CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Subject: Mulaprasada, west wall, entrance

Subject: Mulaprasada, west wall, detail

Subject: Mulaprasada, southwest wall, detail showing vedibandha

Subject: Mulaprasada, west wall, detail showing niches

Subject: Gudhamandapa, view from southeast, detail

Subject: View from southeast

Subject: Gudhamandapa, view from south

Subject: View from south

Subject: Pragdvara, general view from northeast

Subject: View from southeast

Subject: Gudhamandapa, Junction of sikhara and phamsana

Subject: Gudhamandapa and mulaprasada, view from south

Subject: Mulaprasada and gudhamandapa, general view from southwest

Subject: Mulaprasada, sikhara from southwest

Subject: Probably a Nayaka Queen

Subject: Kshetrapala: Kshetrapala is a fearsome manifestation that Shiva assumed to ensure the protection of kshetra or sacred site. It a protective and beneficent form of Shiva.

Subject: Female door guardian

Subject: Vishnu: From the time of the devotional poet-saints through the Chola period, temples became an increasingly prominent part of the Tamil religious landscape. The scale of annual festivals also expanded greatly in Chola times. With this development, the demand for processional icons also increased. Bronze images of Vishnu were the first Hindu metal images being produced toward the end of the Pallava period (750-850 CE). Here, Vishnu the Preserver is most often portrayed holding the militant attributes that symbolize his protective role. Here he holds a chakra (war discus) in his upper right hand and a shankha (conch battle trumpet) in his upper left. His lower left hand makes the gesture of resting on a gada (mace), while his lower right hand is held in abhayamudra (the gesture that allays fear). The image included both from and back views of the sculpture.

Subject: Lamp: Priests conducting temple worship require a wide range of ritual paraphernalia that since at least the early Chola period were gifts from devotees. From early Chola times, oil lamps, among the most important ritual objects in a temple, were gifts primarily from members of the merchant and trading community. Lamps are a vital part of the daily puja. The rite of diparadhana or honoring with light consists of waving lamps before the deity. This lamp has a detail of Dipalaksmi figure.

Subject: Devi

Subject: Candrasekhara with Uma: Although the crescent moon is one of Shiva's standard attributes, he is referred to as Candrasekhara or the Lord whose locks are crowned with the crescent moon when he's shown in an entirely benevolent form, far removed from his major feats of destruction. The crescent moon symbolizes his power of creation and destruction and adorns the right of Shiva's tall crown like arrangement of matted locks. He is depicted with his consort Uma Parvati.

Subject: Shivakamasundari: Parvati stands on a lotus pedestal over a square Bhadra Sana, has a karandamakuta (crown resembling a basket) on her head. She wears makara kundalas in her ears. Her right hand is in the attitude of ahuyavarada (gesture of invitation and charity) and the left hand is in lolasana (pendant pose).

Subject: Skanda: Skanda, the Hindu god of war who was the firstborn son of Shiva. Skanda has obscure origins and probably represents a conflation of a number of Shiva myths. In this figure he holds a lotus bud in each hand. The image shows front and back of the sculpture.

Subject: Vishnu: From the time of the devotional poet-saints through the Chola period, temples became an increasingly prominent part of the Tamil religious landscape. The scale of annual festivals also expanded greatly in Chola times. With this development, the demand for processional icons also increased. Bronze images of Vishnu were the first Hindu metal images being produced toward the end of the Pallava period (750-850 CE). The two rear hands of the sculpted image that usually bear a conch and a discus are now broken.