Panamalai lies 23 kilometers from

Gingee Gingee, also known as Senji or Jinji and originally called Singapuri, is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the ...

Viluppuram district Viluppuram, Villupuram or Vizhuppuram is one of the 38 districts that make up the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded on 30 September 1993, prior to which it was part of the Cuddalore district. Vizhuppuram district lies in the way of the ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The site is known as a location to various ancient structural temples built during the

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of South India, the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The ...

dynasty. One of them is the Talagirisvara Temple.

Talagirisvara Temple

Narasimhavarman II Narasimhavarman II, popularly known as Rajasimha and as Rajamalla, was a Pallava monarch who reigned from 695 CE to 728 CE. He is credited with the construction of the Shore Temple Complex, the Isvara and Mukunda Temples in Mamallapuram, the ...

, also known as Rajasimha or Rajamalla, is credited with constructing structural temples of

dynasty namely the

Shore Temple The Shore Temple (c. 725 AD) is a complex of temples and shrines that overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is located in Mahabalipuram, about south of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is a structural temple, built with blocks of gran ...

at Mamallapuram, Kailsanatha Temple and Talagirisvara temple at Panamalai. The temple is built on a small hillock overlooking the Panamalai lake. This 7th Century structure has a

Vimana Vimāna are mythological flying palaces or chariots described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics. The "Pushpaka Vimana" of Ravana (who took it from Kubera; Rama returned it to Kubera) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also menti ...

which resembles that of Kailasanatha temple of

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...

. The

garbhagriha A ''garbhagriha'' () is the innermost sanctuary of Hindu and Jain temples, often referred to as the "holy of holies" or " sanctum sanctorum". The term ''garbhagriha'' (literally, "womb chamber") comes from the Sanskrit words ''garbha'' for ...

houses a ''Dharalingam'' and as in Pallava temples of that time, there is a

Somaskanda Somaskanda () is a medieval form of Hindu iconography, a representation of Shiva with his consort Uma (Parvati), and their son Skanda (Murugan), depicted as a child. Description This family depiction of Shiva originated during the 6th-8th ce ...

panel on rear wall of the sanctum. There is an ''Ardhamandapam'' (half

Mandapam Mandapam is a panchayat town in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The famed Pamban Railway bridge and Vehicular bridge lie to the East of this Panchayat Town. Mandapam is Tamil Nadu’s largest refugee camp for Sri ...

). On the walls of the ''Ardhamandapam'' one can see panels of deities such as

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

with

Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...

and

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

with

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

on either side. The shrine faces east and the garbhagriha is surrounded on all the three sides by sub-shrines (Anga Kovil or Limb Shrines – which are attached to the main shrine). A few more sub-shrines and a ''Mahamandapam'' (a big Mandapam) have been added to the structure at much later period. The Vimana is three tiered and the top tier has been reconstructed. The pillars with squatting lions, a typical Pallava signature can also be found. The sub-shrine to the north, has a small section of mural painting which has survived over the years, bearing testimony to the Pallavas' mastery of the art.

Gallery

File:Talagirisvara temple at Panamalai..JPG, Panamalai temple stone carving explaining its history bilingually in English and Tamil File:Panamalai mural.JPG, The residual portion of the mural found in Panamalai, bears testimony to the Pallava's mastery of painting File:Panamali temple view.JPG, View of the temple as you approach it climbing the hillock Dear Panamalai. Panamalai is a village located in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu state.

References

Latitude and Longitude

Latitude 12.1010300 N Longitude 79.3823500 E Hindu temples in Viluppuram district Archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu {{Viluppuram-geo-stub