The Temples of Tiruchanur – Nritta Ganapati

The sculpture of this form of Ganapati is found on the outer side of the south half of die front wall of the mantapa. This small and unpretentious temple is of great importance for the history of Tiruchanur. It is a fine example of early Chola architecture and is of…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Kankalamurti

Standing with the right leg slightly bent, this deity has four hands. The upper right hand feeds a dog standing at the right bottom and the upper left holds the Kankaladanda on the shoulder. The two lower hands hold objects. Anaga emerges to the right from his body and another…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Somaskanda

There is a seated Ganapati in the extreme right. Next to him is Siva, seated with the left leg folded and resting on the seat and the right hanging. He holds parasu in the upper right hand and mriga in the upper left. The lower right is in abhaya and…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Parvatiparinaya

Accompanied by two women with their hands in anjali standing behind her, Parvati holds an object in her left hand and with her right hand catches the out-stretched right hand of Siva. Siva, standing in samabhanga and holding ankusa in the upper right hand and mriga in the upper left,…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Nandimantapa

This small mantapa is immediately beyond the eastern wall of the prakara. It consists of an Adhishtana with four pillars on it supporting the roof. These pillars bear typical Chola capitals as do the pillars in the temple. It is of the same age as the temple.

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Suka

This image is placed to the left of the entrance of the Antarala l and is a representation of the famous sage, Suka. He has a beard and keeps the right hand with akshamala on the right side of his ; chest and the left hand hanging. His hair is…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Kamakshi

This Devi is the consort of Parasaresvara and is installed in a; small shrine which forms an extension of the northprakara wall.; She stands in samabbanga and holds ankusa in the upper right hand and pasa in the upper left. The lower hands are in abhaya and varada.

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Balasubrahmanya

This image is located to the left of the entrance of the above shrine. Standing in samabbanga, this deity keeps the right hand in | abhaya and die left in Katihasta. He is adorned with Yajnopavita, \ Udarbandha, Graiveyakas, a girdle with a kirtimukha buckle j and a garland reaching…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Kumara

This image, along with the two attendant images, is located in the north-western angle of the prakara wall. Seated on the peacock with the right leg bent and hanging on the side of the bird and the left leg bent at the knee and kept diagonally with its foot resting on the back…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Vishnu

This image is found in the central koshta in the western wall of the Garbhagriha. Standing in samabhanga, this deity holds samkha and chakra in the two upper hands, keeps the lower right in abhaya and hangs the lower left hand and touches the left thigh the tips of the…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Dakshinamurthi

The image of this deity is found in the central Koshtha in the south wall of the Garbhagriha. Seated with the right leg slightly bent and resting on the shoulders of theApas- marapurusha, lying prostrate below, and the left leg bent at the knee at right angles and resting on…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – Ganapati

This image is to the right of the entrance of the Antarala. Seated with his left leg folded and resting against die rear part of the portruding  belly, and the right leg bent at the knee and upraised and touchinh the side of the belly, this deity holds ankusa in the upper…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – The Parasaresvara Temple

This temple is situated in Jogi-Mallavaram, a hamlet to the south of Tiruchanur. It is inhabited by the weaver community which plies a busy trade. There are eleven inscriptions incised on the walls of this temple. The earliest of them is dated in the 23rd year of the  reign of…

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The temples of tiruchanur -The Padmavati Shrine

This shrine, situated to the north of the Alagiyaperumal shrine, is the object of main attraction for the pilgrims at Tiruchanur. Sri  Padmavatidevi, housed in it, is described as the consort of Sri Venkatesvara. This goddess is wrongly identified with Alarmel- manganachchiyar. Numerous inscriptions from the Tirumala temple statethatAlarmelmanganachchiyar adorns…

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The temples of tiruchanur – the varadaraja shrine

This shrine is to die south of the shrine of Alagiyaperumal and is now known as Sundararajaswami shrine. Three inscriptions refer to the deity of this shrine. The earliest of them (IV-157), dated 1541 A.D., mentions the car festival of Varadarajaperumal. The second, dated 1547 A.D. (V-99), mentions the Brahmotsavam…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – The Alagiyaperumal Shrine

