The Naynaar one who played the flute ! a la Krishna

Friends, we are going to see a very interesting Periapuranam panel today. Though they occupy the niches of many temples, not many know the history of the 63 shaivite saints – the nayanmars. Today we are going to see one such unique Nayanar. The Naynaar one who played the flute ! a la Krishna. This post itself arises out of an interesting comment by Dr Kannan, for the previous post on Dancing Balakrishna vs Sambandar – he set me to search for this sculpture. Thankfully ( call it coincidence) Sri Arvind Venkatraman was visiting Darasuram and he clicked this sculpture. So we introduce you to Anaya Nayanar from Darasuram

To read his life history pl visit http://www.shaivam.org/naaanaay.html

On a blessed day, with his head ornamented with flowers of fragrance, forehead full of holy ash that frightens the death, the ash smeared body beautified by a garland, with the flute and the staff took the cows for grazing. It was the season of arrival of monsoon greeted by the dance of the peacock, the song of the creepers swaying in the breeze. He reached the beautiful garden of konRai flowers. The sight of the very konRai flower reminded him of the merciful Lord who wears that flower. He could see only Shiva there. Wherever he saw all the flowers appeared as the form of the Almighty. His mind could do nothing but meditating at that appearance. His thinking could do nothing but surfacing the his great love for God. He could do nothing but showing his unexplainable feelings through his flute. His feelings could do nothing but making the sound of the holy five letter in his flute.

Lets see the sculpture now. You could easily mistake it for Krishna.

Now for the verse – what a delightful verse, ( i did try and learn the flute for sometime) but the comparison of the fingers playing on the holes of the flute to that of a bee over a flower – wow, simply superb.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1214&padhi=72&startLimit=22&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He took the musical vangkiyam in which the interspace
Between the mudra and the first of the eight holes
Measures seven fingers’ breadth;
Like bees that buzz over flowers to gather pollen,
His flute hummed, rose accelerando and stood
Still or caesural; to the pure magna cavum the great one,
— May he flourish for ever –, applied his beauteous lips.

Then what happened read on,its sheer poetry

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1214&padhi=72&startLimit=30&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Dancing peacocks ceased their dance and came
Near unto him; they stood still, enthralled;
As the wafting melody streamed through the ears
And filled their bosoms, the feathered race
Flew to him and stood lost in rapturous music;
The strong neatherds who were working nearby
Abandoned their chores and stood in mute wonder.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1214&padhi=72&startLimit=37&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

It pleased the Lord to hearken to the music
Of Anayar’s flute; with His Consort — a liana of tapas –,
Whose heart is grace and compassion divine,
The brow-eyed Lord — the Cause and Source of Music –,
Through heaven’s highway, with His matted hair
Bright with the crescent, thither appeared.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1214&padhi=72&startLimit=39&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The First One that on His Young Bull appeared before him
Desiring to hear for ever the flute’s melody
Of the great one of righteous and pious mind,
Spake thus: “May you abide with Us even as you are now here.”
Thus, even thus, was he translated to the Lord’s divine presence.

Translation: T.N. Ramachandran ( as from the site)

Now you see, such an interesting piece of poetry and an intriguing tale. Now you know!!!

First year Anniversary post – you need experts to understand Bronzes

Friends, Its with great pleasure that we present to you our anniversary post. Exactly a year ago, urged on by friends and well wishers we embarked on this remarkable journey on uncharted ground. For us, it was a modest start but with lofty ambitions. Its been an eventful 365 days, not restricting to South India and temple art, we have traversed almost the whole of South East Asia, spanning Stone sculpture, Bronzes, Cave art, in the process compiling 150 bi lingual posts covering wide gamut of subjects,sharing a common goal – to spread art awareness.Its been a journey of learning and discovery to us and am sure to our loyal readers as well. Along the way, we met many interesting friends, many who contributed to the richness of this pioneering effort. In our small but significant way, we believe we have succeeded in instilling the love to appreciate sculpture in our readers by presenting them a unique perspective of temple art. A lot of work goes into these posts, sometimes months are spent in researching for the posts, waiting for freinds to share the right photos, the right angles, experts are consulted, rare books are sourced from good friends, the essence of all these are distilled and shared with you in a form that can be appreciated easily by all. As we step into our second year with all your wishes, blessings and support, we present to you another of our special posts.

