Historians call for saving 13th century temple from demolition in Yercaud

Historians urge State government to save 13th century Shiva temple in Yercaud from demolition by local villagers.

Historians have urged the State government to save a 13th century Shiva temple at Kovilur in Maramangalam panchayat at Yercaud, as the local villagers have planned to demolish the temple and construct a new one.

In 2017, the Salem Historical Research Centre members, led by Veeraragavan and Aragalur Venkatesan, found four stone inscriptions at the temple, also known as Vaneeswarar temple, at Kovilur located 17 km from Yercaud. They inferred from the inscriptions that the temple was constructed in the 13th century by the chieftain, Karkadamarayan, who ruled Yercaud.

However, it is reported that the local villagers decided to demolish the 700-year-old temple to construct a new one.

Historian and writer Yercaud B.S. Elango said stone inscriptions had details of the temple’s history; the chieftain who ruled Yercaud and had land provided for the temple. This was the only temple that had stone inscriptions in Yercaud. It was not under the control of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department or the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

A few years ago, burglars stole panchaloha idols from the temple and the police recovered the idols and handed them over to the HR and CE Department. The State government should stop the demolition of the temple, he said.

Aragalur Venkatesan from the Salem Historical Research Centre said temples that were 100 years old or more should not be demolished without the permission of the ASI or HR and CE Department. There were many rules that need to be complied with to demolish old temples. But due to lack of awareness, the villagers decided to demolish the temple this week. The Tamil Nadu government should save the temple, he said.

Officials of the HR and CE Department and ASI have promised to look into the matter.