Exploring the amazing temples of Tamil Nadu in a Skoda Kushaq

Tamil Nadu offers countless temples of amazing Architecture, it also offers some of the best south Indian culinary experiences

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Divine Designs: Exploring the Legacy of Tamil Temple Architecture

This is the story of four friends (cousins) with lots of interests in historic architecture who set aside their busy lives for a week to travel together, reconnect, and explore the magnificent architecture of Tamil temples during the first week of Aug 2024. I wanted to create this article as soon as I got back from the trip but sometimes as we all know, our wishes do not realize the way we wish.

This wasn’t just a trip; it was a journey I had longed to experience. For years, every vacation to India had been consumed by visits to family and friends, leaving me with little time for myself. Since last couple of years (and as I get older ), I decided to change that pattern for good. Prior to this temple run in Aug 2024, Aug of 2023 was of an incredible solo road trip from Europe to Africa which I documented here. I am now already spending hours for what could be the trip in Aug 2025.

How and why Tamil Nadu?

First of all, we had just one week - so needed something that we all could enjoy at a manageable distance from Kozhikode, Kerala. Besides, I personally have a special place in my heart for Tamil Nadu where (Good old Madras as I personally like to call it) I spent early years of my career. It had a lot of life and character unlike some of the other cities I have been to. Back then the life was not particularly easy for several reasons, but I did enjoy living in and around for a few years. Looking back now brings a lot of memories.

Given interest in temple architecture (and food of course), Tamil Nadu offers countless temples of amazing Architecture, it also offers some of the best south Indian culinary experiences. Its traditional, authentic, economic and different.

In no time Tamil Nādu became our pick of destination. Incase if you have not realized, Tamil Nādu has some of the most amazing temple architectures not just in India but around the globe, leading back to thousands of years across several dynasties.

As I began writing about this incredible week of travel and exploring temple architecture, I found myself Googling “what makes friends friends.” What I found resonated deeply.

Good listener, Trustworthy, You can be yourself around them, Empathy, Respect, They support you, Being non-judgmental, Honesty, Loyalty, They are kindhearted, Dependability, Flexibility, Humor, Low-maintenance, Makes you smile, They make you feel wanted, list goes on.

Friendship is what truly made this trip unforgettable.

So the plan got final in no time. I flew from Amsterdam to Calicut where two of the cousins lived, third one drove from Kasaragod to Calicut with his less than a year old Skoda Kushaq which is what we would be driving on for days to come.

Pondicherry also got added to the plan. It was French colonial settlement in India until 1954, is now a Union Territory town bounded by the southeastern Tamil Nadu state. Its French legacy is preserved in its French Quarter, with tree-lined streets, mustard-colored colonial villas and chic boutiques. It also offers some of the best beaches.

The great temples of Tamil Nadu

Below list is what is elaborated in this article. This is not all, we had no time for Madurai or for further south. We had to park them for another occasion.

• Arunachalam Arunachaleswarar Temple
• Chidambaram Thillai Natarajar Temple
• Gangaikondacholeeswaram Temple (Brihadisvara Temple)
• Kumbakonam Airavatesvara Temple
• Thanjavur Brihadeeswara Temple
• Sri RanganathaSwamy Temple, Srirangam
• The Rock Fort Vinayagr temple
• Palani Murugan temple

A lot of the facts around the temples in this article come from Wikipedia as that is the best source of information available especially on historic significance of these temples.

First destination: Tiruvannamalai

Kozhikode – Tiruvannamalai is about 500 Kms. Roads in Kerala are of low quality however Tamil Nadu has some of the best roads in India.

Temple to Visit: Arunachaleswarar Temple

Arunachaleswara Temple, also known as Annamalaiyar Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Shiva. It’s situated at the foot of Arunachala hill in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu, India. This temple holds great importance for the Shaivite sect, as it’s one of the five Panchabhoota Sthalams, which are considered sacred places associated with the five elements. Specifically, it’s connected to the element of fire, or Agni. The temple complex spans an impressive 10 hectares, making it one of the largest temples in India.

The masonry structure we see today was built during the Chola dynasty way back in the 9th century. Later, the Vijayanagara rulers of the Sangama dynasty (1336–1485 CE), the Saluva dynasty, and the Tuluva dynasty (1491–1570 CE) added to it.

Some interesting facts about Arunachaleswara Temple

• It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Shiva, located at the base of Arunachala hill
• The temple complex covers 10 hectares, and is one of the largest in India.
• Inside the doorway of the first tower and the fifth precinct, there is a thousand-pillared hall built during the late Vijayanagara period.
• Every full moon, tens of thousands of pilgrims worship Arunachalesvara by circumambulating the Arunachala hill barefoot. The circumambulation covers a distance of 14 kilometers (8.7 mi), and is referred to as Girivalam.
• It houses four gateway towers known as gopurams. The tallest is the eastern tower, with 11 stories and a height of 66 metres (217 ft), making it one of the tallest temple towers in India built by Sevappa Nayakkar (Nayakar dynasty).