This is one such post which starts off as a nonchalant conversation and blossoms into a beauty, while emphasizing the need for experts. While discussing with Vairam on the previous post, we discussed the iconography of two very similar looking bronzes. One a dancing Balakrishna and another a dancing Sambandhar. See this exhibit in Tanjore museum ( they are identified properly and exhibited side by side – thankfully – Picture courtesy Satheesh)

To the untrained ( even many museums and sites are not clear) eye, both look very similar and are often mistaken for one another, or given both the titles to be on the safe side.

Take a look at these two bronzes. At first glance, they both seem the same.

But here comes the need for expert advise. Spurred by the doubt, we wrote to one of the foremost experts on bronzes today, Dr Nagaswamy, who replied to us sameday! That advise from the great man himself, who takes time to indulge and educate novices like us, is this post.

Lets look at the bronzes one more time,there seem some subtle differences especially with the pose of the right hand !

We first look at this sculpture of dancing Balakrishna – the clues lie in his right chest. Do you notice the triangular Srivatsam mark just above the right chest !! refer the earlier post on the same. No doubts, its confirmed that this is Krishna. Notice how the right hand is facing the viewer – Abhaya hastam, offering protection to the devotee.

Now, lets see the other sculpture. ( Many thanks to Stuart Lee – the left hand – spectacular capture – from chennai museum and Sakthis for patiently assiting with the others from singapore asian civilisations museum )

This is the more popular bronze, of Saint Sambandhar. The Chola kings were great patrons of Shiva,the very first verse of the Thevaram Hymns were sung by Sambandhar and aptly this sculpture depicts that scene.

According to legend, when Sambandhar was three years old his parents took him to the Shiva temple where Shiva and his consort Parvati appeared before the child.”parvathi fed her milk in a golden cup” . His father saw drops of milk on the child’s mouth and asked who had fed him, whereupon the boy pointed to the sky and responded with the song Thodudaya Seviyan – the first verse of the Tevaram.

Thodudaya seviyan song

the Lord has an ear on which a lady`s ear-jewel is worn.
He rides on a bull.
having worn a spotlessly pure white crescent moon of a single phase.
He smeared himself with the ash in the cremation ground which has the nature of a forest.
the thief who has captivated my mind
this person is really the great one who resides gladly in Piramapuram possessing greatness, where the Lord bestowed his grace on Piramaṉ who is seated in a (lotus) flower having petals, who bowed to him and worshiped him, in the distant past.

For a better understanding of this scene and to hear the verse being recited in this video capture.

Thodudaiya seviyan video
Now, that you have visualised the scene, think of how the sculptor showed this in bronze. And that is the clue to the identity of this bronze as well.

“The father asked who had fed him, whereupon the boy pointed to the sky”
Notice the right hand of the bronze. The index finger.

Let me get you the right photo angle to highlight this point of movement in chola sculpture.

Notice that the index finer is at an angle and gives you a visual impression of being in the process of pointing upwards, its not yet finished traversing to the point of pointing vertically up. Such finesse in sculpting this image. Truly masterclass.

Here are some more splendid bronzes from Delhi Museum, Chennai museum, Freer Museum.

Now, from above its pretty clear to identify the bronzes

Auckland Museum

The srivatsam is quite visible, so its krishna

Hindu wisdom site

This is clearly Sambandhar – as can be seen from the right hand and also the distinct ornamentation of similar bronzes.

Nice article on sculpture but..

The sketch below, while doesn’t show the srivatsam, the right hand index finger does points to the sky. So it should be Sambandhar as per reasoning above.

we thank you all once again for your continued patronage of our site and we look forward to receiving more photos and information from your temple / museum visits.

