- Assistant Professor
School of Tamil, Indian Languages and Rural Arts,
Gandhigram Rural University,
Gandhigram - 0091-9842547822 & 0091-9540609848
- Jawaharlal Nehru University, School of Arts and Aesthetics, Faculty Memberadd
- Art History, Art, Iconography and Religion (Hindu and Buddhist)., South Asian Studies, Vijayanagara Art, Vijayanagara-Nayaka, Ardhanarisvara, and 57 moreFine Arts, Visual Arts, Hindu Mythology, Tamil Literature, Religious Studies /Indology, Hindu Shakta Tantra, Women In Hinduism, Goddess Cultures In India, Divine Androgyne, Chastity, Cola Bronzes, Pattini, Colombo Museum, Tamil Epics, Astavirattanam, Alvars, South Indian Iconography, Thanjavur Art Gallery, Nayanmars, Ganapati, Comparative study of Japanese and Tamil proverbs & idioms, Idioms In Sanskrit, History, Philosophy, Anthropology, Archaeology, Religion, Religious Studies, History of Religion, Buddhism, Asian Studies, Oral Traditions, History of Religions, Buddhist Studies, Indian studies, Hinduism, Sanskrit language and literature, History of India, Sanskrit, Colonialism, Imperialism, Empire, Indology, South Asia, South Asian Archaeology, Indian ancient history, South Asian Religions, Cultural Studies, Indian Philosophy, Indian Art, South Asian Art, Indian art and architecture, Sperm Competition, Divyadeśa (Divyadesam), Tamil, Iconography and Iconology, and Kūttaṉ / Naṭarāja / Natarajaedit
- R.K.K. Rajarajan, Assistant Professor in Fine Arts at Gandhigram Rural University, Gandhigram. He has worked as Assoc... moreR.K.K. Rajarajan, Assistant Professor in Fine Arts at Gandhigram Rural University, Gandhigram. He has worked as Associate Professor in Visual Studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Assistant Professor in the Eritrean Institute of Technology, Asmara. He was an Alexander von Humboldt Post-doctoral Fellow, in the Institut für Indische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany. He is a prolific contributor to international journals and published works from Netherlands, Rome, Naples, Berlin, Reinbeck, Oxford, Routledge and several more in India. His works on Art of the Vijayanagara Nāyakas, and Mīnākṣī-Sundareśvara: Tiruviḷaiyāṭaṟ Purāṇam in Letters, Design and Art are norm-setting.edit
The work aims to focus on a single event, the 'Sītāpaharaṇam' of the Rāmāyaṇa, and discuss the nuances of varying cultural springs between different readings. Earlier, I have compared the Sītāpaharaṇam of Vālmīki (c. 1000-500 BC) and... more
The work aims to focus on a single event, the 'Sītāpaharaṇam' of the Rāmāyaṇa, and discuss the nuances of varying cultural springs between different readings. Earlier, I have compared the Sītāpaharaṇam of Vālmīki (c. 1000-500 BC) and Kampaṉ (12 th century CE), the two mahākavis in Sanskrit and Tamil separated by a gap of nearly two millennia. Due to some oversight, earlier I had missed the Malaiyāḻam maestro, Tuñjat Rāmānuja Eḻuttaccaṉ that comes 500 years after Kampaṉ. The sociological notion (i.e., the concept of chastity [Tamil kaṟpu, cf. Cilappatikāram, also Tirukkuṟaḷ, atikāram 6] of an alien touching an orthodox Indian
Research Interests:
Maturai was known Nāṉmāṭakkūṭal 'city of four ancient temples' and its Śiva temple as Ālavāy 'poison-mouth'. A hymn in Paripāṭal refers to Maturai as pū muṭi nākar nakar 'Nāga holds the city on its head'. Tiruviḷaiyāṭaṟ Purāṇam introduces... more
Maturai was known Nāṉmāṭakkūṭal 'city of four ancient temples' and its Śiva temple as Ālavāy 'poison-mouth'. A hymn in Paripāṭal refers to Maturai as pū muṭi nākar nakar 'Nāga holds the city on its head'. Tiruviḷaiyāṭaṟ Purāṇam introduces the city as Nīlavāymaṇicerkaṇṭaṉ's [Skt. Nīlakaṇṭha 'one whose throat is blue, as he consumed the halahala 'poison'] abode. The above hints mark, Śiva as one of the ancient serpent-god of the region, and in the later period it becomes
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Hindus worship deities of anthropomorphic origin, while rural and tribal groups make their own deities grāmadēvatas and kuḷadēvatas based on their heroic deeds. The Virgin Mother Goddess is prevalently deified all through the nation.... more
The Hindus worship deities of anthropomorphic origin, while rural and tribal groups make their own deities grāmadēvatas and kuḷadēvatas based on their heroic deeds. The Virgin Mother Goddess is prevalently deified all through the nation. The Sapta Mātṛkas are popularly known as Ēḻukaṉṉimār 'the seven virgins' in Tamil Nādu, especially with the tribal and rural populace, they are also called Sapta Kaṉṉika, Akasa Kaṉṉika and so on in South India. Unlike a formal Brahmanical God with rūpa, these village deities are arūpa and their power can only be felt, as the Tamil Classical term aṇaṅku 'possessed' śakti. The possessed power of the woman in Tamil tradition is virginity, chastity, and versatile motherhood. These chaste-virgin goddesses are not mere personalities but felt as forces of their natural environments, and their powers need to be used cautiously. It is imperative to comprehend the idea of these goddesses and is supple and mutable from one locality to the other with the relocation of the community settlements. The Seven Chaste women noted in the Cilappatikāram through the Sapta Kaṉṉikas reach a stage of maturation in the Sapta Mātṛkas. However, faint imagery of the Sapta Mātṛkas is traced back to the Indic culture whereas the Sapta Kaṉṉikas are frozen in the folk cult and the worship pattern is associated with the femme.
Research Interests:
Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu, especially Vaiṣṇava images, do appear in three different postures such as seated - āsana, standing - sthānaka and reclining -śayana. Though philosophies have different messages to transmit, the postures in... more
Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu, especially Vaiṣṇava images, do appear in three different postures such as seated - āsana, standing - sthānaka and reclining -śayana. Though philosophies have different messages to transmit, the postures in iconography are of universal design. These may suggest some unity of thought in devotional inheritances. The present article examines two specimens each from Buddhist, Roman Christian, and Vaiṣṇava iconography to underline the unity of design and material among the religious iconographies. The selected specimen may belong to an assorted chronological scheme rooted in thoughts of ancient scriptures of the respective creeds. The method of approach is to consider the composition and textiles. The interpretations are not philosophical even if some contemplation in Sanskrit and Tamil appear dogmatic. Indian iconographic terms (see Liebert 1986, Bunce 1997) are used commonly, which are applicable universally (Lederle n.d.: figs. pp. 28, 67, 84; Figs. 5-6). The article strives to present a cross-cultural picture of Buddhist, Christian, and Vaiṣṇava art, casually hinting at Śaiva and Śākta.
Research Interests:
This article is a summary of 60+ hymns on and organizing principle of the structure of the temple, its s (nine holy lands). The literature clearly recognizes the importance of this venue with reference to its landscape, , , cultic values,... more
This article is a summary of 60+ hymns on and organizing principle of the structure of the temple, its s (nine holy lands). The literature clearly recognizes the importance of this venue with reference to its landscape, , , cultic values, mythologies, the visual iconography of the temple that evolved under which is often neglected by scholars.
Research Interests:
Vāhanas are vehicles of the Hindu gods and goddesses that are taken in ulā “procession” during annual festivals. These are mostly in the zoomorphic form of animals or birds, trees, palanquins and above all chariots, called tēr “temple... more
Vāhanas are vehicles of the Hindu gods and goddesses that are taken in ulā “procession” during annual festivals. These are mostly in the zoomorphic form of animals or birds, trees, palanquins and above all chariots, called tēr “temple car” (Kalidos 1989). The vāhanas and chariots in wood as a recognizable theme for research was the pioneering work of Raju Kalidos whose thesis (Madurai Kamaraj University 1981) was commended by the experts Mario Bussagli (Rome), Pierre Sylvain-Filliozat (Paris), S. Settar (Dharwad) and Maurizio Taddei . I come to know earlier a French scholar, by name Rita Regnier, evinced some interest in the subject but I do not find any authentic report by this scholar in English (Kalidos 1988: 98n) . Following the articles of Kalidos 1986 & 1988 in East and West and JRAS, George Michell 1992 edited a book for the Marg in which he wrote on the temple cars. In the same volume of Marg, J.P. Waghorne wrote on the vāhanas under note. Michell in his bibliography has noted Raju Kalidos 1986 & 1989. J.P. Waghorne seems to have not collected a thorough bibliography on the subject of her research because the author fails to note some important works, that have presented an exhaustive account of the vāhanas in addition to tērs with many useful illustrations and clues from literature and epigraphy (Kalidos 1989: 45-47, figs. 6-12). Later Anna L. Dallapiccola 1994 wrote an account of the Rāmāyaṇa sculptures in the Rāmasvāmi temple car at Kuṃbhakōnam, which is a mere charting of the programme of images with no critical analysis. This was followed by another meticulous documentation of the Kūṭal Aḻakar tēr at Maturai by R.K.K. Rajarajan 1998. A British scholar of the SOAS who devoted his attention to the methodology of Nāyaka art that published the same article twice has not even noted the tēr of the Kūṭal Aḻakar temple (Branfoot 2000, 2000a), which is a splendid monument of the Maturai Nāyakas. Rajarajan (2006: 199-201) also presented a diagrammatic presentation of the Rājagopālasvāmi Āṭi tēr in his doctoral thesis. Raju Kalidos advised all his doctoral wards to take into account the wooden vāhanas and chariots in the temples studied by them (e.g., Karkuzhali 2005). By this way, many of the chariots in the Kāviri delta have been examined and brought to light. K. Kandan (Thanjavur 1999), has worked on the iconographic programme of temple cars in the Tañcāvūr area, having selected about ten temple cars.
