KAILASANATHAR KOVIL

A Siva temple, perhaps the most beautiful of its kind in Salem District.Parts of it existed as early as the tenth century: as it stands now, it is the product of the Gatti Mudhali dynasty of the seventeenth century.Reconstruction and elaboration of the old temple was begun by Mummudi, continued by Siyazhi, and was brought near completion by Vanangamudi.This west facing temple is enclosed by a massive stone wall measuring 306' by 164' reportedly built in the thirteenth century. The main entrance tower ( 5 storeys 90'high) is conceived as a chariot on wheels, drawn by elephants and horses. The huge entrance doors, made of vengai ( pterocarpus marsupium) wood, are studied with untrusting iron knobs each of a different pattern. Their panels are decorated with wooden carvings depicting incarnations of Vishnu.The entrance to the inner sanctum is through a portico supported by six sumptuously carved stone pillars. The scenes of tiger hunting by princes seated on horses and accompanied by footmen are depicted very realistically and with great sensitivity. A pillar of yazhi ( a mythical animal combining features of the lion and the elephant) is so ingeniously carved that a stone ball ( 4 ' diameter) in its mouth can be freely rolled but cannot be rolled out. The wooden doors of the portico are adorned with twenty four panels of excellent carving, some of which have been vandalized. The motifs for these carvings are drawn from the diviost:e.g. scoone exploits of Siva and scenes from the daily lives of ordinary people.The great hall is a fine gallery of sculptures of men, women, and Gods among which the sculpture of the voluptuous rishi pathini ( sages wife) is notable .The ceiling is supported by rows of stone pillars from whose capitals hang elegant chains carved out of solid stone.The ceiling in front of the main shrine is covered by a block of stone seven feet in diameter carved in the shape of an inverted open lotus with parrots. This carving is surrounded by the Gatti Mudhali insignia. The outer walls of the inner most sanctum are covered with inscriptions.Twice a year, during August-September and February - March for three days in succession, the rays of the evening, sum shine through the entrance tower, the portico, and enters the sanctum sanctorum and falls on the deity, an anionic stone. The consort of Kailasanathar is Sivakami.