Mukkuruni Vinayaka Shrine; click for a larger image

Pandya Nayaka or Murukan Shrine; click for a larger image North Gopuram with Shivaganga Tirtha; click for a larger image Raja Sabha or 1000 Pillars Hall; click for a larger image Shivaganga Tirtha with the 100 Pillars Hall and the West Gopuram in the background; click for larger image Mandapam in inner courtyard of the Nataraja temple; click for larger image


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THE RAJASABHA or THOUSAND PILLAR MANDAPAM

Raja Sabha or 1000 Pillars Hall; click for a larger image


This is a photo of the front porch of the Raja Sabha or Thousand Pillar Mandapam. It is situated in the north-east corner of the temple complex of the Shri Shiva Nataraja temple. We observe one difference with the present situation. In the photo we can see a hara or row of miniature shrines or kutis with figurative sculptures on the entire stretch of the face of the building. The photo is not clear enough to be able to distinguish any details though. And nothing of this decoration remains today. So we will probably never know what was depicted here.

 

 

 

This is how the front porch of the Raja Sabha looks today. This is the  view from the South-West side.

 

 

 

 


Copyright © 2007 Raja Deekshithar. All rights reserved.
The author would like to thank the Digital South Asian Library
for its kind permission to reproduce the six photos of the Shri Shiva Nataraja temple in Chidambaram.
All other photos by the author.