Enclosure

The prākāra (enclosure) was built at the order of Rājarāja I, by his Commander-in-chief, Śrī Kṛṣṇan Rāman (also called Mummaḍi-Cōḷa Brahmamārāyan). The two-storeyed, cloistered prākāra goes around the main temple as a garland and is called “Tiruc-cuṛṛu-mālikai” (prākāra mālikā). The upper storey has disappeared in most parts of the enclosure. The prākāra is an absolute rectangle, its length being exactly double its width. It houses 36 subshrines of different secondary deities, some of which have disappeared. The external wall of the prākāra carries a row of Nandis seated on top of it.

The subshrines, assuming the form of miniature temples with śikharas and stūpīs, are distributed according to Vāstu texts, at appropriate locations in the prākāra, and are either square or rectangular in plan, carrying appropriate crowning elements. The śikharas of the square shrines are octagonal in shape. They face either the inner side of the central yard or the main shrine and form an integral part of the prākāra, with two bays. The front bay assumes the form of a maṇḍapa in front of the subshrines, wherever they are provided, and the back bay becomes the enclosed shrine. The secondary deities enshrined include: Viṣṇu, Brahmā, Goddess Umā, Saptamātā, Gaṇeśa, Subrahmaṇya and Dikpālas (directional deities). Some of the original deities housed in the shrines have survived. Īśāna Śiva paṇḍita, the Rājaguru (Royal Priest) of Rājarāja I, gifted copper pots to crown the śikharas of the shrine of the directional deities, during the consecration of the main temple.