Pallava Cave Temple on Rockfort in Tiruchirappally

Lalitankura-Pallava-Griham is one of the two cave temples situated in the Rockfort complex in Tiruchirappalii, the other being a Pandya Cave shrine. Excavated in the early 7th century by Mahendra Pallava has a beautiful Gangadhara relief. The sculpture as well as the 8-stanza poetry has teasing double meaning, bringing out the multi-facetted personality of the king.

1. Lalitankura Pallava Griham
A Pallava treasure
on Tiruchirappalli Rockfort
S. Swaminathan
([email protected])

2. There are two iconographic
compositions
which owe considerably to
the Pallava-s:
Somaskanda
and Gangadhara.
Both these have captivated artists
through the ages.
Pallava Art Heritage

3. This depicts
Shiva and Parvati
seated on a throne,
and Skanda
on His Mother’s lap.
Brahma and Vishnu
are standing
behind the throne
as a mark of homage
to the divine family.
Somaskanda

4. Somaskanda,
is a Pallava conception.
The image is found
in almost all Shiva temples
of South India
from the Pallava period onwards.
Somaskanda

5. This sculpture from
Kanchipuram is a
Pallava composition
of the 7
th
century.
Somaskanda

6. Later the Chozha artist expressed himself
eloquently in bronze
Somaskanda

7. The theme
attracted painters
through ages
Somaskanda

8. The lord acquiescing
to the wishes of Bhagiratha
and subduing
the mighty Ganga
has been a fertile field
for creativity.
Gangadhara

9. Gangadhara
Pudukkottai; Pandyas; 7th Century
In this
early representation,
a relaxed Siva
holds a tress
into which
a prostrating Ganga
descends

10. Gangadhara
Elephanta; Vakatakas; 8th Century
Bhagiratha is seen on the left
kneeling and praying.
Ganga is above the Lord.
Siva stands firm
receiving the torrent.
Brahma, Vishnu and others gather
to witness the spectacle.
The smiling Parvati has Her head
turned slightly away.
Is she jealous and angry that
another women is given shelter?

11. Gangadhara
Kodumbalur; Irukkuvelir, 9
th
century
Poetic is this composition.
Siva’s face is suffused with a tender,
but mischievous smile on receiving Ganga,
while Parvati moves away
in mock anger.
The sequel is shown in the niche below.
The lovers are reconciled.
Parvati’s face is lighted up
as she is encircled by the arm of Her Lord

12. Gangadhara
Gangai-konda-chozhapuram; Chozhas,11
th
century
In this panel
Siva does not take chances.
He holds tenderly His consort
while receiving the mighty Ganga.

13. Gangadhara
Tiruchirappalli; Pallavas; 7
th
century
This is the earliest
in Tamilnadu
and is a creation of
Mahendra Pallava.
The composition is
not only poetic,
but carries meaning
at more than one level and
presents a puzzle

14. The shrines of Tayumanavar and
of the Uchchi-p-pillaiyar are well known.
But there exist three monuments
that are of greater antiquity
and are important art treasures.
Monuments in Tiruchirappalli
Rockfort Complex

15. The oldest is a cavern, a holy resort of Jain ascetics.
There are stone-beds
where the holy men practised severe austerities and
a number of inscriptions on them.
The earliest inscription in Late Tamil Brahmi
of the 3rd century AD is now lost.
Only three inscriptions in Early Vattezhuttu are extant
and these are dated to the 5th century AD.
These mention the name of the patrons of the Jaina ascetics.
Jaina Natural Cavern

16. Pallava Cave Temple
At the entrance to
the Uchchi-pillaiyar Temple
is an Early Pallava temple
in which is
the celebrated
Gangadhara panel

17. Pandya Cave Temple
At a lower level is a cave temple,
excavated by the Pandya-s in the 8
th
century.
This is believed to have been designed
following the Hindu Shanmatha doctrine of Adi Sankara.

18. Now let us visit
the Pallava cave temple

19. The Pallava Cave Temple
Importance
The Pallava-s introduced excavating
hard rock in the south in the 7
th
century.
This cave temple is one among
the earliest cave temples of the Tamil country.
This is the southern most cave of the Pallava-s.
Like the other Pallava monuments
this cave temple also holds some puzzles.

20. The cave temple built by Mahendra Pallava,
is dedicated to Siva.
Mahendra calls the shrine
Lalitankura-pallavesvara-griham.
Lalitankura, meaning charming-offspring,
is one among the many titles of Mahendra.
This name is found engraved in the temple.
Lalilankura
Pallavesvara Griham

21. Sculptures
The sculptural content includes
two Pallava dvara-pala-s
guarding the garbha-griham
and
the famous Gangadharapanel in bold relief.

