Coimbatore has never been the concrete city to evolve to trending waves of industrialization and pop culture. Instead the city has been really beautifully drawing out a line between developing into an urban city and staying close to the roots.
The former part has been really evident by looking at the hosts of temples in the city, that has been standing as a tall evidence of Coimbatore’s link with temples and their culture.
One of the oldest temples, Perur Patteeswarar temple needed a standalone blog and that’s exactly what delivers here, an exclusive everything to know about Perur Patteeswarar temple, one of the oldest temples in the state.
Perur Patteeswarar Location
The beautiful temple is located on the bustling roads of Perur, and set on the banks of what was once the charming Noyyal River. It is 9kms away from Gandhipuram center through Siruvani roads. The temple has deity of Lord Shiva and is believed to be a self emerged deity in the beautiful lands of Coimbatore. It is located in the west of Coimbatore. There are many historical events and mystical tales twisted with the temple.
Perur Patteeswarar History
The origin of the temple dates back to the 2nd century which makes it one of the oldest and ancient temples in South India. The temple was built by the great king Karikala Chola himself during the early days of the 2nd Century using indigineous rocks and architectural expertise best suited for the second century.
Throughout the walls of the temple, one can’t help but notice the drawings of the generous donations of the Chola dynasty, recorded throughout the temple. The donations were consistent throughout their rule with each passing king donating an impressive amount of gold and other valuable possession to the deity.
Speaking about the deity, Perur Patteeswarar temple hoists Lord Shiva as the unrivalled deity here along with the deity of Parvati also known as Panchanaiyiki here. It was only during the rule of Raja Raja Chola I, the two prominent mahals, Artha Mahal and Maha Mahal were built. Both the mahals expelled artistic values reflecting the beautiful handwork of those centuries and brilliance of Tamilian culture and aesthetical excellence.
It was during the 7th century one of the important historical events took its place right in the Perur Temple. Great poet Sundarar took the venue to sing his ever popular devotional song called as the Devaram which went down in the memory lane as one of the important milestones in the book of book literature.
However its quite a bummer that Perur Patteeswarar temple carrying all these feats still didn’t find its way to the prestigious list of Kongu Nadu Padal Petra Sthalams, a list that has 276 temples in total. There is clear evidence of Patteeswarar temple hoisting a list of prominent poets and setting out a stage for them to sing devotional songs.
The temple saw its first makeover during the start of the 14th century, when kingdoms like the Hoysala dynasty made a hefty contribution to the temple to give it a prominent makeover to the outlook of the shrine. Other notable personalities like the kings of Vijayanagara empire, Nayakar kings have all contributed larger than life portions towards the maintenance and betterment of the temple towards the end of 17th century.
By the end of the 17th century, the famous Kanaga Sabhai was built by Azhagathiri Nayakkar of Madurai. By the start of the 18th century the temple saw another big facelift with the construction of a big Mahal to house the 63 Nayanmaars. Primary deities like the Shivan and Parvati were renovated around the same year which saw the temple hitting a major changeover in the recent years. Major portions of the temple were renovated and mahals were opened as well.
The Lord Shiva’s temple has several beautifully crafted gopurams that can put modern artworks to shame. The handcrafted beauty lies on the aesthetical lines of the gopuram and pillars. The kanaga Sabhai is largely popular for the golden Nataraj statue gracing the center of the hall.
Other notable shrines include one for Lord Ganesh called the Patti Vinayagar Shrine and a shrine for the lord Shiva himself around the center. The beauty of this shrine lies in the fact that it is built under the same tree where Shiva has been said to have performed his popular Tandav. Other notable trees best known to this temple premises include that of Palm and Tamarind tree.
Events in Perur Patteeswarar Temple
The temple hosts some of the important events in the history of Coimbatore like the week long held Bharat Natyam that saw talented artists scouted across the state to perform here in front of famous people.
Right now the temple celebrates Panguni Uthiram during the months of Panguni where temple car that looks close to a grandeur cart gets pulled in the streets and roads nearby that also sees thousands of Pilgrims flocking the temple This makes it one of the most celebrated events of Coimbatore as well. There is a pond nuzzled right across the temple used during the times of Panguni Uthiram.
The divine beauty of the Perur Patteeswarar temple can be best felt by running the fingers through the artistic walls of the temple that saw the best tamil sculptors coming together centuries back to bring the soul back to the temple.
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