We take this opportunity to wish all our supporters, well wishers and guides who have stood by us, motivated us and continue to inspire us to do more. The list is endless but our thanks rise from the bottom of our hearts individually to all of you.

Love of a foster mother

The moment we hear of the Indian section of Museum exhibits the world over, we immediately visualise beautiful Chola Bronzes. Most Museums have their fair share of such beauties – we would normally see a Nataraja, a Vishnu, a Somaskanda, Sambandar. But today, being Krishna Jayanthi, thought i would share a very rare bronze from the Cleveland Museum.

The dating of the sculpture as per the exhibit, says it late chola – ie 12 C, basically due to the lack of elaborate ornamentation. But then even very early chola bronzes carried basic ornaments, though they were not very heavy, they were spectacular in designs. In comparison, the images of the shaivite saints were mostly stark in their portrayal keeping their monk like status. So, what is so rare about this bronze. Firstly very few such exist, secondly is the superb handling of the scene. Ok, we are talking of the bronze of Yashoda breast feeding baby Krishna.

Its a very emotional surreal sculpture, a foster mother, offering her breast to her adopted child, a Queen’s son being fed by a milkmaid!! So is this the reason for the sparse ornamentation?

The sculpture is rare, but the scene that it depicts has been sung by the saints long back. Perialwar sings thus

irumalaipola tirintha mallar ( the two wrestlers who roamed as two huge mountains) iruvarangameriseithaai ( burnt their bodies – destroyed). un (your)
thirumalinthuthigazmaarvu ( the heart where lakshmi graciously resides) thekkavanthu ( to store) enalguleri ( you climbed my lap)
orumulaivaaimaduthu ( you took one breast in your lips) orumulaiyai nerudikkondu ( playing with the other breast) irumulaiyum ( both breasts) muraimuraiya yengiyengi iruthunaayo ( one after the other, you satiated your thirst)

What a splendid verse, and noting more required to explain the beauty of this bronze.

But the styling still raises some doubts. Normally chola bronzes are processional images – come with a base with options to stick poles into the holes and carry them. But this doesn’t look like a ceremonial processional image. Maybe made for private collection by a King!! But then Chola Kings especially of that period are said to be a bit biased towards Shaivism!!

picture courtesy

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/07/sss/ho_1982.220.8.htm
http://www.harekrsna.com/gallery/parents1-gallery.htm

If you are in chennai this Aug 15th, please visit our event

http://festival2009.ponniyinselvan.in/

Why would you pardon an assassin?

Hello readers, Today we return to Darasuram once more to study another Periapuranam sculpture. We have already seen the panel on the left – Marar of Ilayankudi. Today we are going to see a simply stunning sculpture fittingly sculpted to suit a fantastic storyline, which showcases the matchless chivalry and valor of a King, who even at the face of death through the hands of a conniving assassin, a dreaded foe who slays him by treachery, displays his noble birth and devotion to the Shiva, by forgiving him. But why did he do that ? Read on ( am going to use the thevaram hymns translations since they are almost like a running commentary /first person account of the events as they unfold)

Lets view the location of this amazing panel.

We are talking of Meiporul Nayanar, a pious king.who ruled over the hill tribes of Sethi and born into the noble clan of Malayamans. The brave king was unconquered in battles and a just ruler.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=12050&padhi=72&button=%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95

His capital was Tiru-k-Kovalur in goodly Sethi realm;
He hailed from Malayaman dynasty which served
Ammai-Appar from generation to generation;
He, the Prince was poised in the noble way true, of the Vedas
And served the Lord’s servitors divining their true wish.

