LATE PANDYA STYLE OR MADURA STYLE(1565AD-1600AD)

BY-archilects

HISTORY

PERIOD:-1565AD – 1600AD

End of two centuries of resistance vijaynagar ‘CITY OF VICTORY’ fell in 1565 to mohamedan invaders.

Hindus move towards south and founded the city MADURA under the NAYAK kings

Madura style developed rapidly under THIRUMALA NAYAK

Encouraging work and extending existing shrines begans

STAGES OF EXPANSION

FIRST STAGE:- Forming an enclosure surrounding the whole temple and providing subsidiary shrine with pillard hall

SECOND STAGE:- Enclosing temple with high walls leaving wide-space PRAKARAM, four GOPURAMS, entered at cardinal point, eastern side being the largest than rest.

Two important structures commonly found one is the hypostyle hall of vast number of pillars and other square tank for ritual ablusion.

CHARACTERISTIC

The culmination of the Dravidian style is seen in the MADURA STYLE who continued the building style and technique of the Pandyas and improved on it.

Vast size and impressive appearance.

Outer part of temple area with high cocentric wall encolsing open courtyard ‘PRAKARAMS’ approach through high ‘GOPURAMS’.

Pillar carved with rampant animal with gryphon bracket is employed to support roof.

The Nayak architecture are the hundred pillared mandapa.

The lofty gopurams embellished with figures in their minute detail, the closed prakarams with huge pillars on either side

IMPORTANT TEMPLES OF MDURA STYLE

1. TEMPLE OF MADURA

2. MEENAKSHI TEMPLE

3. TIRUPATI TEMPLE

4. RANGANATH TEMPLE

5. RAMESHWARAMTEMPLE.

THE TEMPLE OF MADURA

(1623 A.D)

INTRODUCTION

IT IS DOUBLE TEMPLE WITH SEPARATE SHRINES ONE OF SHIVA OR SUNDARESHWAR AND OTHER OF HIS CONSORT THE GODDESS MEENAKSHI TKE FISH EYED.

THE TEMPLE MEASURES 259m X 221m WITH FOUR LARGE GOPURAMS AT CARINAL POINTS OF THE COMPASS.

THE ENTRANCE TO THE TEMPLE IS THROUGH GOPURAM ON THE EAST SIDE WHICH LEADS TO THE SPACIOUS AVENUE OF VIR VASANTHA RAYA MANTAPAM THE PILLARS OF WHICH DISPLAY SUBLIMITY AND GRANDEUR.

A SMALL GOPURAM LEADS TO THE SECOND PRAKARAM WHICH MEASURES 95m WIDE AND 128m LONG

THE SECOND ENCLOSURE CONSISTS OF KAMATTADI MANTAPAM

WITH LOFTY MONOLITHIC COLOUMS OF EXQUISITE CARVINGS. THE DIFFERENT MANIFESTATION OF LORD SHIVA

ARE DEPICTED ON THE PILLERS OF THIS HALL IT IS FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER COURTYARD 48m

WIDE AND 76m LONG THE IMAGE OF SUNDARESHWAR IS ENSHRINED IN

THE LAST ENCLOSURE,WHICH CONSISTS OF THREE COMPARTMENTS,ASSEMBLY HALL,A VESTIBLE AND THE CELLA OVER WHICH A SMALL SHIKHRA IS PROVIDED

MEENAKHSI TEMPLEThe approximate location of the temple is

9.919636‘ N, 78.119150' E (WGS84mapdatum).

• The temple was almost completely destroyed in the year 1310.

• The temple was restored to its pristine glory in the late 14th century when the Hindu Kings came back to power in Madurai.

• The King Thirumalai Naicker played an important role in the construction.

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HISTORY

• The temple which has five entrances.

• Covers an area 847 feet (254.1 meters) long and 792 feet (237.6 meters) wide in the North South direction,

Structure

The notable features of the Nayak architecture are the hundred pillared mandapas, the lofty gopurams embellished with figures in their minute detail.

• The temple of meenakshi measures 46mX68m.

• It’s entrance is by a gateway through a painted corridor About 9m long known as ‘ASHTHA SHAKTI MANTAPAM’ ,so called because after the eight statue of goddess which Support its roof on either side.

