Tag Archives: Nayanmaar

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!!!

First year Anniversary post – you need experts to understand Bronzes

Friends, Its with great pleasure that we present to you our anniversary post. Exactly a year ago, urged on by friends and well wishers we embarked on this remarkable journey on uncharted ground. For us, it was a modest start but with lofty ambitions. Its been an eventful 365 days, not restricting to South India and temple art, we have traversed almost the whole of South East Asia, spanning Stone sculpture, Bronzes, Cave art, in the process compiling 150 bi lingual posts covering wide gamut of subjects,sharing a common goal – to spread art awareness.Its been a journey of learning and discovery to us and am sure to our loyal readers as well. Along the way, we met many interesting friends, many who contributed to the richness of this pioneering effort. In our small but significant way, we believe we have succeeded in instilling the love to appreciate sculpture in our readers by presenting them a unique perspective of temple art. A lot of work goes into these posts, sometimes months are spent in researching for the posts, waiting for freinds to share the right photos, the right angles, experts are consulted, rare books are sourced from good friends, the essence of all these are distilled and shared with you in a form that can be appreciated easily by all. As we step into our second year with all your wishes, blessings and support, we present to you another of our special posts.

This is one such post which starts off as a nonchalant conversation and blossoms into a beauty, while emphasizing the need for experts. While discussing with Vairam on the previous post, we discussed the iconography of two very similar looking bronzes. One a dancing Balakrishna and another a dancing Sambandhar. See this exhibit in Tanjore museum ( they are identified properly and exhibited side by side – thankfully – Picture courtesy Satheesh)

To the untrained ( even many museums and sites are not clear) eye, both look very similar and are often mistaken for one another, or given both the titles to be on the safe side.

Take a look at these two bronzes. At first glance, they both seem the same.

But here comes the need for expert advise. Spurred by the doubt, we wrote to one of the foremost experts on bronzes today, Dr Nagaswamy, who replied to us sameday! That advise from the great man himself, who takes time to indulge and educate novices like us, is this post.

Lets look at the bronzes one more time,there seem some subtle differences especially with the pose of the right hand !

We first look at this sculpture of dancing Balakrishna – the clues lie in his right chest. Do you notice the triangular Srivatsam mark just above the right chest !! refer the earlier post on the same. No doubts, its confirmed that this is Krishna. Notice how the right hand is facing the viewer – Abhaya hastam, offering protection to the devotee.

Now, lets see the other sculpture. ( Many thanks to Stuart Lee – the left hand – spectacular capture – from chennai museum and Sakthis for patiently assiting with the others from singapore asian civilisations museum )



This is the more popular bronze, of Saint Sambandhar. The Chola kings were great patrons of Shiva,the very first verse of the Thevaram Hymns were sung by Sambandhar and aptly this sculpture depicts that scene.

According to legend, when Sambandhar was three years old his parents took him to the Shiva temple where Shiva and his consort Parvati appeared before the child.”parvathi fed her milk in a golden cup” . His father saw drops of milk on the child’s mouth and asked who had fed him, whereupon the boy pointed to the sky and responded with the song Thodudaya Seviyan – the first verse of the Tevaram.

Thodudaya seviyan song

the Lord has an ear on which a lady`s ear-jewel is worn.
He rides on a bull.
having worn a spotlessly pure white crescent moon of a single phase.
He smeared himself with the ash in the cremation ground which has the nature of a forest.
the thief who has captivated my mind
this person is really the great one who resides gladly in Piramapuram possessing greatness, where the Lord bestowed his grace on Piramaṉ who is seated in a (lotus) flower having petals, who bowed to him and worshiped him, in the distant past.

For a better understanding of this scene and to hear the verse being recited in this video capture.

Thodudaiya seviyan video
Now, that you have visualised the scene, think of how the sculptor showed this in bronze. And that is the clue to the identity of this bronze as well.

“The father asked who had fed him, whereupon the boy pointed to the sky”
Notice the right hand of the bronze. The index finger.

Let me get you the right photo angle to highlight this point of movement in chola sculpture.

Notice that the index finer is at an angle and gives you a visual impression of being in the process of pointing upwards, its not yet finished traversing to the point of pointing vertically up. Such finesse in sculpting this image. Truly masterclass.

Here are some more splendid bronzes from Delhi Museum, Chennai museum, Freer Museum.


Now, from above its pretty clear to identify the bronzes

Auckland Museum


The srivatsam is quite visible, so its krishna

Hindu wisdom site


This is clearly Sambandhar – as can be seen from the right hand and also the distinct ornamentation of similar bronzes.

Nice article on sculpture but..

The sketch below, while doesn’t show the srivatsam, the right hand index finger does points to the sky. So it should be Sambandhar as per reasoning above.

we thank you all once again for your continued patronage of our site and we look forward to receiving more photos and information from your temple / museum visits.

We take this opportunity to wish all our supporters, well wishers and guides who have stood by us, motivated us and continue to inspire us to do more. The list is endless but our thanks rise from the bottom of our hearts individually to all of you.

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

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.

