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: Ugra Pandya armed with a disc, vanquishes Indra, thus putting an end to the drought on his land. (TP 14)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Ugra Pandya throws a bunch of flowers on Mount Meru’s summit. Mount Meru appears in his human form (barely visible) and shows the king where the riches are concealed. (TP 15)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Shiva as Jnana-Dakshinamurti explains to the rishis the true sense of the Vedas. (TP 16)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihideshvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Sundareshvara, in the guise of a merchant sells gems to Abhisheka Pandya. (TP 17)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Shiva saves Madurai from the floods caused by Varuna’s wrath. (TP 18)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: The citizens of Madurai worship Sundareshvara and Minakshi after he saved the town from the floods caused by Varuna. (TP 19)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Shiva as an almighty siddha. (TP 20)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: A stone elephant eats a sugar cane given to him by Abhisheka Pandya, at the presence of Shiva in the guise of a siddha (TP 21)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, northern colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: Vikrama Pandya kills the magic elephant created by the Jains, seen here armed with clubs, to destroy Madurai. The king’s arrow takes the form of Ugra Narasimha and kills the elephant. (TP 22)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: In which Shiva becomes an old ascetic, a youth, and a baby. (TP 23)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: At the behest of Rajashekhara Pandya, Shiva lifts his right foot. (TP 24)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
Date: First half of the 19th century
Description: The death of the wife of a Brahmin, accidentally killed by an arrow placed on a tree by a hunter, and fallen because of a gust of wind, is explained. (TP 25)
Location: Tamil Nadu Temple;Brihadishvara Temple complex;Thanjavur
Positioning: Courtyard, north colonnade
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