An Unspiritual Pilgrimage - Jagannath Puri

On the eastern shores of India and in the State of Odisha (Orissa) there lies an important pilgrimage centre of Hindus known as Puri or conversely Jagannatha Puri, being the abode of Lord Jagannatha. Puri is also considered as the cultural capital of Odisha. It was established by Adi Shankaracharya, the spearhead of Hindu renaissance during the 8th century CE. We went there along with our families. For the ladies, the purpose of the visit could have been a sort of pilgrimage but the men folk were there for sight seeing, fun and frolic. It was an endurance test as we needed to keep the women folk in good spirits. We made Bhubaneswar as our base camp. After our breakfast on a sunny morning we hunted and hired a station wagon kind of a vehicle and proceeded to Puri, which was at a distance of 70 kilometres.

The road led us through the country side but the rural settings of that part seemed a little bit different. Being in the coastal region there were coconut and  Areca nut palms at the far end of paddy fields. They were not as dense as we find in the western coast of India. The breeze coming from the paddy fields though had a nostalgic smell. Amidst the rural settings there was a way side restaurant (Dhaba) surrounded by shady trees. We thought of replenishing our tummies and parked our vehicle inside. The food, after some deliberations/consultations was settled for and duly ordered. Tables and chairs were laid out beneath the trees and we rested for more than half an hour by which time the service started. The quality of food was better than what we expected.

My nephew Girish checking up in front of the restaurant

When our lunch was over, we stayed for some time more and then proceeded to our destination. Around 2.30 pm we were at Puri. Our stay was pre-arranged at a holiday home of a reputed Bank but when we reached there, the caretaker was nowhere to be seen. The women looked tired and decided to enjoy a nap in the sofas at the reception. On our part we started hunting for the caretaker. The gentleman arrived after some time and we were at our wits end when he announced that no rooms have been booked for us. Immediately we contacted the local officials of the Bank over our cell phones. Hearing us speaking to the higher ups in the hierarchy, he offered to provide the much needed accommodation but in the meantime he too received phone calls which made him to apologise offering some alibis. We got three Air-conditioned rooms which were quite up to the mark. The holiday home itself has a beautiful building very close to the sea. We rested in our rooms till 7.00 pm in the evening and then proceeded to visit the Jagannatha temple for which Puri is famous.

My niece Gouri imitating Kate in Titanic on the terrace of the holiday home

Since that was not my first visit, I cautioned all to refrain from conversing with or entertaining the Pandas (the priests) and that I shall take care of them. My apprehensions were not ill-founded. Soon thereafter Pandas started playing their tricks. They exploit the gullible. They offer to conduct special rites/rituals very close to the deities. In the process the innocent devotees are made to part with heavy sums of money in the name of pleasing the lord thereat. Since I am conversant with Oriya, the local language, I made it very clear to them that we have done that 6 months back and do not intend to have anything performed on our behalf at this juncture. After freeing ourselves from those lechers we proceeded to the Sanctum Sanctorum which is otherwise quite large. We met with the symbolic idols of Balbhadra, Jagannath and Subhadra made of jack wood timber which do not have any semblance with Gods of Hindu pantheon. Some of the Pandas were seated very close to the deities as if they are there to provide salvation. After coming out we also went around the temple which has a huge campus with lots of smaller shrines. Since it is an 11th century temple, the sculptures are really beautiful, but then one is not allowed to take a camera or a mobile phone inside. After this courtesy call on Jagannath & Company, we returned to the holiday home where our dinner was waiting. Before going to bed we had decided to visit the beach before sunrise next day.

Although before the day break, we had our bed coffee but since our rooms were apart, it took some time for all to get ready. The Sun God obviously can’t wait for us. We ran to the sea shore. The Sun was quite above the horizon still the cool sea breeze was very comforting. A small boat was lying in the sands. Children pulled it nearer to the waters and by that time the owner turned up. The kids including the grown ups could negotiate a deal with the boatman and he was too willing to take them to some distance. The ladies started agitating and shouted at them. They were dissuaded from venturing into the sea. While we were walking towards our children, we came across a beautiful piece of sand art,  probably the creation of a sand artist, Sudarshan Patnaik. Puri is also famous on that count. Sudarshan Patnaik is acclaimed internationally. He has exhibited his talent in several countries and won several awards.

 

Poor Mumtaaz - Who could have made her a Shurpanakha

The art piece stated above was the portrayal of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (creator of Taj Mahal) and his lady love Mumtaaz Mahal. A small replica of Taj Mahal made of marble was also placed behind symbolically. Seeing all this my brother got excited and started his own creation. With effort he could build something looking like a fort. Finding him sitting in a ditch his wife queried as to what is he digging up. He retorted “a grave for myself”. His wife continued “and what about me”. Sensing trouble, if this continues, I requested his wife to desist from further questioning.

