Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort. One of the 7th Wonders of India.

Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort. One of the 7th Wonders of India.

Tiruchirappalli Rockfort is a historic fortification and temple complex built on an ancient rock. It is located in the city of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. It is constructed on a 83 metres (272 ft) high rock, that may date to over one billion years ago. There are two Hindu temples inside, the Ucchi Pillayar Temple, Rockfort and the Thayumanaswami Temple, Rockfort. Other local tourist attractions include the famous Pallava-era Ganesha temple and the Madurai Nayak-era fort. The fort complex has witnessed fierce battles between the Madurai Nayakas and Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur, Carnatic region and Maratha Imperial forces. The fort played an important part during the Carnatic Wars, helping lay the foundations of the British Empire in India. The Rockfort is the most prominent landmark of the city.

The name "Rockfort" comes from frequent military fortifications built here, first by the emperors of the Vijayanagara Empire and later by the British Empire during the Carnatic Wars. The oldest structure in the fort is a cave temple built by the Pallavas in 580. During the Chola period, the nearby town of Woraiyur was their capital, but the Pallavas did not keep control of this strategic city and lost it to the Pandyas. The Cholas reasserted themselves in the 10th century. Trichy continued to be in their possession until the decline of the empire, after which it became a Vijayanagara stronghold. In the mid 14th century, the region was controlled by the Delhi Sultanate after Malik Kafur's raid on South India. They were ousted and the region came under the control of Vijayanagara. During the early part of the 16th century, the region came under the control of the Madurai Nayaks, who were the earlier governors of Vijayanagara Empire. However, it was under the Nayaks of Madurai that Tiruchirapalli prospered in its own right and grew to be the city that it is today. The Madurai Nayaks constructed the Rock Fort Temple Lake along with major walls as foundations, establishing the town as a trading city and later, their capital.

The fort palace also witnessed the transfer of power from Queen Meenakshi to Chanda Sahib, as he ruled in conjunction with the alliance with the Kingdom of France. He lost this command when his uncle, the Nawab of the Carnatic along with the British, seized the fort after the Carnatic wars. This enabled the British to gain a foothold in Tamil Nadu and later all of South India.

In modern times, the fort is maintained and administered by the Chennai Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India. The fort is one of the prominent tourist destinations in Tamil Nadu.

As the Rockfort was the capital of the Madurai Nayaks, the fort has witnessed fierce battles. One of the largest was the Battle of Toppur for supremacy between the Aravidu dynasty of Vijayanagara and the Madurai Nayaks. The former won, with support from the rulers of Mysore and Thanjavur in the 16th century. Later, the Nayaks faced fierce attacks from Adil Shahi, Mysorean and Imperial Maratha troops. The Fort complex formed the northwest territory to the Nayaks. During their two-century rule, they had occasional skirmishes with their neighbours, the Thanjavur Nayak kingdom, the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom, and, more frequently, with the invading Adil Shahi, Kingdom of Mysore, and Imperial Maratha armies.

During the mid century, Chanda Sahib, aided by the French, made this fort his home base. He battled with the combined forces of the Carnatic Nawab and British. He was defeated in the Carnatic wars and was forced to cede his lands to the British.

In the late 18th century, Hyder Ali was a major threat to the British, as were the French who were still fighting for their colonial supremacy in this region. By now, the town was firmly established as a Cantonment town and the fort's gate was known as main guard gate.Robert Clive lived near the tank when he was in Tiruchirappalli.

Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort
The rock is said to be one of the oldest formations in the world. It is 3.8 billion years old, making it as old as the rocks in Greenland and older than the Himalayas. Quartz, used in glass making, and feldspar, used in ceramics, are found in this rock formation.

As the name suggests, the Rock Fort Temple is situated on 83 metre-high outcrops. The Pallavas initially built this temple, but the Nayaks made use of its naturally fortified position and designed it again. It is a long climb up the 344 steps cut into the stone to the top.

