Architecture The Peruvudaiyar temple's plan and development utilizes the
axial and
symmetrical geometry rules. It is classified as Perunkoil (also called Madakkoil), a big temple built on a higher platform of a natural or man-made mounds. The temple complex is a rectangle that is almost two stacked squares, covering east to west, and north to south. In this space are five main sections: the sanctum with the towering superstructure (
sri vimana), the Nandi hall in front (
Nandi-mandapam) and in between these the main community hall (
mukhamandapam), the great gathering hall (
mahamandapam) and the pavilion that connects the great hall with the sanctum (
Antrala). The temple complex integrates a large pillared and covered veranda (
prakara) in its spacious courtyard, with a perimeter of about for circumambulation. Outside this pillared veranda there are two walls of enclosure, the outer one being defensive and added in 1777 by the French colonial forces with gun-holes with the temple serving as an arsenal. They made the outer wall high, isolating the temple complex area. On its east end is the original main gopuram or gateway that is
barrel vaulted. It is less than half the size of the main temple's
vimana. Additional structures were added to the original temple after the 11th century, such as a mandapa in its northeast corner and additional gopurams (gateways) on its perimeters to allow people to enter and leave from multiple locations. Some of the shrines and structures were added during the Pandya, Nayaka, Vijayanagara and Maratha era, before the colonial era started, and these builders respected the original plans and symmetry rules. Inside the original temple courtyard, along with the main sanctum and Nandi-mandapam are two major shrines, one for Kartikeya and for Parvati. The complex has additional smaller shrines. The Peruvudaiyar temple continued the Hindu temple traditions of South India by adopting architectural and decorative elements, but its scale significantly exceeded the temples constructed before the 11th century. The Chola era architects and artisans innovated the expertise to scale up and build, particularly with heavy stone and to accomplish the high towering
vimana.
Sanctum and the Sri-vimana The sanctum is at the center of the western square. It is surrounded by massive walls that are divided into levels by sharply cut sculptures and
pilasters providing deep bays and recesses. Each side of the sanctuary has a bay with iconography. In the
Dravidian style, the sanctum takes the form of a miniature
vimana. It has the inner wall together with the outer wall creating a path around the sanctum for circumambulation (
pradakshina). The entrance is highly decorated. The inside chamber is the sanctum sanctorum, which houses the brihad linga.
Deities and Natya Sastra dance mudras design of Thanjavur, found in many museums, was commissioned for this temple's sanctum. The Shaivism temple celebrates all major Hindu traditions by including the primary deities of the
Vaishnavism and
Shaktism tradition in the great mandapa of the main temple. The distribution of the deities is generally symmetric, except for the east entrance side which provide for the door and walkway. In addition to the main deities, each side provides for
dvarapalas (guardians), and various other sculptures. The vestibule has three stone sculptures that is intricately carved, and mural paintings. The ground floor level sanctum walls have the following sculptures: • East wall:
Lingodbhava, standing Shiva, Pashupata-murti, plus two dvarapalas flanking the pathway from
ardha-mandapam • South wall:
Bhikshatana,
Virabhadra, Dakshinamurti,
Kalantaka, Nataraja plus two dvarapalas • West wall:
Harihara (half Shiva, half Vishnu), Lingodbhava, Chandrashekhara without
prabhavali, Chandrashekhara with
prabhavali, plus two dvarapalas • North wall:
Ardhanarishvara (half Shiva, half Parvati), Gangadhara without Parvati, Pashupata-murti, Shiva-alingana-murti, plus two dvarapalas On the second floor, Shiva's
Tripurantaka form in different postures is depicted corresponding to these sculptures. Above these floors, the
sri-vimana towers above in thirteen storeys (
talas). Above these storeys is a single square block of granite weight 80 tons, and side. On top of this block, at its corners are Nandi pairs each about by in dimension. Above the center of this granite block rises the
griva, the
sikhara and the finial (
stupi) of Tamil Hindu temple architecture. This
stupi is in height, and was originally covered with gold (no longer). The
sikhara at the top is cupola-shaped and weighs 25 tons. Each storey of this tower is decorated with
kutas and
salas. The shrinking squares tower architecture of this temple differs from the tower at the Chola temple at Gangaikondasolisvaram, because this is straight in contrast to the latter which is curvilinear. The temple's sri-vimana magnitude has made it a towering landmark for the city. The upper storey corridor wall of the
aditala is carved with 81 of the 108 dance
karanas – postures of
Natya Sastra. This text is the basis of the
Bharathanatyam, the classical dance of Tamil Nadu. The 27 unrepresented
karanas are blank blocks of stone, and it is unclear why these were not carved. The 81 postures carved suggest the significance of this classical Indian dance form by early 11th century. The garbhagriha is square and sits on a
plinth. This is moulded and thick. It consists of
upapitham and
adhishthanam, respectively 140 cm and 360 cm thick.
Mandapa The two mandapa, namely
maha-mandapa and
mukha-mandapa, are square plan structures axially aligned between the sanctum and the
Nandi mandapa. The
maha-mandapa has six pillars on each side. This too has artwork. The Vitankar and Rajaraja I bronze statues are here, but these were added much later. The
maha-mandapa is flanked by two giant stone dvarapalas. It is linked to the
mukha-mandapa by stairs. The entrance of the
mukha-mandapa also has dvarapalas. Within the mandapa are eight small shrines for
dikpalas, or guardian deities of each direction such as
Agni,
Indra,
Varuna,
Kubera and others. These were installed during the rule of Chola king Rajendra I. Inscriptions indicate that this area also had other iconography from major Hindu traditions during the Chola era, but these are now missing. The original eight shrines included those for
Surya (the sun god),
Saptamatrikas (seven mothers), Ganesha, Murugan,
Jyeshtha,
Chandra (the moon god), Chandeshvara and Bhairava. Similarly, in the western wall cella was a massive granite Ganesha built during Rajaraja I era, but who is now found in the
tiruch-churru-maligai (southern veranda). Of the Shaktism tradition's seven mothers, only
Varahi survives in a broken form. Her remnants are now found in a small modern era brick "Varahi shrine" in the southern side of the courtyard. The original version of the others along with their original Chola shrines are missing.
Murals The temple has an underneath layer of Chola frescoes on the sanctum walls along the circumambulatory pathway. These frescoes which cover floor to ceiling, were discovered in 1931 by S. K. Govindasami of the
Annamalai University. The total Chola fresco area is about , of which about had been uncovered as of 2010 in a method that preserves both paintings, a technique developed by Archaeological Survey of India. The frescoes narrate Hindu mythology.
Temple personnel An inscription on the north wall of enclosure, dated 1011 CE, gives a detailed accounts of people employed and supported by the temple. The inscription gives their wages, roles and names. It includes over 600 names including those of
priests, lamp lighters, washermen,
tailors,
jewelers,
potters,
carpenters, sacred parasol bearers, dance gurus,
dancing girls,
singers, male and female
musicians, superintendents of performance artists, accountants among others. Their wages was in parcels of land, so their temple employment was likely part-time. ==Millennium commemoration==