Art and architecture of Tamil nadu Online Test 7th Social Science Lesson 17 Questions in English

Dravidian architecture is of indigenous origin. It advanced over time by a process of evolution. The earliest examples of the Tamil Dravidian architectural tradition were the 7th century rock-cut shrines at Mahabalipuram.

In Tamil Nadu, the evolution of temple architecture took place in five stages: (1) The Pallava Epoch (A.D. 600 to 850); (2) Early Chola Epoch (A.D. 850 to 1100); (3) Later Chola Epoch (A.D. 1100 to 1350); (4) Vijayanagara/ Nayak Epoch (A.D. 1350 to 1600); and (5) Modern Epoch (After A.D. 1600).

The Pallava epoch witnessed a transition from rock-cut to free-standing temples. Rock-cut temples were initially built by carving a rock to the required design and then rocks were cut to build temples.

The Pallava king Mahendravarman was a pioneer in rock-cut architecture. Mandagapattu temple was the first rock-cut temple built by him. The rock-cut cave structure has two pillars in the front that hold it.

The Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram, also called the Seven Pagodas, was built by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II. It is the oldest structural temple in South India.

The structural temples were built using blocks of rock instead of a whole block as earlier. Narasimhavarman II, also known as Rajasimha, built the Kanchi Kailasanatha temple.

The Vaikuntha Perumal temple at Kanchipuram was built by Nandivarman II. Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram) is built of cut stones rather than carved out of caves. It has two shrines, one dedicated to Siva and the other to Vishnu.

The Tamil Dravida tradition is exemplified by rock-cut monuments such as Pancha Pandava Rathas, namely Draupadi ratha, Dharmaraja ratha, Bheema ratha, Arjuna ratha and Nagula- Sahadeva ratha.

The outer walls of the rathas, especially of Arjuna, Bhima and Dharmaraja, are decorated with niches and motifs.

The niches have the sculptures of gods, goddesses, monarchs and scenes from mythology. The Arjuna’s Penance, carved on the face of a granite boulder, is a magnificent relief, measuring approximately 100 ft long by 45 ft high.

The Mamallapuram monuments and temples, including the Shore Temple complex, were notified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.

Early Pandyas were the contemporaries of the Pallavas. Unlike the Pallavas, Pandyas installed deities in the sanctums in their cave temples. More than fifty cave temples have been found in different parts of the Pandyan Empire.

More than fifty cave temples have been found in different parts of the Pandyan Empire. The most important of them are found in Malaiyadikurichi, Anaimalai, Tiruparankundram and Trichirappali.

The caves were dedicated to Siva, Vishnu and Brahma. In the Siva temple of Pandyas, the linga is carved out of the mother rock. The figure of Nandhi is also carved out of the rock.

The back side walls are divided into four niches on which the bas- relief images of Siva, Vishnu, Durga, Ganapathy, Subramanya, Surya, Brahma and Saraswathi are carved out. The dwarapalas figure on either side of sanctum.

Rock-cut and structural temples are significant part of the Pandya architecture. The illustrious example for rock-cut style is unfinished Kazhugumalai Vettuvankoil temple. The Vettuvankoil, a monolithic temple at Kazhugumalai, is hewn out of a huge boulder on four sides. At the top of the temple, sculptures of Uma Maheswarar, Dakshinamoorthy, Vishnu and Brahma are found.

Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai and Nellaiappar Temple in Tirunelveli represent examples of Pandyas’ architectural style.

Tiruparankundram, Anaimalai and Kazhugumalai have the bas relief of many deities: Siva, Vishnu, Brahma, Parvathi, Subramanya, Ganapathi and Dakshinamoorthy. These are some remarkable images of the cave temples. Many early Pandya images unearthed from Madurai and its surrounding areas are now in Tirumalai Nayakkar museum at Madurai.

Caves at Sittanavasal, 15 kilometres away from Pudukkottai, and at Tirumalapuram in Sankarankovil taluk, Tirunelveli district, have outstanding early Pandya paintings.

Sittanavasal was a residential cave of the Jain monks. They painted the walls with fresco painting. Unfortunately, we have lost many of those paintings. Among the surviving ones, the lotus pond is notable for its excellent execution of colours and exposition of the scene.

Among the surviving ones, the lotus pond is notable for its excellent execution of colours and exposition of the scene. The image of lotus flowers, leaves spread all over the pond, animals, elephants, buffalos, swans and a man who plucks the flowers look brilliant.

The Sittanavasal paintings have similarities with the Ajantha paintings. Tirumalaipuram, from where we get early Pandya paintings, are in a damaged condition.

The Cholas came to limelight in A.D. 850 under Vijaylaya Chola and continued to govern the region for about four hundred years. For the Early Chola epoch, the temple at Dadapuram, near Tindivanam in TamilNadu, is worth mentioning.

The early Chola architecture followed the style of Sembian Mahadevi. Temples with the increased number of devakoshta (niche) figures can be classified as belonging to the Sembiyan style.

Tiruppurambiyam is an illustrious example of early temple that was re-fashioned in the days of Sembiyan Mahadevi.

The maturity attained by Chola architecture is reflected in the two magnificent temples of Thanjavur and GangaikondaCholapuram. The magnificent Thanjavur Big Temple dedicated to Siva, completed around A.D.1009, is a fitting memorial to the material achievements of the time of Rajaraja.

