MANIKANTEESVARA TEMPLE: KANIPAKKAM
PROF. S. SRIPATHI NAIDU
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION
Location: The temple is in
the village of Kanipakkam, 6 miles from chittoor.
There are two Chola inscriptions in this temple.
The first dated Saka 1102 in the 12th year of Kulotunga
Chola Deva (1). But it has
been pointed out that 1102 should be 1112 (2). Hence the year is 1112. K ulottunga III came to the throne in 1178 AD. This
inscription is dated in the 12th year of Kulottunga
III. Therefore the year is 1190 AD. (1178-12).
The second dated saka 1108 in the 8th year of Virarajendra
Chola Deva. This inscription in incomplete. Virarajendra
is the title of Kulottunga III (3). Hence this
inscription belongs to the year 1186 AD.
The above two inscriptions
go to show that the temple must have been constructed between 1178 and 1186.
Hence the temple belongs to the late chola period.
The two inscriptions
mention a local Chief Siyagangan. He was a lord of Kuvalalapura or Kolar. He was a Chola feudatory. An inscription of Siyagangan
is found on the south wall of the temple, which refers to remission of taxes by
him. Siyagagan may be identical with his namesake
referred to in Tiruvallam inscription as a feudatory
of Kulottunga III (4) (No. 62 on the north wall of
the mahamandapa in Bilvanthesvara
temple Tiruvallam). This inscription is dated in (3)
4th year of the reign of Kulottunga Chola Deva and records the gift
of two lamps by Ariyapalli, the Queen of Amarabharana Siyaganga.
An inscription in the Ekamranatha Temple at
Kanchi (5) mentions the same Chief (Siyaganga) as the
supreme lord of Kuvalalapura (Kolar),
he who was born from the Ganga family, Siyagangan Amarabharanan alias Tiruvengambhmudaiyar and is dated in the 27th year of the
reign of Kulottunga Chola
III. Hence Siyagangan was a feudatory of Kulottunga III. 59 of 1907 refers
to the remission of taxes by Siyagangan. Tradition
and Epigraphy, give Kulottanga III the title “Sungam Tavirtta”. He who
abolished tolls from 59 of 1907, it can be ascertained that the local Chola feudatory Siyagangan gave a
remission of taxes in Kanipakkam region, following
the state policy of Kulottunga III. Sungam Tavirtta.
Hence we can conclude that
the temple belongs to the late Chola period.
The entrance to this
temple is from the east. The temple is within a ruined Prakara.
The Mahamandapa
contains two rows of three pillars each. The first pillar of the first row
and the first pillar of the second row are of the Chola
Order. These two plain Chola pillars have two
quadrangular blocks, with a rectangular base, two square parts above and
intervening octagonal sections. They have in the capital a rounded Kumbhakalasa, a flat padma
or idol, without showing the petals and an expanded square phataka, three feet square. Above this is a
typical Chola Corbel. The height of the pillar is
about 5 feet. The other pillars are of the Vijayanagar
type. These pillars contain interesting figure sculptures. They have three
quadrangular blocks, each containing sculptures, commonly met with in the Vijayanagar type. The corbels show the lotus stalk and the
buds are attached to the base of the corbel by horizontal bands. This shows
that this mandapa was reconstructed in the Vijaynagar period.
The Mahamandapa
leads to an open pillared mandapa. The
antarala, garbhagriha
and another mandapa are set inside
this pillared hall. On the eastern side of this hall there are three pillars on
the light side in the first row and eight pillars on the left side in the same
row.
In the second row there is
one pillar on the right side and six pillars on the left side. All the pillars
have a rectangular base, two square parts above and intervening octagonal
sections. The corbels are of the typical Chola type.
On the northern side there are five pillars, and nine pillars on the western
side in one tow and three pillars in the other row. On the southern side there
are only two pillars, All the pillars are of the Chola Order.
The Linga
is found in the centre of the garbhagriha
on a somasutra platform. The ridge
of the somasutra is projected towards
the north to drain off the abhisheka water. This water flows out through a
gargoyle-shaped tunnel.
