A Quick view of History

TEMPLES IN TAMILNADU, INDIA

Thousands of temples with lofty towers dot the skyline of the southernmost state of Tamilnadu in India. These temples are torchbearers of the glorious heritage of the Tamil speaking region, and are repositories of the magnificient art forms that evolved over several centuries.The Cholas (900-1250 AD) have a number of monuments to their credit. Mention must be made of the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Tanjavur. The Cholas added many ornate mandpams or halls to temples and constructed large gopurams - towers.

The Pandya Style (Upto 1350 AD) saw the emergence of huge towers, high wall enclosures and enormous towered gateways. The Vijayanagar Style (1350 - 1560 AD) is noted for the intricacy and beauty especially for the decorated monolithic pillars. The Naik style (1600 - 1750 AD) is noted for the addition of large prakarams (circumambulatory paths) and pillared halls.The above is a rather terse description of the Dravidian temple styles found in Tamilnadu. The age of a temple could be determined from the architectural features exhibitied by it, as well as from references to it in ancient literature.

The Sangam period literature of the pre Christian era refers to some temples. The songs of the revered Saivite Saints (Nayanmars) and the Vaishnavite Alwar Saints that date back to the period 7th to the 9th century CE provide ample references to the temples of those days, and these are a valued source of reference in estimating the age of temples.