What is the News ?

The ancient Pallava period paintings at Talagirishwara temple in Panamalai, Villupuram district, have suffered greatly due to neglect. The painting that showed Lord Shiva's dance has nearly disappeared, leaving only the face of goddess Parvathi and a few small sections remaining.

Facts About:

Talagirishwara Temple is situated in Panamalai village, Viluppuram district, Tamil Nadu, India.

• It is built on a small hill overlooking Panamalai Lake.

The temple was constructed by Pallava king Narasimhavarman II, also known as Rajasimha, during the Seventh Century.

Notable features of the temple include a Vimana similar to the one at Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram.

• The Vimana has three layers, with the highest tier being reconstructed.

Inside the temple's garbhagriha, there's a Dharalingam, and a Somaskanda section on the rear wall.

The temple has an Ardhamandapam (partial Mandapam) with walls featuring depictions of divinities like Brahma with Saraswati and Vishnu with Lakshmi.

• It faces east and is surrounded on three sides by sub-shrines.
• Additional sub-shrines and a large Mandapam called Mahamandapam were added at a later date.

The typical Pallava-style pillars with crouching lions can be found in the temple.

The temple houses paintings that resemble those in Ajantha and Chithannavasal.

• These paintings are on the walls of a sub-temple on the northern side of Talagirishwara (Shiva) temple.
• Notable among the paintings is one of Lord Shiva with eight hands dancing, known as Latathilagabhani, watched by Goddess Parvathi.

These paintings are older than the ones in Chithannavasal and were created by covering the stonewalls with a paste made of limestone and sand.