Tag Archives: Pallava

Breathing life into stone

Why is the genius of the Pallava sculptor not recognised despite numerous examples which stare right at us. Take for example, these two sets of sculptures from the Arjuna Ratha of the famous Five ratha complex ( whoever came up with these fancy names for these rathas!!), we have already seen a masterpiece in the other wall. We take two more such from the other two walls. Each a gem on its own.

While we were discussing the evolution of the Ardhanari image, we postulated on how the sculptor had brought in the Bull mount to balance the composite form. But was it just a freak moment of sheer brilliance or was it an evolution. Today we are going to see that it was not just a convenient introduction but a masterful confluence of two forms of Shiva.

Lets look at the this form of shiva – rishabandhika – Shiva with his mount. This is from the Arjuna Ratha in Mamallapuram.

These sculptures are classic Pallava styling with minimalistic ornamentation, pleasing body lines but spectacular styling.

I know some of you are already asking, whats so great about this sculpture.It looks pretty normal if not falling short. There seems to be something wrong with his torso and especially his chest. Did the sculptor make a mistake or ….?

Ok, Let me explain.

First of all, its a monolith, carved out of living rock, second its a relief sculpture and lastly, it carries the hall mark of Pallava craftsmanship.

Take a look at this angle, you will understand what i mean.

For Shiva is sculpted not facing you but half turned in profile. See how the master sculptor has made use of the available canvas – since he didnt have enough space to sculpt Shiva facing fully out, he has made masterly use of the depth available to sculpt him in profile

Though this is not a good angle ( thanks Ashok for the picture, you always come with different angles! ), but i am showing this to demonstrate his amazing use of depth and perspective. You can also see the angle of shoulders indicating how the torso has been angled to show a sideward pose. How he managed to visualise it in stone and managed to deliver is mind boggling.

Now, you will be able to better understand the Ardhanari evolution as a confluence of this image mingling with the Ardhanari.

As another example of the Pallava sculptor’s superlative stonecraft, we visit another spectacular pose from the other wall of the Arjuna ratha.

For a second, you forget that this is stone.

Not that angle, view it from this angle.

Look at how he has sculpted the Royal couple, the lady is calling her beloved who turns his head to answer her. Just close your eyes for a second, visualise her voice. ” My dear lover, “.. He turns around ” What is it sweetheart ….”

Breathing life into stone, that’s what the Pallava sculptor did!! It just needs some patient viewing and tuning to his frequency and wavelength.

The mystery behind the horns of Pallava Door Guardians

Friends, i am writing about a man who changed the course my life’s pursuits. Its a tale of selfless service, the reach of the net, information sharing,knowledge assimilation, leaving a lasting impression on the generations to come. I read that Einstein once said ” If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants”, thereby acknowledging the contributions of the scholars before him.

To start with, i have never met this person. For, he passed away in 1988, long before i even knew where i was headed in life.

when i first started my pursuit to learn sculpture, the stones of mahabalipuram were becoming not just time pass but posing some intellectual questions. spurring me to learn and read more about them. Being in Singapore didn’t help and the only way to quench my thirst was by reading books. Quality books on sculpture were heard to get, of the few good ones, some were ( are) at a higher plane than my current grade, and the rest were priced higher than what i could convince myself to spend on a hobby. The pursuit was still at the hobby stage at that time. But the thirst was still driving me and i turned to the net for help, coming across just two sites. One was Dr Nagaswamy’s tamil arts academy and the other, Dr.Gift Siromoney (30.7.1932 – 21.3.1988), M.A., M.Sc., Ph.D., F.S.S.
http://www.cmi.ac.in/gift/Archaeology.htm

The posts he had graciously left behind on the net, quality content, absolutely free, easily accessible, spurred me, 20 years after his death, inspiring me to use the advances in technology, the power of the net and its networking capabilities to tap on the potential of friends, to create a site, with powerful content with an unique visual appeal, absolutely free – that even a chance encounter of a casual visitor, will make him sit up and take notice, of the treasures that our great land bore out of its intellect, help protect and preserve them for future generations. Like the legendary Ekalavya, i try to follow his effort. This effort, hopefully will outlast my human existence, and pray will inspire atleast a few like me, long after i am gone.

I take one such thread, which the great man had left behind in his site and develop – One of the first puzzles i had taken to study. Please take time to read his extensive note below:

http://www.cmi.ac.in/gift/Archeaology/arch_dvarapalaka.htm

He has supported his theory with some rough sketches, which i have developed with photographs.

The hypothesis is very simple, Are the Pallava door guardians personifications of the divine attributes ( weapons) of the Lord whom they are guarding?

