Tag Archives: Darasuram

Controversial Sculpture Series part 2 – One-upmanship Shiva Vs Vishnu

While the tenets and underlying significance of Hinduism continue to astound many scholars, we merrily pursue our simple pursuit to explain sculptures. Not wanting to repeat the purpose of this controversial sculpture series, would request readers to read the first part prior.

I had wanted to do this post for many years now, but kept putting it away, being unsure of how some readers might opine. But then, when Gaman asked me what is this, after visiting Darasuram, felt that its is duty to atleast explain the iconography. I would request all readers to be patient and read till the end before voicing their concerns/comments.

That this sculpture of Sarabeshwarar is present in Darasuram, the pinnacle of Chola artistic expression in stone, is no excuse for the religious one-upmanship of the emergence of this iconography. Whilst the origins of the particular form is lost in the wormhole of times long past – we are talking of Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th C CE here, that the divide has reached such an extreme expression is sad.

Keeping the narrative to the minimum, as most of the versions are indeed inflammatory, the story of Narasimhar is very well know. To rid the world of the evil demon Hiranyakasipu, who had secured a virtually perpetual existence via a boon from Brahma..

”
O my lord, O best of the givers of benediction, if you will kindly grant me the benediction I desire, please let me not meet death from any of the living entities created by you. Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought about by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal. Grant me that I not meet death from any entity, living or nonliving created by you. Grant me, further, that I not be killed by any demigod or demon or by any great snake from the lower planets. Since no one can kill you in the battlefield, you have no competitor. Therefore, grant me the benediction that I too may have no rival. Give me sole lordship over all the living entities and presiding deities, and give me all the glories obtained by that position. Furthermore, give me all the mystic powers attained by long austerities and the practice of yoga, for these cannot be lost at any time”

Courtesy : wiki

He goes the usual route upon receiving the boon. His son Prahalad is the epitome of devotion to Narayana ( Vishnu) and refuses to equate his father to God. In anger he asks where is this God you talk of, for which the boy replies that he is omnipresent – in this pillar , in this spec of dust. Angered by it, Hiranyakasipu brings out his mace and proceed to break the pillar to see if this God is there ?

To view a clipping of a Cinema ( telugu language) enactment of the scene

Now the form that Vishnu takes is very interesting: to circumvent the rules ( a la 3 G spectrum allocation !) he takes the form of a part lion part human, bursts out of a pillar ( not born or created !), disembowels him with his claws ( no weapon clause !), puts him on his lap ( not on earth not in heaven !), chooses dusk ( neither day nor night !) – etc. He is such a fiery form as you can see from the depictions and is a powerful deity in the Hindu pantheon. Ideally the story must have ended there – ok, he is cooled down by the melodious voice of Prahalada singing his praise.

But, an educated guess is that, the Shivaite Vashnavite divide had grown so much, that a sequel was added. Seems the anger of Narasimha would not subside, and even Laxmi couldn’t come near her beloved. The whole world trembled at the consequences of the wrath of an angry form that they request Shiva to help. He first sends Veerabadra but he is not match for Narasimhar. In order to match up with the dual form of Narasimhar, Shiva takes up one more aspect – he forms a composite man+lion+bird and becomes Sarabeshwarar.

What happens next is left to many interpretations, but he is supposed to have alternatively embraced, restrained Narsimhar and liberated Vishnu from inside that.

The entire story is depicted in the Madurai Meenakshi amman temple in three simple scenes.

Now, back to the Darasuram sculpture.

Thankfully Gaman has got us another shot of the entire sculpture.

The depiction of Narasimhar being liberated and a small figure beneath him – could be Prahalada. The devas are shown above, happy at the turn of events.

If you notice, there are no visible marks or attributes to identify the forms unlike the later version from Madurai.

The second question from Gaman was about the legs. Iconographically he is said to have a pair of wings and four pairs of legs.


