Vadakkumnathan Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva at city of Thrissur, of Kerala state in India. This temple is a classical example of the architectural style of Kerala and has one monumental tower on each of the four sides in addition to a kuttambalam. Mural paintings depicting various scenes from the Mahabharata can be seen inside the temple. The shrines and the Kuttambalam display vignettes carved in wood. The temple, along with the mural paintings, has been declared as a National Monument by India under the AMASR Act. According to popular local lore, this is the first temple built by Parasurama, the sixth avatara of Vishnu. Thekkinkadu Maidan, encircling the Vadakkunnathan Temple, is the main venue of the renowned Thrissur Pooram festival.
The Rajarajeswara temple is a Shiva temple located in Taliparamba in Kannur district of Kerala, South India. The temple is regarded as one of the existing 108 ancient Shiva Temples of ancient Kerala. It also has a prominent place amongst the numerous Shiva temples in South India. It had the tallest shikhara amongst the temples of its time. The Rajarajeshwara temple has a top of about 90 tonnes. If any problem is encountered in the other temples of South India, devotees seek a solution in this temple through a prasna, a traditional method of astrological decision making. The prasna is conducted on a peedha outside the temple.
The Udayagiri Caves are twenty rock-cut caves near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh from the early years of the 5th century CE. They contain some of the oldest surviving Hindu temples and iconography in India. They are the only site that can be verifiably associated with a Gupta period monarch from its inscriptions. One of India's most important archaeological sites, the Udayagiri hills and its caves are protected monuments managed by the Archaeological Survey of India.
The Chitharal Jain Monuments; also known as Chitharal Malai Kovil, Chitaral Cave Temple or Bhagwathi Temple, Chitral, are found in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. They consist of stone beds with inscriptions, and two monuments – one rock cut Jain temple with outer wall reliefs and one Hindu goddess temple next to it that is a combination of rock-cut and stone that was added during the reign of Vikramaditya Varaguna Pandya. The monuments are from the 9th-century.
Sittanavasal Cave is a 2nd-century Jain complex of caves in Sittanavasal village in Pudukottai district of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name is a distorted form of Sit-tan-na-va-yil, a Tamil word which means "the abode of great saints".
Kulasekhara, one of the twelve Vaishnavite alvars, was a bhakti theologian and devotional poet from medieval south India. He was the author of "Perumal Tirumoli" in Tamil and "Mukundamala" in Sanskrit. The Perumal Tirumoli, whose second decade is known as "Tetrarum Tiral", is compiled as a part of Nalayira Divya Prabandham. The Trikkulasekharapuram Temple in Kodungallur was founded and built by the alvar.
Nagaraja Temple is an early large temple found in the city of Nagercoil (Nagarkōyil) near the southern tip of Tamil Nadu, India. Its dating is uncertain but likely pre-12th-century. The main sanctum is dedicated to the Nagaraja – the king of serpents. Iconography found in the temple, inscriptions and literary evidence suggests that the Nagaraja main shrine may initially have been an active Jain temple with Jain priests through the 16th-century CE, one that also attracted the Hindus. Alternatively, it was a temple that integrated diverse ideas such Hindu and Jaina iconography. Since the 17th-century, new Hindu shrines have been added to the temple complex attracting devotees of Krishna (Vishnu), as well as Shaiva and Shakti Hindus. The original Jaina iconography of the Tirthankaras and Padmavati Devi have and continue to remain a part of the sacred pantheon close to the temple's main sanctum.
Thiruparankundram Murugan Temple or Subramanya Swamy Temple is a Hindu temple and one of the Six Abodes of Murugan, located at Thiruparankundram. The temple is built in rock-cut architecture and believed to have been built by the Pandyas during the 6th century. According to the legend it is where Murugan slayed the demon Surapadman and married Deivayanai, the divine daughter of the king of heaven, Indra, and he is said to have worshipped Shiva here as Parangirinathar.
