Kanchi Treasures...
A load of thanks to Rekesh, I got to revisit Kanchipuram and Mahabalipuram. Recording some of the most compelling images (with a bare minimum of text) from what was a very illuminating journey...
Kailasanatha Siva temple.
Our first stop... A pallava masterpiece going back 1300 plus years, it is brimful of sandstone marvels...
One among the over 50 subshrines built into the outer wall of the temple:
Siva dances:
And another image of the cosmic dancer. Vishnu and Brahma watch in appreciation, Nandi joins in the fun... (btw, in no Pallava image of Siva as dancer does one see him trampling the dwarf demon)
Easily the most magnificent Siva here - and maybe anywhere!- shown subduing (guess) Andhaka, the demon.
(This and many other sculptures here occupy elevated niches and need to be viewed from a low level. Wonder if they have been corrected for perspectival effects).
Not sure what is going on... looks like a celestial brawl - a figure who looks a bit like Vishnu (two-armed though) is being held back from doing something drastic by Brahma and Siva...
Siva peels the hide off an elephant demon... a theme executed at least twice at this very temple.
A trio from among the many musicians carved here...
Remnants of a mural. One can only make out that their colors were crisp and bright once upon a time...
A pair from among the dozens of lions and panthers...
A muscular and robust load bearer... to my limited knowledge, apart from some Mauryan beasts (Sarnath lions, some Sanchi monsters...), these are the only figures in our entire sculptural tradition with massive and well defined musculature. And they have an undeniable mid-Eastern look - well, not surprising, this middle East thing, since Mauryan artists were indeed strongly influenced by Achaemenid art!
A troop of revelling dwarf-goblins. A Ganesha like figure among them. No leadership role for him, not even the first among equals.
Note: elsewhere in this temple, there is at least one wall niche with a proper (divine) Ganesa figure - should be one of the earliest appearances of the popular elephant god.
A somewhat damaged bongo player. Notice the crossed arms - a gimmick that was very popular among bongo players in Kerala orchestras a generation ago!
Evidence that the bongo player is none other than Siva himself!:
A ferocious-looking Siva, brandishing a battle axe, hovers over a supplicant Brahma:
With massive load bearing monsters in attendance, Arjuna and Kirata square off:
The Vaikuntha Perumal Vishnu Temple:
This temple is but a few decades younger than Kailasanatha. Most of the once grand sculptures on the inner sanctum walls have been ravaged by time almost beyond recognition. Here are a few samples:
An enthroned Vishnu. Almost a contemporary of the grand Serpent-throne Vishnu at Badami. Yet another forerunner of the Tripunithura idol... Centuries of erosion has left a strange grin on the lord's face:
Vishnu appears to be decorating a devotee's crown with a garland. The very same favor is bestowed upon Chandesa by Siva in a far more famous relief carving done at the Gangaikondacholapuram temple that postdates Vaikuntha Perumal by around 300 years.
Siva and Vishnu seem to be having a casual conversation, as pretty much equals:
The seated figure in pic below is certainly Vishnu (note the conch). The worshipful one, is it Siva (he seems to have four arms so...)?
Along the walls of a covered corridor that runs all around the sanctuary, we have something like a thousand square feet of relief carvings, almost all depicting exploits of Pallava kings and not gods. There are court scenes, battle scenes (lots of them!), surrender of enemies and formal portaits with queens of various Pallava monarchs. And there are inscriptions and more inscriptions. Here is a single image:
The Varadaraja Temple:
This Vishnu temple, most of which dates back to Vijayanagar-Nayaka periods (16th-17th centuries) is more grandiose than grand, just as is the case with most major Tamil Nadu temples. But again, as is the case with most temples in these parts, there are pleasant surprises...
A poorly captured - and none too elegant - image of yet another enthroned Vishnu:
A very unusual five-faced (Panchamukha) form of Vishnu:
Around the inner sanctum of the temple are several lengthy corridors with walls filled with murals - they look a few hundred years old and are probably from the Nayaka period. Here are two of the more interesting specimens. Vishnu being worshipped by some very Ayyangar-looking priests - one chap is dark as coal and the other rosy-complexioned. One hears a lot from experts about how our caste and Varna systems are based on skin color. This picture doesn't quite fit those theorisations.
And here is another. Among the scenes, my personal favorite is the gathering looking like a 'satsang' or 'bhajan' group at the left lower. Quite an assortment of devotees and a whole spectrum of complexions.
