Chola-era inscriptions reveal temple for ‘Lord’ Ravana in Tiruvannamalai

It all started when epigraphists decided to decipher inscriptions found on an old wooden oil mill (Ghani) at Sellankuppam a few days ago.

According to S Balamurugan of the Tiruvannamalai District Historical Research Centre (THRC), the ghani was used to provide oil to a Mahadeva temple located nearby. After searching for it, they finally found remains of the temple under a bush. They then discovered 12 broken stones with inscriptions, which when put together revealed that Sellankuppam’s was called as Kooriyur between the 9th and 18th centuries.

It also spoke about a local chieftan Malayaman, who ruled the area, when Kulothungan III was the Chola king between 1178 and 1218 AD.

Balamurugan said the inscription, which provided details of the social and political life during that period, pointed out that Malayaman had allotted land to provide oil for the lamps at the Viseeravaneswarar temple at Kooriyur.

“Although Ravana is portrayed as a villain in the epic, the inscription mentions him as a deity of prestige,” Balamurugan said, adding that it mentioned different words for measuring the oil used for the abishekam of the presiding deity. With no knowledge on how or why Kooriyur vanished, THRC president T M Prakash said the locals want the State archeological department to undertake research to unearth more information about the lives of those who lived in the area earlier.