puthu mandabam series 3 chandran

#Chandran, is beautifully depicted in the Puthu Mandapam of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, in the artistic style of the Madurai Nayakas period. This sculpture shows Chandran in a standing samabhanga posture, facing towards west , representing calmness, balance, and cosmic harmony. 

The deity is placed on a raised pedestal, He is shown with four arms, a typical feature in South Indian temple iconography. The upper hands hold water lilies, which symbolize coolness, reflection, and the nourishing nature of the moon. His lower right hand is in abhaya mudra, offering protection and peace, while the lower left hand is in Varada Hastam is a gesture of boon-giving, compassion, and generosity. It symbolizes the bestowal of blessings, such as wealth, wisdom, or spiritual progress. 

Behind his head is a large circular halo, representing the moon's soft glow and his divine presence. He wears a jata-makuta, a crown made of matted hair, along with ornaments like necklaces, armlets, and a decorated waistbelt. These details emphasize both his ascetic and royal qualities.The sculpture also includes his consorts, Rohini and krithika on either side of him. This is a common feature in depictions of Chandran on temple pillars and highlights his nurturing and emotional nature. While his chariot is not shown in full detail, symbols like the crescent moon or a lotus base are often used to suggest his gentle, floating movement across the night sky.Like Surya, Chandran’s sculpture is placed on mandapa pillars to act as an auspicious presence and a cosmic witness.

 The smooth carving, gentle expression, and refined ornamentation reflect the high level of craftsmanship of the Nayaka period. Chandran stands as a reminder of calmness, rhythm, and emotional clarity, offering balance to the power of Surya in the sacred temple space.

-- Ramu Rm N

puthu mandabam series 2 suryan

#Surya as depicted in South Indian temple icoography, specifically in the architectural style of the Nayakas period. It is located in the Puthu Mandapam of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. The restoration of this mandabam is going on for the past two years The deity is shown in a standing samabhanga posture and facing towards west on the four wheeled chariot without horses so it looks like a raised pedestal, radiating regal divinity and composure. He has four arms, which is a common feature in South Indian representations of Surya. The upper hands hold the fully bloomed lotuses, symbolizing illumination, purity, and the blossoming of life under the sun’s light. The lower right hand is in abhaya mudra, offering protection and reassurance, while the lower left holds Kati Hasta in a symbolic pose where the deity’s hand rests on the waist, often slightly bent at the elbow. It conveys a sense of confidence, authority, grace, and composure.

 

A large circular halo behind his head reinforces his solar identity, indicating his radiant nature. He wears a kirita-mukutam and is adorned with elaborate jewelry such as necklaces, armlets, and a decorated waist ornament, emphasizing his divine and royal status. This sculpture includes his consorts Usha and Pratyusha in the sides which is typical in individual depictions of Surya found on temple pillars or mandapas, especially outside Navagraha shrines. Hope this is the largest surya sculpture found in southern tamilnadu.

Sculptures like this are commonly placed on mandapa pillars in South Indian temples, where Surya functions as an auspicious guardian and cosmic witness. The graceful posture, finely detailed ornaments, and serene expression reflect the high level of artistic excellence of the madurai nayakas period. This image of Surya stands as a reminder of dharma, cosmic order, and the sustaining power of the sun, celebrated in sacred art and space.

-- Ramu Rm.N

puthu mandabam series 1 father & son

Puthu mandabam series 1

Father& son 

This is a nayaka period stone sculpture from madurai Meenakshi amman temple puthu mandabam depicts a famous episode from Hanuman’s childhood, where he leaps toward the Sun, mistaking it for a ripe fruit. and leapt into the sky to eat it. As he soared towards the Sun, Indra, the king of gods, struck him with his thunderbolt (Vajra) to stop him. Hanuman fell to the earth unconscious.Seeing his beloved son hurt, Vayu, the wind god and Hanuman’s father, became enraged. He withdrew all air from the world, causing great suffering to all living beings. To calm Vayu and restore balance, the surya revived Hanuman and blessed him with immense boons — including strength, wisdom, and immortality.

Tulasidasa recounts this incident in his Hanuman Chalisa as follows:

yuga-sahasra-yojana para bhanu

leelyo tahi madhura phala janu

This verse praises young Hanuman’s immense strength and divine innocence. He saw the glowing Sun in the sky and, thinking it was a tasty fruit, leapt thousands of yojanas (miles) to catch and swallow it. This act showcases his boundless energy and divine nature, even as a child.

Hope this is a unique  panel by madurai nayakas In this panel at the top, young Hanuman is seen flying toward the Surya seated within a circular orb. The celestial tension is shown through surrounding figures in dynamic motion. Below, the Vayu, Hanuman’s father, is seated protectively, emphasizing his divine role. This scene symbolizes Hanuman’s divine power, innocence, and the cosmic disturbance caused by his actions, highlighting Vayu’s love and the blessings Hanuman later received from the gods. 