The rich land was the target of a wicked enemy from his neighbouring country. King Muthanathan, many times he tried matching his large Army, with strutting elephants and hordes of soldiers, yet he could not find a way past the forces of Meiporular. He was repeatedly defeated.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=5&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Whilst thus he flourished, a hostile king
Fired by a desire to vanquish him,
Waged wars against him many a time, only to lose
His elephantry and cavalry and infantry,
Thus repeatedly defeated he was sunk in shame.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=6&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The worsted king who could not think of victory
In the field of battle, coming to know
Of the religious piety of Mei-p-Porul, desired
To ape his great habit of wearing the holy ash
And thus win by deception; his mind
Nurtured such unspeakable evil, and he
Prepared for his infiltration into Tiru-k-Kovalur.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=7&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He smeared all over his person the holy ash;
He had his hair matted and tied it into a crown;
He held a mega biblion which concealed a dagger;
Like a lamp thick with black at the wick, his mind
Harboured deception; thus in his false habit of tapas
Mutthanathan barged in.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=9&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The guards of the palace adored him with folded hands,
And said: “The Lord Himself is come! Be pleased to step in!”
He crossed many a threshold and arrived at the last one;
Thither stood Thatthan who beseeched him thus:
“Be pleased to regard the hour; the King slumbers.”

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=14&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He commanded in love his consort, Lakshmi-like,
To hasten to the gynaeceum, and then had him,
— The one robed in the weeds of a tapaswi –,
Installed on a seat, while he himself sat on the ground.
Then he said: “Be pleased to grace me.”

Watch the words above. we will see its importance shortly!

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=15&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He placed on his lap the treacherous scroll
And pretended to unwind the rope binding it.
When the king bowed low reverentially, he drew out
The dagger and did what he intended to do;
The king exclaimed, still adoring:
“The true habit of askesis is indeed the truth supreme.”
(Surely it is) the king
(who) triumphed!

Now, we come back to the sculpture, closeup of the whole panel first first

Now, lets study the panel from left to right. Act 1.

Do you notice the false sage seated on a seat and the king seated on the floor. Do you notice the left hand of the assassin holding a bag like contraption. In his right hand he is holding a dagger and about to decapitate the King. Such indepth knowledge of the storyline of the sculptor to go into such detailing is amazing.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=16&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Thatthan who kept surveillance over him,
Even when he who concealing himself in the garb
Of a tapaswi broke into the king’s chamber,
Now darted into the room, and was about to smite him
With his sword; the king who was to fall down
As blood profusely gushed forth from him,
Stretched out his long arm, prevented his deed
And exclaimed: “Thattha, he is our own.” Then he fell down.

Again we return to the sculpture. Act 2.

We see the body guard flying into action, his garments flayed, sword raised to protect his Lord. But at the moment the King stops him with his stretched out Long arm. All brilliantly captured in stone in such a miniature form.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=17&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Thatthan the servitor who was thus restrained
By the prince who suffered pain and fell down,
Bowed low, and said: “What should I do?”
The prince replied him thus: “Let none obstruct
The devotee of our Lord on his way back.
You go with him and see to his safe passage.”

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=20&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

With effort great, the prince still bore his ebbing life
Only to hear the news that the one of deceptious habit
Had been conveyed safe, unmolested by opposing hordes;
Before him came he who carried out the royal mandate.

Oh, what emotion and melodrama.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1205&padhi=72&startLimit=23&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

To the devotee-prince, the Lord of Himavan’s daughter
Granted darshan in the form in which
He contemplated Him for many a day.
The Lord graced him to attain the shade
Of His ankleted feet inaccessible to the celestials,
And also blessed him with the beatitude
To adore Him for ever.

Thus the sculpture ends his story as well with the final Act.

Truly masterclass.

credits: the verses are from the amazing site www.thevaaram.org
Eng Translation also from same ref: T.N. Ramachandran

My loincloth is priceless

Hi friends, i can hear you laughing, but it no joke, this is another priceless treasure from Darasuram, which denotes the life of Amarneethiyar, one of the 63 Nayanmaars.

Lets look at the location of this miniature panel to start with.

