Kamarasavalli Chaturvedimangalam

This weekend somehow turned out to be exciting. Got to visit a temple supposedly built by a Chola King in the 8th / 9th century

The temple predates the great Brihadeeshwara Temple a.k.a. Big Temple @ Tanjore. It's located at a remote village called Kamarasavalli Chaturvedimangalam was a good distance of around 35 kms from our place. Just for a ref., it's around 35 kms from Thanjavur. On the way, our 19-yr old bike ran out of petrol and somehow we managed to get a litre, @ 10 Rs. more. And when we reached, we had sensed that the distance was worth it.


Rennovation is on the go there at the temple and is expected to be completed in the next few months...
Outer Wall-1
Outer Wall-2

Main Entrance
Parvathi's Shrine
 

Inner Entrance
The 2 small lions welcome at the entrance


Sthala Purana - History associated


The serpent Karkotaka is supposed to have sought refuge under Lord Shiva.
And the then Chola King is somehow associated in a complicated myth.
Notice the absence of a crown. The way they tied their hair and adorned was the mark of a king and the practice of a headgear came later, we were told.


Nandi Vahana


Nandi, the bull; the vehicle of Shiva, made of wood, by the then kings, we were told.


Karkotakeshwarar / Soundareshwarar - Shiva

The Main Deity - Shiva
Lord Muruga with his consorts
A few idols of Lord Ganesh kept together due to the rennovation

Panchaloka Statue

There was no power when we had been there and the priest was searching for the plate which is ised to perform Aarthi. Just when I tried my hands with the light from my mobile, I stumbled upon a sizeable metal piece and on further examination, it turned out to be a Panchaloka Statue. My dad was telling me that it would value up to a crore ! And since this was behind the bars, couldn't get a good view of this. Somehow managed to get this on a flash



The Goddess *Not sure of the name*


Deities on the wall of the Main Shrine

There were so many images of Gods and Goddesses carved, and I couldn't get much out of them, as most of them were new to me.
e.g. I've never come across an image of a detiy standing on a bull, but this was one of the main styles there.
Lord Ganesh
Sage Agasthya (?)
Lingodbhavar
No idea
Lord Brahma (?)
No idea
Vishnu Durga / Mahishaasura Mardhini (?)



Inscriptions

I could read just a few letters and nothing more. And there are inscriptions all over the temple !


Mini-carvings

These are a few from the outer-wall of the main shrine. Again, each of these convey some story, but am not sure of what it would probably be !


Ruins

The temple, although in a very bad state, of course, it's been a millenia since some caretaking took place, but is looking for some better days. Some billionare lady from Mumbai dedicated in ancient-temple-rennovation activity is sponsoring, it seems.
A deformed sculpture of some deity
Another one found at a corner of the temple
The shrine for Lord Ganesh; repairs
The 'mandapam' at the entrance of the temple
Too many such idols lying scattered
The outer 'mandapam'
The Gopuram / tower of the main shrine.
The other side of the outer-mandapam.
A subway that led to the King's palace @ Thanjvur had been here. But closed now.
Many such pillars lying on the way
This mandapam to be used during processions in festival seasons
Supposedly, a store room.
And we finally bid a bye to the place after a few minutes with these kids.

Some additional info and a few pics on the temple...

Weird

On the way home, we noticed a lot of weird creatures on the sky... Could get just the 2 of these...



Kaarthigai

And finally, enjoyed the Lunar Eclipse, lit lamps all over our home, burst some crackers and celebrated the Kaarthigai festival.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Tamilian's Tribute to an Apple

Image
Share Am terribly disappointed. For a lot of reasons. But the most, by one. "A man's value/influence on this society is determined by the no. of heads that mourn on this death" , it's said. A legend has just passed away. Not less than a week ago. And what have done other than FB status msgs, Twitter taggings, a few +1's and by some stone agers' Orkut scraps...? He'd never asked me to buy any of the products of his company. Neither did I care to think of it since they were more clearly overpriced. But how could such a legend not be here from India...? There has to be an Indian connection , did I think. Not that this is the only country that can host such a genius. But yet, when we don't / cant have something, it's at least a bit soothing to celebrate it as if it were ours. We Indians are still proud of Aryabhatta/Bhaskara for giving this world it's greatest digit ZERO and other jaw-dropping gyans. Be it Bhagavad Gita/Thirukkural....
Read more

வேண்டாம் மைத்துனா வேண்டாம்!

சமீபத்தில் வெளியான திரைப்பட பாடல் ஒன்றைப் பற்றி இங்கு எனது பார்வையைத் தெரிவிக்க வந்துள்ளேன். அது என்ன பாடல் என்பது இந்நேரம் உங்களுக்குத் தெரிந்திருக்கும். ஆம். 'OK.OK' என்றழைக்கப்படும் 'ஒரு கல் ஒரு கண்ணாடி' என்ற படத்தின் 'வேணாம் மச்சான் வேணாம்' பாடல் தான்.   கலியுகக் கவிஞர் நா.முத்துகுமார் எழுத, நகலக நாயகர் ஹாரிஸ் ஜெயராஜ் இசையமைக்க, வேல்முருகன் மற்றும் நரேஷ் ஐயர் இப்பாடலைப் பாடியிருக்கின்றனர்.   மிகவும் அருமையான பாடல். மீண்டும் மீண்டும் கேட்கத் தூண்டும் பாடல். எல்லாவற்றிற்கும் மேல், குறிப்பாக, பெண்களைப் பற்றி பல கருத்துக்களைக் கூறும் பாடல். இதில் ஆச்சரியம் என்னவென்றால், இது சங்க-காலத்துப் பாடலின் நடையைக் கொண்டிராவிட்டாலும், பண்டைய தமிழ்நாட்டின் பழக்க-வழக்கங்களைக் பிரதிபலிப்பதாய் அமைந்துள்ளது.   ஒவ்வொரு வரியையும் எடுத்து நமது கலாச்சாரத்துடன் ஒப்பிட்டுப் பார்க்கலாம்.   வஞ்சர மீனு வவ்வாலு, கிடைச்சா கெளுத்தி விரலு இருக்கு மீச இராலு இறங்கி கலக்கு கோபாலு! பழங்காலத்தில் சமூகங்கள் பெரும்பாலும் நீர்-நிலை சார்ந்தே இருந்து வந்தன; ஆதலால் வஞ்சரை மீனும்...
Read more

Belur & Halebidu - II

Image
So we came out of the Hoysaleshwara Temple Complex  and  proceeded to the nearby Jain Temples. There was a single complex with huge shrines for 3 deities: Aadhinatha , Paarshvanatha & Shaanthanatha . And as with most other ancient temples, there were intricate sculptures all over, not wasting an inch. There was HUGE statue of a Thirthankara, must be one of the 3 I had mentioned earlier, but don't know who. Made of a SINGLE rock, he looks magnificent, with a serpentine holding his back and serving as an umbreall. And there's a signature smile - which is the best of anything you'd come by. And another one, again, forgot who - was just standing there, with nothing adorning him. Nirvana, perhaps. But philosophy aside, I loved the hairstyle! I'm even sporting a similar one now! ;) A *slightly* revamped version of the last one. Just for a wallpaper with a dark background. Well, with the Shiva temple right next to this comple...
Read more