--Ramu. Rm.N

The Patta swords on the Hero-stone

These stones are typically found in South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. They can be broadly categorized into three types based on their content: those with only inscriptions, those with only sculptural representations, and those with both.commemorating the honorable death of a hero in battle. They often carry inscriptions and a variety of ornaments, including bas-relief panels, frieze, and figures in carved stone. The inscription on the stone is usually a narrative of the battle. Those that are carved with inscriptions narrate the act of the hero and the name of the king who fought the battle. A hero stone is usually divided into three or more panels depending on the event depicted on it. The three spheres, i.e. bhumi, antariksha and svarga which are situated in ascending or- der from bottom to top, as conceived in the narratives, found their appropriate place in this scheme. The lower panels would display the battle scenes as being played out in this earthly world with the hero battling his enemies or animal and the middle panel depicts the hero in seated in a palanquin or a shrine being lifted toward the heavens by apsaras and finally, the upper panel depicts the subject after having reached Heaven  worshiping deity such as a Shivlinga, Vishnu or Jain Tirthankara as conforming to the warrior's religious beliefs.

This hero-stone that is of interest to us can be seen in the vicinity of the Eshwara temple in the abandoned Ancharagatte Tavaragere village that is near the Hirekallavarthi village in Shikaripurata- luka of Shivamogga district in Kamataka. In this hero stone The lower panel shows two warriors engaged in combat using long-bladed swords. The warrior on the left has blocked the right arm of his opponent and is seen thrusting his sword into the belly of the adversary on the right

The Patta swords on the Hero-stone

The swords being wielded by both warriors is what is called a Patta sword. This type of sword has a gauntlet integrated into the hand guard and has a long blade of length between 24 to 36 inches though shorter blades are also known. It is believed that the blade of this type of sword was in the early period of its evolution often leaf-shaped and so the name Patta (leaf) fell for this weapon. The Gauntlet hilt is often seen decorated with chiseled figures of zoomor-phic forms like tigers, elephants, swans, Makara, yalis, etc, and found much favour with warriors in the Deccan and among the Rajputs. Many blades on such swords are of European manufacture. As the entire palm of the user of the patta till the wrists can be inserted into the hilt, this kind of sword though heavy makes for a very effective weapon.
The interesting thing is depiction of what is evidently Gauntlet hilt sword is most curious on an early 12th Century hero stone. This is because it was thought that the evolution of such hilts started much later. By the 16th Century, we have a profusion of references to gauntlet hilt swords in paint ings and sculptures. Both the Seshagiriyar Mantapa at the Ranganath temple in Srirangam and the Jalakanthesvara temple Mantapa in Vellore dating back to the 16th Century CE have sculptures of warriors on foot as well as on horseback wielding what looks clearly to be gauntlet hilted swords and daggers.
However, the first documented evidence of a Gauntlet hilt in India is from Ibn Battuta's Travels across India (1333-1342 CE) where he mentions a group of Hindu villagers attacking a King of his country with a piece of iron resembling a plough bladeone end of which is hollow so you can insert your hand and which cover the forearm'. There are no references to similar hilts before this period. Now the evidence from this hero stone places the existence of a Gauntlet hilt sword back by more than 200 years since this Hero-stone is dated to the year 1127 CE which is clearly 2 centuries prior to Ibn Batuta's reference to such a weapon. Thus we have clear evidence that the Gauntlet hilt war has been in use from or before the early 12th Century among warriors in India and particularly in Karnataka. In this collage i had added the pictures of the hero stone and Indian pata gauntet swords, from the Deadly Beauty exhibit at the Oriental Museum, Russia

Reference:
The author is gratefulto Mr. Manjappa, researcher, Dr. Jagdish, Engineer cum

madurai& cutralam

Velliyambalamum chitrasabaiyum :

Each Nataraja has a unique specialty, and accordingly, during decoration The Kanakasabai Nataraja is adorned with a distinctive beauty of *vettiver* (chrysopogon) as his hair. The Rathnasabai Nataraja is uniquely decorated during the holy anointing (*Thirumanjanam*) with grated sandalwood paste and pomegranate pearls. The Rajathasabai Nataraja is distinguished by the use of the *Gajari chattam* (a traditional decorative canopy) during processions Similarly  Chitrasabai Nataraja stands out with the circular *kadani* (Ratna Thadangam) earrings adorning both ears during the procession—a beauty of its own!  In this collage we  can see a similar type of thadangam in the sculptures of the Madurai Meenakshi Temple—specifically at the entrance of the Astasakthi Mandapam near the east gate of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, and in the 1000-pillar Mandapam, which belongs to the Nayaka period. From this, we can understand that such ornaments were commonly used in society at that time. Unfortunately, these kinds of golden thadangas are no longer seen in real-time use today. These thadangams were extended versions of patrakundalas which were still used by pania tribes of tamil nadu & Kerala.