Sudha G. Tilak - Temple Tales: Secrets and Stories from Indias Sacred Places

Sudha G. Tilak

Secrets and Stories from Indias Sacred Places

illustrations by sharanya kunnath

First published in 2019 by Hachette India

(Registered name: Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt. Ltd)

An Hachette UK company

www.hachetteindia.com

This ebook published in 2019

Text copyright 2019 Sudha G. Tilak

Illustrations copyright 2019 Sharanya Kunnath

Sudha G. Tilak asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system (including but not limited to computers, disks, external drives, electronic or digital devices, e-readers, websites), or transmitted in any form or by any means (including but not limited to cyclostyling, photocopying, docutech or other reprographic reproductions, mechanical, recording, electronic, digital versions) without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

The views and opinions expressed in this book are the authors own and the facts are as reported by her. The publishers are not in any way liable for the same.

Print edition ISBN: 978-93-88322-46-1

Ebok edition ISBN: 978-93-88322-47-8

Cover illustration and design by Sharanya Kunnath

Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt. Ltd

4th & 5th Floors, Corporate Centre

Plot No. 94, Sector 44, Gurugram - 122003, India

Originally typeset in Arnhem

by Manmohan Kumar, Delhi

Printed and bound in India

by Manipal Technologies Ltd

To

Aditya Biswas

my sweetest song

my brightest jewel

my rarest bloom

CONTENTS

My earliest memory of temples goes back to Tirunelveli, the town where I was born, in southern Tamil Nadu. My grandfathers home stood in a lane sandwiched between two temples by the River Tamarabarani: the Chokkanathar (Shiva as the dude who slayed) Kovil, and the Vishnu temple we simply called Perumal Kovil. You could hardly ignore these two striking buildings when you stepped out of the house.

Temple visits were a huge part of my summer vacations. A visit to the Nelliappar Temple in Tirunelveli was really exciting for us kids, because it meant getting to feed puffed rice to the eager fish in the temple tank, tug at the long rope chains of the temple chariot during the festival and scramble on the temple elephants back as it ambled down our lane. On festive nights the temples processional deity, covered in gold and garlands, would be taken down our street for the devotees to offer worship.

Our trips to the beach were always marked by a visit to Tiruchendurs Murugan temple on the shoreline. This was followed by the teasing my dear cousin had to endure after each tonsure, as my aunt believed that shaving off the hair on his head was her best offering to the temple deity!

Then there was a visit that involved a thrilling train ride on the bridge over the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean to reach the huge Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram. Another one took us to the Kanyakumari Temple, at the countrys bottom-most end. I remember us kids splashing about in the cold sea water as we watched the drama at dusk, when the sun set over the sea rocks. There was also a trip that involved a breathless trek up the hill in Tiruchi to reach the Ucchi Pillaiyar Temple.

My big sister, who studied botany for a while, was the one who taught me the many names of the temple trees and flowers and provided able company in tasting the insatiable deliciousness of the laddoo from the Tirupati Balaji Temple or the panchamritham from Palani Temple.

Beauty Is Truth

Temples are some of the earliest forms of museums in the world, for in these sacred spaces we can see and understand the past of a region, its people, culture and traditions. They have survived for over thousands of years, holding their might over weather and war.

Those temple visits in my childhood taught me to appreciate some of the most beautiful art forms in India. Sculpture and architecture, dance and music, painting and handicrafts, decoration and design, and above all, stories of devotion and human compassion have all been associated with our temples in some way or the other.

Even today, each time I go to a temple with my mother, she unfailingly murmurs, Look at its beauty first! She then points out the arch of a brow or the curve of a waist of some deity, and stares intensely at the jewellery patterns and the drape of the garments sculpted on the nymphs and goddesses on the pillars and walls (and makes sure I do too!).

While my mother made me appreciate the sights and smells of these journeys, my father filled my head with great many stories of gods and goddesses of these temples at bedtime.

He told me stories of valiant gods and celestial women and the legends around the towns, villages and forests dotted by famous temples. He took great pride in Thanjavur, the land of his ancestors, where the mighty Brihadeshwara Temple stands. As a civil engineer he marvelled aloud at the architecture and engineering skills of the ancients who built such grand structures in Thanjavur.

Did they have cement to glue the stones one on top of another to make those temple towers? Id asked once.

No, but they had an ingenious method of interlocking the stones to build the towers up!

My father explained angles and lines in geometry through temple towers and their alignment, and arcs and parabolas through the arches of pillared halls.

He was quick to point out the irony of the large nuclear plant built in Mahabalipuram the same town where the Pallava kings had built marvels like the Shore Temple.

Temples are treasure troves of tales from the Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the Puranas , regional folklore and moral fables. Since the majority of the stories were narrated and spread through oral traditions, each region and its temples have their own versions of a number of familiar tales, weaved with local folklore and traditions.

The stories around temples are populated by a merry mix of gods and goddesses, mythical creatures, humans and animals. Histories of kings and queens, geography, including seashores and riverbanks, hilltops and caves, jungles and deserts are also all part of this universe.

Temple tales span a range of themes, from families and friendships, to love and hate, good and bad and devotion and doubt. Since temples are meant for prayer and worship there are also stories of piety that are moving and soulful.

While writing this book I realized that some temples are so mighty important that they have left an indelible mark on our history, culture, art and food like the Jagannath Temple in Odisha, the Palani Murugan temple and the Brihadeshwara Temple in Tamil Nadu, the Guruyavurappan Temple in Kerala, the Shree Govindajee Temple in Manipur and many others. Its not wrong to say that these temples have shaped the traditions and culture of the regions where they are located.

A Sacred Gallery

This book is in no way a complete list of all the temples of India. Its a personal and subjective compilation of the sacred spaces that I have visited, marvelled at and read about, and wanted to share with readers, both young and old.