Pallava Dynasty

Pallava's played an important role in the evolution of temple building in the start of the century. They initiated a sea change in the construction of temples. The temples which earlier were built of wood and brick moved to more durable form. Black stone/ Granite was identified by them. Initial temple forms started with cave excavations (Mamandur), Monolithic structures seen in Mahalbalipuram. 

 Then came the giant leap into era of structural temples. In these temples, the raw material - stone could be brought from far off places, carved and moved. This brought in lot of flexibility. Further dynasties took cue and took from the Pallava monuments and rest as they is history.

The spring board of structural temples was the Pallava masterpiece at their capital Kanchipuram - Kailasanathar Temple.

The Kailasanathar Temple was built by Narasimhavarma II ( 691 -728 A.D ) also know as Rajasimha. The temple has been built using sandstone by the architects and craftsmen belonging to the Pallava period.

The Kailasanathar Temple was preceded by the shore temple at Mamallapuram and the Pallava rulers built finely crafted mid sized temples during their reign.

Kailasanathar temple was the inspiration for other monuments of grandeur namely : Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal,Kailasa temple at Ellora, Tanjore Big temple.

Sad part is the fact that, it is not popular amongst the Kanchipuram visiting populace and not much crowd is seen on any given day. Monument is protected by ASI and sadly could not find place in the UNESCO world heritage monument list due to the rampant modifications done after.

Madurai - A Temple City

Madurai also referred as "Koodal", "Naanmada Koodal", "Koodal Nagar", "Thiruvaalavai", "Aaalavai" - a living museum for thousands of years has had an uninterrupted history of literature, art and architecture that flourished in this temple town.

The Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple is clearly the geographic and ritual centre of the ancient city of Madurai. The temple walls, the city streets and finally the city walls were built around the temple in concentric squares. Presiding deity of this temple are Lord Sundareshwarar (Siva) and Goddess Meenakshi.

Meenakshi Sundareshwarar temple has evolved over the period starting from the legendary Siva linga discovered in the Kadamba forest. Myths, legends, facts - the temple is a complex mixture of all. The temple has evolved over a period starting from Sangam era Pandyas, Pandyas - AD, Vijayanagara, Nayaks. Starting from the Sanctum built during the Pandyan rule, Vijayanagar rulers especially Viswanatha Nayak made huge contribution to the temple structure. Thereby this temple is perfect example of evolution of Dravidian temple architecture over a 1500-2000 year time frame.

The temple and city had their dark ages for close to 50 years during the rule of Delhi Sultanate and raid of Malik Kafur. Major portions of temple were brought down. The city rose back to glory is a story in itself.

Writing about this temple and Maduari knows no end and am sure i would do no justice trying to do it here. Planning detailed writeup on my blog spot, stay tuned.

Did a guided tour of Meenakshi Sundareshwarar temple at Madurai, a long pending item in my bucket list. Sharing this photologue captured during my 2.5 hour temple walk.

Very knowledgeable guide Mr MeenakshiSundaram took me through the temple complex. He also offers guided tours of other monuments/ temples in Maduari. Contact details: 9842095250/9080049902

Note: Bags and Cameras are banned inside the temple complex, hence i could capture pics only with my mobile. Apologize for average quality pictures.