Mandagapattu Tirumurti Temple, Villupuram

Address

Mandagapattu Tirumurti Temple, Mandagapattu ,Vanniyapuram, Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu 605203

Diety

Shiva

Introduction

Mandagapattu Tirumurti Temple is a Shiva temple situated in the village of Mandagapattu in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. Hewn from rock by the Pallava ruler Mahendravarman I in honour of the Hindu Trinity, the cave temple is the considered to be the oldest stone shrine to a Hindu god Shiva to be discovered in Tamil Nadu. In one of his inscriptions, Mahendravarman I boasts that he caused a stone temple to be built in honour of the Hindu Trinity without the use of brick, mortar, timber or metal. The Pallava temples along with a similar group by the Chalukyas of Badami represent the earliest Hindu stone temples in southern India. The temples were a significant architectural innovation as they marked the transition from wooden structures to stone. Other deity Laksitayatna and dedicates it to Brahma, Ishvara, and Vishnu, Shiva.

Puranic Significance

The first rock-cut temple built by King Mahendra Varma Pallava – I in the 7th century CE, Mandagapattu Cave Temple is an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monument. It is also called Lakshita Yathanam and predates the sculpted wonders of Mahabalipuram (Mamallapuram).