The state is home to more than 40,000 temples, as recorded by the Tamil Nadu HR & CE Department. Among this wide landscape, many temples have failed to gain recognition for their history and architecture. But one particular temple went on to influence many Pallava temple constructions like Kailasanathar temple in the centuries that followed: Arulmigu Veerataneswarar Temple in Thiruvathigai.
Kumaragurubaran, a third-generation sthapati hailing from the town in Cuddalore district, recalls, “When I was conducting classes on Dravidian Temple Architecture at IIT Madras, on different features (of a temple), I used to say that one need not go to multiple places to witness all these features; all of these are available at one particular temple,” referring to the aforesaid temple.
At the ‘Arputhamaana Thiruvathigai Enum Thirupuravathikai’ event organised by Madhuradhwani, the sthapati spoke about the temple.
Kumaragurubaran sourced his information from the local legends, starting with the geography — a kondraivanam (a forest of golden shower trees), which was a place of worship that came up organically, and where Appar (Tirunavukkaracar) returned to reconvert to Shaivism from Jainism. Lores says that after hearing about Appar’s conversion, Mahendravarma Pallavan also converted to Shaivism, following which he transformed the kondraivanam into a permanent structure using bricks, granite, and limestone around 6th or 7th century. “Though this entire structure was started during Mahendravarma’s period, full-fledged efforts were put in during Mamalla aka Narasimhavarman I’s period. But after him, during Rajasimha aka Narasimhavarman II’s period, these artistic nuances were increased and is still regarded as Rajasimha’s temple,” he said.
The architecture of the temple includes a maada kuzhi (a niche built into the walls of the sanctum) around the karuvarai (main sanctum). “In the maada kuzhi, the deities are installed as a suthai (stucco) structure and these are not seen in any of the temples nearby,” he said, adding that they house both Shaivite and Vaishnavite deities. He also noted that the temple was the first to have an adhisthanam (foundation) nuilt without an upapeedam (structure built beneath the foundation to increase the height of the temple).
The temple also holds several artistic signatures of Rajasimha. The sthapati traced the evolution of yaazhi (mythical creature) sculptures, noting that their form became more clearly defined during his period. “Rajasimha’s art works have a signature, wherever there are his temples, plenty of lions have to be there, in any position,” he said.
Not only the exterior of the temple, there is something fascinating about the main sculpture of Tripurasamhara Moorthy, sculpted with suthai. “Because Thiruvathigai is the only place where one can behold Lord Shiva bearing the shankha (conch), chakra (discus), bow, arrow, sword, and shield — all simultaneously, prepared for the act of samhara (slaying),” he claims.
R Gopu, heritage speaker and history enthusiast, presented a comparative perspective, drawing on his personal observations of the temple and Kancheepuram Kailasanathar temple to highlight their similarities and differences. Identifying the kanda harmyam (segment of a temple attached to the main temple) structures as a major architectural similarity, Gopu explained, “Specifically, these nine kanda harmyam (in Kancheepuram) are situated directly against the outer wall of the temple’s inner sanctum (garbhagriha).”
While the kanda harmyam shrines at Kanchi are larger, with broader, mostly east-facing entrances — except three west-facing — and larger sculptures on the rear walls, those seven at Thiruvathigai have narrower entrances and smaller shrines. The deities depicted in the structures also differ.
Gopu also drew attention to the materials used in the sculptures, explaining, “All the sculptures in Kancheepuram are made of sandstone but right now for reconstruction suthai is mixed, but we can see the original colours in a few sculptures. Whereas all the sculptures in Thiruvathigai, except a few, are made of suthai.”
While the architectural and sculptural features discussed are but a drop in the ocean of Pallava Temples’ rich heritage, the temples continue to reveal stories through their stones, sculptures, and structures, reminding us that there is much more to discover, document, and preserve in Tamil Nadu’s vast temple landscape.