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Cave temple trip on 21st march 2009
PonniyinSelvan Varalaatru Peravai Group
Frankly it was the trip I was waiting for a long time, firstly for interacting with people associated with PSVP and to see some of the cave temples. After having virtual chats with Sivapathasekaran sir, Venkatesh sir, Vijay and other members, finally the day dawned on 21st march 2009. If I am not wrong, an initial plan of Mahabalipuram trip was changed to cave temples trip due to Vijay. Thanks to him, I got this oppurtunity. Ignoring the heavy police personnel on the GST road at kathipara junction on the occasion of President’s visit, I was waiting at Royal Meridien hotel gate by 6AM. Shortly, Mr. Sateesh Kumar and Vijay joined us at the same spot and the discussion went about sculptures and door guardians (Dwarapalagas) of temples with Vijay mentioning that he is meeting Sateesh for the first time. SPS sir came with the rest of the people (Chandru Sir, Venkatesh Sir, Narayanaswamy Sir, Ashok and his colleague) and we all set off on our trip with equal excitement, enthusiasm and team spirit. The self-introductions on the way were an icebreaker and more equally so was the breakfast stop after Chengalpat, with soft idlies brought by Venkatesh sir. (I enjoyed it since after a long time I had soft idlies, a rare thing to get in Delhi)
We initially had four cave temples planned namely Siyamangalam, Dalavanoor, Mandagapattu and Kurangilmuttam/Vallam. Fortunately, we had two books we had during our journey;
(a) “Cave Temples of the Pallavas” by K. R. Srinivasan, ASI publications, New Delhi (1993) and
(b) “Mahendrar Kudavarigal” by M. Nalini and R. Kalaikovan, Alamu Publications, Trichy (2004).
1. Avanibhaajana Pallaveshwaram – Siyamangalam
The first place we went was to the village called Siyamangalam near Vandavasi via Thesur by 10:30AM. The cave temple is called Avanibhajana Pallaveshwaram as mentioned in above books. Avani is one of the titles of Mahendravarman I (MV I) and the lord is called Stambheswarar. After missing the exact route we were finally able to locate the two gopurams from far away. Although a cave temple need not have a gopuram but this one had a gopuram on top of the rock in which the excavation had been done in MV I’s rule (610-640A.D). Although MV I wouldn’t have imagined a larger sanctum for this cave temple, the recent (with respect to MV I) additions done by later kings had made the larger enclosures.
Figure 1: Siyamangalam cave temple complex showing the present day gopuram in the foreground. The gopuram on the left side of the image is on top of the cave temple facing west. (Sorry that some of the group members are showing their backs 
)
At the time, the Garbha-Graham (GG) was locked and the ASI employee was requested by us to call the priest Shri. Rajashekar.
Meanwhile we had a look at the surroundings of the complex. An interesting point that was discussed on our way was that the cave temples always had a water body associated with it either facing the cave or adjacent to it. This one had an enormous lake facing the cave temple with a lone pillar of rock standing majestically in the middle. Chandru sir, explained that when the water body is full, the pillar resembles a Linga and this is being referred to as Stambheswarar. A recent (again with respect to MV I time) addition to the complex is the Murugan temple on top of a rock from where the entire area can be observed. Close by is an inscription we saw on a huge rock. From that point we had an anti-clockwise circumbulation and saw many rocks with grooves made for them to be cut at a later point of time as seen in Mahabalipuram. Interestingly, a villager came to us with the incident of lightning stuck Yali on top of the gopuram and was complaining that no one is coming forward to repair the structure. Shows the pitiable state of affairs!!!
Figure 2: Stambheswarar standing tall on the dried water body next to the cave temple.
Before the priest came, we were able to get into the complex thanks to the ASI employee and could peep into the GG through the keyhole. The main cave has two pillars and two pilasters (pillars joined with the walls of the cave) in the front and an identical set before entering the GG. The main attractions are the sculptures on the first set of pillars and pilasters. All descriptions, below are keeping with reference as the viewer standing in front of the GG. Curiously, only three sides (left, front and right) of the two pillars are carved leaving the back (facing the GG) blank. No reason was able to imagine by us.
