Adding his name too in the list of the recently-departed scholars in Coimbatore, 73-year-old epigraphist D.Sundaram passed away after battling for life due to his age-related illness last week. An untiring traveler to places of historical interest in the Kongu region, Sundaram was also a prolific writer, who has documented his discoveries of the hitherto unknown stone inscriptions and hero stones into lovely historical essays in his blog Kongu Kalvettu Aayvu (Research on the stone inscriptions of Kongunadu).
Adding his name too in the list of the recently-departed scholars in Coimbatore, 73-year-old epigraphist D.Sundaram passed away after battling for life due to his age-related illness last week. An untiring traveler to places of historical interest in the Kongu region, Sundaram was also a prolific writer, who has documented his discoveries of the hitherto unknown stone inscriptions and hero stones into lovely historical essays in his blog Kongu Kalvettu Aayvu (Research on the stone inscriptions of Kongunadu).
A trip to such historical places in the Kongu region with Sundaram has always been memorable. The epigraphist who had an exceptional fluency in deciphering stone inscriptions once had a dream of visiting ‘Danaicken Kottai’. Though the fort is not found today, at least the remains of a temple constructed inside it can be seen, but deep under the brimming river Bhavani! Still, Sundaram took us to the spot on a day in 2016.
The shrine named ‘Madhava Perumal temple’ inside the demolished Danaicken Fort reveals itself only when the level of the river water goes down, and it happens once or twice in a decade.
During the rule of Tipu Sultan, the fort had served as a check post and prevented Englishmen from transporting liquor to the Kingdom of Mysore. By revealing the fort’s submerged remains on the day of our travel, the river reminded us of the valor and sacrifice of the Tiger of Mysore who died in a battle against the British in 1799.
As we reached the hamlet Kandrayan Mokkai on the banks of the Bhavani, a local old man orders his grandson:
“Hey Rama, will you take them to the Kottai Koyil?”
Saying okay to the old man, Raman takes us on his Parisal (Coracle). Rowing on the silver waters of the river during the one-hour boat ride, the energetic young boatman points at a spot:
“Look! That is the Kotta Koyil over there”
The temple, which came under the water after the construction of Bhavanisagar in 1956, is just a few feet away now.
“We can see the temple, as the level of river water has gone down today. But on the days when the river was full, I have felt the shrine somewhere under the water as I rowed my boat here for fishing.” The boatman shares his experience.
The people on the boat were Ramasamy, an 80- year old farmer and history enthusiast from the village Thookanaicken Palayam near Sathyamangalam, Ravichandran, a city-based numismatist, history lovers Krishnakumar, Thangamohan, Dharmaraj, and Varadharajan.
“I read the Tamil historical novel Danaicken Kottai by R.Balakrishna Naidu in 1956 when the story was serialized in the yesteryear Tamil daily Nava India. From then on I had been longing to see the fort at least once in my lifetime. At last my wish got fulfilled on a day in 1971 when the river went dry. ” shared.
Ramasamy, who passed away a few years ago, was glad to inform that his articles on Danaicken Kottai had appeared in the Tamil magazines Dinathanthi, Malaimalar, and Kalaikathir.
“The historical monument has withstood the test of time, though it has been under the water for over six decades. It was built of Karungal. Moreover, the water of river Bhavani is not salty either” added Ramasamy.
“The fort came to be called ‘Dhandanaicken Kottai’, as it was built by Madhava Dhandanaicken, a commander to the Hoysala king Veera Ballala III on the river bank some seven hundred years ago. In due course, the name got corrupted to ‘Danaicken Kottai"
Sundaram’s voice floated amid the humming waves of the cool river.
A trip to such historical places in the Kongu region with Sundaram has always been memorable. The epigraphist who had an exceptional fluency in deciphering stone inscriptions once had a dream of visiting ‘Danaicken Kottai’. Though the fort is not found today, at least the remains of a temple constructed inside it can be seen, but deep under the brimming river Bhavani! Still, Sundaram took us to the spot on a day in 2016.
The shrine named ‘Madhava Perumal temple’ inside the demolished Danaicken Fort reveals itself only when the level of the river water goes down, and it happens once or twice in a decade.
During the rule of Tipu Sultan, the fort had served as a check post and prevented Englishmen from transporting liquor to the Kingdom of Mysore. By revealing the fort’s submerged remains on the day of our travel, the river reminded us of the valor and sacrifice of the Tiger of Mysore who died in a battle against the British in 1799.
As we reached the hamlet Kandrayan Mokkai on the banks of the Bhavani, a local old man orders his grandson:
“Hey Rama, will you take them to the Kottai Koyil?”
Saying okay to the old man, Raman takes us on his Parisal (Coracle). Rowing on the silver waters of the river during the one-hour boat ride, the energetic young boatman points at a spot:
“Look! That is the Kotta Koyil over there”
The temple, which came under the water after the construction of Bhavanisagar in 1956, is just a few feet away now.
“We can see the temple, as the level of river water has gone down today. But on the days when the river was full, I have felt the shrine somewhere under the water as I rowed my boat here for fishing.” The boatman shares his experience.
The people on the boat were Ramasamy, an 80- year old farmer and history enthusiast from the village Thookanaicken Palayam near Sathyamangalam, Ravichandran, a city-based numismatist, history lovers Krishnakumar, Thangamohan, Dharmaraj, and Varadharajan.
“I read the Tamil historical novel Danaicken Kottai by R.Balakrishna Naidu in 1956 when the story was serialized in the yesteryear Tamil daily Nava India. From then on I had been longing to see the fort at least once in my lifetime. At last my wish got fulfilled on a day in 1971 when the river went dry. ” shared.
Ramasamy, who passed away a few years ago, was glad to inform that his articles on Danaicken Kottai had appeared in the Tamil magazines Dinathanthi, Malaimalar, and Kalaikathir.
“The historical monument has withstood the test of time, though it has been under the water for over six decades. It was built of Karungal. Moreover, the water of river Bhavani is not salty either” added Ramasamy.
“The fort came to be called ‘Dhandanaicken Kottai’, as it was built by Madhava Dhandanaicken, a commander to the Hoysala king Veera Ballala III on the river bank some seven hundred years ago. In due course, the name got corrupted to ‘Danaicken Kottai"
Sundaram’s voice floated amid the humming waves of the cool river.