Sri Chandrasekaraswami Temple History - Part VIII

SRI CHANDRASEKARASWAMI AND MRIGADHARAMBIGAI -- Tiruchendurai
(photo courtesy – V.V. Sriram)

You enter the ardha mandapam, housing some of the vahanams , and superb bronze idols of ‘Nataraja’ and ‘Somaskanda’ – stand in the inner hall, before the sanctum sanctorum to have a darshan of Sri Chandrasekara…after that you proceed to the Ambal Sannadhi for a darshan – then enter the inner prakara where in the corner is located the ‘madappalli’ and by its side the temple well. Going through the Prakara, on the southwest corner was a dilapidated mandapa and an idol, which we were given to understand was once the ‘Kasi Viswanatha’ temple. Exactly behind the sanctum sanctorum, on the inner prakara was the ‘Subrahmanyaswami’ sannidhi – and in the northwest corner the stood the sthalavriksha, The Pala Tree, and on the northern wall the ‘Chandikeswara’ temple.


Mahesh, at my request, prepared a sketch of the temple as it stands today duly marking the various locations And I find that there has not been any major change excepting some minor shifting of the idols. For instance, the Gajalakshmi idol has been relocated, and in its place Dandapani has arrived. Nirruthi Vinayaka has an abode in southwestern corner, behind the renovated Kasi Viswanatha temple. Was the Nirruthi Vinayaka there earlier or is it a new construction? A vilvam tree keeps company with the sthala vriksha, which now has a small structure and a nandi before it. The entrance to the main temple has not seen much change, excepting it has a small portal on top of it. In the outer prakara, where there is a mandap – he calls it Nataraja Mandapa, but in my days we used to call it Jambunathaswami Mandapa.. Please see the following sketch of Mahesh.

(Click on the image to enlarge)



According to K.V. Soundararajan (former Joint Director General of Archaeology) The Chandrasekaraswami Temple at Tiruchendurai is related, in style, to the Moovarkoil at Kodumbalur, and the Sundareswararkoil at Tirukkattalai.. The Moovarkoil was built by Bhuti Vikramakesari alias Maravan Pudi, father of Pudi Aditta Pidariar (who built the Tiruchendurai temple) – Michael Meister, editing contributions of KVS, in the Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture says:

A building that still has some of the Moovarkoil look is the Candrasekhara temple at Tiruccendurai. Founded by Maravan Pudi’s daughter, Pudi Aditta Pidari, sometime before the 23rd year of Rajakesarivarma (Aditya I) A.D.894, it represents one more royal foundation of the Irrukuvel House. In size it is slightly smaller than the Moovarkoil buildings, being 21 ft. in diameter.

The temple has, as at the Moovarkoil, a Padmapushkala type of adhishtanam, the portion from the padma downward is presently buried in silt. The wall is relieved by Brahmakanta pilasters with the usual decorative carving. There are three devakoshta niches, one on each bhadra. The back niche, which may once have harboured Vishnu or perhaps Ardhanari, is now empty. Images of Vrsabhantika Siva (south) and Brahma (north) are still in position. The toranas of the Devakoshtas are enriched with figures and pearl festoons, the latter reminiscent of the Kilaiyur temples of the Paluvettaraiyar chiefs. The bhutamala shows a medley of figures – gajas, vyalas, hamsas, cakravakas, nagas, kapis and the like) together with the usual bhutas.

In the superstructure, the tall sadvarga khandaharmyas in the bhadras of the parapet of the first thala somewhat recall the central Tirubhutisvara shrine in the Moovarkoil complex. The kutas and netrakoshtas (ksudranasikas) in the hara portions bear seated figures of amaras, etc. and the images on the grhapindi walls are standing figures in varied postures. The pairs of apsaras figures which appear in the griva may have been put there later. The grivadevatas include Umasahita (east) Dakshinamurti (south), Vishnu (west) and Brahma (north).

The ardhamandapa has no devakoshtas; its entrance is flanked by split pilasters and dvarapalas with an elaborate and ornamented hairdo. Four free-standing pillars of the Misraka class occupy the nave. ***

I am amazed that so many scholars had visited our Temple in the past and made these valuable observations. There may be some more contributions, which I am not aware of, but endeavouring to find. Every visitor to the temple should now look for the images and inscriptions, and make efforts to protect and preserve them. That is the least we could do now.

- to be continued

- Sethuraman