Discover . Sottathatti
Explore Sottathatti, a village steeped in Ramayana lore where Jatayu valiantly fought Ravana, leaving a lasting historical and cultural imprint
About Temple
Before
Sottathatti Village
This is a village of historical importance. the age of this village is dated back to the time of Ramayana. When Ravana was abducting Sita Devi(Wife of Rama), She was crying for help, By that time an old eagle named Jatayu fought with Ravana , but Jatayu was defeated and his wings were amputated by Ravana , the cruel Asura , Since Jatayu’s wings were amputated in this village this place had been named Sottai (wings or hind arms ) Thatti (removed or flattened) later commonly called sottathatti , This is three kilometers from Panayur village and also very near to Silaiman railway station.
Though only around 9 kms from the Madurai Railway Station and just 4.2 kms from Nedungulam Junction Signal on the Madurai Bye-pass Road (close to Velammal Medical College), it falls under Sivagangai District, Thiruppuvanam Taluk.
Sottathatti Shiva Temple
Jatayu is believed to have been prayed Lord Shiva here. There used to be a very Dilapidated Shiva Temple at this Village. Old timers say that the Temple was partially destroyed by Lightning around 125 years back (may be around 1900 AD) and hence as partially destroyed. Over time the entire area was overgrown by shrubs and thorns and the villagers avoided coming anywhere near the dilapidated structure and it deteriorated further.
Village Elders Reclaim Temple
Only by around 2016 some elders and educated persons belonging to the village decided to take the bull by the horns and retrieve the age-old temple. On perusal of Revenue / Land Records, it was found
that during British India, the temple had been allocated around 2.75 acres of land as Natham Purampoke. This kind of classification during the British Indian days was used for empty lands surrounding inhabited village areas. Such lands were to be used for general public welfare and for future development of the Village.
This Natham Purampoke Land in sottathatti Village demarcated as Survey No. 181/2 is mentioned in the revenue records as being occupied by “Sivaraman Temple” and the temple tank adjacent thereto. The name “Sivaraman” used here is peculiar. It is very rare to form a co-joined name containing “Shaiva” (pertaining to Lord Shiva) on one hand and “Vaishnava” (pertaining to the Avatars of Lord Vishnu) on the other. It is very likely that this name of “Sivaraman Temple” was used by the ancestors in this village as it was a temple of Lord Shiva and at the same time linked to an episode in Ramayana, as explained above.
Resurrection of Sottathatti Shiva Temple
The public in this village, at one point of time in 2016, decided that the dilapidated structure was in a very dangerous condition. The structure – as are most of the ancient temples of South India – was entirely constructed out of black-grey Granite. Old timers say that there were some inscriptions on the stone slabs in Old-style- Tamil script too. But at one point of time, this structure was demolished by the villagers on account of existential danger. The Old Shivalingam of the temple and the statue of Devi could never be found. The idol of Nandi was found in a decapitated state stuck in the nearby
pond. The entire stone structure was brought down without any collateral damage to life or property and the broken stones and pillars were buried.
The village leaders then got a new Shivalingam and Nandi sculpted by expert sculptors in Mamallapuram and installed the idols in a make-shift camp on the same land which has been marked as Natham Puramboke in the Revenue Records.
Proposed Temple Plan
Efforts are on to revive the construction of a new temple to host the Sivaramalingam along with Devi and other important shrines in the holy village. The village elders, appropriately guided in Shaivaite Agamas by Sri La Sri Natarajan Swamigal of Vellore, have now galvanized to register a religious-cum charitable Trust under the name of Sottathatti Sivaraman Charitable Trust in an effort to collect funds and gather assistance and manpower to construct a small temple at the exact place where the ancient temple once stood and to clean up the temple pond to make it fit to use. Plans are also being made to develop a garden in the land allotted to “Sivaraman Temple” under Natham Puramboke, so that the entire area can be developed into a complex consisting of a temple, the temple pond, a garden and a small Goshala and thereby restore the historic village to its ancient glory
Temple Media
The Trust
Sottathatti Sivaraman Charitable Trust
Sottathatti Sivaraman Charitable Trust was incorporated as a Religious Charitable Trusts under the Trusts Act 1932. The Trust for the same was created with the first Donation of Rs. 10,001 by its founder Shri. S. Lakshminarasimhan. The ancestors of Shri. Lakshminarasimhan hail from Sottathatti village.
He had very nearly forgotten the ancestry linked to this village till he was reminded of the same by the elders of this family. After consulting the elders belonging to Sottathatti, Shri. Lakshminarasimhan decided to incorporate this Trust, to co-opt 4 other elders residing in the village to be the Trustees and formalize the operations which are aimed towards reconstruction of the Temple and resurrection
of the Village.
The trustees of this Trust are as follows
- Shri. S. Lakshminarasimhan, a Chartered Accountant in practice with offices at Chennai and Rajapalayam (Virudunagar District, Tamilnadu)
- Shri. P. Mohan, retired Additional DSP, Tamilnadu
- Shri. Ganesan, retired Defence of India Officer
- Shri. Murugesan, retired VAO of Sottathatti Village
- Shri. Samayan, retired Co-operative department employee, who has been instrumental in maintaining the Shivalingam in its present form and safeguarding the location.
The Trust has obtained its PAN: ABJTS4156M and has made its application for provisional registration under Section 12AB of the Income Tax Act 1961