Research Interests:
The present article is exclusively designed to suit the conference 'Demonology in South and Southeast Asian Sculptural Art', but the work extemporaneously deviates from the main concept (note) of the conference. In Hinduism, not all the... more
The present article is exclusively designed to suit the conference 'Demonology in South and Southeast Asian Sculptural Art', but the work extemporaneously deviates from the main concept (note) of the conference. In Hinduism, not all the demons are heinous and harmful; especially female demons are not always seducers of men. A paragon from the early bhakti Tamil literary tradition is Kāraikkālammaiyār, her malicious transformation from a charming maid to pēy 'ghoul'. Tiruvālaṅkāṭṭu-mūttatiruppatikam (1.1) clearly emphasizes her transformation: koṅkai tiṟuṅki narampoḻuntu kuṇṭukaṇ veṇpaṟ kuḻivayiṛṛup paṅki civantiṟu paṟkaḷnīṇṭu paṟaṭuyaṟ nīḷkaṇaik kālōṛpeṇpēy taṅki alaṟi ulaṟum kaṭṭil tāḻcaṭai eṭṭut ticaiyumvīci aṅkaṅ kuḷintaṉal āṭumeṅkaḷ appaṉ iṭantiṟu ālaṅkāṭō veins protruding breasts / bulging eyes/ white teeth / ravenous belly red hair / long fangs / bony ankle with legs / the female ghoul / reside / howl and scream in the burning cremation forests / matted hair spinning around eight directions cooling the body from the heat/ dancing (is) my father / exist in Tiruvālaṅkāṭu The saints who propagated the cult of Śiva during the medieval period in South India were 63
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
It is a known fact that contact between the Tamil country and Southeast Asia, including Śrī Laṅkā and China was a long-established tradition. References to the yavanas in Tamil Caṅkam literature and the notes supplied by Greek, Roman, and... more
It is a known fact that contact between the Tamil country and Southeast Asia, including Śrī Laṅkā and China was a long-established tradition. References to the yavanas in Tamil Caṅkam literature and the notes supplied by Greek, Roman, and Egyptian classical authors would establish the fact that commercial intercourse between the east and west was an immemorial process 1 , datable to at least a few centuries earlier than the Christian era 2. However, it was under the Pallavas and Cōḻas that the arts of the country made a daring intrusion into the distant lands 3. In this process of sharing artistic idioms from the subcontinent, the Āndhras of the Amarāvati School, the Guptas, and the Pālas of Beṅgal played a vital role. The Pallava link with the Malaya peninsula was blood-based because a collateral branch of the family is said to have ruled the distant land under Hiranyavarmaṉ whose son Nandivarmaṉ Pallavamalla (731-96 CE) became the ruler of Kāñci when there was no direct male heir to occupy the throne after the premature death of Parameśvaravarmaṉ II (Minakshi (1941), Subramaniam (1967) 80-94).
Research Interests:
The importance of the medieval art history of Southeast Asia is still a virgin site, which needs to be explored with multi-disciplinary approach and methodology. The transcultural aspects between India and Southeast Asia from ancient to... more
The importance of the medieval art history of Southeast Asia is still a virgin site, which needs to be explored with multi-disciplinary approach and methodology. The transcultural aspects between India and Southeast Asia from ancient to late medieval period cannot be contemplated through a single medium, it need to be analyzed from various angles through religious sources, philosophical materials and visual contents. The main focus of the present study is on interlinks of religious arts. Few iconographical sample forms from the various monuments of Angkor are taken for critical analysis, such as Śeṣaśāyī, Vamana, Kāḷiyamardana and Dance of Śiva. The common designs in iconographic cornice will have to be recognized in comparative religious studies, getting beyond the shackles of spirituality if we are to discover the ancient heritages. There is no much deviation in representation of the Buddhist and Hindu imagery in India and Southeast Asia but the localization is visually sensed. The cultural links of ancient Indian Knowledge System between Southeast Asia, China and Japan is entangled in the annals of the history.
Research Interests:
The article aims to focus on a single event, the ‘Sītāpaharaṇam’ of the Rāmāyaṇa, and discuss the nuances of varying cultural spring between different readings. Earlier, I have compared the Sītāpaharaṇam of Vālmīki (c. 1000-500 BC) and... more
The article aims to focus on a single event, the ‘Sītāpaharaṇam’ of the Rāmāyaṇa, and discuss the nuances of varying cultural spring between different readings. Earlier, I have compared the Sītāpaharaṇam of Vālmīki (c. 1000-500 BC) and Kampaṉ (12th century CE), the two mahākavis in Sanskrit and Tamil (Rajarajan 2001) separated by a gap of nearly two millennia. Due to some oversight, earlier I had missed the Malaiyāḻam maestro, Tuñjat Rāmānuja Eḻuttaccaṉ that comes 500 years after Kampaṉ. The sociological notion (i.e., the concept of chastity [Tamil kaṟpu, cf. Cilappatikāram in Rajarajan 2016, also Tirukkuṟaḷ, atikāram 6]1 or an alien touching an orthodox Indian woman, cf. the treatment meted out the Pāñcāli by the Kauravas. I may emphatically say a cultural behavior of 1000 or 500 BCE (Vālmīki) could not have been the same in 1200 CE (Kampaṉ) or 1700 (Eluttaccaṉ). The subject deserves a much more elaborate treatment from the literary and visual genres and the celluloid arts such as cinema. A Trans- or cross- textual-cultural argument is warranted between South and Southeast Asian Arts, plastic (sculpture and painting), and performing (dance-drama) or the celluloid (cinema) world, instantly shedding some light on Indonesian ballets. The article is in three segments: 1) Literary background of the Rāmāyaṇa, 2) Visual arts with particular bearing on Cinema and Indonesian ballets of Rāma-kathā, and 3) western plastic and pictorial arts.
Research Interests:
Ardhanārīśvara has been the favorite theme of researchers ever since T.A. Gopinatha Rao 1914 and H. Krishna Sastri 1916 wrote on the subject. It acquired momentum with the monumental publication of Marguerite E. Adiceam’s (1967: 143-64)... more
Ardhanārīśvara has been the favorite theme of researchers ever since T.A. Gopinatha Rao 1914 and H. Krishna Sastri 1916 wrote on the subject. It acquired momentum with the monumental publication of Marguerite E. Adiceam’s (1967: 143-64) brilliant article. These scholars concentrated mainly on an iconographic devise of “Half-woman Īśvara” (ardha-nārī-Īśvara, literally meaning “Half is a Woman of Īśvara/Śiva”, an androgynous person or a hermaphrodite, not an epicene or eunuch) and paid attention mainly to the Sanskrit sources of thought, especially the āgamas and śilpaśāstras. In visual illustrations the image could easily be identified with reference to the feminine (mammalian) gland appearing on the left half of the image (Figs. 1-2). The pūrvasūtra, drawn from the topknot above to the soles below, represented features typical of a God and Goddess on the right and left halves of an image. The stana (Tamil mulai “breast”) appears on the left. In some cases, the male-half was fitted with two hands and the left half with one; Śiva carrying the ṭaṅka or mṛga in the parahasta and Devī holding a nīlotpala; the hands are four according to the Kāraṇāgama, cited in Śrītattvanidhi 3. 57. The front right hand on the Svāmi side is in abhayamudrā. If caturbhuja, the front right hand on the Devī side do show the varadamudrā. In the wooden image illustrated (Fig. 1) the male half carries the ṭaṅka in a hand. The female half carries the bud of a lotus and the other is ḍolahasta. Nandi, the vāhana of Śiva, appears on the behind the composite image. The forehead on the Svāmi side shows a partial third eye, tritīyanetra. This is to show the masculine superiority of the theme (for an analysis of diagnostic features see Goldberg 2010). In this article we have also given the example of a very rare image of seated Dakṣiṇāmūrti as Ardhanārī (Fig. 2). The canons were unanimous in telling the feminine should appear on the left half (Fig. 2). The early medieval tradition of the syncretistic god/dess has been elaborately discussed in a recent study (Kalidos 2006: Chap. I) to which saga the Aihole image that we consider in this essay belongs (infra). Ideologically such an image has been viewed from various angles representing male chauvinism as the feminist may consider it or a harmonious blend of Puruṣa “Cosmic Man” (vide, Puruṣasūka in the Ṛgveda) and Prakṛti “Cosmic Female”, leading to Cosmic Creation.
Research Interests:
Buddhism and Jainism are the twin in Tamil literary tradition broadcasting dharma in the Asian world; the “Light of Asia” of Sir Edwin Arnold. The Tamil masterpieces, Cilappatikāram and Maṇimēkalai are called the ‘Twin Epics’. The other... more
Buddhism and Jainism are the twin in Tamil literary tradition broadcasting dharma in the Asian world; the “Light of Asia” of Sir Edwin Arnold. The Tamil masterpieces, Cilappatikāram and Maṇimēkalai are called the ‘Twin Epics’. The other Tamil epics Kuṇṭalakēci, Nīlakēci and Civakacintāmaṇi, including the Patiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakku (Eighteen Minor/Didactic Works) are Buddhist-Jain oriented (c. 2nd-9th century CE). It seems the Jains were the earliest to arrive in Tamilnadu to propagate dharma anterior to the time of Candragupta Maurya (c. 325-301 BCE) that is proved by the recent discovery of Tamil-Brahmī inscriptions, dated in c. 450 BCE by radio-carbon method.
