CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Salvador do Mundo, Baroque Architecture, Goa

The Vijayalaya Cholisvara at Narttamalai is of the earliest and grandest of the structural stone temples built during the time of Vijayalaya. On the hillock of Melamalai at Narttamalai, there are two rock-cut cave temples and group of structural stone shrines opposite to them. Cave Temple 1 is a rock-cut cave popularly known as ‘Samana Kudagu’ (Cave of the Jains). It was probably a Jaina cave of about the seventh century CE. Now it has features of a Vaishnavite shrine with a cella and a hall (mandapa), both scooped out of rock. There are twelve images of Vishnu – two on the sides and five each on the two sides of the doorway leading to the sanctum. The twelve figures perhaps represent those of the twelve names of Vishnu. A stone entrance hall (mukhmandapa) was also built about the same time and a later inscription dating to the Kulottunga I (1115 CE) has been traced which states that the name of the Vaishnavite deity was “Tirumer-Koyil Karumanikka Devar” at “Telunga Kula-Kala Nagaram” as Narttamali was called in that period. References: S.R. Balasubrahmanyam, 1966, p.47.

The Samavedisvara temple is dedicated to Parsuram who according to local tradition worshipped the lord of Tirumnagalam and obtained his axe (parasu). One of the sixty-three saints, Aanaaya Nayanar of the Aayar kulam lived here and he was a great devotee of the Lord of this place. This temple is in a good state of preservation with the inscriptions and sculptures intact. In the rear or the west facing divinity niche (devakoshta) there is an image of Hariharar (Sankaranarayanar) that was unusual for Chola temples of this period. Even in the niches of the half hall (ardhamandapa), there is a Bhikshatanar figure in the south niche where usually the image of Ganpati is found. These features were peculiar to the temples of Aditya I. So perhaps this temple was built in the days of Aditya I though epigraphs are found from the fifth regnal year of Rajaraja I (990 CE) onwards. Another interesting feature of this temple is the presence of a series of three groups of sculpture panels in miniature corresponding to each pilaster - one series is below the basement (adhistanam) and the second series is found between the varimanam and the vari and third is over the vari (parts of the pillar). References: S.R. Balasubrahmanyam, 1975, pp. 128-132 and M.W. Meister and M.A. Dhaky, 1963, pp. 189-190.

Digitization of this collection has been possible with financial support from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. 

Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh

Sancoale, Baroque Architecture, Goa