Chaya somalingeswara

[Sundararajan]

This the Chaya Soma Lingeswara Temple in Telengana, India.

‘ Chaya Someswara Swamy temple, also known by the name Thrikutalayam, is  located in Panagal, Nalgonda district, Telangana, 

The temple was built in 11th – 12th centuries during by a Chola King of Ikshvaku Dynasty.

The formation of relentless shadow of a pillar falls over the main deity of Shivalingam throughout the day.

The local people thinks that the “ chaya ” is the shadow of one of the pillars constructed in front of it. They often stand beside the pillars to see their shadow inside the chamber. But it is not possible as the “ chaya ” is not the shadow of any pillar. They can only see a blurred shadow instead. If you want to see your shadow, you need to stand at the entrance (door sill) of the chamber.

The eleventh century architect might be aware of light diffraction and he constructed the temple in such a way that the light enters the inner chamber diffracting through two narrow passages on either side of the pillars in front of the chamber. The diffracted light enters the chamber making shadow of edges of entrance crisscrossing one with another leaving a gap between them.   ( But only in 1600 this effect of light was found out in west)

 Miracle of Chaya Someswara Swami Temple, Panagal, Nalgonda, Telangana . av

Miracle of Chaya Someswara Swami Temple, Panagal, Nalgonda, Telangana.avi Here I want to tell about a great historical miracle, "The Great Chaya Someshwara Swami Temple", Panag...

The Shivalingam is fronted by a small rangamandapam with four pillars embellished with stunningly beautiful intricate carvings. A broken Nandi as well as the platform on which it once rested both lie on the floor beside this mandapam . The temple is a trikutalayam (three-shrine complex) with a shrine to Shiva-Parvathi on the right while facing the garbhagudi is the Surya or Sun God shrine.

The shadow has mystified people for centuries. Sculptor and archaeologist E. Sivanagireddy offers an explanation: “Chaya Someswara temple is an engineering marvel from the Kakatiyas. The sthapatis i.e. temple builders/sculptors arranged the two pillars in the ardhamandapa and the curtain walls on either side of the Surya shrine in such a way that sunlight intersects both the pillars and results in a shadow from dawn to dusk.”  -  The Hindu

Throwing light on the mysterious phenomenon, Manohar Goud Seshagani, a physics lecturer of Suryapet, revealed that the properties of light particularly scattering was responsible for the formation of the single shadow. “The pillars in front of the Garbhagudi (west) are placed in such a way that they allow formation of single shadow by scattering of light irrespective of the position of the sun.”

Mr. Manohar demonstrated this by designing a working model of the temple. The application of properties of light in framing the pattern of the pillars by the designer of the temple over six hundred years ago reveals the scientific consciousness of our architects, Manohar remarked.  - Hindu june 3, 2010

----------------------------------------------------

ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः  सर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।  सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om, May all become happy, May all be healthy , May all see what is auspicious,

May no one suffer . Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

----------------------------------------------------