Topography
Historical background
Particularly interesting are the schematic renderings of many temples. The deities are shown in their own shrines along with the typical natural features of the site, enabling thus the viewer to identify them.
Date: 17th century
Description: Top row (from right): Surya, Valmiki, and an ascetic worship the linga; Bottom row; three unidentified figures, possibly renowned sages, worship the linga; Vishnu pays homage to Shiva and Parvati on Mount Kailasa.
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Nataraja Temple complex;Chidambaram
Positioning: Shivakamasundari shrine; open mandapa, second bay from the south
Date: 17th century
Description: Shaiva sacred sites; Top row, second from right: Tiruvarur(?); bottom row from left: Parvati worships the linga at Kanchipuram and Tiruvannamalai; Agastya at Vriddhachalam; the elephant at Tiruvanaikkaval: Vishnu at Kumbakonam, and offering his eyes at Tiruvilimilalai, Parvati as a peacock at Mayuram, Brahma at ? (the inscription has disappeared).
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Nataraja Temple complex;Chidambaram
Positioning: Shivakamasundari shrine; open mandapa, second bay from south
Date: 17th century
Description: Shaiva sacred sites; Top row; first from left: Parvati at Kanchipuram and Tiruvannamalai; Agastya at Vriddhachalam; The elephant at Tiruvanaikkaval; Vishnu at Kumbakonam and offering his eyes at Tiruvilimilalai, Parvati as a peacock at Mayuram, Brahma at ? ; Second row: A cow worships at Tiruvavaduturai; the four Vedas at ?; Ishana and Indra ?; Kali at Tiruvengadu; Jatayu at Vaitisvarankoyil .
Location: Tamil NaduTemple;Nataraja Temple complex;Chidambaram
Positioning: Shivakamasundari shrine; open mandapa,second bay from south
Date: 17th century
Description: Nataraja and Sihvakami worshipped by a number of gods, devotees and ascetics dwelling in a hilly region. To the right the head of some prominent matha.
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Nataraja Temple complex;Chidambaram
Positioning: Shivakamasundari shrine; open mandapa, second bay from south
Date: 17th century
Description: Unidentified narrative. Top row (from left); an ascetic is visited by two sages (?); six ascetics pay homage to Shiva and Parvati. Bottom row: Suta and
Madhyandina visit Vyaghrapada and Patanjali; Upamanyu’s mother carries her baby to a Shiva temple and places it before a linga. From it emerges Shiva’s hand instructing Parvati to feed the child milk of the divine cow. Upamanyu receives instruction from his guru.
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Nataraja Temple complex;Chidambaram
Positioning: Shivakamasundari shrine; open mandapa, second bay from the south
Date: 17th century
Description: A ruler bestows gifts of food, clothes, vessels, houses, upon the dikshitars (priests).
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Nataraja Temple complex;Chidambaram
Positioning: Shivakamasundari shrine; open mandapa, second bay from the south
Date: 17th century
Description: Royal gifts to the dikshitars (priests); cattles and houses.
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Nataraja Temple complex;Chidambaram
Positioning: Shivakamasundari shrine; open mandapa, second bay from the south
Description: Top row; Devotees before Nataraja; Bottom row mostly disappeared but for a fragment depicting a dancer and a cymbal player. The sequence ends with
the depiction of people bathing in a tank.
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Nataraja Temple complex;Chidambaram
Positioning: Shivakamasundari shrine; open mandapa, second bay from the south
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Kama, accompanied by his wife, Rati, and armed with a sugarcane bow and flower arrows, arrives on his parrot-drawn chariot near the spot where Shiva is steeped in meditation and disturbs him. The powerful flame which then issues from Shiva’s third eye incinerates him.
Location: Karnataka Temple;Virupaksha Temple;Hampi
Positioning: Open mandapa, ceiling, fourth row from west
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Rama, flanked by Janaka and Sita wins the archery contest. Two couples flank the main tableau. The seven rishis are shown in the vignettes on the left and the right. Celestial beings and rishis inhabit the five buildings at the top of the composition. Beneath the main scene is a lying figure, possibly Ravana. According to some re-tellings of the epic, he was among the princes present at the archery contest and fainted when Rama won.
Location: Karnataka Temple;Virupaksha Temple;Hampi
Positioning: Open mandapa, ceiling, sixth register from west
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Rama and Sita’s wedding. On the left Sita accompanied by Janaka and his wife, on the right Rama; Dasharatha and Kausalya. Flanking the main tableau, on the left are Vasishtha and Janaka’s court chaplain, Shatananda; on the right, one of Dasharatha’s other queens (?) and Vishvamitra. Rows of courtly figures and rishis in buildings enliven the upper portion of the composition. The lower part accommodates four male courtly figures and eight ascetics. Their different attires indicate the various orders they belong to.
Location: Karnataka Temple;Virupaksha Temple;Hampi
Positioning: Open mandapa, ceiling, sixth row from west
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: The Virupaksha linga enshrined in the temple’s sanctuary.
Location: Karnataka Temple;Virupaksha Temple;Hampi
Positioning: Open mandapa, ceiling, eighth row from the west
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