Kovalam Kailasanatha Temple

Chennaites are familiar with Kovalam on East Coast Road (ECR) en route Mamallapuram, as a fishing village and as a destination of a few luxurious resorts. But, not many of them might know about the ancient Shiva temple located here. Dedicated to Kailasanatha, this beautiful lesser-known shrine stands as a testimony to our rich heritage. Importantly, it is a rare temple to have a Shiva Linga with an inscription on its Avudai (base).

(Note: I have covered this site in my blog already about ten years ago).

As per the traditional belief, Kovalam was originally called Komalavallipuram, as it was the native of Komalavalli, the consort of Nitya Kalyana Perumal, the presiding deity of Tiruvidanthai, a popular neighboring locality. However, the site has the temple of Shiva and not Vishnu. 

The presiding deity Kailasanatha is in the form of a Shiva Linga. As stated earlier, a single-line inscription is found on the Avudai (base) of Linga. It reads "Sri Satheruman Murthiper" (refers to the deity). It is rare to find a Shiva Linga with an inscription on its base. Discovered in 2000 CE, this inscription dates back to the 8th or 9th century CE.

The 13th century period inscription near the icon of Dakshinamurti records the merchant's name who installed it. A few inscriptions on the base of the Maha mandapa are also from the same period. Except for these inscriptions, based on the style of mandapas and most of the other sculptures, the current structure could be dated to the Vijayanagara period (16th century CE).

Unlike the other ancient temples, it was not built with sturdy granite but with lime-sand bricks. Perhaps due to this reason, the structure is badly eroded.

The temple faces the south direction and has no tower at its entrance. The big and wide temple pond is situated on the other side of the main road, which remains another unknown spot.

About a two feet high Shiva Linga named Kailasanathar is the presiding deity. He is enshrined in the east-facing sanctum. 

The Goddess named Kamalavalli is enshrined in a south-facing shrine located within Maha mandapa. Her icon is also small and is about two feet high. 

The pillars of mandapa are studded with many sculptures. Ardha mandapa houses a few bronze icons such as Somanskanda and Ganesha.

In front of the east gate of maha mandapa, Nandi, bali peetha (offering platform) and dhwajastambha (flagstaff) are situated.

The south entrance of mandapa extends into a front-side mandapa having more than 20 pillars. All of them have interesting sculptures. A Ganapati sculpture is found in the prakara facing this mandapa.

Ganapati, Dakshinamurti, Vishnu, Brahma and Durga are the Koshta Murtis (niche icons). Ganapati alone appears to be an old sculpture. Vishnu looks beautiful.

The sub-shrines of Valanchuzhi Vinayaka and Subramanya flanked by his consorts are located in the prakara. The nearby mandapa has pillars studded with sculptures depicting a few Ramayana characters.

On the northeast corner of the temple, the 28-pillared mandapa is situated. The ancient stone sculptures of Vishnu, Maha Kali, Bhumi and Surya are installed there. They may not originally belong to the temple. They might have been unearthed near the temple. A newly made Shiva Linga and Iyappa too found under the shade of the same pavillion.

Happy travelling.