Some versions also have a multitude of hands as well. check this version from a Muneeshwaran temple in Srilanka ( courtesy wiki)

Why i say, i was sad at this depiction is that in recent years there are multitude of interpretations including the ones of Pratyankadevi and people flock those shrines to rid them of various “ailments”. Its time for people to understand that Hinduism is definitely not a mono theistic religion, and its not a question of My God over your God, or even the very existence of God but the maturity that of allowing even a quest to find out if there is indeed God.

To see the greatness of Sri Rajaraja who has wonderfully depicted the confluence of the plurality of Hinduism in such a grand manner in this Harihara sculpture in the Tanjore Big temple,

Am reminded of Swami Vivekananda’s famous address “I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration but we accept all religions as true. “

Why then this one-upmanship?

Murthy Nayanar – he who ground his own Elbow

Today, we are seeing another Periapuranam panel from Darasuram. Thanks to Arvind, we see Murthy Nayanar.

Born in a merchant family in the historic city of Madurai, Murthiyar was an ardent devotee of Shiva. He took great pleasure in grinding sandalwood paste to anoint the Lord every day.

Once, a king from the north attacked Madurai with a large army, killed the Pandya King in battle and took over the ancient city. Since he was from a hostile faith, he caused many disturbances to continued service of the Shiva temple. Despite the many hardships, Murthiyar still found ways to find sandal wood for the Lord and kept up his daily service. This infuriated the King and he stopped all means of Sandal wood reached Murthiyar. That day, despite searching everywhere, he couldn’t find any sandal wood and returned to the temple dejected. He was disappointed that he couldn’t anoint the Lord with sandal wood and seeing the empty grinding stone – he placed his own elbow on the stone and ground it – skin, blood, veins and all right unto the bones.

Lets take a look at the sculpture panel now

You can see Murthiyar grinding both his elbows on the round stone, but his face doesn’t show any pain, but a sublime surreal smile on serving his Lord.

The Lord is moved and that time a heavenly voice is heard. You did this out of love for me, all your troubles will pass, the tyrant who took this land will loose all of his to you, weed this land of all the evil that has come in, take care of all and continue your good work, and then come to me !!

Did this come true !! Yes of course it did. But how??, that’s an interesting story as well. Lets see who of our viewers can finish the rest of the story…

The Naynaar one who played the flute ! a la Krishna

Friends, we are going to see a very interesting Periapuranam panel today. Though they occupy the niches of many temples, not many know the history of the 63 shaivite saints – the nayanmars. Today we are going to see one such unique Nayanar. The Naynaar one who played the flute ! a la Krishna. This post itself arises out of an interesting comment by Dr Kannan, for the previous post on Dancing Balakrishna vs Sambandar – he set me to search for this sculpture. Thankfully ( call it coincidence) Sri Arvind Venkatraman was visiting Darasuram and he clicked this sculpture. So we introduce you to Anaya Nayanar from Darasuram

To read his life history pl visit http://www.shaivam.org/naaanaay.html

On a blessed day, with his head ornamented with flowers of fragrance, forehead full of holy ash that frightens the death, the ash smeared body beautified by a garland, with the flute and the staff took the cows for grazing. It was the season of arrival of monsoon greeted by the dance of the peacock, the song of the creepers swaying in the breeze. He reached the beautiful garden of konRai flowers. The sight of the very konRai flower reminded him of the merciful Lord who wears that flower. He could see only Shiva there. Wherever he saw all the flowers appeared as the form of the Almighty. His mind could do nothing but meditating at that appearance. His thinking could do nothing but surfacing the his great love for God. He could do nothing but showing his unexplainable feelings through his flute. His feelings could do nothing but making the sound of the holy five letter in his flute.

Lets see the sculpture now. You could easily mistake it for Krishna.

Now for the verse – what a delightful verse, ( i did try and learn the flute for sometime) but the comparison of the fingers playing on the holes of the flute to that of a bee over a flower – wow, simply superb.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1214&padhi=72&startLimit=22&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He took the musical vangkiyam in which the interspace
Between the mudra and the first of the eight holes
Measures seven fingers’ breadth;
Like bees that buzz over flowers to gather pollen,
His flute hummed, rose accelerando and stood
Still or caesural; to the pure magna cavum the great one,
— May he flourish for ever –, applied his beauteous lips.

