Trilokyanatha Temple
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Trilokyanatha Temple, also called Thirupparuthikundram Jain temple or Jeenaswamy Trilokyanathar temple, is an 8th-century
Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major Jain schools and branches, schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvetāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic pract ...
Jain temple in Thiruparthikundram, in northeast
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 ...
in
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. The suburb and the area around this temple is also called Jain Kanchi. The stone temple is dedicated to the Jain Tirthankaras, but is notable for integrating Hindu deities with Jain deities within the premises of the temple, particularly as Ksetrapalas. Constructed in Dravidian architecture, the temple was built during the reign of
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 ...
of 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. The temple was expanded by the Jain community with financial support of
Medieval Cholas The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...
, later Pallavas and
Vijayanagar The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belonging to the ...
kings. The temple is administered by Department of Archaeology of the
Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...
as a protected monument, while it is maintained by hereditary trustees.


History

Pallavas The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The dynasty ros ...
, the rulers of the region embraced
Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
during their early years. As per local legend, the temple was constructed by the Pallava disciple of the sages Vamana and Mallisena. There are other legends which attribute the construction of the temple by
Simhavishnu Simhavishnu ( IAST: Siṃhaviṣṇu) also known as Avanisimha son of Simhavarman III and one of the Pallava kings of India, was responsible for the revival of the Pallavan dynasty. He was the first Pallava monarch whose domain extended beyond ...
, the first Pallava king during the last decade of 6th century. The temple is believed to have been built during 8th century around 800 AD during the reign of
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 ...
kings. It has inscriptions from Pallava king,
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 ...
(700-728 CE) and the following
Medieval Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...
kings
Rajendra Chola I Rajendra I (26 July 971 – 1044), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola Emperor who reigned from 1014 to 1044. He was born in Thanjavur to Rajaraja I. His queen was Vanavan Mahadevi and he assumed royal power as ...
(1054-63 CE),
Kulothunga Chola I Kulottunga Chola I ('; Middle Tamil: Kulōttuṅka Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Kulottuṅgā Cōḷa; 1025–1122) also spelt Kulothunga (), born Rajendra Chalukya ( Telugu: Rājēndra Cāḷukyuḍu), was a Chola Emperor who reigned fro ...
(1070-1120 CE) and
Vikrama Chola Vikrama Chola, known as Kō Parakēsari Varman, was a 12th-century ruler (''r. c''. 1118–1135 CE''The Cōḷas.'' 62-63.) of the Chola Empire in southern India. He succeeded his father Kulothunga I (''r. c.'' 1070–1120 CE) to the throne.''The ...
(1118-35 CE), and the Kanarese inscriptions of
Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529 and the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, he presided over t ...
(1509-29 CE). The Chola and Vijayanagar inscriptions indicate large endowments to the temple. The temple has many old paintings on the walls. Krishnadevaraya helped repaint the 13th century paintings during the 15th-16th centuries. The temple is maintained by Tamil Nadu archaeological department. The temple tower is believed to have been constructed by Sage Pushpasena Vamanarya during 1199. The walls of the temple are believed to have been constructed by Azhagiya Pallavan during the 13th century. There is a musical hall in the temple (called Sangeetha Mandapa) built by Irugappa, the minister of Vijayanagara king during 1387.


Architecture

The temple is built in
Dravidian architecture Dravidian architecture, or the Southern Indian temple style, is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged from Southern India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. In contrast with North Indian temple styl ...
with a three-tiered
gopuram A ''gopuram'' or ''gopura'' ( Tamil: கோபுரம், Telugu: గోపురం, Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of th ...
(gateway tower). There are three parallel shrines in the temple with the image of
Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...
occupying the centre. The image of Lokanathar, the 24th
Tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...
is located on the Northern side, while
Neminatha Neminātha (Devanagari: नेमिनाथ) (Sanskrit: नेमिनाथः), also known as Nemi and Ariṣṭanemi (Devanagari: अरिष्टनेमि), is the twenty-second tirthankara of Jainism in the present age (). Nemina ...
housed in the Southern side. All the three sanctums are circular in shape housing the bronze images. The sanctum of Mahavira accommodates Dharmadevi and a Tirthankara on either of his sides. There are painted pillars in the hall leading to the sanctum. As in other South Indian Hindu temples, there is a flag post (called '' Dwajasthambam'') in between and axial to the entrance and the sanctum. The temple has a large number of paintings on the ceilings that are captioned in Tamil-Grantha script. It is believed that Jain scriptures have the life story of
Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
assimilated and most of the paintings depict the life story of Krishna. An Adinatha subshrine is one of its kind found in this temple. The structure of the temple has undergone several changes over the centuries, but the image of Adinatha remains the same from the 16th century.


Other temples

The Chandraprabha temple is located near the Trilokyanatha Temple. The temple was constructed by
Nandivarman II Nandivarman II (718 CE – 796 CE) was a Pallava monarch who reigned in southern India. Sen states Nandivarman reigned from 731 CE to 796 CE and built the Vaikuntha-Perumal Temple. He was born in the country of Champa (present-day Vietnam), ...
(730 to 796 CE) of the
Pallava dynasty The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The dynasty ros ...
, Both Jain temples in the precinct the region is referred as Jaina Kanchi, along with the other two parts of the town being named Shiva Kanchi and Vishnu Kanchi.


Culture

Trilokyanatha Temple was originally under the control of traditional trustees for 600 years till 1991. From then, the temple is maintained and administered by Department of Archaeology of the
Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...
as a protected monument.
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 ...
was once seat of Jainism and a famous centre of learning. As per tradition, the place where the temple is located is called ''Parutti'' meaning cotton. The tradition continues in modern times as Kanchipuram is a famous centre of hand-woven silk sarees. The Jain ascetics in the region enjoyed royal patronage and propagated
Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major Jain schools and branches, schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvetāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic pract ...
sect of Jainism.


See also

* List of temples in Kanchipuram *
Jainism in Tamil Nadu Jainism has an extensive history in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, although practiced by a minority of Tamils in contemporary times. According to the 2011 India Census, Jains represent 0.12% of the total population of Tamil Nadu, and are of ...


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Web

* * * {{Jainism topics Jain temples in Tamil Nadu Archaeological sites in Tamil Nadu 8th-century Jain temples