TIRUVANNAMALAI: A stone tableau containing the emblem of Vira Vallalan the illustrious king who ruled over the Hoysala empire, said to be dating back to the 14th century, was found by archaeologists, near the Theerthavari mandapam of the ancient Sri Arunachaleshwar temple here.
The relic was discovered about one hundred feet away from the Theerthavari mandapam, recently, by the members of the Tiruvannamalai Mavatta Varalatru Aaivu Naduvam (Tiruvannamalai District History Research Centre).
“This emblem found in Pallikonda Pattu village, pertains to the era of King Vallalan who is known to be an ardent Saivite devotee and has carried our numerous improvements to the Arunachaleswarar temple,” says Prof R. Sekhar, archaeologist. V. Nedunchezhian, vice president of the centre and S. Sethu were also part of the team that discovered the tableau.
In the Arunachala Puranam, Lord Siva undertakes to perform King Vallalan’s funeral rites, which is normally performed by the son of the deceased.
The promise is still remembered in Tiruvannamalai and each year King Vallalan’s funeral is re-enacted to commemorate the event. During the month of Masi the temple priests read out the news of King Vallalan’s death to Arunachaleswarar. Following this, the image is carried in procession to the village of Pallikonda Pattu, about three kilometres from Tiruvannamalai, for performing the King’s annual sraddha rites.