To understand this better, lets take the Shiva shrines for study first. Most early Pallava shrines had door guardians who wear a curious headpiece. Various postulates have been proposed, right from horns worn by a primitive tribe, later evolution of Jaina Naga icons and even as personifications of the Nandhi.

Unfortunately the main door guardian at Vallam, which Dr. Gift analysed is not clear enough ( thanks to Prof Swaminathan and Chandru sir for the photos), but i am thankful for Mr. Shriram for giving me an excellent photograph from Tirumayam cave ( though later than Mahendra ) that helps us to study the concept. We also see examples from other Mahendra caves including Mandagapattu and Seeyamangalam.

First of all, lets visit the Mahendra cave in Vallam. The cave has been pathetically managed with an ugly grill marring the entire beauty of the place. Anyway, for purpose of this study ( am thankful to Prof. Swaminthan sir and Chandru sir for sharing their photos of Vallam).I am just going to present to you a series of photos and then work on the hypothesis.


so just watch the dissimilar door guardians ( wonderfully sculpted in side profile) as compared to later temples where they are sculpted a mirror images, no two Pallava doorkeepers were done to look similar.

Notice the right side door guardian ( invariably) is carrying a set of curved horns. But are these horns. They seem to be positioned slightly below the head, where you would normally sculpt horns. Also the way the horns are attached or start – there is a very conspicuous convex curve.

Now, lets look at the left side doorguardian, he is bereft of any horns, but watch closely – he seems to have some sort of a projection in the centre of his head dress – like he has taken a serious whack and is all swollen up! Is it just a fashioning of his crown or does it signify something else?

Lets move on to Mandagapattu Mahendra cave.

Here, the right side door guardian doesn’t sport any horns. why? But not to be disappointed, we see the same protrusion in the head of the left side door guardian!!


Can you make it out now. Seems to be very much in fashion among the left door guardian. We will come back to this towards the end of the post.

Lets swing across to Seeyamangalam.

We have our horned door guardian at the right but the left side door guardian doesn’t sport the protruding crown.

But lets take a closer look at the horns. Even though they seem to occupy a more normal horn position, the curve at the base is very distinct and doesn’t look like a normal horn.

Now, thanks to Shriram we are going to see a really spectacular sculpture and example that is going to prove this postulate. These door guardians are from Tirumaayam. The right door guardian is possibly one of the best executed forms – such grace, such pristine beauty. His majestic poise is sheer poetry.

The left door guardian is slightly more subdued in his stance.

Lets peek in closer to view them. The left one does has a queer projection on top of his head. But the right door gaurdian’s head dress is worth a second look.


Lets analyse the complex curve at the base of the so called horns. Just imagine the sculpture without the face of the doorguardian.

Do you notice that there is a spike at the top of the crown. Now when you look at the three spikes as a single structure you can notice that they are indeed the three frongs of a large trident that has been superimposed on the door guardian. This could only mean that the door guardian is the personification of the Trident of Shiva – Thirisoolanathar.

In the same vein, the argument is that the protrusion on left side door guardian is the face of an Axe blade, depciting the Axe aspect of shiva ( check out the axe blade when being held by shiva in the famous chandesa sculpture in Gangaikondacholapuram) – Mazhu being the old name of the axe and hence he is called Mazhuvudayar.

Thus we see that the two door guardians are infact the Trident and Axe of Shiva

Another example from Kaveripakkam ( thanks kathie for sharing) currently in the chennai museum with the Horns!!

My first discovery !cracking the puzzle of 3 Somaskanda panels

Friends, it gives me immense pleasure in presenting one of very first discoveries which sees the light of day today. Though this occurred more by chance and had found this about two years ago, at that time i had nurtured hopes of publishing it as a research paper in some academic journal. Its only later that i realised how complicated such pursuits are and also the fact that but for the emotional high such a recognition would garner, its reach would be very much limited to a select few. However,today thanks to you all, my dearest extended family and the internet, poetryinstone shall deliver this baby after a gestation of over two years.

I had wanted to write about the Pallava’s contribution to evolution of iconography as a series – and started with the Mahendra trail. We did see some interesting developments in cave architecture, like the nataraja icon. But as we study later Pallava structures, we cant but miss some of their signature contributions, namely the Somaskanda, Gangadhara and Mahishasura Mardhini. The Pallava Somaskanda is such a signature piece occupying almost every rear wall of their main shrines, that its hard to miss them.

But this article is not about the normal Somaskanda panel in the rear of the Garba Graham ( sanctum sanctorum ) but a very unique puzzle of not one but three panels in the Atiranachanda Mandabam cave of the Saluvankuppam complex. The cave itself is a puzzle of gigantic proportions and many scholars have discussed it.

