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{{for|temple in Chennai or Aranumla|Parthasarathy Temple, Chennai|Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple}}
{{Infobox Hindu temple
| image = Parthasarathi and Krishna Temples, Parthivapuram. Kanyakumari.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| alt =
| caption =
| map_type = India Tamil Nadu
| map_caption = Location in [[Tamil Nadu]]
| coordinates = {{coord|8.275331| 77.170554|format=dms|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Tamil Nadu]]
| district = [[Kanyakumari district|Kanyakumari]]
| location = Parthivapuram
| elevation_m =
| deity = [[Vishnu]]
| creator = Karunandadakkan (Ay dynasty)
| year_completed = 869 CE
| architecture = [[Tamil architecture]], Square plan, Tritala Vimana
}}

'''Parthasarathy Temple''', also spelled '''Parthasarathi Temple''', is a 9th-century [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to Vishnu in [[Kanyakumari district]] of Tamil Nadu, India. Spread over 2.5 acres, the temple is notable for the extensive records about it that have been discovered in Huzur Plates of Kollam. The inscriptions on these plates describe how the temple was built along with a ''[[Śālā|salai]]'' (boarding school) for 95 students to study the [[Vedas]] and other subjects in the Taittiriya, Talavakara and Bhavishya ''śākhas''.<ref name=Rao1>T.A. Gopinatha Rao (1910), Travacore Archaeological Series, Volume 1, pp. 1-14</ref><ref name=rajakrishnankumar/><ref name="Scharfe2018">{{cite book|author=Hartmut Scharfe|title=Education in Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GMyiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175|year=2018|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-474-0147-6|pages=175–176}}</ref>

The temple has a square plan from adhisthana to its sikhara for the main shrine as well as smaller shrines in the compound. The main temple illustrates a tritala vimana with a Garuda namaskara mandapa in front. Inside the main temple is a raised mukha-mandapa that connects to the ''garbhagriha'' (sanctum). Around the sanction is an open pradakshina-patha (circumambulation path), which is surrounded by walls and a raised platform with rooms. Outside is spacious courtyards and smaller shrines. The Vimana is in Chola style, while the temple layout reflects the early Kerala Hindu temple architecture.<ref name=asi1>ASI Thrissur Circle, [http://www.asithrissurcircle.in/monuments Tamil Nadu:Parthasarathi Temple, Parthivapuram], ASI, Government of India</ref>

The temple is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, Thrissur circle. It is a protected monument.<ref name=asi1/>

==Location ==
[[File:Parthasarathy Temple, Parthivapuram. Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu - 5.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Parthasarathy Temple, Parthivapuram]]
The Parthasarathy temple is located in the village of Parthivapuram (Tamil Nadu), about 50 kilometers northwest of [[Kanyakumari]], Tamil Nadu and 50 kilometers southeast of [[Thiruvananthapuram]] – the capital of Kerala. It is along Highway 179, east of the Thamiraparani river.<ref name=asi1/>

== History ==

The temple was built by the [[Ay dynasty|Ay]] king Karunandadakkan. His Huzur inscription, dated to 28 April 869 CE, records the construction of the temple of "Vishnu-bhattarakar" and the naming of the place as Parthiva-shekhara-puram, now shortened to Parthiva-puram. The temple site was originally called Ulakkudi-vilai, and comprised cultivated fields. It was a part of Pashungalam (present-day Painkulam or Paingulam, located south of Parthivapuram). The land originally belonged to the ''sabhai'' ("assembly") of [[Munchirai]], and the king took it from them in exchange for land at another place.<ref name="EI42">{{cite book |author=K.G. Krishnan, Mysore |chapter=Parthivapuram Inscription of (Kollam) Year 98+1 |editor=K.V. Ramesh |title=Epigraphia Indica |publisher=Archaeological Survey of India |volume=XLI |year=1989 |url=http://ignca.gov.in/Asi_data/79612.pdf |pages=1-6 }}</ref>