The temple complex in the fort complex is a collection of three temples:

the Manikka Vinayakar temple at the foot of the hill, dedicated to Lord Ganesha
the Ucchi Pillayar Temple at the top of the hill, dedicated to Lord Ganesha.
the Taayumaanavar Koyil Shivastalam, a rock cut temple dedicated to a Nayaka era saint, Taayumaanavar. Mathrubutheswarar, dedicated to Lord Shiva, has a lingam which is a projection of the rock itself. It is reached by a flight of steps on the way to Ucchi Pillayar Temple.
Rock-Cut Temple[edit]
There are two rock cut temples in the fort, one in the lower part of the fort called Lower Cave temple and other in the complex outside the Thayumanswamny on the way up to Uchi Pillayar Kovil, called the Upper Cave temple. An archaeological study in 2010 revealed that the layout of the rock-cut caves in the temple is similar to that of other rock-cut temples such as the Pundarikakshan Perumal Temple at Thiruvellarai and Pechipalai cave temple. The unfinished caves in the temple, along with the lower cave temples in Thiruvellarari and Tirupparankunram, each have a shrine for Shiva in the east and Vishnu in the west, separated by a central bay between them. The study also revealed that the Lower Cave temple along with Kudumiyan Malai temple exhibited unique form of pillars, which are otherwise not seen in other temples in Tamil Nadu.
The rock-cut temple in the hill temple complex was built during the Pallava era and is named Lalitankura Pallaveswaram, with several inscriptions attributed to Mahendravarman I. The Cholas, the Vijayanagara emperors and the Nayaks of Madurai have made extensive contributions here. The two-storey-tall Taayumaanava temples are considered to be a masterpiece of construction.

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Badami cave temples

Badami cave temples

The Badami cave temples are a complex of temples located at Badami, a town in the Bagalkot district in the north part of Karnataka, India. They are considered an example of Indian rock-cut architecture, especially Badami Chalukya architecture initiated during the 6th century.Badami was previously known as Vataapi Badami, the capital of the early Chalukya dynasty, who ruled much of Karnataka from middle of the sixth until the middle of the eighth centuries, is situated on the west bank of an artificial lake filed with greenish water dammed by an earthen wall faced with stone steps. Badami is surrounded in the north and south by forts built in later times from the ramparts that crown their summits/

Plan of Badami Cave
The Badami cave temples are composed of four caves, all carved out of the soft Badami sandstone on a hill cliff in the late 6th to 7th centuries. The planning of four caves is simple. The entrance is a verandah (mukha mandapa) with stone columns and brackets, a distinctive feature of these caves, leading to a columned mandapa – main hall (also maha mandapa) and then to the small square shrine (sanctum sanctorum, garbhaghrha) cut deep into the cave] The Cave temples are linked by stepped path with intermediate terraces that offer spectacular views across the town and lake. Cave-temples are labelled 1-4 in their ascending series even though this numbering does not necessarily reflect the sequence of excavation

The cave temples date back to 600 and 700 CE. The architecture includes structures built in Nagara Style and Dravidian style which is the first and most persistent architectural idiom to be adopted by the early chalukyas Important part of historical heritage at Badami cave temples are inscriptions in old Kannada script. There is also the fifth natural cave temple in Badami – a Buddhist temple in natural cave which can be entered kneeling on all fours.

Entrance to Cave 1
The cave 1 portrays Lord Shiva in his very beautiful incarnation of Nataraja. Lord Shiva in this incarnation has 18 arms. Some of the arms have weapons while some of the arms depict beautiful dance postures. The weapons include drums, trident, axe etc. Some arms also have serpents coiled around them. Lord Shiva has his son Ganesha and the bull Nandi by his side. They also are in beautiful postures. The two sons of Shiva, Ganesha and Kartikkeya are seen riding a peacock in one of the carved sculptures on the walls of the cave. Adjoining to the Nataraja, a wall also depicts the adorable goddess Mahishasuramardini. She has been shown in an angry incarnation killing a buffalo with a trident.

