Temples of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry: The Paadal Petra Sthalams

பாடல்பெற்ற தலங்கள்

"Paadal" means song in Tamil. "Petra" means received. "Sthalam" is from Sanskrit meaning temple. The phrase literally means "temples that have received songs". These are 276 Sivan temples that have dedicated pathigams in the Tamil devotional hymns the Thevaram. The Thevaram hymns were composed in the 7th to 8th centuries by the Moovar or "the three", Thirugnanasampanthar or Sampanthar, Thirunavukkarasar or Appar and Sundaramurthynayanar or Sundarar. These three belong to a group of saints, 63 in all, who revived Saivite Hinduism in the Tamil country from the 6th to the 10th centuries. The songs, hymns or poems composed by the Moovar are in sets of 10 stanzas (some have 11 stanzas) and are called pathigams.

The Thevaram songs constitute the first 7 Thirumurai of the 12 Panniru Thirumurai, the 12 divine works that together comprise the Tamil Saivite canon. They are the basis of Tamil Saivite devotion and philosophy. "Saivite" stands for the belief that Lord Sivan is the Supreme God. The first 3 Thirumurai were composed by the boy-saint Sampanthar. They are purely devotional for the most part and are outpourings of intense love for Lord Sivan. As a group they are referred to as the Thirukadaikaapu. The next three were sung by Appar. They are referred to as the Thevaram. The 5th is the Thirukurunthogai and the 6th is the Thiruthandagam. Sundarar composed the 7th Thirumurai, which is usually referred to as the Thirupaattu. If Sampanthar exhibited pure devotion, Appar's verses are sometimes more philosophical, reflecting his maturity in age when he composed these songs. Sundarar on the other hand looked at the Lord as his friend and his songs sometimes take on the tone of a friendly banter. As they are from a century later than the earlier works, the language is sometimes easier to understand. Sundarar also documents some important historical and descriptive clues in his hymns. Each of the first seven Thirumurai contain about 100 pathigams each for a total of 796 compositions. Sampanthar composed 383, Appar sang 313 and 100 were by Sundarar. Some temples have multiple songs from the same Nayanar while others have songs from all three.

At the beginning of the 7th century, the Tamil Country in South India was dominated by Buddhism and Jainism. The majority of the population seems to have subscribed to these two religions. The kings were mostly converted. The Pallava and Pandyan kings. the two most powerful monarchs of the time were both Jain. The 3 Nayanmar criss crossed the land accompanied by small bands of followers, singing in praise of Lord Sivan at various temples. They reopened old temples. cleaned and renovated them. They debated Jain and Buddhist monks on philosophy and theology. They reconverted kings and other powerful segments of society rapidly. So much so, that by the 9th century Tamil Saivite Hinduism became the dominant faith. The movement they launched came to be known as the Bhakti Movement.

The Thevaram hymns that the Moovar sang were lost for several decades only to be rediscovered in the late 10th or early 11th centuries by the erudite Tamil Saivite scholar Nambiandar Nambi and Rajarajan I, the great Chola emperor. The palm leaf manuscripts were found locked up in a backroom in the Chidambaram temple complex where they had partially decayed and were eaten by termites. It is believed that a large number were lost forever. Some others were discovered in later centuries. Some were found in temples as inscriptions. Hence the list has grown even in modern times and now stands at 276.

Of the 276 Paadal Petra Sthalams, the vast majority are in Tamil Nadu. Most are clustered along the River Kaveri. There are 129 south of the river and 63 north of it for a total of 192 in the traditional Chola country. 32 are located in Thondai Nadu, the traditional Pallava territory around Chennai and Kanchipuram. There are 22 in Nadu Nadu around Pondicherry, Villupuram and Cuddalore. There are 7 in the Kongu Nadu, stretching from Coimbatore to Salem to the east. The Pandya Nadu centred around Madurai has 14 Paadal Petra Sthalams. While most of these are in Tamil Nadu itself, 5 are in the Union Territory of Puducherry, 4 in Karaikal and one close to the city of Pondicherry. Two are in Sri Lanka, Thirukoneswaram and Thiruketheeswaram. One is in Kerala at Thiruvanchikulam. The famous Sivasthalam of Mahabaleshwar at Gokarna in Karnataka is one. There are two in Andhra Pradesh at Srikalahasti and Srisailam. Two are in North India, in Uttarakhand. They are Kedarnath and Gaurikund nearby. In Nepal there is one, the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu. Mount Kailash, the holy mountain and abode of Lord Sivan in the Himalayas in Tibet in present day China is considered one of the Paadal Petra Sthalams. Chidambaram is considered the most important Paadal Petra Sthalam.

Interactive Map of the Paadal Petra Sthalams

Courtesy Google Maps

Sources:

Panniru Thirumurai, R . Letchmanan Sakunthala Publications 2017 (Tamil)

Templenet website

Ancient Temples of Tamil Nadu - blog - hiramprakash