Indian Columbus

It is an unknown temple in a lesser-known hamlet called Kayarambedu near Guduvanchery in Tamil Nadu. Once a beautiful Gajaprshtha Vimana shrine, it is currently under renovation. Known as Vaakeeswarar Temple, it is said to have been built during Rajaraja Chola I's time. The inscriptions are white-washed and not readable. I could not access the reference of inscriptions of the site from any of the records. It is a small temple with an east-facing sanctum that enshrines Shiva Linga. The Goddess Karpagambal is also enshrined in a shrine that faces the same direction. Ganesha, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma and Durga are found as the Pancha Koshta Devas. The Mukha mandapa must have been built around 200-300 years ago. The stucco image of a local saint named Manicka Naicker is placed here. The sub-shrines in the prakara are built in the recent past. More structures are getting added as part of the renovation that is happening currently. A big tank with a mandapa in the middle (called Nee...

Singaperumal Koil  is a small town located between Chennai and Chenglepet. "Singa Perumal Koil" means "the temple of the Lion God" in Tamil. As the famed ancient temple of Narasimha is situated here, the village was named after the temple. It is pretty impossible to think of anyone from Chennai or Chenglepet not to have visited this popular Vaishnavite site. However, I always wonder how many of them realize that it is a Pallava-era cave temple . And, do they notice all the unusual features of the site? Do they get a holistic view? All these questions that I kept asking myself triggered me to revisit the site and write a very detailed article.  (Note: I wrote an article on this temple around ten years ago in my blog. I am covering the site again, intending to provide more detailed coverage.) Pranavakoti Vimana Introduction Singaperumal Koil  is situated at a distance of  52 km from Chennai, 22 km from Tambaram and 14 km from Chenglepet. Google Map location (coordinat...

Besides the famous Madampakkam located near Selaiyur, another lesser-known village known in the same name is situated near Guduvancheri, to the south of Chennai. A small temple of Lakshmi Narayana is the only attraction of this place. Seated with his left leg bent at knee and right leg placed in front, the beautiful Narayana encircles Lakshmi with his left arm. Sitting on the left thigh of her husband, the Goddess holds a lotus in her right arm and gracefully hangs her left arm down. Together, they are called Lakshmi Narayana. It is rare to find Vishnu in this posture as the presiding deity in the Tondai region. The presiding deity and the base of the sanctum are probably 3 or 4 centuries old. The superstructure of Vimana, the three-tiered Raja gopura at the entrance and the sub-shrines are constructed in 1995 CE. An ancient lamp post (deepastambha) is located outside, and it faces the temple. Ardha mandapa has the metal icons of Vishnu and his two consorts, Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi. On ...