Perur

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Perur

Village in the District and taluk of Coimbatore, Madras, situated in 10 58' N. and 76 $6' E., 4 miles from Coimbatore city. Population (1901), 1,636. It is sometimes called Chidambaram, the prefix Mel (western) being added to distinguish it from Kil (eastern) Chidambaram in South Arcot. It contains a remarkab'e Hindu temple of great sanctity, which enjoys the distinction, shared by few others, that Tipu spared both its buildings and its lands. Fergusson considers 1 the date of the erection to be about the beginning of the eighteenth century, as a figure of a soldier carrying a matchlock is sculptured in the porch in front of the shrine, and his costume and 1 History of Indian Architecture (1876), pp. 370-2.

The shape of his weapon are exactly those found in contemporary pictures of the wars of Aurangzeb or the early Marathas. He thinks that its completion was probably interrupted by the Musalman usurpa- tion in Mysore. The inner shrine is no doubt much older, as Perur is a place of ancient sanctity. The modern portion of the temple is richly sculptured, but in a coarse and clumsy fashion in rough material. For this reason the effect is disappointing, though the labour bestowed upon the building must have been immense. The priests declare that the principal portion of the temple was built by Alagadri Naik, brother-in-law of Tirumala Naik of Madura (1623-59). An annual festival in the Tamil month of Margali (December-January) is very largely attended by the people of this District and of Malabar.