An inscription in the Ādivarāha-mahā-Viṣṇu-gṛha (rock-cut temple) of Māmallapuram (ARE 1922, no. 663) includes the Buddha among the daśāvatāras of Viṣṇu. Sculptural evidence to this effect is found in the Pāpanāseśvara temple at Alampūr (c. 8th century) in Āndhradeśa. The Śṛṅgeri temple in Karnāṭaka (c. 8th-14th centuries) includes the Jain-Tīrthaṅkara among the avatāras of Viṣṇu. These might suggest the Indian religions amicably fostered the gospels of peace [śātiḥ], righteousness [dharma] and justice to all [nīti] from time immemorial. The scope of the present article is three-pronged:
1) To show how Buddhism and Jainism is twin as pointed out by the nāmāvalis (epithets) of the Buddha and Mahāvīra-Tīrthaṅkara in the Tamil epics
2) To summarize the epigraphical sources to pinpoint the antiquity of Buddhism and Jainism in Tamilnāḍu
3) To locate historical visuals those include the Buddha and the Jina as avatāras of Viṣṇu leading to universal religious harmony
The aim of the religions of South Asian origin is to broadcast the messages of peace and prosperity for the Cosmos. Names may vary from the Indic or the Vedic to the purāṇic (e.g. Paśupati, Viṣṇu, Gautama-Buddha, Mahāvīra) but their avowed ambition was to see the Cosmos fosters Dharma and Śāntiḥ. Reflections in this essay are random on South India literature, epigraphy and iconography.
An inscription in the Ādivarāha-mahā-Viṣṇu-gṛha (rock-cut temple) of Māmallapuram (ARE 1922, no. 663) includes the Buddha among the daśāvatāras of Viṣṇu. Sculptural evidence to this effect is found in the Pāpanāseśvara temple at Alampūr (c. 8th century) in Āndhradeśa. The Śṛṅgeri temple in Karnāṭaka (c. 8th-14th centuries) includes the Jain-Tīrthaṅkara among the avatāras of Viṣṇu. These might suggest the Indian religions amicably fostered the gospels of peace [śātiḥ], righteousness [dharma] and justice to all [nīti] from time immemorial. The scope of the present article is three-pronged:
1) To show how Buddhism and Jainism is twin as pointed out by the nāmāvalis (epithets) of the Buddha and Mahāvīra-Tīrthaṅkara in the Tamil epics
2) To summarize the epigraphical sources to pinpoint the antiquity of Buddhism and Jainism in Tamilnāḍu
3) To locate historical visuals those include the Buddha and the Jina as avatāras of Viṣṇu leading to universal religious harmony
The aim of the religions of South Asian origin is to broadcast the messages of peace and prosperity for the Cosmos. Names may vary from the Indic or the Vedic to the purāṇic (e.g. Paśupati, Viṣṇu, Gautama-Buddha, Mahāvīra) but their avowed ambition was to see the Cosmos fosters Dharma and Śāntiḥ. Reflections in this essay are random on South India literature, epigraphy and iconography.
Research Interests:
The inspiration for the article was a Congress held at the Sapienza Università di Roma a decade ago (2O11), where Italian scholars spoke of the withering status of stucco images in the art of Gandhāra. The vanishing image must be recorded... more
The inspiration for the article was a Congress held at the Sapienza Università di Roma a decade ago (2O11), where Italian scholars spoke of the withering status of stucco images in the art of Gandhāra. The vanishing image must be recorded in archaeological registers, especially in certain countries where religious vestiges of ancient religions are under threat. The Italians have done a fantastic job in Herculaneum and other sites in Naples by giving life to the burnt down archaeological ash-fossil monuments. At the same time, should we not record the tens of thousands of living stucco images on the gopuras and vimānas of temples in South India that are living testimonies of archaic dematerializing hoary testimonies. Stucco is a much-neglected area in Indian art history of which we find sixteenth-century vestiges in Vijayanagara/Hampi. This brief article deals with the Vijayanagara-Nāyaka period stucco images that were modified and repainted in recent time in the Kaṃpahareśvara temple at Tribhuvaṉam of the later Cōḻas. A few specimens are examined from among the hundred found in the massive vimāna and gopura.
Stucco images found on gopuras and vimānas, including maṇḍapas (on prastara elevation) of the South Indian temples, particularly Tamilnāḍu, have rarely been seriously considered by historians of Indian art. The author was lucky to note Italian professors were presenting papers on the ruined stucco images in Gandhāran art (datable to the pre-CE and early CE) in a conference organized by the Sapienza Università di Roma. Anna Filligenzi, Rosa Maria Cimino, Ciro Lo Muzio and Giovanni Verardi (Lorenzetti & Scialpi 2012) spoke on the ruined status of Gandhāra art in stucco. The Italians would fascinate the mixed Hellenic, Indo-Roman Gandhāra if the German scholars were after the Mathurā School following Herbert Hӓrtel. It was a matter of concern (cf. R.K.K. Rajarajan 2014) for one from South India, particularly Tamilnāḍu because the gopuras and vimānas in this subcontinent region are studded with a variety of stucco images in tens of thousands. When Italian scholars talk about the dilapidated temples and ruined stucco images, why not say something of the living images (R.K.K. Rajarajan 2011). They being perishable, is it not the bounden duty of the archaeologist to record the relics? The present report is based on a visit to the Tribhuvaṉam (cf. Bhuvaneśvarī, Tripura, Ta. Muppuram, Tiripuvaṉam, tri-lokas) temple with a few German colleagues. The temple is later Cōḻa with Vijayanagara-Nāyaka additions. Earlier studies have adequately examined the history and architectural features (Srinivasan 1948, Balasubrahmanyam 1966, 1971, 1978, 1979, 1988, Sarkar 1974) and a recent doctoral thesis (Subramanian 2011).
Stucco images found on gopuras and vimānas, including maṇḍapas (on prastara elevation) of the South Indian temples, particularly Tamilnāḍu, have rarely been seriously considered by historians of Indian art. The author was lucky to note Italian professors were presenting papers on the ruined stucco images in Gandhāran art (datable to the pre-CE and early CE) in a conference organized by the Sapienza Università di Roma. Anna Filligenzi, Rosa Maria Cimino, Ciro Lo Muzio and Giovanni Verardi (Lorenzetti & Scialpi 2012) spoke on the ruined status of Gandhāra art in stucco. The Italians would fascinate the mixed Hellenic, Indo-Roman Gandhāra if the German scholars were after the Mathurā School following Herbert Hӓrtel. It was a matter of concern (cf. R.K.K. Rajarajan 2014) for one from South India, particularly Tamilnāḍu because the gopuras and vimānas in this subcontinent region are studded with a variety of stucco images in tens of thousands. When Italian scholars talk about the dilapidated temples and ruined stucco images, why not say something of the living images (R.K.K. Rajarajan 2011). They being perishable, is it not the bounden duty of the archaeologist to record the relics? The present report is based on a visit to the Tribhuvaṉam (cf. Bhuvaneśvarī, Tripura, Ta. Muppuram, Tiripuvaṉam, tri-lokas) temple with a few German colleagues. The temple is later Cōḻa with Vijayanagara-Nāyaka additions. Earlier studies have adequately examined the history and architectural features (Srinivasan 1948, Balasubrahmanyam 1966, 1971, 1978, 1979, 1988, Sarkar 1974) and a recent doctoral thesis (Subramanian 2011).
Research Interests:
Peerless Manifestations of Devī In Hinduism, the śāstras list many iconographical forms of Devī. Nevertheless, for a number of them, there is no existing material rendition. The present article examines the cases of a few such... more
Peerless Manifestations of Devī In Hinduism, the śāstras list many iconographical forms of Devī. Nevertheless, for a number of them, there is no existing material rendition. The present article examines the cases of a few such iconographical forms, those of Ṣaḍaṅgadevī, Catuṣṣaṣṭikalādevī, Śītalādevī, Daśamudrā and Trikaṇṭhakīdevī. Śilpaśāstras enumerate the pratimālakṣaṇas of these goddesses elaborately. It is an enigma why material evidence that is expected to portray the canonized form is missing. However, recently a few models have become available that get closer to the Śāstraic notions. These redesigned entries add a new dimension to the iconography of the goddess. The present article deals with some rarities in the realm of Śakti iconography based on the Śrītattvanidhi in its Tañcāvūr Sarasvatī MahalLibrary edition.
Research Interests:
Peerless Manifestations of Devī In Hinduism, the śāstras list many iconographical forms of Devī. Nevertheless, for a number of them, there is no existing material rendition. The present article examines the cases of a few such... more
Peerless Manifestations of Devī In Hinduism, the śāstras list many iconographical forms of Devī. Nevertheless, for a number of them, there is no existing material rendition. The present article examines the cases of a few such iconographical forms, those of Ṣaḍaṅgadevī, Catuṣṣaṣṭikalādevī, Śītalādevī, Daśamudrā and Trikaṇṭhakīdevī. Śilpaśāstras enumerate the pratimālakṣaṇas of these goddesses elaborately. It is an enigma why material evidence that is expected to portray the canonized form is missing. However, recently a few models have become available that get closer to the Śāstraic notions. These redesigned entries add a new dimension to the iconography of the goddess. The present article deals with some rarities in the realm of Śakti iconography based on the Śrītattvanidhi in its Tañcāvūr Sarasvatī MahalLibrary edition.