Then what happened read on,its sheer poetry

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1214&padhi=72&startLimit=30&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC


Dancing peacocks ceased their dance and came
Near unto him; they stood still, enthralled;
As the wafting melody streamed through the ears
And filled their bosoms, the feathered race
Flew to him and stood lost in rapturous music;
The strong neatherds who were working nearby
Abandoned their chores and stood in mute wonder.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1214&padhi=72&startLimit=37&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

It pleased the Lord to hearken to the music
Of Anayar’s flute; with His Consort — a liana of tapas –,
Whose heart is grace and compassion divine,
The brow-eyed Lord — the Cause and Source of Music –,
Through heaven’s highway, with His matted hair
Bright with the crescent, thither appeared.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1214&padhi=72&startLimit=39&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The First One that on His Young Bull appeared before him
Desiring to hear for ever the flute’s melody
Of the great one of righteous and pious mind,
Spake thus: “May you abide with Us even as you are now here.”
Thus, even thus, was he translated to the Lord’s divine presence.

Translation: T.N. Ramachandran ( as from the site)

Now you see, such an interesting piece of poetry and an intriguing tale. Now you know!!!

Why would you pardon an assassin?

Hello readers, Today we return to Darasuram once more to study another Periapuranam sculpture. We have already seen the panel on the left – Marar of Ilayankudi. Today we are going to see a simply stunning sculpture fittingly sculpted to suit a fantastic storyline, which showcases the matchless chivalry and valor of a King, who even at the face of death through the hands of a conniving assassin, a dreaded foe who slays him by treachery, displays his noble birth and devotion to the Shiva, by forgiving him. But why did he do that ? Read on ( am going to use the thevaram hymns translations since they are almost like a running commentary /first person account of the events as they unfold)

Lets view the location of this amazing panel.

We are talking of Meiporul Nayanar, a pious king.who ruled over the hill tribes of Sethi and born into the noble clan of Malayamans. The brave king was unconquered in battles and a just ruler.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=12050&padhi=72&button=%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95

His capital was Tiru-k-Kovalur in goodly Sethi realm;
He hailed from Malayaman dynasty which served
Ammai-Appar from generation to generation;
He, the Prince was poised in the noble way true, of the Vedas
And served the Lord’s servitors divining their true wish.

The rich land was the target of a wicked enemy from his neighbouring country. King Muthanathan, many times he tried matching his large Army, with strutting elephants and hordes of soldiers, yet he could not find a way past the forces of Meiporular. He was repeatedly defeated.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=5&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Whilst thus he flourished, a hostile king
Fired by a desire to vanquish him,
Waged wars against him many a time, only to lose
His elephantry and cavalry and infantry,
Thus repeatedly defeated he was sunk in shame.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=6&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The worsted king who could not think of victory
In the field of battle, coming to know
Of the religious piety of Mei-p-Porul, desired
To ape his great habit of wearing the holy ash
And thus win by deception; his mind
Nurtured such unspeakable evil, and he
Prepared for his infiltration into Tiru-k-Kovalur.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=7&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He smeared all over his person the holy ash;
He had his hair matted and tied it into a crown;
He held a mega biblion which concealed a dagger;
Like a lamp thick with black at the wick, his mind
Harboured deception; thus in his false habit of tapas
Mutthanathan barged in.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=9&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The guards of the palace adored him with folded hands,
And said: “The Lord Himself is come! Be pleased to step in!”
He crossed many a threshold and arrived at the last one;
Thither stood Thatthan who beseeched him thus:
“Be pleased to regard the hour; the King slumbers.”

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=14&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He commanded in love his consort, Lakshmi-like,
To hasten to the gynaeceum, and then had him,
— The one robed in the weeds of a tapaswi –,
Installed on a seat, while he himself sat on the ground.
Then he said: “Be pleased to grace me.”

Watch the words above. we will see its importance shortly!