On the pilaster, left of the GG, is a beautiful low bas-relief of Rishabhantara and on the pilaster right of GG, is the first ever impression of Nataraja made by the sculptor a 1400 years ago. Some features of this Nataraja are as follows:
1.The demon Apasmara/Muyalakan is absent.
2.The left hand is in dolahasta but on the left side itself rather than on the right as we usually imagine or seen.
3.Two ganas are seen. On the right side, the gana is playing the Mridangam, sitting on a kind of stool or “manai” and the one on the left is praying with both hands folded. (Could be counting the beats for rhythm)
4.The absence of Damaru replaced by a Mazhu/Axe on the upper left hand of Shiva.
5.The dynamics of the movement registered by flowing dreadlocks and waistcloth.
6.The expression on the face is just unmatched to other Nataraja sculptures.
Figure 3: The stunningly graceful dynamic Nataraja (Coutesy Mr. Ashok Krishnaswamy)
Apart from this, two majestic lions are seen welcoming the visitor on the first set of pillars. On top of the lions are rectangular hollow spaces, most probably for putting up a canopy in the front. On the sides are a unique design patterns not observed anywhere. The kapotas (top part of pillars connecting the roof) are beautifully carved resembling bamboos strung together. We were able to see the inscriptions on the pillars that we referred to the ASI publication and understood the significance.
Figure 4: Pillar showing the lion in the front with unique design pattern on the left, with the neatly carved kapota in top. Notice the rectangular hollow space on top of lion.
Figure 5: (a) Dwarapalaga on left side of GG with right hand in katakamukha hasta.
(b) Dwarapalaga on right side of GG with right hand in dolahasta.
The Dwarapalagas are typical pallava style, which was explained by Chandru sir as the symmetry will be absent. In other words, They will be similar but not identical in poses and other features. The symmetry of Dwarapalagas was only after Cholas. The Dwarapalaga on the left has two horn-like features and has left hand in Katakamukha mudra resting on the mace and right resting on the waist. Whereas the other one has no horn like features and has the right hand in dolahasta and left holding the mace.
As we were not allowed to take pictures of the main sanctum sanctorum, I do not have a single image of both the Dwarapalgas together. Shri. Rajashekar mentioned an interesting anecdote that 40 years ago mongooses were sent in the temple to check the presence of snakes before opening to the public, as it was under lock and key for longer periods of time.
We had finished this spot by 11AM and we started to our next stop, which was the village of Mandagapattu.
2. Lakshita-ayatanam – E. Mandagapattu
We were here by 12:15PM and on the way Chandru Sir and Vijay explained that this was the very first cave temple made by MV I. The inscription in the pilaster of the cave mentions that MV I made this without the use of metal, mortar, brick and wood for the trinity. Also, it is worth to mention that the first cave made was for the Trinity as indicated by the word Ayatanam and the word Lakshita is again another title of MV I. The cave faces north and a water body, which had dried up.
Figure 6: Lakshita-ayatanam in E. Mandagapattu showing two Dwarapalagas
As seen in Siyamangalam, there were a set of two pillars and two pilasters in the entrance and another set of pillars and pilasters in front of GG. There are no carvings on the pillars, except for the Dwarapalagars, which Chandru sir explained that they were later additions. However, they were still very stunningly majestic and quite stylish with big maces, making us wonder if huge maces could have been in vogue during the sculpting periods. The Dwarapalaga on the right has big snakes coiled up on the head and the maces. One striking similarity was that the pose of right side Dwarapalaga in Siyamangalam was seen in the Dwarapalaga here on the left with respect to the hands. The same applies to the one on right here in Mandagapattu, except for the katakamukha.
There are no idols but the GG has hollow spaces on the sides to top and bottom of the “rock-doors”. The inscription on pilaster of the right side Dwarapalaga was very faint that we were not able to see a clear picture, although scratch marks were seen, maybe done by someone to see the inscription more clearly. We finished up here by 12:40PM and we were on our way to the next stop, which was Dalavanoor.