Just to run through it would mean to point out to viewers that the basic cave and pillar designs are very early Pallava period, while inscriptionally ( on both the sides there are running verses which you can touch and feel the passing of time in front of you) Rajasimha Pallava claims to have constructed this temple for Siva. He calls it Atiranacanda Pallavesvaragram, after one of his many fancy titles Atiranacanda ( Ati – great, rana – battlefield, chanda – expert – thanks to swaminathan sir))


Would suggest below article of Dr. Nagaswamy for readers who want to see the sheer labour of such geniuses.

http://tamilartsacademy.com/books/mamallai/new-light.xml

It would be worthwhile for readers to compare the facade of the Atiranachanda with earlier structures we saw on the Mahendra trail. But that is the subject for another post and study.

We come back to what is to me a very great discovery, the subject of this post. To bring you upto date with the basics, what exactly is this Somaskanda. Literally it means ` with Uma and Skanda’ meaning ( Sou – with, Uma – Parvathi and skanda – Muruga) Shiva with his consort and son. ( why only one son!!, well that is another controversy which we briefly touched upon in the post ` There are no Ganesha images in mallai’.

Since Pallava’s ` claim’ to have been the first to start building temples of stone ( or atleast without using lime, mortar, metal , brick or wood – mandagapttu [post! )…the early structures had predominantly an empty central shrine with the diety crafted in wood in a panel at the back. But slowly they realised that the wooden deities perished in no time, they tried crafting them in lime and mortar. But then as their confidence in working in stone grew, they graduated slowly to reliefs and then to sculpture. They replicated the wooden panels in stone sculpting them directly onto the rear wall. Thus was born one of the cutest forms of the divine family, with shiva seated ( sometimes on Nandhi) on the right and Parvathi on the left with baby skanda initially on her lap (There are many variants to this form and Dr Gift Siromomony paper below postulates a new theory !!)

http://www.cmi.ac.in/gift/Archeaology/arch_somaskanda.htm

The cholas later went on with the theme to craft some beautiful bronze somaskandas.

Back to Atiranacanda Pallavesvaragram, not many realise that the structures we see today in Mallai, were submerged if not totally in sand before they were escavated in the late 18th C. ( by this I mean even the popular five rathas complex), but to understand this better take a look at this print ( thanks to the British Library Archives)

Compare to how it looks today.


Now, look closer, am highlighting the main areas for us to view.

We take quick peek into its corridor – on closer inspection you see two beautiful somaskanda panels on the walls. This is a great anomally since the somaskanda panel is almost always found inside the main scanctum sanctorum.

To understand this better, lets peep into the central shrine of the same cave. Do you notice the Shiva Linga and then the rear wall adorned with the Somaskanda panel.

Why then would the sculptors sculpt two additional panels in the outer corridor?

A chance photograph of the freshly escavated mandabam in the late 18th C, thanks again to the British Library Archives, provides us the vital clues.


There were two additional Shiva Lingas on the corridor and hence the sculptors had sculpted the panels on the walls behind them. This my friends is my first discovery!! call me an armchair or desktop archaeologist for that.

What happened to these lingas now?, even their bases don’t exist now. There are two free standing statues in the foreground, one a headless trunk of a seated deity and another a beautiful sculpture. They are not to be found now, just this small rubble on the outside!!

So now you know the answer to the puzzle of the 3 somaskandas, but throws lot more questions. If the structure was intact in the late 18th C, when and why the susequent vandalism.

Gift from Yama – the God of Death

Hi friends, today we are returning to a favorite location of mine. Mahabalipuram..Mallai, for a truly amazing panel. we have seen this panel in the past but from a different perspective. ( six pack Abs!!)

Yes, I am referring to the spectacular Mahishasuramardhini panel. To truly appreciate this panel we got to spend atleast 3 or 4 posts. So take this as the first of the series, focusing on main character – Durga.

The Panel is truly mind blowing, but lets first give the story a reading for the uninitiated.

Once upon a time there lived a demon named Mahisha. As usual he wanted to make himself invincible and pleased the easiest of Gods to please – Brahma. Mahisha performed severe penances,fasting for months, standing on one foot. In due course Brahma appeared and asked him what he wanted. The request as usual was for a boon of immortality, which could not be given as every creature that is born had to die as well. So he had to modify his, so in his vain ego, seeing that no man was capable of hurting him, he grew over confident and asked that he may be sent to the netherworld only at the hands of a women. He bet his life on the fact that no women would have the power and courage to defeat him!!

Armed with the boon, he conqueres the whole of the earth and then heads off to the heavens ( hmm, how predictable!!). The Gods are caught in a fix and organise for a urgent meeting. They decide to pass the motion that calls for creation of a lady from the concentration of all their powers. Thus was born Durga. She is said to have a thousand or in other versions eight arms. ( we stick to eight for now as it matches with the sculpture). Thanks to Geetha madam, we have this brilliant verse from Devi Mahamathyam ( sanskrit work) which describes what all she was given by the Gods.