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=15&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He placed on his lap the treacherous scroll
And pretended to unwind the rope binding it.
When the king bowed low reverentially, he drew out
The dagger and did what he intended to do;
The king exclaimed, still adoring:
“The true habit of askesis is indeed the truth supreme.”
(Surely it is) the king
(who) triumphed!

Now, we come back to the sculpture, closeup of the whole panel first first

Now, lets study the panel from left to right. Act 1.

Do you notice the false sage seated on a seat and the king seated on the floor. Do you notice the left hand of the assassin holding a bag like contraption. In his right hand he is holding a dagger and about to decapitate the King. Such indepth knowledge of the storyline of the sculptor to go into such detailing is amazing.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=16&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Thatthan who kept surveillance over him,
Even when he who concealing himself in the garb
Of a tapaswi broke into the king’s chamber,
Now darted into the room, and was about to smite him
With his sword; the king who was to fall down
As blood profusely gushed forth from him,
Stretched out his long arm, prevented his deed
And exclaimed: “Thattha, he is our own.” Then he fell down.

Again we return to the sculpture. Act 2.

We see the body guard flying into action, his garments flayed, sword raised to protect his Lord. But at the moment the King stops him with his stretched out Long arm. All brilliantly captured in stone in such a miniature form.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=17&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Thatthan the servitor who was thus restrained
By the prince who suffered pain and fell down,
Bowed low, and said: “What should I do?”
The prince replied him thus: “Let none obstruct
The devotee of our Lord on his way back.
You go with him and see to his safe passage.”

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=20&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC


With effort great, the prince still bore his ebbing life
Only to hear the news that the one of deceptious habit
Had been conveyed safe, unmolested by opposing hordes;
Before him came he who carried out the royal mandate.

Oh, what emotion and melodrama.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=23&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

To the devotee-prince, the Lord of Himavan’s daughter
Granted darshan in the form in which
He contemplated Him for many a day.
The Lord graced him to attain the shade
Of His ankleted feet inaccessible to the celestials,
And also blessed him with the beatitude
To adore Him for ever.

Thus the sculpture ends his story as well with the final Act.

Truly masterclass.

credits: the verses are from the amazing site www.thevaaram.org
Eng Translation also from same ref: T.N. Ramachandran

My loincloth is priceless

Hi friends, i can hear you laughing, but it no joke, this is another priceless treasure from Darasuram, which denotes the life of Amarneethiyar, one of the 63 Nayanmaars.

Lets look at the location of this miniature panel to start with.

The story is a lesson in how the Lord plays with his devotees, sometimes taking it to real extremes to test the sincerity of a devotee ( wish if they do similar before granting boons !!) . Thanks to http://www.nayanmar.com/abtus.htm and with some verse references from the 12th Tirumurai

Amarneethiyar of Pazhayarai was an honest merchant who used to offer food and clothes including inner-wears to the devotees of Shiva. He had also built a Mutt for pilgrims at Tirunallur.

Once Shiva came in the guise of a devotee and gave him a loin-cloth for safe-keeping till he returned after a bath in the river.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=13&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The Brahmin-lad consenting to what the devotee
Entreated of Him bowing, said: “I’ll bathe
In the divine river Cauvery and return;
In case it rains, keep this (dried) kovanam with you
And return it to me.” This said, He untied
From His staff a white and bright kovanam.

The visitor gave great importance to the loin cloth thus:
http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=14&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

“I need not expatiate to you on the lofty excellence
Of this kovanam; receive it and keep it safe
With you till I return here; be not negligent;
Preserve it yonder and give it back to me.”
Thus He spake and handed it over to him.

Amarneethiyar understanding the importance of the loin cloth !!, did not keep it with the other clothes but in a safe place with adequate security

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=16&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The peerless servitor who received the kovanam
Bearing in mind the Brahmin‘s instructions,
Did not keep it with his gift-articles
— Kantais, keells, garments and kovanams –.
He thought of a safe place and thither kept it safe.

When he came back, Amarneethiyar found that the lion cloth had vanished from the box.