The mandapa
before the antarala contains two rows of four
pillars each. The pillars are of medium height. All
the pillars are found and plain with typical Chola
corbels. There is a Nandi facing the
main god in the mandapa. There are two
pilasters on either side of the wall of the antarala.
Each pilaster has a square base, semi-octagonal shaft, and the usual
members of the Chola capital. The shaft projects over
this and bears the corbel, bevelled at 1350.
In the mukhamandapa
there are icons of Vrishabha Kantika Siva and Surya.
Siva stands in front of the bull. He has four arms. The
upper right arm holds damaru and the upper
left holds naga. The lower light arm
holds trisula and the lower left arm is
in varadamudra. Siva wears an ornate mekhala, udarabandha, of
three strands and an yajnopavita.
The lower part of the yajnopavita touches
the knee of the right leg. He wears an elaborately ornamented necklace consisting
of five strands, showing jewel projections. Different ornaments decorate his
shoulders, arms and wrists. In both the ears, he wears patrakundalas
of big size. Over his forehead is a jewelled
headband. Above it is jatakamuta, the
hair is dishevelled. The figure of Ganga is shown as seated in the centre of the
head. Behind the head is a circular prabha consisting
of following plaits tied in three rows of knots, which bring up the edge of prabha. The figure is slightly less than half
life-size.
Another icon found in this
mandapa is that of Surya.
He stands in samabhanga and he has
two arms. Both the arms hold lotus flowers. He wears ardhoruka
tied with a waist-band, one of the ends flows down
his right leg like a ribbon. The jewelled part has
semi-circular projections. Besides the waist ornament or mekhala,
he wears a udarabandha,
and an yajnopavita of three
strands. He wears round his neck an elaborate necklace, which shows six
strands, every strand having a series of suspended jewels hanging down in
semi-circular scrolls. He has makara-Kundalas
in both the ears. Above the forehead and beneath the makuta
runs a bejewelled head-band, ending up, on two
sides, in scrolls flowing up the makuta covering
its base. He wears a Karandamakuta which
is almost conical.
EXTERIOR
The adhishtana
has an additional base above the ground level. There is a ditch-like
depression which separates the verandahs of the pradakshina
from the shrine expect in the front which is projected into the antarala and then on to the mukhamandapa.
The shrine is set in a pit
and pillared verandah, is raised on three sides. There is space between the
pillared verandah and the main shrine, which appears like a trench measuring 2
feet wide and 3½ feet deep.
The adhishtana
is fully seen from the pradakshina. It
has simple mouldings like upana
(5”) a narrow patta, a wide patta (18”),
gala (2”), tripatta, over
which are inscriptions, gala cut into compartments by pilasters (8”)
and alinga pattika
(4½”). This shrine is singularly devoid of any decorative sculptures either
in the adhishtana portion or in the
wall portion.
The southern niche of the antarala contains the figure of standing Ganapati. On the pedestal is carved his mushika vahana. He
has four arms. The upper right arm holds ankusa
and the upper left holds pasa. Tile
lower right is in abhaya and the left
holds modaka, on which rests the tip of
his trunk. He wears purnoruka shown by
folded lines, a mekhala with a central
knot and a thin scarf tied beneath the mekhala
and flowing down in loose fold lines. He wears the udarabandha,
yajnopavita and graiveyakas.
He wears karandamakuta, which has
several pearl ornaments. He has elephantine ears. The figure is about 3 feet in
height.
In the southern wall of the garbhagriha
there is the figure of Dakshinamurti.
This figure is very ornately carved. He is seated on a pedestal beneath a
tree and on the pedestal are carved rishis. Siva’s right foot is placed on the
back of apasmarapurusha, while his left
foot rests on his right thigh. He wears mekhala,
udarabandha of two strands and an
yajnopavita with the knot appearing all
left chest. He wears an elaborately ornamented necklace consisting of four
strands, all showing jewel projections and the last being a simple thread with
the knot hanging loosely in front with the loose ends. He has four arms. The
upper right arm carries a snake and the upper left holds a lotus. The lower
right is in vyakhyana mudra,
while the lower left holds a pustaka. In
the left ear he wears a patrakundala and
in the right ear a makarakundala. The
eyes are half closed. Over his forehead is a jewelled
head-band. Above it is jatamakuta to
which a simhamukha ornament is fixed
and is tied with Nagas. Behind the head
is the circular Prabha consisting of flowing plaits
tied in four rows of knots, which bring up the edge of Prabha.
