Tamilnadu
Temples - Tamilnadu can be truly described as the land of temples. An unique
style of temple architecture - Dravinian Art - developed here. More than
30,000 temples are there in this state only. Various dynasties throughout
the ages kept on building these extensively ornate temples. The temples in
Tamilnadu had a very unique feature. These temples used to dictate the terms
of the whole life of the people. One thing more, the temples in the north
India got demolished by the foreign invaders entering the north. But the
excellence in the temple architecture remained almost intact in Tamilnadu.
The Temple Architecture :
The Dravinian architecture means the style of very extensively decoration
and grandeur. The towers of the temple are known as Gopuram which are
heightened as much as possible. There are imposing towers over the entrance
from all the four directions. The Vimanam is the tower over the entrance,
over the sanctum and the spacious halls and corridors. The temple at
Tamilnadu may look similar to each other at the first glance, because almost
all the temples follow the same patterns. But every temple has it's own
distinct identity.
Dynasties Behind The Masterpieces :
The earliest of all the temples at Tamilnadu were constructed of brick and
mortar. The temples carved out of the caves were built till 700 AD. The
Pallavas built the temples of stone up to 900 AD. The Cholas especially
Rajaraj 1st and Rajendra 1st built the sublime pieces of architecture. They
added many ornate mandapams or halls to the temples and built the large
gopurams. The Pandyas (till 1350) liked the huge towers, high wall enclosers
and numerous towered gateways and modified the temples accordingly. The
Vijayanagar kings (1350-1560) emphasized upon the intricacy and beauty
specially for the decorated monolithic pillars. The Naiks (1600 - 1750)
added the pillar halls and the large prakrams (circumbulatory paths).
Being
a land of the temples, Tamilnadu offers a galaxy of marvelous temples. Some
of the important temples sites are here worth-visiting.
» Madurai Temple - The temples at Tirupporur (place
of sacred war) are dedicated to Lord Muruga. These thirty three temples are
of Pallava period. Tirupporur is 45-km from Chennai and only 25-km away from
Chingleput.
» Rameshwaram - This is the place where Ram offered
his thanks to Lord Shiva. Rameshwaram is the major pilgrimage centre of
Shaivaites and Vaishnavaites. Ramaswamy temple here is famous for it's
various pillared and painted corridors.
» Kanyakumari - This temple of Virgin Goddess is
full of devotees during Vaikasi and Navarathri festivals.
» Meenakshi Temple - Meenakshi temple is regarded as
one of the largest temple complexes in India with the area of 6 hectares.
The temple complex, an epitome of architecture has 12 gopurams or gateways
and a maze-like palace houses the idol of the Goddess.
» Chidambaram Kapaleeswarar - Chidambaram is one of
the major Shaivaites shrine in the country. It is the seat of the cosmic
dancer Nataraja.