I have no idea how much of these murals are as they were when painted - iow, whether this remarkable range of complexions are actually part of the original artist's intent - and if so what that range signifies. But as I just gathered, the Varadaraja murals are well known to experts. And there is even a Jain temple in Kanchi with interesting murals - pity we didn't look for it.
And here we seem to have two divinities (probably Kama and his consort Rati) aiming lethal arrows at each other. Note their horses:
Around Kanchi
Within the Vaikuntha Perumal temple enclosure, there is this very colorful Naga shrine:
Close to the inner sanctum of the Ekambaranatha Siva temple at Kanchi is this curious structure: Strangely Chinese looking green beasts, cherubs,..
On the sheer rock walls of the formidable hill fort at Gingee, we saw this Vishnu image, among a crowd of graffiti. Looks of Nayaka make:
Looking up at the inner citadel at Gingee:
Preserved within the Gingee fort is this partially broken statue. A full 3D human figure, probably a portrait of someone, note the odd pose:
The huge granary building at Gingee:
Interior of the granary - it looks like the nave of a grand cathedral:
The 'gymansium' at Gingee:
Let me only mention - in words - the most poignant images we saw at Gingee: Descriptive boards in Braille installed before every monument...
And we witnessed the festival of 'mayana kollai', literally, 'looting the cremation yard'. Troops of devotees in wildly colored attire, some (both women and cleanshaven men) dressed up to look like goddess Kali- extra arms, bloody tongue, fangs and so forth attached - some youngsters hung from crane hooks... head in noisy processions towards cremation grounds where they would perform some rituals in honor of Ankalamman, a local Kali equivalent...
Aside: I recall hearing a comparison between Vishnu and Siva, in a Tamil setting: "Siva is earthy, even wild; doesn't demand much from devotees... Vishnu is the sophisticate, the real capitalist. All services carry a solid price tag!" There seems to be some substance to such an assessment. The Ekambaranatha Siva temple charges just 5 rupees for 'special' darshan; most of the waiting happens in narrow stone passages, stuffy and suffocating with the combined effect of crowds, camphor and holy ash - the whirring fans are of no help whatever. The Varadaraja Vishnu temple is of very similar construction but approaching the core sanctum, one walks into an efficient airconditioning system and there are priests who precisely list the various pujas and their prices. So corporate!
Kailasanatha Siva temple.
Our first stop... A pallava masterpiece going back 1300 plus years, it is brimful of sandstone marvels...
One among the over 50 subshrines built into the outer wall of the temple:
Siva dances:
And another image of the cosmic dancer. Vishnu and Brahma watch in appreciation, Nandi joins in the fun... (btw, in no Pallava image of Siva as dancer does one see him trampling the dwarf demon)
Easily the most magnificent Siva here - and maybe anywhere!- shown subduing (guess) Andhaka, the demon.
(This and many other sculptures here occupy elevated niches and need to be viewed from a low level. Wonder if they have been corrected for perspectival effects).
Not sure what is going on... looks like a celestial brawl - a figure who looks a bit like Vishnu (two-armed though) is being held back from doing something drastic by Brahma and Siva...
Siva peels the hide off an elephant demon... a theme executed at least twice at this very temple.
A trio from among the many musicians carved here...
Remnants of a mural. One can only make out that their colors were crisp and bright once upon a time...
A pair from among the dozens of lions and panthers...
A muscular and robust load bearer... to my limited knowledge, apart from some Mauryan beasts (Sarnath lions, some Sanchi monsters...), these are the only figures in our entire sculptural tradition with massive and well defined musculature. And they have an undeniable mid-Eastern look - well, not surprising, this middle East thing, since Mauryan artists were indeed strongly influenced by Achaemenid art!
A troop of revelling dwarf-goblins. A Ganesha like figure among them. No leadership role for him, not even the first among equals.
Note: elsewhere in this temple, there is at least one wall niche with a proper (divine) Ganesa figure - should be one of the earliest appearances of the popular elephant god.
A somewhat damaged bongo player. Notice the crossed arms - a gimmick that was very popular among bongo players in Kerala orchestras a generation ago!