Over his head are the flowing branches of a tree, which show leaves, fruits and
birds. The figure is slightly less than half life-size.
On the backwall
of the garbhagriha in the central
niche, there is the figure of standing Vishnu. He stands in samabhanga. His left lower arm is held at kati, the right lower arm is in abhayamudra, while the two back arms hold sankha and chakra. He wears purnoruka, shown by fold lines, a mekhala with an elaborate central knot, with
two thin vastras tied beneath the mekhala and flowing down in loose folds on
the two sides of the back slab. He wears the udarabandha,
yajnopavita and graiveyakas.
Above his right chest in Srivatsa
mark. He wears a tall kirita over
a headband whose bottom edge is lined with pearls. The kirita
also has several pearl ornaments. The jatas
flow out on either side and figure on the
projections of the back slab. He wears makarakundalas
in both the ears. Beneath his feet is a lotus pedestal.
The eastern wall of the garbhagriha contains the figure of standing Brahma
in a niche. He stands in samabhanga with
three faces. He has four arms. The left lower arm is at kati.
The right lower arms shows abhaya
hasta. The right upper arm holds akshamala and the left upper arm carries Kamandala, He wears purnoruka,
mekhala,Udarabandha, yajnopavita and graiveyakas.
He wears a karandamakuta over a
head-band, decorated with pearls. He stands on a lotus pedestal.
The eastern wall of antarala contains the figure of Vaishnavidurga. She stands in samabhanga. She has four arms. The upper back
arms holds samkha and
chakra, while the left fore-arm rests below kati.
The right lower arms is in abhaya.
She wears manjiras. She has a mekhala and waist ornament flowing down in
two folded lines and having pearl decorations which cover half of her thighs. She wears a kuchabandha, which is a thin ribbon held across the breasts by means of two vertical
ribbons going over her shoulders. She
has a channavira. Around her
neck is an elaborate necklace of three strands, the lowest one having a row of
pointed projections. She wears patrakundala
in her left ear and makarakundala in
right ear. Over her head is karandamakuta of
three layers with a jewel in front. She also wears a jewelled
head-band. She stands on the head of a mahisha.
The sankha and chakra are
linked by means of the back slab.
The open pillared mandapa in the south western corner contains
the figure of seated Ganapati. The figure
is about 5 feet in height and very attractive. Below Ganapati
is a mushika. The deity has four
arms. The upper right arm holds pasa while
the upper left carries ankusa. The
lower right is in abhaya and the lower
left holds modaka. There are anklets for
the two legs. He wears udarabandha and graiveyakas. There are also decorated
ornaments on the two shoulders. He wears a karandamakuta.
In the same pillared mandapa behind the garbhagriha
there is the figure of Kuntaraswami. Subrahmanya is sitting on a peacock which is holding a
snake in the beak. He wears manjiris in
both the legs. He has six faces, three on the front side and, three on the
back. He has twelve arms. While the 10 arms carry different weapons, the lower
right is in abhaya and the lower left
is in varaha. He wears an elaborately
ornamented necklace, yajnopavita and graiveyakas. He wears patrakundalas
in both the ears. Over his three heads are jewelled
head-bands. He wears kiritas on three
heads. Behind them is a prabhasa with a
lion’s face in the centre.
Every niche contains two
half pilasters, one on either side with a square base, semi-octagonal shaft and
the usual members of the Chola capital. The niche
tops are plain.
REFERENCES
1 60 of 1908
2 EI. Vol. X Pp. 127-128
3 K.A.N. Sastry–Colas–1975–P. 397
4 a) ARE-1900–P. 11–Para 34
b) S II - Vol III – P. 122.
c) K.A.N. Sastry – Colas –1975 P, 401.
d) 195 of 1892 116 to 1922
10 of 1893 303 of 1897
5 10 of 1893
6 K.A.N. Sastry – A History of South India. 1971. P. 193.