Sri Varadarajaswami Temple, Kanchi: A Study of Its History, Art and ArchitectureAbhinav Publications, 2003 - 206 pages Kanchi, the ancient capital city of the South, teems with historic temples of great beauty and grandeur. The magnificent temple of Lord Varadaraja, situated in Vishnu-Kanchi, has played a remarkable part in fostering the growth of Sri-Vaishnavism and has justly been ranked with the famous temples of Srirangam and Tirupati as the holiest of the holies. This is the first comprehensive and illustrated treatise on this hoary temple, focusing attention of the various aspects like the origin and the growth of the temple, critical review of the temple traditions, the role of the temple in the growth of Sri-Vaishnavism, the association of the acharyas like Ramanuja with the temple, besides the pivotal role the temple has played in the social and cultural life of the community. The vast literature that has grown round the temple and the five hundred and odd inscriptions that crowd the wall-spaces of the shrines provide a sumptuous source material for this study. One of the largest temple complexes of South India, the temple presents interesting variety of architectural and sculptural styles of different schools. The temple is particularly rich in Vaishnava iconography. The book provides a detailed study and interpretation of these features with the help of hitherto unpublished photographs and drawings. The book also brings to light the presence of fine paintings of the Vijayanagar times that are found in the dark cloister around the sanctum. The book is a distinct contribution to the field of historical and architectural studies of ancient Indian temples. |
Common terms and phrases
11th century A.D. 13th century abhisheka-maṇḍapa acharyas Alagia Āļvārs architectural Attiyur Brahmins built called centre chieftain Chingleput Chōla corbels courtyard datable dated Ś deity depicted devotees disciple donated epigraph epigraph dated A.D. famous festival Ganga gateway gift Golkonda gōpura Hastigiri honour Hoysāļa Ibid important inscription dated A.D. Jiyar K.A.N. Sastri Kalyāṇa-maṇḍapa Kāñchi Kanchipuram known Krishna Krishnadēva Kulōttunga Kumāra Kūrattāļvār later Lord Varadaraja Madras Maṇavāļa Mahāmuni mandapa matha mentioned metres Mysore Nammāļvār Nayak Pallava Pandya Peria period pilasters pillars prabhandams prākāra Prativāti Bhayankaram probably Rāja Rājarāja Rāma Rāmānuja Rāya recited record refers reign sanctum Sanskrit sculptures SITI South India Sri-Vaishnava Srirangam stalattar structures Tamil country Tātacharya Tāyār shrine Telugu-Chōḍa Tenkalai Tenkalai school tion Tirukkachi-nambi Tirumalai Tirupati upto Vadakalai Vaishnava Varadaraja Varadarājaswāmi temple Vēdānta Dēsika Venkata II verses Vijayanagar empire Vijayanagar king village vimāna Vishnu Vishnu temples wall worship