This is the earliest  Of the three shrines found inside the compound at tiruchanur.The entrance of the compound, surmounted by a big gopura, faces this shrine and not the other two as is the case with the parthasarathi shrine and  the Govindaraja shrine situated in the same compound at tirupati…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur – The thiruvanaikoil

This is the earliest of the five temples of Tiruchanur. The earliest inscription relating to this temple is dated in the 51 st year of the reign of the Pallava king, Dantivarman, corresponding to 826A.D. It may be inferred from this that the temple existed from the beginnin of the…

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The Temples of Tiruchanur

Tiruchanur, popularly known as Chirtanur, is a village situated three miles to the south of Tirupati. This village was known as liruchchogiitur and Tiruchchukanur in earlier times and one late inscription calls it Srisukagrama. Tiruchchoginur is now represented by the small hamlet of JogiMallavaram, situated about a furlong to the…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Kamakshi

This goddess stands in samabhanga holding ankusa in the upper right hand and pasa in tile upper left. Her lower hands are in abhaya and varada. The Garbhagriha and Antarala are of the Chola times as indicated by theirarchitectural features. The other parts of the shrine might have collapsed on…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Dakshinamurti

This image is set up against die north wall of the hall adjacent to the Kapilesvara shrine. Seated with the right leg bent at the knee and resting on the back of apasmarapurusha lying below, with his legs apart and face turned up and the right leg bent at right…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Kumara

This image is on the pial to the left of the entrance of the Antarala of Kapilesvara. Standing in sambhdanga with the peacock behind him, this deity has four hands. He holds trisula in the upper right hand and vajra in the upper left. The lower right hand is in…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Ganapati

This icon is set up before the shrine of Kumara mentioned above. This deity is seated with his left leg folded and touching the fringe of the belly and the right bent at the knee and raised up. He holds ankusa in the upper right hand, pasa in the upper left,…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Kumaraswami

This image is set up in a small shrine in the back wall of the verandah before the shrine. Seated on a pea- cock with his left leg folded and resting on the back of the bird and the right leg hanging on its side, this deity has three faces…

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The Temples of Tirupati – The Kapileswara Temple

This is a small temple situated about two miles to the north of Tirupati town on the eastern bank of the Kapila-tirtham tank which is also known as Alvar-tirtham. There is a pillared verandah on the eastern, southern and western banks of the tank. The Kapilesvara temple is situated above…

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The Temples of Tirupati – The Krishna Temple

This is the earliest of the temples now found atTirupati. The Govindaraja shrine was built adjacent to this shrine with a wall inside separating them. The innermost gopura was built in the 13th century before this shrine and two more gopuras were added in line with this in subsequent times….

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The Temples of Tirupati – The Andal shrine

This small shrine is located between the second and third pillars of the first two rows of the mantapa behind the Chitrakutamantapa in the south-east comer. It is not possible to say when this shrine was built There is one inscription on the inner side of the north wall of…

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The Temples of Tirupati – The main shrine

As stated before, the two shrines of Krishna or Parthasarathi and Govindaraja are enclosed by four walls and appear like a single shrine. This enclosure contains, in the case of each shrine, a pillared varandah running on the south, west and north and a Mukhamantapa in the east. Within this…

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The Temples of Tirupati – The Kalyana Mantapa

This is a rectangular structure facing the east and consisting of a pillared hall, a pavilion of black granite stone and a shrine. It has a low Adhishtana consisting of upana, kampa, kampa, adhahpadma, kantha, tripatta, kampa, gala, kapota, alingapattika and antarita. The mantapa above contains three kinds of pillars-…

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The Temples of Tirupati – The innermost courtyard

This contains, in its southern part, a small open mantapa, the temple kitchen, a mantapa converted into rooms, the Kalyaruimantapa and the yagasala. There is a narrow open pillared mantapa on the west. There is a long pillared mantapa in the north, now walled and converted into rooms, and a…

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The Temples of Tirupati – The innermost gopura

