The Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram, about 75km south of Chennai, was one of the oldest we visited on a trip through Tamil Nadu last year. It dates from the beginning of the 8th century—the era of the Pallava dynasty—and is in a reasonably good condition for its age.
Even taking into account that there will undoubtedly have been various additions and renovations since the temple was originally built, it is surprising that the ravages of time have not affected it to a much greater extent. A plausible explanation we were given by our guide was that the original stonework had been covered at some point in the past by a protective layer of plaster, which has now fallen off or been removed in many places. (Once you know that, you start to notice yellow bits of plaster everywhere.)
The temple is dedicated to Shiva. Stepping through the main entrance, the first things you encounter are these two fierce-looking guards and their lion-like companions.
Such mythical lion figures—nearly always standing on their hind legs—adorn many of the pillars on the temple buildings and the perimeter walls. They are apparently also common on other monuments of the Pallava era, which is why they are often referred to as ‘Pallava lions’. Where they were depicted in a sitting position, they reminded me of the lion statues you see all over Thailand and other parts of South-East Asia.
The temple complex features a multitude of elaborate carvings with a religious theme. Shiva, of course, is a common motif.
Altogether there are 58 small shrines here which are dedicated to various forms of Shiva.
In Hindu mythology the bull—’Nandi’ in Sanskrit—is Shiva’s mount.
The photo below shows the central part of the complex. The prayer hall at the front had originally been detached, but was linked at a later stage to the main shrine through the addition of another small hall. You can see from the photo that the budget for this had clearly been more limited!
Kanchipuram is known as the ‘City of Thousand Temples’. This is an exaggeration, but there certainly are very many. Whilst some of them are quite small—big shrines really—there are also large ones, like the huge Sri Ekambaranathar temple. One of its impressive gopurams is depicted below.
