Gandaradita Chola, son of Parantaka Chola, ruled from 950 C.E. to 957 C.E. We do not get inscriptions that refer to his death. However, an inscription in Kattumannarkoil, dated 972 CE, refers to him as ‘Merkkezhundaruliya Devar’ — the king who migrated to the West (merkku). It was customary to refer to Karnataka as Melnadu. So, scholars believe that after Gandradita became a renunciate, he migrated to Karnataka. “An inscription of the period of Rajendra Chola I, in Channapatna taluk, Karnataka, talks of Sivagnana Gandaradithar. It records that a Chola general donated two icons — Uma Parameswari and Gandaradita Vidangar to the temple,” says epigraphist and archaeologist Dr. L. Thyagarajan. In the Siva temple in Nandi, Karnataka, there is a sculpture of a man depicted as doing penance. Scholars have pointed to the similarity which this bears to the image of Gandaradita in the Konerirajapuram temple as further proof of Gandaradita’s sojourn in Karnataka. In the absence of her husband, the responsibility of caring for Gandaradita’s young son Uttama fell on the shoulders of his wife Sembian Madevi.
We find the first epigraphical reference to Sembian Madevi in 941 C.E, the 34th regnal year of her father-in-law Parantaka. Detailing her donation to the Uyyakondan Thirumalai temple, it shows that she started donating to temples even before her husband Gandaradita became king. While some believe that she married Gandaradita after his first wife Veeranarayani died, epigraphist and archaeologist L. Thyagarajan disagrees. He points to an inscription mentioning Veeranarayani, also dating to 941 C.E. However, Veeranarayani is not mentioned after 947 C.E. So, perhaps, she died a little after that.
Like her husband, Sembian Madevi too was a devout Saivite, and replaced many brick temples with stone ones. She left her unmistakable stamp in temples she renovated or built. Until then, niche figures in the exterior walls had not exceeded two or three at the most. But she installed several more. In Karandai, for example, she had 16 niche figures sculpted. Sculptures commissioned by her were marked by simplicity in attire and ornamentation.
Inscriptions preserved
While rebuilding temples, she ensured that existing inscriptions were copied out and inscribed later in the vimana of the new structure. We find this in Thirukkodikaval and Aduthurai temples.
Since she belonged to the Mazhavar family, she must have made substantial donations to Thirumazhapadi temple, but only one inscription here talks of her. Perhaps, the rest were lost in renovations. But sculptures in this temple, like Ardhanari, Gangajatadhara, Kalyana Sundarar, etc., bear the stamp of the Sembian Madevi style.
“In the Aduthurai temple, she made provisions for singing Tirupaddigams and for playing a musical instrument called Kalam. In Thirumananjeri temple, she provided land for paying the priests, the persons who lit the lamps, ten uvacchars, and others, who served in the temple. In the third regnal year of Raja Raja, she made a gold image of Chandrasekhara for the Thiruvengadu temple, and jewels studded with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and pearls. She also donated a pot made with 1,500 kazhanju of gold, to be placed on top of the Sri Vimanam. Raja Raja built a mandapa in Thirumukkoodal, and established a garden in the Thiruvenkadu temple, both of which he named after her,” elaborates Thyagarajan.
In 985 CE., she established Sembian Madevi Chaturvedimanagalam, near Nagapattinam, and built a Kailasanatha temple there. The place is now known as Sembian Madevi. Her last inscription is dated 1001 C.E. Perhaps her death was around this time. Assuming she married when she was about 20, she would have been 80 when she died, says Thyagarajan.
Uttama Chola had 17 wives, who seemed to have had fond memories of their mother-in-law, as seen from their grants to the Kailasanatha temple, to mark Sembian Madevi’s birth star Kettai, in the Tamil month of Chithirai.
Rajendra Chola made a bronze image of Sembian Madevi for the Kailasanatha temple built by her. That bronze is no longer there, but there is a Vijayanagar period bronze. Her image sculpted on the wall can be seen in Sembian Madevi Kailasanatha temple, in Thirunallam and in Aduthurai Abathsahayeswarar temple.
Canals, weights and measures were named after her. An inscription of Hoysala Ramanatha (1272 C.E.) talks of ghee measured using a Sembian Madevi uzhakku. Even during the Vijayanagar period, villages named after her still retained the old names, indicating that she was remembered centuries after the end of Chola rule.
The reverence is understandable, because apart from her contributions to temples, she built a huge lake called Sembian Madevi Pereri, in Gandaradita Chaturvedi Mangalam. The village is now called Gandaraditam. Spread over 416 acres, Sembian Madevi Pereri fills up with excess water from the Nandi river. Twenty villages, including Thirumazhappadi, Sembiakkudi, Kulamanickam, Gandaraditam, Pudukottai, Ilandaikoodam and Thiruvenganur — covering 10,000 acres, obtain water for irrigation from this lake, which has five sluices. There is also a thoombu named after Raja Raja. However, a very small portion of the lake is now available for irrigation, the rest being covered with vegetation. There was a time when three crops could easily be cultivated here. But now only one crop is grown, and farmers depend on borewells as deep as 300 ft. Villagers told this correspondent that with proper maintenance and periodic desilting, the lake can make the area as prosperous as the delta region. It is political will that is lacking. Thyagarajan says that if the lake is restored, and the banks cleaned up, the area can even become a tourist spot, with boating facilities.
In gratitude
To show his gratitude to the queen who enabled cultivation in the area, in 2016, businessman K. Ramamurthy made images of Gandaradita and Sembian Madevi and installed them near the eastern bank of the Sembian Madevi lake, where they are worshipped by the villagers.
Sembian Madevi’s birthday is still celebrated in Sembian Madevi Kailasanatha temple. Villagers bring flowers, silk saris, and fruits on the occasion. Seminars about Sembian Madevi and her munificence are organised. Inspired by this, villagers of Sembiakkudi decided to make a bronze of the queen for their village. Residents of Sembiakkudi and those residing in 15 villages nearby chipped in, with many families donating brass vessels they were using! And finally, a bronze image of Sembian Madevi, weighing 1,000 kg was made and installed in Sembiakkudi, and is worshipped every day. A trust in the name of the queen has been established there.
Geologist and lawyer Chandrasekar, his wife Pushpavalli and daughter Siva Ranjani have donated ten cents of land to the trust. This land is to be used for the construction of old age homes. The trust plans to provide one meal a day to the poor, to arrange for Thiruvachagam, Thevaram and Tiruppugazh classes for school students and to take students to temples built by or endowed by Sembian Madevi. This kind of adoration for a queen who died more than a thousand years ago, is unique in the annals of Indian history.
Published - March 07, 2019 04:51 pm IST