The entrance of the cave is like a verandah. The verandah having four columns is very beautifully sculpted with mindblowing images of Lord Shiva in different dancing positions and different incarnations.The cave also has carved sculptures of the goddesses Lakhsmi and Parvati to the left of Lord Shiva. To the left, there is also acarved sculpture of Harihar having an axe and a serpent in hand. To the right, Ardhanarishvara sculpted on the end of the walls. All the carved sculptures have beautiful ornaments worn by them,including the animals and birds. The ornaments have designs with lotus carved on them. There is also an image of the Vidyadhara couple on the ceiling,meaning they are flying in the air. Beautiful swords are also carved on the walls. The ceiling also depicts Nagaraja, the king of the snakes. The Nagaraja is surrounded by a lot of other serpents coiled around him.There are sections in the cave which are orthogonal in shape. The bands in those sections are decorated with jewellery and garlands. The view is fantastic. There is a cleavage in the back side of the cave. It led to the formation of a square sanctuary having beautiful images carved on it.

The cave 1 is very beautiful as it describes Lord Shiva and his family.Lord Shiva in his Nataraja avatar, known to be the goddess of dance, is very eye catching.The cave has beautiful bays and pilasters. The system of using columns gives the cave a foliant look.The cave being on a hill cliff gives an excellent view of the town.All the figures of the gods and goddesses are very excellently carved. The cave also has many human figures doing different actions which are neatly carved.

Cave 2 is created in late 6th century AD, is almost same as cave 1 in terms of its layout and dimensions but it is consecrated to Vishnu who is shown here as Trivikrama – with one foot on Earth and another – directed to the north. Vishnu in this temple is represented also as Varaha (boar) and Krishna avatars. Cave is reached by climbing 64 steps from the first cave. Entrance is adorned with reliefs of guardians.

The entrance of the cave has two armed guardians holding flowers rather than weapons. The end walls of the outer verandah is occupied by sculpted panels, to the right, Trivikrama; to the left, Varaha rescuing Bhudevi, with a penitent nag below. The adjacent side walls have smooth surfaces with traces of paintwork. The columns shows gods and battle scenes, the churning of cosmic ocean, Gajalakshmi and figures, Brahma and figures, Vishnu asleep on Shesha, illustrate the birth of Krishna, Krishna’s youth, Krishna with gopis and cows. The ceiling shows a wheel with sixteen fish spokes in a square frame along with swastikas and flying couples. The end bays have a flying couple and Vishnu on Garuda.

The doorway is framed by pilasters carrying an entablature with three blocks embellished with gavaksha ornament.

Entrance to Cave 3
The theme on which the cave 3 is based on is Shaivite and Vaishnavite. The third cave is dedicated to Vishnu, and is the best and the biggest, and it has splendid giant figures of Trivikrama, Shankaranarayana, Anantasayana, Paravasudeva, Bhuvaraha, Harihara and Narasimha. All these statues are engraved in a vigorous style. An inscription found here records the creation of the shrine by Mangalesha in 578 CE. Chalukya king Mangalesha in 578 CE. Mangalesa was on the throne from 597 to 609 AD. It is common that Indian cave temples were patronised by influential members of royal families. These inscriptions are in Kannada language. The age of cave temple is known with certainty with the inscriptions on the rock in this cave.

Rock-cut temple has north – south orientation providing maximum amount of sunlight in winter. The hall and the verandah dig up to 14.5 m deep into the mountain and the shrine extends the cave some 4 m more inside. The Hall goes up to 4 m high.

Cave 3 is 60 steps away from the cave 2. The temple with its gigantic façade of 21 m wide is adorned of six hefty columns in a row. Below the columns there is a frieze consisting of 30 smaller reliefs of ganas.

Splendid embellishments are encompassed in the entire cave, including paintings on ceiling. Four-armed Brahma is the focal point of the murals .There happens to be a lotus medallion on the floor underneath the mural of Brahma – place to beseech.

Large number of Vishnu’s reliefs including standing Vishnu, Vishnu with a serpent, Vishnu as Narasimha (half human – half lion), Varaha, Harihara and Trivikrama avatars epitomize the immensity of vastly admired Indian art. Reliefs stand 4 m tall.