TIRUMALA VENKATESWARA TEMPLE

 Thiruvengadam

LOCATION OF TEMPLE

Vedic temple in the hill town of Tirumala

Near Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India

TIRUPATI

1.MAHADWARA GOPURAM2.SHANKHANIDHI – PADMANIDHI3.KRISHNADEVARAYALA MANDAPAM4.ADDALA MANDAPAM5.RANGANAYAKA MANDAPAM6.TIRUMALARAYA MANDAPAM7.TULADANDAM8.RAJA THODARAMALLU9.DWAJASTHAMBA MANDAPAM10.DWAJASTHAMBAM (FLAGSTAFF)11.BALI PEETAM (ALTAR)12.KSHETRA PALAKA SILA (BIG ROUND STONE)13.SAMPANGI PRADAKSHINAM14.FOUR PILLAR MANDAPAM15.SRI VENKATA RAMANA SWAMI’S KALYANA MANDAPAM16.UGRANAM (STONE HOUSE)

17.VIRAJA RIVER (Prohibited Area)

18.PADI POTU19.FLOWER CHAMBER20.FLOWER WELL (WELL OF

FLOWERS)21.VAGAPADI CHAMBER22.SILVER ENTRANCE23.VIMANA PRADAKSHINAM24.SRI RANGANADHA25.SRI VARADARAJA SWAMI

TEMPLE26.GHANTA MANDAPAM27.GARUDA MANDAPAM28.JAYA VIJAYA29.BANGARU VAKILI (GOLDEN

DOOR)30.SNAPANA MANDAPAM31.LORD RAMA’S MANSION32.SAYANA MANDAPAM33.KULASEKHARA PADI

34.SANCTUM SANCTORUM35.LORD VENKATESWARA

(PRESIDING DEITY)36.BHOGA SRINIVASA MURTHY

KOLUVU SRINIVASA MURTHY37.UGRA SREENIVASA MURTHY38.MALAYAPPA SWAMI39.SRI SUDARSHANA CHAKRA

TALWAR40.SEETARAMALAKSHMANULU41.RUKMINI KRISHNULU42.SALAGRAMALU43.PRADHANA VANTASHALA –POTU

(MAIN KITCHEN)44.VAKULA DEVI45.BANGARU BAVI46.ANKURARPANA MANDAPAM47.YAGASALA48.NANALA PARAKAMANI (Coin

counting room)

50.NOTLA PARKAMANI (Counting Room for paper currency)

51.CHANDANAPU ARA52.ANANDA NILAYA VIMANAM53.VIMANA VENKATESWARA

SWAMI54.RECORD ROOM55.RECITAL OF VEDAS56.SABHA ARA (SHELF)57.SANKEERTANA

BHAANDARAM (Treasury of Sankeertanas)

58.SANNIDHI BHASHYALU59.THE LORD’S DOLLARS60.YOGA NARASIMHASWAMI

SANNIDHI61.SANKUSTHAPANA

STHAMBHAM62.PARIMALAM ARA (SHELF OF

FRAGRANCE)63.SRIVARI HUNDI

64.BANGARU VARALAKSHMI65.KATAHA THEERTHAM66.VISHWAKSENA67.MUKKOTI PRADAKSHINAM68.TIRUMALANAMBI69.FIRST DARSAN(SANNIDHI

GOLLA)70.HATHIRAM BAVAJI71.TARIGONDA

VENGAMAMBA72.TALLAPAKA

ANNAMACHARYA73.ANANTHALWAR

MAHADWARA GOPURAM

MAHADWARAM

CHARACTERSTICS OF TEMPLE• THE HEIGHT OF THE MAIN

ENTRANCE HAS BEEN PERIODICALLY INCREASED SINCE 13TH CENTURY.

• THE PRESENT HEIGHT OF TEMPLE IS 50 FEET.

• THE OTHER NAMES OF ENTRANCE IS ‘PADIVAAKILI’ AND ‘SIMHADWARAM’.

• AREA COVERED BY TEMPLE COMPLEX=16.2 ACRES.

• ON EITHER SIDE OF MAIN ENTRANCE THERE ARE TWO FEET HIGH STATUES MADE OF ALLOY METAL(PANCHA LOHA). THEY ARE SANKANIDHI AND PADMANIDHI WHO ARE THE GUARDIANS OF ‘NAVANIDHI’.

• THE FIRST ENTARNCE IS OF BRASS, SECOND OF SILVER, AND THE THIRD OF GOLDEN.

Sri Krishnadevarayalu & his consorts

Sri Venkatapathirayalu

 SHANKHANIDHI – PADMANIDHI

• These are two angels guarding the wealth and treasure of Lord Venkateswara.