Ay dynasty was an Indian ruling lineage which controlled the south-western tip of the peninsula, from the early historic period up to the medieval period. The clan traditionally held sway over the harbour of Vizhinjam, the fertile region of Nanjinad, and southern parts of the spice-producing Western Ghat mountains. The dynasty was also known as Kupaka in medieval period.
Thirunanthikarai is a village situated in Thirparappu panchayath, in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. This village comes under the post office of Kulasekharam, 3 km away, and is located along the Kulasekharam–Pechiparai road.
Peruvudaiyār Kōvil also called Rajarajeswaramor Brihadishwara temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in South bank of Kaveri river in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the largest South Indian temples and an exemplary example of a fully realized Tamil architecture. It is called as Dhakshina Meru. Built by Tamil king Raja Raja Chola I between 1003 and 1010 AD, the temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the "Great Living Chola Temples", along with the Chola dynasty era Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and Airavatesvara temple that are about 70 kilometres (43 mi) and 40 kilometres (25 mi) to its northeast respectively.
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.
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.
Mamandur is a village in Tiruvanamalai district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is located on the Kanchipuram - Vandavasi road, near Dusi and about 15 km from Kanchipuram. It is known for the 7th-century rock-cut cave temple, housing a Tamil Brahmi inscription, one of the monuments of national importance as declared by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Vikramaditya —better known as Vikramaditya "Varaguna"—was a monarch of the Ay dynasty of south India. His surname indicates that he was a vassal or feudatory of the Pandya ruler Varaguna II. He was the immediate successor of Karunantatakkan "Srivallabha", a vassal of Pandya king Srimara Srivallabha.
Vijayalaya Choleeswaram in Narthamalai, a panchayat town in Pudukottai district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Constructed in the Dravida style and rock cut architecture, the temple is believed to have been built during the 9th century by Muttaraiyar kings, the cardinals of Pallavas, with later expansion from the Cholas. The rock-cut architecture is an early example of Cholan Art, continuing the tradition of the Pallavas. The other portions of Narthamalai houses the 8th century Jaina Abode, the Aluruttimalai Jain Caves. There are also two rock-cut caves, one of which houses twelve life size sculptures of Vishnu. The temple is considered one of the oldest stone temples in South India.
Kunnandarkoil Cave Temple in Kunnandarkoil, a village in Pudukottai district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Constructed in Rock-cut architecture, the temple is believed to have been built during the 8th century by Muttaraiyar kings, the cardinals of Pallavas, with later expansion from the Vijayanagar Empire. The rock-cut architecture in the temple is a specimen of the late Pallava Art and an early example of Chola Art. The temple has various inscriptions from Cholas, Chalukyas, Pandyas and Vijayanagar Empire. The temple is considered one of the oldest stone temples in South India. The temple is maintained and administered by Department of Archaeological Survey of India as a protected monument.
Thiruvatta Mahadeva Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is situated on the banks of the Manimalayar (river) in Thiruvalla of Pathanamthitta District in Kerala state in India. References to this temple is found in Vazhappally inscription relates to the rule of Kodungallur Chera king Rama Rajasekhara and temple at Vazhappally. It is the earliest available epigraphical record mentioning a Kodungallur Chera king and written in Malayalam language. According to folklore, sage Parashurama has installed the idol of Lord Shiva in the Treta Yuga. The temple is a part of the 108 famous Shiva temples in Kerala.
Parthasarathy Temple, also spelled Parthasarathi Temple, is a 9th-century Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Spread over 2.5 acres, the temple is notable for the extensive records about it that have been discovered in Huzur Plates of Kollam. The inscriptions on these plates describe how the temple was built along with a salai for 95 students to study the Vedas and other subjects in the Taittiriya, Talavakara and Bhavishya sakhas.
Thirupparankundram Rock-cut Cave and Inscription, also known as Umai Andar or Umaiyandar temple, is a rock cut cave temple with inscriptions at the foot of the Thirupparankundram rock hill's south face. It is located in the town of Thirupparankundram, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southwest of Madurai city, Tamil Nadu, India. It consists of several layers of construction, the earliest is dated to the 8th-century early Pandya period, and the last to the 13th-century.
