EARLT PHASE

of the dditala. Possibly the part above the upper prastara was repaired or replaced during
the sixteenth century. In the same phase, the wooden bracket-hgures of both the talas,
and the wooden images on the grivd-koshthas must have come into existence.
The temple belongs to the sdndhdra class of the classical order—the inner walls or
dntara-bhitti being made entirely of granite. The garbha-griha enshrines a lihga in the centre.
Furthermore, it is also a sarvatobhadra type of temple in that it has four functional doors at
four cardinal directions.
The temple-complex has a number of sub-shrines and the one inside the inner prdkdra,
to the north of the main temple, is dedicated to Siva. Outside the hrst prdkdra stand the
Ganapati shrine, Krishna temple of the Dravida style, with octagonal grivd and sikhara,
Vishnu shrine with a pyramidal roof, and a Sasta temple, apsidal on plan. O f the hve
sub-shrines, the most important is the Vishnu shrine, on the north-eastern corner, associated
with a standing image of Vishnu (pi. VIII A), datable to the ninth century (above, p. 107).
It is also a small sdndhdra shrine.
O n stylistic grounds and because of its association with an early image, the temple
may be dated to the ninth century. But it is difhcult to decide if the Ays were in any way
directly associated with its construction.

E . CIRCULAR DRAVIDA-KIRALA SHRINE

(i) GENERAL

There is a high frequency of circular shrines in south Kerala but the number
of shrines belonging to the Early phase is too small. In fact, there is only one circular
shrine, in the A y country, which may be placed in this period by virtue of its association
with an inscription of Karunandadakkan.
Table II below (p. 183) furnishes a list of circular temples whose diameters could be
obtained in the course of the present survey, and it wiU be evident therefrom, that the early
circular temples hke the ones at Perumpaladur in the A y country, Polpulh, in the Chera
kingdom, and Ramantali in the Mushika territory, range in diameters from 3-43 m to
7-58 m. Obviously, the early circular temples were not of gigantic proportions compared
to those of the Middle phase.

(h) DESCRIPTION

Perumpaladur: the site of Mdranattukkdvu

(Figs. 8 and 22)

The site of Naranattukkavu at Perumpaladur, in Neyyatinkara Taluk, District

Trivandrum, has yielded an inscription of the Ay.king Karunandadakkan, the buhder of
the Parthivapuram temple. While the latter was buht in the ninth regnal year, the temple

145
 ARCHITECTURAL SURVET OF TEMPLES OF KERALA

PERUMPALADUR: VISHNU TEMPLE

DISTRICT TRIVANDRUM
I O I 2 3
SCALE OF METRES
2 O 2 4 6 8 IP 12
SCALE OF F E E T T i T T i i i i =a

PLAN

FIG. 22

146
EARLY PHASE

at Perumpaladur came up in the tenth regnal year i.e., just one year after the construction
of the other shrine; hence the date of construction of the present temple may be hxed at
A.D. 858. The Vatteluttu inscription is engraved on a granite balipitha among the ruins of
the temple at Naranattukkavu, situated on the banks of a rivulet. After the discovery of
the inscribed balipitha, the site was excavated by the then Travancore Archaeological
Department.^ It led to the further discovery of the foundation of a circular shrine and a
broken image of Vishnu, the whereabouts of the latter is not known to the present writer.
The inscription records the erection of the balipitha and a gift of land for offerings of
olukkavi (Tood') to the god at Tirunarayanam.
The plan of the temple is that of a circular sandhdra-vimdna, the circular outer wall
surrounding a square garbha-griha with a row of columns in the pradakshind-patha. It is a
ground-plan decidedly of a Dravida-Kerala style, yet the plan seems to be characteristic
of the Middle phase. Qiute hkely, the structure, save its circular plan, underwent wholesale
renovation some time after A.D. 1000. One may arrive at the same conclusion after careful
examination of the extant adhishthdna. The mouldings of the adhishthdna show updna, jagati
octagonal kumuda, kantha with kampas and pattikd. Along with the pddas in the kantha and
vedikd are to be seen floral designs in alternate succession. This type of decoration is not the
characteristic of this age, and it becomes apparent when these mouldings are compared
with those of the inscribed balipitha. In the latter case, the mouldings consist of updna,
jagati, octagonal kumuda, a tall kantha, and finaUy a padma; it is the kantha part which
bears the inscription.
A few miscellaneous facts about the rmned edifice may be detahed here. Columns of
the temple are of simple variety showing alternately square and octagonal sections. The
entrance, from the east, is through a sopdna with hasti-hasta banisters. O n either side of the
sopdna was a standing dvdra-pdla whose stone pedestal, as if held by a flying gana, is still
extant. It is not known if it had a namaskdra-mandapa in front. O n the whole, the general
plan and minor architectural details show that the present ruins pertain to the Middle
phase of Kerala's temple-architecture. What may be safely assigned to the Early phase are
the broad circular plan of the temple, and the inscribed balipitha, made of granite.

3. T E M P L E S I N C H E R A COUNTRY

A. INTRODUCTION

By and large, the Cheras ruled over central Kerala although at a later stage their
sway spread over the whole of the state. Whatever may be the extent of their
political influence, central Kerala must have been the main sphere of their cultural,
rehgious and architectural activities. There is also a dehnite concentration of early temples
in this part, some of them being reaUy of grand proportions. Some minor ruling famihes

^Annual Report of Indian Epigraphy, 1961-62, no. B. 135.

147