Moving away from the rocky sea face of Pondicherry city, I began my search for very old Chola temples that's in the vicinity of this erstwhile French Colony. This was because my friend Dr Githa U Badikillaya, founder of Destination Heritage and is an expert on Indian Temples and its architecture had suggested that there were some temples that were older than the Chola temples of Chennai.
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| A temple that has seen additions till the 17th century |
This really gave me an impetus to make inquiries about their existence and it was not difficult to persuade Loganathan, an affable and enthusiastic auto driver. He managed to get the location of these temples and took us on a long dusty and bumpy ride - outside the city towards Villipuram. But reeling in the hot blazing sun, I decided to see only one of these temples – the Panchanatheeswara or Vadukeeswarar temple.
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| Temple arena littered with carvings, lintel structures,etc. |
Leaving away the quaint villas and colonial structures in the White Town of Pondicherry, we took the national highway (NH-45A) to travel nearly 25 kilometers that crisscrossed lush fields to reach Panchanatheeswara temple (Vadugurnathar at Thiruvandarkoil). At first sight, this structure was very disappointing as it looked like any other temple but forlorn and forgotten, standing amidst the growing urban settlements. We could not see many people or even devotees in the large garden area around the temple. There were one or two couples who had come to take advantage of the serene and calm place and were seen occupying some bench like structures in the large garden area.
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| Animal motifs on the outer temple wall |
Tired after the long ride, I too decided to follow their example and found a relaxing corner in this place surrounded by trees. However, even as I was dozing off, I saw some incomplete foundation stones, some carvings, and lintel structures lying on the ground. It must have been lying like this for centuries. After this short siesta, I got up to enter this temple. But my excitement at seeing such an old temple – it is dated as far back as 987 AD - fell flat as the temple seems to have undergone restoration and renovation at many stages and it no longer has any look of a Chola heritage temple.
It has been painted, cemented and all kinds of masonry work done in every nook and cranny. The outer wall of the temple looks pretty new as it has concrete painted walls. Fortunately, authorities have not touched the littered structures which actually depict the historicity and beauty of this place.
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| Inscriptions from a different era |
Gurkkal Ravi, the temple priest lamented that there were hardly any visitors to this place and added that it is only some “puva janma karma” that brought me to this temple. He added, “Nobody comes to this temple as it brings devotees here only if your pre-birth karma is finished or is completed.”
Dedicated to Shiva, Parvathi and Ganesha, puja and other rituals are held morning and evening. An ASI temple, the Panchanatheeswara shrine has undergone renovation many times. Built in 987 AD by Parantaka-1, the Shrine is known for the Bhairava manifestation of Shiva and this temple in fact, predates the Chola temples of Chennai.
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| Shiva in Bhairava form and on the left, inscriptions can be seen. |
The Bhairava deity are located in the north-facing and south-facing directions and is generally depicted in a standing position. With four hands, the deity holds a drum, a paasa (noose), trident and skull. Some forms of Bhairava depict more than four hands. Usually Bhairava is carved as a digambara.
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| A few damaged carvings |
Every era has seen a variety of additions to this temple from different dynasties including Pallavas who ruled this region. The present masonry structure that is seen is from the 16th century.
The outer wall of the Panchanatheeswara Temple has several inscriptions in Tamil dating back to the period of Parantaka Chola and other great Chola kings like Raja Raja Chola Rajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola. The inscriptions are basically about the visit of saints and the hymns written in praise of the Lord. This temple is considered similar to the one in Thanjavur but on a lesser scale.
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| Eight pillars in the central hall of the shrine |
There are eight pillars in the hall (arthamantapa) before the Lord’s shrine. Photography is not allowed inside the temple. The historical name of this place is Vadukur and that of the temple is Andarkoil. However, over a period of time, this place’s name has been changed to Thiruvandarkoil. Spread across two acres, the shrine is enclosed in concentric rectangular walls and hardly sees any footfall except during Shivaratri or any other big festival.
HOW TO GET THERE
Just about 19 kilometers from Pondicherry city, the temple is based in Thiruvandarkoil near Villianur. Also called as Vadugurnathar or Vadukeeshwarar temple, it is located on NH-45A route on the Chennai- Villipuram highway.
Location map:
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