Famous Temples in India

Architecture

As per the legend, the demon Juraha was killed by Lord Shiva here, and hence he got the name Jurahareswarar in this temple. It is also believed that Shiva (Jurahareswarar) cures the fever and heat related diseases of the devotees. The word "Juram" in Tamil language means fever, it can also be considered as the reason for the main deity's name as Jurahareswarar. The temple is facing in East direction and built in Pallava style of architecture. Although the original structure was built by the Cholas, few additions such as the three tiered Raja gopuram were done in the later period. The vimana is vesara vimana, the sanctum is in circular shape which is rare. It is often mistaken as Gajaprshtha. The vimana has some fine stucco images such as Sadasiva Murti and Sarbeswara, but they are all partly damaged.

The stone windows in different designs enhance the elegance of the structure. There are niches found, but without the icons. In one niche, we could find the small images of Sages, Lion and Deer, which clearly indicate that this niche is meant for Dakshinamurti. Few fragments of inscriptions are found in the prakara of the temple, which belong to the 10th century C.E., the Chola inscription calls the deity as Suravattaramudaiya Nayanar. Mukha mandap is situated atop a high raised platform, facing towards the sanctum, there is a small but beautiful Nandi mandapam, there are floral designs found on the pillars in the Mukha mandap. The temple tank is called ‘Vepperi Kulam’ and now is popularly known as ‘Upperi Kulam’. The temple was built using both sandstone and granite.