Koil in Aligarh

[N. Ganesan]

 >Agra derives its name from the ancient Saivite temple (no longer
 >extant) of Agresvara. This was one of the "Pancha Mahadeva" temples
 >in the region. Of the remaining 4, one was at Aligarh (called Koil
 >in ancient times), one at Meerut (now extant and called the Pura
 >Mahadeva temple) and I do not know about the whereabouts of the
 >other two. These 5 temples are linked with the
 >cult of the Kawarias who survive to this day and worship at the
 >Meerat temple.

Dear Shri. Agarwal,

I am intrigued by this; In Tamil, KOyil is the most common
word for the temple. kO + il = kOyil (with the glide, y).
kO could mean either God or King. Usually in Hindu temples
the deity is treated like a King. How far back Aligarh Koil
goes in time? We have any stalapuraNas, inscriptions, etc.,?

Can you please explain more on the Kawaria cult? Is anything
written about them?

BTW, what is the formation for gOpura?
Is it IE? or more like kO + pura(-tal), protecting a temple/palace.
I believe James Harle has a paper on gOpura.

Kind regards,
N. Ganesan




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