On the third side we were looking at Maravaneeswarar Mahadev temple. Let’s see its continuation now.
This Maravaneeswarar Mahadeva temple as I said earlier plants are growing on the top of the temple and slowly destroying its structure. The temple is almost completely destroyed.
It is a fact that there is no basic maintenance for this temple. In addition to this, this small temple , which has many rare inscriptions , is surrounded by garbage and is now a gem lying in the garbage heap.
The temple has many unfinished idols and many rare inscriptions on the temple walls. Seeing these inscriptions made me curious to know how to read the inscriptions. The thought was formed that if one learns the basics and develops the ability to read inscriptions by somehow reading books related to inscriptions , or getting used to inscription researchers, one can easily read and know about the inscriptions in temples in the future.
But many historical researchers have written books related to inscriptions. But these book should be compiled in one website and mention places where they were taken. I have also collected almost twenty books related to inscriptions. From now on, when freed up I put them together and give information about it in a way that is easy to understand, it will be enough for everyone to know
While walking around this temple, there was a statue standing alone. I think it is a Vishnu idol. The statue was in good condition without any damage. The pillars also had beautiful carvings.
After photographing this Maravaneeswarar Mahadeva Temple, we then went to a very famous small temple called Iruvar Koil. The temple door was locked. It was time for the temple priest to come, so we waited patiently till then. When he came he was scared of our camera. He immediately came to us and said sir please don’t take pictures . Because two weeks before our arrival, someone came in and said that he was going to take a picture and put a block of lime on the inscriptions and rub them and read them and uploaded them on YouTube .
As this temple is under the protection of the trustees, the trustees saw it and scolded the priest of the temple as to whom he asked for permission. The priest was in a bit of a panic as he received a warning letter from the concerned department.
It is a good deed that has been criticized for allowing its information to be collected and usefully conveyed to the people. The government authorities will not do it and will not allow those who try to do it.The authorities sit in the comfort of their offices and pretend to work but do nothing towards the improvement of Tamil History.
Even so, he allowed us to take photos of only a few important statues to get used to them for a while. A majestic lion statue stood alone in this temple. I have seen this lion statue in many temples I have visited so far. Everywhere in China you can find statues of the same structure.
As the Pallavas used flags with lion motifs, these lion idols can be seen in all the temples they built during their time.
But there are many similarities between the statues in China and the statues here. Whether the Chinese saw us and set up such statues there or we saw them set up statues is still an unsolved mystery. I have taken a picture of the idols there. Let me show you that too. You can see and understand the similarities between the idols of these two different countries.
The temple of these two remains intact even today. An inscription in this temple lay unheeded. In order to install electric lights in this temple, plastic pipes have been stuck on its roofs, spoiling its beauty.
The tower structure of this temple was similar to the structures of the Kodumbalur temple that I had seen earlier. On the four sides of the tower were Nandi idols and idols of God. All the idols in it were in good condition without any damage.
A black stone idol is situated in a part of the temple wall and is very beautifully done with artistic grace. The sculptor who carved the statue had brought before the eyes how the people who lived in that period wore clothes and ornaments. Carved by a skilled sculptor, the statue is an example of sculpture.
I have never seen such a beautiful statue even in Kodumbalur. At the base of the temple, there are successive carvings of Yazhis. In this temple, numerous sculptures were carved very elegantly. It is a temple built on a sculptural basis. Recently while I was sharing news about this temple with my co-brother, I accidentally saw a turtle face in his yagasala and started asking about it.I asked him why I have seen these turtle face sculptures in many temple towers. I said why do they give so much importance to the turtle. He later said that the tortoise is considered the most important Vastu Shastra in sculpture.
Tortoise shell has the capacity to bear heavy weight. That is why our forefathers have given importance to the turtle in sculpture since that time and have given it a special place in Vastu.
On the wall of this temple there is a statue of Shiva and Parvati dancing in a kolam. Although a bit dilapidated, it can be said to be a wonderful piece of work.
These Paluvetarayar temples had facial sculptures , full figure sculptures , and seated sculptures. These sculptures were small and beautiful.
While researching the sculptures in this temple, I realized that it is necessary to learn the sculpture literature of that time well. And on the top of this temple tower there are four sides of beautiful black stone carved idols sitting in a blessed step.
The inscriptions on the wall of this temple and the beautiful postures on the pillars were carved with artistic precision as seen in the temples of Kodumbalur built by the Paluvettarai.
Looking at the structure of these two temples, it is more likely that both of them were built during the same period. Another information is that I have read in a book that these Paluvettarayars are descended from Cheras . Kalki has clearly mentioned in Ponni’s novel Selvan that during the Rajaraja Chola period, they became very famous and had power equal to the Chola kings to the extent that they had their own flag and symbol.They were very influential during till the end of Raja Raja cholan tenure.
But by the time of Rajendra Chola,they had almost disappeared. It is not known what happened between them in the intervening period. In Ponniyin Selvan, the names of many people were mentioned in who was responsible for the murder of Aditha Karikalan, but the names of the perpetrators were also mentioned. It is not known whether their powers were gradually taken away and hidden because they were caught up in such problems.
The gopurams and idols at Kodumbalur and the arrangement of gopurams and idols at these two temples may be contemporaneous constructions. But there are some differences. They have used different types of stones for the construction of these two temples. Because the idols in Kodumbalur are seen decaying over time. But the idols here are carved out of well-chosen black stone without crumbling. It is surprising that the idols here are still intact today with little damage.
Finally there is an information board in this temple. Details about this temple are written in it. That is, the twin towers of Keelayur were part of Paluvur, the capital of the Paluvettarais, the minor feudal kings of the Chola Empire. There are two temples in the Avanikandharpa Easvaragirka complex here. Inscriptions indicate that the temple on the northern side is Vadavail (Choeeswaram) and the temple on the southern side is Sri Kovil (Agatheeswaram) on the south side. These temples were built during the reign of Kumarankandan and Kumaran Maravan, among the early fedual kings of Paluvettaraiyar. These are a fine example of early Chola architecture of the 9th century AD .
If all places of historical importance had special information counters related to history like this, not only the history buffs but also the masses of lay people who come to visit it for tourism can easily understand its historical special features.
And this concludes our study of the temples built by the Paluvettarais. In the next post, we will see about Thanjavur Periya Kovil.