Olakkannesvara Temple

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Olakkannesvara Temple
Olakkanesvara Temple.jpg
Olakkannesvara Temple
Religion
Affiliation Hinduism
DistrictKancheepuram district
Deity Shiva
Location
LocationMamallapuram
StateTamil Nadu
CountryIndia
India Tamil Nadu location map.svg
Om symbol.svg
Shown within Tamil Nadu
Geographic coordinates 12°37′00″N80°11′30″E / 12.6167°N 80.1917°E / 12.6167; 80.1917 Coordinates: 12°37′00″N80°11′30″E / 12.6167°N 80.1917°E / 12.6167; 80.1917
Architecture
Type Dravidian Architecture
Creator Pallava Kingdom
CompletedEarly 8th century
Temple(s)1

The Olakkannesvara Temple ("flame eye"; [1] commonly Olakkanatha; also known as, "the Old Lighthouse") [2] is in Mahabalipuram town, overlooking the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal in Kancheepuram District in Tamil Nadu, India. Like the Shore Temple, the Olakkannesvara Temple is a structural temple. [3] Built in the 8th century, [2] it is situated directly above the Mahishasuramardini mandapa on a hillock which provides scenic views of the town. As the area is within a high security zone because of a nuclear power station a few kilometres to its south, photography is prohibited. [4] The Olakkannesvara Temple is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a Mahishasura temple. It is dedicated to an incarnation of Shiva. [5] It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. [6]

Contents

Etymology

Durga temple or Olakkanneshvara Temple above the Mahishasuramardhhini Cave temple, Mahabalipuram. Durga temple or Olakkanneshvara Temple above the Mahshasuramardhhini Cave temple.jpg
Durga temple or Olakkanneshvara Temple above the Mahishasuramardhhini Cave temple, Mahabalipuram.

Commonly, the building has been known as the "Olakkanatha Temple". Its original name, however, was Olakkannesvara, a corruption of "Ulaikkannisvaram" (meaning: the temple of Siva whose forehead contains the crescent moon or eye of wisdom). [7] Olakkannesvara is mistakenly called a Mahishasura temple as it is situated above the Mahishasuramardini mandapa (cave temple).

Geography

Olakkannesvara Temple is located in Mahabalipuram town. Facing east, the temple is accessed only be a series of cut steps on exposed rock. It is situated on the top of a hill, above the Mahishasuramardini mandapa near the modern lighthouse. It is approximately 58 kilometres (36 mi) from Chennai city (previously, Madras) and about 20 miles (32 km) from Chengalpet. [8] [9] The area is a high security zone as there is a nuclear power station about a few kilometers to its south. [4]

History

Like the Shore Temple, the Olakkannesvara Temple was built during the reign of the Pallava dynasty king Rajasimha. Archaeologist Albert Longhurst observed that prior to the construction of the present lighthouse at this site in 1900, the roof of the Olakkannesvara Temple served as the lighthouse with perhaps a wooden shed structure on the roof. [9] [10] Worship was offered in this temple till the nineteenth century. [9] [10]

Features

Olakkannesvara Temple Mahishamardini Rock Cut Mandapa.jpg
Olakkannesvara Temple

The structure is built of grey-white granite. [11] The shikhara or tower of the temple is interpreted to have been built originally to the same style as the Shore Temple tower in Dravidian Architectural style but is now non-existent. A small ardha-mandapa (half hall) leads into a rectangular shrine. An unusual feature is that of the carving of dvarpalas (guards) of the main shrine, which are in half-profile though the space available could have used to make a full-face profile as per traditional practice of the front facing style. This is typical of Mahabalipuram Pallava style and a similar profile of dvarpalas is noted in the Trimurti Cave Temple. This is interpreted as a transition from the Mahendra style of architecture to the Rajasimha style; the transformation was from a full front facing to three-fourths and then to half profile facing each other. However, the guardians carved on the back wall of the temple are in full frontal profile. [9] [10] The building was formerly lined with brick masonry. [12]

On the exterior walls, there are two sculpted images in the niches of the ardha-mandapa. Enclosed within pilasters, these images of Shiva as Kalantaka killing "Kaala" (Yama) are later additions, not attributable to the Pallavas. On external walls of the main shrine, there are other niches or devkoshtas; on the south wall the sculpture is of Shiva as Dakshinamurti under a tree in seated posture, on the west face an image of Shiva and Parvati seated on Kailash Mountain with Ravana trying to shake the mountain, and an image on the north wall is of Shiva in the posture of Nataraja. The sculptures are much ruined, and were plastered and painted over hence the originality is much less visible. There are a large number of lion pilasters on the walls. There are no images of any deity inside the temple. [9] [10]

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The Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram is a collection of 7th- and 8th-century CE religious monuments in the coastal resort town of Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) south of Chennai.

