VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKA TEMPLE INDIA

temples dedicated to Devi did exist from annual feature in most temples and the
early times, much before the advent of most celebrated ones are those of
the Tirukkamakottam but they were quite Meenakshi and Sundareshvara in Madurai
independent ones dedicated to Durga and and Andal and Vishnu in the place of her
cognate fierce aspects of Devi, the village birth in Srivilliputtur. The other great festival
goddesses, the guardian deities that is unique is the so-called Float-festival
(goddesses) of towns and cities and forts or the Teppotsavam in which the god and
and the like. But the Devis-Amman in goddess are placed in a vimana like float
Shaivaite temples and Nachchiyars in and ferried round in the large tank, adjoining
Vaishnavite temples are saumya or the temple called the Teppakulam. This
benevolent forms of Devi-like Uma, Lakshmi, tank is often very large, occupying many
Andal, Valli, Devasena, etc. acres as in the case of those of Madurai,
Likewise, we have the collection of icons Kalaiyarkoil (Ramanathapuram) and
of the sixty-three Shaiva-saints-the Tiruvaroor, where it is called the
Nayanmars-in the Shiva temples, some of Kamalalaya. At the centre of the tank is a
them having distinct shrines of their own. vimana structure built and called the
Similarly, the Azhvars or Vaishanava
saints and hymnists. Thus the
Shaiva and Vaishnava hagiologies
have added immensely to the
sculptural and iconographic content
of the Tamilian temples, in addition
to the contribution of themes by
the Puranas and Epics that are
common to the whole sub-
continent and it requires
acquaintance with both the Tamil
and Sanskrit religious lore to
comprehend the entire spirit and
iconographic content and
significance in these temple
complexes.
The related festivals and
processions of the gods and
goddesses are many and we may
mention some of the most
distinctively outstanding ones. The
Kalyana-utsava in which the entire
process of the wedding of the god
and goddess is gone through, with
due pomp and ceremony, is an

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VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKA
nirazhimandapam, though it is a storeyed
vimana and all-round the parapet of the
tank is laid a narrow platform on the inside
for the men dragging the float or teppam
round, called the alodi. These, besides the
car-festivals (Rathotsava) and others are
held on important and auspicious
conjunctions of asterisms, days of local
importance and the like. The procession
annually of the 63 Shaiva Nayanmars along
with the god and goddess (Kapaleeshvara
and Karpagambal) is unique features of the
Mylapore (Madras) temple.
Thus a broad outline, as given above of
the most obvious and salient features and
characteristics of the temples in Tamilnad,
would indicate the special contribution of
the south and Tamilnadu in particular, to
the general Indian heritage and culture,
with its long history, as every other region
has done. For, was it not the South after
imbibing and assimilating the various
systems of religion and philosophy that
flowed from the north in its own turn
preserved, interpreted and crystallised them
to be returned to the whole country
through great philosopher saints such as
Shankara, Ramanuja and Madhva and by
way of the Bhakti cults of the Nayanmars
and the Azhvars. In spite of the diversities,
there has always been an undercurrent of
pan-Indian thought, culture and way of
life pervading the whole sub-continent.
Tamilnadu forms but one of the many
scintillating facets of the gem that is India
and its hoary culture.
69
TEMPLE INDIA
Paintings In Srirangam
Temple
CHITRA VIJI
T
he Srirangam temple has a number of
paintings in different locations. The
paintings in the Tiruvunnazhi cover the
sthalapurana legend of Srirangam. The
main shrine, known as the Ranga Vimana,
is located in the Rajamahendran Tiruveedi,
around this shrine, there is a
circumambulatory corridor commonly
referred to as the Tiruvunnazhi. However,
this is mentioned as the Dharmavarman
Tiruveedi in the Koil-Ozhugu. (The Koil-
Ozhugu is a kind of chronicle of the
Srirangam temple). It is in this Tiruveedi
that we find illustrated the Sthala-
mahatmya otherwise known as Sreeranga
Mahatmya in its mural form. As the
Moolabera is south-facing, there are
corridors on its western, northern and
eastern sides and the paintings are on the
ceilings of these corridors. Access to the
corridor is restricted as it also gives access
to the gold-plated Ranga Vimana. The
Tiruvunnazhi structure may be dated on
its architectural style to the Vijayanagara
period.
A good proportion of the Mahatmya
paintings were damaged when this corridor
complex was gutted by fire a few years
ago. A fine film of soot overlays most of
these murals and this hides the true colour
tones. The form and style of the artist
suggests that it belongs to the later
Vijayanagara or the Nayaka periods.
A considerable portion of the western
corridor is so soot-laden that there is little
artistic merit in the mural art. At the end