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Vettuvan Koil
Vettuvan Koil in Kalugumalai, a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Constructed in the Pandyan Architecture and rock cut architecture, the unfinished temple was built during the 8th century CE by the early Pandyas. The other portions of Kalugumalai hillock houses the 8th century Kalugumalai Jain Beds and Kalugasalamoorthy Temple, a Murugan temple. This rock-cut temple is notable for its architecture and construction method. While the early Pandya rulers helped build numerous cave and stone temples, it is the only known example of a Pandya era monolithic temple that was carved out in three dimensions, in-situ from the top of the hillock.G. Ezhil Adirai (2016), TECHNOLOGICAL METHODS IN MAKING SCULPTURES, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 77, pp. 84-85, The temple is maintained and administered by Department of Archaeology of the Government of Tamil Nadu as a protected monu ...
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Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language—one of the longest surviving classical languages in the world—is widely spoken in the state and serves as its official language. The state lies in the southernmost part of the Indian peninsula, and is bordered by the Indian union territory of Puducherry and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, as well as an international maritime border with Sri Lanka. It is bounded by the Western Ghats in the west, the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait to the south-east, and the Indian Ocean in the south. The at-large Tamilakam region that has been inhabited by Tamils was under several regimes, such as the Sangam era rulers of the Chera, Chola, and Pandya ...
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Dakshinamurthy
Dakshinamurthy () is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as a guru (teacher) of all types of knowledge. This aspect of Shiva, as the original guru, is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge. This form represents Shiva as a teacher of yoga, music and wisdom, and giving exposition on the ''shastras''. He is worshipped as the god of wisdom, complete and rewarding meditation. According to Hindu scriptures, if a person doesn't have a guru, they can consider and worship Dakshinamurthy as their guru. Eventually they will be blessed with a self-realised human guru, if they are worthy. Meaning Dakshinamurti literally means 'one who is facing south ()' in Sanskrit. According to another school of thought 'Dakshinya' means Karuna in Sanskrit or kindness (benevolence). So this manifestation of Shiva is a benevolent teacher who accords wisdom to seekers of salvation. In most of the Siva temples, the stone image of Dakshinamurthy is installed ...
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Rashtrakutas
Rashtrakuta ( IAST: ') (r. 753-982 CE) was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the sixth and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from manapur a city in Central or West India. Other ruling Rashtrakuta clans from the same period mentioned in inscriptions were the kings of Achalapur and the rulers of Kannauj. Several controversies exist regarding the origin of these early Rashtrakutas, their native homeland and their language. The Elichpur clan was a feudatory of the Badami Chalukyas, and during the rule of Dantidurga, it overthrew Chalukya Kirtivarman II and went on to build an empire with the Gulbarga region in modern Karnataka as its base. This clan came to be known as the Rashtrakutas of Manyakheta, rising to power in South India in 753 AD. At the same time the Pala dynasty of Bengal and the Prathihara dynasty of Malwa were gaining force in eastern ...
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Pallavas
The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as feudatories. The Pallavas became a major South Indian power during the reign of Mahendravarman I (600–630 CE) and Narasimhavarman I (630–668 CE), and dominated the southern Andhra Region and the northern parts of the Tamil region for about 600 years, until the end of the 9th century. Throughout their reign, they remained in constant conflict with both the Chalukyas of Badami in the north, and the Tamil kingdoms of Chola and Pandyas in the south. The Pallavas were finally defeated by the Chola ruler Aditya I in the 9th century CE. The Pallavas are most noted for their patronage of Hindu temple architecture, the finest example being the Shore Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mamallapuram. Kancheepuram served as the capit ...
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Krishna I
Krishna I ( kn, ಅಕಾಲವರ್ಷ ಶುಭತುಂಗ ಕೃಷ್ಣ) (reign 756–774 CE), an uncle of Dantidurga, took charge of the growing Rashtrakuta Empire by defeating the last Badami Chalukya ruler Kirtivarman II in 757. This is known from the copper plate grant of Emperor Govinda III of 807 and a copper plate grant of the Gujarat Rashtrakuta Emperor Karka from Baroda.Reu (1933), p57 He is also known as Kannara or Kannesvara and took the titles ''Akalavarsha'', ''Shubatunga'', ''Prithvivallabha'' and ''Shrivallabha''. He patronised the famous Jain logician Akalanka Bhatta, the author of ''Rajavartika''. Some historians are of the opinion that Krishna I usurped the throne from his nephew Dantidurga.Vincent Smith in Reu (1933), p58 But others disagree as the term "demise of Dantidurga" occur in the Kavi and Navasari copper plates indicating Krishna I must have ascended the throne after the death of Dantidurga. However, from the Baroda inscription it seems that K ...
