Pariyur is a panchayat village located near Gobichettipalayam in

Erode District Erode District is one of the 38 Districts of Tamil Nadu, districts in the south Indian States and union territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It was the largest district by area in the state before the formation of Tirupur district in 2009 ...

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 ...

state, India. It is located about 3 km from Gobichettipalayam on the way to Anthiyur via Savandapur. It is a religious center with many famous temples including the Pariyur Kondathu Kaliamman temple.

History

The history of the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

dates back centuries. The temple is considered to be more than 1500 years old. The name Pariyur literally comes from 'Pari' and 'oor' meaning, 'a place ruled by Pari'.

Vēl Pāri Vēḷ Pari was a velir ruler who ruled Parambu nadu and surrounding regions in ancient Tamilakam during the Sangam period. He was the patron and friend of poet Kabilar and is extolled for his benevolence, patronage of art and literature. He ...

was a great

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

who is regarded 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 ...

literature as one of the Kadai ēzhu vallal (literally meaning, the last of the seven great patrons). Arulmigu Kondathu Kaliamman is a powerful Goddess who was the deity responsible for the prosperity of the country ruled by Pari.

Temples

Kondathu Kaliamman Temple

Pariyur Kondathu Kaliamman Temple is in Pariyur, about 3 km from Gobichettipalayam, where a 'Fire-Walking Ceremony' (Kundam) is held every January. The annual Temple Car Festival is celebrated here with grandeur, and the temple attracts a large gathering from the surrounding places throughout the year. Believed to be approximately 1500 years old, the inner sanctum of the temple is made of black marble. The presiding deity of the temple is Kaliamman. She is considered an aspect of the mother Goddess Parvati, consort of Lord Siva. Many other god and goddess statues are also present, one of which is the protector God, Maha Muniappan, who blesses couples with children and chases fear away from the minds of the people. There are other shrines dedicated to

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

, as well as the shrines of Saptha Kannigai, Ponkaliamman,

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

and other Hindu Gods. The temple has a wedding hall and a golden chariot dedicated to the goddess.

Amarapaneeswarar Temple

Amarapaneeswarar Temple is a temple dedicated to Lord

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

and his consort Soundaranayaki Amman located in Pariyur. The temple itself is built completely of white

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

and there are separate shrines dedicated to warlord Karthikeya with his wives Deivayanai and

Valli Valli () is a devi, Hindu goddess, and the second consort of the deity Murugan. An incarnation of the goddess Sundaravalli, daughter of Vishnu, Valli is born on earth as the daughter of a chieftain, leading a life of a huntress. Murugan, the god ...

known as Anukkai Vinayakar, Nandi, the vehicle of Lord Shiva. There are also shrines dedicated to

Navagraha The navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu mythology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( "nine") and ''graha'' ( "planet, seizing, laying hold of, holding"). The nine part ...

Bhairava Bhairava (, ), or Kāla Bhairava, is a Shaivite and Vajrayāna deity worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists. In Shaivism, he is a powerful manifestation, or avatar, of Shiva.Kramrisch, Stella (1994). ''The Presence of Śiva''. Princeton, NJ: P ...

, Nayanmars and other Hindu Gods.

Maha Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...

and Pradhosam is celebrated with much grandeur apart from other festivals of

and

Murugan Kartikeya (/ kɑɾt̪ɪkejə/; ), also known as Skanda ( /skən̪d̪ə/), Subrahmanya (/ sʊbɾəɦməɲjə/, /ɕʊ-/), Shanmukha ( /ɕɑnmʊkʰə/) and Murugan (/ mʊɾʊgən/), is the Hindu god of war. He is generally described as the ...

Adinarayanaswamy Temple

Adinarayana Swamy Temple is a temple dedicated to Lord

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

located at Pariyur and the chief deity the temple is Adhi Narayana Perumal. He is seen along with his companions Sri Devi and Bhu Devi. The specialty of the temple is that, there is a separate shrine dedicated to Lord

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

. The statues of Sanjeevi Anjaneyar, Veera Anjaneyar and Alwars are seen inside the main temple complex.

Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

Alwar is seen in front of the main sanctum. The main

Gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of th ...

of the temple depicts the scene of narration of

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

, the holy book of Hindus. Vaikunta Ekadashi and other festivals of

are celebrated here.

Ankalamman Temple

There is also a small temple dedicated to Sri Ankalamman.

Hill Temples

Balamurugan Temple, Pachaimalai is one of the two old hill temples dedicated to Lord

, while the other is Muthukumaraswamy Temple, Pavalamalai. Both the temples are located within a few miles from the heart of the town. All Saivite, Koumaram and other Hindu festivals are celebrated at the temple, especially Thai Poosam,

Panguni Uthiram Panguni Uthiram () is a Tamil Hindu festival. It is marked on the purnima (full moon) of the month of Panguni (14 March - 13 April). It falls on the day the moon transits the nakshatram (asterism) of Uttiram ( Uttara Phalguni) in the twelfth ...

and Skanda Sashti. There is a huge statue of Lord Murugan, which can be seen miles away from the temple. Apart from his normal peacock mount, the temple also has a Golden Chariot.

Connectivity

Pariyur is situated on a major highway connecting Gobichettipalayam and Anthiyur via Savandapur. Bus services are available frequently from Gobichettipalayam. To get there by road, reach Gobichettipalayam and travel further 3 km to reach Pariyur. By rail, reach

Erode Erode (; īrōṭu), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Kaveri river and is surrounded by the Western Ghats. Erode is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. It is the administrativ ...

(40 km) and then travel by road via Gobichettipalayam or Anthiyur. The nearest airport is

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

, 85 km away. This table gives the distance from major cities:

Wedding ceremonies

Because of cultural and religious importance, people prefer Pariyur for weddings. There is a wedding hall which was constructed newly at a cost of over 60 lakhs.

Filmography

The temple is famous for the films that were shot here. Many Tamil and Malayalam films have been shot in and around the temple.

References

{{Reflist

Sources

*https://web.archive.org/web/20130614095321/http://pariyurkondathukaliamman.org/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20131109105313/http://www.pachaimalai.in/Eng/pariyur.htm *https://temple.dinamalar.com/en/new_en.php?id=773 Villages in Erode district