Singaperumal Koil - Pataladri Narasimha Temple

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 (coordinates) is provided at the end of the article.

A magnificent temple of Lord Narasimha called Singaperumal Koil is located at the center of the town. It is also known as Pataladri Narasimha Temple. The ancient temple, built during the Pallava period, has architectural contributions from the Cholas and the Vijayanagara Kings. 

Legend

Brahmanda Purana records the legend associated with this site. Pleased with the penance by the sage Jabali, Narasimha appeared to him right after slaying the Asura, Hiranyakasipu. Then, he quenched his anger by dipping into the water of the holy tank. The color of water turned red, and hence the site got its name as Pataladri, meaning the red-colored hill in Sanskrit.

History

The earliest inscription of the temple is from Rajaraja Chola. However, the rock-cut cave shrine is much older. The cave temple belongs to the Pallava period. 

Dubreuil considered it to be a Pallava monument. Sivaramamurti assigned the temple to Mahendravarma Pallava's period. K R Srinivasan, who provided a detailed description of the shrine, assigned it to the period between Narasimhavarma Pallava and Paramesvaravarma Pallava. 

Based on the architectural merits and opinions of the scholars mentioned above, we can consider that the Pallavas built the original cave shrine in the 7th century CE. 

The cave temple was extended with mandapas by the Cholas. Later, many additions were made to the temple during the Vijayanagara period and even after that (19th and 20th centuries CE). 

None of the inscriptions talks about the temple construction. They all record various gifts granted for temple administration. 

The details about all the inscriptions can be seen below. 

Inscription # 1

Reference - A.R. No. 137 of 1956-7

Location - Top right pillar of the central facade of the rock-cut shrine

Period - 990 CE

King - Rajaraja Chola I

Language - Tamil

It records a gift of 26 sheep. It calls the deity as Narasinga Vinnagar Deva. The village is mentioned as Chenkundram in Chenkundra Nadu, which is a part of Kalattur Kottam. 

It must be noted that Chenkundram is the Tamil equivalent word for Pataladri. 

Inscription # 2

Reference - A.R. No. 139 of 1956-7

Location - Top left pillar of the central facade of the rock-cut shrine

Period - 993 CE

King - Rajaraja Chola I

Language - Tamil

It records the gift of land. It also mentions the village as Chenkundram. The deity is referred to as Narasinga Vinnagar Alvar.

Inscription # 3

Reference - A.R. No. 481 of 1919-20

Location - Rock behind Andal Shrine

Period - 993 CE

King - Rajaraja Chola I

Language - Tamil

This damaged, incomplete inscription records the gift made by an individual to the temple. The deity, village, and Geographical divisions are mentioned as seen in the previous inscriptions.

Inscription # 4

Reference - A.R. No. 138 of 1956-7

Location - The bottom right pillar of the central facade of the rock-cut shrine

Period - 11th century CE

King - Not known

Language - Tamil

It is a damaged inscription.

Cave Shrine

The original Pallava-era cave shrine is excavated on the eastern face of a low rock. It consists of a cell in the rear wall as moolasthana (sanctum) and an ardha mandapa (front-side hall); both are oblong. The floor of the cell is at a higher level, which can be reached through a flight of two oblong steps.

The facade of the ardha mandapa has two massive pillars in the center and two pilasters at the extreme corners. The pilasters are cubical. The pillars have a square top and bottom (called saduram) and an intervening octagonal section (kattu). As stated in the "History" section above, there are inscriptions found in the facade.

Singa Perumal

What a majestic look! Such a magnificent image! Literally, we cannot take off our eyes from him. Even attaining moksha (liberation) is of no use, if one does not get an opportunity to visit this sacred shrine.

Singa Perumal - the unmatched Pataladri Narasimha - the savior of the universe named Narasinga Vinnagara Deva, is seated in the cave shrine. He holds chakra (discus) and sankha (conch) in his upper arms. His lower right arm is in abhaya mudra (protection). His lower left arm is bent at the wrist and is placed beneath his hip (called Kati mudra). He has a third eye on his forehead, which is unusual. His right knee is bent, resting on the seat. His left leg is stretched forward and rests on a lotus at the base. It is also an unusual feature. Typically Narasimha has his right leg hanging down and left leg bent.

