Tag Archives: thirunelvelil

Michelangelo’s David Vs Nellaiappar Arjuna – part 2

In part 1, we compared David poised to strike with the sculpture of Karna in Nellaiappar temple. We continue the narration today by viewing the scene from the view of Protagonist of the battle – the mighty Arjuna ( my personal preferences are with Karna though) – to recap we are in day 16 of the great battle @ Kurukshetra. Previously having sat out the great battle for 10 days, Karna being kept out by the guile of the great Bhishmar , has set his eyes to slay Arjuna – but from day 11 to 16 – the battle flows with the Pandavas gaining the upper hand thanks mostly to the Krishna. Krishna is said to have praised Karna in front of Arjuna thus

“Do not. O mighty-armed one, disregard Karna, that ornament of battle! Karna is possessed of might. He is proud and accomplished in weapons. He is a Maharatha. He is accomplished (in the ways of battle) and conversant with all modes of warfare. He is also well-acquainted with all that suits place and time. What need is there of saying much? Hear in brief, O son of Pandu! I regard the mighty car-warrior Karna as thy equal, or perhaps, thy superior! With the greatest care and resolution shouldn’t thou slay him in great battle. In energy he is equal to Agni. As regards speed, he is equal to the impetuosity of the wind. In wrath, he resembles the Destroyer himself. Endued with might, he resembles a lion in the formation of his body. He is eight rathis in stature. His arms are large. His chest is broad. He is invincible. He is sensitive. He is a hero. He is, again, the foremost of heroes. He is exceedingly handsome. Possessed of every accomplishment of a warrior, he is a dispeller of the fears of friends.”

Lets us see the classic faceoff between the two.

Now, Arjuna knows that the Nagastra has been taken up by Karna, let us see his expression ( not to mention his long beard and it seems to be tied up in a knot at the end as well)

The overall poise is that of someone who knows that he has no answer to the bolt that is going to be hurled at him, his left leg is slightly back and his body tilted a bit – on the back foot.

You can compare the torso of the two, and you can see that Arjuna’s chest is relaxed.

Compare it to the torso of Karna, with its bulging chest and exposed ribs

Yet, Arjuna has an arrow out of his quiver in his hand. Maybe, he is confident that Krishna would find a way to save him !

The portrayal is useful to compare against David.


Ofcourse, the detailing of the knee caps of the ligament in hard granite of Arjuna is outstanding

For such a colossal work in stone, the way he holds the arrow shaft , the ribs of the feather on the shaft, the posture of the fingers and the detailing of the nails !

Definitely time stands still as the master sculptor sculpted his scene in stone.

If ever there was super pillar contest

Its the season for contest and ….Got talent shows. These shows are filled with lots of talent and lots more glitz where the participants are pitched against one another and in a sequence of exponentially increasing odds they perform mind blowing feats to arrive at the prized price. Today we are going to see a similar contest but among sculptors – in stone. The stage is the famed Nellaiappar Temple of Tirunelveli. For the record, Me and Arvind went in without much expectations hoping to be outside in time for the famed Iruttukadai shop to open !

The raised platform with a distinctly post 15th C doorguardians ( I know I know – the nucleus of the temple is dated to 7th C CE..but) didn’t evoke much of a response, initially at least.

For as we went around to the steps, the sight blew us away.


The entire block is carved out of a monolithic stone, with the doorguardian in front and an extremely complex array of pillars of differing thickness in the back, and that was not all. Row after row of astounding pillars lined up as if for inspection in a guard of honor.

To top it, these were the famed musical pillars !! each producing a distinct note ( that they have survived so long with every visitor trying to show their musical prowess on them itself is worth an applause ) , but the sheer labour that went into these stumped us.

When we say massive, we mean it. Not convinced, take a look.

and by massive, it doesn’t just mean gargantuan size alone. Take a look at the art on display !

This is not some trick sculpting, if you do not believe that its all carved out of a single block of stone. Take another look. The grain of the stone runs right through the different pillars.


There were a few more pillar clusters which seemed a bit easier on the chest and breathing ( with all the wows and ooh and aahs)

.

But, as in an expert rendition of carnatic music, we did not realise that the sculptor had lulled us into a false sense of mediocrity, to think that this was ordinary compared to the rest – but then, he had one or two more tricks to show us.

Watch closely towards the base. do you spot it?

Yes, when he was busy reducing the rock, he had left enough material to carve a ball inside the pillar, so designed that it cannot roll out ( also means it was not introduced later !!)

Well, i said a trick or two !! test your spotting skills

Did you spot it?


Yes, hewing a composite multiple fluted pillar that would emanate different musical notes while shaping a solid stone ball was not challenging enough for him – he sculpted a stone squirrel as well on the inside of one of the pillars.

A Chola Pandya Temple in Cheranmadevi and its secrets – part 1

The very mention of the name Cheranmadevi seemed to take us back in time and the sites that greeted us on the 16 odd km drive from Thirunelveli complimented the thought process, for the visual imagery seemed to indicate that time had in some mysterious way stood still as the world rolled on for many centuries. Along the banks of the Tambraparni river nestled this very unassuming town or rather village which Pradeep kept insisting we visit on our Pandya Tour, and when someone with his flair and passion recommends, we were sure that we were in for a treat.

A bountiful monsoon had already metamorphosised the semi arid belt around Tirunelveli, spreading a soothing green blanket on both sides of the road with the river bringing her shades of brown, black, green and at times blue. A new bridge disoriented our driver but eventually we did reach the spot. There were many items on the agenda in Cheranmadevi but Arvind and me headed for the one under the care of the ASI – the Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple, right on the banks of the river. We did stop every few meters to seek directions and double check if the previous guide was indeed correct, since the progressively narrowing path had no boards, a profusion of thorny scrubs that were intent on claiming back the road and were being ably aided by the village folk with their daily supply of vital essential nutrients ( yuk !!! – our driver wanted to drive straight into the Tambraparni for a cash wash right after !!!). At long last we did see a board but it was not the usual ASI patented rusty grilled blue board ( you know what i mean !) but a shiny metallic transformers inspired board. Our hearts skipped a beat ( non ASI sites are a pain to procure photography permits !!), but the board was indeed an ASI one ! a new avatar maybe.

The entrance tower was incomplete but what was on display was classy.

The temple has many inscriptions and as per the board, Rajendra Chola 1 figures prominently. The artistry on display was splendid, despite the intricate ornamentation they were not garish or over cooked.




There was this really cute slim pillar which made me break my own rules to pose in front of it

The piece de resistance ofcourse was the relief of an unique seated Narasimha with a high Sesha crown.

We went in and our good fortune the priest was such a darling. We had a fantastic darshan of the presiding deity Sri Bhaktavatsala perumal.

In continuing our education into architecture of the temples in Pandya region, we realised that the Vimana was the next place to cover,we wanted to climb on top of the Artha Mandapa, but it soon proved to be a daunting task – we grossly underestimated the height and climbing up a frail steel ladder that even at its precarious incline did not quite reach the top. But before that a mystery unfolded inside the temple, for i could not spot the ASI man nor Arvind. They seemed to have vanished into thin air inside a granite block built mandapa right in front of the Sanctum !! To add to the suspense, i seemed to be hearing voices from beneath the floor ! Aha, there is the secret ….

to be continued…