There is a legend about sand art at Puri. There used to be a great poet named Balram Das who lived in the 14th century. He was the author of “Dandi Ramayan”. A car (Chariot) festival takes place at Puri around July every year. Balram Das, during one such festival, tried to climb up the chariot to pay his obeisance to the lord but he was abused by the Pandas and made him to climb down. He was grieved and with a heavy heart headed for the sea front (known as Mahadadhi). There  working with the wet sand, he created the images of the three deities namely Balbhadra, Jagannath and Subhadra and started praying whole heartedly. It is said that all the three deities who were being carried in the Chariots during that particular festival just vanished and were so pleased with the devotion that they appeared before Balram Das live. People believe that the sand art form has its roots there. Anyway we may dismiss this simply as a myth. After all we do come across children exhibiting their creativity whenever they find time to play with sand. Yet another legend is that of Lord Rama, who at Rameswaram created a Shiv Linga out of sand and prayed.

A child playing with sand - He has made a Buddhist Stupa

After enjoying the sea breeze for some time, we started returning. The women folk were insisting to have a morning audience with Lord Jagannath. We had to succumb but again with an advisory with regard to the Pandas. We spent our time loafing around the market. Fortunately they joined us after an hour or so. Perforce we had to give them company for their marketing needs. Primarily there were several kinds of handicrafts on sale. There were brass/bronze items on sale. A tall lamp interested us but the cost seemed prohibitive. After finishing off the shopping spree, we straightaway headed to a hotel to have some breakfast.  Thereafter to our holiday home as the warmth was becoming unbearable. We all were perspiring profusely. After lunch we returned to Bhubaneswar visiting Konark Sun temple en route.

Three Breasted Queen of Madurai

                                                                                            हिन्दी में यहाँ देखें

Recently I was searching for some specific pictures of an early Pandyan cave in Thiruparankundram, hence had made an appeal for viewers near madurai to help with pictures. One of my friends Smt. Shoba Ramakrishnan sent me her collection but it was from the famed Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple. While going through it - i came across this Gem of a sculpture. Initially I was bit hesitant to publish this post, for it concerned usage of certain sensitive ( in these days) descriptions and some explicit sculpture. But was emboldened by the strength of the legend and the need to explain a sculpture as it is. So in order to prepare myself in advance for any backlash, i tried to seek assistance from friends on authentic texts - found the Thiruvilaiyaadal puranam authored by Paranjyothi Munivar

http://www.shaivam.org/tamil/sta_tiruvilaiyadal_02_u.htm

Ok, enough of beating around the bush - today we are going to see the sculpture and the story behind the three breasted Queen of Madurai - a name so synonymous with the city that the very mention of her name or the city - brings up the other.

Since the legend is long and well known - starting off with the sculpture first. How would a sculptor show a three breasted maiden, who should be ravishingly beautiful, full of pride bordering on manliness, majestic as a ruler, yet befit the title of the future consort of shiva - add to this her fame as the fish eyed one. Simple task for our master sculptor.

Now we go to the legend, the Pandyan King Malayadhwaja was a great devotee of Shiva and Shakti. Despite this, the couple were unhappy that they did not have any issues and as a King, he had to have a male heir to continue running the Kingdom. Hence, King Malayadhwaja along with his wife Kanchanamala perform a penance. From the great yaga, a three year old girl comes out of the fire. The child was ‘Ayonija’ (not born out of the womb). However, the King was shocked to see that she had three breasts. He pleads that he has been a devote follower and done the penance according to strict rules, yet he has been blessed not with a boy but with girl and she too with three breasts. Just then a divine voice is heard

“Don’t fear. Whatever has taken place is for good only. You bring up this child like a man. Whatever education and training is given for a man, all such education may be given to this child. Name her Thadathagai ( endowed with irresistible valour) When she sees the man who is to be her husband, the third breast will disappear. ”

Since she had eyes shaped beautifully like fishes (Meena) she was called Meenakshi. She grew to be a very beautiful young woman despite her birth defect. After the Kings’ demise, she ruled the country herself - Her valor was unparalleled and she was unmatched in battle. Kingdom after kingdom fell to her might till she had no one else to conquer by Shiva himself. Destiny drove her on and she marched with her massive army to Kailash to face Shiva.

