Navakandam Sculptures & Bas Reliefs – நவகண்டம் /அரிகண்டம் சிலையும் சிற்பமும். At Sukreeswarar Temple, Sarkar Periyapalayam and Avinashi Lingeswarar Temple, Avinashi, Tiruppur District, Tamil Nadu.

12^th October 2019.

The practice of erecting a Hero stone / Sati stone / Navakanda stone has been widely followed in South India since the king's rule. This is in remembrance of the hero who sacrificed himself for various reasons in front of Kotravai / Kali. The country’s victory is said to be one of the reasons for these Navakanda statues. It was said that Navakanda statues will be more in the regions or the places where the wars happened, during the king's rule. This was practiced till the 17^th to 18^th Century, as per the historians. Some of the Hero stones have inscriptions too, which record the details of the incident.

During our Kongu heritage happened to see a Navakanda statue installed in the artha mandapam of the 6^th to 7^th Century Sri Sukreeswarar Temple at Sarkar Periyapalayam near Tiruppur. The hero is standing in the sama bangha posture, cutting his head with his right hand. He wears ornaments on his neck and a half-dress below his waist. Looking at the style of the tuft and big mustache, this Navakanda statue may belong to the 17^th to 18^th Century Nayak period. Apart from Pulikuthi hero stones, Vijayamangalam, Thingalur, and Chennimalai of the Kongu region have the Navakanda statues. These Navakanda statues are usually erected at the place where the Navakandam took place. This Navakandam might have been practiced in the temple, or this may have been brought and installed from elsewhere.    

At Avinashi,  Avinashi Lingeswarar Temple, we happened to see a bas-relief of Navakandam / Arikandam on a pillar of the 16^th to 18th-century Vijayanagara Nayaks period Dwajasthambam mandapa. The hero is shown in three bangha postures with his head looking front, holding a sword in his right hand, and holding his tuft in his left hand. Wearing a half dress below his waist. It was said that this Navakanda bas-relief signifies that Navakandam was practiced in this Shiva Temple also.

Sarkar Periyapalayam (left)  --- Avinashi (Right) 
---OM SHIVAYA NAMA---