The wielder of the pinaka bow ( shiva) drew out a trident from inside his trident and gave her
The dark complexioned Vishnu drew out a Discus from his discuss and presented to her
Varuna ( Lord of Rain) gave her a Conch, Agni ( Lord of Fire) gave a weapon called shakthi
Vaayu ( Lord of Wind) presented a bow and quiver filled with arrows.
Indira ( Lord of the Lords) drew out the Vajra from his thunder ( Kulisam ?) and also a bell from his Airvatha ( white elephant)
Yama ( Lord of Death) drew out a baton from his baton and presented to her
Brahma presented a garland of rosary beads and his Kamandalu ( vessel for carrying sacred water)
Kaalan ( yama again ) presented a sword and shield.

Now, we come to the sculpture. Such a beautiful scupture, Durga is depicted with Eight hands, striking a very beautiful pose on her majestic lion.

Lets see if we can spot the above weapons in the arsenal.

The most striking ofcourse is her bow and arrow. so two hands of hers are busy with that. See the perfection in the way, her hands are sculpted – the one holding the bow, with the thumb running perpendicular to the floor along the bamboo. the other hand drawing the string back with force, the open shoulders.

Next obvious weapon is the Danda – the baton – presented by Lord of Death – Yama. Some doubts if it were a sword.

Lets see the sculpture in closeup. Its no ordinary stick, for it definitely has some sort of a handle, but its a rounded weapon. You can clearly see the baseball bat style construction and the rounded edge. if it were a broken off sword, it would have defn chipped or atleast the lion’s mane would have be obstructed by it. Since we can clearly see the designer curls of the lion’s mane and the rounded edge, we can safely confirm that this indeed is the gift of Yama.

Displaying the other hands and what they hold below. Try and see if you can match it to the list above

One obvious missing item is the Trident or trishul of Shiva. Maybe since the Goddess used up two of her hands on the bow and bow string, that was left out !!

But a truly amazing composition – just watch this beauty. The right leg of hers, since this is a relief panel, and to give that dimensional imaging, the master sculpture has sculpted the leg almost completely projecting from the panel.

Please do remember that this is not just panel, but is infact a rock cut cave, carved into live rock, a mountain side – and this panel froms one side of the internal wall ( the other side is the famous Anantha Sayana Panel).

Now you can truly enjoy the Pallava carftsmen’s divine art.

The vanishing wonders of Mogalrajapuram caves- Vijayawada – part 2

When Dhivakar Sir, gave me only a few photos of Mogalrajapuram caves, i was thirsting for more. So searched enough of the net, but couldn’t find any more resources on it. Finally in a desperate move, use google transliteration and typed `Mogalrajapuram’ in Telugu to try as a last ditch effort and…bingo

http://pratibimbamu.blogspot.com/

Immediately i wrote to the author, Sri. Narayanaswamy, who was kind enough to allow us permission to use his photographs. So we have Mogalrajapuram part 2 today.

The caves did throw up some interesting questions in the first post , but some more questions crop up now. Lets first see the photos.

Now, the door guardians ( yeah i love them, however, dilapidated they are )
are quite interesting. Do you notice the Horn like structure on the right guys crown. Hmm, well, thats stuff for an entirely new post.

Some more views of the delightful kudus.

Was this the inspiration behind Mahendra Pallava’s sculptural quest

Since the site is dedicated to sculpture and its easy to fall in love with Pallava sculpture, it was very difficult for me to do this post. Quite often we get so obsessed with our favorites to the point of becoming fanatics. I am one such proclaimed Pallava fanatic. Quite often Kathie would drag me back to ground zero with interesting questions and photos from the middle kingdom. One such fanatical quest was that of Mahendra Pallava and his sculptural quest. A King hitherto unparalleled in his pursuit for artistic excellence in my eyes. But a chance glance at a collection of photos of Dr. Mohammed Tajuddin KHAN of an impressive cave in Andra Pradesh – the Undavalli Caves (Guntur District about 6km south west of Vijayawada, 22km north west of Guntur City and about 280 km from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh – thanks wiki) propped up some interesting questions.

I tried to check with Sri Dhivakar, who had done much research on the early life for Mahendra Pallava for his book – vichitracithan. Two interesting informations came out of the interaction – one – these caves were excavated between the 4th and 6th C.E (The caves are associated with the Vishnukundina kings of 420 to 620 A.D), definitely predating Mahendra Pallava’s famous excavation in Mandagapattu and two – Mahendra spent a good part of his early life in and around these parts. ( Simha Vishnu had a Vishnukundin Wife !!)

Before we start inferring anything from above, lets compare the sculpture styles under question. without burdening you with two many, am just throwing in one door guardian from both sites and a pillar each.


