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Indina 10
Indina 10
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VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKA TEMPLE INDIA
(c.969-976). These forms would appear to Arudradarshana is the most noted festival
be stone copies of the form first realised in Chidambaram.
in bronzes and it is the early Chola copper Another unique feature of the Tamilian
or bronze icons of Nataraja, that more than temple is the inclusion of Chandesha in the
the stone sculptures mark the acme of parivara as an essential deity, with a shrine
perfection and have drawn the appreciation or vimana of his own. He is one of the 63
of aesthetes the world over. The first canonised Shaiva saints or Nayanmars and
mention of ananda-tandava as ananda-k- is considered to be the moolabritya (chief
koottu is by saint Manikkavachagar in his servant or devotee) of Shiva, to whom he
Tiruvachakam (588, Tiruvarttai 42 V.3) all endeared himself by his readiness to
in the same work (3: Keertti-t-tiru akaval). chastise even his own father, who
He states that Shiva danced the ananda- interrupted his devoted worship to Shiva.
koottu for the sake of the sage, Patanjali. The boy devotee was specially blessed by
In the early temples of 10th-11th centuries Shiva who bestowed the (Chandesha
the Nataraja icon, in relief, comes to padam himself, investing the devotee with
occupy a niche on the exterior of the the parivattam (the garland or upper cloth
south-west of the ardhamandapa next to worn by Him) round the boy’s head. This is
Ganapathi. In the later Chola temples, they a way of specially honouring a great
are found in one of the many devakoshthas servant or devotee in Tamilian temples and
on the wall of the vimana itself as in persists even today to honour great
Thanjavur, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and benefactors, devotees and important
Darasuram. Adavallan, the presiding deity personages who visit a temple. Chandesha
of the Chidambaram temple, was the thus came to be the chief guardian and
favourite of the Cholas, for it was in seneschal of the Shiva temple. Its
Chidambaram that they performed their properties and affairs, gift deeds and the
ritual coronation. Rajaraja I made an like are made in the name of Chandesha.
exquisite metal icon of Nataraja-Adavallan The magnificent Chola sculpture group of
of which a precise technical description is Chandeshanugrahamoorti of the
given in his inscription on the temple at Brihadeeshvara in Gangaikondacholapuram
Thanjavur. There is no Shiva temple of any is the classical example of this theme,
importance in Tamilnadu without a metal though many other Shiva temples have
icon of Nataraja. He came to be installed sculptures, or bronzes of the same. The
in separate mandapa temple called the earliest extant sculptural example of this
Sabha-mandapa or Sabha-nayakar kovil theme is found in the intermediate tala of
built facing south, always in the precincts the Dharmaraja ratha in Mahabalipuram and
of a temple complex. Such a mandapa with a beautiful miniature in the hara line of the
a sabha-nayaka shrine with a bronze icon Tiruvaleesvaram temple. An icon of
of the god became the sine quenon of any Chandesha thus became an obligate
Tamilian temple complex. The Arudra feature of the Tamilian Shiva temple and
(Tiruvadirai) festival which falls in December one can see his large sculptuory in the
every year is sacred to Nataraja and the north-east corner of the cloister of
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subsidiary vimanas that surround the court complexes of lesser magnitude are
round the Rajasimheshvara of the Kanchi attached to the north side of the maha-
Kailasanatha complex. Subsequently he is mandapa. In larger lay-outs the Tirukama-
seen in a shrine or vimana of his own among kottam occupies a place in one of the outer
the ashtaparivara (eight parivara sub- courts on the north side and often face
shrines), usually in the one on the north of the same direction (east usually) as the
the main vimana, in the temples of the principal vimana of the god of the temple.
late eight-ninth centuries. It is by the time (e.g. the Darasuram complex and Madurai
of Rajaraja Chola-1, that the Chandeshvara Meenakshi-Sundareshvara). Even as the
shrine got moved from the general parivara presiding gods have distinctive local names,
line closer to the main vimana, on its north their Devis too have corresponding
and to the east of the pranala (or appellations, the Tamil names derived from
gomukam) that projects from the inside the Tevaram or Divya Prabhandam hymns
of the northern side of the main vimana as or the local sthalapurana often
a chute that throws out the abhishekam Sanskritised. Examples would be
water. This position determined by Rajaraja Kapalishavara-Karpagambal (Mylapore),
I, evidently in order to emphasise the Ekamreshvara-Kamakshi (Kanchi),
importance of Chandesha, becomes a Brihadishwara-Brihannayaki (Thanjavur),
fixture for all times thereafter.The temple Nataraja-Sivakamasundari (Chidambaram),
bronzes include one of Chandesha too and Jambukeshvara-Akhilandanayaki
in any festival procession of the god and (Tiruchirappalli), Ramanatha-Parvatha-
goddess preceded by Ganesha too and vardhinee (Rameswaram), Sundareshvara-
Subhramanya, Chandesha brings the rear. Meenakshi (Madurai) and so on. The
This is called the Panchamoorti procession. Tamilian mores could not conceive of the
The most salient feature of the Tamilian presiding deity in Kasi (Varanasi, the all-
temple, however, would be the inclusion in India centre of Hinduism), Vishveshvara,
the temple complex of a vimana or shrine without a consort with the result that a
of Devi as the consort of the god in the temple for Visalakshi has been built there.
main sanctum, with equal prominence in As in the Shiva temples, the Vishnu temples
rites as for the god himself. These are too have their Devi or Nachchiyar shrines
popularly called Amman shrines or Ambal dedicated to Lakshmi with a local name,
Sannidhi as against the name Svami shrine corresponding to that of the God, e.g.
or sannidhi of the principal god consecrated Ranganatha-Ranganayaki, (Sreerangam),
in the temple. The inscriptions call these Varadaraja-Perundevi. (Kanchi),etc. Since
by the name Tirukama-kottam. While they the maiden devotee of Sreevilliputtoor, who
are not to be found in the earliest temple fell in intense love with Her god, Vishnu
complexes, with the advent of this cult and poured her heart out in many devotional
and mode in the late eleventh or the early hymns in praise of her chosen lord, was
twelfth century, these earlier temples came deified as Andal or Godai, she too came to
to be provided with such Amman shrines. have a shrine of her own in Vishnu temples
These face south usually and in temple of Tamilnadu. It should be stated here that
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