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It is with the Pallava kings that Kanchipuram is intimately associated. Some of them were saints, a few others authors, most warriors, all patrons of religion and religious art. Under them the city became the intellectual capital of south India, with a renowned university that attracted scholars from many parts of the country. About 642 Huen-tsang, the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, visited it. He found many Buddhist monuments surviving, an indication of the fact that it had also been a centre of Buddhist learning and had been the birthplace of some apostles of the faith in China. Above
all, the Pallavas built many temples in the city, as in many other parts of
their kingdom. What is perhaps the earliest structural temple to survive in
the south is the one they erected in Kuram, a village nearby,
Narasimhavaraman II Rajasimha, one of the most sensitive kings of India,
built the Kailasanatha in the capital itself. One of the most beautiful
temples in the country, full to overflowing with delicate sculpture, it was
the model for the Virupaksha, in Pattabakal (see above). Succeeding
kings built many more fanes. The principal is the Vaikunta Perumal. The
Cholas, who had held Kanchi earlier, recovered it in the tenth century and
ruled till about the end of the thirteenth. The Jvaraharesvara, with a
circular sanctum, was built in this period. The fall of the Cholas was followed by uncertainty and turmoil, including devastations in Muslim raids. But ultimately the Vijayanagar Rayas consolidated their rule. In their centuries, and a little while before, the temples of Sri Ekamranatha and Sri Varadaraja were expanded to their present huge size. The Kamashi Amman temple also was developed. There
was another period of turmoil after the Rayas until the British established
themselves. The Sri Ekamranatha temple was used as a fortress by the
contending armies, and near the town, at a place called Pullalur, there were
fought two battles. A
suburb of the town, called Tiruparuttikunram, or Jain Kanchi, contains the
painted Vardhamana temple and, adjoining it, the smaller Chandraprabha. The
loveliest temple in Kanchipuram is the Kailasanatha. Built in the first
quarter of the eighty century by Rajasimha, it attracted price and legends
from every times because it was an exceptional one. It probably figures in
Sekkizhar's "Periya Puranam", and its builder was canonised. Set
in a rectangular prakara, this temple is the most artistic the Pallavas
built. The main vimana, a handsome structure, stands towards the western end
of the prakara. It has seven sub-shrines incorporated in it; four at the
corners, three in the cardinal directions, except the east. The former are
oblong and the latter square on plan. Two walls surround the sanctum, making
a pradakshinapatha between the two. This is very narrow. The sanctum contains a relief of Somaskanda on the wall and the Linga, the Rajasimhesvara, over 2.4m high, in front of the former. The Somaskanda, dipicting Lord Siva and Goddess Pravati with Child Subramania between them, invariably appears in Pallava temples. The seven sub-shrines all have images of Lord Siva in various forms. The vimana above has an octagonal sikhara. It served as the model for later structures in Tamil Nadu. In its time it was the loftiest stone tower in part of the country, Kailasanatha is called the "great stone temple". There
is a mandapa in front, added in later times to connect the sanctum with
another mandapa. It is entered from the south, an unusual arrangement. There
are fragments of inscriptions on its ceiling and floor. The front mandapa
contains a celebrated epigraph of Vikramaditya II, the noble Chalukya (see
above) who were he captured Kanchipuram, the capital of his
"hereditary" foes gave generous gifts to its chief temple. There
are also some early Chola epigraphs on the pillars here. Unusually
among Pallava, or for that matter Tamil Nadu, temples, there is a string of
sub-shrines, abutting the prakara walls around. They number fifty-eight.