The pillar design, fluting, styling – the stance of the door guardian, the flexing of his hips down to his mace, the way he places his hands on his hips – the the lion banner on the pillar.

On the other extreme side, we can argue as to if Mahendra was responsible for carving the Undavalli caves – but then the time frame sets us back by atleast 50 to 100 years.

One more clue – is again the main argument proposed for Mahendra as the originator of cave or rock cut architecture is the famous Mandagapattu inscription. Let us see it once more now.

I quote Dr Nagaswamy’s words below

http://www.tamilartsacademy.com/books/mamallai/new-light.xml

”
Let us study the inscription itself. What does the inscription say? It says that this temple, dedicated to Brahma, Vishnu and Siva was caused to be made by Vicitracitta, without the use of brick, mortar, wood or metal. It does not mention that this was being excavated for the first time in South India. Nor in any of his subsequent inscriptions Mahendra assumed a title, commemorating this great achievement of his life. He was certainly fond of titles and could have assumed a title like “the first excavator of cave” Adyaguhayatanakari or some such thing. We do not come across any such titles in his inscription.
None of the epigraphical records, both lithic and copper plates, which were issued after him, refer to Mahendra’s achievement in excavating caves for the first time.”

But whatever we infer from the above, one thing is for sure – this was the first excavation of Pallavas.

The theory is not without speculation – as door guardians could have been carved later ( especially the ones in Mandagapattu door guardians seem to be slightly advanced in styling when compared to its own pillar designs !!)

Keeping these aside, what we infer is a logical progression. Both the styles are dramatically similar and one definitely predates the other. So, was Undavallai the inspiration behind Mahendra Pallava’s sculptural quest, heralding a golden age in south Indian cave / temple / sculpture / architecture.

For those who are still not convinced about the remarkable similarity in styles, presenting to you more parallels from other Mahendra caves and Undavalli. Believe me, this is not any trick photography – just placing them side by side for you to make your judgements.

Now, do you agree?

Another cave which offers some clues is Bhairavakonda, which we will see shortly.

Makara Thoranas an interesting link between Pallavas and Cambodia

I had loaned a book on Funan last week and found a very interesting sculpture. It reminded me of something we saw earlier in Dhalavanur. As i scrambled for the closeups and compared the two, i was stumped. Such a remarkable likeness is hard to achieve by pure chance. Oh, sorry forgot to put the pictures, so that you can all see the same – these are Makhara Thoranas ( The Crocodile Arches). Initially they just looked like some decorative motif, but then slowly a pattern emerged.


Many thanks to Mr. Andy Brouwer for readily giving me the permission to use his amazing snaps .

www.andybrouwer.co.uk/blog/

Do you see the amazing similarity between these two sculptures. lets see them a bit closer

So, it got me thinking of why and how – an imaginary creature adorning an early Pallava cave in late 630 AD could find such a twin parallel in far off Cambodia – Sambor Prei Kuk. Was this just a decorative motiff or is there more into this. When i searched the scriptures, a few references popped up here and there. But mostly were passing references to decorative stuff.

For eg, this 12th Tirumurai

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1228&padhi=72&startLimit=1071&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He had makara-toranas, beautiful bunches of areca-nuts
And severed banana-trees, peerless streamers
And garlands arranged in beauteous rows
And thus had the whole city with its long streets
Beautified with auspicious decorations;
It looked as though, the flawless, ethereal city itself
Had come down to the earth.
Translation: T.N. Ramachandran

Similar references come in the Ramayana as well. But what in essence is this creature, its sure an auspicious sign – denoting the higher heavens – so whenever a mighty city or godly dwelling was implied, the sculptor threw in the makara – the design elements have evolved into similar structures in most later Chola temples.

We miss these beauties in many later temples as well – Take a look at this decorative hand rail in Darasuram.

And this amazing Gyana Saraswathi from Rajendra’s Gangaikondacholapuram ( thanks to Mohandass for the photos) – the last dnap indicates the two wonderful makaras where the arch starts.


This pursuit led me to seek the guidance of hereditary architect and master sculptor Mr. K.P. Umapathy Stapathi. He was kind enough to explain the nuances of the makara thorana, its design elements combining 6 different species into one and integrating all of them into one confluence of fluid art, the variety of creepers at the base complementing the delightful curves of the front piece. He was kind enough to send us this illustrated photo to identify them.

It will be interesting to compile and study similar thoranas from various places.

