Tiruvilayadal Puranam
Historical background
The ‘Purana of sacred plays’ of Shiva at Madurai is the final version of an old tradition of legends. The sixty-four legends were arranged in the present sequence by Paranjoti (late 16th, early 17th cent.) and are considered one of the peaks of Tamil narrative poetry.
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Indra worships Sundareshvara (Shiva). (TP 1)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, west colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Shiva, in the guise of an ascetic appears before Kulashekhara Pandya and instructs him to build Madurai. (TP 3)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, west colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Tatatakai (Minakshi) emerges from the flames of the sacrificial fire. (TP 4)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: The wedding of Shiva and Tatatakai (Minakshi) at the presence of Vishnu (left) and Adhikaranandi (right). (TP 5)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Before the nuptial banquet, Shiva dances in the Velliambalam (Silver Hall) for the benefit of Vyaghrapada and Patanjali. (TP 6)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: The remnants of Sundara Pandya’s (Shiva’s) wedding feast are given to Gundodara. (TP 7)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Gundodara finishes to eat and drinks the Vaigai River. On the left, barely visible: Gundodara devours a sea of curd rice. (TP 8)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Minakshi’s mother, Kanchanamala,wishes to bathe in the sea. By order of Sundareshvara (Shiva), the waters of the seven oceans descend on a tank near Madurai. (TP 9)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Minakshi’s father, Malayadhvaja, returns to earth to allow his wife to bathe in the sea. Subsequently, they fly together to heaven. (TP 10)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: The birth of Ugra Pandya, son of Sundara Pandya(Shiva) and Minakshi. (TP 11)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Following his wedding, Ugra Pandya receives from his father, Sundara Pandya (Shiva), a javelin, a disc, and a bunch of flowers. (TP 12)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Madurai is on the verge of being engulfed by the ocean. Ugra Pandya armed with his javelin, quells the waters. (TP 13)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
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