Kailasanatha temple, Kanchipuram
Also called: Kailasanatha temple of Kanchipuram · Topic: Southern Dynasties: Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Kailasanatha temple is a Shiva temple at Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. The Pallava king Rajasimha (Narasimhavarman II) built it in c. 700 CE. It is a structural temple, built from cut sandstone blocks rather than carved out of rock. It is an early, mature example of the Dravida (south Indian) temple style. Its pyramid-shaped tower and its ring of small shrines along the compound wall shaped later south Indian temples.
Example
At Kanchipuram, the main shrine stands inside a courtyard. Many small shrines line the inside of its wall, carved with Shiva in different forms. The temple was finished under Rajasimha's son, Mahendravarman III.
Don't confuse with
- Kailasa temple, Ellora: cut out of a single rock in Maharashtra under the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I. It was not built from blocks, and it is not a Pallava temple.
Related concepts
- Pallava dynasty
- Mahendravarman I
- Mandagapattu inscription
- Narasimhavarman I
- Kanchipuram
- Mamallapuram
- Pancha Rathas
- Shore Temple