Shiva meantime, knew of this and came to meet her - clad in his tiger skin, sporting snake ornaments, sacred white ash allover his body, wearing the sacred thread - he smiled knowingly at her. In that instant she realized who she was, the third breast disappeared, the manly valor gave way to feminine shyness, as she realised it was Shiva her beloved, who had given half of himself for her - who was in front of her…

Vijay Kumar from Singapore
Photo Credits: Shobha Ramakrishnan

Deogarh in Uttar Pradesh

We were to catch a train at Lalitpur which is located on the trunk route between Chennai and Delhi closer to Jhansi junction in the state of Uttar Pradesh (India). However, we learnt that the train was running some six hours behind schedule and therefore was not likely to arrive before 8.00 PM. We were at Lalitpur before noon and were upset for we had to wait for such a long time before we could start moving. Meanwhile, our driver who drove us this far, to see us off, suggested a visit to Deogarh to spend the time as he knew about my obsessions. We were really thrilled at the idea of making use of this time gap fruitfully and drove away to this cherished destination. It was at a mere distance of 33 km's south of Laitpur at the western end of the Lalitpur Hills.

Once on the top of the hill, ruined temple structures seemed waiting for us. In fact there is an insignificant medieval fort built by a ruler named Kirtiverma somewhere in the 12th century and therefore named as Kirtigiri. In one of the inscriptions it is also referred to as Luachhgiri but presently it is known as Deogarh only. Standing temples could have been there much before the fort came into being. We came across a ruined structure of a Varaha temple. Only the platform exists. The idol seems to have been stolen away. Devgarh was a great centre of Jainism from 8th to the 17th century and there were supposed to have been some 40 temples around, out of which 31 still exist. The temple of Jain Tirthankara Shantinath is of unique importance with splendid carvings. Within the temple campus are panels depicting scenes from Jain mythology, Tirthankara images, Manasthamba votive pillars, Ayagpatta votive tablets, Sarvatobhadra Jain images visible from all sides and Sahasrakuta pillars carved with a thousand motifs of Jain monks. Among other important structures at Deogarh are the rock cut caves, Siddha-ki-Gufa, Rajghati and the Naharghati.

The river Betva flows majestically winding its way through a deep gorge on the right. From the top of the hill, it offers an excitingly beautiful, out of this world panorama. We were just spell bound looking down. The only other spot we could think of which could match this wondrous beauty was encountered at Satdhara near Sanchi. Steps have been carved out leading to the waters of the river. Number of cells have been cut out of the rock to the left as we climb down. These small cells were once inhabited by the Jain monks who used to meditate there enjoying the natural beauty surrounding it. Many of the cells have inscriptions on the walls in a script datable to around 8th/9th century AD.

After climbing up, we rested a while, had a re-look at the surroundings which were full of wilderness with growth of vegetation all around. Clearly, there were no attempts to keep the place tidy. We then drove back. Within a few kilometers of drive we came across a standing temple at the left with which we seemed to have been acquainted but never knew that well this is here. A small interruption has become inevitable.

In India when we started providing a shelter to our Gods with various manifestations, we thought they will be safe in caves like Barabar,Ajanta and Ellora. In the plains, we continued to worship them keeping under sacred trees. Then there was an awakening. We provided for a roof for them by constructing a square flat roofed structure called temples. Thereafter, we got worried about the devotees visiting such shrines and for them a small porch (Mandapa) got added. The earliest living examples of such temples are found at Tigawa near Jabalpur and Sanchi. In the evolutionary process of Indian temple architecture, the next thing was to provide a cap for the flat roofed structure known as Shikhara. The earliest example of this type of Panchayatan style temple is in Devgarh which is datable to around 470 AD. The one at which we stopped.

This temple dedicated to lord Vishnu is known as Dashavatara temple made of red sand stone. Some of the sculptures are of black and gray granite as well. Built over a high elavated platform, the door jamb is adorned with sculptures of the river godess Ganga on the one side and Yamuna on the other. Entry into the sanctum sanctorum was, however, blocked. We had to remain contended going round and having a look on the other three sides. There were panels showing the salvation of Gajendra (Gajendra Moksha), Penance of Nar and Narayan, and Vishnu depicted resting over the mythical serpant called Sheshanag. Lord Kartikeya riding his vehicle, the Peacock, lord Indra on his Elephant Airavata, Lord Brahma over the lotus and lord Shiva and his consort Parvathi on the Bull (Nandi) are depicted above the reclining figure of Vishnu. Under the same panel, it is perhaps for the first time in the Indian temple iconography that we find the team of Pandavas together with their wife Draupadi appearing below the reclining Vishnu. However, we do have such examples of Pandavas appearing in temples dedicated to lord Shiva from the 7th century onwards. (This is however, contested. They have now been identifed as four Ayudha Purushas with Madhu and Kaitabha, the demons at the left)

By the time we were back at Lalitpur, it was around 6.00 PM only and therefore we went to a joint near the clock tower of the town famous for their hot mangodas (Pakodas) and returned to the station after a fill. The waiting for the train continued.