The story is a lesson in how the Lord plays with his devotees, sometimes taking it to real extremes to test the sincerity of a devotee ( wish if they do similar before granting boons !!) . Thanks to http://www.nayanmar.com/abtus.htm and with some verse references from the 12th Tirumurai

Amarneethiyar of Pazhayarai was an honest merchant who used to offer food and clothes including inner-wears to the devotees of Shiva. He had also built a Mutt for pilgrims at Tirunallur.

Once Shiva came in the guise of a devotee and gave him a loin-cloth for safe-keeping till he returned after a bath in the river.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=13&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The Brahmin-lad consenting to what the devotee
Entreated of Him bowing, said: “I’ll bathe
In the divine river Cauvery and return;
In case it rains, keep this (dried) kovanam with you
And return it to me.” This said, He untied
From His staff a white and bright kovanam.

The visitor gave great importance to the loin cloth thus:
http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=14&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

“I need not expatiate to you on the lofty excellence
Of this kovanam; receive it and keep it safe
With you till I return here; be not negligent;
Preserve it yonder and give it back to me.”
Thus He spake and handed it over to him.

Amarneethiyar understanding the importance of the loin cloth !!, did not keep it with the other clothes but in a safe place with adequate security

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=16&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

The peerless servitor who received the kovanam
Bearing in mind the Brahmin‘s instructions,
Did not keep it with his gift-articles
— Kantais, keells, garments and kovanams –.
He thought of a safe place and thither kept it safe.

When he came back, Amarneethiyar found that the lion cloth had vanished from the box.

He brought a new one in its stead but the visitor was full of fury and refused to accept it. He wanted his own “You call yourself a devotee of Shiva Just to rob other devotee’s! of their belonings” he shouted. When Amarneethiyar sought to pacify him, he agreed to receive clothes equal in weight to the spare loin-cloth he was having.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=31&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Then the Lord spake thus: “Apart from the kovanam
We now wear, the one we gave you and which
You allege as lost can be matched by this only.”
He untied the kovanam from his staff and said:
“Give me a kovanam equivalent to its weight.”

Notice how the sculptor has sculpted this little detail as well

The game started, the loin cloth was put on one side of a balance and Amarneethiyar’s cloths on the other. They could not weigh equal to the loin cloth. All the riches of Amarneethiyar proved inadequate to tilt the scales in his favour.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=36&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC
Beholding this, fear-stricken, the devotee spake
To the Brahmin thus: “Even when filled with
Boundless clothing, pure and good, and also varieties
Of innumerable threads, the pan stands thus;
Suffer me to freight it with my other wealth.”
Thus did he, Him beseech.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=39&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Its threads are the import of the Vedas four
Brimming with the puissance of askesis;
It is dear to Siva, the kovanam. So the encomium
— That all the wealth of Amar-Nitiyar in this world
And all the wealth of all the worlds cannot
Match it –, mirrors not its true glory.

It was only when Amarneethiyar ascended the scales along with his wife and son chanting the Panchakshara that the needle of balance became even.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1207&padhi=72&startLimit=40&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

Having witnessed the happening, the peerless one
Standing before Him spake thus: “I have loaded
The pan with all my blemishless wealth; nothing now remains;
O Lord, may I be graced with leave to ascend
The pan with my wife and little child, if considered fit.

Such was the act of complete self-surrender that the Lord extracted from his devotee. Even as the youth vanished, Shiva appeared in the skies with his consort and blessed him. The scales acting as an airship, Amarneethiyar ascended to Shiva’s world along with his wife and child.

See how the Lord plays with his devotees and uses the barest of bare necessities – a loin cloth of all items to test and make them one with him.

verse english version translation are from the site ref and credits
Translation: T.N. Ramachandran

Own Hair as a wick to light a lamp – Kanampula Nayanar Darasuram

Hi friends, we saw an interesting post but it ended with a comma ..”But then is there something else that was used to light a lamp by another naynaar, ” Today we are going to see his story, sculpted in stone in the same Darasuram temple complex. Kanampulla Nayanar.

