Temples In India-1.pdf - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKAtemples dedicated to Devi did exist fromearly times, much before the advent ofthe Tirukkamakottam but they were quiteindependent ones dedicated to Durga andcognate fierce aspects of Devi, the villagegoddesses, the guardian deities(goddesses) of towns and cities and fortsand the like. But the Devis-Amman inShaivaite temples and Nachchiyars inVaishnavite temples are saumya orbenevolent forms of Devi-like Uma, Lakshmi,Andal, Valli, Devasena, etc.Likewise, we have the collection of iconsof the sixty-three Shaiva-saints-theNayanmars-in the Shiva temples, some ofthem having distinct shrines of their own.Similarly, the Azhvars or Vaishanavasaints and hymnists. Thus theShaiva and Vaishnava hagiologieshave added immensely to thesculptural and iconographic contentof the Tamilian temples, in additionto the contribution of themes bythe Puranas and Epics that arecommon to the whole subcontinentand it requiresacquaintance with both the Tamiland Sanskrit religious lore tocomprehend the entire spirit andiconographic content andsignificance in these templecomplexes.The related festivals andprocessions of the gods andgoddesses are many and we maymention some of the mostdistinctively outstanding ones. TheKalyana-utsava in which the entireprocess of the wedding of the godand goddess is gone through, withdue pomp and ceremony, is anTEMPLE INDIAannual feature in most temples and themost celebrated ones are those ofMeenakshi and Sundareshvara in Maduraiand Andal and Vishnu in the place of herbirth in Srivilliputtur. The other great festivalthat is unique is the so-called Float-festivalor the Teppotsavam in which the god andgoddess are placed in a vimana like floatand ferried round in the large tank, adjoiningthe temple called the Teppakulam. Thistank is often very large, occupying manyacres as in the case of those of Madurai,Kalaiyarkoil (Ramanathapuram) andTiruvaroor, where it is called theKamalalaya. At the centre of the tank is avimana structure built and called the68