A restoration feat

Published : Jan 17, 2003 00:00 IST

The Kailasanatha temple in Kancheepuram with the restored vimana and the row of devakulikas, at left. - ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

The Kailasanatha temple in Kancheepuram with the restored vimana and the row of devakulikas, at left. - ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

The Archaeological Survey of India restores to their original grandeur the vimanas of three Pallava temples in Kancheepuram.

vimanadevakulikas

IN a massive conservation effort, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has restored to their original grandeur the vimanas (structures built over the sanctum sanctorum) of three Pallava-period temples in Kancheepuram, about 80 km from Chennai. Two of these the Kailasanatha temple and the Iravatanesvara temple were built by Narasimhavarman II, who ruled between A.D. 700 and 728. He also built the famed Shore Temple at Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) near Chennai. The third, the Vaikunta Perumal temple, was built by Nandivarman II (circa A.D. 736-769) and is of great historical and archaeological interest.

All the three temples are built of sandstone. The Kailasanatha temple is the biggest sandstone temple in the world, according to K.T. Narasimhan, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI (Chennai Circle), who led the conservation team which began work in 1999. Its other unique feature is the 58 ``devakulikas'' (mini-shrines) that run round the main temple. They had frescoes that portrayed scenes from the Sivalila and sculptures of Uma Mahesvara, Parvati, Ganapati and Kartikeya, among others. The inscriptions in Pallava grantha on the temple walls include the various titles of Narasimhavarman II, such as Rajasimhan, Ajiranakanta, Srithara, Ranathira and Kshatriya Simhesvara.

Narasimhan said the sculptors fully understood the fragile nature of sandstone, and they placed huge sandstone blocks one on top of the other and then chiselled them into shape. ``The walls of the vimana and the attached shrines are a veritable treasure house of Saivite iconographic forms,'' said K.R. Srinivasan, former Deputy Director-General of the ASI, in an article ``Early Tondainadu Style, c. A.D. 650-800, Pallavas of Kanci, Phase I'', published in the Encyclopaedia of Indian Temple Architecture, South India, Lower Dravidadesa, 200 B.C.-A.D. 1324. The book, edited by Michael W. Meister, was published in 1999 by the American Institute of Indian Studies.

States Srinivasan: ``This is the richest of all Pallava shrines in terms of figural decoration. Sculptures occur not only in the main niches... but also on their flanks. They not only are inside the attached cardinal and corner shrines, but also are on each shrine's outer walls... Its vimana, though somewhat squat compared with the Shore Temple, and overly carved with figural ornamentation, is still very impressive.'' Conservation work relating to the vimana of the Kailasanatha temple involved lifting three shala stones, each weighing several tonnes, which had fallen to the ground a few centuries earlier, and positioning them in their sockets, said Narasimhan.

The ASI team discovered a sculpture of Vishnu with four hands (chaturbhuja) in the standing position and flanked by rishis (sages) and rishipatnis (spouses of rishis), when it demolished a brick platform built during British rule between two talas (storeys) of the vimana. The fact that Rajasimhan was a staunch Saivite made this an interesting discovery.

The platform has been built between the antharatala (that is, vestibule) and the first tala to prevent the collapse of another architectural member called karnakostha. ``Our research showed that the platform was accretionary and unwanted. So it was removed carefully. To our surprise, we exposed many architectural features of the first tala and the beautiful standing Vishnu,'' said Narasimhan. Conservation work on the main vimana, right from the first tala to the stupi (crown) stage, was complete, he added.

The inner walls of the sanctum sanctorum were given a coat of lime paste and the Somaskanda panel on the rear wall was restored to its original beauty. In fact, the Somaskanda panel, depicting Siva and Parvati with Karthikeya sitting on Parvati's lap, is the main iconographic feature of the temples built by Rajasimhan. A small passage around the sanctum sanctorum, which leads to the sorga vasal (door to heaven), was found to be damaged and was restored by strengthening its walls and ceiling.

The team uncovered rows of partially hidden sculptures of resting lions, the trademark of Rajasimhan's reign, when 14 buttress walls supporting the long black wall of the 58 devakulikas were pulled down. The buttress walls were erected because it was feared that the devakulikas would collapse. A scientific study showed that the apprehension was incorrect, said Narasimhan. The foundation of the devakulikas was strengthened and the buttress walls were removed ``in one stroke'', exposing the rows of lions.

At the Vaikunta Perumal temple, conservation work on the uniquely three-storeyed vimana posed a challenge, according to P. Chandrasekaran, Conservation Assistant, ASI, Kancheepuram sub-circle. Several panels of exquisite sculptures, depicting Vishnu flying on a Garuda, the Narasimha avatar and so on, were restored to their original splendour. The restoration work, which began in the mid-1990s, has been so meticulous that even the ornamentation on the stucco figures on the vimana stand out in bold relief.

The Vaikunta Perumal temple is the biggest sandstone temple built in the post-Rajasimha period. It was built by Paramesvaravarman alias Nandivarman II (circa 736-796 A.D.) and is dedicated to Vishnu. Here, Nandivaraman II achieved the ambition of his forefather Narasimhavarman I by building a chaturasra tri-tala (that is, square, three-storeyed) functional vimana to enshrine Vishnu in three forms _ standing, (sthanaka), sitting (asana) and reclining (sayana). The three storeys were formed by a system of three concentric walls forming three concentric squares. Tamil Vaishnavite saint-poets, the Alwars, have praised the temple as Paramesvara Vinnagaram.

According to ASI officials, the most significant feature of the temple is the depiction of the historical events that led to Nandivarman II ascending the throne. The events are sculpted in the square panels on the wall of the inner cloister of the temple mantapa. The aswamedha yagna performed by some Pallava kings has been beautifully sculpted a rarity in South Indian art. There is a sculpture of a visiting Chinese pilgrim too. Divisions of the army footmen, elephants and horses are found in the panels.

At the Iravatanesvara temple, while deplastering the inner and outer walls of the temple mantapam the ASI team stumbled on lamp niches, which had been filled with brickbats allegedly during earlier conservation efforts. The niches were found to be in beautiful patterns.

This temple, which is much smaller than the Kailasanatha temple, has been conserved in all aspects the dead plaster on the vimana has been removed, it has been `water-tightened' and the stucco figures on it have been strengthened. The work began last year and was completed in about a year's time. The sculpted image of Dakshinamurthy on the vimana and that of Uma Mahesvara on a rishabha (bull) were also restored.

The conservation and restoration work at the temples was done using a paste of lime and fine river sand. The sand was mixed with lime and ground to a fine paste along with gallnut, jaggery, `vilvam' fruit, neem gum and kathazhai (aloe).

The Kailasanatha Temple today wears a new look and it has been fenced in. The Nandi in front has been cleaned up and the road leading to the temple is being widened after clearing it of encroachments. The dilapidated temple tank would be repaired, said Chandrasekaran. Conservation work is also under way in the shrine dedicated to Mahendravarman in front of the main temple. This shrine, with a vimana, was built by Mahendravarman III.

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