A one-meter long Linga has been located close to the temple ruins at Chimbachala in Thenkurissi Panchayat near here.
With this, it is now certain that the temple must have been dedicated to god Siva. Debris clearance work undertaken by the students and teachers of the Department of Archaeology, University of Kerala and Govt Victoria College, Palakkad, had found last year that a temple complex with a main shrine and sub shrines had existed in the site.
Architectural and sculptural work found on the `adhishtana’ of the main shrine had indicated features of middle phase architectural style of Kerala. No iconographic or inscriptional evidences could be found then. It was therefore not possible to determine the God for which the temple could have been dedicated. But with the latest finding, it is now possible to conclude that a Siva temple, with sub shrines dedicated to other deities.
Archaeological excavations may throw more light on the antiquity of the temple ruins, said K. Rajan, Assistant Professor of History, Government Victoria College here.
The `linga’ was spotted first by a retired army man, Mr. Kunchappayi.
The one-meter long linga was found a few days ago in the paddy field about 200 meters away from the temple ruins.
The locals including Kunchappayi, Vijayan, and M. Krishnankutty, history teacher in Government Higher Secondary SchooL, Muthalamada carried the linga to the `garbhagriha’ portion of the main shrine.
The linga has a circular top, octagonal (ashta kon in Malayalam) middle portion and square bottom, Mr. Rajan said.
According to the principles of traditional iconography in Kerala, the top of the linga represents god Siva. The middle portion represents God Vishnu. The bottom portion indicates god Brahma. In the temples of ancient times, god Siva is mostly represented in the form of Linga. The ruins are found in a private compound, he said.