Thiruneelakanta Nayanar – Darasuram

Thanks to Satheesh again we are going to see another interesting panel from Darasuram. Tiruneelakanta Naynar.

For a change we are going to see the panel first and see if you can help identify it.

This is the long shot from Satheesh,

zoomed in

some more

ok, this is the panel, see the `Hero’ pen for the size comparison

Its a very simple panel – to the left you see a temple, to the right a couple shown holding a stick, emerging out of a tank.

For those who want to read the full story here goes:

http://www.nayanmar.com/abtus.htm

Thiruneelakanta Nayanar’s birth place was chidambaram( Thillai). His profession was making pots and clay items. He extended his service to the saivite Nayanmars by providing them with begging bowls made of clay because they bowed down in reverence before the pinaka bow shouldered Lord Shiva, like him. He was also an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He is the place of all good qualities. His youthful vigour influenced him to lead an amorous gay life.

One day he returned home after he had carnal pleasure with a woman of low character. His wife came to know about this and was unhappy with him for his deed. She fulfilled all the responsibilities of a wife but didn’t allow him to share the bed with her. To bring down her resentment he went near her and tried to hug her praising her with sweet words . She retorted immediately, “If you touch us (me)! Thirunilakantam !” meaning “Beware, in the name of Lord Shiva who has burnt the desire, do not touch us- lay not your hands on us”. The very moment of hearing her pledge on the name of Lord Shiva that great man Thiruneelakanta took off his hands from her.

The immense respect he had for Lord Shiva the Hero Who burnt the lust made him say with determination, “As you pronounced as “us” (emmai) rather than `me’ in your vow I won’t touch, not only you but also any woman, even in my dream. They lived together under one roof fulfilling all the responsibilities of a husband and wife barring conjugal status. They grew old.

Lord Shiva wanted to put the principle of celibacy of this great couple to an acid test. He came down to the earth as a sage and proceeded to Chidambaram . He met Thiruneelakanta and gave him His begging bowl asking him to preserve it in safe custody till the time he asks for it. He by His Godly ability made the bowl disappear from the Nayanar’s safety. After many days, He came back and asked for His bowl. The Nayanar did not find it in the place where he kept in safe custody. He searched his entire house, but in vain. He could not find it anywhere. He told the sage that the bowl was lost beyond trace. He begged His pardon and promised that he was ready to present Him even with a golden bowl, instead.

Lord Shiva, in the form of the sage was very adamant and scolded the Nayanar for his negligence and said that he required only His bowl and not any other even if it is made of gold. Nayanar begged many a time. The sage asked the Nayanar whether he could vouch that he kept the bowl safely. The Nayanar replied that he was ready to vouch like that to the satisfaction of the sage. Then Lord Shiva started to play His game of trickery on him. He told the Nayanar that if he takes a dip in the pond in front of the local people holding the hand of his son He would believe his words. Nayanar told him that he did not have any offspring. “O.K. then hold the hand of your wife and and have dip in the pond and vouch your promise” said the sage, cunningly. When the sage asked him to have a dip holding his wife’s hand he replied humbly that due to a vow he was not able to do that. Acting as if angered the Graceful sage went to the court of the priests of Thillai and appealed to them his case. The court upheld the argument of the sage that Nayanar should have a dip in the pond holding his wife’s hand since the bowl was lost while in his custody.

Nayanar came with his wife to a pond of the Thiruppulichchuram. True to his secret vow that he won’t touch his wife he held one end of a bamboo while his wife held the other end and was ready to take the dip. But the old sage stopped this and was very adamant that the Nayanar should hold his wife’s hand and take the dip and then only He will be satisfied. The Nayanar was caught in a fix. He had to declare to the entire public the secret behind his not touching his wife and the entire episode behind it. He narrated the entire secret story and they both plunged into the water, holding the bamboo. The couple who rose from the water after the dip regained their youth, to the astonishment of all. They were as young as one could covet and at the same time they found the Lord who came in the form of the sage disappear. There appeared the Lord in the horizon on the holy Bull with His consort Parvathi Devi to bless the hailing devotee, “You both are very great due to your victory over your five senses and conquered the craving for carnal pleasure . You be with Me, in bliss, for ever with your ever-lasting youth.

images courtesy: Satheesh and http://www.kumbakonam.info/kumbakonam/darsuam/index.htm

Kungiliya Kalaya Nayanar Puranam – Darasuram

Today we are treated to another special thanks to Satheesh. Its a very special sculpture depicting one of the Periapuranam legends.

Its a very small sculpture, and causes some wrong interpretations as Markandeyar or kannapar.


Kannapar ofcourse is depicted right next to this panel. So who is depicted here?

Lets first analyse the sculpture in more detail.


Do you notice the slight slant of the Linga. That is the clue. Its Kungiliya Kalaya Nayanar. Lets see his story in full.

(courtesy : http://www.nayanmar.com/nayanmar3.htm)

Kalayanar, a brahmin devotee of Shiva lived in Tirukadavur. He considered it, his sacred duty to spread the scented smoke of kungiliyam in the temple. Even when he became poor, he continued this service. Kalayanar would rather forego his meals for several days than stop his kungiliyam service even for a day.

