01The forest of the Vedas
Vedaranyam means the forest of the Vedas; in Tamil it is Thirumaraikkadu. The temple katha says the four Vedas came here in bodily form, worshipped Shiva, and shut the great doors of the shrine behind them, so that for ages no one could enter. When Appar and Sambandar came together, Appar sang a hymn and the doors opened; Sambandar sang and they closed again, and from then on they could be used. The Tevaram has their songs. Nearby is Kodiyakkarai, Point Calimere, where tradition shows the footprints of Shri Rama on a mound by the sea.
02Rajaji’s salt march
While Gandhi walked to Dandi, Rajagopalachari led a march of about a hundred volunteers from Tiruchirappalli on 13 April 1930, through the villages of the Kaveri delta, singing a march song written for it by Namakkal Kavignar. They reached Vedaranyam, where the local leader Sardar Vedaratnam Pillai had prepared their stay, and on 30 April they made salt from the sea in breach of the salt law. Rajaji was arrested with many others and jailed. A memorial pillar marks the spot on the salt swamp.
The life of this place
- 13 April 1930Rajaji set out from Tiruchirappalli with about a hundred volunteers.
- 30 April 1930The marchers made salt at Vedaranyam and Rajaji was arrested.
About 55 km south of Nagapattinam; the temple and the salt memorial are a short drive apart, and Kodiyakkarai is 10 km further south.