3. Satrumalleshwaralayam – Dalavanoor
Once we reached here we could locate the cave temple from far away as it was picturesquely placed on the horizontal slip of a huge rock. Satrumalleshwara being a title of MV I again.
Figure 7: Satrumalleshwaralayam in Dalavanoor showing the approach with the cave temple on the right side. The jaina bed is located between the two rocks seen exactly on top of the cave.
The water body was not exactly facing the cave as can be seen in the above picture. But, maybe placed quite adjacent, on the left side (we didn’t explore that). This was a very unique cave from others that the GG is not facing the entrance as in the other two. As one enters the entrance the GG is on the left side with two pillars welcoming us, compelling the visitor to turn 90° left. The cave faces west but the GG faces north which has a Linga and a priest was present to show the camphor to us.
The entrance is very ornate then the other two due to presence of
1.Makaratoranas
2.Eight, 12,16,32 petal lotuses on the pillars
3.Five Kurus on the top of the makaratorana covering the entire entrance.
Figure 8: The entrance with the ornate Makaratorana and the five kurus on top. Notice the lotus motifs on the pillars.
The entire space in front of has been excavated without the support of pillars (cave like). The book says that due to heavy weight of the rocks on the top has lead to the development of a long crack running the entire length of the cave reaching out to the right side Dwarapalaga cutting his legs in the process.
The GG has two Dwarapalaga with no maces whereas only one Dwarapalaga (right side of entrance) has the mace. This was another difference we noticed among the three caves we visited.
Again with the help of the book we located the inscriptions on the pillars inside the cave and understood their meanings.
Figure 9: The crack inside the cave running diagonally. (Chandru sir explaining the inscriptions)
On the right hand side there was a path the lead to a flight of rock-cut stairs, which took us to a picturesque location on the top where we found a Jain bed.
This was a beautiful location with cool breeze wafting with shade and shelter of the rocks above us, which was a mesmerizing spot to relax and to have lunch, the latter one we missed doing that. We were discussing how a Jain could have escaped the royal anger by taking cover here without notice and observe movements for kilometers across.
Nevertheless, we had lunch under the cool tamarind trees on the way to Chennai back, and that was like an icing on the cake as the tamarind rice, curd rice combination with pakoda, mango pickle was relished with much delight.
Due to time constraint we couldn’t make it to Kurangilmuttam/Vallam. Venkatesh sir in the morning had showed us a place opposite Chengalpattu Lake called Pulippakkam where a Shiva temple still exists with RRC inscriptions. So, to compensate, we made a stop on our way back. This temple is assembled and structured model of temple. It has been maintained under the supervision of an individual who is the priest.
A flight of approximately 100 steps leads to a stunning view of Chengalpattu Lake and its surroundings. The temple has lot of inscriptions on the walls both in Tamil and Grantha script. We were able to locate the start of the inscription with “Sri Swasti Sri Tribuvana” but were confused with the location of RRC name among them. However, Venkatesh sir sent us the image he had took in his previous trip. This was the real “icing on the cake”!!!
Figure 10: Words “Rajarajdeva” highlighted. (Courtesy Venkatesh sir)
We came back to Chennai to take back the threads of day-to-day activities. Nevertheless, the later part of the day was spent in going back to the events of the day and reminiscing each moment by looking at the photos. This led me having dreams of kalvettu and cave temples in the night!!!
To conclude, some questions Vijay and others raised during the trip are open for discussions:
1.Why did MV I chose such locations to excavate his cave temples?
2.What is the association with the water body near to the cave temples?
(Left to Right: Ragothaman, Sateesh, Venkatesh sir, Chandru sir, Ashok and Vijay)
(Left to Right: Vijay, Ashok, Sateesh, Venkatesh sir, Narayanaswamy sir, Chandru sir)
About The Author:
Ragothaman M. Yennamalli is a research scholar, completed his Ph.D in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Apart from Scientific interests, he is a student of bharatanatyam in kalakshetra bani. He also paints occasionally in his free time. He is currently enjoying his stay at Chennai before his next venture at Iowa State University, Iowa. This is his first guest post in www.paintershub.com