According to the inscription, the temple was consecrated with an image of [[Vishnu]] on the [[Kaliyuga|Kali]] day 1449087, on the fifteenth day of the king's ninth regnal year. Archaeologist [[T. A. Gopinatha Rao|T.A. Gopinatha Rao]] (1910) calculated this date as 22 June 857 CE,<ref name=Rao1/><ref name=sarkar1978>H. Sarkar (1978), ''An Architectural Survey of Temples of Kerala'', Archaeological Survey of India, Number 2, pages 135–138</ref> but K.G. Krishnan (1989) corrected this to 869 CE.<ref name="EI42"/>

The inscription mentions that the king also established a school (''śalai'') of [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic]] studies at the site ([[#Vedic school|see below]]). The school was modeled after the school at Kandalur, and had 95 students.<ref name="EI42"/>

A 923 CE inscription found in front of the temple records gifts to the temple, by Panchavan Brahmadhiraja alias Kumaran Narayanan. The donor was probably a high-ranking office in the [[Pandya dynasty|Pandya]] administration (possibly that of king Rajasimha). The first gift was that of two perpetually-burning lamps, and was maintained by Kannan Manikkan and Pagan-Chivindravan, who were in-charge of the 14 [[water buffalo|buffaloes]] that provided the fuel (presumably [[ghee|clarified butter]]) for the lamps. The second gift was that of [[paddy (unmilled rice)|paddy]] for feeding students. The inscription also states that the donor arranged for a capital amount to provide for the repairs to the temple: a local potter named Kaman Chengodan and other men from his extended family were required to maintain major parts of the temple out of the interest accruing from this capital.<ref name="EI42"/>

According to ''[[Epigraphia Indica]]'' Volume 42 (1989), this 923 CE inscription is the earliest known record dated in the [[Kollam Era]]. The era was mainly used in the [[Kerala]] region, and the village was a part of Kerala before it was transferred to Tamil Nadu. Although the inscription does not mention the name of the era it is dated in, there are strong reasons for believing that it is dated in the Kollam Era. The inscription is written in Sanskrit and Tamil languages, which are inscribed in [[Grantha script|Grantha]] and [[Vatteluttu]] scripts.<ref name="EI42"/>

Another 10th century inscription (dated before 940 CE) discovered at the temple, in [[Tamil language]] and Vatteluttu is dated to the reign of Para-kesari-varman Virasholap-perumangadigal, who is identified with [[Parantaka I]] alias Virachola.<ref name="EI42"/>

==Architecture==
[[File:Parthasarathy Temple, Parthivapuram. Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu - 2.jpg|thumb|A view of the Parthasarathy Temple sanctum from the circumambulation path]]
The temple architecture illustrates the ''tritala-vimana'' of [[Hindu temple]] architecture. It has a square plan from ''adhishthana'' (platform) to its ''sikhara'' (top crown) with a metallic ''kalasha''. The main temple opens to the west, while the smaller shrines outside in the compound facing the main temple open west, south and north.<ref name=sarkar1978/>

The main temple is a mix of bricks and stone. All its ''talas'' (levels of the tapering spire above the sanctum) are of bricks, and they include the architectural features such ''kutas'', ''panjaras'' and ''salas'' found in Hindu temples of South India. The second ''tala'' above the sanctum include four deities: Brahma on the north side, Indra on east, Dakshinamurti (Shaiva) on the south as is typical in Hindu temples, and Narasimha (half lion - half man avatar of Vishnu) on west. The square plan architecture of the ''shikhara'' has a ''nasika'' at each [[cardinal direction]].<ref name=sarkar1978/> The sanctum's platform is made of granite and is moulded. The temple walls is built of laterite blocks, but over time the application of lime somewhat hides it. The ''simha mala'' and the ''kapota'' is also made from granite, unusual for temples so far in southern peninsula. The walls are decorated with ''makara-torana'' ornaments.<ref name=sarkar1978/>