Research Interests:
The Early Pāṇḍyas and the Pallavas were contemporaries, dated c. 550–850 ce. South Indian art of this period falls under the dynastic lineages of Western Cālukyas, Eastern Cālukyas, Pallavas, Early Pāṇḍyas and Rāṣṭrakūṭas. The... more
The Early Pāṇḍyas and the Pallavas were contemporaries, dated c. 550–850 ce. South Indian art of this period falls under the dynastic lineages of Western Cālukyas, Eastern Cālukyas, Pallavas, Early Pāṇḍyas and Rāṣṭrakūṭas. The iconographical idioms familiar in their arts are Siṃhavāhinī and Sapta Mātṛkās. Siṃhavāhinī to an extent was popularized by the Western Cālukyas, as shown in the rock-cut temples of Ellora. The Pallava structural temples of Kāncīpuram include a number of images. An analogous iconographic theme is Kalaiamarcelvi/Mṛgavāhinī. Sapta Mātṛkās was a theme popularized by the Guptas. As far as our present knowledge goes, the geographical range of Siṃhavāhinī extends southwards as far as Kāncīpuram, and the Mātṛkās go further southward, as far as Paraṅkuṉṟam. However, as a breakthrough we discovered images of Siṃhavāhinī and the Mātṛkās in a small hamlet at Vēppaṅkuḷam in the Śrīvilliputtūr circle, Tamilnāḍu. Kalaiamarcelvi had so far come to light only in northern Tamilnāḍu. The discovery of Siṃhavāhinī and the Mātṛkās in the far south is crucial because it expands the map of these divinities from Udayagiri in the north to Śrīvilliputtūr in the far south. Another important discovery is that the Siṃhavāhinī of the present study combines features typical of the Deccan (e.g. the lion vehicle) and the far south (e.g. standing on the head of a buffalo). Such images are found rarely in the north, and seem to be rooted in Tamil cultural traditions.
Research Interests:
Scholars have written on the religions of India for the past 150+ years. The legendary names of this vast subcontinent are Bharatavarṣa and Jambudvīpa. The authorities on Indian religions cite medieval historians such as al-Bīrūnī coming... more
Scholars have written on the religions of India for the past 150+ years. The legendary names of this vast subcontinent are Bharatavarṣa and Jambudvīpa. The authorities on Indian religions cite medieval historians such as al-Bīrūnī coming down to Romila Thapar (e.g. her ideology of “Syndicated Hinduism”). The majority of the religion that the people follow (about 83% CF 1994: 256) is called Hinduism and its land India (ibid). The basic question is: Are India and Hinduism Tamil, Sanskrit or any language-based original names of the subcontinent? If the landmass is called India (derived from Sindhū); why not its religion is called Hinduism just for the name-sake? An important issue raised in this article is: Did scholars duly consider the Drāviḍian quota of thought, particularly Tamil in arriving at the problem of Hinduism. By Tamil it is not meant the thoughts of the savants of bhakti such as the Nāyaṉmār and Āḻvārs, including the Ācāryas (e.g. Śaṅkara) but the ideas expressed in pre-b...
Research Interests: Religion, Hinduism, Tamil Literature, Tamil, Vedic religion, and 3 moreSanatana Dharma, Dravidian, and Aryan
The Early Pāṇḍyas and the Pallavas were contemporaries, dated c. 550–850 ce. South Indian art of this period falls under the dynastic lineages of Western Cālukyas, Eastern Cālukyas, Pallavas, Early Pāṇḍyas and Rāṣṭrakūṭas. The... more
The Early Pāṇḍyas and the Pallavas were contemporaries, dated c. 550–850 ce. South Indian art of this period falls under the dynastic lineages of Western Cālukyas, Eastern Cālukyas, Pallavas, Early Pāṇḍyas and Rāṣṭrakūṭas. The iconographical idioms familiar in their arts are Siṃhavāhinī and Sapta Mātṛkās. Siṃhavāhinī to an extent was popularized by the Western Cālukyas, as shown in the rock-cut temples of Ellora. The Pallava structural temples of Kāncīpuram include a number of images. An analogous iconographic theme is Kalaiamarcelvi/Mṛgavāhinī. Sapta Mātṛkās was a theme popularized by the Guptas. As far as our present knowledge goes, the geographical range of Siṃhavāhinī extends southwards as far as Kāncīpuram, and the Mātṛkās go further southward, as far as Paraṅkuṉṟam. However, as a breakthrough we discovered images of Siṃhavāhinī and the Mātṛkās in a small hamlet at Vēppaṅkuḷam in the Śrīvilliputtūr circle, Tamilnāḍu. Kalaiamarcelvi had so far come to light only in northern Tamilnāḍu. The discovery of Siṃhavāhinī and the Mātṛkās in the far south is crucial because it expands the map of these divinities from Udayagiri in the north to Śrīvilliputtūr in the far south. Another important discovery is that the Siṃhavāhinī of the present study combines features typical of the Deccan (e.g. the lion vehicle) and the far south (e.g. standing on the head of a buffalo). Such images are found rarely in the north, and seem to be rooted in Tamil cultural traditions.
Research Interests:
The work thrives to show some light on the ethos of the South Indian vast water reservoirs with festal pavilion that is utilized mainly as a tīrtha or ablution tank and to hold the festival of the raft, called teppotsava. Water plays an... more
The work thrives to show some light on the ethos of the South Indian vast water reservoirs with festal pavilion that is utilized mainly as a tīrtha or ablution tank and to hold the festival of the raft, called teppotsava. Water plays an important role in the sacred rituals of the Indian subcontinent since time immemorial. By virtue of this fact, the rivers have been considered women and are known as Nadīdevatās “River Goddesses”. The iconography of the Aṣṭanadīs is retold in the Śrītattvanidhi (1.4.129-138). Evidences of baths unearthed in the Indic culture (c. 2500 BCE) would establish the fact that a ritual dip in water for ablution was linked with purifying and hydrophilic values that was an established tradition in India since times yore (Marshall 1931: 24-25). Any impure action on the part of a caste Hindu is supposed to be effaced when a dip in water (ritually called Gaṅgā) is completed. For example, a person after sexual intercourse is supposed to have a bath and if no water ...
Research Interests:
The epithets of Viṣṇu are 1,000 that appear for the first time in the Anuśāsanaparvā of the Mahābhārata. The epic as a codified itihāsa is supposed to have reached maturation by about 500 BCE. Interpolations (e.g. Bhagavadgītā) seem to... more
The epithets of Viṣṇu are 1,000 that appear for the first time in the Anuśāsanaparvā of the Mahābhārata. The epic as a codified itihāsa is supposed to have reached maturation by about 500 BCE. Interpolations (e.g. Bhagavadgītā) seem to have taken place sometime down to early centuries of the CE. The sahasranāma (1,000 Epithets) of Viṣṇu and Śiva got enmeshed with the main epic by about this time. Definitely the 1,000 could not have been the invention of a particular seer or sage. It must have been a compilation of what was in current in oral, ritual and devotional circulation for a long time and coherently knot at one point of time. The Tamil Āḻvārs that contributed nearly 4,000 hymns (some 3,770), called Nālāyiram on Māl/Viṣṇu have clearly noted the 1,000 Epithets but do not present a list in a form as found in the sahasranāma. They note the āyiranāmam “1,000 Names” sporadically. Regarding each one of these names, they are silent. We do get a list unevenly spread over the thousands...
Research Interests:
Scholars have written on the religions of India for the past 150+ years. The legendary names of this vast subcontinent are Bharatavarṣa and Jambudvīpa. The authorities on Indian religions cite medieval historians such as al-Bīrūnī coming... more
Scholars have written on the religions of India for the past 150+ years. The legendary names of this vast subcontinent are Bharatavarṣa and Jambudvīpa. The authorities on Indian religions cite medieval historians such as al-Bīrūnī coming down to Romila Thapar (e.g. her ideology of “Syndicated Hinduism”). The majority of the religion that the people follow (about 83% CF 1994: 256) is called Hinduism and its land India (ibid). The basic question is: Are India and Hinduism Tamil, Sanskrit or any language-based original names of the subcontinent? If the landmass is called India (derived from Sindhū); why not its religion is called Hinduism just for the name-sake? An important issue raised in this article is: Did scholars duly consider the Drāviḍian quota of thought, particularly Tamil in arriving at the problem of Hinduism. By Tamil it is not meant the thoughts of the savants of bhakti such as the Nāyaṉmār and Āḻvārs, including the Ācāryas (e.g. Śaṅkara) but the ideas expressed in pre-b...
