தாளகிரீசுவரர் கோயில், பனைமலை
About 90 km due west of Pondicherry lies this historic Sivan temple set amongst lush green fields and rocky outcrops. The temple is atop a small hill literally in the middle of nowhere. The location is serene.
Built by the great Pallava king Narasimhavarman II also known as Rajasimhan (CE 700- 728), it is one the earliest structural stone temples to be built that is still standing. Rajasimhan also built the better known Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram and the Kailasanathar at Kanchipuram. They were all built around the same time. Heavily vandalized over the centuries, what remains is still truly beautiful. With its large lion motifs, the characteristic Somaskanda relief panel and Sanskrit inscriptions in fluid grantha ( கிரந்தை), it has all the trappings of a Pallava monument. The atmosphere is peaceful and you can appreciate the handiwork of the Pallava stonemasons and sculptors at leisure, far from the maddening crowds. It is indeed a hidden treasure.
Thaal means palmyrah and giri means hill in Sanskrit. Panai is Tamil for palmyrah and malai means hill. So Thaalagiri and Panamalai mean the same thing. 1300 years ago the hill must have been full of palmyrah trees. Although the country around has a lot these trees, there aren’t too many on the hill.
Although this is an ASI property, it needs better care. It is essentially a dead temple. There is a tribe of monkeys that live on this hill and sometimes bother visitors. Luckily for us, they had left for another hillock nearby that morning to look for food and we did not encounter them. I did not take my big camera up the hill because of the monkeys. They tend to grab things that you carry. The photos were all taken using my iPhone except for the long shot for which I used my Nikon DSLR.
It is located about 1.5 hours or 90 km west of Pondicherry near Viluppuram. We visited in May 2023. We were based in Pondicherry.
Credits: Google Maps
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