Nambi Rayar Perumal Temple at Tirukurungudi in Tamil Nadu – Treasure Trove of Wooden and Stone Sculptures

Chitra Gopuram and the Main Gopuram at Nambi Rayar Perumal Temple in Tirukurungudi are famous for its wooden and stone sculptures. The temple is located at around 47 km from Palayankottai in Tamil Nadu. The temple has sculptures from stories in Bhagavad Purana. Sculptures associated with Shiva are also found on the gopurams. 

Pradeep Chakravarthy writes in The Hindu  

Composing forms out of other forms is a favourite theme for expert sculptors. Such sculptures are rare since it involved both imagination and flawless execution. This temple has several of them, and what is remarkable in these are the sizes, both the horse and elephant are composed of several ladies and the entire image is just one and a half feet! This is even more remarkable when we are reminded that the stone used is granite – one of the hardest stones! 

Vibheeshana seeking refuge before Rama leaves for Lanka is a masterful part of the epic when Valmiki teaches us the various forms of persuasion. 

Vibheeshana says, “Few volunteer to give honest and frank feedback and very few listen to it,” – relevant to our times! 

The sculptor has significantly shown Hanuman in front, since he was the only monkey who spoke in favour of Vibheeshana. The sculptor has also used a monkey to our left to frame the image and worked the stone to create waves in the front.
 The temple has several other rare images, those of Garuda holding the tortoise and elephant in the hand and a tree with the sages meditating upside down, a man playing marbles and Sanishwara.

Some of the unique sculptures include: 

A elephant composed of several ladies and the entire sculpture is just one and a half feet!

A horse composed of several ladies and the entire image is just one and a half feet!

You can see the photos of the above sculptures and read about the article here in The Hindu