Thanjavur: Rare sculptures of four women dancers and one drummer, with titles given by Chola kings to them have been found at the Boolokanatha Swamy Temple at Tirumangalam in Mayiladuthurai Taluk of Nagapattinam district. Dr Kudavayil Balasubramanian, Epigraphist and temple researcher, assisted by researchers Dr B.Jambulingam, Mani. Maaran and Vellore Kalyanaraman, who conducted a field study of the inscriptions and Chola period sculptures in the temple, have said in a press release here on Friday that the ancient name of Tirumangalam is ‘Rajarajan Tirumangalam’. In the four pillars opposite to Nataraja Sabha and sanctum sanctorum there are the sculptures of four women dancers and one drummer. It has been inscribed above the drummer as ‘Matthala Perumal’ and above the two dancers with chamarams as “Siva Namathu Ponnadi Konda Yetriyana Veeraperumal Manickam” and “Siva Namathu Ponnadi Konda Bhogamarthalana Buvana Nayaka Manickam”. These inscriptions belong to Chola period.
It was the tradition from the Cilappathikaram period to the Chola period, the topmost dancing girls were awarded the title of “Talai Koli”. The later period Chola kings and Nayak kings had awarded the title “Manickam”. During the reign of Vikrama Chola, the two dancers with the “Manickam” award were further honoured with the footwear of Siva, made of gold, having the words “Namasivaya” inscribed on it. Rajarajan called himself Sivapadhasekaran and Rajendran named himself as Sivasaranasekaran. Dr Kudavayil Balsubramanian has also revealed a rare piece of information touching the technology of reconstruction of temples. When the temple was renovated during the fifteenth century A.D., the sculptors have adopted a special and original method of identifying the stones in the wall.
