CHENNAI: Twenty-five Chinese students from Hong Kong and local residents attended the "bhoomi puja" on Tuesday for restoring the 1,200-year old Kailasanatha temple, which is in ruins, at Uthiramerur in Kancheepuram district.
The temple, built by the Pallava king Dantivarman, has inscriptions about the Chola emperor Raja Raja Chola, his son Rajendra Chola, the Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadevaraya and the Nayaka rulers Bommu Nayaka and Krishnama Nayaka.
REACH Foundation, a non-governmental organisation will undertake the restoration and conservation of the temple with the active participation of the residents of Uthiramerur. (The Hindu, June 1, 2008).
Although the temple is dilapidated and its front mantapam has crumbled.llen , the `Sivalingam' in the sanctum sanctorum is still under worship.
Built in 8th century
The temple was built towards the end of the 8th century by Dantivarman. While the temple's base is made of granite slabs, the walls and vimana are built of bricks. Vegetation has dislocated the granite slabs at the base and sprung cracks in the walls and `vimana'.
The front mantapa made of granite slabs was added by the Chola kings.
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department has given permission to the REACH Foundation to restore the temple.
Those who attended the `bhoomi puja' include R. Jawahar, ex- chairman, Uthiramerur panchayat union, Narasimha Pallavan, former MLA , R. Seshadri, trustee, Sri Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple at Uthiramerur, Rajappa Gurukkal and Subramania Gurukkal of the Kailasanatha temple and J. Chandrasekaran, member of the REACH Foundation. Many local residents took part in the function.
Mr. Chandrasekaran said the Chinese students from Hong Kong had read the website of the REACH Foundation on its conservation of heritage sites in Tamil Nadu and got in touch with him.
They were members of the Rotaract Club in Hong Kong. These students visited the Sundara Varadaraja Perumal temple and the Vaikuntha Perumal temple, also at Uthiramerur.