He brought a new one in its stead but the visitor was full of fury and refused to accept it. He wanted his own “You call yourself a devotee of Shiva Just to rob other devotee’s! of their belonings” he shouted. When Amarneethiyar sought to pacify him, he agreed to receive clothes equal in weight to the spare loin-cloth he was having.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=31&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Then the Lord spake thus: “Apart from the kovanam
We now wear, the one we gave you and which
You allege as lost can be matched by this only.”
He untied the kovanam from his staff and said:
“Give me a kovanam equivalent to its weight.”

Notice how the sculptor has sculpted this little detail as well

The game started, the loin cloth was put on one side of a balance and Amarneethiyar’s cloths on the other. They could not weigh equal to the loin cloth. All the riches of Amarneethiyar proved inadequate to tilt the scales in his favour.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=36&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC
Beholding this, fear-stricken, the devotee spake
To the Brahmin thus: “Even when filled with
Boundless clothing, pure and good, and also varieties
Of innumerable threads, the pan stands thus;
Suffer me to freight it with my other wealth.”
Thus did he, Him beseech.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=39&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Its threads are the import of the Vedas four
Brimming with the puissance of askesis;
It is dear to Siva, the kovanam. So the encomium
— That all the wealth of Amar-Nitiyar in this world
And all the wealth of all the worlds cannot
Match it –, mirrors not its true glory.

It was only when Amarneethiyar ascended the scales along with his wife and son chanting the Panchakshara that the needle of balance became even.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=40&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Having witnessed the happening, the peerless one
Standing before Him spake thus: “I have loaded
The pan with all my blemishless wealth; nothing now remains;
O Lord, may I be graced with leave to ascend
The pan with my wife and little child, if considered fit.

Such was the act of complete self-surrender that the Lord extracted from his devotee. Even as the youth vanished, Shiva appeared in the skies with his consort and blessed him. The scales acting as an airship, Amarneethiyar ascended to Shiva’s world along with his wife and child.

See how the Lord plays with his devotees and uses the barest of bare necessities – a loin cloth of all items to test and make them one with him.

verse english version translation are from the site ref and credits
Translation: T.N. Ramachandran

Own Hair as a wick to light a lamp – Kanampula Nayanar Darasuram

Hi friends, we saw an interesting post but it ended with a comma ..”But then is there something else that was used to light a lamp by another naynaar, ” Today we are going to see his story, sculpted in stone in the same Darasuram temple complex. Kanampulla Nayanar.

The panel first

Born into a family of village headmen in Velur, our Nayanar took great pleasure in serving the Lord by lighting up the temple. He spent much of his wealth on this act and slowly fell into poverty. He shifted to Chidambaram to be one with the Lord of dance. He had by then sold his lands, house etc and was in abject poverty. His holy service continued in spite of whatever hurdles he faced. He sold the household articles one by one and lit the lamps in the abode everyday with ghee. Then came the situation when there was nothing left in the house to sell, but too proud to beg, he went to toil in the fields. He cut the straw(kaNampul) in the fields, sold it in the market and with that money continued his service to the lord.

One day he could not sell the straws he brought in spite of all his efforts.Not losing heart, he went ahead to burnt the straw. First act of the sculpture

The straws being dry, burnt very fast and pretty soon he was left with nothing. Still wanting to light up the temple, what did he do??

Not able to get it, lets get closer and view the second act

The Verse reference from thevaram as below:

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1248&padhi=72&startLimit=7&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He who caused the lamps to glow before the Lord
During the appointed hour, could not come by enough
Grass to render duly his service;
Thereupon he that served the Lord in true love
Burnt for a lamp the hair on his head;
He so burnt it that his very bones melted;
Thus, even thus, he burnt away the bondage
And nexus of the twyfold Karma.

He burnt his own hair as a wick. Such was his devotion to the Lord.

Water to light a lamp, the power of devotion – Naminandhi Naayanaar

HI Friends, today we are back to Darasuram for another interesting episode from Periapuranam exquisitely sculpted in the panels there. Its a very interesting legend, which showcases the power of devotion. Its the story of Naminandhi Nayanar. Take a look at the panel location and size!!