Raised high on ornamented basements, they are square in shape. Each consists
of a small shrine and a pillared pavilion in front. There is a vimana over
each. Between these vimanas, high on the wall, there are Nandis. There are
Somaskanda reliefs in the eastern and western shrines, benignant aspects of
Lord Siva in the northern, and destroying aspects of Him, together with some
forms of Lord subsidiary deities, in the southern. There
is another temple much smaller, in the eastern part of the prakara. This was
built at the same time as the bigger one by Rajasimha's son, Mahendra and
named after him. Inscriptions on its steps call it the "Mahendravarmesvaragrha",
the "temple of, or built by Mahendravarman". A Linga stands in the
sanctum. On the walls of the antarala there are superb sculptures of Lord
Siva. The Bhikshatana is over 2.4m high. The vimana has a sala , or
barrel-vaulted, sikhara. Nearly
everywhere in this temple there are inscriptions, some three hundred and
fifty of them. Most are lables, containing the honorifics of King Rajasimha.
On the sub-shrines in the prakara there are inscriptions in three scripts.
One of these, the Pallava Grantha, is pure delight to the eye, Hindu
calligraphy at its best. Over
the entrance from the east into the prakara there is a little barrel vaulted
sikhara, the small progenitor of the mighty gopuras of the future, one of
which, the front one of the Sri Ekamranatha temple, can be seen from here.
In line with the entrance there are eight small shrines, three to the south,
five to the north. These were built at the same time as the main temple by
the king and his queens, one of whom, Rangapataka, lives in a celebrated
inscription, a marvel of Sanskrit composition. All alike on plan, each is
raised on a high ornamented basement. There are Somaskandas on the back
walls. Facing
the entrance, at a distance, there is a big Nandi on a raised platform.
There are lion pillars at the corners. The roof of this mandapa has
disappeared. This
temple is a storehouse of sculpture and painting. It is a riot of
iconography, with some rare forms on view. Its paintings, naturally similar
to the sculptures in general style, are of supreme excellence. Some are
great masterpieces. Each of the sub-shrines in the prakara used to contain
them. But some centuries ago they were thoughtlessly white-washed. A few were
recovered at the beginning of this century. More are being rescued by the
Archaeological Survey of India with incredibly infinite labour. This reminds
one of its devoted labours in Lepakshi (see above). A
most lovely temple, deeply rooted in Tamil traditions, admired even by the
enemies of its makers, and widely influential in other parts of South India,
the Kaliasanatha is a most evocative fane. It will always be associated with
its makers, Rajasimha, the aesthetic royal saint. Near
this temple there is another, of Chola times, called Anekatangavadam. At one
time some of the properties of the Kailasanatha were transferred to it, and
then they were re-transferred. The
second historic Pallava temple in Kanchipuram is the Vaikunta Perumal, built
in the eighth century by Nandivarman Pallavamalla (731-795), and originally
named the Paramesvara Vinnagaram after an honoritic of his. It is no table
for the fact that the vimana is in three stories, enshrining standing,
seated and recumbent images of Lord Vishnu. It is unique for the fact that
on the walls of a mandapa it has historical sculptures, in the form of
panels depicting the history of the Pallavas beginning with their putative
ancestor, Lord Brahma, and ending with the building of the temple. Each
of the three shrines in the vimana has a mandapa in front. To these three is
access by flights of steps on either side. On the ground floor two covered
pradakshinapathas surround the sanctum; on the second one is uncovered, the
other covered. The lowermost sanctum and its ardhamandapa are surrounded by
an open narrow ambulatory. Around all this in turn is a pillared cloister on
a raised platform. It
is on the walls of this platform that the unique historical sculptures have
been carved. Beneath thirteen of them, all on the south wall, there are
explanatory labels in the Tamil language and script of the eighth century.