Shatrumalleswaraalayam – a splendid creation of Mahendra Pallava

Vilupuram Sengi Road. around 11.30 noon

Ragothaman: Hey, its getting really hot. we have been driving for almost an hour, how far did we come 30 kms
Chandru: Just under 30 kms, we need to turn right before that
Narayanaswamy: Oh, how far have we come as of now
Driver: 27 kms done sir
Satheesh: Hey, there is the ASI board, road to Pallava cave Dhalavanur
Vj: Atlast, we are there. Is it that hillock
Chandru: No, we need to go another 6 kms from the main road.
Venkatesh: ok, then it can’t be this chain of hills
Chandru: This cave is very easy to spot. You can see it from the road,but cant drive near. You got to park and walk for say 200 mtrs.

Venkatesh: There, there, can see it from here itself. What a wonderful location. Mahendra’s choice is indeed spell binding. amidst rolling green farms, the rock outcrop offers a spectacular setting.

Chandru: Park the vehicle, by the side of the road, we need to walk up from here.
Farmer: Hey, don’t walk on the field, walk on the raised boundaries. we have just sown.
Vj: sorry we didn’t know. Wow, you got a pump set going, the cool water is inviting…

Ashok: What a setting. Its more a giant boulder than a hill
Venkatesh: Super spot
Vj: Hi chandru sir, the cave’s got an iron gate and is locked.
Chandru: The guard must be around here somewhere.

Farmer: Hi, i have the keys. They gave it to me , i only take care. They dont pay me any Salary !! if we don’t lock it the spoilt brats from the city come and …

Vj: ok, ok, we understand. We are not like that. Chandru sir, what pathetic work, how could they put these door frames on these stone pillars. and the blue paint, what a disgrace. they guy couldn’t even be careful enough not to spill on the pillar. and that too right over the superb pillar carvings…!! senseless brain dead @@@@@@

Ashok: Hi vj, see up.what is that

Satheesh: Hey vj, see this beautiful set of Makara thoranas – facing each other. there are small ganas riding them as well

Vj: Hey that is a kapota – kind of decorative arch with a face just peeping out. Reminds me of a cave in the Ellora group. need to check. Yes, satheesh wonderful stone work. reminds me of a similar one from Cambodia. will check !!!

Ashok: the door guardians are splendid. Look at their relaxed poses. They are majestic

vj: yes, the clothing styles and the left hand side guardians mace are very similar to Mandagapattu. See there are another set of them inside guarding the main shrine as well.
satheesh: see the inside structure, very different
Venkatesh: see that large crack running right across !!
Ragothaman: as we enter we seem to be inside a hall and then turn left to see the main shrine. very different perspective

Vj: yes ragu, another set of mahendra pillars and two pillasters form a mini shrine inside the structure. The door guardians here are also in low relief, sculpted in profile, slightly turned in, classic pallava style. See the detailing on their dress and ornaments

Farmer: Can i show the camphor
All: Here we are all here, wonderful darshan of shiva
Vj: Satheesh, what is the name of the Lord.
Satheesh: Let me check in the book, Satrumalleshwaraaalayam
Vj: any inscriptions
Chandru: Yes, Pallava grantam of Mahendra again

Satheesh: Let me read

This rock cut cave shrine on top of the hillock called sathrumalleswaraalayam was excavated by the one who humbled many kings by the might of his army, the one titled narendra shatrumallan.

vj: Shatrumallan – lovely name. Ashok, see here, they have started putting floral designs on the pillars here as well. But the top is not fluted.

Venkatesh: Come lets go on to the top and see the Jaina beds.
Narayanswamy: Is it very steep
Vj: Not that steep, they have cut steps in the stone like a ladder. so its easier. Ashok, you come as well

Venktesh: Oh, what a view, what a location. Its breezy and cool depsite the sun at noon.

Ashok: must have brought our lunch from the car, we could have finished it here
Venkatesh: you are saying now, it would have been great
vj: From here you get an excellent view of all surrounding areas
Venkatesh: yep, but those coming up cant see, but the guys here can. Excellent location to hide and live in seclusion – foolproof safety precautions

But why did they have to hide and live in seclusion !!

Vj: This jaina bed is too comfortable, didn’t realise it will be so. My eyes are drooping.
Chandru: comes on guys, lets move on
The pump set – cool wash…hmm am hungry

Next on the agenda – Lakshithayanam, Mandagapattu Mahendra cave.

The first ever depiction of Nataraja in stone in South India – Seeyamangalam – Avanibaajana Pallaweshwaram

On the mahendra trail. ( some disjointed conversations – mostly as it is but some are imagination)

Saturday 8.45 AM. Somewhere in a dusty road from Dindivanam to Vanthavaasi.

Chandru : Is this the right way. Let me check, pull over please. Hey, is this the route to seeyamangalam
Villager: you took the wrong turn on the bridge
Driver: Oh, we will turn back

Venkatesh: hey, there is the Bridge. Go straight
Chandru: There there, you can see the ASI board.

