Famous Temples in India

Architecture

The temple faces West and has the unusual arrangement of a circular cella (the Omkhara garbhagriha) within a square prakara. Above the cella and the prakara rises the vimana in four diminishing storeys (talas) of which the three lower ones are square and the uppermost circular, the whole surmounted by a dome shaped sikhara with a round kalasa on top. There is an enclosed mantapa in front with Pallava style pillars. Two dvarapalas, five feet tall, guard the entrance. Round the main temple in the open yard are seven small sub-shrines built of stone and all facing inwards in a typical early Chola style. Beautiful sculptures of Uma Sahithar and Vina Dhara Dakshinamurthy belonging to the deva koshta on the griva of the main temple are now the Pudukkottai Museum. The central shrine holds an important position for temple architecture studies. The temple is consisted of a Mandapa (hall), Antarala (vestibule) and Garbhagriha (sanctum). The Adhisthana (platform) is simple in nature. It has Upapitham, Upanam, Kumudam, Kandam and Agrapattiyal, from bottom to top.

There is no Vyala row on the Agrapattiyal block as seen on platforms of the cave Mandapas. Pilasters rise above Agrapattiyal forming deep Niches on Vimana and shallow Niches on Mandapa. However all Niches are empty. Corbels are placed on square protruding abacus. Bhuta/Gana row is seen under cornice which is mounted above the Corbels. Kudus in single and pair are carved on the cornice. The door to the shrine is on the West, has a pleasing floral design and is guarded by a pair of two armed Dwarapalakas, one arm resting on a club and the other held out in the Vismaya pose and with legs crossed. Two life size Dvarpalas greet you at the entrance. They are shown with two hands with one hand resting on a club and another one raised in air. Both are depicted with protruding tusks however their calmness on face cover up their ferocious nature. The main temple stands on a double lotus base with walls running round the Sanctum and Ardhamandapam. These are embedded with elegant pilasters topped by Palagais (stone planks). The covered Ardha mandapam stands on six pillars that are square at the top and bottom but octagonal in the middle. These monolithic pillars are crowned with bracket capitals.

Over the pilasters and Palagais and the Corbels, is the curved roll cornice with its Chaitya arches and decorated with kudus, containing figures of human heads and animals and surmounted by trifoliate finials. There are usual rows of Bhutha gana. The Garbhagriham (sanctum) is circular and is enclosed within a square hall. Around the circular inner wall and the outer square wall there is a narrow pradakshina (circumbulatory) passage. The vimanam is a hollow superstructure made up of four tiers, each separated from the next by a cornice. The lowest is rectangular and built over the Ardhamandapam and the Garbhagriham, the rest are over the Garbhagriham only. On every tier under and over the roll cornice are rows of frolicking Gana, Vyalis, Apsaras and Gods. The first two tiers have broad parapet walls running over the edge. These are topped by domical cell like roofs. There is small pond near this temple on north side which is supposed to be a Jain cave probably.

Inscriptions : No 11 – A of the Inscriptions of the Pudukkottai State – On the base of the north dvarapala at the entrance – Written in Tamil in 4 lines – dated to ninth century CE – Records that the stone temple erected by Chembudi alias Ilangodi-araiyar was damaged by rain and that it was renovated by Mallan Viduman alias Tennavan Tamiladiaraiyan. No 216 of the Annual Report on Epigraphy 1940-41 – On the east wall of the mandapa in front of the central shrine – Written in Tamil – dated to ninth century CE  – Records that this temple which had been destroyed by heavy rains was renovated by Mallan Viduman alias Tennavan Tamiladiaraiyan. It is said that the temple was originally built by Chattampudi alias Ilango-Adiyaraiyar. No 366 of the Annual Report on Epigraphy 1914/No 11 of the Inscriptions of the Pudukkottai State/No 396 of the South Indian Inscriptions vol XVII  – On the rock to the north of the pond called Arunmaikkulam – Written in Tamil in 10 lines – dated to ninth century CE  – Records that Tamiladiaraiyan alias Mallan Vidaman got a sluice made to the tank called Animadayeri. He also gave some land to the mason named Chonanaraiyan who made the sluice.