These panels depict the story of Pallavamalla's accession to the throne
after a disturbed interregnum. Scholars differ in the interpretation of the
events. The main story, however, is clear enough. Tirumangai
Alvar, a contemporary of Pallavamalla's confirm in one of his hymns the fact
that the king, a devout Vaishnava, built this temple. It has a complicated
plan, but the architect has overcome his difficulties. There is another
temple with three shrines in the vimana in Uttramerur, a town of historical
celebrity founded by the Pallavas some 32 km from Kanchipuram. The same plan
has been followed also in the Kudal Azagar temple in Madurai (see above) and
in the Tirkoshtiyur temple. There
are many small Pallava temples in Kanchipuram. The most notable are the
Muktesvara and the Matangesuara. These look identical, detail, except that
the former is somewhat larger. Both were built in Pallavamalla's reign, and
the former is named after Dharmamahadevi, one of his queens. Both are
exquisite temples, showing that the Pallavas who could created delicate
effects in sculpture and painting, could do so in architecture too, where it
is more difficult. Very
small Pallava temples, little more than shrines, in Kanchipuram include the
Iravathanesvara, the Airavatesvara and the Valisvara, the last within the
Sri Ekamranatha temple. The
Sri Kamakshi Amman temple is one of the three in Kanchipuram which date back
from very early times. The others are the Sri Ekamranatha and the Sri
Varadaraja (see below). It is particularly associated with Sri Sankara, who
is believed to have cast off his mortal coils here. The
temple, over 1.6 hectares in extent, is in the heart of the old town. In
none of the fifty Saiva fanes, big and small in Kanchipuram, is there a
separate shrine for the Devi. But outside it there is invariably one.
According to the "Kamakshi Valasa Purana", Sri Kamakshi, in
blessing Manmatha, drew into Herself all the powers of the Saktis in the
land. Later, She granted that temples outside kanchipuram might have
DeviShrines. The part of the town where this temple is situated is called
the Kamakottam. This is the name given to Devi shrines in Saiva temples. The
antiquity of the temple becomes clear from the fact that Appar and Sambandar
in the seventh century and Sundarar in the next have sung of it. There is
perhaps an even earlier reference in the citation of some old verses by
Adiyarkkunallar, a famous commentator on Tamil works. It
is with Sri Sankara that the temple is most closely associated. According to
traditional accounts, he consecrated a Sri Chakra in front of the Devi's
Image. It is believed that he entered Kailasa through a cavity, the
Pilakasam, in the temple. There is a separate shrine for him in the temple.
To him are given the first honours. Kanchipuram is the seat of the Kamakoti
Pitha, a monastery which he founded. Tradition
says that in the olden days the image of the Goddess was of pure gold, the
"Bangaru Kamakshi" of beloved popular belief which links Her with
Madurai Meenakshi and Kashi Visalakshi. During a Muslim invasion it was
taken to Thanjavur. There
are many mandapas in the temple. One, called the Amai, or Tortoise, is well
sculptured. Achyutha, the Vijayanagar Raya, visited the temple in 1554 and made a munificent grant. There are, or were, some Buddhist images in the temple. This has led a few scholars to assert that it was originally dedicated to Tara, a Buddhist divinity, and that it became Hindu in Sri Sankara's time. The assertion is unjustified. Many
great Sanskrit and Tamil poets have sung praises of the Goddess, apart from
Sri Sankara himself. One of the best known works is the "Muka
Panchasati" by an author who, born dumb, recovered power of speech
through Her grace. The
Sri Ekamranatha temple is of hoary antiquity. Beginning as a small fane, it
has grown over the centuries into a large one of over 12.14 hectares, with
innumerable shrines, mandapas, gopuras and tanks. It enshrines many
traditions. The
Linga in the main sanctum is of sand, representing the element of earth. The
name of the Lord, Ekamara, is said to be derived from an ancient mango tree
near the sanctum. Its branches, it is believed, represent the Vedas. It is
also said that Ekamra comes from the word, "kamba" or pillar, a
synonym for the "pillar of fire", or "Sthanu" a well
known name of Lord Siva. Further, Goddess Parvati once worshipped a Linga of
each in the bed of streamlet, the Kampa, flowing near the Kachi Mayanam, now
