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Vijayamangalam Jain temple also known as Chandrapraba Tirtankarar Temple is a Jain temple in the town of Vijayamangalam in Erode district, Tamil Nadu.^[1]

History

Vijayamangalam was historically part of Kongu Nadu. This town was an ancient settlement of Jains.^[2] Vijayamangalam Jain temple was built in c. 678 C.E. by King Konguvelir of Velir dynasty.^[3][1][4] King Konguvelir composed an epic Pancha-Kaviyams here.^[5] Tamil Sangam (assembly of Tamil scholars and poets) was organised here when Konguvelir composed Perunkathai. During the sangam King's maid helped him to answer the questions of scholarly Sangam. To commemorate this event the idols of King Konguvelir, his maid and the members of the Tamil Sangam were installed inside the temple.^[1]

There is an inscription inside the temple that talks of the beauty of Perunkathai. The Vijayamangalam village is also the birthplace of a 12th century Jain acharya Bhavanadi, who authored Nannūl, a work on Tamil grammar. This temple is the oldest Jain temple in the Kongu Nadu region.^[1]

The sister of Chavundaraya (a minister during the reign of Western Ganga dynasty), Pullava committed sallekhana or fasting to death here.^[6]

About temple

This temple is dedicated to Chandraprabha, the eighth Tirthankara of Jainism.^[7] The temple follows Western Ganga architecture with brick Vimana facing south and ardhamandapa housing idols of Pañca-Parameṣṭhi.^[8] The temple is enclosed within a prakaram entered through a gopuram.^[9] Many Jain idols dating back to uncertain times having reported in Vijayamangalam.^[10]

The temple is maintained and protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.^[11]

Photo gallery

• 
  Rishabhanatha idol
• 
  Manastambha
• 
  Inscription
• 
  Detailed carvings on the pillar
• 
  Vimana

See also

• Trilokyanatha Temple
• Nannūl
• Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi

References

Citation

Sources

Book

• Pillai, M. S. Purnalingam (1994). Tamil Literature. Delhi: Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120609556.
• Subramanian, K. R. (2002). Origin of Saivism and Its History in the Tamil Land. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 9788120601444.
• Sangave, Vilas Adinath (1981), The Sacred ʹSravaṇa-Beḷagoḷa: A Socio-religious Study, Murtidevī granthamālā, vol. 8, Mumbai: Bhartiya Jnanpith, ISBN 9789326355599
• Tandon, O. P. (1986). Jaina Shrines in India. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. ISBN 978-81-230-2454-7.
• Umamaheshwari, R. (2018). Reading History with the Tamil Jainas: A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation. Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures. Vol. 2. Springer. ISBN 9788132237563.

Web

• Branfoot, Crispin (2015). "The Tamil Gopura" (PDF). Temple Gateway to Global Icon. Smithsonian Institution. ISSN 0571-1371. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Krishnamachari, Suganthy (12 October 2017). "On how Kongu Nadu was a Jain bastion". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
• Sundaram, B Meenakshi (30 August 2015). "Kottravai, the Tamil Goddess of Victory". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
• Tamil Nadu Government. "Erode". Government of Tamil Nadu. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
• ASI. "List of Monuments and Sites: SALEM SUB-CIRCLE". Archaeological Survey of India. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
• Home Ministry (2011). "District census handbook Erode" (PDF). Census. Retrieved 7 April 2022.

External links

• Media related to Jain temple, Mettupudur, Erode at Wikimedia Commons