Hinduism: What Really Happenned in India (PDF) - Oration

Hinduism: What Really Happened in India – M. M. Ninan
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Pillaiyarpatti is a small town twelve kilometers from Karaikudi, near
Madurai, in the Sivagangi District of Tamil Nadu. The town is named
after the Ganesa Temple that adorns it. Here, Lord Ganesa is known as
Pillaiyar, Tamil for revered and noble son, and 'Karpaga Vinayakar',
Lord who offers his blessings like the celestial tree Kalpaka whose
specialty is ' you ask and it will be given'.
This temple is 1,600 years old. It contains fourteen stone inscriptions
dated between 400 AD and 1238 AD that reveal that the place was
known as 'Ekkattur', 'Thiruveengaikudi', 'Maruthankudi' and 'Raja
Narayanapuram' before it became to be called Pillaiyarpatti. An
inscription dated 1284 AD, on the right side wall of the Thiruveesar
sanctum, suggests that the original name of the Ganesa was 'Desi
Vinayaga Pillaiyar',
“Pillaiyarpatti Temple is a rock cut temple. The image of Karpaga
Vinayakar and that of a Siva Linga were carved out of stone by a
sculptor called 'Ekkattur Koon Peruparanan' who put his signature on
a stone inscription found even today in the sanctum. He put his name
in the ' Tamizhi language', which was in use between 2 nd and 5 th
century AD. It can be concluded that the icon of Karpaga Vinayakar
must have been carved around 4 th century AD
Karpaga Vinayakar is one of the oldest Vinayakar images in the world
for it has only two arms. The significance of the two arms is that the first
god evolved by ancient man was in the shape of man. This male god
created out of stone was called Yaksha and the female god was called
Yakshi. Later on to show the superiority of god to man the head of the
man was removed and in its place a head in the shape of OM was fixed.
The OM head was similar to that of an elephant. There are only two
images of Vinayakars with two arms in the world. One is at
Pillaiyarpatti the other is in Afghanistan. The one at Afghanistan must
have been made later, for it is in a standing posture and has a number of
ornaments adorning it.