Born in Perur, he was devoted to the Lord Tyagarajar of Tiruvarur. One day, he visited the temple and stayed back for a long time and the time was well past sunset. Desirous to light up the temple lamps, he went into a neighboring house and sought some oil. The inhabitants of the house belonged to another faith and they refused to lend him the oil. Not stopping at that they ridiculed him, saying that Shiva being the lord who dances with fire, why does he need oil to light the lamp, even water would suffice…

Hearing this, the pious devotee felt very sad and went back to the temple and reflected on his situation. At that moment he heard a heavenly voice asking him to light the lamps with water from the temple’s lotus pond. He did so and the lamps of the temple glowed the brightest. Such was the power of his devotion.

Now The sculpture. Notice the two parts of the act depicted.

The first one is he drawing water from the pond ( check the detailing – the fish, the flowers and even a crane ! remember the size of this panel is no bigger than the palm of your hand) and the second part is he filling the lamps with the water.

But then is there something else that was used to light a lamp by another naynaar, lets see that is a future post.

Images courtesy: PSVP members Saathmeeka and Satheesh

Punishment for smelling the flowers meant for the Lord….

We have seen quite a few sculptural panels from Darasuram depicting the lives of the Shaivite Nayanaar stories. Today we are going to see one more, but in slightly more detail. For, presenting the story as it is, could lead a some misunderstandings, initially when i read it, it gave me a portrayal of brutal, cruel or even barbaric nature of not one but two exalted souls – two Nayanars who were made so in a single act. However, on reading the deeper left me with a better understanding. Inorder to compare and contrast the true meaning / lesson of this story, we are going to see two not dissimilar acts which ended up diametrically extreme outcomes.

Lets take the first case in question. Sculpture first. Another Periapuranam Panel from Darasuram.

At first sight its quite gruesome. It shows a King ( the impressive crown) is shown raising his sword to chop off a lady ( queens) arms from the elbow onwards. To make it worse he almost has a smile on his face, while the queen’s nose seems to be disfigured ( was it on purpose?)

Yes, this is the story of Kazharsinga Nayanar: Kazharsingar belonged to Pallava royalty. He was a sincere devotee of Shiva. Once he went on a pilgrimage and after worshipping at several shrines, he came to Tiruvarur. While he was worshiping the Lord, his queen Sangaa ( daughter of Rastrakutha King Amoga Varsha Nirupathungan and could be of the Jaina faith – source – Pallava History) walked around the temple watching the preparations for worship. Then she found herself in the corner where garlands of fresh flowers were being made ready for decorating the presiding deity.

Attracted by the variety of colours and scents, she drew near and picked up a flower that had fallen on the floor.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1253&padhi=72&startLimit=5&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The queen who in her mien was very like a peafowl,
Came round the temple, beheld each one of its glories,
Moved on and came near the mantapam where soft flowers
Were woven into wreaths; there she picked up a fresh flower
That had just then fallen, and inhaled its fragrance.
Translation: T.N. Ramachandran

When she began smelling it, Cheruthunai, an intense devotee of Shiva, happened to pass by. He was angry that she had desecrated flowers meant for Shiva’s worship and cut off her nose.( he was made a Nayanar for this as well – we will see his in later posts)

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1253&padhi=72&startLimit=6&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

As she was so inhaling, the holy servitor Serutthunai
Thought thus: “Ha, she has inhaled a flower
Taking it from the mantapam (where garlands
Are being woven).” He ran in all haste, secured a weapon
Pulled the nose of the Lakshmi-like one who smelt
The honey-laden flower, and cut it away.
Translation: T.N. Ramachandran

On hearing the queen’s distressed cry, Kazharsingar hastened to her. “Who did this?” he thundered. Cheruthunai came forward and confessed of the horrible mutilation. But the king went one step further. He said, the first error was committed by the hand – for it had helped the act of desecration by picking the flower from the ground. So he drew out his sword cut off the queen’s hands as well.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1253&padhi=72&startLimit=10&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

This Said, he unleashed his sword from its scabbard
With which his waist was girt, and saying:
“It is but proper that the hand which first
Touched the fragrant flower and picked it up
Should be first chopped,” cut off with bangles and all,
The roseate hand of his queen-consort
Of fragrant locks, his own beloved wife.
Translation: T.N. Ramachandran

Watching this scene of zealous Shiva-consciousness, the immortals rained flowers on them.