• As per tradition these guardian angels of wealth are installed at the third entrance of the temple.

• After saluting the first threshold, Sankha Nidhi and Padma Nidhi one would enter the holy Shrine by chanting ‘Govinda, Govinda, Govinda’KRISHNADEVARAYALA MANDAPAM

• Abutting the Mahadwara and to its right, there is a high-rise mandapam (Porch). This is called Krishnadevaraya Mandapam or Pratima Mandapam.

• This mandapam is constructed in Vijayanagara architectural style.

• To the right side of this porch, one can find tall copper statues of the emperor of Vijayanagara kingdom, Sri Krishnadevarayalu and his two consorts Tirumala Devi and Chinnadevi.

• These three statues placed in front of Lord Venkateswara express their devotion to him.

• It is said that Sri Krishna Devaraya himself installed these statues.

• On 2nd January 1517 A.D. and from then onwards this mandapam has become famous as Krishnadevaraya mandapam. Their names are inscribed on the shoulder badges of these statues.

• Sri Krishnadevaraya has made seven pilgrimage trips to Tirumala between 1513 A.D. and 1521 A.D.

• He paid his first visit to the temple along with his two queens on 10th February 1513 A.D. and presented a crown made of navaratnas (nine varieties of gems), 25 plates made of silver to the Lord.

• The queens who came along with the king presented two golden bowls for ‘Pala aaragimpu’ (consumption of milk). 

• By the left side of the main entrance or Mahadwaram there is a tall copper statue saluting with folded hands.

• This is the statue of Venkatapatirayalu, the king of Chandragiri, he was also a generous king who ruled Chandragiri during 1570 s and donated many gifts to the deity. 

 

 

ADDALA MANDAPAM• Twelve feet to the north of ‘Srikrishnadevarayala mandapam’, there is a glass porch.

• Every day at 2 p.m. a service called dolotsavam is performed to the Lord in this glass porch. Devotees are permitted to participate in this paid seva. 

• In reality, this seva is a north Indian contribution.

• There is no evidence to prove when this was built.

• There is enough evidence to prove that this seva programme began to be performed in 1831.

RANGANAYAKA MANDAPAM• Just opposite to the glass porch, there is another high rise mandapam called Ranganayaka Mandapam, due to the Muslim invasions between 1320 and 1369 A.D., the idols of Lord Ranganadha of Srirangapatnam were shifted to Tirumala for safe keeping.

• This mandapam is said to have been build by the king of Tirupathi, named Ranganadha Yadava Rayalu.

• It is in this mandapam Kalyanothsvams were performed to the Lord. But, due to the increase in pilgrim rush, daily Kalyanothsvams are performed in Sampangi Pradakshinam. 

• Ten feet to the south of the flag staff, there is another stone pillared pavilion called Tirumalaraya Mandapam.

• This was built by Saluvanarasimharayalu, the emperor of Vijayanagara, to express his gratitude to the Lord for his help in his victories.

TIRUMALARAYA MANDAPAM

TULADANDAM• All couples begetting children with the

blessings of the Lord, offer money in coins, silver, candy and camphor equivalent to the weight of their children as avowed by them.

• Even the patients who are cured of their diseases express their gratitude similarly.

• This Tuladandam is arranged in front of the Ranganayaka Mandapam.

DWAJASTHAMBA MANDAPAM• We are now in the vacant space between

the glass porch, idol porch (Pratima Mandapam) and Ranganayaka Mandapam.

• The golden flagstaff is located in the middle of a twenty-pillared square pavilion. To the east of the flag staff there is an altar and to the northeast, there is a granite stone called ‘Kshetrapalakasila’.

• This pavilion is said to have been constructed in the fifteenth centuryBALI PEETAM (ALTAR)

• This is called ‘Kshetrapalaka Sila’. It is said that this stone slab marched around the temple for providing security to the shrine at night. 

• A story in circulation tells us that a child falling under this stone slab while it was patrolling around the temple. To avoid recurrence of such mistakes, this stone slab was shifted to ‘Gogarbha Teertham’ which is in the vicinity of the temple and a tiny part of it was kept inside the temple for people to have a look at it. 

FOUR PILLAR MANDAPAM• Four pavilions in the four corners of

‘Sampangi Pradakshinam’ were built by Saluva Narasimha Raya in 1470 A.D in his name, his wife and his two sons.

