Panamalai Talagirisvara Shiva Temple, Villupuram

Address

Panamalai Talagirisvara Shiva Temple, Panamalai Pettai, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu 605201

Diety

Talagirisvara

Introduction

Talagirisvara Temple is located in Panamalai which lies 23 kilometers from Gingee, Villupuram in Tamil Nadu, India. The site is known as a location for various ancient structural temples built during the Pallava dynasty. One of them is the Talagirisvara Temple. Panamalai is again in the Senji-Villupuram belt. Here is a stone temple – stated to be the first – built by Rajasimha. This temple is atop a hill surrounded by scenic paddy fields. The shrine known as Talagirisvara is for Lord Shiva. It has Pallava trade mark ‘Somaskanda panel’. It has several ornamentally written Sanskrit inscriptions. It still retains a small piece of original mural on one of the smaller shrine on the left. Even after 1300 years, the paintings – however vandalized – are beautiful.

Puranic Significance

Narasimhavarman II, also known as Rajasimhan is credited with constructing structural temples of the Pallava dynasty namely the Shore Temple at Mamallapuram, Kailasanatha, and Talagirisvara temple at Panamalai. The temple is built on a small hillock overlooking Panamalai Lake. This 7th Century structure has a Vimana which resembles that of the Kailasanatha temple of Kanchipuram. The garbhagriha houses a Dharalingam and as in Pallava temples of that time, there is a Somaskanda panel on rear wall of the sanctum. There is an Ardhamandapam (half Mandapam). On the walls of the Ardhamandapam, one can see panels of deities such as Brahma with Saraswati and Vishnu with Lakshmi on either side. The shrine faces east and the garbhagriha is surrounded on all three sides by sub-shrines (Anga Kovil or Limb Shrines – which are attached to the main shrine). Mural on one of the smaller SHRINES.