Two ancient temples of Sivanvoyal

Sivanvoyal (Sivanvayal) is a small village located in the Thiruvallur district, with historical connections to the Pallava era. According to epigraphists, the antiquity of the name of this village goes back to the Pallava times, as it is mentioned in an inscription of the reign of a late Pallava king named Dantivarman. The name Sivanvayal means entrance (vayal or vasal) of Siva, and there is an ancient Siva temple here. This temple, wherein the Siva Lingam is worshipped as Sivandeeshwarar, is now a modern, renovated structure. It has neither a gopuram nor a compound wall. The entrance to this temple and the main sanctum face east with a modern mandapam in front. The shrine for Parvathi, worshipped here as Tripurasundari Ambal, faces south with the entrance from this mandapam . A large Nandi faces the main sanctum. Close to this Siva temple in Sivanvayal is another ancient temple for Vishnu, which belongs to the Pallava era, as attested to by inscriptions found here. The deity is now worshipped as Vaikuntha Varadaraja Perumal. An epigraph, which belongs to the 9th century CE, seen on the ceiling of the main garbha-griha (sanctum), mentions the name of this deity as Vaikuntha Natha. Though this inscription is not seen clearly, it seems to state that the temple of Vaikuntha Natha was constructed by a lady named Kumarichchani. This small Vishnu temple, which faces east, has an image of Vaikuntha Varadaraja Perumal flanked by Goddesses Sridevi and Bhudevi. He holds the sankha and chakra in the upper hands, while the lower right hand is in abhaya hasta (blessing) and lower left hand is in kati hasta (resting on the hip). This temple was in a dilapidated condition and has now been renovated. An epigraph, which is in Samskrit language and etched in the Pallava Grantha script, is seen on a huge broken pillar, a part of which is now in front of this Vishnu temple. This pillar, once used as a step by local residents, is made of granite and has inscriptions on three sides. It was probably part of the original temple, which has undergone a lot of modernisation and has lost most of the vestiges of antiquity. This pillar inscription belongs to the reign of Narasimhavarman I Pallava (630-668 CE), famously known by his title Mamalla (great wrestler), son of Mahendravarman I Pallava and contemporary of the Chalukya ruler Pulakesin II. This epigraph records details about King Simhavarman, probably his ancestor, and describes him as being born in the Pallava family just as God Vishvaksena (Vishnu) was born in the Vrishni clan. Simhavarman is said to have performed the Dashashvamedha (ten Ashvamedha) and Bahusuvarna sacrifices. He is mentioned as deva in this lithic record.