CHENNAI: Pullamangai, an ancient village, is home to a Siva temple dedicated to Brahmapurishwara. It is one of the 275 Padal Petra Sthalams or places sacred to Siva which have been praised in the Tamil verses of the Nayanmars (important devotees of Siva). The famous Nayanar, Thirugnanasambandar of the 7th century A. has sung in praise of this deity.
This temple must have initially been a brick structure and later rebuilt of stone in the time of the early Cholas, possibly in the reign of Parantaka Chola I (c.907-955 AD). The original name of the deity was Thiru Alandurai Mahadevar. Goddess Parvati is worshipped as Alliyankothai and Soundara Nayaki. The main sanctum and the mandapa in this small temple belong to the early Chola era.
The outer walls of the central shrine have niches (devakoshta) which contain beautiful images of Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Lingodhbhava, Brahma and Durga. Around the image of Ganesha are many small sculptures, including one of a Siva gana (divine follower of Siva) singing and playing on a musical instrument. Above Ganesha is a small carving of Siva as Chandesha Anugrahamurti (blessing devotee Chandesa).
A special feature is the series of miniature sculptures which are seen near the base below the devakoshtas. They include many scenes from the Ramayana such as Rama killing demons in the forest as Sita and Lakshmana look on; Bharata with an entourage going to meet Rama as he returns after fourteen years and many more.
Superb miniatures of dancers, musicians, manifestations of Siva like Nataraja, Bhikshatanamurti and Gajasamharamurti as well as incarnations of Vishnu such as Bhu Varaha and Trivikrama are chiselled here. Among the many inscriptions, one possibly of the reign of Parantaka I, mentions that the village assembly met in the mandapa of this temple while another mentions the donation of land by a chieftain for conducting the morning puja of the deity. Many other Chola epigraphs are also here.
Know your city
Pullamangai, close to Pasupati Kovil is about 7 km from Thanjavur
Coordinates: 10.53o N, 79.10o E
Original name
The deity was once worshipped as Thiru Alandurai Mahadevar
Miniature sculptures
A highlight of this temple are the miniature carvings
Chithra Madhavan cityexpresschn@gmail.com
The writer is a historian who focuses on temple architecture