The Colas c36.24

c36.24

Fig. 18. Devanāyakī Amman shrine, south-east view, in the above temple. It is one of the earliest examples of separate shrines dedicated to Amman as consort of the main deity. Prior to about a.d. 1100 it was not customary to build a separate shrine for Amman in the compound of a temple. New and interesting features met with here are the projecting *kūḍus* of the *adhiṣṭhāna*; the pilasters with rampant lion bases; cornice (*koḍungai*) with prominent *kūḍus* in pairs; three-storeyed *vimāna* with a prominent projection in front and the long covered *ardhamaṇḍapa*, all employed tastefully so as to render the shrine beautiful.