Kailasanatha Temple

Kailasnatha Temple is one of the oldest temples of Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. Built in 7th century this temple is known for beautiful architecture. Surrounded with beautiful curvatures, pillared halls and vestibules, pyramidal towers and frescos this is one of the well maintained temples of Pallava dynasty. Dedicated to Lord Shiva this temple was built by the Pallava rulers. Its construction began during the reign of Narsimha Varmana II who is also known as Raja Simha but was completed during the reign of his son Mahendravarma III. Depicting the architecture under Pallava dynasty this temple contains some fabulous structures of Lord Shiva in his Natraja form. Along with its sculptures it is also known for the vimana or the gopuram.

Kailasnatha Temple, also known as Kailashnathar Kovil, displays a unique architecture. It has its main sanctum facing the east side. The rear wall of the temple has a sculpture of Somaskanda (Lord Siva and Uma with son Muruga in the centre), which was always seen in Shiva temples of the Pallava age. There is a large sixteen-sided `Shiva linga` in the temple shrine here. This linga is about eight feet in height. In the temple there is a small passage which begins from the entrance of the garbhagriha and round the shivalinga. It starts from the right side and ends on the left side of the lingam. The Shiva linga inside is 8ft-10ft tall and carries a strip which is a unique feature of this particular lingam. According to the priests of the temple the narrow passage was built deliberately in which the devotees have to crawl and begin their rotation from the right and finish on the left side of the lingam. The process of crawling signifies that man crawls in his initial stage and learns to grow slowly and gradually while he again has to crawl in his later stage. In this way Lord Shiva ensures that there is no punarjanma if one is successful in completing the rotation.

Kailasnatha Temple was once visited by Rajaraja Chola I who named this temple as Kachipettu Periya Thirukatrali (Stone Temple of Kachipettu) which is the original name of Kanchipuram. It is also believed that after being inspired the sculpture and architecture of this temple he built the Brihadeeswarar temple in Tanjore.

Besides the Shiva lingam and the surrounding passage. The Kailasanatha temple has many attractive sculptures, which portrays the different manifestations of Lord Siva like Dakshinamurti, Lingodhbhavamurti, Gajasamharamurti and many others. These sculptures also depict Siva in various dance poses that speak of the skill and deftness of the Pallava sculptors and master craftsmen. The temple is also known for the fine pillars which surround the mandapa of the temple. From the entrance the temple has numerous pillars and panels which are rich in ancient sculptures. Commonly they contain the structures of lion and figures of Hindu gods and goddesses along with beautiful structure of Natraja. This makes it one of thoroughly decorated temples of Kanchipuram that depicts pallava style of architecture. Presently the temple is maintained by Archaeological Survey of India. There is a `Somaskanda` panel in the Kailasanatha temple, which is said to be the original image worshipped here. There is a lingam on the rear wall, which belonged to a later age. The row of fifty-eight miniature shrines on all four sides of the courtyard of this temple-complex facing the main temple is very remarkable feature of the temple. All these shrines here are of square shaped and are of sandstone. There are very gorgeous sculptures found inside the inner wall and on some of them the `Somaskanda panel` can be found. There is small gopuram at the entrance of the temple.

Thus with its well known sculptures and architecture it is considered as one of the oldest temples of South India.

The sculpture of Kailasanatha Temple, also known as Kailash Temple, is one of the finest examples of Indian rock cut architecture of the Pallava era. It is located in Kanchipuram. This structure dates back to the 8th century. It is a fine example of `sandharaprasada` which means containing two walls providing an ambulatory. The temple has been sculpted in such a way that it is reminiscent of Mount Kailash. Hence it has been named `Kailasanatha.` It is situated in the Ellora caves complex. Although it has been carved out of a single rock it displays the features of Dravidian art and architecture.

