Thread by @temple_of_India

Kampaheswarar (Sarabeswarar) Temple, Thirubuvanam, Tanjavur, Tamilnadu.
As per inscriptions found in the south wall of the temple, the shrine was constructed by the Chola king Kulothunga Chola III as a memorial of his successful North Indian campaign.
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The inscriptions in the shrine of the presiding deity is similar to the one in the outer gopuram (gateway tower), which indicates the building of the temple by Kulottunga-Choladeva. While it is unclear which Kulottunga it is, scholars have placed it at 1176 CE,
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which is closer to the reign of Kulothunga Chola III, who is believed to have been the last powerful Chola king. There are four inscriptions from Kulothunga Chola in Grantha script. The inscription 189 of 1907, the one on the southern wall of the central shrine, is damaged
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and mentions Arya Sri-Somanatha. Inscription 190 on the same wall indicates the building operations of Kulothunga Chola. 191, at the entrance of outer gopura, is a duplicate of the 190. On the same gopura, inscription 192 indicates record of king Kulothunga Chola.
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There are two inscriptions in Tamil from the period of Jatavarman Tribuvanachakravarthin Parakrama Pandyadeva registered by Epigraphy Department in 1911. One of them, 159, registers a contract between the residents of Tribhuvanavirapuram and Kulamangalanadu,
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who were urkaval (watchmen) of the village. On the same wall, the inscription numbered 160, records a similar contract in the presence of chief Udaiyar Kulasekharadeva.

The main deity of the temple is Shiva lingam in the form of Kampaheswarar. There is a separate shrine for
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Sarabeswarar,a fusion of man, eagle and lion – the deity is believed to have relieved the devas (celestial deities) from the furty of Vishnu in the form of Narasimha after he slayed Hiranyakasibu. A sculpture of Sharbeshwaramurti in the Tribhuvanam temple, a Shiva temple in
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Tanjore district, in Tamil Nadu is seen with three legs, with body and face of a lion and a tail. It has four human arms, the right upper hand holds axe, noose is held in the lower right hand, the deer in the upper left hand and fire in the lower left hand.
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Narasimha is shown with eight arms, flaying and struggling under Sharbeshwaramurti’s feet. The shrine has sculptures of Sridevi and Bhudevi, the consorts of Vishnu.
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