The panel first

Born into a family of village headmen in Velur, our Nayanar took great pleasure in serving the Lord by lighting up the temple. He spent much of his wealth on this act and slowly fell into poverty. He shifted to Chidambaram to be one with the Lord of dance. He had by then sold his lands, house etc and was in abject poverty. His holy service continued in spite of whatever hurdles he faced. He sold the household articles one by one and lit the lamps in the abode everyday with ghee. Then came the situation when there was nothing left in the house to sell, but too proud to beg, he went to toil in the fields. He cut the straw(kaNampul) in the fields, sold it in the market and with that money continued his service to the lord.

One day he could not sell the straws he brought in spite of all his efforts.Not losing heart, he went ahead to burnt the straw. First act of the sculpture

The straws being dry, burnt very fast and pretty soon he was left with nothing. Still wanting to light up the temple, what did he do??

Not able to get it, lets get closer and view the second act

The Verse reference from thevaram as below:

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1248&padhi=72&startLimit=7&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He who caused the lamps to glow before the Lord
During the appointed hour, could not come by enough
Grass to render duly his service;
Thereupon he that served the Lord in true love
Burnt for a lamp the hair on his head;
He so burnt it that his very bones melted;
Thus, even thus, he burnt away the bondage
And nexus of the twyfold Karma.

He burnt his own hair as a wick. Such was his devotion to the Lord.

A mole that adorns the chest of Vishnu – Srivatsam

Today we are going to see a bronze – not any bronze, but a spectacular Chola bronze. They are world famous for their beauty but its not just beauty that sets them apart. What is it in a Chola bronze that makes them so special?

Is it the craftsmanship, the artistic work, pleasing lines, attention to detail, expressions – no, its all of this put together plus something more. Maybe once you finish this post you will be able to understand what i am trying to convey.

To start with, lets take a look at the bronze, it stands in the Delhi Museum.

Vishnu – the protector. We have seen various forms of stone sculptures, but working in bronze, frees up the craftsmen to really pour out his heart. We have already seen in the earlier post on Bronze Umai of Singapore Museum, about the Lost wax method. But here is a beautiful verse from a unique Devotee, one who fell in love with the Lord, or rather who made the Lord fall in love with her!! Aandal
( A chance search yielded a ref to the verse in English

My beautiful lover, it is as if he has put clay around me and
poured molten metal into my heart.

and thanks to Sri Dhivakar we have the actual verse below)

The verse in transliterated Tamil with meanings below

PASURAM 10.8
mazhaiyE! mazhaiyE! maN puRam pUSi uLLAi ninRa
mezhugu URRinARpOl URRu nal vE’nkaTattuL ninRa
azhagap pirAnAr tammai en ne’njattu agappaDat
tazhuva ninRu ennai tagaittuk koNDu URRavum vallaiyE

Oh rainy clouds! like the clay which embraces the wax mold, which on being fried in the oven melts the wax, The azhagar of tiruvenkatam has embraced me outside, and is melting me inside out and destroying me. Wont you first unite me with Him so that I can embrace Him closely just as I am imagining in my mind, and then shower your rains.

The protector that he is, how does the craftsmen bring the benevolence and love in his face. A face that should be so radiant that it can charm every devotee.

Not only that, he is Alankara Priya. Meaning, loves being dressed up.

Now, we have seen the beauty, but the detailing ( hey i am coming to the topic just now)

Watch carefully. A test to your observation skills as usual.

Ok, a hint, watch closely, just above the right breast.

What is that. Not a barcode or a casting defect. Its the birth mark or mole of Vishnu. Read this sanskrit verse to know what it is ( thanks to Geetha Amma)

durdAntha daithya visikha ksahtha-pathrabhangam
veerasya tE VibudhanAyaka baahumadhyam |
SrIvathsa Kousthubha RamA VanamAlikAnkam
chinthAnubhUya labhathE charithArTathAm na: ||

