Mandagapattu Tirumurti Temple, Villupuram
Mandagapattu Tirumurti Temple is a Hindu
temple situated in the
village of Mandagapattu in the Villupuram district of Tamil
Nadu, India. Hewn from rock by the Pallava ruler Mahendravarman
I in honour of the Hindu
Trinity, the cave temple is the considered to be the oldest stone shrine to
a Hindu god to be discovered in Tamil Nadu. In one of his inscriptions,
Mahendravarman I boasts that he caused a stone temple to be built in honour of
the Hindu Trinity without the use of brick, mortar, timber or metal.
The Pallava temples along with a similar group by the
Chalukyas of Badami represent the earliest Hindu stone temples in southern
India. The temples were a significant architectural innovation as they marked
the transition from wooden structures to stone. An inscription on the temple
calls it the Laksitayatna and dedicates it to Brahma, Ishvara, and Vishnu.
“Mahendravarman showed leanings towards Jainism before
he gravitated towards Hinduism — which is probably why one finds Jain
settlements near his cave temples.
The first rock-cut temple built by King Mahendra Varma
Pallava - I in the 7th century CE, Mandagapattu Cave Temple is an
Archaeological Survey Of India (ASI) protected monument. It is also called
Lakshita Yathanam and predates the sculpted wonders of Mahabalipuram
(Mamallapuram).
The serene and small village of Mandagapattu is about
162 kms from Chennai, 60 kms from Puducherry and 17 kms from Gingee (Gingi),
which is otherwise famous for its fort.
Architecture
The Mandagapattu landscape is old and dramatic with
rocks seemingly piled any which way one on top of the other precariously. A
small stream runs by this rock pile and there is a temple that is dotted with
flowers. Strategically placed benches offer panoramic views. Mandagapattu is
home to one of the earliest stone temples in the state. The rock-cut Pallava
shrine can be reached through paths between towering mounds of rocks.
Sadly, a book-like information plaque at the entrance of
the ASI-protected monument in Mandagapattu is broken with the letters fading
and unreadable. Entry is not restricted and as soon as you enter, the details
about the temple can be read in an inscription in Sanskrit on the front pillar.
It says that this temple, called Lakshita Yathanam, was built by King
Mahendravarman I in the early 7th Century CE. It also says that this was a
’brick-less, timber-less, metal-less and mortar-less’ temple. The stones have
been connected with accurate joinery
The caves are at the top of a 100 ft hillock in
Mandagapattu with steps at the left leading up to them. There are three
cave-cut shrines with two pillars in the front that have carvings of
Dwarapalakas (doorkeepers) with head gear and in the tribhanga pose.
Cave Temple
Mandagapattu is a very important shrine and holds a
considerable position in the history of architecture of South India and of
the Pallavas. An inscription found in the shrine tells us that this is the
first cave temple created by Pallava king Mahendravarman I, in Tamilnadu region. This north facing cave
shrine has two pillars and two pilasters in its front façade, thus forming
three bays. It is 22 feet in length, 24 feet in width and 9 feet in height. The
front façade is very simple, having no kudus and mini shrines above
the cornice. Beyond the pilasters, on either end, are carved
two dvarpalas.
The cave extends beyond these pilasters, and forms a
niche kind of structure around the dvarpalas and ending with
tetragonal pilasters on each end. Hence the two pilasters, before
the dvarpalas, are almost like pillars. The base and top section of the
pillar is in form of a cube. In Shilpa-Sastra, this part is
called saduram. In between these sections, there is an octagonal section.
This in-between section is called as Kattu as per shilpa-Sastra.
Behind the first front row of pillars, there is another
row of two pillars and pilasters. Thus the first part, in between the two rows
of the pillars forms mukha-mandapa and the part behind the second row
of pillars forms ardha-mandapa. The pilasters of the second row are
tetragonal in design. The back wall also has four pilasters, corresponding to
the arrangement as in first and second row.
Out of these four pilasters, middle two are same as the
pillars of the first and second row, and the corner pilasters are similar to
the pilasters of the second row. These four pilasters on back wall forms three
cells, each 3 feet deep, one for each
in Hindu Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. There are
few traces of painting seen on the back walls of the cells suggesting worship
of painted deities. There are sockets in the floor inside the cells, which
suggests that the statutes of the deities would have been fitted into these.
Dvarpalas
There are two dvarpalas carved into the front façade.
The dvarpala on eastern end is shown intribhanga posture. His
right hand is going all across the waist and under his left arm armpits over
the handle of the club. The club handle is almost into his left arm armpits. He
is shown wearing long kirita-makuta (jewel crown) and
huge jata-bhara (hairdo) behind his head.
He is also seen wearing
large patra-kundala (earrings), a necklace in his neck and
a yajnopavita across his body. His left leg is bent and not fully
carved. The space between the bent leg and the ground is quite large if artists
were thinking to cave his foot here. It might be that they would have planned
some raised platform on which his foot would have been rested. His left hand is
dangling around the club. The club is not carved out fully. If you carefully
see then you will find that there is not much space left to carve out a club,
which suggests that the niche was carved before and dvarpalas were taken
afterwards.
The dvarpala on western end is shown standing
in proper tribhanga over the support of his club. He is also shown
wearing long kirita-makuta and jata-bhara behind his head.
There is a snake behind his head and another snake is twirling around the club.
Though the eastern dvarpala does not shown any
protruding trisula prongs behind his head, however the western one shows a
protruding axe end on his makuta. This suggests it to
be dvarpala of Shiva; however the cave was dedicated to the
Trinity.
For this reason perhaps, the other dvarpala does
not show the trisula prongs. His one arm is resting over the handle of the
club and another arm is on his waist (katyavalambita). Both
the dvarpalas are facing towards the viewer in front, with slight
inclination towards the cave.
Inscriptions
There is only one inscription found on front pillar of
this cave. This Sanskrit language inscription is written in Pallava
Grantha script, in Giti metre. The Translation of four line
inscription as written in Sanskrit is shown below:
Translation – This brick-less, timber-less,
metal-less and mortar-less temple, Lakshita-yatna, which is mansion for the
Brahma, Ishvara and Vishnu was caused to be made by the king Vicitra-cita.
Though the inscription does not states clearly whether
this is first of its kind, however the enthusiasm of the king and mention of
brick, timber, metal and mortal specifically in the inscription suggests that
this is probably the first attempt in this direction hence the creator was
overwhelmed at the success and inscribed such words over the pillar.
Connectivity
Mandagapattu is located about 20 km from Villupuram and
17 km from Gingee and comes under Villupuram district.
From Chennai it would be around 162 km. This is a small village hence
you might not get proper and regular transport, so arrange a taxi from
whichever town you plan to visit here. The nearest railway head is Villupuram and
nearest airport is Chennai.
References