A time came when he had literally nothing on hand to continue this self-chosen devotional duty. In the meantime, he and his family had gone without food for several days. Kalayanar was blessed with an understanding wife.

She could stand no more the hunger of her children and so gave her auspicious golden necklace ( thali) to him requesting him to buy rice . He was to sell it and buy some rice.

When Kalayanar was going through the street with the golden ornament in his hand , a vendor of kungiliyam came on his way. Quite excited by the availability of a bag of kungiliyam, Kalayanar exchanged the necklace for the incense. The next moment found him walking to the temple, totally forgetting the hunger stricken family of his own . Entering the sacred precincts he fell unconscious as he had been without food for several days. Shiva appeared in his dream and advised him to go home and drink some milk and rich food and return . Waking up, Kalayanar was flabbergasted that Shiva should ask him to partake of a rich meal when his home had not a grain in the granary. All the same, he did not dare to disobey the Lord. He got up and went home.

Wonder of wonders! His house had changed beyond recognition. It was endowed luxuriously and the granary overflowed with paddy. The house was full of gold. Even as his darling wife fed Kalayanar and the other devotees of Shiva to her heart’s content, it was clear that for his lifetime hence forth Kalayanar would have no dearth of wealth to render his favourite service to Shiva.

As Kalayanar happily continued his service at Kadavur, he heard that in the temple at Tiruppanandal, the Linga had tilted to one side. The king had set his army to pull it back to its original angle but in vain. Kalayanar hastened to Tiruppanandal. Finding the army tired out and in a swoon, he decided to join their ranks. He bound one end of a rope to the image of Shiva and tied the other end to his neck and pulled hard. Shiva, at the touch of his devotee straightened himself in a trice to the wonder of all those present. The very heavens showered scented blossoms to mark the miracle.

images courtesy: Satheesh and http://www.kumbakonam.info/kumbakonam/darsuam/index.htm

Marar of Ilayankudi – what a sculpture

Today we are going to see a spectacular miniature sculpture from Darasuram Airawateshwara temple built by Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century CE. This temple is a storehouse of art and architecture and am picking a very unique sculpture to showcase it. This panel was explained to me by Dr. Kudavoil Balasubramaniam, and all credit to him for this post.

Firstly, the mastery of the sculpture – inorder for you to spot this panel – lets give you a long shot, slowly paning in. Not on the Ganesha but below. do you spot it.


To give you an idea of the size of this miniature, once again we see the Slaying of Vali sculpture with a pilot pen. It gives you a sense of proportion of this sculpture.

Next we need to study the story that is depicted in this panel. Its the story of one of the 64 saivite saints – Marar of Ilayankudi. His life is a lesson on the famed hospitality of tamil land, combined with the reverence to saints.

In order to understand the panel more to appreciate its true beauty, we need to learn the story of this great couple. Maarar and his wife, were farmers, quite well to do and they were very devoted followers of shiva. They used to go to any limits to host fellow devotees and the wandering saints and followers of shiva. They thus lived a very contended life, till Shiva, as is his wont, decided to test their resolve.

Their prosperity vanned and they fell into bad times, heavily into debt, the family still continued their pious ways and took great care of any visitors to their home. During one such bad time, when their crops had failed and they had borrowed their last penny ( no US Govt bailout for them), on a stormy rainy night, shiva lands up at their door, disguised as a wandering ascetic.

The couple realise that the dont have anything to offer, while the lady in all her intelligence, suggests for Maarar to go to fields where they had sowed their last bag of grain and use a wicker basket as a sieve to retrieve the sown grain. He too does so, in pouring rain, sieves through his field and gets a basket full of grain. The wife mills it and makes flour and starts cooking, when she realises that they don’t have enough fire wood. The ever resourceful Maarar, takes the sticks off his roof and gives it to his wife to use ( mind the heavy rain)

HIs wife dutifully cooks the rice, offers respects to the ascetic, seats him on a plank, places a tripod stool in front of his and serves food. The ascetic takes one handful of the offering, is overcome with the devotion of his subjects, spontaneously bursting into a blinding flash, and returns with his consort, blessing the couple and taking them with him to enjoy the everlasting bliss in Kailash.

Now we see the how the master sculptor has handled this entire story in such a miniature story board. He has cut the story into three scenes. As you view the creation panning from right to left.

First scene:

Maarar bringing back the basket of grain and his wife eagerly taking it from him

Second scene:

The ascetic is seated and the lady is serving him. This is the master stroke of the scultor – watch closely the head of ascetic – you will see a small flame, then to its right a bigger flame and then a large flame. How beautifully he has shown the Lord disappearing as a flash of flaming light.

Last scene:

Simple – he closes the story by sculpting Shiva and Parvati giving darshan on Nandhi.

What a sculpture, What a story and such wonderful concept delivery.

Source; http://bhakthimalar.blogspot.com/2007/02/blog-post_24.html
Image courtesy: http://www.kumbakonam.info/kumbakonam/darsuam/index.htm