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SOMASKANDA

SOMASKANDA 




SOMASKANDA panel behind the lingam inside the Garbhgriha in a temple inside the tiger caves in Mahabalipuram.

The panel primarily consists Shiva & Parvathi in a sitting posture, with the baby Skanda dancing in between them in the same pedestal.
The Somaskanda panel in itself is a relief from the period of the Pallava's who ruled from the 5th to 8th century CE.
The Somaskanda panels are found in many temples and caves in Mahabalipuram & Kanchipuram as backdrop of the Garbhgriha.
From the Pallava's the tradition was carried out by the Chola's who later built these Somaskanda Idols in metal as the Utsavabera's & which subsequently gave rise to the cult of Thyagaraja in Tiruvarur and many other temples.

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