Perur has been the cradle of the River Noyyal Civilisation for millennia. This tiny heritage village has been the home to the powerful Patteeswarar Temple and has also added to the cultural wealth of this region. The lush green fields, cool breeze and the gurgling sound of the River Noyyal along with the noises created by the birds and animals in the neighbouring forests must have been a wonderful sight until recently. The waters of the wild River Noyyal acquired a sweet taste due the influence of the gooseberries that got dropped by birds thanks to the fruit bearing trees forming part of the riparian forests. The untamed river resembled a happy lass who moved around at will all through the year. The western ghats in the vicinity of this village resemble a horse shoe and this brought luck in the form of the 34 rivulets which trickled down in order to create the River Noyyal which happens to be the central tributary of the River Cauvery. The forests adjoining the river were home to a lot of elephants and other forms of wildlife. The monsoons of the forgotten past used to present a wonderful sight with streaks of water resembling noble silver used to trickle down joyfully in order to meet one another. Farmers and tribals of the yonder era used to cultivate the lands closer to Perur and sell their surplus to the network of villages which were to become Coimbatore.
The great Saivaite Saint Sundaramurthy Nayanaar was one of famous visitors to Perur and he is said to have discovered the Lord of this sacred centre, Pattteeswarar or Ghoshteeswarar of Perur along with his consort Goddess Pachainayagi or Maragathambigai working in the paddy fields of the region. The Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and others used to pass by Coimbatore in order to move from one coast to the other. In fact a Roman settlement used to exist at Vellalore. The Romans used to procure agricultural implements, cotton textiles and cornelian jewellery from this region during the times of the Caesars. The gold coins and artefacts discovered during excavations in fact belong to the long forgotten era. The Icon of Lord Patteeswarar at the temple is Swayambhu or self manifested and Perur is a place which grants salvation to the departed and therefore people perform the final rites for the departed on the banks of the River Noyyal at this holy place. This is one of the reasons for the huge crowds at the time of the Adi Perukku. The Mukti Sthalam or the sacred spot which offers liberation houses two special trees - The Piravapuli Puli, a tamarind tree whose seeds do not germinate and the Irava Panai, the palm tree which has survived for centuries.
The Kongu region was ruled by all the major south Indian dynasties, however it was the reign of the Cholas which added to the prosperity of this region. They tamed the wild River Noyyal through a series of check dams and water bodies which helped the farmers to harness the waters for agriculture. The later day Saint, Kachiappamunivar of the seventeenth century compares the flow of the tamed river to a chaste woman in his magnum opus, the Perur Puranam . The sixteenth century witnessed the arrival of Saint Vyasaraja , the mentor to the mighty Krishnadeva Raya of Vijayanagar to Perur and he has installed two Icons of Lord Hanuman at this important village. A number of rulers have added to the sculptural wealth of the temple by constructing shrines in solid granite within the premises of the Patteeswarar Temple . Thanks to the frenetic temple building activity, the temple got endowed with shrines for Ganesha, Subramanya, Navagrahams, Varadaraja, Nataraja, Hanuman , Nayanmaars, Surya, Chandra, Gnanabhairava and Nandi. The ornate Kanakasabhai or the shrine for Lord Nataraja was built by Alagadri Nayak, a relative of Thirumalai Nayak and he used to have his seat at Vadavalli during the seventeenth century. The lovely bronzes of Nataraja and Sivagami belong to the Chola period and the huge stone pillars inside the sanctum represent the four vedas . The lovely hall or mandapam in front of this shrine is further enriched with beautifully sculpted pillars. Icons of Thillai Kali, Bhikshatana, Ganesha, Shanmukha, Gajasamharamurthy and a few other deities were hewn out of hard granite and placed as pillars in this timeless shrine.
A number of scholars used to reside at Perur. It was in this village that the Shroudhis taught Samavedam while Odhuvars sang in praise of the Lord within the temple. Those were the times when the best of talent served the temple and therefore festivals used be held round the year. The Panguni Uthiram, Shivarathri, Arudra Darisanam etc.,were held in a grand manner. Peeled pomegranates which adorned Goddess Pachainayagi during the car festivals used to resemble uncut rubies. Perur is also the home to a Padithurai, Thiruvaduthurai Adheenam, Santhalinga Adigalar Mutt, a finely designed temple tank and the powerful shrine of Shiva as Lord Arasambalavanar. The temple elephant Janaki was considered to be lucky and octogenarian Ranganathan remembers accompanying Rajalakshmi Raju Chettiar and her co sister Ranganayaki Ramaswamy for their ritual baths at the River Noyyal during the Tamil month of Aippasi during the forties of the last century. A number of pathars continue to craft icons and other religious items made out of metal at Perur. Years ago, the Panchamukha Vinayagar Temple used to be a lovely spot where people used to pray and also spend quality time for temple well and the setting used to be wonderful.
The temple owes much to the father and son duo, Vidwan Kandaswamy Mudaliar ( 1838 - 1890 ) and Sivakavimani C.K.Subramania Mudaliar ( 1878 - 1961 ) who did much by dedicating their time and money. Environmentalist K.Jayaraman remembers the veteran Tamil Scholar Kovai Kizhar visiting the Perur Temple. Another regular visitor who had offered a gold kavacham to Lord Dhandayudhapani at this temple was P.A.Raju Chettiar and it was said that he used to literally enjoy the rendition of prayers by the priests in chaste Tamil. The nice relief of the cow Patti on the walls of the sanctum is one of its kind in the Coimbatore region. The Zamindarini of Puravipalayam near Pollachi has composed a hymn on the deity of this ancient temple.
Perur was thus a place for prayers,music,art,literature,agriculture commerce and sculpting at one time. This lovely village must have been a paradise on Earth those days. The lush green fields which came up later near the foothills and the small streams filled with fish must have been a lovely sight. The content dwellers of the forest and the hard working farmers added to the wealth of this region which became important during the rule of Vijayanagar for they had established a garrison by adding a fort to the infrastructure at nearby Coimbatore.
A number of merchants and farmers have contributed much towards the development of Perur on a sustainable basis. A number of local communities continue to have their choultries at Perur and its important that the old heritage structures and the River along with the accompanying water bodies are well preserved.Bountiful Perur used to be the cradle of the River Noyyal Civilisation for centuries and it will be in our interest if we maintain it the same way for posterity.