Temples in Tiruvaduturai (Tiruvavaduturai)

Tiruvaduturai was called in the past Tiruvavaduturai, the place which enables human beings reach the blessed state of final disentanglement from all embodiments; and the Lord of the present temple of Masilamanisvara was called Tiruvavaduturai Udaiyar or Paramasvamin. This place is sung by the devaram hymnists of the 7th century: Sambandar is said to have got a gift of gold from the Lord of this place. Sendanar sang his Tiru Isaippa, and Tirumular did his penance and sang his Tiru Mandiram here. It is the headquarters of one of the three great Saivite mutts (adhinam) of South India.

Gomuktisvara temple (Masilamani Isvaraor Tiruvavaduturai Udaiyar temple)

There are five inscriptions of a Parakesarivarman without identifying epithets, on the walls of this temple: these can be assigned to Parantaka I. In an inscription of the 2nd year (135 of 1925), the Assembly of Sattanur, in whose jurisdiction the temple was situated, makes a sale of land tax-free to make provision for the maintenance of a cocoanut-and flower-garden for the temple for the merit of the donor, a member of terinja kaikkolar, a division of the army named after Aditya I. This record can be assigned to Parantaka I.

In an inscription of the 3rd year of a Parakesarivarman (unidentified: 139 of 1925), one Karralip-Pichchan purchased some lands in the neighbouring village of Sirranaichchur and allotted the same among the singers of hymns, those bringing water for the sacred bath of the God and the pipers of the temple. The same donor figures in a number of other inscriptions which can be definitely assigned to Parantaka I. Hence this inscription also can be said to belong to the same ruler.^[1]

An inscription of the 25th year of Madurai-konda Parakesari, Parantaka I (a.d. 932: 126 of 1925) mentions that this temple was built by the said Tiruk-karralip-Pichchan; he now makes a further gift for the maintenance of pipers in the temple. Another endowment of Tirukkarralip-Pichchan was made in the 35th year of Parantaka I for the maintenance of servants who blew the conch and the horn, of those who held the parasol and of those who looked after the flower-garden (125 of 1925). The same donor makes more gifts in the 38th year of Parantaka I (122 and 142 of 1925). The most important and interesting record is yet another of the 38th year of Parantaka I (143 of 1925). This mentions a gift of 500 kalanju of gold by Paranta-kadevar (the king himself) for constructing the temple in stone from the kudap-padai upwards. Perhaps the king helped complete what Tirukkarralip-Pichchan had begun, or merely made a contribution thereto.

Another interesting feature about this temple is that its inscriptions (104 and 117 of 1925) furnish a list of the gold and silver vessels and of the metallic images of deities presented to the temple together with details of their measurements similar to the descriptions found inscribed in later days in the Tanjavur temple built by Rajaraja I. The bronzes listed below are said to have been installed here; it is a pity that none of the old ones could be identified: 1 (a) The Lord of Dancing (pitham and prabha included) (b) Nampirattiyar (Goddess) 2 Chandrasekhara-devar and His Nampirattiyar 3 Tribhuvana Sundarar 4 Ganapathiyar 5 Chandrasekhara-devar 6 Kshetrapala-devar 7 Rishabhavahanadevar and His Pirattiyar (Rishabha, pitham and prabha included) 8 Pichcha-devar (Bhikshatana-devar) with deer, pitham and prabha 9 Ardhanari-devar with padma 10 Dakshinamurti 11 Pallik-kattil Nachiyar (Palliyarai Nachiyar) 12 Astra-devar, with the supporting rod and pitham, 13 Chandesvara 14 Tirunavukkarasa-devar 15 Sambandar 16 Nambi Aruranar (Sundarar) 17 Tirukkarralip-Pichchan (see pp. 8-9 of the Introduction to Sambandar Devaram, Part III, published by the Dharmapuram Adhinam).