Before we go into the analysis of this episode, lets cross over to the more famous Kothai / Andaal amd compare Sangaa’s deeds with those of Andaal.
( thanks to Ashok for this splendid photo from Chettipuniyam Deva Narayana Perumal temple )

For the uninitiated ( thanks to wiki) – rest can skip the first para.

Aandaal is believed to have been discovered under a Tulsi(Basil) plant in the temple garden of Srivilliputtur, by a person named Vishnucitta who later became one of the most revered saints in Hinduism, Periyalvar. The child was named Kodhai (meaning, a beautiful garland, in Tamil) and she was raised by Vishnucitta. Kodhai grew up in an atmosphere of love and devotion. Vishnucitta doted on her in every respect, singing songs to her about Lord Krishna; teaching her all the stories and philosophy he knew; and sharing with her his love for Tamil poetry. As Kothai grew into a beautiful maiden, her love and devotion for the Lord grew to the extent that she decided to marry none but the Lord Himself. As days progressed, her resolve strengthened and she started to live in a dream world with her beloved Lord and was constantly fantasizing about marrying Him.

Vishnucitta had the responsibility of delivering flower garlands to the Lord’s temple, everyday. Goda made these garlands and sent it to her beloved Lord through her father. Eventually she started acting unusual by wearing the flower garland which was meant to be offered to the Lord. This is generally considered sacrilege in Hinduism because the scriptures teach the devotees not to offer to the Lord, a thing that has already been used by a human being. However, Kothai felt she should test to see how the garland suited her and only if it did, she should offer it to the Lord. One day, she was caught red-handed by her father in this strange act, and as an orthodox devotee he was extremely upset. He rebuked her and told her not to repeat the sacrilegious act in the future. A new garland was then offered to the Lord that day. Legend says that that very night the Lord appeared to Vishnucitta in his dream and asked him why he had discarded Kothai’s garland instead of offering it to Him. The Lord is believed to have told Vishnucitta that He had whole-heartedly accepted Kothai’s offering all this time. This moved Vishnucitta so much even as he started to realize the Divine Love that existed between the Lord and his daughter. From this day on, Kothai is respected by the devotees and came to be known as “Aandaal”, the girl who “ruled” over the Lord. She is also known by a phrase “Soodi kodutha Sudarkodi” which means “The bright creeper-like woman who gave her garlands after wearing them”.

Now that we have heard both, how was one different from the other. The difference between one being punished and the other being elevated to Godly status lies in the intent. While Sangaa smelt the garland / flower for herself, Kothai thought it fit to try on the garland to see if it suited her Lord, ie was the garland worthy of beautifying her beloved. It was her devotion and love for the Lord that made the difference. While the two Naynaars, one who did not hesitate even when facing the Land’s Queen with the entire might of the King’s retinue looking on, and the other – a mighty King, upholding the law, even if it meant striking down his favorite queen, and a beautiful one at that. Such was their devotion.

Feed half of Bhima to….

We return today with a fascinating legend, supported by three sculptures. Two from Darasuram and one from Krishnapuram. Thanks to Mr Arvind Venkatatraman for lovely pictures from Darasuram. we got an unexpected Bonus from Artist A.P. Sreethar, sharing this rare sketch of the Krishnapuram pillar by the legendary Artist Silpi as well.

While there are many different versions of this legend, am trying to give the simplest ( and less controversial one). More so, since this legend doesn’t appear in the main Mahabaratha, i am taking one that has just about enough information to support the sculptures exhibited.

