According to a recent report, the 1,300-year-old Pallava period paintings at Talagirishwara temple at Panamalai in Villupuram district have almost faded away.
Key points
- The panel depicting the dance of Lord Shiva has almost faded away and only the face of goddess Parvathi and a few patches remain now.
- The temple was constructed by Pallava king Narasimhavarman II, popularly known as Rajasimha.
- The paintings are on the wall of a sub-temple on the northern side of the Talagirishwara (Siva) temple, perched on Panamalai, the Tamil name of the word ‘Talagiri’.
- The painting is on the wall behind the Ettupattai lingam. It shows Lord Shiva with eight hands dancing, known as Latathilagabhani, being watched by Goddess Parvathi with her crown and well decorated umbrella.
- Panamalai paintings were older than Chithannavasal paintings and the Pallava king would have chosen the hills to build the temple because it was near the first rock-cut temple in Mandagapattu.
- The paintings were created after covering the stonewalls with paste made of limestone and sand.