Research Interests: Religion, Hinduism, Tamil Literature, Tamil, Vedic religion, and 3 moreSanatana Dharma, Dravidian, and Aryan
The epithets of Viṣṇu are 1,000 that appear for the first time in the Anuśāsanaparvā of the Mahābhārata. The epic as a codified itihāsa is supposed to have reached maturation by about 500 BCE. Interpolations (e.g. Bhagavadgītā) seem to... more
The epithets of Viṣṇu are 1,000 that appear for the first time in the Anuśāsanaparvā of the Mahābhārata. The epic as a codified itihāsa is supposed to have reached maturation by about 500 BCE. Interpolations (e.g. Bhagavadgītā) seem to have taken place sometime down to early centuries of the CE. The sahasranāma (1,000 Epithets) of Viṣṇu and Śiva got enmeshed with the main epic by about this time. Definitely the 1,000 could not have been the invention of a particular seer or sage. It must have been a compilation of what was in current in oral, ritual and devotional circulation for a long time and coherently knot at one point of time. The Tamil Āḻvārs that contributed nearly 4,000 hymns (some 3,770), called Nālāyiram on Māl/Viṣṇu have clearly noted the 1,000 Epithets but do not present a list in a form as found in the sahasranāma. They note the āyiranāmam “1,000 Names” sporadically. Regarding each one of these names, they are silent. We do get a list unevenly spread over the thousands...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The primordial Liṅga is prehistoric in its global and proto-historic in its Indian religious setting. As prehistoric artifacts these seem to have commanded their own symbolism. It was identified with Śiva and was the symbol of worship in... more
The primordial Liṅga is prehistoric in its global and proto-historic in its Indian religious setting. As prehistoric artifacts these seem to have commanded their own symbolism. It was identified with Śiva and was the symbol of worship in Hindu temples all over South and Southeast Asia, maybe c. 500 BCE. Certain question hovering round the worship of the Liṅga such as why it is covered with a cloth and the regional variations of the theme in Tamil literary tradition are examined. However, the main focus is on the unreported bronzes in the Brahmapurīśvara temple at Perunakar (district Kāñcīpuram). These bronzes are related to the cult of the Liṅga; e.g. the bronze of Candraśekhara and the Liṅga juxtaposed. A unique collection of Nāyaṉmār bronzes are brought to light and most of these saints were dedicated to Liṅga worship. The vocabulary obtained from early Tamil literature helps to fix the Liṅga cult within the Hindu religious tradition. The bronzes were appealing to the society and ...
Research Interests:
The primordial Liṅga is prehistoric in its global and proto-historic in its Indian religious setting. As prehistoric artifacts these seem to have commanded their own symbolism. It was identified with Śiva and was the symbol of worship in... more
The primordial Liṅga is prehistoric in its global and proto-historic in its Indian religious setting. As prehistoric artifacts these seem to have commanded their own symbolism. It was identified with Śiva and was the symbol of worship in Hindu temples all over South and Southeast Asia, maybe c. 500 BCE. Certain question hovering round the worship of the Liṅga such as why it is covered with a cloth and the regional variations of the theme in Tamil literary tradition are examined. However, the main focus is on the unreported bronzes in the Brahmapurīśvara temple at Perunakar (district Kāñcīpuram). These bronzes are related to the cult of the Liṅga; e.g. the bronze of Candraśekhara and the Liṅga juxtaposed. A unique collection of Nāyaṉmār bronzes are brought to light and most of these saints were dedicated to Liṅga worship. The vocabulary obtained from early Tamil literature helps to fix the Liṅga cult within the Hindu religious tradition. The bronzes were appealing to the society and ...
Research Interests:
Scholars writing on Cōḻa history found them ruling from Tañcāvūr or Kaṅkaikoṇṭa-cōḻapuram. Paḻaiyāṟai was the villa from where great women of the Cōḻas reared the princes and found them conquers the Gaṅgā and Kaṭāram. Paḻaiyāṟai in the... more
Scholars writing on Cōḻa history found them ruling from Tañcāvūr or Kaṅkaikoṇṭa-cōḻapuram. Paḻaiyāṟai was the villa from where great women of the Cōḻas reared the princes and found them conquers the Gaṅgā and Kaṭāram. Paḻaiyāṟai in the Cōḻanāḍu hinterland remains in the historical mist; overshadowed by other capitals of the Cōḻas. The present article strives to bring Paḻaiyāṟai to the limelight by an examination of the epigraphical and literary sources, throwing some flashback on ethnographical material. A visit to the field and interview with the people enables an account of oral history to place Paḻaiyāṟai in its cultural anthropological setting. The second part of the article examines a rare iconographical motif of Nsiṃha to show how the Cōḻas in the first part of their long history of 400 years were catholic. Religious fanaticism adumbrated in the penultimate stage of their history might have been a factor that stood behind the fall of the Cōḻas. Few iconographical evidences ar...
Research Interests:
RefDoc Bienvenue - Welcome. Refdoc est un service / is powered by. ...
Research Interests: Ancient History, Archaeology, Art, Herder, Cave, and 9 moreTemple, Cave Temple, Pandya Period, Sivaganga, East West, Karttikeya, Murugan, Murukan, and Skanda
The doctoral thesis by R.K. Kesava Rajarajan is a very serious effort to put some order in the great deal of monuments belonging to a period, which is too often underestimated by the scholars. The work contains both a survey of the... more
The doctoral thesis by R.K. Kesava Rajarajan is a very serious effort to put some order in the great deal of monuments belonging to a period, which is too often underestimated by the scholars. The work contains both a survey of the temples and an analysis of iconographical themes. The painstaking examination of original sources is perhaps the most important contribution by Rajarajan, but also the chapter “Paradigms of Nayaka Art” is extremely useful as it takes into consideration and systematically discusses most of the features characterizing Nayaka temple architecture [...] The scholar is right in stressing the importance of the changing European taste in the evaluation of Indian art [...] the material collected is impressive, the references to the literary tradition are vast and exhaustive, the iconographical interpretations are well-grounded and rich in detail [...] It is my opinion that, once it is published, it will remain as a fundamental reference book for Nayaka architecture and iconography. — Prof. Maurizio Taddei, Rome/Naples
Research Interests:
The present article aims to examine a folk literary motif from the ‘Kirātārjunīyam’. Kirāta (hunter-Śiva) and Arjuna once needed to clash with each other during the forest life of the Pāṇḍavas. Arjuna wanted to obtain the coveted... more
The present article aims to examine a folk literary motif from the ‘Kirātārjunīyam’. Kirāta (hunter-Śiva) and Arjuna once needed to clash with each other during the forest life of the Pāṇḍavas. Arjuna wanted to obtain the coveted pāśupatāstra from Śiva that could only be awarded to a soldier of mettle to wield the missile efficiently. Arjuna undertook hazardous tapas pleased with which Śiva tested Arjuna and finally awarded the astra. This myth appears in the Mahābhārata dated sometime in the fifth century BCE and its folk origin may get back to the immoral past. This story was retold in a classical work by the poet Sanskrit Bhāravi in eighteen cantos. The article examines a key motif relating to the Penance of Arjuna (cf. the Māmallapuram bas relief) from the Kirātārjunīyam episode, called pañcāgnitapas and how the Penance of Arjuna is retold in the ballad understudy? Several folk motifs of kuṟavaṉ-kuṟatti of Kuṟṟālakkuṟavañci are illustrated in a later phase of the art in Tamilnad...
Research Interests:
Tiṇṭukkal (anglicized Dindigul) is a much-neglected region in art historical research. Some works are coming up in recent times, and the present article is significant from the point of the woodcarved tēr (Car Temple). Rāmagiri is a small... more
Tiṇṭukkal (anglicized Dindigul) is a much-neglected region in art historical research. Some works are coming up in recent times, and the present article is significant from the point of the woodcarved tēr (Car Temple). Rāmagiri is a small village to the northwest of Tiṇṭukkal, headquarters of a district that lay in between the Tirucirāppaḷḷi-Maturai national highway and railroad. The Kalyāṇa-Nṛsiṃha temple is the home of a unique tēr for Nṛsiṃha that has been reframed and brought to light after renovation, employing traditional methods of conservation. The article focuses on an image of Harihāra-Ekapādamūrti, a scarce iconographic device. Earlier studies by Maurizio Taddei (1996), Alessanadro Grassato (1987) and Raju Kalidos (1989) are of value in investigating the theme.
Research Interests:
Institute of Taosim and Religious Culture of Sichuan University and Shandong College of Art, Chengdu, China
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT The convention among art historians is that they begin Naṭarāja studies with Citamparam as its base. Historically and mythologically, this is a far-fetched idea. In fact the earliest idea of the Kūttaṉ/Naṭarāja appears in a... more
ABSTRACT The convention among art historians is that they begin Naṭarāja studies with Citamparam as its base. Historically and mythologically, this is a far-fetched idea. In fact the earliest idea of the Kūttaṉ/Naṭarāja appears in a 5th-6th century CE literary work, called Ālaṅkāṭṭumuttatiruppatikam [added with the prefix tiru] of [Kāraikkāl]-Ammaiyār and it continued to persist through the ages, particularly exalted in the hymns of the Tēvāram, the first seven compilations of the Śaiva canon. The Cidambaramāhātmya is a later work of the post-14th century CE. Scholarly research has depended more on Sanskritic sources (e.g. C. Sivaramamurti 1974 and David Smith 1998) and not the earlier Tamil thought. This article says why studies pertaining to Naṭarāja should begin with Ālaṅkāṭu, the earliest sthala extolled in the Tamil hymns, considered the original base of the Naṭarāja tradition. It cursorily reflects on the available epigraphical sources. The other dancing venues of the Lord were added in due course; they being Tillai/Citamparam, Ālavāy/Maturai, Nelvēli and Kuṟṟālam, called pañcantyasabhās. The article takes for examination a group of five stucco images that appear in the frontal projection of the maṇḍapa to the Ālaṅkāṭu temple. Bronzes of the temples reflect the local cultural ethos and professional limbo behind the type of dance-karaṇas performed.