Evidence that the bongo player is none other than Siva himself!:
A ferocious-looking Siva, brandishing a battle axe, hovers over a supplicant Brahma:
With massive load bearing monsters in attendance, Arjuna and Kirata square off:
The Vaikuntha Perumal Vishnu Temple:
This temple is but a few decades younger than Kailasanatha. Most of the once grand sculptures on the inner sanctum walls have been ravaged by time almost beyond recognition. Here are a few samples:
An enthroned Vishnu. Almost a contemporary of the grand Serpent-throne Vishnu at Badami. Yet another forerunner of the Tripunithura idol... Centuries of erosion has left a strange grin on the lord's face:
Vishnu appears to be decorating a devotee's crown with a garland. The very same favor is bestowed upon Chandesa by Siva in a far more famous relief carving done at the Gangaikondacholapuram temple that postdates Vaikuntha Perumal by around 300 years.
Siva and Vishnu seem to be having a casual conversation, as pretty much equals:
The seated figure in pic below is certainly Vishnu (note the conch). The worshipful one, is it Siva (he seems to have four arms so...)?
Along the walls of a covered corridor that runs all around the sanctuary, we have something like a thousand square feet of relief carvings, almost all depicting exploits of Pallava kings and not gods. There are court scenes, battle scenes (lots of them!), surrender of enemies and formal portaits with queens of various Pallava monarchs. And there are inscriptions and more inscriptions. Here is a single image:
The Varadaraja Temple:
This Vishnu temple, most of which dates back to Vijayanagar-Nayaka periods (16th-17th centuries) is more grandiose than grand, just as is the case with most major Tamil Nadu temples. But again, as is the case with most temples in these parts, there are pleasant surprises...
A poorly captured - and none too elegant - image of yet another enthroned Vishnu:
A very unusual five-faced (Panchamukha) form of Vishnu:
Around the inner sanctum of the temple are several lengthy corridors with walls filled with murals - they look a few hundred years old and are probably from the Nayaka period. Here are two of the more interesting specimens. Vishnu being worshipped by some very Ayyangar-looking priests - one chap is dark as coal and the other rosy-complexioned. One hears a lot from experts about how our caste and Varna systems are based on skin color. This picture doesn't quite fit those theorisations.
And here is another. Among the scenes, my personal favorite is the gathering looking like a 'satsang' or 'bhajan' group at the left lower. Quite an assortment of devotees and a whole spectrum of complexions.
I have no idea how much of these murals are as they were when painted - iow, whether this remarkable range of complexions are actually part of the original artist's intent - and if so what that range signifies. But as I just gathered, the Varadaraja murals are well known to experts. And there is even a Jain temple in Kanchi with interesting murals - pity we didn't look for it.
And here we seem to have two divinities (probably Kama and his consort Rati) aiming lethal arrows at each other. Note their horses:
Around Kanchi
Within the Vaikuntha Perumal temple enclosure, there is this very colorful Naga shrine:
Close to the inner sanctum of the Ekambaranatha Siva temple at Kanchi is this curious structure: Strangely Chinese looking green beasts, cherubs,..
On the sheer rock walls of the formidable hill fort at Gingee, we saw this Vishnu image, among a crowd of graffiti. Looks of Nayaka make:
Looking up at the inner citadel at Gingee:
Preserved within the Gingee fort is this partially broken statue. A full 3D human figure, probably a portrait of someone, note the odd pose:
The huge granary building at Gingee:
Interior of the granary - it looks like the nave of a grand cathedral:
The 'gymansium' at Gingee:
Let me only mention - in words - the most poignant images we saw at Gingee: Descriptive boards in Braille installed before every monument...
And we witnessed the festival of 'mayana kollai', literally, 'looting the cremation yard'. Troops of devotees in wildly colored attire, some (both women and cleanshaven men) dressed up to look like goddess Kali- extra arms, bloody tongue, fangs and so forth attached - some youngsters hung from crane hooks... head in noisy processions towards cremation grounds where they would perform some rituals in honor of Ankalamman, a local Kali equivalent...
Aside: I recall hearing a comparison between Vishnu and Siva, in a Tamil setting: "Siva is earthy, even wild; doesn't demand much from devotees... Vishnu is the sophisticate, the real capitalist. All services carry a solid price tag!" There seems to be some substance to such an assessment. The Ekambaranatha Siva temple charges just 5 rupees for 'special' darshan; most of the waiting happens in narrow stone passages, stuffy and suffocating with the combined effect of crowds, camphor and holy ash - the whirring fans are of no help whatever. The Varadaraja Vishnu temple is of very similar construction but approaching the core sanctum, one walks into an efficient airconditioning system and there are priests who precisely list the various pujas and their prices. So corporate!
posted by R.Nandakumar @ 8:16 PM
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