The French revolution: Pondicherry

After spending time and having a good south Indian lunch, we headed to Pondicherry for the night and the day after. Arunachalam – Pondicherry is about 115 Kms.

Place to Visit: Pondicherry is a well documented tourist destination. These are the most sought after locations to visit. The official website is a good place to start.

• Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges
• The Sacred Heart Basilica
• Immaculate Conception Cathedral
• Puducherry Museum
• Arikamedu Trust
• Our Lady of Angels & the French Quarter [White Town]
• Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple
• Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Devasthanam
• Auroville
• Old lighthouse
• Rock Beach
• Paradise Beach
• Promenade Beach

If you are looking for a short weekend getaway from places like Chennai or Bangalore, Pondicherry is a no brainer.

• One way road distance from Bangalore is 315 kilomters.
• Round trip from Bangalore to Pondicherry and then to Chennai and back to Bangalore is less than 900 kilometers.

Tip: Fill up your fuel tanks from Pondicherry as much as you can. Fuel is marginally cheaper due to the fact that Pondicherry is a union territory which means different types of tax rules apply.

Let me windup Pondicherry with a few photos given the abundance of information available over internet.

On a side note, be careful of road traffic. I was not impressed at all with how especially bikers were behaving on the road.

Not too far from Pondicherry is Auroville. Its a globally known destination. Auroville is an experimental township in Villupuram district, mostly in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, with some parts in the Union Territory of Pondicherry in India.

It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa and designed by architect Roger Anger.
Auroville has its own website that has all sorts of details before you visit.

After embracing the true idea of Auroville, we ended up making a short visit to Arikamedu which was an Indo-Roman trading city dating back about a 1000 years. It was a place where ships unloaded goods from distant lands. A massive brick structure which is supposed to be a warehouse was found at the site.

Unfortunately the roads to the location and infrastructure are of low quality. Hopefully this site gets better attention in future.

Heading to Chidambaram

Place to visit: Thillai Natarajar Temple

After a full day of grabbing whatever Pondicherry had to offer, we checked out and headed to Chidambaram, where Thillai Natarajar Temple is located.

Chidambaram is about 65 kms from Pondicherry.

Thillai Nataraja Temple, also referred as the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Nataraja, the form of Shiva as the lord of dance.

The temple wall carvings display all the 108 Karanas and these postures form a foundation of Bharatanatyam, an Indian classical dance derived from Sathirattam.

Some interesting facts about Chidambaram Thillai Natarajar Temple

• The present temple was built in the 10th century when Chidambaram was the capital of the Chola dynasty.
• After its 10th-century consecration by the Cholas who considered Nataraja as their family deity. The Chidambaram temple complex, for example, has the earliest known Amman or Devi temple in South India, a pre-13th-century Surya shrine with chariot, shrines for Ganesha, Murugan and Vishnu, one of the earliest known Shiva Ganga sacred pool, large mandapas for the convenience of pilgrims (choultry, ambalam or sabha) and other monuments.
• Shiva himself is presented as the Nataraja performing the Ananda Tandava (“Dance of Delight”) in the golden hall of the shrine Pon Ambalam.
• The temple has been damaged, repaired, renovated and expanded through the 2nd millennium. Most of the temple’s surviving plan, architecture and structure is from the late 12th and early 13th centuries, with later additions in similar style.
• The temple as it stands had a pre-Chola existence and the architecture is a combination of Chola and Pandyan architecture with the Sanctum Sanctorum closely resembling Kerala style structures.
• The temple has nine major gopuram gateways connecting the various courtyards. Four of these are huge and colorful, visible from afar, a symbolic and convenient landmark for pilgrims. These gateway towers or gopurams each have 7 storeys facing the East, South, West and North. The first edition of the four gopuram superstructures were likely built between 1150 and 1300 CE.

Chidambaram to Gangaikonda Cholapuram is about 45 kilomters. Roads are good and there was almost no traffic. We reached in no time.

Place to visit: Gangaikondacholeeswaram Temple

The Brihadisvara Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva in Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Jayankondam, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Completed in 1035 AD by Rajendra Chola I as a part of his new capital.

The Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple is smaller yet more refined than the Thanjavur Temple.

What strikes our minds was the precision of stonework across all these temples. Its mind-blowing to even imagine that these level of perfections could be achieved thousands of years ago.

Rajendra wanted to emulate the temple built by his father after his victory in a campaign across India that Chola era texts state covered Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Bengal. After his victory, he demanded that the defeated kingdoms send pots of Ganges River water and pour them into the temple’s well.

