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Three sculptures, belonging to the 7th or 8th century have been
found by the Archaeology Department of the State Government in
Alagramam and Mamandur in Villupuram Ramasamy Padayachiyar
district.
While the sculptures from Alagramam depict Ayyanar and Vishnu, the
sculpture found in Mamandur was that of Jyeshta.
Out of the three, the images of Ayyanar and Jyeshta are
"outstanding and unique," Mr. Natana Kasinathan, Director of
Archaeology, said in a statement.
According to Mr. Kasinathan, the location of the Ayyanar sculpture
was brought to the notice of the department by a retired teacher in
the city, Mr. Muthu Ethirasan. The teacher was alerted by two
doctors in Alagramam.
Described as an "exciting panel sculpture," the Ayyanar has a
"jatabaram" on his head and some ornaments on his ears and around
his neck. His right hand is in a posture with the "lolahastha"
hanging by the side of the right knee. while the left hand is
placed on the left knee. The "utharabandha" and the ornaments on
the shoulder and the forehead are thick, suggesting that the
sculpture could be traced to the 7th or 8th century. Ayyanar is
flanked by a woman each on either side. The women are in different
postures. On the right side, below the right leg of Ayyanar, a
standing lamp and dog are seen. A horse with a man on top is also
seen in the panel. The female figures might be Purani and Pushkala.
The sculpture was unique, Mr. Kasinathan said. The Department had
noticed images of Ayyanar with a dog in Chunampedu in Chengai Anna
District, Esalam in Villupuram Ramasamy Padayachiyar district and
in Nagathi near Tanjore some years ago. However, a sculpture in
which the Ayyanar was flanked by two women, along with a dog,
mounted horse and a lamp was being found for the first time.
The image of Jyeshta, found at Mamandur, a village adjacent to
Alagramam, was interesting, as the figure of a woman was carved on
the left side of the pedestal in which he was seated. Jyeshta is
usually found with the figures of Kuligan on the right side and
Manthi on the left side. They were believed to be her son and
daughter.
Her "banner crow" on the right side and "weapon broom" on the left
are the usual images. But a dwarf figure of a woman carrying a
box-like object on her head found in the panel was an interesting
addition. Such an image had not been found in Jyeshta panels so
far, making the finding quite significant. In the usual form,
Jyeshta would be seen with the legs held in an outward position and
holding a flower-like object on the right hand and placing her left
hand on top of the box carried by the dwarf lady. in between the
Jyeshta and the dwarf images, there is an object resembling a
kettle.
The image of Vishnu found at Alagramam had four hands and was
standing in a "samabhanga" pose. He was wearing a "kreetamakuda"
on the head and a thick "yagnopavita" which was running over the
right shoulder. By the side of his left leg, there was a female
figure with folded legs. On the right side, a male figure was seen
in the same position.
A team, comprising Mr. Kasinathan, Mr. V Narayanaswamy, Assistant
Executive Engineer and Mr. S. Krishnamurthy, Archaeological
Officer, Chidambaram, conducted the field exploration. Though they
had specific information about the Ayyanar sculpture, the images of
Vishnu and Jyeshta were found accidentally."
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