22. Inscriptions
The cave contains some important inscriptions.
Mahendra engraved 80 of his titles in this shrine,
mostly on the pillars.
But, more important is
a poem of eight stanzas,
composed by the king himself,
in Sanskrit, written in the Grantha script.

23. Grantha script
Grantha, or more appropriately, Pallava Grantha,
is a script used in the Tamil country
to write Sanskrit.
It is also the mother script for Malayalam, and
script for most all the languages of the East:
Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Thai,
Laos, Khmer, Combodia, Vietnam etc.
This happened through
the political and cultural conquest of the East
by the Indian rulers, starting with the Pallava-s.

24. Temple facade
Just beyond the entrance to the Uchchi-p-pillaiyar temple
lies the cave temple
The cave is supported by four pillars.
The façade looks rather simple.

25. Pillars
The pillars are plain, square in cross section
at the bottom and top, but eight-sided in the middle.
They become more and more sophisticated later on.

26. Pillars
Beautiful geometrical shapes are found on the pillars.

27. Pillars
Titles of Mahendra, mostly in Grantha, some in Tamil,
are engraved on them.
ChaLisappuruTu ChiLundhu
(Grantha)
Chittirakkarappuli
(Tamil)

28. Mandapam
Beyond the pillars is a mandapam,
and in the rear the hall is another set of pillars.
On the eastern wall of the cave, is the garbha-griham
and on the west is the celebrated Gangadharasculpture

29. Garbha-griham
The typical Pallava sanctum is a cube of 9-foot each.
There are two pits, one for the lingam to be installed. The
reasons for the other pit is not known.
The sanctum is guarded by twodvara-pala-s.

30. Dvara-pala-s
Two two-armed guards,
in semi-profile
stand with one leg bent and
the other planted
firmly on the ground,
carrying a massive club.
Their dress, ornaments and
sacred-thread reflect
the contemporary fashion.

31. Gangadhara sculpture
On the western wall is the celebrated Gangadhara panel.
In the center is Siva as Gangadhara with attendant figures.

32. Gangadhara sculpture
On either side of the panel, are written eight couplets,
in Sanskrit in the Pallava Grantha script.
It is a great poem composed by the king himself and
explains the Gangadhara sculpture

33. Gangadhara
The four-armed Siva is standing
with His left leg on the ground.
His right foot is held up
by the head and an arm
of a crouching Siva-gaNa.
Siva’s upper right arm
holds a strand of His tresses
into which Ganga is descending.
Ganga is shown as
a small female figure
with folded hands.

34. Gangadhara
His lower right hand holds
the tail of a serpent.
His upper left holds
an akshara-maalaand
the lower one rests on His hip.
His sacred-thread is
vastra-yajnopaveeta.
The ornaments are:
coiled valaya-s around the wrists,
elaborate keyoora-s
above His elbows,
makara-kuNDala-s on both ears,
a broad necklace and
an udara-bandharound His belly.

35. Gangadhara
Siva’s head-dress is
an elaborate jaThaa-makuTa,
a rather unusual one.
It is decorated on the front and
held in position by a coronet.
On the top right side is
the moon and
at the left-bottom is a skull.

36. Gangadhara
His veshTi, reaching up to ankles
with the central fan-like pleat
of the kachchha
hanging between legs,
every fold clear and crisp,
is worn the way it is done today;
a tradition of continuity.
Round His waist He wears
a kaTi-bandha.
Another uttareeyahangs loose in a
loop in front and
has tassels on either side.

37. Now let us follow the other actors in this scene.

38. The crouching gaNasupporting the right leg of the Lord
with his head and palm is Kumbhodara.
He holds a serpent on his right hand.

39. To the right of Siva’s makuTais an animal.
Because of the prominent hump it could be a bull.
Is it taking the place of vRshabha-dhvaja?

40. Or is it a dog?
A dog is found in other Gangadhara-s,
the Pallava and the non-Pallava,
and this has not been satisfactorily explained yet.

41. Below, kneeling on either side of Siva, are two identical figures.
Also two others are seen in adoration on both sides.
All these four figures are attired very similar to the Lord.

42. Who could these people be, in the royal dress in Siva’s camp?
The customary Vishnu, Brahma and the deva-s
are not found witnessing the grand spectacle.

