Tirukazhukundram and the History

                 Tirukazhukundram and the History 

Village Structure

Thirukkalukundram is located nine kalas southeast of Chengalpattu, forty-five kalas from Chennai city and six kalas from Mamallapuram, the Pallava port. Thirukkalukundram

is a holy place sung by four Saiva Kuravas. 

Historical sources say that this village has been a place of worship since the 3rd century AD. It is a small village surrounded by sedimentary rocks on all sides. It is located in a fertile plain. It is located at 80° 3' latitude and 12° 36' longitude.

Being very close to the world famous Mamallapuram, foreigners and tourists from the north keep coming to this temple. There are so many of them that it is said that our countrymen do not realize its glory as much as foreigners enjoy the beauty of this temple. Mamallapuram and Thirukkazhukundram are often referred to as 'twin towns' to the extent that they are often referred to as one. 

There are three temples here, one in the middle of the town, one in the middle of the hill, and one on top of the hill. The wide streets with chariots, high towers, and four-story streets increase the beauty of this town manifold. The town has four streets around the four towers on all four sides. 

There are houses in all parts of the town. There are many streets according to castes such as Agraharam, Kuyavar Street, and Vannar Street.

Town and name

Where the Vedas stand as a mountain fortress on all four sides, and eagles stand worshipping,

It is given as Thirukkhukundram.

It is also called Bakshitheertham.

The four sang and praised.

Other names: 

The Rudrakoti Kshetram is the place where the millions of Rudras who killed all the demons who caused trouble to the world came to get rid of their sins and worshipped the Lord. It is called Nandipuri because it was blessed by the Lord Nandi. 

It is called Indrapuri because Indra worshipped Shiva. It is called Narayanapuram because the Lord Bhrigu had committed the sin of killing his wife and the curse that the sage had imposed on him. 

It is called Brahmapuri because Brahma worshipped the Lord Brahma. It is called Dinakarapuri because the Sun was worshipped. It is called Muniganapuri by sages who were not clear after listening to the Vyakarnam composed by sage Panini to get clarity. 

It is also called Sivapuram, Kathalivanam, Kazhugashalam, Gangachalam, Uruthragiri, Macikadu, Veda Potrai, Sruthimalai, Tirumalai Vedanarayanapuram.

Thirukkazhukundram in History Thirukkazhukundram holds a special place in the history of Tamil Nadu. Inscriptions about this town are available from the 6th century AD. Man must have lived here since the Stone Age. Some clay dolls from the Neolithic Age have been found here. Pallava Period | From the 3rd to the 9th century AD, the prominent kings who ruled the Thondai region | Pallavas. 

The Pallavas ruled with Kanchi as their capital. Mamallapuram was the port. An inscription in Thirukkazhukundram mentions a Pallava king named Skanda Shishya. It is also mentioned that he donated to the temple. 

The temple built by Skanda Shishya is not in Kalakundram today. However, an inscription from the Adithya period explains that he donated to the temple and this village ruled by several rulers,Chola,Rashtrakuda,Kadavar,Sambuvarayar and Vijayanagara.

Temple Architecture

The Central Archaeological Survey of India has concluded that the later king Mahendravarman I built the monolithic hall in the middle of the hill. This simply built temple is similar to the temple of Mahendra in Trichy. However, there is no inscription of Mahendravarman in this monolithic hall. There is an inscription of Narasimhavarman next to him. His victory is mentioned in this inscription as 'Vadapi Konda Narasingha Bottarasar'.

Monolithic hall inscription:

Narasingha Bottarasar, who had built Kalathur for the feet of the Sri Thirukkalukundra, built it as a place of worship for the feet of the Sri Maha Vedanta.

It is worth mentioning that the inscriptions of his victory over Vadapi, one at Vadapi and the other here, are not found in Thirukazhukundram. 

The Vedagireesvara temple on the hill was built by the later Pallavas. K.R. Srinivasan believes that Parameswaravarman, who started building temples, built this temple. 

The temple on the hill has all the features of a temple. But S.R. Balasubramaniam says that it was Narasimhavarman Rajasimha II who built it using the Somaskandar sculpture from the temple. There is no epigraphic evidence to explain either of these views. However, it is clear that the later Pallavas also supported and praised this temple.

