The Siva temple in Madattukoil is a beautiful ruin or, more accurately, two
ruins. Particularly graceful in style,
it combines Chozha robustness with Vijayanagara lyricism.
From the art historian's point of view, what is truly remarkable is the
Vijayanagara appearance of a temple, which is basically Chozha in style.
The temple contains remnants of an old (Chozha 10th century AD) outer
prakaram in dark granite, enclosing a younger (Vijayanagara 14th-16th
century AD.) structure in pink gneiss. The latter has evidently built
on the spot of an earlier structure that existed conterminously with
the earlier prakaram.
The freestanding temple in pink is bereft of a vimanam and the sanctum
with a lingam inside is, in fact, open to the sky. The impression
conveyed by the central structure is of incompleteness. It is not
inconceivable that the builder of this shrine to leave his work half
finished owing to the passing of the territory into other hands.
Whatever be the reason, the structure appears unfinished or as it was
stopped, a fact that adds poignancy to the temple's beauty.
Temple Architecture:
The temple is an exquisite monument. It faces west. There is a Lingam
in the square sanctum. The mandapam in front is rectangular. There is
nothing remarkable in this, but the outer walls are a sheer delight to
examine. Three porches branch off, as it were, one from behind the
sanctum, the others to the north and the south of it. Each porch is a
dainty composition, using the delicate resources of architecture and
sculpture. Two pillars and two pilasters form each. The recess,
which is quite deep, is flanked by half-pilasters.
Very characteristic are the kumbha-pancharam-s (கும்ப பஞ்சரம்) with
bulging kumbham-s (கும்பம்) with beaded ornamentation; the festoons
on each side of the shafts above them and the brackets of the kapotam
on top and the upa-pitham of plinth with the grooved kumudam
(குமுதம்) and kudu-s (கூடு) with central rosette and the flowing
foliage on each side reveal an intricate sensibility. The features
belong to the Vijayanagara style (1350-1600 AD). The petals of the idal, the cornice and the decorated panels exhibit consummate artistic
skill and delicacy. The panels depicting the five great Puranic
rishi-s, Pulastya, Visvamitra, Bharadvaja, Jamadagni and Agasthya; the
Devi worshipping a lingam; the Bhutha-gana (பூதகணம்) reveling in music
and dance; Subrahmanya on his peacock; Krishna dancing on the serpent
Kaliya and the elaborate scroll are of exceptional merit. There is no
image in the northern and western porches; in the southern there is a
beautiful sculpture of Dakshina-moorthi (தக்ஷிணாமூர்த்தி).
Above the entrance to the mandapam there are panels of Ganesa, Lakshmi
and another goddess in a row. The adhishtanam (அதிஷ்டானம்) below is fine and full
and carries animal relief.
A covered cloister ran around the main shrine at a distance but
only parts are surviving today. The gopuram is too lost except for its
lower portion. There is a covered nandi mandapam (நந்தி மண்டபம்) with
four pillars.
An Amman shrine stands to the northwest of the Siva shrine. It consists
of a garbha-griham (கர்பகிரகம் ) without a superstructure and a closed ardha-mandapam
(அர்த்த மண்டபம்). The idol of the Amman is missing.
Note by M. Krishnan, wildlife photographer:
 Bhairava
|
M. Krishnan, the well-known wildlife photographer visited the site in
1975 and studied an idol of Bhairava available in the temple. According
to him Bhairava of this temple has no parallel in the excellence of
its proportions, the assured and forbidding alertness of its stance,
and the superb realism of the hunting dog depicted.
Regarding the dog depicted he opines that it was the pure 'pariah dog'
without any trace of exotic blood. These dogs, he remarks, were used
for hunting pigs and herding cattle. According to him this breed is of
far greater antiquity than indigenous hounds (such as the Rajapalayam (ராஜபாளையம்)
or Poligar (பாளையக்காரர்), the Kombai (கோம்பை) and the Sippipari
(சிப்பிபறி) in the South, the Mutdhol hound in the Deccan and the
Rampur hound in the North, and the Banjara dogs), and naturally it was
comparatively recently within the last 4 centuries that exotic hounds
as such the gray hound and the Saluki, were known to India. And finally
about the sculpture he comments as 'a masterful depiction of the animal
- the short prick ears, the short-coupled body, the rather straight
hocks and the short tail carried in a gay curve, are all authentic and
characteristic'.
|
