Muktesvara Temple

Tanjavur Bṛhadīśvara Temple

Caudadanapura is a tiny village of Karnataka in south India, where all facets of Indian civilisation, encompassing religion, art and poetry are exemplified in an exquisite temple with the highest degree of refinement. This temple is a jewel of architecture of 11th-12th century, in the style now commonly called after the name of the legendary sculptor, Jakkanacarya. It was built during the heyday of the kingdom ruled by the Calukyas of Kalyana and the Sevunas of Devagiri. It is dedicated to an Udbhava-Linga “spontaneously born” Linga named Mukteśvara. A user-friendly interactive system will allow the user to browse the multi-dimensional architectural, sculptural and inscriptional programme of the temple.

PIERRE SYLVAIN FILLIOZAT is Professor of Sanskrit at Paris University. He conducts research in various fields of Indology, Sanskrit language, literature, poetics, Saiva, Tantra and Indian architecture. He has published books on Panini’s Grammar, Patanjali’s Mahabhasya, Saivígamas, Temple architecture at Vijayanagar, etc.

VasundHara Filliozat, Ph. D (Paris University), is a scholar of ancient Indian history and her specialisation is History of south India and epigraphy of medieval Karnataka. She has produced several publications on these subjects in English and Kannada.

READING THE TRANSLITERATION WITH DIACRITICAL MARKS

a holistic approach to all data pertaining to the temple, or helping to understand its significance:

1. A glimpse of Karnataka
2. A survey of architecture, decorative motifs and iconography, through designs and photographs.
3. A complete transliteration and English translation of the Kannada inscriptions.
4. Four hours of musical rendering of the poetical contents of the inscriptions.
5. Exploration of the database with rich linkage of diverse materials and interactivity tools