a shrine in the temple. To test Her devotion the Lord caused freshes in the
river. In her anxiety to save the Linga from being washed away, She hugged
it to Her bosom. Delighted with this, Lord Siva married Her. The
mango tree, it is said, has some unusual properties. Each leaf is of
different shape, and each branch bears is that tastes differently. It is
popularly said to be over 3,500 years old. Women seeking issue worship it
believing that their desire would be fulfilled. All the four principal Nayanmars have sung of the Lord here. The temple has five prakaras. A huge mandapa had a thousand pillars once, but only 616 survive today. Near this were found some columns with some of the honorifies of Mahendra I Pallava, in the seventh century, carved on them. They are now in the Madras Museum. They probably belong to one of the early sancta built in the form of mandapas in Tamil Nadu. Elsewhere in the temple there is a shrine, the Valisvara, which is of Pallava times. It belongs to the early eighth century. King Mahendra refers to the temple in his Sanskrit farce, the "Matta Vilasa Prahasana". Tirumangai
Alvar has sung of the Lord Vishnu enshrined in this temple. The Lord is
called "Nilathingal Thundaththan". All these facts make it clear
that the temple is of hoary antiquity and, further, that it played a part in
the evolution of temple architecture in Tamil Nadu Its
later history has been equally glorious. Its many epigraphs record donations
by the Cholas, among whom Kutottunga III was prominent, the Telugu Chodas,
and the Vijayanagar Rayas, and the Vijayanagar Rayas. Krishnadeva built the
massive outer gopura, of nine storeys 58.5m high, in 1509. An image of him
and another of his consort are in the gopura. The
temple figured in the wars of the eighteenth century. During the campaign
which culminated in Robert Clive's famous defence of Arcot, it was used as a
fortress. There are signs of hits by canon balls on the main gopura. A part
of the wall near this tower was rebuilt in 1799 by Hodson, then the
Collector of Changalpattu district There are some Jain reliefs on this wall. One
of the largest fanes in Tamil Nadu and one of the three that the Vaishnavas
hold in the greatest reverence along with Tirumala and Srirangam, the Sri
Varadaraja temple enshrines Lord Vishnu as the Bestower of gifts. It has had
a magnificent history, being associated with Sri Ramanuja, and its art is
superb. Its hundred-pillared mandapa is one of the great achievements of the
Vijayanagar artist. Tradition
states that it was on the site of the main sanctum that Lord Brahma once
performed a grand sacrifice. When Saraswathi, taking the form of a fast
flowing river, the Vegavathi, which runs a few kilometers from Kanchipuram,
attempted to wash away the area, Lord Vishnu, the Deity now enshrined in the
Tiruvekha temple, laid himself down flat to stay its progress. When Lord
Brahma's sacrifice was successfully concluded. Lord Vishnu emerged
resplendent as a thousand suns, as Devarajaswami, the king of the Gods.
Granting a request of Lord Brahma's He remains there in this temple. Sri
Ramanuja used to serve here. Many miracles of his are said to have occurred.
It was with his ministry that the temple, then already several centuries
old, began to gain in fame. The earliest surviving inscription in the temple
is dated 1073. The older structures are all lost in a series of rebuilding
and additions. The temple is now about 335m long and over 192m wide. It has
four prakaras, with two huge gopuras on the west, the main entrance, and on
the east. The main sanctum is on a hillock, the "Hasthigiri". The shrine is a square and has a barrel-vaulted sikhara, called the Punyakoti vimana, itself on object of worship. There are two mandapas in front of it and also a closed pradakshinapath, which is considered the first prakara. There are some paintings of late Vijayanagar times he Around
the foot of the hillock, to which the devotee descends by a flight of
twenty-four steps, runs the second prakara. A double-storeyed pillared
colonnade enclose it. It contains four shrines. One of these is of Malayala
Nachiar", probably a relic of the brief Chera occupation of Kanchipuram
early in the fourteenth century. In a side of the hillock there is a shrine
to Lord Narasimha. The
third prakara too contains a number of shrines and mandapa. The most
important of these is the shrine of the Goddess, PerundeviThayar. It is
customary to offer worship here before going to the Sri Varadaraja shrine.
