CHENNAI, INDIA, November 8, 2008: A 1,200-year-old Siva temple of the Pallava period at Tiruppulivanam village in Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu, has been wiped clean of its beautiful Chola-period paintings. The frescoes, about 975 years old, have been sand-blasted out of existence.
The frescoes were painted perhaps during the rule of Rajendra I, on the northern prakara wall. Dr. A. Padmavathy, retired Senior Epigraphist, Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department, said the paintings were of Siva as Tripurantaka (riding a chariot and armed with a bow and arrows to kill the demons of the three worlds) and Nataraja, and of Dakshinamurti, Narasimha, and Vishnu in “ananthasayana” posture.
Tragically, two 16-pillared halls were also demolished. One of them, which was commonly called “madapalli” or kitchen, had Tamil inscriptions dating back to Kulotunga Chola III (1215 A.D.).
Authorities deny there was any improper conduct in handling the historic site.