Architecture of the Sri Pandava Doota Perumal Temple
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Sri Pandava Doota Perumal Temple is famous for its exquisite architectural designs.
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Sri Pandava Doota Perumal Temple is famous for its exquisite architectural designs. The architectural trappings throughout the temple surface enhanced the grandeur of the legendary Vishnu Temple of Kanchipuram. The main sanctum enshrining Pandava Doota Perumal is very large conforming to the huge size of the deity. The entire temple is rectangular in structure with a very high barrel-shaped roof known as Bhadra Vimana. The original shrine was probably built of brick and later remodeled in stone during the Chola period of about the 11th -12th centuries A.D, as the later researches articulate. The maha-mandapa is the principal chamber of the Pandava Doota Perumal Temple. According to the historians, this maha-mandapa in front of the main shrine also belongs to the Chola age as seen from the pattern of the pillars. The architectural trappings of the maha mandapa are one of the chief attractions of the temple. There is a mukha-mandapa in front of the maha-mandapa, which was constructed, in later times, probably in the Vijaynagar age.
Apart from the exceptional architectural carvings the structure and construction of the temple also enhance its majestic grandeur. Sri Pandava Doota Perumal Temple has only one enclosure or prakara. The main shrine is surrounded by very few sub-shrines. The sanctum of Goddess Rukmini, the consort of Lord Krishna situated close to the main shrine on the south side and facing east was also probably built or rebuilt during the Chola days. There is a sanctum, constructed in recent times, enshrining the idol of Sudarsana (Chakrattazhvar) with Lord Narasimha on the reverse side situated on the north side of the prakara. On the northeastern corner of this temple-complex is the sacred tank, which is also, called pushkarini. This pushkarini or the sacred tank is known as Matsya Tirtham. The main entrance to this temple is through the eastern doorway over which is a small four-tiered gopura, constructed during the Vijayanagara times.
The architectural style and structural design of the Sri Pandava Doota Perumal temple lend it not only the majestic grandeur but also makes it exclusive from the contemporary ones.
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