At the time the Big Temple of Thanjavur was constructed, it was a huge temple complex. The 216 feet vimana (structure over the garbhagriha) is notable as it is one among the tallest man-made shikaras of the world. Due to its massive height, the shikara is called the Dakshina Meru. The huge bull statue (Nandi) measures about 16 feet long and 13 feet height and is carved out of a single rock.

Gangaikonda Cholapuram served as the Chola capital for about 250 years, until the decline of the Cholas and the rise of the Pandyas. The Brihadeeshwara temple of Gangaikonda Cholapuram, built by Rajendra Chola, is undoubtedly as worthy a successor to the Brihadeeshwara temple of Thanjavur.

The height of the temple is 55 metres. The sanctum has two storeys as in the big temple at Thanjavur. The outer wall has many projections with niches and recesses on three sides. In the niches there are the images of Siva, Vishnu and other gods.

The outer wall has many projections with niches and recesses on three sides. In the niches there are the images of Siva, Vishnu and other gods. This temple complex has the shrines of Chandeeswarar, Ganesa and Mahishasura Mardhini.

Dharasuram, near Kumbakonam, is a Later Chola period temple, rich in architectural splendour, dedicated to Iravatheswara (Siva as god of lord Indira’s elephant).

Rajaraja II constructed this temple. This temple is another landmark of the Chola architecture. The Mahamandapam is an elaborate structure. The entire structure looks like a ratha because it has four wheels at the Mahamandapam.

The contribution of Later Pandyas to South Indian art was significant. A case in point is the cave temple at Pillayarpatti (near Karaikudi, TamilNadu) belonging to 13th century. This temple is important both for its sculptures and for an inscription.

A beautiful Ganesha is carved facing the entrance. The importance of the figure, referred to Desivinayaga in the cave inscription, is that there are two arms with the trunk turning to the right.

During the Vijayanagara epoch, a new form of construction emerged. It is the mandapam (pavilion) to where the gods are carried every year. Pillared outdoor mandapams are meant for public rituals with the ones in the east serving as the waiting room for devotees, which adorn the large temples.

These mandapams attract attention for its monolithic pillars. On these pillars are sculptured horses, lions and the gods.

The kalyana mandapam at Kanchipuram (Varadaraja Perumal temple) and at Vellore (Jalagandeshwar temple) are notable examples. The most celebrated of these mandapams in temple of Madurai is the Pudumandapam.

The main features of the Vijayanagar and Nayak architecture are decorated mandapas, ornamental pillars, life-size images, gopuras, prakaras, music pillars, floral works and stone windows during the 15th to 17th centuries. Tanks are attached to the temples. Gateways to temple are constructed from four directions with massive gopurams.

The practice of fitting the niches with sculptures continued during the Nayak period. There was an increased use of major sculpted figures (relief sculpture) as found at the Alakiya Nambi temple at Tirukkurungudi (Tirunelveli district) and the Gopalakrishna temple in the Ranganatha temple complex at Srirangam. The southern festival mandapam of Adinatha temple at Azhwar Tirunagari and the porch of the Nellaiyappar temple at Tirunelveli are other notable examples.

In TamilNadu, the image of deities attached to composite columns gradually freed themselves from the core column. The 1000-pillar mandapam of the Meenakshi- Sundareswarar temple, Pudumandapam at Madurai, Rathi Mandapam at Tirukkurungudi and Vanamamalai Temple at Nanguneri are illustrious examples for the mandapam architecture of this period.

The pillars of this period are more decorative than the previous period. Monolithic gigantic yazhi pillars, horse pillars with life-size portraits of mythological and royal family members, common folk, animals and floral works were made. Musical pillars were the peculiar feature of this time.

A sitting lion at the top of the pillars is a common feature in the mandapams. The windows are carved out on the walls of the sanctum and mandapams.

The Jalagandeshwara temple at Vellore, the temples at Thadikompu near Dindugal and Krishnapuram near Tirunelveli and the Subramanya shrine in the Big Temple Thanjavur are most remarkable edifices of Vijayanagar epoch.

Vijayanagar and Nayak paintings are seen at Varadharaja Perumal temple at Kanchipuram, Kudalazhagar Temple at Madurai and the temples of Srivilliputhur, Tiruvellarai, Azhaharkoil, Tiruvannamalai and Srirangam. The paintings mostly have the stories from Ramayana, palace scenes and mythological stories.

The Sethupathis, as the feudatories of Madurai Nayaks, ruled Ramanathapuram and contributed to the Ramanathaswamy temple architecture. In the temple of Rameswaram, the predominance of corridors is striking. It is claimed that this temple has the longest set of corridors in the world.

In the temple of Rameswaram, the predominance of corridors is striking. It is claimed that this temple has the longest set of corridors in the world. The temple has three sets of corridors. The outer set of the temple’s corridors has a height of almost 7 metres and stretches for about 120 metres in both the eastern and western directions. The corridors to the north and to the south, on the other hand, are about 195 metres in length. The outer corridor is also remarkable for the number of pillars that support it, which is over 1200 in number. Moreover, many of these pillars are decorated by ornate carvings. The innermost set of corridors is the oldest of the three.