It is a splendid glowing Vijayanagar structure. The mandapa has ornamental
double pillars with rearing cavaliers, as in the celebrated hundred-columned
mandapa in the fourth prakara. Adjacent to the shrine there is a dainty
mandapa carrying four pillars and standing on a high basement. The pillars
and the ceiling are of great beauty. The
fourth and outermost prakara, which is the largest, contains two tanks
besides many shrines and mandapa. In one of the tanks, the impressive
Anantasares, a wooden image of the Lord is kept submerged. Once in a
generation it is taken out for worship and then replaced. Nearby
is the Kalyanamandapa, a marvel. Built in the second half of the sixteenth
century, it is swan song of the Vijayanagar artist in Tamil Nadu. Occupying
an area of about 167 sq. m. and set on a lofty basement 1.8 m high, it
contains ninety-six pillars. Those on the façade carry, on their shafts,
warriors astride rearing steeds. Most of these cavaliers, who were swords,
are familiar from Vijhayanagar sculptures elsewhere. But there are also
others with carbines or muskets are they are probably Portuguese. Many of
the pillars inside carry geometrical designs. The entrance to the mandapa is
through a magnificently wrought balustrade. Above, from the double flexed
and highly impressive cornice, hang clusters of stone rigs. To the
Vijayanagar artist the hardest stone was as putty. There
are two smaller four-pillared mandapas in this prakara called "thulabhara
mandapas", they
were probably built for a ceremony in 1532 when Achyutha, the Vijayanagar
Raya, weighed himself against pearls and gifted these to the temple. They
are identical in form and style. Two
huge gopuras stand on the east and the west. Today the main entrance is
through the latter. The former is seldom used because, it is said, it was
through it that, in 1688, when a Muslim invasion was expected, the images of
the Lord and His Consorts were taken away to safety They remained in
Udayarpalayam (now in Tiruchi
district) for twenty-two years. When attempts
were made to bring them back, the local chieftain would not part with them,
Thereupon, a religious preceptor enlisted the services of Tadarmal, a
general. He overawed the chieftain with a small force, They are images of
Todarmal, his mother and his wife near the entrance from the third to the
fourth prakara in this temple. There are also images of these three in the
Tirumala temple. The
western gopura, which faces the town, is of late Cholas times. It is smaller
than the eastern, which is Vijayanagar in style and is about
54.7 m high. It
rather resembles the main gopura of the Sri Ekamranatha temple. In fact,
these two huge gopuras seem to make the eastern and western ends of the town
when viewed from a distance, say, from the Madras road. The
annual the-day festival, in May, a celebrated one. On the third morning the
Lord is taken in procession mounted on Garuda. That day is an official
holiday in the town and district. Vedanta Desika, the polymath honoured most
after Sri Ramanuja himself, has referred to it. Thyagaraja and Muthuswami
Dikshithar, two of the three celebrated composers of the eighteenth century,
have created compositions on it. The ten-day festival dates from earlier
than the fourteenth century. Many inscriptions record endowments to
celebrate it. Apart
from the five temples of Kanchipuram discussed here, there are many others
of great piety and history in Kanchipuram. The Sri Yadhokthakari temple
commemorates an event in the life of Tirumazhisai, one of the Alvers. It is
said that a local chieftain once unjustly banished a disciple of the Alvar's.
The later, deciding to leave with him, implored the Lord of this temple also
to leave Kanchipuram. He did so in their company. Immediately darkness
descended on the town. At the protests of the people, the chieftain had to
recall the banished man. A festival is celebrated annually to commemorate
this event. The Ashthabujam temple enshrines an image of Lord Vishnu with eight arms. The Sri Chitragupta temple is perhaps the only in the entire country to be dedicated to the Lord who is regarded as the "accountant" to the God of Death, recording the good and the bad deeps performed by every man and woman. The Sri Ulagalanda Perumal temple enshrines a huge image of Lord Vishnu. In the Kumarakkottam, a temple dedicated to Lord Subramania, Arunagirinathar has sung praises of the Lord. It was also here that Kanchiyappa Sivachariar obtained the Lord's grace to begin his great Tamil work, the "Kanda Puranam". |
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