43. Behind the two kneeling figures are two identical rishis,
identified by their huge jaTha-s and bearded face.
Their inner hands are raised in veneration.

44. This bas-relief is an outstanding composition.
It is also the earliest composition in the Tamil country.
That the artist could achieve aesthetic excellence
on his very first attempt is astounding.

45. This must have inspired his illustrious son,
Narasimha Varma,
to attempt the world’s first open-air bas-relief
in Mahabalipuram, a feat never attempted there after!

46. The whole composition is an illustration of total balance.
It exudes the Pallava grace, every square inch of it.
Every character is perfectly modelled.
There is no overcrowding, no dramatisation.
It is beauty in simplicity.

47. We have not understood the reason
for the unusual attire of Gangadhara.
We haven’t identified the four princely figures,
and the animal atop.
The poem written on the sides gives some clue.

48. Inscriptional Poem
The inscription,
an 8-stanza poem
by Mahendra
in Sanskrit,
was first translated by
Hultzsch in 1890
and his reading is
more or less followed
even today by
most epigraphists.
But I will be following
the interpretation of
Michael Lockwood

49. Gist of the Poem
Let me give the gist of the poem,
which, of course, does reflect
the poetic beauty of the composition.
Author says:
The God, when approached by the author
to take an earthy abode,
wished to see the fertile lands of
the Chozhas and the river Kaveri.

50. Author adds:
The choice of the hill also served another purpose.
It justified Siva’s name a Gireesha.
Wouldn’t you call this vanity of Mahendra
attempting to justify the Lord’s name?
Gist of the Poem

51. Author continues:
The mountain became Siva’s chief jewel.
Then the author established an idol of Siva on his own image
and made himself immortal.
The second line perhaps explains the princely attire of Lord Siva.
Gist of the Poem

52. Now the author becomes mischievous.
The author adds:
Ganga, the daughter of Himavan,
now fearing that the Lord may become
infatuated with the river Kaveri,
left Her mountain-dwelling to reside here.
Some hold that ‘daughter of Himavan’
would mean Parvati.
Gist of the Poem

53. Did you notice that the cave
overlooks the Chozha fields,
but not the river Kaveri?
Did Mahendra cheat the Lord too!
Gist of the Poem

54. Dhvaniis a feature of poetry that contrives
two levels of meaning:
a direct meaning and a suggested meaning.
This suggested meaning that appeals to an aesthete
is really the soul of poetry.
This poem has both direct and suggested meanings.
So also the sculpture, which is novel.
Dhvani in the Poem

55. Dhvani in the Poem
Mahendra contrives the double-meaning
skillfully using his titles that are also
the names of Siva.
Gunabhara, Purushottama and Satya-sandha
are some of them.
Ganga could also mean Kaveri. And so on.

56. For example, in the last stanza,
when the author says that this abode of
Satyasandhais His chief jewel,
can be taken to mean that this is
the crest-jewel of King Mahendra,
for Satyasandhais a name of Siva and
also a title of Mahendra.
Dhvani in the Poem

57. Dhvani in the sculpture
Some hold that the sculpture has a contrived meaning too,
dhvaniin stone, a unique Pallava feature!
Let us follow this line of argument.

58. Mahendra says that he has made Gangadhara in his image,
which would explain
the unusual princely dress of the Lord.
The central figure can, then, be taken as Mahendra himself,
and then we shall attempt to follow
the suggested meaning of the composition.
Dhvani in the sculpture

59. Then, it is argued, that the royal dignitaries
on either side of Mahendra
would be their feudatories:
the Ganga-s, suggested by the theme of composition
and by the presence of descending Ganga
and
the Kadamba-s, who used dog-emblem,
suggested by the figure dog shown on the right!
Does this look a little too contrived meaning?
Dhvani in the sculpture

60. Gangadhara Composition
The Pallava dynasty seemed to enjoy teasing.
Many of the Pallava monuments present puzzles,
both intended and unintended.

61. Before we conclude, let me quote
the last stanza from the poem.

62. - -
4 4.
śilaaksharENa-janitaa-satyasandhasya-bhautikee
: .
muurtih keertimayeeñchaasya-kRtaa-tEnaiva-śaaśvatee.
This bodily image [of Satyasandha (God/king)]
was created out of the stone inscription
of Satyasandha [poet-king].
By the same imperishable character,
an embodiment of His/his fame
was made imperishable.

63. With this poem in stone was
a unique tradition of temple building
ushered in the Tamil country
studding its landscape
with countless icons of art and piety.

64. Thank you
S. Swaminathan