CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Uttarakhand (Architectural Drawings)

Vadakkunatha complex, Trichur, Kerala

The Vadapurisvara temple at Tiruvedikudi is one of the seven temples of the ‘Saptasthana Kshetras’ of the Tiruvaiyaru group. This temple is sung by Appar and Sambandar. The deity is said to have been worshipped by the Vedas. The temple has only about six inscriptions on its walls that can be ascribed to Aditya I owing to the archaic script in which they are written. The two-storied (dvitala) structure has original images of Durga, Brahma and Ardhanari in their divinity niches (devakoshtas). Reference: S.R. Balasubrahmanyam, 1966, pp.156-157.

Vaikom, Baroque Architecture, Kerala

The Vaikunthavasa Perumal temple at Kiliyanur can be dated to the third year of Nandivarman III (838 CE) by an inscription on the kumuda of the superstructure’s base (vimana’s adhisthana), which calls the temple Tikaittiral-Visnugrham of Kilinelur, after the name of its founder. The original structure is mostly gone, only the granite base of the main structure being extant. The parts later have been rebuilt in much later times. The only other Pallava remnant is a four-pillared hall (mandapa) built in front of the main temple. Reference: M.W. Mesister and M.A. Dhaky 1963, p. 100, S.R. Balasubrahmanyam, 1966, pp.78-79.

Four inscriptions on the Valikandesvaram temple at Valikandapuram have been found that have been attributed to Aditya I (871 - 907 CE) and Parantaka I (907 - 954 CE) by different scholars. The earliest incontrovertible inscriptions are between the fourth and fortieth years of Parantaka I. The temple was perhaps rebuilt in stone in Parantaka I's time maybe as early as his fourth regnal year that is in 911 CE. Reference: M.W. Mesister and M.A. Dhaky 1963, p. 174.