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 Rock carvings turning into temples is a common place happening in a country like India. One such episode led to the evolution of the present Kailasanatha temple at Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu. The kings who ruled over India are also in a way responsible for the creation of most of the temples, which form part of our history. King Rajasimha Pallava was responsible for the erection of this beautiful temple.
More than a temple, it is a beautiful piece of art. The sanctum sanctorum comprises the Shiva lingam. It is believed that a single rock during the early Pallava regime gradually developed into a temple with its gopurams and corridors. The credit for the development certainly goes to King Rajasimha Pallava. This Pallava ruler was also an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva.
The temple is believed to have established the victory of Hinduism or rather Saivism over Buddhism. The sthala purana of the temple illustrates this point. Clashes were very common between the Devas and asuras. The Devas were worried over the construction of gold, silver and iron castles by three asuras. They even offended the Devas. Unable to bear this, the Devas went to Shiva for protection. Unexpectedly, Shiva said that since the asuras were His staunch devotees, He could not destroy them. To find a solution, Narada and Vishnu devised a plan.
 They converted the asuras into Buddhists and approached Shiva to kill them as they were no longer Saivites. Shiva destroyed them with His third eye. It was decided that since Narada and Vishnu had adopted unfair means to kill the asuras, they had to construct a shrine for Shiva. And that shrine is the Kailasanatha temple.
The architecture of the temple is splendid. At the back is a sculpture of Rajasimha with his queen. There are many inscriptions which cover the walls. The images on the walls are believed to be those of Devas. It is said that they were under a curse imposed on them by Indra. Once the Devas were visiting this temple, but Indra had warned them to return to their abode by dawn. The Devas were enthralled by the beauty of the temple that they failed to note the sun rising. Thus, they were cursed to become stones. These stones represent the Devas, it is believed. This temple also houses the images of some musical instruments on its walls. Seen among them are the ghatam and damaru seen in Shiva’s hand.
The temple’s vimana has a horde of divine pieces of art sculptured. There are images of Brahma,
 Ravana, Bhairava, Oordhva thandava (Shiva’s one leg facing the sky and the other on ground), Ardhanareeswara (half Shiva and Parvathi) and Tripurantaka (Shiva reducing Tripura to ashes), among many others.
If you are a lover of art, this place is a must-see. With the serenity of the Shiva temple echoing the place, one is sure to have a wonderful time, admiring the rare sculptures and even the most common musical instruments.
S Sowmya
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