History and Traditional Art of Avarani Ananthanarayana Perumal Temple: A Field Study

Avarani Ananta Narayana Perumal Temple, also known as Aparanathari, is located in the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. The complete structure and history of the temple have been highlighted based on the field survey conducted in the temple. The name of Perumal who is the source here is Ananta Narayana Perumal. The Goddess is seated in a separate shrine in the Alankaravallithayar temple. It can be known through the inscriptions that kings such as Kulothungan II, Rajarajan II, Kulothungan III, Rajarajan III, Sadayavarma Kulasekaran, Tippayya Devamakarayar, etc. were involved in the restoration of this temple. This place is the place where Alvars studied. The founder of the temple is depicted in the Anantasayana Kolam. But unlike any other temple, the deity's face is laid down in a way that faces the devotees instead of looking at the sky. The article discusses in detail the features of this temple and the Tamil Traditional architecture. The internal and external structures of the temple, the gate, and all the structures have been accurately measured and recorded in the field survey. These findings make this article very useful for those who do further research on the architecture and sculpture of this temple.