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Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Dhenupureeswarar Temple, Madambakkam – The Temple

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.