Vijayamangalam Temple

Summary

V. G. Nair profiles the Vijayamangalam temple, one of many Jaina monuments in Tamil Nadu. Situated near Erode in the village of Mettuputhur, three miles from the railway station and forty‑two miles northeast of Coimbatore, the temple dates back to the 10th century CE. It was built during the reign of the Ganga kings of Talakkad, Kannadiga rulers from Mysore, and priests were brought from Wynad and Mysore. A tenth‑century inscription records that Pullappai, sister of the patron Camundaraya (builder of the Gomatesvara colossus), undertook sallekhana at the temple, underscoring its antiquity and ties to the Ganga dynasty. Nair situates the temple within the cultural milieu of Kongu Nadu, a region that produced celebrated Jain poets and scholars such as Kongu Velir, Karmeka Pulavar, Atiyarkku Nallār, Bhavanandi Munivar and Villiputtār, all of whom enriched Tamil literature. The temple and area were also associated with the 10th‑century ascetic and missionary Gunavira Mamunivar. Architecturally, Vijayamangalam has five mandapams containing images, bas‑reliefs and inscriptions in Tamil and Grantha scripts. Its tower is known as Nettai Gopuram and the principal image as Amanesvarar, the nirvāṇa‑mūrti. Nearby lies the foundation of an unfinished shrine believed intended for an image of Ṛṣabha. Tradition holds that seventy‑five Jaina temples existed in Kongu Nadu in the 10th century and that Vijayamangalam—called Perumpalli, the big temple—flourished until the 14th century, after which religious upheavals and internal disorders led to decline. Today four neighbouring temples at Vellodu, Poothurai, Cheenapuram and Thingalur are in dilapidated condition, and another at Arachalur has vanished, though caves nearby preserve Brahmi inscriptions from the 2nd century BCE. Nair concludes with a call for renovation and development to restore Vijayamangalam as an important centre for Jain pilgrims and scholars.