Indian Columbus

This temple is located about 5 km from Manimangalam, in a village named Pushpagiri, besides a factory in a secluded place. An ancient Shiva Linga named Siddhapureeswarar is the presiding deity. The highlight is the compact panel of the Pallava-era Gaja Lakshmi. Gajalakshmi in this iconography is not usually found in and around Chennai. She is seen seated on a throne. She has just two arms and holds lotus in both arms. Two elephants flank her on both sides. She is adorned with the typical long Pallava-style crown. Shiva Linga and Lakshmi were kept in the open space for a long. In the recent past, they have got a shelter under an asbestos sheet. Also, there are a few new additions, such as Ganapati and Subramanya. Happy travelling.

When I visited Manimangalam five years ago (in 2016), I accidentally stumbled upon an ancient sculpture of Jyestha Devi lying in the middle of a field. I wrote about this in my blog. I had titled it "The Neglected Jyestha Devi of Manimangalam". However, the title is not relevant anymore. She has got a shelter now (though not a structural temple but an asbestos sheet). She even got a new name. We all know her as Jyestha, Moo Devi, Thavvai and Mooththa Devi. But the villagers have innovatively come up with a new name, "Ratnamala".   Based on the iconography, I feel that this sculpture of Mooththa Devi may belong to the 9th century CE (Pallava period). She is seated on a throne and has two arms. She holds lily in her right arm. Her left arms rests on her hip. She is depicted with thick thighs, flabby belly and large breasts. A tall conical crown adorns her head. On her left, Jyestha is flanked by her daughter Manti. Sukanya and Agnimata are her other names. She is styl...

Manimangalam, the heritage-rice southern suburb of Chennai, has two ancient Shiva temples, which are pretty popular. They are Kailasanathar and Dharmesvarar temples. Not many, including the locals of Manimangalam, know this ancient Shiva Linga housed under the asbestos sheet. This small make-shift temple is located in a small unknown lane located between the two famous Shiva temples. The lane leads to a village channel, and on the banks, this Shiva Linga named Vaiyaleeswarar is enshrined. I think that the sculpture can be dated to the later Chola period. An old sculpture of Nandi in the damaged form is placed nearby. Both these sculptures were unearthed on this site a few years ago.  Happy travelling.

In Manimangalam, an uprooted tree during the 2015 Vardah storm led to unearthing and discovering the ancient sculpture of Kottravai (also known as Vishnu Durga and Mahisasuramardini).  The majestic Kottravai, standing atop the buffalo-faced Mahisasura, has eight arms. She holds conch and discus in her upper arms. Her vahana (mount) deer is found on her right side, and a parrot is found on her left side. Two devotees are there near her feet. One of them is found worshiping with his hands folded. The sculpture, possibly made during the Chola era, got its own temple and regular daily poojas in the last six years.  The charming ancient sculpture of Kottravai is definitely adding value to the heritage-rich village of Manimangalam. Thanks to Mr. Logu from this locality, who discovered this sculpture and raised funds to build this temple. Happy travelling. 

Pulakeshin II  was the most illustrious Emperor of the Chalukya Dynasty. Considered the most powerful ruler during his times, he had defeated even two other powerful emperors, Harshavardhana and Mahendravarma Pallava. However, there was an end to his uninterrupted victories.  Narasimhavarma Pallava I , a rare Indian ruler who had never experienced a defeat, routed him repeatedly. The Copper Plates of Kuram record the triumph of Narasimha over the Chalukyan army in three places.  Manimangalam , a suburb of the current Chennai city, is one of those sites. This historic battlefield, a quiet village until a few decades ago and a busy developing locality nowadays, is dotted with many temples. The later-Chola-era Dharmesvara temple is one among them. This article is about that architecturally beautiful temple.  The temple is a visual treat with an unbelievably large peepul tree located in a vast open area with the waterbody on one side. Neatly maintained by ASI, the atmos...

Pulakeshin II  was the most illustrious Emperor of the Chalukya Dynasty. Considered the most powerful ruler during his times, he had defeated even two other powerful emperors, Harshavardhana and Mahendravarma Pallava. However, there was an end to his uninterrupted victories.  Narasimhavarma Pallava I , a rare Indian ruler who had never experienced a defeat, routed him repeatedly. The Copper Plates of Kuram record the triumph of Narasimha over the Chalukyan army in three places.  Manimangalam , a suburb of the current Chennai city, is one of those sites. This historic battlefield, a quiet village until a few decades ago and a busy developing locality nowadays, is dotted with many temples. However, those temples were built by the Cholas and none of the Pallava-era shrines still exist. This article is to record the only remaining Pallava symbol in Manimangalam.  ( Note:  I have curated a heritage trip to this site and wrote about this in my blog, several years ago....

Pulakeshin II  was the most illustrious Emperor of the Chalukya Dynasty. Considered the most powerful ruler during his times, he had defeated even two other powerful emperors, Harshavardhana and Mahendravarma Pallava. However, there was an end to his uninterrupted victories.  Narasimhavarma Pallava I , a rare Indian ruler who had never experienced a defeat, routed him repeatedly. The Copper Plates of Kuram record the triumph of Narasimha over the Chalukyan army in three places.  Manimangalam , a suburb of the current Chennai city, is one of those sites. This historic battlefield, a quiet village until a few decades ago and a busy developing locality nowadays, is dotted with many temples. Among them, there were  three Chola-era Vishnu shrines . One temple was lost without any trace. The second temple is Rajagopala Swami Temple, which is comparatively bigger and popular. The third temple, known as Vaikuntha Perumal Temple , is historically significant. But, it has lost...