Vasantha Mandapa of Tirugokarnam Temple and its Sculptures

Gokarnesvara cave temple at Tirugokarnam is belonged to the early Pandya period located on the highway from Pudukkottai to Tiruchirappalli. The suzerainty of the early Pandya was accepted by the local Muttraiya chief. Perumbidugu Perundevis record which is found written on a stone slap in the Vaishnava cave at Tirumayam is witnessing this fact.1 However, the Grandha edict from the Gokarnesvara cave says that the founder of the temple was Bhagadhacharyah.2 He was not a political leader. He would have been the religious saint. During the reign of the Imperial Cholas, there would have been some additions in art and architecture of the temple. A wall in between Saptamatrika shrine and main cave has been built during reign of the Cholas. Traces of the rock prove that there was a shelter over the Saptamatrikas before the reign of the Cholas. Besides Mangalanayaki shrine is purely a Cholas contribution. This is an Amman shrine which would have been affiliated with the cave shrine. The Brhadambal shrine has been affiliated with the Pakulanesvara Shrine of the same complex. Both the Gokarnesa and Pakulanesvara shrines are dedicated to Lord Siva.