Anonymous: Guys, can you pull over for a minute, need to relieve myself.
Gang: Me too, pull over. There by the shade of the big tree.

Ragothaman: are you guys done, we got to hurry. ( satheesh got a flight to catch)
Vj: Satheesh, can you pass me that packet of Grant sweets savories. Roasted masala peanuts, wow, send that to the front as well.

Narayanaswamy: small village coming up, lets check if we are on the right route
Chandru: Hello, is this the way to the cave temple.
Village lady: Take this path, turn right and then head straight. YOU DON’T HAVE TO ASK ANYONE !!!
Chandru: thanks, take that turn

Venkatesh: hey, there is a hillock
Gang: where? Where?
Satheesh: But the road is leading away from the hills !
Chandru: Yes, lets check again, pull over by that man. Hey, cave temple…
Villager: Oh, you passed it
Driver: But we came that way only.
Villager: you took wrong turn, keep to your right just after the village
Driver: ok, just see the back, am reversing. ( very small mud road for an Innova car)

Chandru: Take that exit.
Vijay: yeah yeah, that look like headed in the right direction

Chandru: Atlast we are there

Vj: But sir, we came to see Mahendra Pallava cave temple, the first every relief sculpture of dancing Shiva as Nataraja ! But this one is a full fledged structural temple with towers ( Gopurams and Vimaanams)

Chandru: The cave is the nucleus of the temple – its Mahendra’s and he named it Avanibaajana Palleswaram. Later kings built the structures around the main cave shrine.
Vj: oh, ok ok. Understood. But not a soul in sight….

Venkatesh: come come, lets go
Vj: Hi venkatesh, fancy hat a la indiana jones, after some treasure is it.
Venkatesh: No sir, this is my favorite hat, picked it on a trip to srilanka!!! Hey someone is coming towards us..

ASI staff: Hello
Chandru: Hello, morning
Vj: Hello, we want to go inside, we have come from very far!!!
ASI: sir, you can view everywhere, but the main shrine is locked. The key is not with me, its with the priest. You can peep through this key hole for a view.

Vj: hello, we have come from very far to see the main cave shrine only. We know Mr ########### and Mr. ###########, do you want me to call them over phone to give you instructions!
ASI: Sir, I will give you the priests handphone number Sir. You can try Sir. Sir, You are dropping all VIP names sir !! ( count the number of sirs now)
Vj: give the number, we are all very eager.

Tring tring: hello, we are at the temple. We are large group, can you come.

Vj: Guys, good news, says he will be here in 5 min, lets go around meantime and see the others.

Vj: Chandru sir, why did Mahendra Pallava choose such a god forsaken sorry desolate place for this excavation.
Chandru: good question vj, don’t have the right answer, but one common feature of all Mahendra cave sites are a small hillock near a water body. Maybe the serene atmosphere inspired him.
Vj: oh, where is the water body in this case
Chandru: there, you can see. Since its not rainy season, not much water. You climb that rock , you will get a better view
Vj: Hmm, whats that sir, a very lovely small shrine on top of that rock.


Chandru: It’s a later construction. Shrine of Lord Muruga. Care full while you climb!!
Vj: wow, rock cut steps ( after climbing half way only the steep nature of the climb dawned on me)

Ashok; Hey vj, I am also coming up
Chandru: in rainy season, this would be filled with water. Can you see that pillar like stone in the centre of the lake bed. It would look like a shiv linga standing on the water surface. Did you know that the main diety of this temple is called Thoonaandavar ( pillar god) – some works suggests that it could be this stone pillar that gave it its name !!!



Vj: Wow, what a sight. Careful guys, its slipper especially while you get down – don’t trust my knees, better to slide down – wearing jeans anyway. Don’t laugh guys, let me see your courage and style when you attempt to get down. Hmm.

Ragothaman: lets go around the main shrine. There are some culverts here,
Satheesh: Vj, come here, remember your post on the rock cutting techniques in mallai. See similar holes are found here.
Vj: wow, lets take a few photos. Wait, let me put something against it to give our readers a sense of its relative size.
Nothing handy, here let me put my inhaler !!

Chandru: Hey, here comes the priest. Lets go in

Goat Herd: Hello sirs, where are you from. Did you see the damage to the vimaana – the yaali on one side was struck by lightning. We are asking everyone to help to repair it, but no one is coming forward !!

Ashok: Oh, when did the lighting strike….

Priest: Here sir, let me open it

Chandru: See how the later Mandabams are plush against the rock surface.

Satheesh: Its pretty dark in here
Priest: Its much better now sir, earlier it used to pitch dark and lots of snakes as well. I used to let a mongoose inside first to check. They removed the outer roof and redid it. Now we get some light and air, but along with it dampness as well !!