Photo credits except first two: Vaticanus

For a Hindi Version Click Here

Rudra Shiva of Tala (Bilaspur)

Around 29 km's South of Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh (India) there are ruins of two temples popularly known as Devrani and Jethani on the banks of the river Maniyari at Tala or Talagaon. Fragmented sculptures lie scattered all around. During the site clearance operations, (although it is named so but factually it was a large scale excavation carried out around the temple ruins) very many huge sculptures, most of them broken, were recovered from under the soil. The complex looked like a grave yard of sculptures. Amongst them one was unique in the sense it defied all attempts to identify it with anything known so far.

sculptures are not made mindlessly. Normally they are supposed to conform to the Shilpa Sastra and the characters are from various mythological beliefs. The one we are talking about, which got christened as Rudra Shiva, does not fit into the framework of known characters. The intricacy of carvings encountered at Tala (Bilaspur) is superb. The ruined structures are massive. Scholars have so far failed to associate them with any of the known art forms viz. Gandhara, Mathura and so on. The period being 6th century AD, one would be tempted to assume that the temple and the art associated with it are derivatives of the Guptan style at its zenith still quite distinctly different. The closest match could be the ruins at Sisdevri of Baloda Bazaar Tahsil in Raipur District of Chhattisgarh.

Devrani Temple Ruins

Although it is very difficult not to talk of very many other features which lend grace to every thing there, we need to confine ourselves to the mystical execution of the so called Rudra Shiva alone for which this post is intended. If one looks at the huge sculpture which is almost 8 feet in height and weighs more than 5 tonnes, it would appear as if it is a massively built demon with emphasis on muscular strength. The sculptor seems to have used every conceivable creature to energize and to form part of its anatomy; serpent seems to have been a favorite. One may even feel as if evolution of life on earth is taken as a theme for this creation. Coming to its various bodily parts, we may perhaps start from top progressively going down.

Jethani Temple Ruins

Two snakes make the head dress. They are tied around like a turban and the hoods crossing each other to give a bow like impression. Two serpent hoods are found above each shoulder. We do not know where the tails rest. The ears are adorned by Peacocks. The nose is made of a descending lizard and so are the eye brows. Eyelashes are either in the pattern of an open mouth of a frog or the mouth of a roaring lion. The upper lip and moustaches are made of two fishes while the lower lips and chin are shaped like a crab. Crocodiles have been depicted as shoulders and both the hands look like coming out of its mouth. Seven human heads are engraved in various parts of the body. Of these a pair of small heads may be seen in either side of the chest. A bigger face forms the abdomen. These three faces have moustaches. Each thigh consists of a pair of heads of which two smiling faces are carved on the front side, while the other two are carved on both sides. Heads of lion are depicted on each knee. The waist band is also designed like a snake and the finger tips on both the arms end with snake heads. The genital organ (Penis) is made of head and neck of a tortoise. Two bell-like testicles are designed as forelimbs of the same animal. A snake is also shown entwining the left leg. Probably the legs are also formed like that of an Elephant but it is not very clear due to the bottom being broken.

At the time of the discovery of this massive idol, it was found lying in a 10 x 4 trench (on the front right of Devrani temple) which was laid out with stone slabs at the bottom. Some mud was poured into it before the sculpture was put down with head downwards and later on filled with soil. There appears to have been a deliberate attempt to bury it under the soil and not due to any accidental fall as otherwise the sculpture could have been found broken. At least the head could not have sustained the fall. Why then this marvelous sculpture was discarded. The only plausible reason seems to be that it was no longer required. Even today we find many construction sites displaying a demon like head to ward off evil eyes. This sculpture too could have been created for a like purpose and when the construction of the temple got completed, this evil catcher was consigned to the grave. A senior archaeologist is of the opinion that there would have been two such sculptures and the second one still remains to be discovered.

According to the Shivapurana (6-9-14):

Rur duhkham duhkha hetum va

tad dravayati yah prubhuh

rudra ityucyate tasmat

Sivah paramakarana

"rur is sorrow or the reason for getting sorrow. The lord who destroys that is called rudrah who is shiva".

Therefore Rudra Shiva could not have been sculptured at Tala in such devilish characteristics.