the shrine faces north, unlike modern temples which face east or west, proving construction before the 6th or 7th century CE when the shilpa shastras were written. Estimates of the age of the brick shrine range from 1700 to 2200 years. Archaeologists believe the brick shrine was destroyed either by a cyclone or a tsunami 2,200 years ago, and the Pallava granite temple was likely destroyed by a tsunami in the 13th century CE, as the latest inscriptions date to 1215.

Historical background

Although the city of Mahabalipuram was constructed by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I in the 7th century CE, there is evidence that a small port might have functioned at the site even earlier. Megalithic burial urns dating to the very dawn of the Christian era have been discovered near Mahabalipuram. The Sangam age poem Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai describes a port called Nirppeyyaru which some scholars identify with present-day Mahabalipuram. Sadras near Mahabalipuram has been identified as the site of the port of Sopatma mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.

Inscriptions

There are many rock inscriptions near the temple. The discovery of three granite pillars with inscriptions of grants made to the shrine led to the temple's discovery.

One pillar contains an inscription recording the donation of ten kazhanchus of gold by Kirarpiriyan of Mahabalipuram in 858. Another records the donation of 16 kazhanchus of gold in 813 for the maintenance of a lamp by a Brahmin woman named Vasanthanar. The third pillar has an inscription by Raja Raja Chola I. Apart from these, there are five other pillars with inscriptions by the Pallava kings Dantivarman I, Nandivarman III and Kambavarman, the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III, and the Chola king Rajendra Chola III.

Architecture

The temple is dedicated to the Tamil Hindu deity Murugan and faces north. The garbhagriha is 2 metres long and 2.2 metres wide and is made of 27 courses of bricks. The bricks used are similar to those used in other Sangam age sites such as Puhar, Urayur, Mangudi and Arikamedu. A stone vel is positioned at the entrance of the shrine.

During excavations, a terracotta plaque depicting a Kuravai Koothu, a dance mentioned in the 1st century CE Tamil epic Silappadhikaram, was discovered. Sathyamoorthy feels there may not have been any idol in the square garbhagriha as it is too small to house one. The temple is surrounded by a prakara dating from the Sangam period. According to Thirumoorthy, the shrine is the biggest brick temple complex dating to the pre-Pallava period.

The temple is built on a cushion of alluvium on which a layer of man-made bricks were laid, with another four layers of man-made bricks separated by four layers of laterite. Two types of bricks were used: large-sized laterite bricks of the Sangam period and thin, tabular bricks of a later age, plastered together with lime.

Did You Know?

• On the night of 3 May 2018, the site was vandalized by unknown persons who uprooted the Stone Vel and broke it into two pieces.
• A terracotta Nandi found at the site is the first one made of terracotta to be discovered.