Temples In India-1.pdf - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKAnirazhimandapam, though it is a storeyedvimana and all-round the parapet of thetank is laid a narrow platform on the insidefor the men dragging the float or teppamround, called the alodi. These, besides thecar-festivals (Rathotsava) and others areheld on important and auspiciousconjunctions of asterisms, days of localimportance and the like. The processionannually of the 63 Shaiva Nayanmars alongwith the god and goddess (Kapaleeshvaraand Karpagambal) is unique features of theMylapore (Madras) temple.Thus a broad outline, as given above ofthe most obvious and salient features andcharacteristics of the temples in Tamilnad,would indicate the special contribution ofthe south and Tamilnadu in particular, tothe general Indian heritage and culture,with its long history, as every other regionhas done. For, was it not the South afterimbibing and assimilating the varioussystems of religion and philosophy thatflowed from the north in its own turnpreserved, interpreted and crystallised themto be returned to the whole countrythrough great philosopher saints such asShankara, Ramanuja and Madhva and byway of the Bhakti cults of the Nayanmarsand the Azhvars. In spite of the diversities,there has always been an undercurrent ofpan-Indian thought, culture and way oflife pervading the whole sub-continent.Tamilnadu forms but one of the manyscintillating facets of the gem that is Indiaand its hoary culture.69TEMPLE INDIAPaintings In SrirangamTempleCHITRA VIJIThe Srirangam temple has a number ofpaintings in different locations. Thepaintings in the Tiruvunnazhi cover thesthalapurana legend of Srirangam. Themain shrine, known as the Ranga Vimana,is located in the Rajamahendran Tiruveedi,around this shrine, there is acircumambulatory corridor commonlyreferred to as the Tiruvunnazhi. However,this is mentioned as the DharmavarmanTiruveedi in the Koil-Ozhugu. (The Koil-Ozhugu is a kind of chronicle of theSrirangam temple). It is in this Tiruveedithat we find illustrated the Sthalamahatmyaotherwise known as SreerangaMahatmya in its mural form. As theMoolabera is south-facing, there arecorridors on its western, northern andeastern sides and the paintings are on theceilings of these corridors. Access to thecorridor is restricted as it also gives accessto the gold-plated Ranga Vimana. TheTiruvunnazhi structure may be dated onits architectural style to the Vijayanagaraperiod.A good proportion of the Mahatmyapaintings were damaged when this corridorcomplex was gutted by fire a few yearsago. A fine film of soot overlays most ofthese murals and this hides the true colourtones. The form and style of the artistsuggests that it belongs to the laterVijayanagara or the Nayaka periods.A considerable portion of the westerncorridor is so soot-laden that there is littleartistic merit in the mural art. At the end