The architecture and sculpture of Kailasanatha Temple is noteworthy for its vertical excavation. It has been observed that the carvers started carving at the top of the original rock and excavated downward. The architects who built this temple belonged to the southern Pallava dynasty. According to historical facts it has been estimated that about 200,000 tons of rocks was dug for around hundreds of years to construct Kailasanatha Temple. This monolithic structure has chisel marks on its walls. From these it has been derived that at three types of chisels were used to carve Kailasanatha or Kailash Temple.

The gateway that leads to the temple is two storeyed and the courtyard immediately in front of it is U-shaped. The border of the courtyard has been decorated with a columned arcade that rises to the height of three stories. These arcades are, in turn, adorned by sculpted alcoves and panels. The alcoves house different deities that have been reflect the sculpture of that age. The carvings on the Kailasanatha Temple have been done in several levels.

The courtyard of temple has not been left empty. There are two structures in the courtyard. In front of the principle shrine a seated image of Nandi bull has been sculpted. This shrine has been further decorated with intricate and detailed carvings. While taking a look at the base of the temple structure it would appear as if elephants are holding the structure in its place. Inside the temple the pillars have been decorated widely with lions and at times with elephants, nagas and bhulas.

A living rock bridge has been built to connect the Nandi Mandap to the portico of the Shiva temple. The temple is in the shape of a pyramid that would instantly remind one of the South Indian temples. Other features that are present within the temple are inner and outer rooms, pillars, windows, gathering halls and the presiding Shiva linga. Carved out from a single rock the shrine has been decorated with deities as well as erotic sculptures. Most of these sculpted figures are found on the left side of the entrance. Amazingly the right side of the entrance has been adorned with the sculptures of the Vaishnavaite deities.

Besides these there are two `dhwajastambhas` in the courtyard. The grand sculpture of Ravana endeavoring to lift Mount Kailasha, the abode of Lord Shiva, with all his might is simply outstanding.

The gopurams are missing in this four-storeyed temple. Each storey is decorated with kutas, kostas and panjaras. Moreover the sculpted deities are inspired from those belonging to the Chalukyan era. Another important sculptural feature of Kailasanatha Temple at Kanchipuram is ornate designs on the outer walls.

Ellora Kailasanathar temple is covered fully with exquisite sculptures. This temple is the world`s largest monolithic structure. The great block of residual rock was carved into the three- storeyed vimana, the main mandapa, two giant dhwajasthambas and four sub- shrines.

With starting from the top, the mass of rock was given the particular shape. And as the layer was shaped to its proposed shape, the sculptors began ornamenting the structure. Hence, before moving downward, each layer was hewn and decorated completely, that helped in eliminating the need for any scaffolding. The main shrine and the Nandi mandapa are built on a plinth, at a higher level ranging over 7.8 metres. On the entire vertical surface of this is carved with mythical animals and gargoyles.

The Main Temple is seen as flanked on either side of the two free- standing pillars of some 15.9 meters in height. The gracefully proportioned pillars attract the attention & believed to have once borne for the trishul or trident of Shiva. Corridors have been carved into the mountain that ranges the temple on three sides. These corridors contain a series of sculpted figures depicting the scenes from the great Hindu epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The temple is flanked by huge elephants all carved from solid rock, pillars and podiums. The walls have pilasters and niches. Niches contain narrative sculptures. The sculptural decoration of the temple is not crowded. Along the base there are bands of sculptures relating stories from the epics. For example Goddess Durga fighting with Mahisha, the Demon Buffalo and Ravana shaking Kailasa have been sculpted.

Chota Kailasa Temple: More 2 kms along the same rock-face are the Jain caves. Among these the Chota Kailasa in cave 30 and the Indrasabha in Cave 32 are noteworthy. Chhota Kailasa is a miniaturized version of the Hindu Kailasa temple. And the masterpiece of the Jain caves can be represented through the Indrasabha temple. The doorway opens in a courtyard where a small shrine was placed. It is flanked by a huge dhwajsthamba and a statue of an elephant. The three-sides of the temple wall are carved in a series of shrines to the many Jain tirthankaras.