The culture and clothing embedded in the sixth century is clearly visible in the art sculpted in cave 3.

There are some paintings on the ceiling and the style indicates maturity but has lost its original dazzling colour. The bracket figures on the piers here are some of the finest.

Cave 4
The fourth cave is Jaina which is constructed lastly among all the caves.It is only jain monument of early chalukya period in badami town and it was made in late 6th-7th century.The cave is not as large as the other cave. It is beautiful and rich with decoration.[10] It is located higher than other caves.[11] It is not as beautiful as the other three caves.It has five bayed entrance with square columns which make it more beautiful and attractive at base. The first aisle(a passage between buildings) is treated as verandah.The end walls have Parshvanath(right) represented using painting, his head is covered by a metal piece of multi cobra hoods and bahubali is left to him with his lower legs surrounded by snakes . His two sisters Brahmi and sundari is here with him.

On the back part of wall, Mahavira is painted on it.This painting shows Mahavira as a savior. He is sitting on lion throne.

The sanctum is adorned by the image of Mahavira. The pedestal contains an old Kannada inscription of the 12th century A.D. which registers the death of one Jakkave. Scores of Jaina Thirthankara images have been engraved in the inner pillars and walls. In addition to it, there are some idols of Bahubali, Yakshas and Yakshis. Other carvings here are of Padmavathi & other Thirthankaras. Some scholars assign the cave to the 8th century.

A steep climb up some steps cut in a crevice between Cave II and III leads to the southern part of Badami Fort and to an old gun placed there by Tippu Sultan.

