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Tuesday, September 1, 2020

Lord Shiva idol found in Red Hills lake !

Chennai for long is associated with water problem – residents of Chennai look forward to supply of metro water and that comes from reservoirs of which PUzhal [Red Hills] is the most prominent.

 

Nataraja ( நடராஜர்),  is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the divine dancer. His dance is called Tandavam.    The pose and artwork is described in many Hindu texts such as the Anshumadbhed agama and Uttarakamika agama, the dance relief or idol featured in all major Hindu temples of Shaivism.  The dancing form, represents the cosmic dancing of Shiva and is very popular in South India, especially in Tamil Nadu. There are various theories from the iconography perspective as to when this form was evolved. It is worth noting that the Nataraja worship flourished during the Chola era (9 to 13 century CE). Cholas were ardent devotees of Shiva.

Chidambaram, the foremost among the Nataraja temples, is one of their capitals. The Chola kings were usually coroneted in the vicinity of golden sabha of the temple. One can see   innumerable bronze sculptures of Nataraja made by Cholas.   The Chola bronzes, cast in the eleventh century, include several different incarnations of the god Shiva. The most elegant and sublime of these is a representation of the creation of the universe at the beginning of each cosmic cycle, a motif known as the cosmic dance of Shiva. The god, called in this manifestation Nataraja, the Dance King, has four hands. In the upper right hand is a drum whose sound is the sound of creation. In the upper left hand is a tongue of flame.

Red Hills ("செங்குன்றம்") is a neighbourhood in the northwestern part of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.  The name was derived from the red hills (Semman Kuviyal) that was mostly present in this area in early stage. The celebration for god Angaala Parameshwari Amman in Padianallur Angaala Parameshwari Temple at the month of March and April also brings great fame to this place.

Puzhal aeri, or Puzhal lake, also known as the Red Hills Lake, is located here, forming part of Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu state. It is one of the rain-fed reservoirs from where water is drawn for supply to Chennai City, the others  being the Chembarambakkam Lake and Porur Lake. The full capacity of the lake is 3,300 million ft³ (93 million m³).  The Puzhal reservoir was built in 1876 during the British rule in Puzhal Town, The reservoir was originally a small tank with a capacity of 500 million cubic feet (mcft) and two masonry weirs, built using locally available laterite stones, then functioned as surplus weirs to release excess water from the water body.



Today there is news in Dinamalar and Daily Thanthi that - Murali of Vilangadupakkam went to the lake for fishing. When he pulled the net, he found a leather bag stuck in it. Inside that, he found a one-and-half feet tall Nataraja idol weighing about 6 kg. On information, Red Hills police seized the idol from Murali and alerted the Revenue officials. Further investigation is on whether the idol belongs to any temple nearby.

எங்கேயும் உன் தாண்டவம் என்ன நடராஜா !!

 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

30.08.2020

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