 Thirukkazhukundram Architecture The Thirukkazhukundram temple has a special place in the architecture. All kinds of building structures are found within the same temple. Each one illustrates a unique style. They are 1. Kudaivar temple 2. Thirukkattali 3. Built temples 4. Mandapams etc. .

The monolithic mandapam belongs to this type. The simple Kudaivar temple has two long rectangular halls without any carvings. The Bodhika is also shown with three columns and is connected to the Utthira. In the sanctum sanctorum, there is a Shivalinga and on both sides of it, there are equal sized columns in which Vishnu and Brahma are placed. 

Two Dvarapalaks are shown on the outside of the sanctum sanctorum. In the outer chamber, there are two deities in the north and south. The temple, which is built in a cave, has no roof. Surrounded by rocks, this temple is beautifully carved. This increases its beauty manifold. The Vedagriswarar temple on the hill is also called Thirukkaratali in the inscriptions. This too is entirely made of stones. The single stone mandapam of this temple may have been built during the Pallava period. The lion pillars and the naturally carved temple are very beautiful. 

Both these temples reflect the style of the Mamallapuram temples very well. The single stone mandapam is like the Pancha Pandava chariots of Mamallapuram. The Vedagriswarar temple was built by Rajasimha Pallava, who built the Kailasanathar temple in Kanchi.

The Adithyan temple at the foot of the hill is circular in shape and cannot be compared to the Bhuthavari shown here. All the Bhuthas are shown in the same size and are equally beautiful. The temple is in the shape of a sleeping elephant. The roof does not contain any Vimana or Stupa, and the images in the deva kottamas are so beautiful that they are said to be life-sized. This temple was built by Rajakesari Adithyan. The Bhaktavatsala temple and the Tripura Sundari Amman temple, which are located towards the east, were built in the 13th century by Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan. The later Chola style is clearly visible in these. Accordingly, the idol of Bhoga Sakthi Amman is placed in the sanctum. The later Vijayanagara kings and the Sambuvaraya kings have made many renovations to this temple. 

The temple was repaired during their time. In the 18th century, the front halls, the turtle hall, etc. were built. These are reminiscent of the horse hall sculptures in Sirangath. The four-legged hall and the sixteen-legged hall in front of the temple date back to the 20th century. 

The four-Pillared hall: It is located directly opposite the Rajagopuram. It has four-legged pillars. The pillars appear to be supported by gods. The pillars depict Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva as Chandrasekhara, Bhikshadanara, Nataraja, and Bhairava. Some have dancing women and some have Dvarapala figures. 

sixteen-pillared hall: It is located directly parallel to the four-pillared hall. This hall and the four-legged hall may have been built at the same time. The pillars of this mandapam have images of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, Murugan, Vinayaka etc. The temple canopy has 20th century paintings. There are paintings on all four sides of the temple. Sukhasana Murthy is shown on the east side, Gnana Dakshina Murthy on the west, Brahma on the north and Vishnu on the south.

Paintings

There are excellent paintings in the temple.

Near the eastern tower are excellent paintings.

In the Mahamandapam and Arthamandapam in front of the sanctum, there are 18th century paintings. There are beautiful paintings on the canopy of the western tower.

Both these paintings are currently being discovered and preserved. The paintings in the Mukhamandapam

have been discovered by Mr. Kasinathan, former Director of Archaeological Department and have written an article in the Sunday Standard.

There are beautiful 18th century paintings on the Mukhamandapam. There is a painting of Vinayaka seated on an elephant. Vinayaka is seated with a lute in his hand. Subramaniar is seen sitting on a peacock with Devasena nearby. A scene of Shiva burning the Mupuram as Tripuranthakara is shown. Nataraja is seen dancing on Apasmaran, the ignorance of the people.

On one side, Lord Shiva is shown walking. The painting of Vinayaka is on the pillar on the south side of the front hall. He has four hands. Among them are an angus, a basam, a writing pen, and a gourd. On the left, the Bhuthaganas carry pumpkins, fruits, and other things on their heads to offer to their Lord. Flowers and fruits are scattered on both sides. The Bhuthas are wearing many ornaments. They have garlands around their necks, a bracelet on their knees, bangles on their hands, and a medal on their chests. The hands of the two Bhuthas are shown together. The Bhutha on the right is blowing a conch. The flowers scattered here and there seem to be showering flowers on the Lord. On one side, a coconut tree is seen. The Bhuthas are wearing them. 

