Musical horses in Senthamangalam fort in need of restoration

Two musical horses, made of stone, at the historical Abathsahayeswarar temple-cum-fort at Senthamangalam near Ulundurpettai in Villupuram district are in a state of neglect. However, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has said they will be restored in phases. Like music pillars at various temples of Tamil Nadu, the horses produce music when tapped.

M. Kalimuthu, Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chennai Circle, said the restoration and conservation of the Vasantha Mandapam complex of the temple and the northern ‘praharam’ had been completed. “Other works, including [the restoration of] the horses, will be done step by step,” he added.

It was Villupuram Lok Sabha member D. Ravikumar, who had raised the issue, in Parliament, of funds allocation for restoration and renovation of the temple-cum-fort in 2021. Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture and Tourism, had responded that the restoration of the Vasantha Mandapam complex was in progress. “The work on the outer ‘prahara’ wall, the temple tank, and the sculptures of horses will be taken up in due course,” he had said. According to the statistics given by the Minister, the Centre had sanctioned over ₹1.59 crore for the project since 2015.

The temple and the fort were believed to have been built during or after the later Chola period and Senthamangalam was the capital of Kadavarayas, who had served under the Cholas. It is a historical site where Chola King Raja Raja III was imprisoned by Kadavaraya chieftain Kopperunchinga. The Thiruvanthipuram inscriptions refer to the arrest.

“He was arrested. But there is no mention in the inscriptions that Raja Raja III was kept in the Senthamangalam fort,” said R. Kalaikovan, director, Dr. Rajamanickanar Centre for Historical Research. The Kadavas were the chieftains under the Cholas, but quickly asserted their position and gained in strength to challenge and arrest the Chola king.

According to K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, the author of The Cholas, “Mohan Alkkoli, alias Kulottunga-sola-kadavarayan, was the chieftain of the Pallava extraction, who was in charge of policing in a small area near Tirumanikuli in South Arcot district, around 1136 A.D. But in the course of the next few years, the Kadava chieftain attained a more important position.” Citing various inscriptions, Sastri said, “These records reveal to us the beginnings of the feudatory family from which sprang the celebrated Kopperunchinga whose boisterous career shook the Chola empire to its foundations and hastened its downfall.”

Dr. Kalaikovan said the arrest of Raja Raja III also paved the way for the fall of the Kadavarayas and the Hoysalas gaining influence in Tamil country. “Since Raja Raja III had married the daughter of Vira Narasimha, he launched an attack on the Kadavas and forced them to release the Chola king,” he said.