This gopura is in the western wall of the second courtyard and leads into the third or innermost courtyard. Its walls on either side of the entrance are decorated with four pilasters. These pilasters contain, above the octagonal shaft kalasa, tadi, padrna, an open lotus and phalaka. The capital above…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Thirumalainambi shrine

This shrine is situated between the shrine of Ramanuja and die innermost gopura. It consists of a pillared verandah, a Hall and Garbhagriha. Of the six pillars in the front verandah, those at the extremities are fluted columns with Vijayanagara capitals. Those in between them are Vijayanagara pillars with brackets…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Ramanuja shrine

This shrine is adjacent to die shrine of the three Alvars. It consists of a gopura entrance, a Hall, Antarala and Garbhagriha. The pilasters found on the gopura are similar to those found on the innermost gopura. The bases of its pillars have the Varaha and the inverted sword which…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Shrine of three Alvars

This shrine is adjacent to the Vahana- mantapa. It consists of a verandah, a hall and a Gaibhagriha.The verandah has two fine pillars each face of which is decorated with five rows of the seties-Kuta, Sala and Kuta, all over and crowned by a Vijayanagara capital. The Hall has two…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Vahanamantapa

To the west of the Salainachchiyar shrine is a big mantapa in which the vahanas of Govindarajasvami are kept. It has nine rows of four pillars each with one row built into the walls in the east an west. There is an injudicious mixture of Chola and Vijayanagara pillars in…

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The Temples of Tirupati – chakrathalwar shrine

There is a two storeyed mantapa adjoining the northern wall of the gopura. The ground floor contains two rows of five short pillars each, in the Chola style. The upper floor, reached by a stair case, contains three rows of three pillars each, in the Vijayanagara style. To the south…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Second or central gopura

This gopura and the entrance below it, situated at the western end of the first courtyard, lead us into the second courtyard. This gopura was built in the 15th century. Its walls are decorated with the series-pilaster, pilaster, Kumbha- panjara, pilaster, Kumbhapanjara and pilaster. The Kapota above contains gables with…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Description of the shrine

The main entrance to the shrine, which faces the east, is surmounted by a big gopura built by MadaAnantaraja in 1624A D. The walls of this gopura are decorated with the series-pilaster, Kuta, pilaster, Kumbhapanjara, pilaster, Salakoshtha, pilaster, Kumbhapanjara, pilaster Salakoshtha, pilaster, kumbhapanjara pilaster, Kuta and pilaster. There are numerous…

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The Temples of Tirupati – Date of the temple

has already been made that the Vaishnava traditions ascribe its building to the great teacher, Ramanuja, about 1130A.D. This date falls within the period of Chola rule. The Chola capitals onthe pillars of the verandah round the main shrine and its mukhamantapa indicate this date: These pillars are similar to…

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The Temples of Tirupati – The Govindarajasvami Temple

This Temple is the main attraction for the pilgrims at Tirupati and the biggest temple in the town. Foundation of the shrine- None of the numerous inscriptions found in the temple mention the date of its construction or the name of its founder. The earliest of the records belongs to…

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The Temples of Tirupati

The town of Tlrupad came into existence only about the middl of the twelfth century, with the foundation of the Govindarajasva temple. Before this time there was a small village, named Kottur, t_ the north-east of Kapilatirtham, situated about two miles to th north of the modem town. On the…

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IMAGES IN THE TIRUMALA TEMPLE -The image of Sri Krishna

alsIbis image is also found located before Sri Venkatesvara in his sanctum. The Puranas explain the presence of Krishna here. Sri Venkatesvara is regarded as an incarnation of Krishna. Ibis gOd is represented to have described himself to Padmavati, when the two met in a garden before their marriage, as…

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IMAGES IN THE TIRUMALA TEMPLE – The image of Sri Rama

An inscription states that this god is seated before Sri Venka- tesvara(T.T.305) and heis still there. He has no separate shrine or Mula-beram or stone image. The presence of this deity in this temple may be explained in the light of a Puranic story. It is stated that Sri Venkatesvara…

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