Varaha Cave Temple

Varaha Cave Temple is a rock-cut cave temple located at Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal in Kancheepuram District in Tamil Nadu, India. It is part of the hill top village, which is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the north of the main Mahabalipurm sites of rathas and the Shore Temple. It is an example of Indian rock-cut architecture dating from the late 7th century. The temple is one of the finest testimonial to the ancient Hindu rock-cut cave architecture, out of many such caves also called mandapas. Part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, the temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as inscribed in 1984 under criteria i, ii, iii and iv. The most prominent sculpture in the cave is that of the Hindu god Vishnu in the incarnated form of a Varaha or boar lifting Bhudevi, the mother earth goddess from the sea. Also carved are many mythical figures.

Shore Temple Structural temple, built with blocks of granite, dating from the 8th century AD, it is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Shore Temple is so named because it overlooks the shore of the Bay of Bengal. It is located near Chennai in Tamil Nadu.

Dharmaraja Ratha

Dharmaraja Ratha is a monument in the Pancha Rathas complex at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is an example of monolith Indian rock-cut architecture. Dating from the late 7th century, it is attributed to the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I of the Pallava Kingdom. The entire complex is under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

Arjuna Ratha

Arjuna Ratha is a monument from the Pallava Period at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. Dated to the seventh century, it is an example of early Dravidian architecture and of monolith Indian rock-cut architecture dating from the late 7th century during reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I of the Pallava Kingdom. One of the Pancha Rathas, it is believed to have been completed before the Dharmaraja Ratha, and like that and the Bhima Ratha, the stone temple is a replica of an earlier wooden version which preceded it. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

Draupadi Ratha

The Draupadi Ratha is a monument in the Pancha Rathas complex at Mahabalipuram, previously called Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture. Dating from the late 7th century, it is attributed to the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I of the Pallava Kingdom. The entire complex is under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

Nakula Sahadeva Ratha

Nakula Sahadeva Ratha is a monument in the Pancha Rathas complex at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is an example of monolith Indian rock-cut architecture. Dating from the late 7th century, it is attributed to the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I of the Pallava Kingdom. The entire complex is under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

Mahishasuramardini Mandapa

Mahishasuramardhini Mandapa is an example of Indian rock-cut architecture dating from the late 7th century, of the Pallava dynasty. It is a rock-cut cave temple located on a hill, near a lighthouse, along with other caves in Mamallapuram. Mamallapuram, also popularly known as Mahabalipuram, is a small village to the south of Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1984. This Cave Temple has many interesting architectural features of which three exquisitely carved reliefs on the cave walls of three sanctums are prominent. One is of Vishnu reclining on the seven hooded serpent, Adisesha, another of Durga, the main deity of the cave temple Durga slaying the buffalo headed demon Mahishasura, and the third sanctum also has a sculpture of Shiva.

Ganesha Ratha

Ganesha Ratha is a temple in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of ten rathas ("chariots") carved out of pink granite within the group of monuments of the Pallava Period at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO-inscribed World Heritage Site since 1984. The ratha is an example of monolith Indian rock-cut architecture dating from the late seventh century during the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I. Initially constructed with a Shiva Linga, it is now deified with a Ganesha deity after the linga was removed.

Cave Temples of Mahabalipuram

The Cave Temples of Mahabalipuram are part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, less well-known than the ratha temples.

Panchapandava Cave Temple

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Mamandur

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Pallava art and architecture

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Nithyakalyana Perumal temple

Nithyakalayana Perumal temple in Thiruvidandai, a village in Chennai, Kanchipuram district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to Varaha, the boar avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture, the temple is glorified in the Divya Prabandha, the early medieval Tamil canon of the Azhwar saints from the 6th–9th centuries AD. It is one of the 108 Divyadesam dedicated to Vishnu, who is worshipped as Nithyakalayana Perumal (Varaha) and his consort Lakshmi as Komalavalli Thayar. The original structure of the temple was built by the Pallavas during the 7th century CE, with later additions from the Cholas during the 11th century.

References

  1. ↑ Sivaramamurti, C. (1978). Mahābalipuram. Director General, Archaeological Survey of India. p. 18. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Olakkannesvara Temple". Brigham Young University.
  3. ↑ "Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram". UNESCO. 15 October 1982. p. 3.
  4. 1 2 Singh, Sarina; Karafin, Amy; Mahapatra, Anirban (1 September 2009). South India. Lonely Planet. pp. 411–. ISBN   978-1-74179-155-6 . Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  5. ↑ Ward, Philip (1991). South India: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa : a travel guide. Oleander. p. 37. ISBN   978-0-900891-31-1 . Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram". UNESCO. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  7. ↑ Mārg̲. Marg Publications. 1969. p. 77. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  8. ↑ Ayyar, P. V. Jagadisa (1982). South Indian Shrines: Illustrated. Asian Educational Services. pp. 157–. ISBN   978-81-206-0151-2 . Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mahabalipuram – The Workshop of Pallavas – Part V – Structural Temples". Olakkanneshvara Temple. Puratattva.in. 4 August 2010. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Mahabalipuram – The Workshop of Pallavas – Part II". Olakkanneshvara Temple. Puratattva.in. 4 August 2010. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  11. ↑ Tömöry, Edith (1 June 1982). A history of fine arts in India and the West. Orient Longman. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  12. ↑ Madras literary society (1881). J.C. Morris (ed.). The Journal [afterw.] The Madras journal of literature and science (Public domain ed.). p. 120. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
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