Tirupperunturai
Avudaiyarkoil | |
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Vikramaditya Chola |
Tirupperunthurai (also called the Athmanathaswamy temple) is located in
Legend
The temple is supposed to have been built by
Architecture
Athmanathar temple is a testimony to the temple architectural skills of ancient Tamil sculptors and engineers. The temple covers an area of over 10 acres (40,000 m2) with three enclosures and faces south, constructed so that the setting sun strikes the sanctum even though it is cloistered within three circumambulatory paths. The presiding deity is formless (Atmanatar); there is no
Tirupperunthurai is also known as Kokozhi, Śivapuram, Ākāśa Kailāsa, Vadavūr, Chaturvedamangalam and Ādi Kailāsa in Sangam literature. It is also known as Atīta Sabhā as it has six Sabhā-s, namely Kanakasabhā, Chitsabhā, Satsabhā, Ānandasabhā, Ratnasabhā and Devasabhā in comparison to five Sabhas at Chidambaram, each of these halls is named after Shaivite theological terms. These halls have exquisite carvings. It is believed that Manikkavacakar himself built these sabhas, and covered the Sabhas with 21600 plates of copper. Mother Parvathi in the Thillai Mandap in the second prakara granting the Pasupatha weapon to Arjuna as hunter and his wife is very realistic in workmanship. Mother appears with a chain around the neck, bangles in hand and holding a bag each carved in stone. Iron screws are use in some of the mantapams, which is unique for that age.
The temple is noted for the zephyr (granite) roof work. The ceiling of the Kanga sabhai (golden hall) is a grandeur creation in stone. The ropes, rafters and nails all are made of granite.'s Rudra thandavam (wild dance) are the finest specimen in sculptural art. The five philosophies representing the Panchakshara the five letters – Na, Ma, Shi, Va, Ya – Nivrtti Kalā, Pratiśta Kalā, Vidya Kalā, Śānthi Kalā and Śāntyātīta Kalā are in sculpture form on the roof of the Panchakshara Mandap.
The composite columns of
Many renovations have been carried out, much of the current structure dates to the 15th century CE. The thousand pillared hall has several delicately crafted pillars with depictions of the
Administration
As at
Festival
Among the annual festivals celebrated here are Tirumanjanam (during the Tamil month of
References
- ^ a b c Krishnamurthy, R. (6 November 2014). "Where Jackals turned into Horses". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ISBN 81-7201-006-0. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
- ^ "New inscriptions confirm Manickavasagar built temple". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-904777-00-7.
- ^ OCLC 4503540.
- ISBN 978-81-8094-432-1.
- ISBN 0-521-52865-8. Retrieved 1 June 2008.
- ^ Tourist Guide to Tamil Nadu
- ^ Concise classified dictionary of Hinduism. Kodayanallur Vanamamalai Soundara Rajan
- S2CID 154135978.