Some interesting facts about Gangaikondacholeeswaram Temple

• The temple was constructed in 1035 AD by Rajendra Chola I (1012-44 CE), the son of the famous Chola king Raja Raja Chola I, who built the Brihadeeswarar Temple at Thanjavur.
• Some experts believe that the temple was built during 1020, during the 6th regnal year, but inscriptions indicate the 20th regnal year, which is 1035 AD.
• The well was originally called Cholagangam as it was filled with water from Ganges.
• The main temple dedicated to Shiva is based on a square plan, but it displays other Hindu deities such as Vishnu, Durga, Surya, Harihara, Ardhanarishvara, and others.
• It opens to the sunrise and its sanctum, as well as the mandapas, are aligned on an east–west axis.
• The temple is famed for its bronze sculptures, artwork on its walls, the depiction of Nandi and the scale of its tower.
• Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple is built in Dravidian architecture with a square plan.
• The original courtyard is two squares stacked next to each other, all mandapas, the upapitham, the shrine plans, the garbha griha (sanctum) and the tower elements are all square shaped and incorporate circles and principles of geometric symmetry.
• The structural elements resemble the big Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur.
• Both include a courtyard entered through multiple gateways and a relatively small gopuram (tower).
• Inside are shrines, most of which are aligned on an east–west axis; a few are perpendicular.
• The temple complex includes Nandi Mandapa, Alankar Mandapa, Maha Mandapa, Mukha Mandapa and Ardha Mandapa.
• Some of these were added and restored by Hindu kingdoms after the 14th century or by British India art conservation.

Place to visit: Sri Airavatesvara Temple

After another excellent Sounth Indian lunch, we set our navigation towards Kumbakonam to visit another marvel of architecture, the Airavatesvara Temple. Airavatesvara Temple is a Hindu temple of Chola architecture located in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur District in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This temple, built by Chola emperor Rajaraja II in the 12th century.

The Airavateswarar temple is one among a cluster of eighteen mediaeval era large Hindu temples in the Kumbakonam area, Thanjavur District. The temple is dedicated to Shiva.

The stone temple incorporates a chariot structure, and includes major Vedic and Puranic deities such as Indra, Agni, Varuna, Vayu, Brahma, Surya, Vishnu, Saptamatrikas, Durga, Saraswati, Sri devi (Lakshmi), Ganga, Yamuna, Subrahmanya, Ganesha, Kama, Rati and others.

The agra mandapa has an attached square porch of 7 metres (23 ft) side. It has ornately carved steps that go from east to west. On its east, outside the main podium, is the bali-pitham. It is unusual, in that it is produced as intricately carved balustraded steps. When one walks or steps on them, they produce a musical note. They are therefore called the “singing steps”.

What a construction! The more you stay, the more you are puzzled.

As I mentioned earlier, the scale and precision of stonework is beyond imagination. One could spend hours if not days here.

It has two sun dials namely morning and evening sun dials which can be seen as wheels of the chariot.

What was also tremendously helpful was the fact that we chose Monday to Friday (regular working days) for this trip. This helped a lot in having no crowds at most of the locations.

In my opinion, the Sri Airavatesvara Temple stands out as the most fascinating structure among all the temples we visited. It possesses a unique charm and undeniable charisma.

Some interesting facts about Airavateswarar Temple

• Airavatesvara Temple is a Hindu temple of Chola architecture located in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur District in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. This temple, built by Chola emperor Rajaraja II in the 12th century CE is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The Airavatesvarar temple is one among a cluster of eighteen medieval era large Hindu temples in the Kumbakonam area, Thanjavur District. The temple is dedicated to Shiva.
• It has two sun dials namely morning and evening sun dials which can be seen as wheels of the chariot.
• The Airavatesvara Shiva temple has a water tank. This tank has a connected channel that brings in Cauveri River water where Hindus gather annually to take a dip. The local mythology narrates how Airavata, or Indra’s (malla) white elephant was restored to clean, white skin after he took a dip in this tank. This legend is carved in stone in the inner shrine, and this Indra’s elephant gives this temple its name.
• This temple is a storehouse of art and architecture and has some exquisite stone carvings. Although this temple is much smaller than the Brihadeesvara Temple or the Gangaikondacholapuram Temple, it is more exquisite in detail.
• The Airavatesvara temple was much larger than it is now. It had sapta veedhis (seven streets) and seven courts, similar to the Srirangam temple, according to the inscriptions. All are gone, except the one court with the main temple that survives.

We spent a fair amount of time walking around the empty courtyards and verandahs.

That is when you realize talking over phone with friends is not same as talking to them while being with them. Another short lookback to wind up the visit to this magnificent art and we said goodbye, setting up navigation for next destination.

Continued in the next post

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