Malayadippatti, Pudukottai
Malayadippatti is a small village settlement located in Pudukkottai district of Tamilnadu. There are two cave temples
which are carved out from a single rock running east to west. As per the
inscriptions found on these caves this region was under Kil-Sengali-nadu. The territorial
division of Kil-Sengali-nadu was
comprised of the region around Malayadippatti in Kulattur taluk of the present Pudukkottai. The hill in which the
cave temples are scooped out is referred as Tiruvalathur hill in a Pallava inscription whereas in a Nayaka inscription it is referred
as Tiruvayamalai, Hill of
the Holy.
At a distance 42 km from Pudukkottai, 36 km from Trichy,
39 km from Thanjavur & 363 from Chennai, The Malayadippatti Rock-Cut
temples are situated on granite hillocks, south of the Malayadippatti village,
also known as Thiru Valattur Malai.
There are two temples in Malayadippatti, one for Lord
Shiva and the other for Lord Vishnu. Both temples are situated on the same
hillock.
In Malayadippatti ('ma-la-ya-dip-pat-ti',
village-at-the-foothills-of mountain), there are two cave temples hewn out of
same rock, similar to that of Thirumayam. The bas relief sculpture of Mahishasuramardhini in
the Siva
shrine is very impressive.
The Saptamatrika frieze here will interest iconographers. Practitioners of
Kundalini yoga may also find it worth studying this group of sculpture for it
is an authentic 1200 – year old composition. There are paintings on the walls,
ceiling and sculptures in the Vishnu shrine. Also there are some prehistoric
burial sites near to Malayadippatti village.
General Information
Malayadippatti caves hold very important position in the study of
the progressive movement of cave temples in Tamilnadu. The two caves of this complex have been assigned to
two different dynasties, the Pallava and
the Pandya. The Shiva cave was excavated during
the Pallava regime
but the time of the Vishnu cave
is not known due to absence of any foundation inscription. Pillars of the Shiva cave are done in Mahendra style where those
in Vishnu cave are
not. Pillars of Vishnu cave
do have a lion as their base however the lion does not match with the sedant
lion base of the later Pallava pillars.
There are many rare and unique iconography found in the
Vishnu cave temple whose origins could be traced to the Gupta caves in Udayagiri.
Location
Malayadippatti is a small village in the northern half
of the Pudukkottai district. In the early inscriptions the place was called
Thiru-Valattur-malai.
It is 40 km away from Pudukkottai, in the Killukkottai –
Kiranur route, 3 km away from Killukkottai and 20 km from Kiranur.
One can reach this place by taking the diversion either
from Adhanakkottai on the Thanjavur – Pudukkottai road or from Kiranur on the
Tiruchirappalli - Pudukkottai National highway. Town Bus
facility is available from Kiranur and Killukkottai.
The Monuments
Malayadippatti is noteworthy for its two rock-cut
temples. One is dedicated to Siva and the other to Vishnu. Similarly one can
also find twin rock-cut temples, one dedicated to Lord Siva and the other to
Lord Vishnu, in Thirumayam in this district.
The two shrines are hewn out of the same rock. These
twin temples are ascribable to the latter half of the 8th or the early half of
the 9th centuries.
The Siva temple is older and contains the sculptures of
Mahishasuramardhini and the Saptamatrika relief sculptures, which are
impressive and noteworthy. There are painting on the walls and ceiling of the Vishnu
shrine. Also there are some prehistoric burial sites near to Malayadippatti.
Cave temples of the Pandya region are unique in relation to other such shrines
of India as most of these are live temples and under worship. The main reason
behind this is the continuous royal patronage received by these shrines. The
cave temple complex at Malayadippatti is
consisted of two caves, one dedicated to Shiva and another to Vishnu.
Vishnu cave temple is locally known as Olipathivishnu griham and Shiva cave temple is known
as Alathurthali cave.
Both the caves are living temples and under worship. Both the caves face north
and have been carved on the same rock running from east to west. Brief Details
about the caves & other interesting places in Malayadippatti are listed
below;
Shiva Cave Temple, Malayadippatti
Vishnu Cave Temple, Malayadippatti
Natural caverns with ancient monuments
Granite hillocks near Malayadippatti contain three
natural rock shelters with interesting monuments of the past. Two caverns
contain some 400 ancient cupules -
cup marks, made some 3000 - 5000 years ago. Third rock shelter contains faint
white painting, possibly made of lime. Painting shows bird and a human form.
In the 3rd - 4th century AD these shelters were used by
Jain hermits - in each of the two caves with cupules there is made one stone
bed. It is possible that the painting also was made in this time.
One of rock shelters contains five-line inscription in
Brahmi script.
Connectivity
Malayadippatti is located on Keeranur – Killukottai route, 20 km from Keeranur and 3 km from Killukkottai. It is about 20 km from Asur, located on Tiruchirappalli – Thanjavur highway.
It can also be reached by taking a diversion from Adhanakkottai on the Thanjavur – Pudukkottai road. It is about 40 km from Pudukkottai. It is about 5 km
from Visalur, another
archeological gem located on Keeranur
– Killukottai route. Public buses are available from Keeranur and Killukottai however the
frequency is not very good.
One can reach Malayadippatti by taking the Trichy –
Keeranur – Killukottai route (17kms from Keeranur) or Trichy – Thuvakudi –
Poyyakudi – Asur – Sengalur route.
Bus
Numbers:
·
K3 and K12 from Keeranur
·
No. 100 from Tiruverambur
·
No. 26 from Chatram Bus
Stand
The temple is 40 kms from Pudukottai.
Auto/Taxi from Trichy will cost around Rs.500.
For local help, contact: Saivaraj @ 97878 18987
Reaching
Pudukottai:
·
From Chennai: 400 km via
Villupuram, Trichy
·
Trains to Rameswaram go
via Pudukottai.
·
Trains / Buses can be
taken to Trichy and regular buses are available from Trichy.
·
From Trichy: 50 km.
Regular buses are available.
·
From Madurai: 115 km via
Tirupatthur
·
From Coimbatore: 300 km
via Dharapuram, Dindigul