Temples of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry #118: Veetrirundha Perumal Temple, Veppathur

வீற்றிருந்த பெருமாள் திருக்கோயில், வேப்பத்தூர்

Veppathur

Veppathur

Veppathur

Veppathur

Veppathur

Veppathur

Veppathur

Veppathur

Veppathur

Veppathur

Veppathur

Veppathur

Here in the Chola heartland by the Kaveri river near Kumbakonam, lies this little known but historically very significant Vishnu temple. Overgrown with weeds and shrubs and partially hidden but towering above the wild vegetation, is this rare and remarkable relic of a once great temple. Today it lies in ruins, neglected, unknown to the general public and in great danger of complete destruction. It is one of only two existing ruins that give us an idea about temple building in the pre-Pallava era. A ruined brick temple, built on top of an older brick temple, it gives us an idea of how temples must have looked like before the Pallava and Chola kings started building and rebuilding temples in stone. The other pre-Pallava temple ruin is at Saluvankuppam near Mahabalipuram close to Chennai. This was uncovered by the 2004 Tsunami and only the brick foundations of the ancient Murugan remain there. Here at Veppathur elements of the older brick structure are evident below the later brick temple.

"Veetriruntha" means "seated" in Tamil. This is a temple for Lord Vishnu or Perumal in the sitting posture. It is believed that the original idol was a stucco figure that was replaced by a stone idol in Cholan times. The temple has fallen into disuse over the last 200 years and the idol has been brought down and installed in a small shrine at the base of the temple about a hundred years ago. There is a once daily pooja and not many people come here. It is not clear why the temple became inactive. It looks like the temple lost its wealth after royal patronage disappeared during colonial times. There is also some evidence that there was an educational institution here in ancient times. In some places it is also listed as one of the 108 Abhimana Kshetrams of Lord Vishnu that are very important Vaishnavite temples other than the 108 Divya Desams. This is doubtful as it does not attract the attention a religiously important temple usually would. Today the temple is under the control of the HR and CE department of the Government of Tamil Nadu.

During the Pallava era and the subsequent Chola period, many older temples built of brick and wood were rebuilt in stone, This temple appears to have been rebuilt in brick during Pallava times and the Cholans have embellished it further. But curiously, it was not rebuilt in granite as many other temples in the area were. The ruins give us a peek into the building materials and techniques used in those times. The Nayakkans also have maintained it. There are three layers of murals on its walls. A Pallava layer, a Cholan layer and a Vijayanagar layer distinguished by the paint and colors used in each respective era. This Is the only temple where murals and frescoes from three different dynasties are represented albeit in poor shape today. The older temple is dated to the mid sixth century. Some sources claim that it was built in the early part of the first millenium. The temple built on top of the older temple is believed to have been built by the Pallava king, Nandivarman III around 850 CE. The Chola frescoes painted over the Pallava murals belong to the time of Rajarajan I. The granite idols were also consecrated during his reign. The Pallava Murals were commissioned by Nandivarman III, Around 1520 the Vijayanagar emperor Krishnadevaraya was responsible for the last layer of murals. There are no inscriptions. perhaps because of the paucity of granite stone structures, making it difficult to date the temple accurately.

Legend says that Lord Rama during his quest to find Sita came here in a dejected state and was consoled by the goddess here in two forms Neeladevi and Bhoomadevi. Thus the Veetrirundha Perumal has two consorts here. The sitting posture was also unusual for that time period that it was built and may have been a pioneering effort.

What remains of the temple is a tall 90 foot high pyramidal vimanam. It has 3 levels and 5 tiers. There is no idol in the sanctum. The ground floor houses the murals and frescoes. The structure is built almost entirely of brick. The most ancient part from the original temple is seen at the base. The Pallava brick temple is seen above that. Some of the brickwork is from recent renovation efforts. A few years ago, a non-profit organisation called REACH (Rural Education and Conservation of Heritage) obtained permission from the Government of Tamil Nadu to undertake restoration work at this temple. REACH is a well-respected voluntary organization led by the eminent ex-ASI archeologist Dr. T. Satyamurthy. The effort seems stalled at this time. The REACH website still lists the project as active. The remnants of the scaffolding seen is from that effort. So is the top part of the vimanam. The temple was in much worse state prior to the REACH project.

As this is not a revenue generating temple, the current custodian, the HR and CE Department of the State Government, does not seem interested in its proper maintenance. Due to various bureaucratic hurdles and rules, it is not administered by the ASI as it should be. Given the immense archeological and historical importance, it must be taken care of by a responsible government authority. The ASI is the only organization that likely has the resources to do it, although it seems a bit stretched currently as it has a vast number of sites under its jurisdiction.

It is located 100 km or 2 hours east of Thiruchirapalli and 150 kms or 2.5 hours south of Pondicherry. It is about 10 km or 20 minutes east of Kumbakonam in a rural setting. We visited in June 2025. We were based in Kumbakonam.

Sources:

Much more than Stone. S Sivakumar and Dr, T Satyamurty The Hindu. August 13, 2010.

Neglect causes ruin of murals TS Subramanian The Hindu. November 28, 2021

*There is a paucity of scholarly articles

Courtesy Google Maps