chap14
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Art and Culture of Tamilnadu
R. Nagaswamy
14. THE TEMPLE OF KṢETRAPĀLA AT TIRUVALAÑCUḺI
Tiruvalañcuḻi, about 6 kilometres from Kumbhaköṇam, is a village, small in its size and population, but great in its temple. The village is referred to in early inscriptions both as Tiruvalañcuḻi and Tiruvalañcuḻi and is said to be in Tirukkuḍamūkku in the subdivision of Uyyakkoṇḍār Vaḷanāḍu.
The village had its days of glory and subsequent decay. During the time of the Chöḻa monarch, Rājarāja I, it received great attention, but in the middle of the thirteenth century A.D. it was subjected to drought and other calamities. An inscription of Rājarāja III records that the village of Tiruvalañcuḻi, having become depopulated in course of time, a gift of land was made by the village assembly to Veḷḷai Piḷḷaiyār of the temple. The inscription is dated in the fourteenth regnal year of the king. Five years later, the sabha, seeing that for a long time the village was subject to many troubles, met in the temple and resolved to exempt temple land from all its taxes. An outbreak of fire in the temple is also recorded. As a result, two walls were damaged. They were subsequently repaired. The village probably never rose to its original splendour after these calamities.
The Kapardīśvara temple in this village is considerably big one, and is well-known. A Ganeśa in white marble, familiarly known as Veḷḷai Piḷḷaiyar is receiving great worship in modern times. Though it is not possible to say whether the present image is the same mentioned in the inscriptions, it is evident that Veḷḷai Piḷḷaiyar was already in worship during the thirteenth century A.D. Another inscription in the temple records that in the forty-third regnal year of Kulöttuṅga Chöḻa I one Bhūpalan Karuṇākaran of Oṟṟiyūr erected the Parikala Maṇḍapa. Two dancing girls of the temple gifted lands during the reign of Rājarāja II for providing offerings to Tirunāvukkaracudevar, Tiruvaḍavūraḍigal and Kaṇṇappadevar. The Kapardīśvara temple is thus important in many aspects, but a small temple dedicated to Kṣetrapāla and built within this big temple is the most important of all.
The little shrine is within the compound in a cocoanut grove, immediately to the left of the gopura. This was a noble edifice, erected by the chief and pious Queen of Rājarāja I, named Dantiśaktiviṭaṅki or Lokamahādevi. Many inscriptions are noticed in this shrine. One mentions that this temple of Kṣetrapala Piḷḷaiyār was built during the twenty-fifth year of Rājarāja I by Dantiśaktiviṭanki. It also mentions two of Rājarāja's daughters, the elder being Kundavai Naṅgai, the wife of Vimalāditya. The other is the middle daughter, Mādevaḍigal. Vimalāditya was an Eastern Chalukyan prince and it will be interesting to recall the reasons for this matrimonial alliance between the Chöḻas and the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi.
Śaktivarman, the Veṅgi king was a contemporary of Rājarāja I, but he was kept away from his throne by a younger line for over twenty-seven years. He sought Rājarāja's help to recover his kingdom and as a result Rājarāja intervened in the affairs of Veṅgi. Veṅgi was conquered and Śaktivarman was installed on the throne. To keep Veṅgi in perpetual allegiance to the Chöḻas, Rājarāja thought it prudent to give his daughter, Kundavai, to Vimalāditya the younger brother of Śaktivarman. Their son was named Rājarāja, who married Ammangādevi, the daughter of Rājendra Chola I. Their son was the famous Kulottuṅga I. This temple-inscription is important as it mentions Kundavai as the wife of Vimalāditya.
Another inscription in this shrine is of great religious importance for it throws valuable light on the general mode of worship prevalant in the Tamil country in the eleventh century A.D. It mentions offerings being made three times a day (muccandi), annointing the deity with oil on Wednesdays and Saturdays, offerings to the God, foodstuffs as Such Tayir amudu, Aḍaiyamudu, Appamudu and Sarkaraiyamudu.
This temple is one of a few dedicated to Kṣetrapāla. It is embellished with sculptures of exquisite beauty. Its architecture is restrained, but its sculptural wealth is splendid. Like the great temple at Tañjāvūr, it is built of granite with niches carrying sculpture, representing various aspects of Śiva. Its superstructure, in contrast to the Tañjāvūr vimāna, is in the form of a hemispherical dome and is built of brick and mortar.
But its present state of preservation is not quite satisfactory. No worship is being offered now. Its mukha maṇḍapa and Mahāmaṇḍapa have crumbled, pulling down and mutilating some exceptionally beautiful sculptures. The vimāna is completely obscured by an outcrop of shrubs and plants. The granite slabs are disintegrating and with them the inscriptions of historical and religious importance. Around could be noticed some masterpieces of south Indian art badly mutilated and scattered. The temple is in ruins now and some of sculptures have been removed to the Tanjore Art Gallery.
Yet, in the centre of the garbhagṛha stands the Kṣetrapāla Piḷḷaiyār, majestic in appearance, but as a silent witness to these destructions. It is the most thrilling sculpture of Kṣetrapāla that one could see. It is vigorous in its treatment and perfect in modelling and exhibits great care and attention with which the sculpture was carved and installed by the devout queen. The deity is eight armed-two of its arm are broken-carrying bow, arrow, bell, drum, trident and sword and is about 152 cm in height. Its hair is depicted as standing erect on its edges and the face is full of divine charm. The figure is installed on a yonipīṭha which has a cut-way to allow the abhiṣeka liquids to drain away. An exact replica of this image, also of the same age and perhaps the work of the same artist, could be seen to the right of the steps leading to the mukha maṇḍapa of the Rājarājeśvara temple of Tañjāvūr.
Both Rājarāja and his queen, Lokamahādevi, were greatly devoted to this lord. They gave lands and gold for the upkeep of the temple. They performed tulābhāra and hiraṇyagarbha respectively at Tiruvisalūr and sent two of the gold flowers as offerings to this Lord. Their daughters, Kundavai and Mādevaḍigal, gifted a gold face with ūrdhvakeśa embedded with a face band studded with gems. Many other ornaments of gold were also gifted by them. Rājendra, in the third year of his reign, offered two golden lotuses at the feet of this Lord. The shrine of Kṣetrapāla of Tiruvalañcuḻi, though moderate in dimensions, is important in its historic, religious, architectural and artistic content.