Oh Dhaiva NaayakA! The unrighteous asurAs fight with You in battles and
wound Your chest with their arrows. You destroy them and yet bear the welt
originating from those arrows of the asurAs like a reminder of those
victorious battles. These arrow marks criss crossing each other on your chest
appear like a varNakkOlam (geometric patterns with different hues). On the
same Chest are seen the blue birth mark (maRu) celebrated as SrIvathsam,
the red gem known as Kousthubham, the wild flower garland revered as
VanamAlai (garland made up of wild flowers) and on top of every thing adorning
Your chest is golden-hued MahA LakshmI, who defines your auspicious
svabhAvam and Svaroopam. All of these special adornments on your chest shed
multiple reflections on the VarNakkOlam caused by the asurA’s arrows.
adiyEn’s mind enjoys the sevai of that valorous chest marked by so many
auspicious lakshaNams and considers itself as the most fortunate among all chethanams.

Now ladies and Gentlemen, thats how you enjoy a Chola Bronze.

A creator’s creation creates his Creator’s likeness – then who is the creator

Today we head back to Pullamangai – Brahmapurisvarar temple. A treasure trove of miniature panels and we are going to see a whole ….lost for the right phrase to describe it!! Want to say something that will sound – like when Steve Irwin lands up on a viper’s nest or a pool filled with crocs. Isn’t she a beauty! Crickey, she’s a fiesty one!! How else to describe these. One particular sculpture, where the master sculptor – the master creator that he is, has tried to create the creator likeness. Well, if a creator creates his creator’s likeness – who is the creator. Read on to understand why i say this.

A very important legend is sculpted into these panels. The legend of Shiva – the one without an end or a beginning, the omni potent and omni present, the legend of Lingothbhava. This is a very important sculpture and a concept that was entwined into later temple building canons to occupy a permanent position on the the Shivaite temple architecture – into the Vimanam, positioned on the rear of the sanctum.

The objective of this post is not to hurt anyone’s sentiments, but just a simple reproduction of the legend as required to explain the sculpture.

There are ofcourse umpteen things to notice in this panel.

To start with we see the whole composition from far. There are 4 different parts of this sculpture and we will take each one in detail to view and study.

The main Lingothbhava sculpture.

The legend first – For the uninitiated, Hinduism’s basic trinity play a big role here – The creator ( must be five faced before this episode) Brahma, The preserver Vishnu and the destroyer Shiva. The story goes thus, once there arose an argument between Brahma and Vishnu, as to whose role / job was bigger and thus who was numer uno. As they kept on arguing, a huge pillar of fire emerged in front of them and a heavenly voice declared that whoever can find the start or end of the pillar is the best. Brahma took the form of a Swan and flew upwards to reach the summit and Vishnu took the form of a Boar and started digging down to find the base. They continued for ages without any success, when finally Vishnu gave up. Brahma on the other hand, noticed a flower falling down. He asked where was it coming from and the flower replied that it was falling down for ages from the top, not wanting to give up, Brahma convinced the flower to lie and brought it as proof to Vishnu to state that he had won the wager and collected the flower from the summit. At this point, from inside the fiery pillar Shiva burst forth and plucked out the lying head of Brahma ( he became 4 faced henceforth), and since he had lied, made a ruling that henceforth he wasn’t fit for worship ( so you generally don’t see Hindu Shrines dedicated to Brahma in India). Incidentally the said flower was also made unfit for worshiping within temples henceforth.

Both Brahma and Vishnu accepted that their ego had made them not realise the obvious that it was Shiva in front of them and he was Aaadhi andan ( endless, no beginning , no end). Now we return to the sculpture to view the characters.

Brahma flying upwards, Vishnu as the Boar boring down. Shiva (sadly badly mutilated) bursting from inside the pillar.

To the left and right, of this main panel – we see amazing sculptures of Brahma and Vishnu.

The facial features of Brahma are so exquisite – despite the legend, the sculptor has not once missed to shape the creator’s likeness – So, if a creator creates his creator’s likeness – who is the creator

Hey, this is not a movie or play, to end with the title. We have more beauties to take notice and enjoy.