Cave 5
It is a natural cave of small dimensions with a Budda statue carved i

2300 YEARS OLD NON RUSTING PILLAR OF KOLLUR MOOKAMBIKA TEMPLE

2300 YEARS OLD NON RUSTING PILLAR OF KOLLUR MOOKAMBIKA TEMPLE !!! About 135 Kms from Mangalore and 80 Kms from Udupi, in the valley of Kodachadri peak of Western Ghats nestles a serene town Kollur. Here is seat of very famous Mookambika Temple on the banks of the never drying river Sauparnika This attractive Mookambika temple with gold plated crest and copper roofs attracts thousands of devotees.This is a well known temple in the Weat Coast of Karnataka and is one of the most important places of pilgrimage attracting pilgrims from all over India. The temple is dedicated to Mookambika and stands on a spur of the Kodachadri peak. Amazing Metallurgy of India: Many of us would have seen the iron pillar in front of the Qutub Minar in Dilli. That’s over 1000 years old and still not rusted in spite of empires changing, weather changing and severe pollution of the capital city. Similarly, the Kollur Mookambika temple’s iron pillar in coastal Karnataka, where it rains 6 to 8 months in a year, at a very high 750 cm level per year, has not rusted in over 2000 years! And this was built by tribals of the region, and not some well known architects of the 1st millennium BCE. Propelled by scientific curiosity as well as deep interest in India’s glorious metallurgical heritage, the present author embarked on the adventurous journey to Kodachadri twice during the last eighteen months and undertook some preliminary studies on the material constituting this long-neglected pillar with assistance from fellow-metallurgists at the Karnataka Regional Engineering College, Surathkal; and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam. Results of these studies, as presented here, confirm the unanimous view of the local residents that this pillar is a product of an earlier period in indigenous iron making, and therefore deserves a detailed and serious study by scientists and technologists devoted to India’s metallurgical heritage. Popularly referred to as the Dwaja-Sthamba (flag-staff) of the MOOBAMBIKA temple, the Kodachadri iron mast or pillar has long been associated in the minds of most scientists, particularly metallurgists, with the pilgrim centre of Kollur, a town located in the plains, about 120 km north of the well-known port city of Mangalore in South Canara District of Karnataka. This temple with claims to be the original Mookambika temple is associated with the killing of the dumb (mooka) demon Mookasura by the lion-riding Mother Goddess in the adjoining forests, where the demon was disturbing the penance of sages and holy men devoted to the Goddess. Today Kodachadri can be reached from Kollur by jeep on a 40 km long winding and slippery mud road with many hair-pin bends, often submerged in water during the rainy season lasting from April to November. The iron flag-staff towers above the small temple (Figure 1 a) and can be sighted a few kilometers away on the road, while approaching Kodachadri. If local lore is to be believed, this flag-staff is actually the top portion of the Tri- (trident) with which the Mother Goddess nailed down the wicked demon into the bowels of the earth! A platform has been added ostensibly to stabilize the pillar, but with possible un-thought-of and undesirable interactions in due course between the cement of the platform and the iron of the pillar. Rising not less than 10 m above the ground level, with a rectangular cross-section of 8.5 cm ´ 5.8 cm and characterized by rough, serrated and slightly reddish surface the pillar displays evidence on top for local melting, flow of melt and solidification, caused by lightning during the monsoon period. Allowing for a total height of 14 m, including the hidden portions in the platform and below the earth, the weight of this flag-staff can be estimated as about 500 kg. A very small piece weighing a few grams only was extracted from the projecting rough surface of the pillar with the consent and cooperation of the temple priest and was later subjected to a series of modern metallographic tests at the Materials Characterization Laboratories of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam. To the author’s surprise, the X-ray examination could not reveal definite presence of any element or compound besides pure iron while the microscopic study revealed only grains of iron with very little pearlite (eutectoid of iron and Fe3C, i.e. iron carbide generally referred to as cementite). However, a few greyish and many rather large dark inclusions (Figure 2 a and b) were noticed and could be subjected to microhardness testing and electron microprobe analysis. While the small globular inclusions could be identified as iron silicate containing some calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P), the bigger irregular-shaped ones consisted of only iron oxide (Fe2O3) with traces of other elements like silicon (Si), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P). The VHN microhardness numbers were around 140 for the iron grains, about 155 in the pearlite-cum-matrix areas, and around 165 in the dark inclusions. From image analysis, the volume fraction of all the inclusions was estimated as less than 2.0%. It was not possible to arrive at the exact volume fraction of the greyish pearlitic area, but assuming it to be around 1.0%, the carbon content of the pillar iron can be estimated as definitely less than 0.05%. It is obvious from these preliminary investigations that the Kodachadri iron pillar is not a product of modern iron making processes. The composition of the material of the pillar, viz. less than 0.05% carbon in what looks like almost pure iron, without the usual silicon, manganese and sulphur contents one associates with modern iron and steel, and with inclusions of only iron oxide and silicate, strongly suggests age-old indigenous methods for making the so-called Adi-vasi (tribal) iron with pure iron ore and wood charcoal. The fact that this pillar has withstood the onslaught of the sun, wind and rain in living memory,and perhaps also of marine air with the Arabian Sea only 40–50 km away, is proof of its high corrosion resistance, even though its surface is not as smooth and clear as that of the Delhi pillar. Acting as a lightning arrester during the rainy season, the top of the pillar seems to have melted frequently and perhaps rapidly solidified through removal of heat by iron from the pillar itself. A metallographic study of this part of the pillar is bound to yield some interesting results. The data reported here, although from a very small piece of the pillar, point to the need for a more thorough and systematic scientific, technological and archaeo-historical study of this iron mast, towering alone in its majesty in a remote hilly and forest area of Karnataka.

