Thyagaraja Temple, Thiruvarur – Royal Patronage
On Earth, around the 5-7th century, as the Pallava
monarchs sponsored research and refined the art of temple architecture as we
know it today, they evolved the first traces of Somaskanda in bas relief stone
and then in the experimental medium, bronze, for the Utsavam possessions. The
Somaskanda is one of the Lilamurthis, a form adopted by Siva for divine sport
on Earth. Shiva supposedly performed 364 such Lila’s in and around
Thiruvarur. The transition of the tradition between one dynasty and
another is apparently seamless as the Chola Kings adopted, refined and
popularized the Somaskanda iconography in bronze.
As far back as 6th Century A.D., this Aarur Moolasthanam,
the Sacred Primary Site at Aarur, and others such as the Araneri temples were
popular, flourishing as bastions of art, culture, and tradition. The
Thiruvarur temple complex was obviously extremely well known in the
6th century AD and had well developed, characteristic and esoteric
traditions even at that time. A poem of Thirunaavukarasar reveals
that the temple traditions of Margazhi Aathirai Vizha, Panguni Uttirai
Perunaal, Veedhivitakan in Veedhi Panni, celebrated for Thyagaraja and Nilothpalambal
today, existed even before the 6th century A.D.
The antiquity of the temple predates the documented
history that begins from the time of Mahendra Pallava. The province of
Thiruvarur, prominent because of the energy of the Thyagarajaswami temple, also
included temples in Thiru Moolatannam and Araneriyam during this Pallava
period. Later, in the 9th century, following Saint Sundaramurthy
Nayanar's poems, the temple at Paravayunmandaliyum was also included under
Thiruvarur.
These temples were originally bricks and mortar
structures with a lot of woodwork. Mahendra Pallava patronized this
temple and added many features, notably, the shrine of the Sapta Mathrikas (the
seven mothers), Ganesha, Maheshwara, and Durga in the outer prakara (second
perimeter around the temple) and the Yama Chandikeswarar in the inner perimeter
(first prakara). Later, from the 9th and 10th centuries A.D. the Imperial
Cholas undertook a project of immense magnitude wherein they set about
revamping all the major South Indian spiritual centers, temples, using the more
durable medium, granite.
The Thiruvarur Thyagarajaswami temple was first rebuilt
as a granite structure by the Chola king, Aditya I. Aditya Chola I
was the son of Vijayalaya Chola who resurrected the Chola line in the 7th-8th
Centuries AD. He is credited to have created 64 Shiva shrines along the Cauvery
from Madikeri to the Bay of Bengal. Aditya I had developed a unique,
signature architectural style well recognized today as that developed under his
patronage. At Thiruvarur, the Thyagarajaswami temple has several elements
that are evident in this style: The temple’s Peetam, Upa Peetam,
Goshtam, and the shape and style of the Vimana.
The two Dwarapalakas (door guards) outside the shrine of
the main Linga, Vanmeekanadar or valmikinathar in the inner sanctum appear to
be from his time. In the same chamber, Shiva and Parvathi are portrayed as
a newly married couple. They stand holding hands and surrounded by the
Devas. While we do not know when this sculpture was done, the style of appears
to be from these early Chola times. Apart from this and a Dakshinamurthy,
an image of Shiva as the Vedic guru, there are also other interesting images
such as one of Krishna with his flute from the same time.
The sculptures of Durga and her warriors, Kangalamurthy,
Arthanareeswara, Lingodhbava, various kings match the beauty and antiquity of
sculptures found in Thirunageswaram (also known as Keezhkottam) and Srinivasa
Nallur near Kumbakonam. The well respected and famous Chola Queen-Grandmother
Sembian Mahadevi (wife of Gandaraditya Chola) inspired Rajaraja Chola I to
revamp all temples built with brick, mortar, and wood into permanent granite
structures. She donated generously for the daily pooja and rituals
handing silver vessels to the temple.
During the Raja Raja I, a special palanquin was made for
the street procession of Lord, for which money was granted from the temple
coffers. Grand Celebrations in Aipasi Sathayam and Aadi Thiruvathirai were
introduced. There was a temple assembly that met regularly at the mandapa
to discuss the activities of the temple. A Rajaraja Chola I inscription states that Queen Sembian Mahadevi personally
supervised the conversion of the Karuvurai and Ardhamandapam of the Araneri
temple. Such personal interest, involvement and patronage of the Royals in
matters of religious and spiritual importance are well documented.
While archeologists say that the Karuvurai is in the
Queen Grandmother's style, there is some confusion whether she rebuilt an older
structure built by Aditya Chola. The temple complex seems to have acted as the
cultural model for the Big Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur of Rajaraja Chola
I, wherein he enshrined a Vitankar which shared with the Atavallan of
Chidambaram the status of state cult. The Chola king Rajendra I, son of
Rajaraja, also known as Madurantaka II after his Grand Uncle, rebuilt the
existing Thiruvarur Thyagaraja shrine in stone at the behest of his mistress
Paravai. He is also credited with upgrading some of the surrounding Mandapams.
The independent shrine complexes for the two Goddesses
of this temple, Neelothbalambal and Kamalambal, were upgraded by many kings and
the art in those chambers reflect several periods. The Mugamandapam
was constructed later. The last Chola monarch to play an important
role in the affairs of the temple was Kulothunga Chola III in the early part of
the 13th century A.D. There were 56 grand festivals each year during the rule
of Kulothunga I. It attracted Shaivites of all schools and was important centre
of Golaki matha in the 13th and 14th century.
