Experience the historic past of Mandagapattu!

Mandagapattu houses the well known Tirumurthi Temple that is dedicated to the hindu deity Lord Vishnu. Pallava King Mahendravarman I built this temple from rocks thereby making it the TamilNadu’s oldest ever cave temple known till date. One of the stone inscriptions states that Mahendravarman I claims that he has built this holy temple devoted to the Hindu Trinity and that too without making use of any metal, timber, brick and mortar.

This shrine bears also significant historic importance, as it marks the beginning of drift towards stone structures from wooden architecture. Based on a temple’s inscription this temple is called as ‘Laksitayatna’ and is constructed exclusively for the Hindu Trio Gods- Ishvara, Brahma and Vishnu.

Built in as early as 7^th Century on a 100 feet hillock, the Mandagapattu cave temple is protected by Archaeological Survey of India.  The stone art found in this monument even precedes the renowned stone sculptures of the now popular Mamallapuram temples!

This cave temple facing towards the North direction, possesses 2 pillars and 2 pilasters at its front façade and thereby forming 3 bays. It measures 24 feet in width, 22 feet in length and 9 feet in height. There are 2 dvarpalas that were carved on the either end of the pilasters. The mammoth cave goes beyond these 2 pilasters and forms a niche structure around the dvarpalas and ends with tetragonal pilasters on each end.

Steps found at the end of the courtyard lead to an uncovered porch before a rectangular shaped mandapa. The back wall consists of 4 pilasters that form 3 cells of 3 feet depth which are dedicated respectively to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. The eastern end dvarpala is depicted in intribhanga posture and the one on the western end is standing in tribhanga posture through his club’s support.

The pillar inscription found in this temple is written in Sanskrit language (Pallava Grantha script). It states that: “This metal-less, timber-less, mortar-less and brick-less temple, Lakshitayatna, a mansion for the Ishvara, Brahma and Vishnu was made by the king Vicitra-cita”.

Mandagappattu comes under Villupuram district and is located 17 km apart from Gingee and 20 km far from Villupuram. It is located 162 km from Chennai and can be easily reached by train through Villupuram railway station.

On the whole, we strongly suggest you to pay a visit to this unique temple for exploring its architecture and historical importance. Additionally, you can also gain valuable insights about the ancient science of sculpture and arts (Shilpa Sastra), which is no less than an architectural wonder for sure…