Research Interests:
The unanimous opinion among religious philosophers is that the Vedas and bhakti are two different denominators of approach to God in Indian tradition. However, the Tamil Vaiṣṇava mystics, the Āḻvārs find a harmonious blend of the two... more
The unanimous opinion among religious philosophers is that the Vedas and bhakti are two different denominators of approach to God in Indian tradition. However, the Tamil Vaiṣṇava mystics, the Āḻvārs find a harmonious blend of the two modes in ritual worship. The present article examines the pros and cons of the problem from a study of the hymns beginning with the Mutal (Early) Āḻvārs and last in the train, Tirumaṅkai. The cited hymns are replete with the bounties of nature associated with the divyadeśa-Kōvalūr that we examine for a case study. Bhakti or the Veda is the euphony linked with nature. The present article explains how the Āḻvārs had harmonized the Veda with bhakti. These are complementary modes of approach to God. They are not conflicting phenomena. By the way, data bearing on flora and fauna dumped in the twenty-one hymns on Kōvalūr are presented in a capsule (Attachment).
Research Interests:
https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/frontline.thehindu.com/books/book-review-the-multivalence-of-an-epic-edited-by-parul-padya-dhar-retells-the-many-ramayanas-of-south-india-and-southeast-asia/article37468784.ece/amp/ Ed. Parul Pandya Dhar.... more
https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/frontline.thehindu.com/books/book-review-the-multivalence-of-an-epic-edited-by-parul-padya-dhar-retells-the-many-ramayanas-of-south-india-and-southeast-asia/article37468784.ece/amp/
Ed. Parul Pandya Dhar.
Book review by: Raziuddin Aquil, 13 NOVEMBER 2021, in Frontline
Ed. Parul Pandya Dhar.
Book review by: Raziuddin Aquil, 13 NOVEMBER 2021, in Frontline
Research Interests:
The holy lands of the Vaiṣṇavas are divyadeśas (divya “divine, heavenly, holy”, divyaloka ‘Vaikuṇṭha’), deśa (land, country) or vartana “living space”, lebensraum), more popularly sthala (“ground, land, station”, e.g. Śrīnivāsasthala),... more
The holy lands of the Vaiṣṇavas are divyadeśas (divya “divine, heavenly, holy”, divyaloka ‘Vaikuṇṭha’), deśa (land, country) or vartana “living space”, lebensraum), more popularly sthala (“ground, land, station”, e.g. Śrīnivāsasthala), kṣetra (“field, ground, soil”, Kurukṣetra) and sthāna (“place, spot, locality”, Vrajasthāna) . Several place-name suffixes are popular in Indian vocabulary; e.g. āśrama/ācciramam “hermitage” (Badarikāśrama), araṇya/āraṇya “forest (abode)” (Naimisāraṇya), pura/puram “city” (Māmallapuram, Somanāthapura), grāma/kirāmam “village” (Hastigrāma, Nandigrāma, Śālagrāma), Grāmagṛha, giri/kiri “hill” (Hastigiri, Tamil Ūrakam), vana/vanam “woods” (Bṛndāvana), parvata/parvatam “hill” (Gomandaparvata), dvāra “gateway” (Haridvāra), sāgara “ocean” (Gaṅgāsāgara), kūṭa/kūṭam “house, hall” (Citrakūṭa, Cittirakūṭam), Nīladri, Siṃhācala , raṅga/araṅkam “stage” (Śrīraṅgam, Pāṇḍuraṅga), nagara/nakaram “city” (Ākāśanagara), tīrtha/tīrttam “ghat” (Cakratīrtha), koṇa /kōṇam “curve” (Kuṃbhakoṇam), saṅgama/caṅkamam “confluence” (Kūṭalasaṅgama, Saṅgamagrāma), koṭi/kōṭi “end” (also denotes finally offered garments to the deceased, Dhanuṣkoṭi), maṅgala/maṅkalam “auspicious” (Danvimaṅgala) and so on. In the Kāviri delta, viṇṇakar (unearthly city) is very popular . Scholars have prepared a list of 108 divyadeśas based on the hymns of the Vaiṣṇava mystics, the Āḻvārs . The present catalogue is rooted in the historical literature of Piḷḷai Perumāḷ Aiyaṅkār alias Aḻakiya-maṇavāḷa-dāsar (17th century of the time of Tirumalai Nāyaka), a Vaiṣṇava dignitary who has contributed several other works on Tirumāl/Viṣṇu extolling the divyadeśas of Vēṅkaṭam (Tirumala-Tirupati), Araṅkam (Śrīraṅgam) and Māliruñcōlai (modern Aḻakarkōyil , about 25 kms to the north of Maturai). Scholars proficient in Vaiṣṇava lore prepared a directory of 108-divyadeśas, maybe the Ācāryas of the 10th-12th century CE .
Originating in the north in and around Gokula and Mathurā or the Himālayas (e.g. the Buddha as avatāra, and the divyadeśa-Śālagrāma in Nepāḷa), the Bhāgavata movement acquired a fresh impetus in the Tamil country beginning with the Paripāṭal and Cilappatikāram (see the ‘Āycciyarkuravai’) by about 400 CE reaching the high tide of popularization under the Āḻvārs during the 7th-9th century. The northern wind in course of time blew from the south toward Marāṭha and Karnāṭaka (Tukārām et alii), and ultimately Beṅgāl (Jayadeva) and Rājasthāna (Mīrābāyī). Drāviḍian thoughts Sanskritized through the Bhāgavata Purāṇa resulted in cultural transmission and diffusion within Vaiṣṇavism all over India. No sectarianism was known at the incipient stage, the Drāviḍa and Samksṛta treated the two eyes of Bhārata , which we have to emulate. It is high time if Bhārata is to be realized in its real sense of the divyanāma. The catalogue of divyadeśas came to be recast in course of time, adding new sthalas from Āndhradeśa and Karnāṭaka.
The original catalogue based on the Āḻvārs’ hymns is divided into north India, Toṇṭaināṭu (Pallava zone), Cōḻanāṭu (Cōḻa zone), Naṭunāṭu (intermediary zone), Pāṇṭināṭu (Pāṇḍya zone), Malaināṭu (Hilly region, Kēraḷa) and the Heaven. Piḷḷai Perumāḷ Aiyaṅkār has canonized the sthalas in the following order .
Originating in the north in and around Gokula and Mathurā or the Himālayas (e.g. the Buddha as avatāra, and the divyadeśa-Śālagrāma in Nepāḷa), the Bhāgavata movement acquired a fresh impetus in the Tamil country beginning with the Paripāṭal and Cilappatikāram (see the ‘Āycciyarkuravai’) by about 400 CE reaching the high tide of popularization under the Āḻvārs during the 7th-9th century. The northern wind in course of time blew from the south toward Marāṭha and Karnāṭaka (Tukārām et alii), and ultimately Beṅgāl (Jayadeva) and Rājasthāna (Mīrābāyī). Drāviḍian thoughts Sanskritized through the Bhāgavata Purāṇa resulted in cultural transmission and diffusion within Vaiṣṇavism all over India. No sectarianism was known at the incipient stage, the Drāviḍa and Samksṛta treated the two eyes of Bhārata , which we have to emulate. It is high time if Bhārata is to be realized in its real sense of the divyanāma. The catalogue of divyadeśas came to be recast in course of time, adding new sthalas from Āndhradeśa and Karnāṭaka.
The original catalogue based on the Āḻvārs’ hymns is divided into north India, Toṇṭaināṭu (Pallava zone), Cōḻanāṭu (Cōḻa zone), Naṭunāṭu (intermediary zone), Pāṇṭināṭu (Pāṇḍya zone), Malaināṭu (Hilly region, Kēraḷa) and the Heaven. Piḷḷai Perumāḷ Aiyaṅkār has canonized the sthalas in the following order .
Research Interests:
The pañcabhūtas convoked are pṛthvi ‘earth’, ap ‘water’, tejas ‘fire’, vāyu ‘air or wind’ and ākāśa ‘ether’. They are the five elements of nature in Hindu mythology. These are considered the abstractions of Viṣṇu (Figures 1–3, 6 and 10),... more
The pañcabhūtas convoked are pṛthvi ‘earth’, ap ‘water’, tejas ‘fire’, vāyu ‘air or wind’ and ākāśa ‘ether’. They are the five elements of nature in Hindu mythology. These are considered the abstractions of Viṣṇu (Figures 1–3, 6 and 10), Śiva (Figure 11) or Dēvī (Figures 7 and 15) as the case may be. Most virile among the five are ‘water’ and ‘fire’, the symbols of creation and destruction. Water from the Darwinian point of view is the creative force in which living organisms originate and survive. It is the sustaining principle, for example, the Mother feeding the child with milk as rain for the plant kingdom. Water is the symbol of destruction at the time of deluge, the mahāpraḷaya ; cf. trees on the banks felled when rivers inundate (PTM 11.8.1). Fire creates when channelised through the oven; for example, Kumāra’s birth as also Mīnākṣī (Figure 16) and Draupadī emerging through yajñas. These ideas are best exemplified by the avatāras, aṃśāvatāras and other emanations of Viṣṇu. Śi...