The Thodu is beautiful. Lord Shiva is shown as Tripuranthakar on the top. Parvati and Vishnu stand on the left, Nandi and Brahma are on the right. Vishnu has a conch shell and a wheel in his hand. Brahma is shown as four-faced and holds a kettle and angus in his hand. On the north pillar, Subramanya is with the Devasena. Murugan is sitting on a peacock. He has arrows and bows in his hands. In the other two hands, he holds a thunderbolt and a power. 

The Devasena has flowers in his hands. The paintings in the Mukhamandapa are also beautiful. But the paintings in this are not complete. The painting that started to depict the clay dance of the Lord was not completed. The painting on the north side depicts the dance of Shiva. The painting on the east side depicts the beautiful dance of the Goddess. 

This painting captures the artistic talent of the later Nayaka kings. Near the goddess, a group of demons and a female figure are seen dancing. They also dance to the tune of the goddess's dance. The first examples of paintings are on the southern pillar. There, Lord Jesus is shown walking. Vishnu is shown on the right and Brahma on the left. They all hold their usual weapons in their hands. Vishnu holds a conch and a wheel in his hand, while Brahma holds a garland and a kettle. The gods are seen playing the veena.

These paintings are all very beautiful. The paintings there reveal the king's artistic talent. 120 colors have been chosen very beautifully. Colors like black, yellow, light red or saffron, white have been used here. Many of the pearl jewelry is painted in white. The lower clothes are painted in yellow. Overall, this painting shows the style of the Vijayanagara kings. On one of the pillars of the hall where the paintings are painted, there is an inscription saying 'Thambi Ellappamudaliyar Seva' with the image of the king. Looking at the writing style and the artistic style, it seems that this hall was built in the 18th century. These paintings must have been painted at the same time. There are beautiful paintings on the canopy of the western tower. Those paintings were discovered only recently. These paintings have been neglected and have become dirty and their beauty has been greatly damaged.

This painting is about two hundred years old. But there is no evidence to indicate which king it was painted by. There is a figure of a king in the western tower. These paintings may have been painted during the reign of that king.

In the middle of that very canopy, there is a beautiful row of swans on all four sides. A white swan is on a blue background. The swans are beautifully shown walking together. Some swans are walking together. Some swans have a yali face and some swans have a peacock face. Some swans are beautifully shown dancing.

On the eastern side, there are figures of a king and a queen. The queen's silk dress is very beautifully shown. The queen's silk dress and the upper angavastra are very beautiful. The king is wearing a tiruniru on his forehead. The king and the queen are wearing very beautiful crowns. Two ministers are standing nearby. They have the Vaishnava symbol

121 Thirumannam and Nama on their foreheads. The ministers

are wearing a quarter-length dhoti with a small piece of cloth in between. All of them are shown as if they are enjoying the sight of the Vedic God on the mountain.

The scene of eagles coming and eating food on the mountain is depicted. The scene of the king feeding the eagles and the king giving the king a paritham is also depicted very beautifully. The eagles are depicted in white and the king's clothes in a light red color. The wedding of Meenakshi is depicted on the south side. Shiva is on the east side and Uma is on the west side. The royal foot is planted in the middle. 

Brahma is nearby and Vishnu is on the other side. Three crore gods are shown watching and worshiping this wedding. Kinnaras and gods are shown flying above worshiping the Lord. Nearby are Vishnu, Hariharan, and the four-faced ones. The Ashtadis are shown with the Balas in their hands in homage. 

The four-faced ones are shown in white, Vishnu in blue, and Jesus in a thin red color. This painting is painted in a thin saffron color on a white background. The painting also includes paintings of Narada playing the thumpura and some gods. On the western side, a painting of Rati and Cupid arguing is drawn. 

Apart from that, there is a group of animals in the painting. There are goats, cows, scorpions, etc. There is a painting of an elephant and a peacock roaming in a natural setting. On the northern side, there is an image of Kajalakshmi. On both sides, there is a painting of elephants pouring water on Lakshmi's head. Nearby is a five-headed Maheshwaran with ten arms. Kajalakshmi is seated on a lotus. Kajalakshmi is wearing a white dress. 

The lotus is also white. The colours used most in this painting are saffron, white, blue etc. 122 Which period does the above painting belong to? which period dont know this.

Conclusion

 Tirukazhukundram a small town which is situated near Mamallapuram. it has many historical vestiges.