Pandyan art and architecture
[3] The rock carvings typically depicted religious figures, floral motifs and animals and were made to surround temples and shrines.
[6][7] Other integral art forms of these Pandyan communities were the paintings, poetry, music and punch-marked coins, each with symbols and transcriptions holding meaning to society.
[2] There is mention of the Pandyan kings in both Greek and Roman history which reflects this ancient international trade relationship.
[15] The primary artisan groups formed an association referred to as the Kammalar, composed of a goldsmith, brass smith, blacksmith, carpenter and mason.
The stonemasons carved cave temples made of granite rock, influenced by the head of gods central to their religion.
[16] The rock sculptures had a distinctive style that included wide chests and shoulders, and long faces that contrasted the petite hips and soft features.
Pieces from the Pandyan period have been found with floral engravings and inscriptions dedicated to the God Tirumalai Suvadigal on the surface.
[4] The art of coin making in the Pandyan dynasty used punch-marking methods, which was a type of early Indian coinage known for its unique symbols and irregular shapes.
[14] The rule of both the Pandya's and the Cholas is referred to as the ‘golden period’ of art and culture in the ancient cities of Tamil Nadu.
[15] Common motifs seen in Pandyan paintings include animals, royal figures, floral patterns and lotus leaves.
The Sittannavasal paintings contain varied colour schemes, using black pigments from soot, green from Terre verre, red and yellow from ochre and blue from ultramarine.
[23] These elaborate colour schemes contrast the typically monochrome, red ochre paintings of other southern Indian dynasties.
Sangam poetry, which derived from Pandya, Chola and Chera influence narrated the distinction between love and war and the power of the human experience.
[27] Music attributed to the Pandyan period was derived from the poetry and was created by bands of both male and female singers and dancers.
[12] The architectural features of Pandyan temples reflected the kingdoms wealth and social position in respect to other dynasties of southern India at the time.
[35] There are few standing architectural monuments left from Pandyan ruling and no temples surviving in Madurai, Pandya's capital, preceding the sixteenth century.
[30] The entranceway into the Kalugumalai depicts stone cut elephants, creditable to early Pandya's and the exterior of the temple is lined with inscriptions narrating stories of the Lord of the Pandyan empire.
The caves have the earliest sculptural representation of Dvarapalas, the guardian deities, for any South Indian temple.The temple has a five-tiered gateway tower, the gopuram in the hill, leading to a pillared hall and the sanctum.
Vettuvan koil is a temple structure carved into the side of a rocky cliff that can be attributed to the Pandyas circa 8th century ACE.
[37] Although unfinished, the temple displays a rectangular front area with a square vimana bordered by realistic rock-cut sculptures of flowers and Jain figures.