Research Interests:
The names and forms of Devī are myriad, which the Lalitāsahasranāma (Lalitopākhyāna in Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa) and Devīsahasranāma (in Rudrayāmaḷa) present in abridged form. The Devīmāhātmyam in its ‘Kavacam’ (shield) presents a long list of... more
The names and forms of Devī are myriad, which the Lalitāsahasranāma (Lalitopākhyāna in Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa) and Devīsahasranāma (in Rudrayāmaḷa) present in abridged form. The Devīmāhātmyam in its ‘Kavacam’ (shield) presents a long list of the nāmas of Devī. Besides, the aṣṭottaram-śataḥ (100+ epithets) of the Goddesses bearing on Durgā, Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī, Pārvatī and so on are regularly recited in temples invoking the presence of Devī, the Superior Mother who is always with those that foster dharma. Conducting Durgā-pūja (popularly known as as Viṣṇu-Durgā) is a living tradition on all ‘Veḷḷikkiḷamai/Śukravāram’ (Friday) in the temples of Tamilnadu. The popular custom in Tamilnadu is whenever a soothsayer or oracle-teller (known as kuṭukuṭuppai beating a kettledrum) stands in front of a house says “a feminine divinity is the guarding this house”. She is called illuṟai-teyvam (Goddess residing in the house) in Cilappatikāram. The male divinities in Hindu lore are feminized, e.g. Śiva-Śivā, Viṣṇu-Vaiṣṇavī, Brahmā-Brahmī, and the Sapta/Aṣṭa Mātṛkās. The catur-Vedas have their consorts, e.g. Ṛg-Sāmidevī, Yajūr-‘Sruk’, Sāma-Guhūdevī and Atharvaṇa-‘Samidh’. Devī is the half of Śiva (Ardhanārīśvara), Lakṣmī lives in the heart of Viṣṇu (Śrīvatsa) and Sarasvatī occupies the tongue of Brahmā (Vākdevī). The symbolism is man cannot think, move or speak if there is no śakti (literally “energy”). Śakti is Devī. Śiva devoid of Śakti is śava. Kālī (Tamil Mōṭi, Hindi moti “pearl”) is a powerful Goddess. If the parākrama of Śrī Rāma could annihilate daśamukha-Rāvaṇa, Kālī (Sītā transformed) could root out sahasragrīva-Rāvaṇa according to the Adbhuta-Rāmāyaṇa. Kālī is a metaphor for power and authority. This is the philosophy behind the imagery of Kolkata-Kālī. In these days of rampant terrorism and naked outrage (whether through bomb-culture or Korana-virus phobia) all over the world, the Kolkata-Kālī is the Dhavantri or Aśvinidevatā to root out evil. Today, Kālī is a popular image all over the southern states, particularly Tamilnadu. She is the terror to terrorists. However, the fundamental ethos of the ‘Mother’ (Mātṛdevatā) is prema “love” for the jaṅgama and sthāvara ātmas. Therefore, Hindu scriptures view each akṣara (letter, alphabet) the abstraction of the Mother. East or west, the first projecting alphabet from the lip of a baby is a/mmā/mā, pā, appā (attā in devotional literature Tiruvāymoḻi 2.3.2), or [h]appa. There is nothing in the world equal to the love of the mother toward her children, the cosmic mass. She is the Brahmāṇḍa-nāyikā, Puruṣikā Virāṭ in Saundaryalaharī (v. 7). Several scholars have tried to unfold the mysteries of Devī, I am skeptical whether anyone has summed up the akṣaradevatās, all viewed feminine according to the Siddhaśabaratantra cited in Śrītattvanidhi (1.137-187).
Research Interests:
The epithets of Viṣṇu are 1,000 that appear for the first time in the Anuśāsanaparvā of the Mahābhārata. The epic as a codified itihāsa, supposed to have reached the magnitude of its literary evolution by about 500 BCE. Interpolations... more
The epithets of Viṣṇu are 1,000 that appear for the first time in the Anuśāsanaparvā of the Mahābhārata. The epic as a codified itihāsa, supposed to have reached the magnitude of its literary evolution by about 500 BCE. Interpolations (e.g., Bhagavadgītā) seem to have taken place sometime down to early centuries C.E. The sahasranāma (1,000 Epithets) of Viṣṇu and Śiva got entangled with the main epic by about this time. The 1,000 could not have been the invention of a particular seer or sage. It must have been a compilation of what was current in oral, ritual and devotional circulation since ancient time and coherently knit at one point in time. These names are likely to include the folk and the classical, national-regional and sub-regional or tribal (e.g., ‘Āycciyarkuravai’ in Cilappatikāram, Rajarajan 2016: 45-47, 338-42), and unite the two parallel streams of Indian culture, the Drāviḍian and the Āryan. For example, the name, Nārāyaṇa is of Draviḍian origin, traced from nir “water (water dweller)” (Keny 1942), cf. Jalaśayana (Jeyapriya 2018). The Tamil Āḻvārs that contributed nearly 4,000 hymns (some 3,770), called Nālāyiram on Māl/Viṣṇu have noted the 1,000 Epithets but do not present a consolidated list in a form as found in the sahasranāma of the Mahābhārata. They cite the āyiranāmam “1,000 Names” sporadically (infra). We get a list of names unevenly spread over the thousands of hymns that may not be sufficient to list 1,000.
Research Interests:
Māliruñcōlai (folk: Aḻakarkōyil) is one of the celebrated divyaadeśas in southern Pāṇḍya country. Noted in the earliest stratum of Tamil literature (e.g. the Paripāṭal 15 and Cilappatikāram 11.91-110), it was the holy land cherished in... more
Māliruñcōlai (folk: Aḻakarkōyil) is one of the celebrated divyaadeśas in southern Pāṇḍya country. Noted in the earliest stratum of Tamil literature (e.g. the Paripāṭal 15 and Cilappatikāram 11.91-110), it was the holy land cherished in the hymns of the woman mystic, Āṇṭāl. She considers the Lord Aḻakar/Saundararāja her bridegroom, Māliruñcīlai-maṇāḷar (Nācciyār Tirumoḻi 4.1). No less than 128 hymns (Rajarajan 2012: 70-75) have been contributed on the sacred land by six among the twelve Āḻvārs (Rajarajan et al. 2007a: 727-28). In the context of his earlier work, the author would like to throw further light on the art heritage of the Rāmāyaṇa paintings of the Māliruñcōlai temple. The Nāyaka paintings on the Rāmāyaṇa in the Tirukōkaraṇam Temple are examined for comparative study. The aim is to collate the ideas gleaned from the Āḻvārs’ literature (7th-9th century CE) and the Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ (12th century). The paintings has been investigated in accordance with the following terms:
1) Examination of select Episodes from the Rāmāyaṇa Paintings
2) Comparative study of the Māliruñcōlai (Vijayavenugopal 1987) and Tirukōkaraṇam imageries
3) How do they reflect the thoughts of the Āḻvārs who composed hymns nearly 1200 years ago?
4) How the ideas of the Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ are reflected?
5) How was a pan-Indian epic was regionalized by the Tamil poets and how the Nāyakas compromise the themes channelizing the ideas toward the national mainstream?
6) The array of Rāmāyaṇa sculptures include those of the Western Calukya period at the Upper Śivālaya Badāmī, Durga Temple, Aihole and Pāpanātha temple, Paṭṭadakkal (Dhar 2019) and of the Rāṣṭrakūṭa period at Ellora Cave 16 (Gail 1985; Markel 2000); the period when it was not popular in Pallava-Pāṇḍya (Empire I) art (Kalidos 2006: I); the Imperial Cōḻas (Stanford 1974; Rajarajan 2008: 405-14) and Hoysaḷas (Evans 1997).
7) Popularizing the amaranāyaka-Rāma was la renaissance under the Nāyakas that brought the idea from their homeland, Vijayanagara, the metropolis (Settar n.d.), e.g. the Paṭṭābhi-Rāma Temple.
While the scope of the above framework is a broad approach on which subject a monograph could be designed, I have arrived at a formula to concentrate on a particular decade (tirumoḻi, sacred saying, for Āḻvārs and patikam, normally ten hymns in praise of Śiva, for Nāyaṉmār) in the Perumāḷ Tirumoḻi by Kulacēkara Āḻvār (cf. Rajarajan 2016: 10.2.1-10, 10.3.1-10 of Periya Tirumoḻi) . This is mainly due to the reason that the notes obtained from the hymns of the Āḻvārs would lead to the compilation of a new Rāmāyaṇa (cf. Kalidos 2006: 10-11 events from the Bālakāṇḍa to the Uttarakāṇḍa). Consisting of 11 hymns, the tirumoḻi of Kulacēkara(ṉ) profusely annotates the Rāmāyaṇa events (cf. Kalidos 1997: 22 on PT 10.1-11, Rajarajan 2016: 71-74). Kulacēkara was an expert in the Rāmāyaṇa studies of the time . He was a devoted follower of the concept of Rāma-rājya, comparable to the heroes of Kiṣkindha, e.g. Hanumat, Sugrīva and Jāmbavat (Rajarajan 2016). Cēra kings surrendered their kingdom at the feet of Lord Padmanābha of Aṉantapuram (‘Āṭakamāṭam’ in Cilappatikāram 11.35-40, 26.62, 30.51). They ruled as slaves of the Lord (Kalidos 2015a: 312-18) as opposed to the devarāja cult (PT 4.2: “I do not want this earthly kingdom… I would like to be a fish in the water-tank at Vēṅkaṭam”, Rajarajan 2016a: 90; cf. Rao 2017: 1-12). The guruparamparā mythologies (Āṟāyirappaṭi-G, pp. 32-37) would he added when Kulacēkara listened to the Rāmakathā episode of Sītāpaharaṇa, he was under trance and declared war on Laṅkā saying “the Mother-[Sītā] is in danger”. The mystic in the Perumāḷ Tirumoḻi (PT 8.1-11) has summarized the Rāmāyaṇa events evenly covering the six kāṇḍas (as Kampaṉ did omitting the ‘Uttarakāṇḍa’) which hymns are presented hereunder in Roman transcription followed by English summary. The Rāma-kathā events are singled out for sake of comparison and contrast with the Rāmāyaṇa paintings of the [Maturai]-Nāyaka period Māliruñcōlai and Tirukōkaraṇam temples . The Āḻvārs were the pioneers to show the way to Kampaṉ that versified the Irāmāvatāram (12th century CE) or “Descent (Erscheinung or Verkörperung) of Rāma (cf. Rajarajan 2017: 2024)”. These works include several folk elements the roots of which are forgotten, not traceable in the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki that is duly attested by the later medieval maṇipravāḷam (Sanskrit-Tamil mix) commentaries on the ‘Nālāyiram’ by Nam Piḷḷai (1147-1252 CE) and Periyavāccāṉ Piḷḷai (1167-1262 CE) .
