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PHOTO: A. SHAIKH MOHIDEEN

STEPS TO SPIRITUALITY The cave temple at Thirunanthikkarai

“Come inside, this is the centuries-old Nanthikeswarar Temple,” called the bearded priest who was doing a parikrama. But my visit was to check out a rock-cut temple on a hill top which was under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Courtesy demanded that I accept the priest’s invitation and so I entered this small, but beautiful, temple that dates back to the Imperial Cholas. A rectangular room and a roof supported by stone pillars marked the entrance. On all sides of the sanctum sanctorum were exquisitely carved depictions of the Dasavatara. I learnt that the temple was one of 12 Shivalaya Ottam Temples, where the Nandi has been installed such that it has to be seen through a hole.

The powerful scent of camphor pervaded the serene environs, which was devoid of crowds. This place boasts one more noteworthy feature — a rock-cut temple on a hill on the northern side of the one below. I could just about see a few steps cut into the hill that perhaps led to the cave temple through the thick canopy formed by the trees. At the base of the hillock an ASI board declared the site to be a protected one.

The priest advised me to come early the next morning as the day’s pujas started with invoking the deity in the cave, after which the shrine would be closed. I returned the following morning. In the bright sunlight the greenery around looked fresh. About 60-odd stone steps led to the cave temple atop the hill.

As I climbed up, I realised the place looked dark because of the perennial shade provided by the trees. The rock was black in colour and the cave cut inside it had 11 stone edicts, distributed in three compartments. While some copper inscriptions were discovered here by the Archaeological Survey and are said to belong to the 9th Century, when the Venad king Vikramathitha Varakuna Pandiya ruled, the edicts relate to the Sadhaya festival of the Imperial Cholas, during the rule of King Raja Raja in the 11th Century. The presiding deity of the temple is Thiru Nanthikeswarar.

I reached after the morning puja was over and so the spot was deserted. Burnt incense sticks lay strewn on the ground and the entrance to the cave temple was covered by heavy grill gates. I peeped through the doors and managed to see some faded paintings on the wall. It is believed that the murals of Thirunanthikkarai are among the earliest specimens of Kerala painting, where this from of art flourished.

The Thirunanthikkarai murals are ascribed to the period 9th-12th Century A.D. and are said to be the oldest, while most of the murals now seen in Kerala temples belong to the 15th Century or later.

Apparently, the Kerala mural style was a fully developed art form and connected with religious rituals.

It involved sprinkling and filling up coloured powders inside a sketched outline. The cave must have once been richly decorated with paintings. At present, only hazy outlines that have withstood the ravages of time are visible.

While the rock-cut cave temple dates to the 7th-8th Century AD and was influenced by the Pallava style of art, the paintings on the walls of the cave and the roof are presumed to have been executed in the 9th or 10th Century AD. Thirunanthikkarai is a peaceful spot for a short visit.

During the day, the temple below is visited by a fair number of devotees and gets a bit noisy too. But since the timings of the cave temple have been laid down by the ASI, not many go up the flight of steps.

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