Chaya Someswara Temple, also known as the Chaya Someshvara Swamy Alayam or the Saila-Somesvara temple, is a
Saivite
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
Hindu temple
A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...
located in
Panagal, Nalgonda district
Panagal, also referred to as Panagallu or Panugallu, is a historic town located 4 km northeast from Nalgonda city in Telangana, India.A Chandra Sekhar (1967), District Census Handbook: Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, Government of Andhra Prad ...
of
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. It was built around the mid 11th-century during the rule of the
Kunduru Chodas (a branch of Telugu Cholas), supported and embellished further by later Hindu dynasties of Telangana. Some date it to late 11th to early 12th-century.
The temple, now partially restored, was in ruins in mid 20th-century. It has three ''garbhagriya'' (sanctums), a form of temple architecture that is called ''Trikutalayam'' (three-shrine complex). The sanctums are dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and Surya. The three shrines share a common hall (''mandapam'') with intricately carved pillars in the Telingana style. These carvings depicts scenes from the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas. The temple is a popular pilgrimage site during
Maha Sivaratri
Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava.
In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ca ...
. The temple has three entrances.
The temple is in close proximity to
Pachala Someswara temple, another
Saivite
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
shrine in Panagal. The pillars in the Ardhamandapa and open spaces near the central Shiva shrine were designed and placed by the temple architect in such a way as to cast a unified shadow (''Chaya'' in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
) constantly on the
lingam
A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional im ...
all through the day, irrespective of the position of the sun. This gave its name to the temple - Chaya Someswara Swamy temple.
Location
The temple is located in
Panagal at a distance of nearly 4 km from
Nalgonda
Nalgonda is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the Nalgonda district, as well as the headquarters of the Nalgonda mandal in the Nalgonda revenue division. It is located about from the state ca ...
city, 45 km from
Suryapet
Suryapet is a city in the Indian state of Telangana. It is a municipality and the headquarters of its eponymous district. The Government of India announced Suryapet to be developed under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformat ...
city and about 107 kilometres from Hyderabad. It is located to the east of the village in the midst of paddy fields near the 11th-century manmade water reservoir called the ''Udayasamudram''. The temple is about 1 kilometer east of the
Pachala Someswara Temple and the
Panagal archaeological museum.
History and date
Panagal is a historic site, oft referred to as Panugullu and Panagullu in pre-14th century inscriptions and texts. The earliest records mention it as one of the regional capitals of the Kadumba dynasty, from where governors and kings of Andhradesa ruled this part of Dakshina-kshetra (Deccan-region). The history of Panagal is evidenced by numerous inscriptions found on stones, panels and fragments of panels found near the temple, in the farm fields and on some broken panels found with Muslim tombs. Inscriptions in other parts of India, particularly in the Deccan region, such as the Mamillapalli inscription and the Ramalingala inscription affirm the importance of Panugallu. Some inscriptions call the local rulers by the site's name, as ''Panugallu-puravaresvara''.
With Kirtivarman's conquest, the Chalukyas gained and nurtured Panagal, building some smaller temples in the Chalukyan style. It was one of three capitals for Chalukyas, the other two being Vardhamanapuram and Kandur.
[A Chandra Sekhar (1967), District Census Handbook: Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Chapter XIV, pages A91–92] Later the Cholas (Chodas), Yadavas-Seunas, and Kakatiyas ruled their regions in Telingana from their administrative headquarters at Panagal. In 1124 CE, Udayaraju of a branch of the Telugu Chola dynasty constructed a large water tank to the northeast of the town.
[ Between about 1150 to 1250 CE, two major temples were built in Panagal, including the Chaya Someswara temple. There is no foundation inscription available at this temple, and the estimated date of completion vary by scholars. Dhaky and Meister date it to mid 11th-century based on the architectural style and iconography, attributing it to the Kunduru Chodas. Other scholars date it a bit later to early 12th-century.
]
Description
The Chaya Someswara temple is actually a complex of shrines within a ''prakara'' (compound) wall built from large blocks of stone. The main temple is a trikuta shrine that was in ruins and now partially restored. It faces east. This temple has three entrances, with the one in south being the main larger entrance. Other than the main temple, there are six subsidiary shrines within the ''prakara'' walls. Two of these are located to the south of the main temple, three towards the west, and one in the north. These were likely added after the main temple because they lack symmetry in layout and differ in the architectural style from the main temple.
The main trikuta temple shares a mandapa (pilgrim hall). Each side of the three-sanctum temple is an austere cube with plain walls. On each is a ''phamsana''-type vimana superstructure, one of many types of Hindu temple architecture described in Sanskrit texts. Each cube has a nominal ''adhisthana'' of the ''manchabandha'' class, while on top of the vimana is the ''Dravida-ghanta'', a feature so named in the ''Aparajitaprccha
The ''Aparajitaprccha'' (''lit.'' "the questions of Aparajit") is a 12th-century Sanskrit text of Bhuvanadeva with major sections on architecture (''Vastu Shastra'') and arts (''Kala''). Predominantly a Hindu text, it largely reflects the north an ...
'', an Indian Vastu Sastra text.
The mandapa's façade is carved with stylized flowers inset in panels of the ''kandhara'', along with stylized ''kapotapali'', a layer of ''gajapatti'', and frolicking bhutas in the ''kaksasana'' in accordance with Hindu texts on temple architecture. The mandapa is provided with a bench that also supports nicely placed Citrakhanda pillars, while four decorated Citrakhanda pillars similar to those found in vividly decorated Pallava-era and Alampur Hindu temples of 9th and 10th-centuries. A notable feature of the Chaya Someswara temple is its "plain" square phamsana vimana with shared gudhamandapa style, a feature found in Sirikonda Venugopala temple ruins east of Suryapet. These evidence experimentation and innovations by Indian ''shilpins'' (artisans and architects) in the evolving Telingana architecture by the 11th century.
Of the three shrines, the one on the east houses Surya
Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...
, the solar deity and the one facing north has a Vishnu
Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.
Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...
shrine. The third one houses Sri Someswara (Lord Shiva), the main deity in the form of a lingam. The pillars are decorated with intricate carvings depicting scenes from Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
, Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
, and Puranas
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
. The temple got its name as there is an everlasting shadow (''Chaya'' in Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
) on the Shiva Lingam in the main temple all day long.
The ceiling blocks are carved, with the central section featuring ashta-dikpala and Natesa (dancing Shiva) in the center. However, the carving is smaller and more eroded compared to the one in nearby Paccala Someswara temple, likely because this feature was getting phased out of Hindu temples of Telingana by around 1100 CE. The antarala of each sanctum has a pair of pillars. The doorframes before each sanctum is simpler than the Paccala temple, yet enlivened by figurines at its ''pedyapinda'' section. The Chaya Someswara temple illustrates the square principle of Hindu architecture, in nearly every section, from its sanctums to mukhamandapa, rangamadapa, antarala, and in the vimana superstructure. Even the pillars, panels, niches and interior ceiling frames follow the square principle.
Gallery
File:Chaya Someswara Temple at Pangal.jpg, Chaya Someswara Temple
File:Chaya Someswara Temple.jpg, Chaya Someswara Temple (wide angle)
File:Chayasomeshwara Temple 01.jpg, Unified shadow cast on the Siva lingam
File:Chayasomeshwara Temple 05.jpg, Carvings on the temple pillar
References
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External links
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Chaya Someswara Temple - Telangana
{{Hindu Temples in Telangana
Nalgonda district
Hindu temples in Nalgonda district
Tourist attractions in Nalgonda district
Shiva temples in Telangana
Hindu temples in Telangana