Ennayiram is a village in Vikravandi taluk in

Villuppuram Viluppuram, Villupuram, or Vizhuppuram () is a municipality and the administrative headquarters of Viluppuram district. Located south west of a Tiruvannamalai and north west of Cuddalore null The town serves as a major and largest railway ...

district in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. The major occupation of the people living at this place is agriculture.

Etymology

''Ennayiram'' means eight thousand in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

. An inscription dated 1025 CE, belongs to the

Rajaraja Chola Rajaraja I ( Middle Tamil: ''Rājarāja Cōḻaṉ''; Classical Sanskrit: ''Rājarāja Śōḷa''; 3 November 947 – January/February 1014), also known as Rajaraja the Great, was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 to 1014. He was known for ...

mentions the name "Ennayiram". Hence the name "Ennayiram" is 1000 years old. It also refers to the caste name of Jain merchants. It has close connection with

Ashtasahasram Ashtasahasram is a sub-sect of the Iyer community of Tamil Brahmins from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Culture The Ashtasahasrams as Iyers belong to the Smarta tradition, along with the Vadamas, Brahacharanam Brahacharanam is a sub-sec ...

, a sub sect of Tamil Iyer community.

Information

* Name of the Place = Ennayiram * Taluk = Vikiravandi * District = Villupuram * State = Tamil Nadu * Country = India * Coordinates = 12°7'28"N 79°29'31"E * Area = 1 km² * Population = 1000 (2011)

Location

Ennayiram is located 20 km north of

Villupuram Viluppuram, Villupuram, or Vizhuppuram () is a municipality and the administrative headquarters of Viluppuram district. Located south west of a Tiruvannamalai and north west of Cuddalore null The town serves as a major and largest railway ...

, 16 km southeast of

Gingee Gingee, also known as Senji or Jinji and originally called Singapuri, is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the ...

Transportation

Town buses from

town bus stand (bus no: 20, 21) to Pidaripattu go through Ennayiram. Otherwise, one can alight at Nemur Koot road bus stop (all mofussil buses going from

) and can take shared auto.

About the village

Ennayiram village has more than 1000 years old heritage. This village was a city during the

Rajaraja Chola I Rajaraja I (Middle Tamil: ''Rājarāja Cōḻaṉ''; Classical Sanskrit: ''Rājarāja Śōḷa''; 3 November 947 – January/February 1014), also known as Rajaraja the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola emperor who reigned from 985 to 1014. He ...

period. It was dominated by

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and ...

before the arrival of

Ramanuja Ramanuja ('; Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmānuja; 1077 – 1157), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and social reformer. He is one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavi ...

. It is also believed that Saint

had converted eight thousand

Vaishnavites Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

here. It was called Rajaraja Sathuurvedimangalam in those times. The main importance of this village comes from Azhagiya Narasimma Perumal temple, a Vedic college and Ennayira malai which contains evidence for the past existence of Jain monks.

poet Kalamegam was born in this village.

Azhagiya Narasimma Perumal Temple

{{Unreferenced section, date=December 2013 This temple was built by Raja Raja Chola and Narasimma Perumal was considered as the family deity of Rajaraja Chola. The

sanctum sanctorum The Latin phrase ''sanctum sanctorum'' is a translation of the Hebrew term ''קֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים'' (Qṓḏeš HaQŏḏāšîm), literally meaning Holy of Holies, in Latin texts, this generally refers to the holiest place of t ...

has the idol of Lord Paramapathavasan and consorts Sridevi and Bhoodevi. The presiding deity is Lord Azhagiya Narasimmar. The temple also has a shrine for the six foot high idol of Lord Varahamurthy. Special pooja is performed in every Thiruvathirai Natchathiram day. Sadly, vandalism have dismembered the two hands of Lord Narasimmar which are made of green stone. The deity has been kept in a corner of the temple for the past 400 years. Saint

visited this temple twice. Koorathazhwar also visited this temple. This temple contains many Tamil inscriptions on the walls and stairs. It is surrounded by three Shiva temples namely Padaleeswarar temple, Brahmmapuriswarar temple at Brahmadesam and Ramanatha Eswarar temple at Esalam. All three Shiva temples are within two kilometers. All these temples are now under the control of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Existence of ancient Vedic College

The Vedic College functioned with 10 teachers and 340 students 800 years ago. The college provided free boarding to students and each student received one

seer (unit) A Seer (also sihr) is a traditional unit of mass and volume used in large parts of Asia prior to the middle of the 20th century. It remains in use only in a few countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, and parts of India although in Iran it indicat ...

of rice per day which was sufficient for their daily meals. The teachers got a daily allowance of one ''kalam'' which was equivalent to the cost of food for 16 persons per day. They were also given half ''kalingu'' gold as bonus per year. The village was also called as rajaraja chaturvedi Mangalam because the vedic college taught chaturdasa (3 vedas with 6 angam and meemasa, nyayam, puranam and dharmasaasthram). References of the same is found in 1st Rajendra chola’s (11th century) Sassanam.

Ennayira Malai (Ancient Jain cave, beds and inscriptions)

Another attractive feature of this village is the presence of Ennayira malai or Ennayiram hill with Jain cave and beds, which is now called as Koodalur hill. The 23rd Thirthankarar of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

, Parshavanathar, was nicely carved on the rock. There are 35 stone beds, a natural cave and five Tamil inscriptions. Among the five inscriptions, one belongs to the period of the

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of South India, the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The ...

king Nirubathunga Varman (850 to 882 CE), while the remaining four belong to the period of

Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

King

Parantaka Chola I Parantaka Chola I (Tamil language, Tamil: பராந்தக சோழன் I; 873–955) was a Chola Empire, Chola emperor who ruled for forty-eight years, annexing Pandyan dynasty, Pandya by defeating Maravarman Rajasimha II, Rajasimhan I ...

(907 to 953 CE). Near the hill, broken black and red painted pots from 1st to 2nd centuries CE were found in large numbers.

References

*A. Dubey, "Commercialisation of Education in India", APH Publishing Corporation, New Delhi. *R. Mookerji, "Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist", Motilal Banarsidass Publ., New Delhi(1990) *Ananthapuram K. Krishnamurthy, "Senji pagudhiyil samanam", Malayamaan Publishers, Varkkalpattu, Cuddalore(2005) *K. Venkatesan, "Kalvettu", 85, April, State Department of Archaeology, Chennai (2011).
''The Hindu'' article on Ennayiram temple

External links

Ennayiramalai video (youtube)author's site Ennayiram College for Vedic Studies (News Article)
Archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu Villages in Tiruvannamalai district Jain temples in Tamil Nadu 9th-century Jain temples Jain rock-cut architecture