The village of Thirukurungudi is located in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, South India. This is a village with history dating back to more than 1500 years. Village life here revolves around agriculture and the Nambi Rayar temple.
One cannot confirm the date of the temple’s existence accurately. The main structure of Nambi Rayar temple is said to be built around 1500 years ago but later rulers of the region have also added their contribution to this temple. It is certainly a pre-Chola era temple. The central deity is Vishnu, prayed to, as ‘Azhagiya Nambi’. Prior to the Nayak rulers’ patronage, the temple was part of the larger Pallava kingdom, which patronized it.
The Pallava style of architecture can be found in every nook and corner with small sculptures which are decorated with elaborate detailing. The Nayak rulers of Madurai were great patrons of the arts. A visible proof of their fine taste is this massive temple! As this temple is in a remote corner of the country it has escaped the attention of the invaders and hence the sculptures here are in almost intact condition.
It houses hundreds of outstanding sculptures in all sizes. It offers a cocktail of Low reliefs, high reliefs and sunken reliefs! It is quite an exhibition of Dravidian style of architecture.
If you are particularly interested in sculptures then this temple is a must see one for you! The temple tower (Gopuram) itself needs an hour as you need to observe very carefully every nook and corner of the lavishly decorated tower. Of course you will need a camera with zoom lens to shoot the sculptures on the tower!
Various scenes from Mahabharata and scenes from Vaishnava stories can be seen here. Interestingly there are panels of Shiva too despite this temple being a Vishnu temple! (Although in recent times because of the fight between Vaishnavites and Shaivaites they have uprooted a Shiva Lingam from this temple and installed it in a corner of this village! It seems a case is pending before the Supreme Court regarding bringing back the lingam to this temple!)
Photography inside the temple is not allowed but picturing the sculptures on the tower is not prohibited!
For details of
Panel Sculptures of Thirukurungudi Temple tower click here!
