The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Exquisite sculpture cynosure of all eyes

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Wednesday, Feb 06, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Exquisite sculpture cynosure of all eyes

S. Ramu

The sculpture resembles a mini-aquarium on black rock, a testimony to the sculptural advancement of the time

. PHOTO: SINGAM VENKATA RAMANA

Wonder relic: The miniature sculptural wonder at Panagal temple near Nalgonda

PANAGAL (NALGONDA DT.): The image of a group of aquatic animals chiselled in a 7 by 7 square box on a rock pillar of the historical Chaya Someswara temple on the outskirts of this tiny village remains the centre of attraction for visitors and historians.

Five fish, three tortoises and two crocodiles are seen in the tiny box displaying the artistic calibre of the sculptors of the day. The sculptor has carved out two types of fish in the space.

While the tortoise is fully visible, the top part of the shells known as carapace of the remaining two is seen. It resembles a mini-aquarium on black rock and bears testimony to the sculptural advancement of those times.

Interestingly, the same figures are not found anywhere on the grandiose rock pillars of the temple constructed by the Kanduri Cholas in the 12th century. Of the four pillars that form the “Ranga Mantapam”, the right pillar in the front row bears these symbols of artistic beauty.

“I’ve seen so many miniature figures on temple pillars but these tiny aquatic figures stand tall among them,” Damaraju Surya Kumar, a history lecturer in a private college at Nakrekal, told The Hindu on Tuesday. The impact of Udayasamudram, a huge tank situated near the temple, could have inspired the sculptor to chisel out two varieties of fish, tortoises and crocodiles on the black granite pillars.

Special feature

“We can find some tiny elephants, swans and other animals besides mythological figures on the rock pillars but these aquatic animals are something special,” Mr.Surya Kumar, who is one of the experts in deciphering inscriptions, observed. The temple, situated amid fields in a picturesque environment, was notified as a protected monument under the Andhra Pradesh Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.

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