1) Examination of select Episodes from the Rāmāyaṇa Paintings
2) Comparative study of the Māliruñcōlai (Vijayavenugopal 1987) and Tirukōkaraṇam imageries
3) How do they reflect the thoughts of the Āḻvārs who composed hymns nearly 1200 years ago?
4) How the ideas of the Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ are reflected?
5) How was a pan-Indian epic was regionalized by the Tamil poets and how the Nāyakas compromise the themes channelizing the ideas toward the national mainstream?
6) The array of Rāmāyaṇa sculptures include those of the Western Calukya period at the Upper Śivālaya Badāmī, Durga Temple, Aihole and Pāpanātha temple, Paṭṭadakkal (Dhar 2019) and of the Rāṣṭrakūṭa period at Ellora Cave 16 (Gail 1985; Markel 2000); the period when it was not popular in Pallava-Pāṇḍya (Empire I) art (Kalidos 2006: I); the Imperial Cōḻas (Stanford 1974; Rajarajan 2008: 405-14) and Hoysaḷas (Evans 1997).
7) Popularizing the amaranāyaka-Rāma was la renaissance under the Nāyakas that brought the idea from their homeland, Vijayanagara, the metropolis (Settar n.d.), e.g. the Paṭṭābhi-Rāma Temple.
While the scope of the above framework is a broad approach on which subject a monograph could be designed, I have arrived at a formula to concentrate on a particular decade (tirumoḻi, sacred saying, for Āḻvārs and patikam, normally ten hymns in praise of Śiva, for Nāyaṉmār) in the Perumāḷ Tirumoḻi by Kulacēkara Āḻvār (cf. Rajarajan 2016: 10.2.1-10, 10.3.1-10 of Periya Tirumoḻi) . This is mainly due to the reason that the notes obtained from the hymns of the Āḻvārs would lead to the compilation of a new Rāmāyaṇa (cf. Kalidos 2006: 10-11 events from the Bālakāṇḍa to the Uttarakāṇḍa). Consisting of 11 hymns, the tirumoḻi of Kulacēkara(ṉ) profusely annotates the Rāmāyaṇa events (cf. Kalidos 1997: 22 on PT 10.1-11, Rajarajan 2016: 71-74). Kulacēkara was an expert in the Rāmāyaṇa studies of the time . He was a devoted follower of the concept of Rāma-rājya, comparable to the heroes of Kiṣkindha, e.g. Hanumat, Sugrīva and Jāmbavat (Rajarajan 2016). Cēra kings surrendered their kingdom at the feet of Lord Padmanābha of Aṉantapuram (‘Āṭakamāṭam’ in Cilappatikāram 11.35-40, 26.62, 30.51). They ruled as slaves of the Lord (Kalidos 2015a: 312-18) as opposed to the devarāja cult (PT 4.2: “I do not want this earthly kingdom… I would like to be a fish in the water-tank at Vēṅkaṭam”, Rajarajan 2016a: 90; cf. Rao 2017: 1-12). The guruparamparā mythologies (Āṟāyirappaṭi-G, pp. 32-37) would he added when Kulacēkara listened to the Rāmakathā episode of Sītāpaharaṇa, he was under trance and declared war on Laṅkā saying “the Mother-[Sītā] is in danger”. The mystic in the Perumāḷ Tirumoḻi (PT 8.1-11) has summarized the Rāmāyaṇa events evenly covering the six kāṇḍas (as Kampaṉ did omitting the ‘Uttarakāṇḍa’) which hymns are presented hereunder in Roman transcription followed by English summary. The Rāma-kathā events are singled out for sake of comparison and contrast with the Rāmāyaṇa paintings of the [Maturai]-Nāyaka period Māliruñcōlai and Tirukōkaraṇam temples . The Āḻvārs were the pioneers to show the way to Kampaṉ that versified the Irāmāvatāram (12th century CE) or “Descent (Erscheinung or Verkörperung) of Rāma (cf. Rajarajan 2017: 2024)”. These works include several folk elements the roots of which are forgotten, not traceable in the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki that is duly attested by the later medieval maṇipravāḷam (Sanskrit-Tamil mix) commentaries on the ‘Nālāyiram’ by Nam Piḷḷai (1147-1252 CE) and Periyavāccāṉ Piḷḷai (1167-1262 CE) .
Research Interests:
The unanimous opinion among religious philosophers is that the Vedas and bhakti are two different denominators of approach to God in Indian tradition. However, the Tamil Vaiṣṇava mystics, the Āḻvārs find a harmonious blend of the two... more
The unanimous opinion among religious philosophers is that the Vedas and bhakti are two different denominators of approach to God in Indian tradition. However, the Tamil Vaiṣṇava mystics, the Āḻvārs find a harmonious blend of the two modes in ritual worship. The present article examines the pros and cons of the problem from a study of the hymns beginning with the Mutal (Early) Āḻvārs and last in the train, Tirumaṅkai. The cited hymns are replete with the bounties of nature associated with the divyadeśa-Kōvalūr that we examine for a case study. Bhakti or the Veda is the euphony linked with nature. The present article explains how the Āḻvārs had harmonized the Veda with bhakti. These are complementary modes of approach to God. They are not conflicting phenomena. By the way, data bearing on flora and fauna dumped in the twenty-one hymns on Kōvalūr are presented in a capsule (Attachment).
Research Interests:
The present article aims to examine a folk literary motif from the 'Kirātārjunīyam'. Kirāta (hunter-Śiva) and Arjuna once needed to clash with each other during the forest life of the Pāṇḍavas. Arjuna wanted to obtain the coveted... more
The present article aims to examine a folk literary motif from the 'Kirātārjunīyam'. Kirāta (hunter-Śiva) and Arjuna once needed to clash with each other during the forest life of the Pāṇḍavas. Arjuna wanted to obtain the coveted pāśupatāstra from Śiva that could only be awarded to a soldier of mettle to wield the missile efficiently. Arjuna undertook hazardous tapas pleased with which Śiva tested Arjuna and finally awarded the astra. This myth appears in the Mahābhārata dated sometime in the fifth century BCE and its folk origin may get back to the immoral past. This story was retold in a classical work by the poet Sanskrit Bhāravi in eighteen cantos. The article examines a key motif relating to the Penance of Arjuna (cf. the Māmallapuram bas relief) from the Kirātārjunīyam episode, called pañcāgnitapas and how the Penance of Arjuna is retold in the ballad understudy? Several folk motifs of kuṟavaṉ-kuṟatti of Kuṟṟālakkuṟavañci are illustrated in a later phase of the art in Tamilnadu (e.g., the Thousand-Pillared Hall of the Great Maturai Temple of the Nāyaka period). Kirātārjunīyam was a popular motif in sculptural art though the ages.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Visual Studies, Iconography, Art History, South Asian Studies, Tamil Literature, and 12 moreTamil Nadu, History and archaeology, Language Culture and Communication, Question Answering, Vijayanagara, Śaivism, Keladi-Ikkeri Nayakas, Daksinamurti, Visnu (Vishnu), Viṣṇusahasranāma, Navatiruppati, and Nayaka
Research Interests: Visual Studies, Iconography, Art History, South Asian Studies, Tamil Literature, and 12 moreTamil Nadu, History and archaeology, Language Culture and Communication, Question Answering, Vijayanagara, Śaivism, Keladi-Ikkeri Nayakas, Daksinamurti, Visnu (Vishnu), Viṣṇusahasranāma, Navatiruppati, and Nayaka
The pañcabhūtas convoked are pṛthvi ‘earth’, ap ‘water’, tejas ‘fire’, vāyu ‘air or wind’ and ākāśa ‘ether’. They are the five elements of nature in Hindu mythology. These are considered the abstractions of Viṣṇu (Figures 1–3, 6 and 10),... more
The pañcabhūtas convoked are pṛthvi ‘earth’, ap ‘water’, tejas ‘fire’, vāyu ‘air or wind’ and ākāśa ‘ether’. They are the five elements of nature in Hindu mythology. These are considered the abstractions of Viṣṇu (Figures 1–3, 6 and 10), Śiva (Figure 11) or Dēvī (Figures 7 and 15) as the case may be. Most virile among the five are ‘water’ and ‘fire’, the symbols of creation and destruction. Water from the Darwinian point of view is the creative force in which living organisms originate and survive. It is the sustaining principle, for example, the Mother feeding the child with milk as rain for the plant kingdom. Water is the symbol of destruction at the time of deluge, the mahāpraḷaya; cf. trees on the banks felled when rivers inundate (PTM 11.8.1). Fire creates when channelised through the oven; for example, Kumāra’s birth as also Mīnākṣī (Figure 16) and Draupadī emerging through yajñas. These ideas are best exemplified by the avatāras, aṃśāvatāras and other emanations of Viṣṇu. Śiva destroys the worlds by the power generated by his third eye (e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah in case of Biblical mythology), the God of Love, Kāmadeva symbolic of the seed of creation (Priapus in Roman mythology; Beard, 2008. Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town. London: Profile Books Ltd: 104, figure 36). We are concerned in this article with water as the creative and destructive force, an idea that is as old as the Vedic and Biblical times. The focus is on the Āḻvārs’ Nālāyirativviyappirapantam. The Biblical myth of ