Maratha Links to Chennai Temple
July 27th, 2010Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
CHENNAI, INDIA, July 21, 2010: It was the collapse of the temple tower at Srikalahasti in Andhra Pradesh that spurred experts to inspect the rajagopurams characteristic of Chennai’s temples. What they discovered were not cracks or fissures but rare sculptures including one of the Maratha king Shivaji, which embellish the intricate carvings on these structures. “While climbing up the tiers of different temple towers across the city, we stumbled upon rare murtis whose existence was unknown,” said an expert.We noticed a sculpture of Tamil poet Tiruvalluvar sitting cross-legged, with some palm leaves in his hand, at the Kalikambal temple in Broadway. Another sculpture depicting the marriage of Shiva and Parvathi was found at the Karneeswarar temple in Saidapet,” said an official. “The Kalikambal temple also has a rare painting and a sculpture showing Goddess Kali blessing Chhatrapati Shivaji.” It is said that Shivaji visited the temple in the year 1677 and offered prayers to the deity.
Historical records indicate that Shivaji’s army came down south up to Kancheepuram, then under the sway of the Nawab of Arcot, who owed allegiance to the British. Legend has it that he visited the temple one night after he heard that the presiding deity was Kali, his favorite goddess. A long line of Maratha kings, who were descendants of Shivaji, later controlled the Thanjavur region for nearly two centuries.