[[File:Parthasarathy Temple, Parthivapuram. Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu - 3.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|One of the six smaller shrines in the temple compound.]]
Beyond the square sanctum with Vishnu inside, the temple features a ''mukha-mandapa'' (main pavilion) allowing devotees to enter from three directions, a portico with a few steps, and a ''namaskara-mandapa'' with Garuda. According to Sircar, some of the elements in portico and mandapa are likely later additions in the 15th or 16th-century.<ref name=sarkar1978/> These restorations or additions have preserved the original temple's classical ''sandhara vimana'' architecture, relatively common in much of Kerala.<ref name=sarkar1978/>

The smaller shrines are also from the 9th-century, and they have statues in them.<ref name=sarkar1978/> These are similar to most Hindu temples where all three major traditions – Vaishnava, Shaiva and Shakti – are revered together. The smaller shrines are dedicated to Krishna, Shiva, [[Bhagavati]] (Shakti), Dakshinamurti, and [[Shasta (deity)|Shasta]].<ref name=sarkar1978/>

The temple compound stones and the base mouldings feature minor inscriptions, with one that mentions a "Vira Chola" – likely Virarajendra. These record a donation of silver image and of gifts to the temples by merchants and wealthy patrons.<ref name=Rao2>T.A. Gopinatha Rao (1910), Travacore Archaeological Series, Volume 1, pp. 287–289, 295–296</ref>

==Vedic school==
[[File:Parthivapuram Grant (9th century AD, south India) (plates I and V).jpg|thumb|Two of five 9th-century inscription plates in Tamil and Sanskrit about the school of higher studies at Parthasarathi temple.]]
The Parthasarathy Temple at Parthivapuram is notable for the detailed description about the history, motivation, construction and scope of the temple in the copper plate inscriptions among the Huzur Plates of Kollam (s 42), also called the ''Palayam sasanam''. These plates were piled in an almirah and ignored through the early 20th-century. T.A. Gopinath Rao found them, translated and understood their significance, then published them to scholarly audience.<ref name=Rao1/>

Only 5 of the copper plates have survived, and they are inscribed on both sides. The language and script is Tamil on 9 of the 10 faces, and it is Sanskrit in Grantha script on the last face.<ref name=Rao1/> The first plate mentions that the land was purchased or exchanged for in-kind land by the king over time for the temple and school from the farming community of Minchirai (now about 2 kilometers of the temple location). Then the temple and ''salai'' (boarding school) for 95 ''sattars'' (Skt: chatra, students) were built.<ref name=Rao1/><ref name=rajakrishnankumar/> According to Jayadevan, this aspect of temple and school construction as recorded by the Ay king is notable and suggests that the farming community in Travancore region of India had highly developed land rights in the 9th-century. The king respected those rights.<ref>Podmaja Jayadevan (1986), Land Rights of Ay Kingdom based on inscriptions, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, volume 47, pp. 188-189, {{JSTOR|44141540}}</ref>

The king announces a land grant for the college in the first plate.<ref name=Rao1/> The second and third plates state that the temple will maintain a sacred perpetual lamp, a garden with gardener, temple musicians, assigns temple servants to maintain the temple and school at state expense, and provides resources of annual seven day community festival in the month of Panguni ending in a chariot procession to bathe the Vishnu statue in nearby river.<ref name=Rao1/> The fourth plate calls upon the communities in the kingdom to protect and support the temple, the school and its students.<ref name=Rao1/>

