Matangeswara Temple - A Hidden Gem from the Pallavas

When the south-based historians complain that the Pallavas were not given their due in the annals of history, I could only think of this beautiful but neglected Pallava period temple called Matangeswara. It is such an architectural marvel. But, it remains unknown and is being overlooked by the people of Kanchipuram, the ancient capital of the Pallavas. When its own people do not care to promote or recognize the heritage value of their own sites, how could we expect others to recognize us?

Matangeswara Temple is a hidden gem in Kanchipuram, gifted by the great Pallavas. The temple is located on Hospital Road near Vaikuntha Perumal Temple. However, it is not very easy to locate the site. From the road, you could find only an ASI board at the entrance of a narrow lane. There is no way anyone could guess that this short passage would lead to a temple with so much heritage value. When the Pallavas constructed this temple, I hope it was surrounded by trees.

On the contrary, it is now surrounded by multi-storied apartments in all directions. Also, the people use this temple as a kind of study room. They use this secluded site to prepare for their government competitive exams. Only they visit this temple rather than the regular devotees. Very rarely, you could find some history enthusiasts.

Hoping and wishing that those who have encroached on the surroundings of this temple would spare this temple at least, let me start with the description of the site.

As it is believed that Shiv Linga was installed by Matanga Rishi, the deity is named Matangeswara. This is one of the eight Pallava temples of Kanchi that remain today.

The west-facing temple has a sanctum and Mukha Mandap. The vimana is a three-tiered Vesara Vimana. As part of the vimana is of Nagara style, and the upper portion is of Vesara style, some Agama texts call this style Nagara Vesara Vimana. (Thanks to Sri. Sankara Narayanan, the Sanskrit professor and scholar, to provide this information).

The temple is situated on a raised platform. The sanctum enshrines the Pallava period Dhara Linga and the Somaskanda panel on the wall behind the Linga. Somaskanda is surrounded by the Devas on either side. (There are few other temples in this city where such figures are found on either side of Somaskanda. I personally think that the Devas are present on one side, and the group on the other side must be Asuras. There are differences in the facial features between both groups.)

There is no flag staff or bali peetha in this temple. Also, there is no gopura (tower) at the entrance. Nandi is found on the corner facing towards the sanctum. It's a new icon. The Ardha Mandapa, which is more like a narrow passage, has a small Nandi too.

The Mukha Mandapa is supported by four lion pillars and four lion pilasters. There are six panels in this mandapa.

On either side of the entrance, the Dwarapalas are found in two panels. Both images are large relief images. As they guard the entry in the west direction, they are called Durmukha and Pandura.

Dwarapala 1

The Dwarapala on the true right side of the sanctum has four arms. His lower left arm rests on the mace, whereas his lower right arm rests on his waist. A serpent is entwined in the mace. The large eyes, flying hair, and the canines make the face look ferocious. His upper right arm holds something which is eroded now. Probably it is a kettle drum. His upper left arm is raised above. (What do we call this mudra? Can some scholars throw light on this?)

Dwarapala 2

The Dwarapala on the true left side of the sanctum has four arms. His lower right arm rests on the mace, whereas his left arm holds something not clearly seen due to erosion. A serpent is entwined in the mace. He has a crescent moon on his head. His upper arms hold a few weapons, again, which are clearly visible. It is possible that he holds a trident in one of his arms.

Ravana Anugraha Murti

The first panel on the south-facing wall of the Mukha Mandapa has the sculpture of Ravana Anugraha Murti. Ravana, with ten heads and twenty arms, is found lifting Mount Kailash. Above the mountain, Shiva, along with his consort Uma is seen seated. A few frightened Ganas are found flying towards Ravan either out of fear or to attack him. This panel is largely eroded. Not all the arms and heads of Ravana are found. We could not appreciate the facial expressions of the deities or Ravana.

Gaja Samhara Murti

The second panel on the south-facing wall of the Mukha Mandapa has the sculpture of Gaja Samhara Murti. Shiva is found with six arms and dancing on the flayed elephant hide. Uma is found watching this.