We have some spectacular miniatures below the main panel, which we will see one by one. The panels first

We have already seen the famous Chandesaanugrahamurthy sculpture from Gangaikonda cholapuram. He is a pint sized beauty of the same. Shiva is shown fondly bedecking a flower garland on Chandesa’s head.

The next is Vishnu lying down on the coils of Adisesha with Lakshmi and another attendant.

This looks like Shiva and Paravathi – The posture seems to resemble Shiva as Gangadhara

The other side, we have three attendants, heavenly beings or royal persons

Next to them, is a very interesting miniature again – Shiva as Maha Sadhashiva. or is it Brahma??

Down below, we come to the last miniature in the panel ( there are of course some lovely Yaali rows which we will see in another subsequent post)

This has Shiva and Parvathi , kind of sitting on a throne with one leg bent ( upto the Knee) and kind of casually put on the throne. Its so amazing that they could sculpt to this detail in this scale. There is a cute Shiva Ghana by the side as well. Well inorder to truly appreciate the greatness of this we got to give you our signature photo – a scale comparison.

Satheesh’s masterstroke …another miniature from the same temple but with a car key by its side.

Picture courtesy’s are for our inhouse specialist Satheesh and Varalaaru.com archives.

Tanjore Big Temple – Vyaala row

In the previous post, we had seen the top row …many friends, even regular visitors to the Tanjore temple confessed that they have missed that row. So we rub it in a bit more, by featuring the bottom row as well. ( Thanks again to Satheesh for his excellent observation, use of props!! and photography)

Lets see if you can spot them first.

Hmm, let me make this easier for you all

next set

So, lets take a closer look at these beautiful Vyalaas, aren’t they Gorgeous.

The corners of these already miniature Vyalaas are even more spectacular. They have their own emerging rider similar to their bigger cousins on the top row. For good measure they have thrown an even smaller sculpture on top!

The ball pen cover provides us with an idea of scale.

To top all this, we also see a splendid miniature of Shiva as Gajasamharamurhty – Yaaniuri porthiya murthy.

So next time you visit the big temple, don’t just stop in amazement at its massiveness, take time to appreciate the smaller and subtle beauties as well.

The Yaazhi riders of Tanjore

After a series of serious posts, felt we need something light to relax. Plus Prasad said the last post had only few photos and satheesh said i wasn’t publishing enough of his photo contributions. ( same apology to chandra as well). Been quite occupied with work n travel, plus sometimes the story need to fit – dont want to just exhibit some photos – you can go to flickr / picasa for that. So this post is a conscious effort to redress the above, but combining with my favorites…tajore, yaazhi, sculpture.

Yaazhi’s are most probably the least viewed and discussed sculptures. Despite this they find prominent position in almost all major temples. In fact in tanjore there are two rows of Yaali’s which run almost right around the vimana base.

These kind of artistically border the great edicts ( inscriptions ) of my beloved Raja Raja Chola. Being there, standing amidst the massive edifice often leaves me under a spell,the air brings in many familiar scents, to be able to see the words, to be able to read them ( standing for a 1000 years) – its doesnt inspire a sense of awe, but more a feeling of returning to ones home, as though i once belonged there!

Back to the post, we are going to see the top row of impressive Yaazhi riders in this post. there is another row down below, which we will see later ( one thousand thanks to Satheesh for patiently taking these and sending over to me)

At first glance they do look similar, the symmetry is mesmerizing. What you must also notice is that these are action frames, the riders, the prancing yaazhis, the fighters emerging from the mouths are all full of live, frozen in time.

But are they symmetrical, r they just repetitive depictions of the same.

To give you an idea of the size of these beauties, as usual we place a common object..a mineral water bottle

The riders on their part come in a myriad of forms and poses.

The corners of this row of yaazhi riders are interesting as well. An unique mythological animal – a yaazhi as well is shown framing two fighters inside its open mouth – sometimes two yaazhi riders emerge as well. This concept is also seen in various early chola temples ( Chandra and Satheesh – will showcase them as well shortly)