Remains of Chola era temple that was ‘damaged by floods in Cauvery’ found near Trichy

TRICHY: A group of archeological enthusiasts discovered the remains of a temple -- believed to have been built in the medieval Chola period -- close to the banks of the Cauvery river near Pettavaithalai in Trichy district of Tamil Nadu.
The stone temple was believed to have been intact till the 13th century before being ravaged by floods in the Cauvery. The stone slabs of the ruined structure, which had been lying idle for centuries, were said to have been utilised by the British to construct a bridge across a canal.

A team of archaeology enthusiasts -- N Murugan, V Parthipan and S Vinoth -- located the remains of the temple. They spotted stone slabs having inscriptions while visiting the origin point of the Uyyakondan canal, a distributary of the Cauvery.

While the team was inspecting a British era bridge connecting Devadanam hamlet near Pettaivaithalai, they found stone slabs engraved with inscriptions on the inner walls of the outlet. The members subsequently alerted senior professor S Rajavelu of Tamil University, Thanjavur.

Rajavelu, who inspected the stone slabs and analysed the stone inscriptions, said the temple belonged to the 9th century. The stone slabs identified along the canal near the Cauvery bear the inscriptions of several renowned Chola kings, including Parantaka Chola, Uththama Chola, Rajaraja Chola I, Rajendira Chola I, Rajadhiraja Chola I and Kulottunga Chola I.

One of the inscriptions decoded by the archeology enthusiasts identifies the name of the ruined temple as Tirupponnodai Isvarar. The engravings also reveals the name of the canal as Ponnodai, reportedly a perennial water body irrigating the then cultivable lands around Pettavaithalai.

The temple was said to have collapsed due to heavy floods in the Cauvery around 12th or 13th century as inscriptions beyond that period were not found. As per the inscriptions, the village name is Suralur alias Chola Uttama Chaturvedi Mangalam.

As many as 25 fragmentary inscriptions, engraved structures, and frieze (decorative sculpture) of the ruined temple were found by the expedition team. The canal from where the ruins were found serves as a drainage channel for the Devadanam village near Pettaivaithalai. The team called for further study in the locality to explore the historical sources and inscriptions.