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Riverside settlement

Riverside settlements were established by early civilizations due to their indispensable need for water and a desire to sustain their environment. In ancient times, agriculture was of primary importance, which is why these communities opted for riversides. Uplands that are not prone to flooding and plains with fertile land suitable for agriculture were carefully selected by the community.

Salem City

Salem of Tamil Nadu is one such place where such settlement took place on the banks of the river Tirumanimuthuaru. It is an ancient place and had trade connection with Romans even around two thousand years back. Thus founded settlement the place today had grown as one of the most modern cities of Tamil Nadu.

The town is surrounded by an amphitheatre of hills - the Nagarmalai in the north, the Jeragamalai in the south, the Kanjanamalai in the west and the Godumalai in the east. The name 'Salem' appears to have been derived from the word sashaila [सशैल] which means mountainous place.

Tirumanimuthuaru in Salem city

The city Salem had grown on the banks of Tirumanimuthuaru and every ruler of this place had contributed towards this growth. Hoysalas who are known for their contribution for art, architecture, and religion are one among the many rulers of Salem had. During their time many temples came up in Salem, which was then a fortified city. Thus the then fortified area is considered as the oldest area and now called as ‘fort area’. There are many old temples and religious institutes in this area, normally the temples have ‘kottai’ prefixed in their name, denoting it is located in fort area.

Many old temples of Salem are located within a radius of two kilometers. It is needless to state that these temples are either banks of river Tirumanimuthuaru. Kottai Mariamman Temple, Alagirinathar Temple, Sri Suguvaneshwara Temple are few to mention.

Agraharams

Agraharams are “endowments of land conferred upon Brahmaṇas or lands offered as free gifts to Brahmaṇas for their subsistence as per the Sanskrit dictionary. Today we come across the name first agraharam, second agraharam, mettu agraharam etc. donning the kottai area of Salem. This suggests that this area was flourishing with religious activity at one point of time. At that time it was vibrant with social, cultural interest. Many vigrahas of deities had been unearthed in this area, leading to believe that area was subject to lot of harm and damage. There are few mutts of sanatana dharma here which had survived those calamities of that time.

First Agraharam

First Agraharam Road, which runs parallel to the river Tirumanimuthuaru, remains one of the most populous and bustling areas of Salem. Along this river is Riverside Street.

Typically, one would find deities such as Sri Ganesh or Sri Hanuman installed alongside tanks or riversides. As was customary, people offered their prayers to these deities after bathing in the river before proceeding with their daily routines. This practice is distinctly prevalent in Agraharam.

It is worth recalling that Salem, along with Coimbatore, fell under the rule of the Madurai Nayaks in the 16th century. However, following the Mysore-Madurai feud in the early 18th century, Salem experienced a period of unrest until the British arrived at the close of the 18th century.

During their rule, the contributions of the Nayaks of Madurai and the early Mysore Wadiyars toward preserving the cultural, religious, and social fabric of Salem were immense. It was in the mid-18th century that Salem faced significant challenges to its religious and social structures.

As previously mentioned, Agraharam suffered considerable harm and damage. Many institutions, temples, and mutts within Agraharam faced dire circumstances. In the years that followed, vigrahas and temples were either recovered or rediscovered in these areas.

Today, a visit to the Sri Anjaneya Temple on Riverside Street attests to this legacy.

Ancientness of Sri Anjaneya Temple

To reach the Sri Anjaneya Temple located in First Agraharam, one must take the lane adjacent to PNB on First Agraharam Road leading to Riverside Street. On the left, you can find Uttradhi Mutt, and a little further away, on the right side, lies the temple. A sign indicating the entry point to the temple is visible.

Devotees must walk a short distance to reach a large open space, where the temple is located in the right corner. Along the way, devotees will notice old temple pillars lined up, suggesting that the present temple is a sannidhi of a once-great temple.

Sri Anjaneya Temple

Considering the size of the current Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple, one can imagine the grandeur of the earlier temple of which this was one of the sannidhis. The sculptural style of the idol of Sri Anjaneya indicates it dates back to the period of the Nayaks. The unique elegance of sculpting the ‘tiruvachi’ (prabhā) directly in the stone is characteristic of the Nayaks. The detailed carvings of scenes from the Ramayana on the pillars of the sannidhi further corroborate this.

The temple comprises of a closed square front hall [mun-mandapam] of about fifteen feet by fifteen feet followed by the Garbhagraham from where from the Lord presides.

Sri Anjaneya

The majestic looking idol of the Lord is made of granite stone bears the stamp of Nayak period sculpting. Deity Sri Anjaneya Swamy around five feet in height is seen standing on a pedestal of one of half feet. A well carved tiruvachi is seen in the background. Lord is looking straight at the devotee. His left foot is seen slightly stretched forward than that of the right foot. Nupuram and Thandai adorns the lotus feet. Lord is wearing dhoti in kacham style. The kacham is held tightly in the hip by the belts known as ‘kati suthram’. His hips are slightly bent which makes His standing posture graceful. His left hand is seen resting in the clavicle and holding the stem of the ‘sowganthika’ flower. The flower itself is seen raised along with His left arm. His stretched right hand is seen in ‘abhaya mudra’. The ‘yagyopavitam’ is adorning His bosom. He is wearing two malas. One of the mala which is close to His neck has a pendent with Sri Rama parivar embossed. The other one is dangling up to His navel. His both arms are adorned with ‘keyuram’ in the upper arm, ‘kankanam’ in wrist. ‘Bhuja valayam’ is seen falling from the shoulders to upper-arm. His long ears are seen wearing ‘kundalam’ and ‘karna pushpam’. His curly hair is seen neatly held by a decorative ‘kesa bhadha’, and falling through the shoulder, over up to His upper-arm. Lords tail is raised and seen over His head with a small bent at the end with a bell. His golden hue eyes are showering karunyam and His kataksham is mesmerising.

 

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SRI HANUMAN THINKS DIFFERENTLY, THINKS FAST
THINKS AHEAD AND ACTS FOR SURE

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Ed [October 2025]

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