The gigantic form of Narasimha tricks our eyes to believe that it is a stone icon. But, it is actually a stucco image. 

There is no doubt that the Pallavas made the cave shrine. However, I doubt if Narasimha's icon is that old. I even wonder if the original structure was meant to be a Narasimha temple. Was this cell shrine used to install a later period Narasimha? 

The replica of the presiding deity as a tiny stone icon is also found in the sanctum. It is a current-era image.

The bronze icons of Narasimha in the standing form named Prahala Varada with his consorts Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi and a seated Narasimha are situated here.

Multi-layers of Mandapas

The original cave shrine was extended with a multitude of mandapas. The contributions were made right from the Chola period through the 20th century CE. 

There is a broad Maha mandapa in front of the cave shrine, possibly made by the Cholas. The entrance has stucco images of Dwarapalas (door guardians).

There is a Mukha mandapa, where the shrines of Ahobila Valli (the presiding Goddess) and Andal are situated. Both these shrines face east direction. They appear to have been built during the Vijayanagara period.

In front of Mukha mandapa, there is another mandapa. The south-facing shrine in this mandapa enshrines Ramanuja, Manavala Mamunigal, Periyalvar, Nammalvar, Tirumangai Alvar and Kulasekhara Alvar. Lakshmi Narasimha and Visvaksena are found along with the usual Garuda's shrine facing the sanctum. This mandapa has an opening in the south direction instead of the east. 

In front of the south entrance of the above-mentioned Mukha mandapa, a 16-pillared mandapa is found. It was built in 1916 CE.

Other Structures

As stated earlier, Maha mandapa does not have an entrance in the east direction. Instead, Swarga Vasal or Paramapada entrance is located here.

In front of Swarga Vasal, there is a tall flagstaff (dhwajastambha), offering platform (bali peetha) and a lamp post (deepa stambha). A four-pillared mandapa, studded with many interesting sculptures is also situated here.

A small stucco image of Narasimha, a replica of the presiding deity, is found near the flagstaff.

There is a mandapa named Dwajarokona Mandapa located in the south corner.

Prakara

The prakara (circumambulatory) around the temple is a hillock that can be traversed through a flight of several steps. The vimana above the sanctum, called Pranavakoti vimana is visible only from here. 

The holy tree of the site (sthala vruksha), Parijata, is located in this prakara. The stucco images of Lakshmi Narasimha and Tirupati Balaji are too found in the path. 

Tower

The east-facing five-tiered gopuram (tower) has the sculptures of Visvaksena and Nagaraja in the inner entrance. Visvaksena is found with an elephant head and he holds sankha and chakra.

A Vijayanagara period four-pillared mandapa is situated in front of the tower. The pillars are studded with many beautiful sculptures that depict various forms of Vishnu.

Agama

The temple follows the religious rules as per Vaikanasa Agama.

Prasad

Like Tiruvallikkeni Parthasarathy Temple, the prasada stall in this temple is also famous for its varieties of food and taste.

Ranganatha Temple

Those who come to Singaperumal Koil, miss visiting a nearby Temple. In the Sannadhi Street, which is the street right in front of the tower, there is a Jeeyar Ashrama. Further inside the ashrama complex, there is a small south-facing temple for Ranganatha, with a gopuram (tower).

Ranganatha is found reclining on Adi Sesha, which is a usual pose. Lakshmi is found standing near the feet of Ranganatha, which is unusual. Typically, Ranganatha would have Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi at his feet; Brahma would emerge out of his nabhi (umbilical cord). They are missing here.

Garuda and Hanuman facing the main shrine and a stone icon of Narasimha are also found in the temple complex.

Jeeyar Mutt and Ranganatha Temple

Bhakta Anjaneya

At the other end of Sannadhi Street, there is a shrine of Bhakta Anjaneya. Hanuman is found with his hands folded and faces the main temple. Although it is considered a separate temple nowadays, it is technically part of the Narasimha temple.

Suddha Pushkarani

Further away from Bhakta Anjaneya temple, a big holy tank named Suddha Pushkarani is located. 

Happy travelling.