Thursday, April 27, 2017

Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvarur – Ancient Paintings

Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvarur – Ancient Paintings
This temple has ancient paintings from the Chola Reign. But later during the Maratha era, they had painted over the Chola Paintings in 17th Century. Actually there are very less number of places where Chola paintings still exist. Chola paintings have been recently found in the Tanjore Big Temple. Here in Tiruvarur, at places the Maratha paintings have got peeled off and the Chola paintings are visible below them.












The Devasiriya Mandapam houses more than 50 panels of 17th century painting. The murals on the ceiling of the Devasiriya Mandapam lift up the mind and spirit. They narrate the story of Sri Thyagaraja and how the monkey-faced Chola king Muchukunda Chakravarti brought the image of Sri Thyagaraja to earth. Through the portrayal of dancers, elephants and processional scenes, the life of the 17th Century is revealed in these paintings that belong to the late Nayak or early Maratha period.