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| Kailasanathar swamy temple, Tharamangalam, Salem Dt. , TN en.wikipedia.org |
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| Door with spikes, Tharamangalam temple, Salem dt.nandinisquare.blogspot.com/ |
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| Kailasanathar temple entrance Tharamangalam salemtourism.blogspot.com/ |
Above images: Kailasanathar temple, Tharamangalam, near Salem city of Tamil Nadu. Tall wooden entrance doors with sharp spikes. This temple is a hidden architectural wonder. ..............
People of Tamil Nadu are not familiar with a beautiful old Hindu temple of Tharamangalam, a small town located about 27 km west of Salem City. Dedicated to God Shiva, this temple known as Kailasanathar temple is not popular as other Shiva temples of this state. Part of the reason is lack of publicity on the part of the Tamil Nadu Tourism department, hence this temple go unnoticed by people visiting Salem and its vicinity This 10th century temple is endowed with amazing stone sculptures, attractive mantaps (halls) with ornate pillars.
it is said that parts of the temple have been around since the 10th century and records point out that the entire temple was completed by the 17th century during the reign of the Gatti Mudhali dynasty. The interesting aspect of stone sculptures of this temple is they are all made out of monolithic stones and the catchy carvings are done with meticulous care and imagination.
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Kailasanathar temple, Tharamangalam, Salem ommons.wikimedia.org
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Tharamangalam, Salem ommons.wikimedia.org
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Above image: Kailasanathar ytemple, Tharamangalam, salem, dedicated to Sri Shiva. The image shows ornate pillar with Yali images supporting the cross stone beams and the ceiling.................
On the ceiling just in front of the entrance to the inner sanctum, one can see an inverted open lotus with pairs of beautiful chains carved out of stone. The architectural marvel here is this lotus can be rotated with a stick. The sculptors were not only imaginative, but also would have spent much time on such grand sculptures. Another attraction is an imposing Yali (a mystic animal) with a big stone ball inside its mouth, which can also be rotated. That how this grotesque stone figure with a huge rotating ball inside the mouth was sculpted is a mystery. It shows the technical knowledge and sculptural finesse of talented stone workers of the past era. The temple mantap also has various nicely carved sculptures of deities, men , women and others...........................
The main tower of the temple conceived as a chariot drawn by elephants and horses is a tall one - 90foot tall. The main deity - God Shiva is enshrined in the sanctum and its access is through a portico supported by six carved stone pillars. There are well- executed sculptures of princes on horseback, apparently on a hunting expedition. On the walls of the temple are embedded Nandi images, yet another common features in all south Indian Shiva temples. Every year, it is said, in February the sun rays falling through a small hole will bathe the the image of Shiva in the main shrine.
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Tharamangalam temple ornate pillars mapio.net
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| Salem, Tamil nadu, location map. mapsofindia.com |
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As in many of the Hindu temples there are numerous well-made stone carvings of puranic episodes from the Ramayana .The sculpture depicting the killing of Vali (Vali Vadham) by Sri Rama (hiding behind the tree) gets the attention of the visitors to this temple From Vali's position, Rama's position is not visible, on the other hand Sri Rama can view Vali's position.
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