Dhenupureeswarar Temple, Madambakkam – The Temple
The Temple was built during the reign of the Chola rule,
the temple is a perfect example of a magnificent Dravidian architectural style.
Like other temples in Tamil Nadu, the architecture of the sanctum is
semi-circular in nature, resembling the back of a sleeping elephant, unlike
other Hindu shrines which are normally square or rectangular. The Chola period
temple has an incomplete tower in its east facing entrance.
The walls of the lower portion of the tower has
beautiful carvings and sculptures. The entrance wall has the carvings of Ganesha
and Kartikeya holding bow and arrow. Dwajasthambam (Tall flag staff), Bali Peetha
and Nandi can be found facing towards the main shrine. There is a bas relief
image of Ganesha installed on the flag staff. On the roof above Nandhi, are the
paintings of Ashtathik Palakas – the authorities of the eight directions.
Sanctum:
Presiding Deity is called as Dhenupureeswarar / Sittrerinathar
/ Sittreri Aludaiya Nayanar. He is housed in the sanctum in the form of small
Shiva Linga and is facing east. The Lord is placed on a seat about 8-9 inches
high and is too small measuring about just 2 inches. It also bears the
scar caused by the cow’s rear leg and also the stone attack. The Shiva
lingam is Swayambu Lingam or Self Manifested Lingam.
As the saint Kapila took the form of cow and poured its milk on the idol, he is
called as Dhenupureeswarar.
The vimana of the sanctum sanctorum is built in Gajabrushta
(similar to the back side of the elephant) style. The beautiful sculptures of
Nardana Vinayaka, Dhakshinamoorthi, Vishnu, Brahma and Durga are found as the
niche images on the wall outside the main shrine. There is no banyan tree in
the Dakshinamurthy shrine. Mother Durga appears with a parrot on her
hand. In the place of Lingodhbava behind the sanctum sanctorum, Vishnu is
installed.
Sage Kabila in the front hall (mandapam) appears on a
pillar holding the Linga on the left hand and a garland on the right
hand. The sanctum sanctorum and ardha mandapa are small in size similar
to that of the main deity. There is a small Nandi idol placed in the maha
mandapa facing towards Shiva Linga.
Inner Prakaram:
There are shrines and Idols of Valanchuzhi Ganapati, Maha
Ganapati, Kapilanathar (Shiva Linga) with his consort Annapoorna, Chandikeswarar,
Surya and Bhairava can be found in the inner prakaram surrounding the sanctum. There
is a shrine for Lord Nataraja with his consort Sivakami in the inner prakaram
surrounding the sanctum. This shrine is big and enshrines a lot of metal Utsava
idols such as two pairs of Chandrasekhar-Uma; two pairs of Somaskanda,
Subramanya-Valli-Devasena etc. There is an important and unique idol of
Sharbeshwara attacking Narasimha in this shrine.
There is a shrine for Lord Murugan with his consorts
Valli and Deivanai in the inner prakaram surrounding the sanctum.
Arunagirinathar had sung his Thirupugazh Hymns on this Murugan. Those having no
child pray to Lord Muruga here. There is also a shrine for Lord
Varadharaja with his consorts Sridevi and Bhoodevi in the inner prakaram
surrounding the sanctum.
Mercury (planet Budha) is facing North. Those
suffering from stammering offers green pulse as Nivedhana to him. They
also offer Tulsi Garland and light ghee lamps. Vaduga Bhairava is worshipped
with Banana fruits and cashew garland. They light lamps in coconut shell
and pumpkin on the Ashtami days – 8th day either from new moon or full moon
day. The garland is made in sets of one cashew and a red flower known as
Arali flower. There will be 12 cashew fruits in the garland.
Dhenukambal Shrine:
Mother is called as Dhenukambal / Nambirattiyar. She is
housed in a separate shrine facing South. Her shrine is found in the exterior
Mandapam and is found on a raised platform. The sanctum of Goddess Dhenukambal,
situated close to the main shrine, and has a separate entrance in front. There
are a number of cylindrical pillars in front of this shrine with beautifully
carved bases. She is found with four arms and in the standing posture. There
are five niche idols of Goddesses on the external wall of the shrine. The fifth
image has deer on her right arm, which is very unique. Near this shrine,
the idols of Navagraha and Veerabhadra are located.