An equally noteworthy feature of this temple is the carving of labelled portrait-sculptures of donors and devotees on the walls of the temple. This is the earliest example of its kind in the Chola period, though not of high artistic merit. Here are a few of the sculptures:

1. figure of Karralip-Pichchan worshipping a linga, on the eastern side of the south wall of the garbhagriha, next to Dakshinamurti: (132 of 1925);

2. figures of Ambalavan Tiruvisalur alias Tiruna-vukkaraiyar, a devotee of Tiruvavaduturai Alvar: (133 of 1925);

3. figure of Ilaiya Tirunavukkaraiyar, the devotee of Karrali Piranar (the local deity) a standing figure with palms held up in adoration: (131 of 1925);

4. figure of Daman Ambalan alias Namasivayan of Sirradi in Tiraimur-nadu: (141 of 1925) and

5. two standing figures, one of Eluvan Sandira (Chandrasekharan) of Vamampusal who constructed a tier (padai) of the temple, and the other of Nakkan Yannattadigal, a maid-servant of the palace (periyavelam): (106 of 1925).

The garbhagriha is a square 19 ft. 6 in. (5.94 m.) side. The antarala, 1 ft. 9 in. (0.53 m.) broad, connects it with the ardhamandapa, which extends 20 ft. (6.10 m.) forward.

The devakoshta figures are: Ganapati, Agastya, Dakshinamurti, Lingodbhavar, Brahma and Durga. The devakoshtas have toranas; that over Dakshinamurti has an image of Nataraja in its centre (Pis. 43 to 50).

About the age of the construction in stone of this temple, Douglas Barrett, in his Early Cola Bronzes (Bhulabhai Memorial Trust, Bombay), expresses the view that it was perhaps built of brick on a stone base and was rebuilt of stone from the kumudappadai upwards in the 38th year of Parantaka I, and that the important inscriptions recording donations (of the 2nd, 3rd, 25th, 38th and 39th years) of the period of Parantaka I were re-recorded on the new fabric. He accepts a suggestion of the Government Epigraphist that the “kudappadai” mentioned in the 38th year inscription of Parantaka I should be read as “kumudappadai”. He admits that the architectural forms are composed of elements typical of what he calls “Phase I” of Early Chola style (a.d. 850-940). But, at the same time, he sees in this monument the beginnings of a real movement towards a new mode of expression. The presence of a grille with three orange-shaped openings and the introduction of additional koshtas in the outer walls of the ardhamandapa, with the sculpture of Agastya in one of them, are sufficient for him for postulating a second phase of Early Chola style between a.d. 940 and 970 in the Early Chola period (which again, according to him, should be regarded as extending from a.d. 850 to 1014).

Kumudappadai is only a moulding of the adhishthana, and no temple would be considered worthy of worshipping in till the image of the principal deity is installed in the cella resting on the adhishthana. The songs of the Devaram hymnists testify to the existence of this temple as a brick structure even in the 7th century a.d. It is difficult to imagine that the old temple was of stone only up to the kumudam moulding (with the superstructure of brick) and that it was later built entirely of stone with the proceeds of the gift made by king Parantaka I himself in his 38th year. The stone inscriptions mention gifts to this deity as early as in his 2nd and 3rd years and its construction of stone as early as his 25th year. I hesitate to accept the suggested emendation of kudappadai into kumudappadai; the former is admittedly the actual expression used in the inscription. I admit that the meanings of these ancient technical terms in South Indian Architecture have to be established by further research. However, I would venture to suggest that kudappadai may reasonably be construed as the layer of the sikhara just below the In the Great Temple at Tanjavur, there is an inscription of the 25th year and 275th day of Rajaraja I, which refers to the copper-pot (seppu meant to serve as its stupi: the term kudam here signifies the copper stupi to be gilded and installed at the top. The relevant lines are: “Sri Rajarajesvaram Udaiyar Sri-Vimanattu-ch chembu stupi-tariyil vaikkak kodutta seppukkudam onru”. The gilded stupi is the most costly and important element of the Sri-Vimana. It should not be surprising if Parantaka I himself made a gift of 500 kalanju of gold towards the crowning act of the completion of the Sri-Vimana.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The presiding deity of the main (central) shrine is Sri Masilamanisvarar. There seems to have been a more ancient temple here called that of Sri Gomuk-tisvaram. The shrine for this Lord is inside the third prakara close to the first gopuram. The shrine for the celebrated local Tamil saint Tirumular lies in the western end of the second prakara projecting into the third prakara (See Plan).