• In the last years when the influse of pilgrims was minimal, the Lord was paraded in all his pomp and gaiety in this passage only, often stopping at the flour corners of the path for blessing the devotees after receiving their offerings.

SRI VENKATA RAMANA SWAMI’S KALYANA MANDAPAM• Earlier all wedding festivities of the Lord

were celebrated at the pavilion in the ‘Vimana Pradakshinam’. With the increase in the number of the devotees, these festivities were held for sometime in Ranganayaka Mandapam.

• At present a large zinc sheet porch is erected for this purpose as the space in Ranganayaka Mandapam is found in adequate.

Rameshwaram temple

Location :rameshwaram island

Style : later pandya

HISTORYo it was considered that lord rama was on his

way to attack ravana , he reached his place where he made a linga of sand and worshipped it.

o it said that when lord rama was drinking water on seashore there was a celestial proclamation-”you are drinking water without worshiping me”. listening to this lord rama made a linga of sand and worship it and asked for blessed so that he could vanquish ravana.

o lord shiva blessed him accordingly. he also requested lord shiva to reside eternally here so that entire mankind should benefit from it.

o shiva than manifested himself as the linga and got installed there for eternity.

DESCRIPTION

o situated in the island of rameshwaram,setu coast of tamil nadu reached via pamban bridge across the sea.

o the huge temple known for its long ornate corridors,towers and 36 theerthams.

o it represents the southermost of the 12 jyotirlingams of india.

o temple is spread over an area of 15 acres and has lofty gopurams,massive walls and a colossal nandi.

orameshwaram joytirlinga also boasts ofa 4000 feet long pillard corridors with over 4000 pillars.

othe carved granite pillars are mounted ona raised platform.

othe eastern rajagopuram towers to a height of 126 feet and has nine levels.

STRUCTURE:

The temple consists of five prakarams or wall enclosures

The outer most wall is 264m long and 200m wide and has four gopurams on each side.

The gopuram on the east side rises to a height of 45m in nine storeys

The two gopurams on north and south are unfinished

The structure is built on a huge granite blocks but

the super structure consists of coral cut into blocks

The pre ambulatory corridor extends up to 915 m long, 6m wide, and 9 m high, forming an avenue leading to shrine

Almost in every direction there is an unending row of columns

It conists of 200m long coluned halls on south and north direction

the columns are 3.6m high standing on a huge platform of 1052m high sculptures and elaborate carvings above

There are two large tanks with in the temple in addition there are small number of trithas or bathing gates each named differently

In garbha griha there is there is the linga or the emblem of shiva

under the name of ramalinga swami

There are figure of rama to right of linga with his consort sita,his

brother, lakshman,vibhishana,the brother of ravan and the foloower

of rama Sugriva, the monkey king

The temple at rameshwaram considered as the holiest place by hindus

It is at the very place wher eshri ram supposed to have enshrined the linga and worshipped lord shiva

On his return from lanka to absolve himself of the sin of killing ravan

-Tamilnadu

Ranhganath Swammy TempleTirucgurapalli,Tamiln

adu

The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple or Thiruvarangam is a Hindu temple dedicated to ranganath, a reclining form of Hindu deity, Vishnu located in Srirangam, tiruchurapalli, Tamil Nadu, India . Constructed in the Dravidian style of architecture,this temple is glorified in the thiviya Pirabandham, the early medieval Tamil literature canon of the alvar saints from the 6th to 9th centuries AD and is counted among the 108 divya desams dedicated to Vishnu. The temple follows thenkalai tradition of worship.

It is one of the most illustrious vaishnavya temples in South India rich in legend and history. Its location, on an island in Cauvery river, has rendered it vulnerable to natural disasters as well as the rampaging of invading armies – Muslim and European  which repeatedly commandeered the site for military encampment

The main entrance, known as the Rajagoporam (the royal temple tower), rises from the base area of around 13 cents (around 5720 sq ft) and goes up to 237 feet (72 m), moving up in eleven progressively smaller tiers.

 The temple occupies an area of 156 acres (631,000 m²) with a perimeter of 4,116m (10,710 feet) making it the largest temple in India and one of the largest religious complexes in the world

The temple is enclosed by 7 concentric walls (termed parakramas (outer courtyard) or mathil suvar) with a total length of 32,592 feet or over six miles. These temple has 21 gopurams (towers), 39 pavilions, fifty shrines, Ayiram kaal mandapam (a hall of 1000 pillars) and several small water bodies inside.