The fourth and fifth plates provide the Vedic and related studies focus and constitution for the school:<ref name=Rao1/><ref name=rajakrishnankumar>SR Rajakrishnan and Ajit Kumar (2016), Heritage, Volume 4, University of Kerala, pp. 454-458</ref><ref>Justin Wilson (1998), ''Education in Medieval Tamilnadu: An Epigraphical Peep into its nature'', Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Volume 59, pp. 1057-1064, {{JSTOR|44147081}}</ref>
*it will host 45 students for higher studies in Paviliya-Bahv-rc (Bhavisya) sakha studies{{refn|group=note|This is one of the Rigveda sakha.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hartmut Scharfe|title=Education in Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GMyiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175|year=2018|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-474-0147-6|page=175 footnote 62}}</ref>}}
*it will host 36 students for higher studies in [[Taittiriya Shakha|Taittiriya sakha]] studies{{refn|group=note|This is one of the Yajurveda sakha.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hartmut Scharfe|title=Education in Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GMyiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175|year=2018|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-474-0147-6|page=175 footnote 63}}</ref>}}
*it will host 14 students for higher studies in Talavakara sakha studies{{refn|group=note|This is one of the Samaveda sakha, the Jaiminiyas.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hartmut Scharfe|title=Education in Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GMyiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175|year=2018|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-474-0147-6|page=175 footnote 64}}</ref>}}
*the hostel and school expenses will be paid in part from the taxes collected from the following villages: Omayanadu, Singulunadu, Mudalanadu, Padaippanadu and Valluvanad
*it states that no visitor, no staff and no student will interfere in the daily operations of the temple and school
*it lists the rules of conduct for temple and school servants and teachers
*it lists the rules for selection and admission for students, and their behavior while at school; for example, it states that five senior students or teachers must test the candidate's ability to recite fluent Sanskrit and examples of Vedic passages;<ref>{{cite book|author=Hartmut Scharfe|title=Education in Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GMyiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175|year=2018|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-474-0147-6|page=175}}</ref> the students should not possess or carry weapons inside the school; the students should not keep female companions or concubines inside the school; minor infractions by the student would lead to fines and loss of meals in the school<ref name=Rao1/>

The temple illustrates and follows the guidelines given in the Hindu text ''Karanagamma''. It states that temples dedicated to worship of deities should serve many more social purposes, such as including and managing schools. These include the teaching elementary studies and alphabet, to higher studies for ''chatra'' such as the various Vedic philosophies. This was not the only temple with such a school, states T.A. Gopinath Rao – a Sanskrit scholar known for his many books on [[Hindu iconography]] and temples.<ref name=Rao3/> Rao states that inscriptions evidence points to similar schools in 9th-century Kanyakumari, called ''Srivallabhapperunjalai'', another in the temple at Tiruvorriyur. In other parts of Tamil Nadu, the [[Tirumukkuddal Inscription of Virarajendra]] in Venketesaperumal (Vishnu) temple provides very detailed inscription about a Vishnu temple whose ''Jananatha mandapa'' operated and managed a Vedic school for 95 students, a 15-bed hospital and a hostel. These schools were supported by a combination of state financing, wealthy donors and the daily food and others donations of the Vishnu devotees.<ref name=Rao3>T.A. Gopinatha Rao (1910), Travacore Archaeological Series, Volume 2, pp. 137–138</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The Cattas and Bhattas|author= Veluthat Kesavan| journal = Proceedings of the Indian History Congress| year= 1975| volume= 36| p= 98-109|jstor=44138839}}</ref>

==Preservation==
The Parthasarathy temple, Parthivapuram is an ASI protected heritage monument and is managed by the Thrissur circle, Kerala.<ref name=asi1/>

== Gallery ==
{{commonscat|Parthasarathi Temple, Parthivapuram}}
<gallery>
File:9th century Parthasarathi temple mandapa Parthivapuram Puthukkadai Tamil Nadu.jpg|A mandapa in the main temple
File:9th century Parthasarathi temple sanctum vimana with Brahma, Parthivapuram Tamil Nadu.jpg|Brahma on the second ''tala'' of Vimana
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Purana temples of Vishnu]]
[[Category:9th-century Hindu temples]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Kanyakumari district]]
[[Category:Chera dynasty]]
[[Category:Boarding schools in India]]
[[Category:869 establishments]]
[[Category:Monuments of National Importance in Kerala]]

Parthasarathy temple, Parthivapuram - Revision history

Vikibnf: created basic place first draft