Fatehpur Sikri-decoded-WAS JAIN TEMPLE

Ijo Temple Candi Ijo Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Ijo Temple Candi Ijo Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The temple was built between 10th to 11th century CE during the Mataram Kingdom period. The temple compound consists of several terraces. On the western part some temple ruins were discovered, most of them are being excavated. It was estimated that more than 10 Perwara or lesser temples ruins are still buried in this terraces. The main temple compound located on the uppermost terrace, consists of a large main temple facing west and three perwara temples on front of it facing east. The three perwara temples was meant to honor Trimurti, the three highest gods in Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. All of these three temples having cella or room and there are windows perforated in the rhombus shape. The roof is arranged in three stages adorned with rows of ratnas. The main temple has square ground plan. The entrance into the garbhagriha (main room) is located on west side, flanked with two false window, or niches adorned with kala-makara decoration. On the north, east, and southern walls there are three niches on each side also adorned in kala-makara style. The center niche are slightly higher than other two flanking niches. These niches are now empty, probably these niches once contains Hindu murti (statues). A flight of stairs flanked with two makaras were designed to reach the main door that is 1.2 meters above the ground. On top of the door there are carving of Kala’s head connected to makaras body on each side of the gate. These kala-makara pattern is commonly found in temples of ancient Java. Inside the makara’s mouth there are small parrots carved. Inside the main chamber there is a large linga and yoni adorned with naga serpent. The union of phallic linga and yoni symbolize the cosmic sacred union between Shiva and Parvati as his shakti. There are three niches on each sides of inner wall in the room, each niches flanked with a pair of devata, Hindu lesser gods and goddesses flying toward the niches. The roof of main temple is arranged in three ascending terraces decreased in size to the top forming stepped pyramid. On each sides there are 3 ratnas on each step, a larger ratna crowning the roof. On the margin between temple body and the roof adorned with floral patterns and gana (dwarf). On the edge of the roof there are antefixes with floral frames, inside the antefix there are images of Hindu gods bust with hand position holding flowers

Chennakesava temple at Somnathpur

Chennakesava temple at Somnathpur 

This temple is the last well preseved temple of the Hoysala period, was built in 1268. The temple faces east and is situated in the middle of a courtyard on a high plinth. A pillared mandapa leads to three star-shaped sanctuaries which reflect the dedication of the temple to the god Keshava who represents the three aspects of Vishnu. Friezes with animals and scrollwork adorn the basement while the walls are covered of sculptures of the gods set in the walls projections. The pyramidal towers are almost circular in plan and consist of diminishing storeys with pot motifs and foliated arched niches with miniature deities. The serene temple stands on a star shaped foundation which is characteristic of Hoysala architecture and has 3 exquisitely carved temple towers called trikutachala . The three towers once housed beautifully carved idols of Lord Kesava, Janardhana and Venugopala till Malik Kafur and other iconoclast Sultanates destroyed them like Halebidu (Dorasamudra). This is not a temple in the sense that there are no poojas done to the idols here since they were destroyed by the mughal invaders. It is simply a temple exhibiting the delicate craftsmanship and high precision engineering of the mighty dynasty called hoysalas which ruled the present day Karnataka between AD1100 and AD1320. This dynasty was noted for its peace and a leisurely life along with its encouragement to talent of arts, which is reflected all around the temple.(hoy is kill and sala is head of the dynasty since he tackled the tiger single handed and killed, this heroic deed took the form of yadava dynasty as hoysala dynasty)

Jammu and Kashmir's Hindu past

Harwan is a small village located 3 km beyond the Shalimar Garden in Srinagar District of Jammu and Kashmir. The village was identified by Sir Aurel Stein with Shadara Hadvana (grove of six saints) a locality mentioned in Rishi Kalhana’s Rajatarangini. It is a historic place that was sacked and destroyed by Sikandar Butshikan during the 14th century AD, and many remains of Kashmir’s Hindu as well as Buddhist past have been found during the excavations. The relics of this unique work of art and history, the Harwan Buddhist temple is aeons old, and its origin goes as far as 300 AD. Its ruins are located in Harwan, a village situated in the north-western Kashmir. These ruins are situated towards the northwest of Kashmir and are accessible from the eastern side of Shalimar Mughal Garden. The temple dates back to the Kushan era and civilisation. It was discovered during an excavation as part of an archaeological expedition conducted by the Archaeological Department of India approximately between 1919 and 1929 AD. The architecture of this ancient structure depicts the lifestyle, attire and habitat of Kashmir’s Hindus of that era. There are beautiful image carvings on the tiles within the temple. Image : A female musician wearing trousers; she plays on a drum, which is apparently slung over her left shoulder. Floral motifs on either side. A dancer wearing large ear-rings and dressed in loose robe and trousers, with a long scarf held in both hands, which she waves over her head. One can notice the similarity of classical Indian dance depicted in the dancer’s body posture.