Urdhava Tandava Murti

The panel on the north-facing wall of the Mukha Mandapa has the sculpture of Urdhava Tandava Murti. The dancing Shiva has eight arms and has his right leg raised above. Along with him, the dwarf icons of two males and a female are found. One of them is playing flute, whereas the other one is dancing. Both of them must be Ganas. The female figure, probably Kali, is also found dancing.

Gangadhara Murti

The other panel on the north-facing wall of the Mukha Mandapa has the sculpture of Gangadhara Murti. Shiva is found with four arms. He embraces Uma with his lower left arm, whereas he accepts the descending Ganga with his upper right arm, depicted in the female form. There is a small dog found on the upper right side of Shiva.

Sculptures on the outer walls

Many sculptures are on the sanctum's outer wall and Mukha Mandapa.

If we circumambulate the temple, the first sculpture on the north-facing wall is Kaalaari Murti (a form of Nata Murti). Shiva has eight arms and is in a dancing posture. His lower right arm is in Abhaya mudra. He is found dancing on Kala.

The next panel has Durga in the standing posture. Only two of her arms are visible now, and I assume her other two are eroded. Her left arm rests on her waist, whereas she holds something (not clear) in her right arm. (The sculpture is badly damaged.) Chatra (the auspicious umbrella) is seen above her head. The image of a lady attendant holding a sword is found on her right side. To her left side, a highly eroded icon of a male is found. I assume he is probably chopping off his own head.

The next sculpture depicts Shiva as Chandesa Anugraha Murti. This icon is also severely damaged.

The next panel is that of Gangadhara Murti. Shiva has four arms and embraces Uma on her shoulder with his lower left arm. Ganga, in the form of a female, is found descending towards him. This sculpture is similar to the other Gangadhara sculpture found inside the mandapa. Only the dog is missing.

The next icon is Shiva in yogic form. He is in a standing posture and holds Aksha Mala and Kamandalu. He is called as Yoga Murti.

The next panel also represents Yoga Murti again, almost with similar features. The only difference is that he has two attendants on either side and a torana above.

The following two sculptures represent Jalandhara Samhara Murti in two different postures. In one sculpture, he is in the standing posture, and he creates the discus with his leg. Two devotees are found on either side. In the other sculptures, Shiva is seated in yogic posture and the discus slaying Jalandhara is depicted in the lower portion of the panel.

To the right side of the devotees' sculpture, there are two Dwarapalas. But both of them are in different styles and sizes. Both face toward the direction of Jalandhara Samhara Murti. However, there are no corresponding images of the other set of Dwarapalas on the other side.

The north-facing outer wall has so many sculptures, as mentioned above. The east-facing outer wall has only a limited number of sculptures. In the middle, Lingodbhava is found. Two eroded figures are located on either side, probably Brahma and Vishnu. The further right side of Lingodbhava has a female deity. This image is also not clearly visible. It appears like Durga, something similar to what is found on the north-facing wall. There are no other icons located beyond Durga on the right side. However, on the left side of Lingodbhava, there is a female figure which resembles an attendant or Dwarapalika, and then two Dwarapalas. These Dwarapalas have different styles, and both face Lingodbhava. We can assume that the other two sets of corresponding Dwarapalas on the other side are completely destroyed.

The icons on the south-facing wall are entirely gone. We could not find even a trace of any of these icons.

Six sculptures of soldiers riding vyalas are found on the corners of these three outer walls.

History

The inscriptions that are found in the temple are partially destroyed. As the inscriptions appear to belong to Rajasimha Pallava's period (8th century CE), but the style of the architecture is of a later period, some scholars believe that the temple construction would have been started during the time of Rajasimha Pallava and got completed during the rule of Nandivarma Pallava II. As per Sri. K.R. Srinivasan, the koshta images were later added. (The information about the inscriptions was provided by Sri. Sankaranarayanan G, the Sanskrit Professor from Kanchipuram).

Happy travelling.