Vj: Chandru sir, even this hall pillars are not Mahendra style ( what is mahendra style ….we will carry a separate series on that)
Chandru: Wait vj, the main cave is still further ahead.
Vj: hey, there, I can see a Mahendra pillar

ASI: sir, no photography
Vj: Hey, we wont take pictures of the main shrine. We want to take only the outer sculptures, pillars etc. please. We know Mr. ###########
ASI; hmmm

Satheesh: vj, come here. There are more sculptures here. Look on top, there is a Makara thorana. There is a Gana riding the mythical beast as well.

Vj: One minute, did you notice the right side door guardian’s head dress. He has horns but….( we will discuss this later as well)

Chandru: do you see the designs on the pillars.

Vj: wow, the majestic lions. They have started fluting the pillar capitals as well ( so, we there pillars without these earlier. To be discussed in subsequent posts )

Narayanswami: Guys, see these sculptures on the two sides
Vj: Satheesh, the book you borrowed from Sps sir, Dr Kalaikkovan’s Mahendra Kudavaraigal, can you check. Looks like two guys with fly wisks

Satheesh: These are listed as Amalaiyar
Vj: What is that !! Got to check. See those waiting ladies as well with flower baskets

Ragothaman: Chandru sir, there is an inscription on this pillar, but doesn’t look like tamil.
Chandru: Its Pallava Grantam. It’s Mahendra pallava’s inscription.

Vj: great, satheesh see if the reference is there in the book
Satheesh: Oh, yes, let me read it

This temple called avani baajana was raised by lalitanguran through his good deeds like ornaments in a jewel box.

Vj: great, 1300 year old verses singing the praise of Mahendra
Ragothaman: There are more inscriptions on this side of the pillar but in a different font
Chandru: They are tamil verses of later pallava kings – Danti varama and nandhi varma
Here see this pillaster to the right. Here is the famous dance pose – the first ever dancing pose of shiva ie shiva as Nataraja in stone in south india, on the same position of the left you can see shiva, Parvathi with nandhi. Can we request the priest to show camphor here
Ashok: Hang on, here I come as well

ALL QUIET….as we take in the spectacular sight


We will discuss each of these sculptures in depth in coming weeks as well as the other caves on the trail.

Picture courtesy: all friends on the tour, and Chandru sir/Swaminathan sir earlier – first tour. Special thanks to Sps sir, Chandru sir and Swaminathan sir for making this trail possible

Ragothaman, Satheesh,Venkatesh, Chandru sir, Ashok and myself
Ref: Sri K.R. Srinivasan – Cave temples of the Pallavas, Dr KKN’s Mahendra Kudavaraigal ( tamil)

The masterly art of the Pallava Sculptor

The core of this post is based on a interview that Satheesh conducted with Sri K.P.Umapathy Acharya – hereditary achitect and sculptor. I have supported it with pictures from Shriram,Gokul, graphic work by Ashok and closeups of the individual frames during my recent trip to mallai.

We would have passed this sculpture panel many times ( The earlier post)and each time a new awareness dawns on you. So too is this post

Lets first see the panel as a whole.


We have already seen a detailed post of this core theme,so will skip that part. Now, to add some highlights ( thanks to Ashok)


Can you now understand the crux of this post. – we are going to see how the Pallava sculpture has excelled in his portrayal of a multitude of hand and leg postures, am also trying to compare these with Angkorian ( cambodia – thanks to photos from Sri Gokul / sin – ardent cricket fan and best scorer in Singapore league) panel – to highlight why the Pallava sculptor is par excellence.

Inorder to better understand these, have taken individual exposures of the poses – so please take your time to see the indexed version and then proceed to see the individual items.

3884388838913903390639103908391239153918392039223924392739293932

Notice how each of the individual carvings are unique, ie not of the same size, yet every aspect of proportion is maintained for the individual sculpture. No two hands are the same, not only posture wise but also in dimensions.

At first glance we tend to miss out the significance of the last two photos.Well you might ask, why bring in the legs suddenly into the discussion. Let me throw in a few snaps of the Angkorian Apsara / dancers and see if you get a hint.

No, ok, now do you get it

See how the Pallava craftsmen has depicted the feet, especially of the person who is sculpted as facing into the wall. Simply mind blowing.

The depiction of the feet both facing to one side – would be akin to a beginner’s attempt at sketching someone in straight profile. You have difficulty in showing the depth in a one dimensional sketch. But a bas relief is almost a 3 dimensional medium ( well 2 1/2 – 3D would be a full sculpture like an idol or statue). But the Angorian style is more representative of a craftsmen moving from a uni dimensional sketch into sculpture, while the Pallava craftsmen centuries before had already mastered this.

Some more pictures to illustrate the intricacies of the panel for your viewing pleasure.