Case8-March-2014
DHAN Foundation’s Toursim Program arranged for a Heritage walk in Vazhudhur on February 16, 2014, a village situated in the banks of river Thamirabarani, in Ambasamudhiram Block, Thirunelveli District.
The traditional name of Vazudhur was actually Vazhidhiyur, being named after the Pandiya King Vazhudhi. The eight hundred year old Siva temple, built during Pandiya period stands as a testimony for the heritage value of the village. The temple has a garpagragha (karuvarai), Artha Mandapam and Mahamandapam, apart from a shrine for the woman goddess (amman sannithi). Stone inscriptions found in the temple of First Sadayavarman Kulasekarapandian (1190 - 1216), First Maaravarman Sunderapandian (1214 - 1238) and Maaravarman Vikramapandian, the Pandiya Kings, mentions about the various gifts given to the temple by those kings. The stone inscription by Kulasekarapandian and others states the name of the temple as ‘Thiru vakneeswaramudaiyaar Temple”. The Kulasekarapandian inscriptions states the donation made by Selvagnanadevan for lighting a daytime lamp in the temple. The stone inscription by Sundarapandian mentions about Vijayapanman, who also made donations for lighting lamps in the temple. Another stone inscription speaks of land donated to the temple, with tax exemption for the same. The presence of two village tanks- Sankaran tank and Umainangai tanks, the belonged to the temple also was mentioned in these inscriptions. The village Vazudhiyar remained as a North eastern part of Rajaraja Sadhurvedhi Mangalam once upon a time. The temple stands as a symbol of architectural excellence and the rich heritage value of Indian villages.
Heritage walk was also organized on the same day at Karungalakudi Village in Madurai District, which is situated enroute to Trichy. Mr.K.P.Bharathi, Programme Leader, Toursim for Development, Dr.Vedhachalam, Archeologist and large number of people participated in the walk to understand the historical significance of the village and its temple, and to carry the message of the need for preservation of such heritage sites. The village has a great significance, wherein Jains lived during ancient days, which is evident by the presence of Jain caves and stone inscriptions found in the site. A two thousand five hundred year old stone inscription written in ancient ‘tamil brahmi’ language, mentions about Jain caves, constructed by a person known by the name Arithan, of Izaiyur village.