This 12th-century building of Sarangapani Temple is styled as a chariot!
Looks like trouble for this man!
21 January Kumbakonam
An afternoon arrival gave just a bit of time for
sightseeing, so I headed off to a pair of temples in the center, Nageswaraswamy
Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and Sarangapani Temple to Lord Vishnu. Staff at
both discourage photography inside, though I only saw the NO PHOTOS sign at
Sarangapani Temple after I had taken shots of one of the temple’s stone horses
and wheels and a giant elephant.
This 12th-century building of Sarangapani Temple is styled as a chariot!
Looks like trouble
for this man!
22 January (Part 1) Kumbakonam
An autorickshaw driver offered to take me
around to visit prominent temples of Kumbakonam. I got an early start to see
what turned out to be one of my favorite temples, Airavatesvara, three
kilometers west of town. Raja Raja II (1146-73) built this late-Chola temple to
Shiva. Rajagambhira Hall, in front of the main shrine, has 108 finely carved
stone pillars—no two alike—inside and carvings of elephants and of horses
pulling chariots around the base. Deeper inside I could see the Shiva lingam and
get a blessing from a priest. Very few people had come out, so the temple
grounds felt very peaceful.
The gateway to Airavatesvara Temple
Even the gateway
has much going on!
Tower of main
shrine and Rajagambhira Hall
Rajagambhira Hall,
with the main shrine in the distance on the far left
Strange creatures
guard Rajagambhira Hall.
This Nandi would be
used to carry an image of Shiva in processions.
Another view of
Rajagambhira Hall
Column detail
Porch of
Rajagambhira Hall
A mighty elephant
Chariot wheel
Tower detail
Shiva emerges from
a lingam.
Vishnu, or maybe a
consort, I think
Back in Kumbakonam, I entered Kumbeshwara Temple with its long porticoed mandapa and a lingam said to have been made by Shiva himself when he mixed the nectar of immortality with sand. A temple elephant blessed visitors. I revisited Sarangapani Temple, the largest Vishnu temple and with the tallest tower in Kumbakonam, for a look at its rajagopuram (main gateway). The tower has 11 tiers and a height of 53 meters (173 feet); sculptures on it depict religious stories. Lastly I swung by the vast and very sacred Mahamaham Tank, surrounded by 16 pavilions. Devotees believe that every 12 years the holiest rivers of India, including the Ganges, flow into it, and a festival takes place.
In the
long porticoed mandapa of Kumbeshwara Temple
Meeting up
The main gateway to
Sarangapani Temple
Bold poses on the
gateway!
Mahamaham Tank
On to Tamil Nadu State: Chidambaram’s Nataraja Temple—Shiva as Dancer of the Universe
Back to Beginning of South India Backpacking Dec. 2018-Jan. 2019