Vijayamangalam Jain temple

File:Jain temple, Mettupudur - Sculpture.jpg

Vijayamangalam was historically part of Kongu Nadu. This town was an ancient settlement of Jains.{{sfn|Sundaram|2015}} Vijayamangalam Jain temple was built in {{circa|678 C.E.}} by King Konguvelir of Velir dynasty.{{sfn|Home Ministry|2011|p=110}}{{sfn|Krishnamachari|2017}}{{sfn|Tamil Nadu Government}} King Konguvelir composed an epic Pancha-Kaviyams here.{{sfn|Pillai|1994|p=135}} Tamil Sangam (assembly of Tamil scholars and poets) was organised here when Konguvelir composed Perunkathai. During the sangam King's maid helped him to answer the questions of scholarly Sangam. To commemorate this event the idols of King Konguvelir, his maid and the members of the Tamil Sangam were installed inside the temple.{{sfn|Krishnamachari|2017}}

There is an inscription inside the temple that talks of the beauty of Perunkathai. The Vijayamangalam village is also the birthplace of a 12th century Jain acharya Bhavanadi, who authored Nannūl, a work on Tamil grammar. This temple is the oldest Jain temple in the Kongu Nadu region.{{sfn|Krishnamachari|2017}}

The sister of Chavundaraya (a minister during the reign of Western Ganga dynasty), Pullava committed sallekhana or fasting to death here.{{sfn|Sangave|1981|p=59}}

This temple is dedicated to Chandraprabha, the eighth Tirthankara of Jainism.{{sfn|Umamaheshwari|2018|p=308}} The temple follows Western Ganga architecture with brick Vimana facing south and ardhamandapa housing idols of Pañca-Parameṣṭhi.{{sfn|Tandon|1986|p=71}} The temple is enclosed within a prakaram entered through a gopuram.{{sfn|Branfoot|2015|p=35}} Many Jain idols dating back to uncertain times having reported in Vijayamangalam.{{sfn|Subramanian|2002|p=37}}

The temple is maintained and protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.{{sfn|ASI}}

File:Jain temple, Mettupudur - Rishabhanatha Idol.jpg|Rishabhanatha idol

File:Jain temple, Mettupudur - Manastambha (3).jpg|Manastambha

File:Jain temple, Mettupudur - Inscription.jpg|Inscription

File:Jain temple, Mettupudur - Pillar.jpg|Detailed carvings on the pillar

File:Jain temple, Mettupudur - Shikhar (2).jpg|Vimana

• Trilokyanatha Temple
• Nannūl
• Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi

{{Reflist}}

==== Book ====

• {{cite book|last=Pillai|first=M. S. Purnalingam | author-link=M. S. Purnalingam Pillai |url={{Google books|QIeqvcai5XQC|page=135|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=Tamil Literature|date=1994|publisher=Asian Educational Services | location=Delhi |isbn=9788120609556}}
• {{cite book |last=Subramanian |first=K. R. |title=Origin of Saivism and Its History in the Tamil Land |url={{Google books|jHaVqNy-V6UC|page=37|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Asian Educational Services |date=2002 |isbn=9788120601444 }}
• {{citation |last=Sangave |first=Vilas Adinath |author-link=Vilas Adinath Sangave |title=The Sacred ʹSravaṇa-Beḷagoḷa: A Socio-religious Study | volume=8 | issue=8 | series=Murtidevī granthamālā |url={{Google books|nZ3S6CW5KKQC|page=59|text=|plainurl=yes}} |date=1981 |publisher=Bhartiya Jnanpith |location=Mumbai |isbn=9789326355599 }}
• {{cite book|last=Tandon|first=O. P.|url={{Google books|2fomDwAAQBAJ|pg=PT71|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|title=Jaina Shrines in India|date=1986|publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting |isbn=978-81-230-2454-7}}
• {{cite book |last=Umamaheshwari |first=R. |title=Reading History with the Tamil Jainas: A Study on Identity, Memory and Marginalisation | volume=2 | series=Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures |url={{Google books|TRxJDwAAQBAJ|page=308|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Springer |date=2018 |isbn=9788132237563 }}

• {{cite journal | last=Branfoot | first=Crispin | url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/p/pod/dod-idx/tamil-gopura-from-temple-gateway-to-global-icon.pdf?c=ars;idno=13441566.0045.004;format=pdf | title=The Tamil Gopura | series=Temple Gateway to Global Icon | issn=0571-1371 | publisher=Smithsonian Institution | year=2015 }}
• {{cite news |last=Krishnamachari |first=Suganthy |title=On how Kongu Nadu was a Jain bastion |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/the-influence-of-jainism-in-kongu-nadu/article19845654.ece |work=The Hindu |date=12 October 2017 | access-date=25 January 2021 | issn=0971-751X }}
• {{cite news |last=Sundaram |first=B Meenakshi |title=Kottravai, the Tamil Goddess of Victory |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2015/aug/30/kottravai-the-tamil-goddess-of-victory-806984.html |work=The New Indian Express |date=30 August 2015 | access-date=25 January 2021 }}
• {{cite web | author=Tamil Nadu Government | title=Erode | url=https://www.tn.gov.in/district_details/564 | work=Government of Tamil Nadu | access-date=25 January 2021 }}
• {{cite web | author=ASI | title=List of Monuments and Sites: SALEM SUB-CIRCLE | url=http://www.asichennai.gov.in/salem_sub_circle.html | work=Archaeological Survey of India | access-date=25 January 2021 }}
• {{cite web | author=Home Ministry | author-link=Ministry of Home Affairs (India) | title=District census handbook Erode | url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/DCHB_A/33/3309_PART_A_DCHB_ERODE.pdf | year=2011 | series=Census | access-date=7 April 2022 }}

• {{commons category-inline|Jain temple, Mettupudur, Erode}}

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Category:Jain temples in Tamil Nadu

Category:7th-century Jain temples

Category:Erode district