| Chapter
3: Nallur Rajadhani's Historical Facts
Information’s regarding Nallur Rajdhani
are a rarity indeed. Temples, Market place, royal Palaces, labourers’ colony,
places of dwelling of court bards,warriors, traders, the fortress round
the city, the other forts around the city etc. can be called the important
places of Nallur Rajdhani. There are references about the famous temple
of Lord Muruga, the Kandaswami temple in Nallur in several works in portugese
tongue such as ‘Conquest of Ceylon’, ‘Early Christainity in Ceylon’
etc. From the notes of Queroz Swamigal, the author of ‘Conquest
of Ceylon’ we come to know that Nallur Kandhaswami temple was the biggest
temple in the whole of Jaffna and that there were huge walls by way of
fortification built around it.Further from these works mentioned above
we can also know that this Kandaswami temple was in the very same area
where we have a church now. Kandhaiya Gunarasa says that the ruins
seen enroute to Yamunaari were of this big temple wall. (Veerakesari 15.8.93).
In 'Yaazhpaana Vaibhava Maalai’,
of Singaiariyarasan 1st, establishing his
empire’s Rajdhani in Nallur it is
said as that given below:-
“... on an auspicious
day and time suggested by the astrologers, after much deliberation, laying
the foundation stone and raising four walls also, and constructing the
doorway too, and along with them constructing a garden and a ‘mandap’ for
the purpose of taking bath (Snana Mandap) and a canal with walls on three
sides and brining waters from Yamuna river and mixing it with the water
of the canal, building the Mandap of Justice, constructing stables for
arrangement of rows of horses, and elephants, constructing warriors ‘tenaments,
building an agrahara for Gangadhara Iyer, who was the
‘Brahmakula Thilagar’ in Kasi,
and his wife by name Annapoorani Ammal to live, building Veiyilugandha
Pillayar temple for the safety of the eastern side and Veeramaakaliamman
temple for the safety of the western side and for the northern region Sattanadheswar
Shrine, Thayalnayagiamman temple, Salaivinayagar temple and doing the housewarming
ceremony with his better half Thilagavathiar he lived there.” (Yaazhpaana
Vaibhava malai).
As per the ‘Udhya Tharagai’ version
of Yaazhpaana Vaibhgavamaalai. The
Kailai vinayagar temple was also
built by the aforesaid king for the safety
of the southern side. We have already
seen that Vaibhavamaalaiyar’s version
abounds in historical untruths.
The contention that it was not Nallur but
Singainagar which the king Singaraya
had first made the capital of his
empire holds good.
Mudaliar Rasanayagam’s ‘Yaazhpaana
Charitham’(The history of Jaffna) has this to say of Nallur Rajadhani:
"...Kanagasurya along
with his sons and battalions come to Yaazhpaanam and fought with Vijayabhagu,
and, killing him he became the king and ruled his kingdom from Nallur.
As his former Rajdhani Singai Nagar had been completely ruined and turned
into a waste land,seeing Nullore filled with various resources, renovated
that itself, building royal streets and places and surrounding them stables
of stallions and elephants that are used in warfare and a beautiful garden
with full of blooming flowers with sweet smells, building workshops and
dwelling places of traders and artisans who create wonders in silk and
cotton, and also places which were unmatched in style and expertise and
which had skilfully made windows and ventilators,and different places of
dwelling for carpenters, goldsmith, painters, diamond merchants, bards,
lutists well - versed in music, exclusively, areas for upper - class businessmen,
for the 'Manthras of Brahmins, dwelling places of the landlords, exclusive
areas where doctors, astrologers etc., lived, separate streets for peasants
and farmhands and thus he made Nallur as befitting its name, a place of
excellence, making one and all wonder whether it was the city of Lord Indra,
or, rather, kubera." (Yaazhpaana Charithram,p.76-77).
Of the Nallur under the rule
of Kanagasurya Singaiarya's son Singai
Pararasasekaran, Mudaliar Rasanayagam
says the following:-
"...After Kanagasurya,
his first son, taking the title Singai
Pararasasekaran became the king
in 1478 A.D. It is he who was the first to use the name Singai as the first
part of a name. He was even better than his father in ruling the country
and he built Sattanadhar temple to the north of the city, Kailayanadhar
temple in the south and Veiyi lugandha pillayar temple in the east and
Veeramaakaaliamman temple in the western side and enhanced the pride and
glory of his capital further. Bringing into being a lake by the side of
Kandaswami temple and filling it with the sacred waters from Yamuna river
brought in poles and named it asYamunaari (The lake of Yamuna)" - 'Yaazhpaana
Charithram’ - p.77
In the case of Nallur Rajdhani, Mudaliar
Rasanayagam's version, more than
that of anyone else, which he had
arrived at after going through various
important historical documents,
is relevant and acceptable. During the
military expedition of Sabumal Kumaraya
alias Shenbagap - Perumal the
whole of Yaazh city, including Singai
Nagar, was destroyed and he
established his capital in Nallur.
Gaining possession of Kottai when he
went away there, leaving Nallur
in the hands of Vijayabagu, Kanagasurya
Singaiariyan who had been defeated
by Shenbagap Perumal and sought shelter
in Tamilnadu came back with his
two sons Pararasasekaran and Kajarasasekaran
and, waging war he retrieved from
Vijayabagu his lost empire. This is
history. In his time and under the
rule of his son Nallur Rajdhani's layout
took on many important changes.
Thus these changes took place after Nallur
became a Rajdhani but they were
wrongly perceived
by Kailaya Maalaiyar, who has the
confusion of seeing Singainagar and Nallur
as one and the same, and also by
Mayilvahanap Pulavar who wrote his work
Vaibhava mallai based on the afore
- said incorrect viewpoint, as happenings
during the rule of Arya King who
made Singai Nagar his Rajdhani. As more
historians accept the contention
of Mudaliar Rasanayagam and that it is this
contention which rectifies the historical
incorrectness in
'Vaibhavamaalaiyar's claim, I am
convinced that Mudaliar Rasanayagam's
contention is true and correct.
Hence, based on this contention let us
accept the historical facts about
Nallur Rajdhani and turn our attention
towards other issues. |
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