________________
17. SAIVISM
The Revival Movement of Dravidian Religion Dr. M. Deivanayagam, Dr. D. Devakala
Pillayar Concept
In the Savite Trinity of Appan, Amma and Makan - while the concept of Appan (Father), Amma (Sakthi - Holy spirit) and Makan (Son) - we oftern confront the son in the form of the Elephant. Pillaiyar is depicted as Gana Pathy which in itself simply means Lord or Saviour of People - Emmanuel. Yet the Elephant figure have come to dominate the religious ceremonies. Though it blows off the stretch of imagination, this was a natural development of the concept of incarnation. It is a sybolisation the "The only begotten Son of God" as the following research indicates.
In "The Wonder that is Pillaiyarpatti" Sivashankar Chandrasekaran describes this original concept thus: Pillaiyarpatti is a small town twelve kilometers from Karaikudi, near Madurai, in the Sivagangi District of Tamil Nadu. The town is named after the Ganesa Temple that adorns it. Here, Lord Ganesa is known as Pillaiyar, Tamil for revered and noble son, and 'Karpaga Vinayakar', Lord who offers his blessings like the celestial tree Kalpaka whose specialty is ' you ask and it will be given'.
This temple is 1,600 years old. It contains fourteen stone inscriptions dated between 400 AD and 1238 AD that reveal that the place was known as 'Ekkattur', 'Thiruveengaikudi', 'Maruthankudi' and 'Raja Narayanapuram' before it became to be called Pillaiyarpatti. An inscription dated 1284 AD, on the right side wall of the Thiruveesar sanctum, suggests that the original name of the Ganesa was 'Desi Vinayaga Pillaiyar',
Pillaiyarpatti Temple is a rock cut temple. The image of Karpaga Vinayakar and that of a Siva Linga were carved out of stone by a sculptor called 'Ekkattur Koon Peruparanan' who put his signature on a stone inscription found even today in the sanctum. He put his name in the Tamizhi language which was in use between 2nd and 5th century AD. It can concluded that the icon of Karpaga Vinayakar must have been carved around 4th century AD
472
