Tārācuram/Darasuram, Airavateśvara temple, labels to Nāyaṉmārs’ frieze author of digital edition Emmanuel Francis DHARMA Paris DHARMA_INSTamilNadu00616

This work is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported Licence. To view a copy of the licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.

Copyright (c) 2019-2025 by Emmanuel Francis.

 2019-2025 DHARMAbase Labels engraved and/or painted above panels of the Nāyaṉmārs' frieze.

The project DHARMA has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no 809994).

Public URIs with the prefix bib to point to a Zotero Group Library named ERC-DHARMA whose data are open to the public.

Internal URIs using the part prefix to point to person elements in the DHARMA_IdListMembers_v01.xml file.

 Creation of the file
Label (painted) to panel G1

Label (painted) to panel N1

tiruniīlakaṇṭaṉ

Label (painted) to panel N2

Label (engraved) to panel N3

Iḷaiyamāṟaṅkuṭi māṟar katai

Label (painted) to panel N4

Label (painted) to panel N5

Label (painted) to panel N6

Label (painted) to panel N7

Label (painted) to panel N8

Label (painted) to panel N9

Label (painted) to panel N10

Label (painted) to panel N11

Label (painted) to panel N12

Label (painted) to panel N13

Label (painted) to panel N14

Label (painted) to panel N15

murukāṉ

Label (painted) to panel N16

Label (engraved) to panel N17

tirunāḷaippōvār

Label (engraved) to panel N18

tirukkuṟipputtoṇṭar

Label (engraved) to panel N19

ceynallūr piḷḷaiyār katai

Label (painted) to panel N20

Label (painted) to panel N21

Label (painted) to panel N22

Label (painted) to panel N23

Label (painted) to panel N24

Label (painted) to panel N25

Label (engraved) to panel N26

naminaṉnti Atikaḷār

Label (engraved) to panel N27

Āḷuṭaiya piḷḷaiyār

Label (engraved) to panel N28

Eyarkōnṉ kalikkāmāṇṭār

Label (painted) to panel N29

Label (painted) to panel N30

Label (painted) to panel N31

Label (painted) to panel N32

cōmācimāṟaṉār

Label (engraved) to panel N33

cākkiyaṉār

Label (painted) to panel N34

ciṟappuli Āṇṭār

Label (engraved) to panel N35

ciṟuttoṇṭar katai .

Label (engraved) to panel N36

cēramāṉ perumāḷ katai .

Label (engraved) to panel N37

kaṇanātāṇṭār katai .

Label (engraved) to panel N38

kūṟṟuvaṉār .

Label (engraved) to panel G2

poyyātimaiyillāta ‡ pulavar .

Label (engraved) to panel N39

pukaḻccōḻaṉār

Label (engraved) to panel N40

naraciṅkamuṉaiyaraiyar

Label (engraved) to panel N41

Atipattar katai

Label (painted) to panel N42

kalikkampāṇṭār katai

Label (painted) to panel N43

kaliyanṉār

Label (engraved) to panel N44

cattiyāṇṭār

Label (painted) to panel N45

Aiyyaṭikaḷ kāṭavar kōnṉār

Label (engraved) to panel N46

kaṇampulāṇṭār

Label (engraved) to panel N47

kāriyār

Label (engraved) to panel N48

neṭumāṟaṉār

Label (engraved) to panel N49

vāyilār

Label (engraved) to panel N50

muṉaiyaṭuvar

Label (engraved) to panel N51

kalaṟcinkanṉār

Label (engraved) to panel N52

Iṭaṅkaḻiyāṇṭār

Label (engraved) to panel N53

ceruttuṇaiyāṇṭār

Label (engraved) to panel N54

pukaḻttuṇaiyār

Label (engraved) to panel N55

koḻppuliyāṇṭār .

Label (engraved) to panel G3

pattarāyppaṇivār

Label (engraved) to panel G4

paramaṉaiyē pāṭuvār

Label (painted) to panel G5

Label (engraved) to panel G6

tiruvārūr piṟantār

Label (engraved) to panel G7

mukkālum tirumēṉi tiīṇṭuvār

Label (engraved) to panel G8

muḻuniīṟupūciya muṉivar

Label (engraved) to panel G9

Appālum Aṭiccarnta Aṭiyār

Label (painted) to panel N56 (Pūcalār)

Label (engraved) to panel N57

pāṇṭimātēvi

Label (engraved) to panel N58

necāṇṭār

Label (engraved) to panel N59

kō-ciṅka-p-perumāḷ

Label (engraved) to panel N60

tiru-niīlakaṇṭa-p-perum-pāṇaṉār

Label (engraved) to panel N61

caṭaiyaṉār

Label (engraved) to panel N62

Icaiñāṉiyār

Label (engraved) to panel N63.1

Uṭaiya-nampi Eḻuntaruḻukiṟār

Label (engraved) to panel N63.2

Āvaṇa-Olai kāṭṭiṉa paṭi

Label (engraved) to panel N63.3

Uṭaiya-nampiyai Āṇṭu koṇṭ-aruḷiṉa paṭi

Label (engraved) to panel N63.4

Uṭaiya-nampikku Ōlll eṉṟ-aruḷiṉa paṭi

Label (engraved) to panel N63.5

Uṭaiya-nampiyai vēṭar vaḻi pāritta v-iṭam

Label (engraved) to panel N63.6

tiru-murukaṉ-pūṇṭiyil peṟṟa paṭi

Label (engraved) to panel N63.7

Avināciyāṇṭār mutaḷaivāy piḷḷai

The Nāyaṉmārs’ frieze comprised 78 panels, as described in : 62 panels for 62 different Nāyaṉmārs (N1 to N62), 7 panels for Cuntarar (N63.1 to N63.7), 9 panels for groups of saints (G1 to G9). They are distributed clockwise, from eastern edge of southern base of the maṇḍapa up to the eastern edge of northern base of the maṇḍapa, as follows: G1, N1-N38, G2, N39-N55, G3-G9, N56-N62, N63.1-N63.7. Most of the Nāyaṉmārs' panels are labelled, with engraved and/or red-painted labels.

The palaeography of the engraved and painted labels appears to be similar. It is possible that all panels were intended to be labelled and first received a painted label to be converted into an engraved label. The conversion from painted to engraved labels was started from the eastern edge of northern base of the maṇḍapa with the panels concerning Cuntarar and, for some reasons, not completed up to the eastern edge of southern base of the maṇḍapa. All the 78 panels are thus represented in the above edition even though presently no trace of painted label is visible.

As for the existing painted labels, it is possible that they have been reproduced exactly in the course of the past centuries. Note that some engraved labels have also been painted, that is, the engraved letters have been enhanced with paintings.The label for panel N17 is peculiar in that the painted label starts on the left of the shallowly engraved label. This might explain why some engraved labels have been wrongly taken for painted labels only.For instance, the labels for panels N3, N19 and N26 are engraved, not only painted, pace . Some red-painted labels seem to have escaped attention so far (for instance, N1 and N15) and might be exact reproductions of earlier painted labels or additions.

Reported in (ARIE/1907-1908/C/1908/16).

Edited in . Edited counterclockwise and translated in in two discrete groups, on for engraved labels (a.XV, that is, 43 labels) and the other for painted labels (a.XVI, that is, 8 labels).

This digital edition by Emmanuel Francis based on previous editions and photos (E. Francis, 2025). The labels are here given in clockwise order following the nomenclature in (N for Nāyaṉmār, from 1 to 63).

30-31 a.XV-XVI 41 C/1908 16 pp. 102-107 and pl. II-VI 37-43 40-46 96-107