Peraiyur contains a temple of considerable interest. Dedicated to Siva
in his Naganatha-swami (lord-of-the-snake) aspect. A tall stone Nataraja
dances at the entrance to the main shrine. The sculpture of Siva and
Parvathi seated on their bull are excellent pieces.
The temple gopuram
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The oldest extant portion of the temple is the western gopuram behind
the sanctum. It is of the 10th century and is done in the Chozha style.
The specific Chozha architectural features of the structure coupled with
the presence of a Sapta-matrika (சப்த கன்னியர்) group in bas-relief on a
single stone, and an inscription of Rajendra-chozha I (முதலாம்
ராஜேந்திர சோழன்) (1012-44) on the rock near the tarn, show that the temple
was originally a Chozha structure of the 10th century, but was later
renovated in the 12th or 13th century. There are other Chozha and Pandya
inscriptions belonging to the 13th century.
The present garbha-griham of the Naganatha-swami is a Pandya structure
of the 12th-13th centuries. It stands on a moulded plinth with a
vyala-vari (யாள வரி) at the top and a curved kumudam (குமுதம்) in the
middle. The pilasters are octagonal with rectangular base but without
nagapadam-s (நாக படம்). The palagai-s (பலகை) is large and square and the
padmam-s (பத்மம்) has well-defined petals. There are niches on the wall
and contains images of Dakshina-moorthi (தக்ஷிணாமூர்த்தி), Lingod-bhava (லிங்கோத்பவர்)
and Brahma. The vimanam (விமானம்) is a modern brick structure.
There is in the precincts a subsidiary shrine for Goddess Brahadambal (பிரஹதம்பாள்)
said to belong to the close of the 15th or early 16th century, and is in
the Vijayanagara architectural style.
The eastern main gopuram is a Pandya structure, but the brickwork above
is modern. The other mandapam-s in the prakaram (பிரகாரம்) are modern. The
temple bears renovations, the last of which took place in during the reign
of Ramachandra Tondaiman (இராமச்சந்திரத் தொண்டைமான்) (1834-1886).
Stone-images of Naga:
The stone image of Naga. Hundreds of such images can be seen inside
the temple, arranged as in the border of this page.
Two Naga-s, a common motive
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The village is famous for the worship of Naga. People install stone
images of snakes in order to remove barrenness in women. The shrine faces
an oval tarn that is filled seasonally by rainwater. Along the edge of
this tank is a plinth on which are found snake-stones (நாகக்கல், nagak-kal-s,
நாகக்கல்) row upon row. Each of these stones, one to two feet high,
depicts, coiled five-hooded cobra.
Some of them show the common motif of
two inter-wined snakes, one facing the other. These have been placed at
the temple over the centuries as votive offerings and installed every time
with suitable rites in the naga-pratishta (நாக பிரதிஷ்டை,
snake-installation) ceremony. So large and overwhelming assembly of
snake-sculpture is met with rarely.
Musical Sound from the Tank:
There is a baffling phenomenon noticed in the tank. The Gazetteer of
Pudukkottai District reports: 'From the tarn a musical sound is said
occasionally to raise. The warblings, reported to resemble the sound of
both stringed and percussion instruments, are held by the faithful to be
the accompaniment of an invisible worship of Siva by Adisesha (ஆதிசேஷன்,
the serpent-king). The musical emanations are heard for a day or two when
the receding waters of the pond touch a particular level. At its loudest,
the music is said to be audible even outside the temple walls.'
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