The Panamudishwarar temple is one of the lesser-known Siva temples of Kanchipuram, although it is an ancient one. The main entrance is on the east side with a small three-storey gopuram in front. The entrance to the main sanctum is through a doorway on the south side flanked by Ganesha and Subramanya which leads to a mandapa with pillars from the Chola times.
Here is a utsava-murti of Nataraja with Sivakami (Parvati). In the central sanctum is the Siva Linga called Panamudishwara facing east. On the outer wall of this shrine are niches (devakoshtas) for Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma and Durga. Though this is an ancient temple as evidenced from the architecture, sculptures and inscriptions, it is indeed a pity that it has been much modernised. Other deities worshipped in this temple are Surya, Ganesha worshipped as Varasiddhi Vinayaka, a Linga called Siddhishwara, a large sanctum for Subramanya with Valli and Devasena, Bhairava, Navagraha, Vishnu and Shanishwara.
The outer walls of the front mandapa are etched with inscriptions. The earliest of these stone epigraphs is dated 956 A.D. and belongs to the time of Prince Parthivendravarman who has been identified by historians with the Chola prince Aditya Chola, son of Parantaka I and elder brother of the illustrious RajarajaChola I. It records the gift of gold. The next one is dated 968 A.D. and is of the time of the same prince. It records a gift of fifty kalanju (a standard weight) of gold by a Chola queen named Danmaponnar alias Trailokya Mahadeviyar.
An inscription of Uttama Chola dated 986 A.D. records the construction of a tank in the premises of the temple. The last Chola record is of the glorious reign of Rajendra Chola I and is dated 1022 A.D. It is interesting because it mentions that a gift of land for offerings and worship to the temple of Thirupadamadam Udaiyar and records that on a particular day when the king was in his palace in Pazhaiyarai (situated near Kumbakonam and a secondary capital of the Cholas) he enquired into the accounts of several temples in the outlying districts, settled various issues connected with their income, fixed the expenditure and entrusted the proper management of the affairs of the temple, after its revision, to certain local communities composed of respectable men.
Chithra Madhavan
cityexpresschn@gmail.com
The writer is a historian who focuses on temple architecture