VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKA
In the wake of Bhairava’s work, a number
of versions were written mostly in prose
rather than in the champu kavya style of
the other mahatmyas. A fairly popular
version was written by Katta Varadaraja,
a disciple of Ethirajacharya between 1600
and 1650 A.D. In the 17th and 18th
centuries, a number of versions were
written by Kastoori Rangiah, Pulipaka
Ramanna, Vella Narasimhachari, Sarasvari
Venkata Subbaraya Sastri,
Sriranganathudu, Varamalla
Narasarnatyudu.
The artist in painting the Mahatmya panels
has adopted a rapid narrative pace. He
has been able to pack in all the sub-plots
and minor incidents without losing track,
of the central theme-the peregrination of
the Ranga Vimana. His object has been to
communicate the legends in an easy
manner. Using the label captions to explain
the contents of the conversations, the
artist utilises the mural space to delineate
the main characters of a scene.
The portrayal is static in most panels.
Occasionally, the artist infuses life to the
mood of the story and draws an animated
composition. He does so for example in
portraying the arrival of Kama to distract
Ikshuvaku in his penance and in depicting
Rama’s battle with Ravana. The
pattabhisheka scene, though colourful,
large and filled with portraits and affording
an appreciation of the artist’s repertory, is
attempted more in the manner of a still-
life composition.
The artist employs the technique of
continuous narration effectively to maintain
the story sequence and conveys the
concept of movement. The artist has,
75
TEMPLE INDIA
however, not used the techniques of
shading or flexion to infuse vivacity into
the individual characterisations in the
composition.
The Srirangam Mahatmya painted in the
Tiruvunnazhi and covering sthala purana
legends of this temple could well have been
influenced by a special interest taken up
by Vijayaranga Chokkanatha, who was
himself the author of a Telugu version.
Writing of such Mahatmyas was particularly
popular in the Nayaka period. Just as the
Thiruvunnazhi was appropriately utilized in
Srirangam to exhibit the Sreeranga
Mahatmya on its ceiling, similarly
mahatmyas of a number of other temples
were painted in their respective temples
close to the sanctum. In the late 18th
century, four interesting mahatmyas were
translated into paintings in a similar style
of Srirangam and these are Azhvar
Tirunagari (covering the story of Tiruppuli
Azhvar), Tirupadai-maradur on Karur
Devar’s service to the temple;
Tirumangalakudi in Tanjavur district and
Tirukkazhukundram.
The purpose of painting such mahatmyas
in temples was to popularise the temple
legends and to reach a wider audience.
Hence, we find that the Telugu labels in
these murals do not exhibit the chaste
Telugu literary tradition that we come
across in the works of poets. The object
of portraying the legends was to reach the
common folk and keeping this object in
view, the labels were expressed in colloquia
idiom to convey the essence of the sthala
purana legends.
VIVEKANANDA KENDRA PATRIKA TEMPLE INDIA

Hampi, Karnataka

76