Outer Prakaram:
The outer prakara is a vast open space with so many
trees and plants. Except for a Ganesha idol and few serpent idols under a holy
tree, no other idols or shrines are located here.
Theertham & Sthala
Vriksham:
The temple tank, which is called as Kapila Theertham,
is large and it is located adjacent to the temple outside the compound. Sthala
Vriksham is Vilwa Tree.
Sculptures:
The Vijayanagara rulers also contributed to the
architectural expansion of this temple. The front mandapa, through which
visitors pass to reach the shrine of Lord Dhenupureeswarar belongs to this age.
The exquisite sculptures found on the pillars here are a treasure house of
Vaishnavite and Saivite iconography and reveal the talent of the sculptors of
this period. This temple has more than 140 exquisite sculptures. The
marriage hall of this temple has 18 pillars, with each pillar containing
exquisite sculptures of Shaiva and Vaishnava deities in each side (A total of
72 sculptures).
The Sarabeswara sculpture is the most revered one with
weekly puja on the Rahu kala timings on Sundays (4.30 to 6 PM). Those facing
problems due to planetary transitions pray to Lord Sarabeswara. The
sculptures in the pillars near the main sanctum depict statues of various
stories related to God Shiva and are equally stunning with lots of attention to
details. The sculptures carved on the stone pillars belong to the Vijayanagara
period whereas the ones in the sanctum belong to the Chola period. The lines of
the Chola sculptures are graceful and free flowing while the ones from the
Vijayanagara period are stiff.
It was pointed out that after the Muslim invasion, many
temples were destroyed and the sculptors of the Vijayanagara period that
followed had a tough time redoing the temples so much so that it became a
question of quantity over quality. The eighteen pillars that are found in the
exterior mandapa near the flag staff as well as in the inner prakara around the
main shrine have excellent and unique sculptures. That is the highlight of this
temple. The exterior mandapa is believed to be the artwork of
Vijayanagaras.
Some of the unique sculptures found in the temple
pillars are Sharbeshwara attacking Narasimha, Shiva-Shakti marriage, Brahma
performing yagna and Vishnu attending the holy wedding, Rama Pattabhishekam, Narasimha
in the standing posture, Subramanya with six arms on elephant, Subramanya with
four arms on elephant, Subramanya standing stylish on peacock, Dhakshinamoorthi
with his consort, Nataraja raising his left leg upwards and towards the sky, Shiva
holding Ganga on his head (Gangadhara Murti), Sadashiva with five heads, Brahma
and Saraswathi, Gajasamahara Murti, Ganesha holding a musical instrument, Jwaradeva
with three heads and three legs, Dhakshinamoorthi with veena (Veena Dhara
Dhakshinamoorthi), Shiva attacking Koorma (tortoise incarnation of Vishnu) -
Koorma Samhara Murti, Bhairava with his mount dog, Shiva as Annamalai - Brahma
as a bird moving upwards and Vishnu as tortoise moving downwards, Shakti
hugging Shiva Linga, Ardhanareeswarar, dancing Kali, Maha Sada Shiva, Shiva
attacking Varaha Avatar (Varaha Samhara Murti), Shakti carrying her baby
Skanda, Veerabhadra along with the goat headed Daksha, Varaha carrying Bhoomi
Devi, Hanuman with five heads and ten arms (all faces are monkey faced unlike
other typical Panchamukha Anjaneya idols) and Kartikeya with six heads and 12 arms
and with Valli who is seated on his left thigh etc.
Inscriptions:
The walls of the main shrine and the Ambal shrine have
numerous ancient epigraphs neatly etched in ancient Tamil script belonging to
the reign of the Chola kings like Kulottunga III and Rajaraja III. There are
also some epigraphs of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya and rulers of the Vijayanagara
age like Kampana Udaiyar, Devaraya II and Sadasiva Raya. These epigraphs record
the gifts of land, lamps and livestock to this temple and also various other
services rendered for conducting festivals and daily worship. The inscriptions
reveal that the original name of Lord Dhenupureeswarar was Sittreri Udaiya
Nayanar and Goddess Dhenukambal was Nambirattiyar.