Yudhistir is performing a great Yaga ( sacrifice). He is advised that inorder for it to be performed properly he needs the help ( milk of !! by some versions) Purushamriga – a half man half tiger ( or lion), which is a staunch devotee of Shiva. Trouble is the creature resides deep in a jungle and preys on almost anyone it sees. ( other versions bring in a Shivaite /Vaishnavite angle to this debate)

Bhima is selected for this task and wily Krishna gives him 12 stones ( lingas, rudrahsa by other versions) and asks him to use it when he is in trouble. Bhima sets off to find the Pururshamriga and finds it deep inside the jungle. By one version they agree to a challenge – kind of a running race, in other versions he chants something that upsets it. Well back to the story, Bhima is being chased by the Purushamriga and its catching up with him at a fast pace. Bhima decides to use the `stones’ and drops one. Instantly it turns into a Shiva LInga ( shiva temple in some accounts) – anyway the animal being a stauch shiva devotee has to worship the Lord, giving Bhima much needed time to put some distance between them. But the animals superior speed enables it to catch up with him once more and he uses one more of the stones. Thus he uses up all 12 ` help lines’ but he is still not out of the forest. He uses all his strength and just as he puts one leg outside the forest, his other leg is caught by the Purushamriga. An argument ensures and Yudhistr is called on to pass judgement.

Yudhistir being the just king that he is, rightly !! passes the judgment that the Purushamriga can have half of Bhima ( the portion within its territory). The impartial judgment makes the Purushamriga let go of Bhima and all is well.

OK, now to the sculptures. Two delightful panels from Darasuram. You can see in the first one you can see the chase. The Purushamriga seems to be hardly taxed and is about to grab Bhima.

The second panel, it has caught him and both are in front of Yudhistir ( who has a lady attending on him).

The Krishnapuram pillar sculpture is more elaborate and seems to be depicting a fight scene almost – maybe when the Pururshamriga caught up with Bhima. Both are holding small maces..


Now, we see the master strokes of Artist Silpi who has caught this pillar in his immortal work here.

Amazing sculpture and an inspiring sketch.

update+++++++++++
pl do visit Sri Raja Deekshithar’s wonderful site for more of these beauties. Sadly, sir left us this year. http://www.sphinxofindia.rajadeekshithar.com/

Sundarar parts Kaveri at Tiruvaiyaaru

Today we are going to see a very very interesting panel from Darasuram. Thanks again to Satheesh for the excellent camera work. This panel was a total shocker at first glance and there was no way i could have proceeded to identify it.

Locating this panel itself is difficult – no one seems to even acknowledge their presence. We have already seen the other panel that is alongside – Sundarar resurrecting the boy from crocodile’s belly in a previous post.

At first sight, it looked like someone was felling a tree or a structure in front of a temple and and it was falling on the temple! The man was actually not felling but maybe yelling and pointing towards the falling structure. The structure itself was a bit unique, and could find no parallel?. The second person depicted seemed to look like a King who was sculpted in a very pious pose.

Thankfully, with the help of Mr. N. Ganesan, who was kind enough to share an interesting paper of Prof. Marr, JR, titled “The Periya Puranam frieze at Taracuram: Episodes in the Lives of the Tamil Saiva Saints’ – we see that its a sculptural depiction of a very famous event in the life of Saint Sundarar.

The famous duo have quite a number of interesting legends among them – While on a pilgrimage, they pass through the temple town of Thirukandiyur and seeing the temple of Thiruvaiyaaru across the river, Cherman Perumal wishes to visit that temple as well. However, the river Cauvery is in spate. The flood is so great that boatmen have stopped plying – seeing the desire of his friend to see the Lord, Sundarar sings a series of heart rendering songs on shiva – hearing which the great river parts – allowing them a passage over her sandy bottom.

Now, see the panel – to the left ( as you view) is the Thirukadaiyur temple, Cherman Perumal even in his regal attire ( he was a Chera King) is full of devotion, while Sundarar cups his left hand so that his voice carries over the din of the river waters( see the waves depicted showing the spate) – and across is the holy temple at Thiruvaiyaaru.

A scene that instantly took me to back to Cecil De Mille ‘s Ten Commandments – Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner…the famous parting of the Red Sea by Moses.