Stylish pillars of Pallavas

 

A member from a group interested in architecture posted a picture of the pillars from a temple he visited recently. The column was based on a seated lion. He mentioned that it belongs to the Pallava architecture. I suddenly remembered that I saw a similar one somewhere recently. When I searched the album, I found a broken pillar with a seated lion as its base, and it was lying in a corner in the rockfort temple in Trichy. I am fond of lions. So, I clicked its picture accidentally. And the Pallava’s rock cut temple is at the top and the bottom of the rockfort hill. So, it was clear that the broken pillar belonged to the Pallava architecture.

I was curious to know more about the Pallava style of columns. Then, I found that these columns evolved in three forms in different time periods. The earlier one belongs to Mahendravarma, the pioneer of rock cut temple architecture. This column has a floral capital, and the column is in octagonal shape that fits into a rectangular shaped base. As I read it, I went back to the album and jumped out of joy when I found the similar style of column in the lower cave temple of rockfort hill which belongs to the Pallava dated 600 to 630 CE, that is the Mahendravarman era.

The second evolution happened during the period of Narasimha Pallava. This is the one I have been discussing in the beginning of the article. A vertical column with a seated lion as its base. The time period dates to 630 to 668 CE. Then comes the third evolution during the period of Rajasimha dating to 695 to 728 CE. These pillars will have vertical columns and rampant lions as its base in the place of the seated lions. This can be found in the famous Sea Shore temple of Mamallapuram. 

When I visited it, I was not aware of it. So, I missed clicking its picture. But it is found in other temples belonging to the Rajasimha period. I think I will visit one of them soon hopefully. And this time, I will not miss clicking the picture of those rampant lions. When your purpose for visiting a spot gets fulfilled, the amount of joy you will receive will know no bounds. As I keep visiting different temples, my quest to know more about the temple architecture is getting fulfilled gradually. Looking forward to more such visits and useful insights.