Arapakkam, Kanchipuram Explained

Arpakkam
Settlement Type:village
Pushpin Map:Tamil Nadu#India
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates:12.734°N 79.761°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: India
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Tamil Nadu
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Kanchipuram
Subdivision Type3:Block
Subdivision Name3:Kanchipuram
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Km2:8.3407
Elevation M:65
Population Total:2937
Population As Of:2011
Population Density Km2:auto
Demographics Type1:Languages
Demographics1 Title1:Official
Demographics1 Info1:Tamil
Timezone1:IST
Utc Offset1:+5:30

Arpakkam is a village in the Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. According to the 2011 census of India, it has a population of 2937.[2]

History

The Arpakkam inscription, dated to the fifth regnal year of the Chola ruler Rajadhiraja II (r. c. 1166–1178), states that a Chola chieftain had granted the village to a religious leader named Umapati-deva (also known as Jnana-Siva and Svamidevar). The inscription states that Umapati-deva was a native of the Dakṣina Rāḍha (present-day West Bengal), and had migrated to the southern Chola kingdom. Around this time, the Sinhala army captured the neighbouring Pandya kingdom, and then began offensives against the Chola feudatories.[3] The Chola chieftain Edirilisola Sambuvarayan appointed Umapati-deva to offer prayers and conduct worship rituals, in order to avert this crisis. After 28 days of worship, Sambuvarayan received a letter from the Chola general Pillai Pallavarayan, informing him that the Sinhala generals Jayadratha, Lankapuri and others had retreated. Believing that Umapati-deva had divine powers, Sambuvarayan granted him the village of Alpakkam (modern Arpakkam), comprising 167 velis of land, as a tax-free endowment.[4] [5]

Temples

Arapakkam has 1000-year old Jain, Shiva and Adi Kesava Perumal temples.The Perumal temple housed 3 statues of Buddha as well.

Idol theft

A seated Buddha statue from the Perumal temple was stolen on the night of 25 November 2003 and smuggled abroad.[6] The statue was then spotted in the exhibition named On the Nalanda Trail at Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, where it was advertised as Nagapattinam Buddha.[7] The so-called Nagapattinam Buddha was later seized in New York by the Homeland Security in 2012.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: District Census Handbook: Kancheepuram (page 212) . Directorate of Census Operations . 23 March 2018 .
  2. Web site: Census of India 2011: Kancheepuram district . Directorate of Census Operations . 23 March 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180324102444/https://numberstmt.tn.nic.in/databases/census_of_india_2011TN/pdf/01-Kancheepuram.pdf . 24 March 2018 . dead .
  3. Web site: Arpakkam Inscription of the Fifth Year of Rajadhiraja II . Lanka Pradeepa . 11 December 2021 . 11 May 2019 .
  4. Book: S. R. Balasubrahmanyam . Later Chola Temples: Kulottunga I to Rajendra III (A.D. 1070-1280) . 1979 . Mudgala Trust . 847060842 . 255 .
  5. Book: Siba Pada Sen . The North and the South in Indian History . 1976 . Institute of Historical Studies . 557834681 . 5 .
  6. News: R.. Sivaraman. Tamil Nadu police trace three stolen idols abroad. 8 August 2023. The Hindu. 30 December 2022.
  7. Web site: S.. Vijay Kumar. The stolen Buddhas of Tamil Nadu. 21 August 2023. Times of India. 27 August 2022. ... We have cracked the Subhash Kapoor ACM Nalanda Way Manmohan Singh Buddha case last week, and he was not taken from Nagapattinam, but closer to Chennai, from the village of Arapakkam ....
  8. News: R.. Sivaraman. Stolen Chola-era Buddha idol now stuck in the U.S.. 8 August 2023. The Hindu. 10 August 2022.