Our ever-expanding city may trace much of its history from colonial times, but every now and then, we receive reminders that the region, as a whole, goes back far beyond. One such is the ongoing 10-day Masi festival at the Vadivudai Amman Adipuriswarar Temple in Tiruvottiyur. Central to it is the event to be observed on the 9th day, namely February 24, when the wedding of Sundaramurthy Nayanar, one of the greatest devotees of Siva, to Sangili Nachiyar, a damsel from Tiruvottiyur, is celebrated.
The event happened sometime in the 8th Century, and in a remarkable continuity of tradition, it has been commemorated ever since.
The story behind the wedding is well-known and does not need recounting here (for further details, see When the Lord played Cupid, written by me and published in The Hindu dated February 14, 2015). But what is of importance is the poetry that survives from that era, and the descriptions it gives of Tiruvottiyur. Most significantly, this was a shrine that was sung about by three ardent devotees of Siva — Appar, Sambandar, and Sundaramurthy. The first two were coeval and lived prior to Sundaramurthy. Between Appar and Sundaramurthy in particular, Sambandar’s verse being essentially an adoration of the Lord, they give us a word picture of the village of Tiruvottiyur, which was true of the place till recent times.