The space within the outer two prakarams (outer courtyard) is occupied by several shops, restaurants and flower stalls. Non-Hindus are allowed up to the second prakaram (outer courtyard) but not inside the gold topped sanctum sanctorum.

Shrines

Panoromic view of the shrines

The vimanam (shrine over the sanctum sanctorum), the Ranga vimana is shaped like omkara(om symbol) and is plated with gold.

 Ranganayaki shrine is in the second precinct of the temple. The common reference to the goddess is padi thaanda pathni, meaning lady who doesn't cross the boundaries of ethics. Literally, the festival deity of Ranganayaki also does not come out of the shrine and it is Ranganthar who visits Ranganayaki. There are three images of Ranganayaki within the sanctum

The Venugopala shrine in the south-west corner of the fourth enclosure of the temple is the work of chokkanath nayak. An inscription of 1674 specifies this nayak king as the patron. The exterior of the vimana and attached mandap(hall) have finely worked pilasters with fluted shafts, double capitals and pendant lotus brackets

Various gopurams(towers) of the temple

 Sculptures are placed in the niches of three sides of the sanctuary walls; maidens enhance the walls in between.

The elevation is punctuated with secondary set of pilasters that support shallow eaves at different levels to cap larger and smaller recesses. The sanctuary is crowned in the traditional fashion with a hemisphrical roof.

The double-curved eaves of the entrance porch on the east side are concealed in a later columned hall.dhavantari, a great physician of ancient India is considered to be an incarnation of Vishnu  there is a separate shrine of Dhanvantari within the temple.

Halls

The Hall of 1000 pillars (actually 953) is a fine example of a planned theatre-like structure and opposite to it, "Sesha Mandap", with its intricacy in sculpture, is a delight.

 The 1000-pillared hall made of granite was constructed in the vijayanagara period (1336–1565) on the site of the old temple.

 The pillars consists of sculptures of wildly rearing horses bearing riders on their backs and trampling with their hoofs upon the heads of rampant tigers, seem only natural and congruous among such weird surroundings.

 The great hall is traversed by one wide aisle in the centre for the whole of its greater length, and intersected by transepts of like dimension running across at right angles.

There still remain seven side aisles on each side, in which all the pillars are equally spaced out.

Hall of 1000 pillars with sculptures of riding horses

A Mandapam (hall) with 1000 pillars is the grand architechtural treasure of many south Indian temples

Thousand Pillar Srirangam.

A frontal view of the Rajagopuram of Srirangam

Courtly portrait sculptures, reused from an earlier structure, are fixed to the piers lining the central aisle. A free-standing shrine inside the hall contains a large seated figure of garuda the eagle-headed god faces north towards the principal sanctum.

The Kili mandapa (hall of parrot) is located next to the Ranganatha shrine, in the first enclosure of the temple. Elephant balustrades skirt the access steps that ascend to a spacious open area.

This is bounded by decorated piers with rearing animals and attached colonettes in the finest 17th-century manner. Four columns in the middle define a raised dais; their shafts are embellished with undulating stalks.

The most artistically interestin of the halls that the nayaks added to the complex is the sesha mandam on the east side of the fourth enclosure. The hall is celebrated for the leaping animals carved on to the piers at its northern end

Gopurams

There are 21 gopurams (tower gateways), among which the towering 236-feet Rajagopuram (shrine of the main gateway) is the second tallest temple tower in Asia.

The 73m high 13- tiered rajagopuram was built in 1987 by Ahobila Mutt and dominates the landscape for miles around, while the remaining 20 gopurams were built between the 14th and 17th centuries.

The gopurams have pronounced projections in the middle of the long sides, generally with openings on each of the successive levels. The Vellai gopura (white tower) on the east side of the fourth enclosure has a steep pyramidal superstructure that reaches a height of almost 44m

Rajagopuram

•the Rajagopuram (the main gopuram) did not reach its current height of 73 m. until 1987, when the 44th Jeer of Ahobila Mutt initiated the process with the help of philanthropists and others. The whole structure was constructed in a span of eight years.  •The length and breadth at the base of the Rajagopuram is 166 feet and 97 feet, while the length and breadth at the top is 98 feet and 32 feet. Befitting the gargantuan dimensions of the structure, every one of the 13 glistening copper 'kalasams' atop the tower weighs 135 kg and measures 3.12m (height) by 1.56m (diameter).

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