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Narasimhavarman II
Narasimhavarman II, popularly known as Rajamalla, was a ruler of the Pallava kingdom. Narasimhavarman reigned from 690 CE to 725 CE. He is credited with the construction of the Shore Temple, Isvara and Mukunda Temples in Mahabalipuram, the Panamalai Temple in South Arcot, plus the Kailasanathar Temple. Narasimhavarman's reign was period of great literary and architectural advancements and he is often grouped by historians with Mahendravarman I and Narasimhavarman I as one of the greatest Pallava rulers. Accession to the throne By the time Narasimhavarman ascended the throne, the Pallavas were by the large most powerful military force in the subcontinent. His father Parameswaravarman I was among the greatest of warrior kings of ancient India, the Amaravati Pallava inscription praises him of being: "As vigorous and strong as lord sambhu (siva)". Parameswaravarman I had subdued all his formidable enemies to extend the Pallava empire far and away. Narasimhavarman followed up ver ...
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Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple
The Kailasanathar temple (Kanchipuram), also referred to as the Kailasanatha temple, is a Pallava-era historic Hindu temple in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, India. Dedicated to Shiva, it is one of the oldest surviving monuments in Kanchipuram. It reflects a Dravidian architecture and was built about 700 CE by Narasimhavarman II with additions by Mahendra III.K.R. Srinivasan (1972), ''Temples of South India'' (Editor: B.V. Keskar), National Book Trust, p. 115–116 A square-plan temple, it has a ''mukha-mandapa'' (entrance hall), a ''maha-mandapa'' (gathering hall) and a primary ''garbha-griya'' (sanctum) topped with a four-storey ''vimana''. The main sanctum is surrounded by nine shrines, seven outside and two inside flanking the entrance of the sanctum, all with forms of Shiva. The outer walls of the temple's ''prakara'' (courtyard) is also surrounded by cells. The Kailasanathar temple is notable for its intricately carved galaxy of Hindu art in the late 7th- and early 8th-century ...
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Vikramaditya II
Vikramaditya II (reigned 733 – 744 CE) was the son of King Vijayaditya and ascended the Badami Chalukya throne following the death of his father. This information comes from the Lakshmeshwar inscriptions in Kannada dated 13 January 735 A.D.Ramesh (1984), p.156 From inscriptions it has come to be known that even before his coronation, Vikramaditya II, as a crown prince (''Yuvaraja''), had conducted successful military campaigns against their arch enemy, the Pallavas of Kanchipuram. His most important achievements were the capture of Kanchipuram on three occasions, the first time as a crown prince, the second time as an emperor and the third time under the leadership of his son and crown prince Kirtivarman II. This is attested to by another Kannada inscription, known as the Virupaksha Temple inscription which alludes to the emperor as the conqueror of Kanchi on three occasions and reads ''Sri Vikramaditya-bhatarar-mume-Kanchiyan-mume parajisidor''. The other notable achieve ...
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Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnataka'' in 1973. The state corresponds to the Carnatic region. Its capital and largest city is Bangalore, Bengaluru. Karnataka is bordered by the Lakshadweep Sea to the west, Goa to the northwest, Maharashtra to the north, Telangana to the northeast, Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the southeast, and Kerala to the southwest. It is the only southern state to have land borders with all of the other four southern Indian sister states. The state covers an area of , or 5.83 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, sixth-largest Indian state by area. With 61,13 ...
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Virupaksha Temple, Hampi
Virupaksha Temple () is located in Hampi in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, India. It is part of the Group of Monuments at Hampi, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple is dedicated to Lord Virupaksha, a form of Shiva. The temple was built by Lakkan Dandesha, a nayaka (chieftain) under the ruler Deva Raya II also known as Prauda Deva Raya of the Vijayanagar Empire. Hampi, capital of the Vijayanagar empire, sits on the banks of the Tungabhadra River (Pampa hole/Pampa river). Virupaksha Temple is the main center of pilgrimage (ತೀರ್ಥಯಾತ್ರೆ )at Hampi, and had been considered the most sacred sanctuary over the centuries. It is intact among the surrounding ruins and is still used in worship . The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, known here as Virupaksha/Pampa pathi, as the consort of the local goddess Pampadevi who is associated with the Tungabhadra River. There is also a Virupakshini Amma temple (mother goddess) in a village cal ...
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Veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.Vina: Musical Instrument
Encyclopædia Britannica (2010)
The many regional designs have different names such as the '' Rudra veena'', the '''', the '' Vichitra veena'' and others. The North Indian ''rudra veena'', used in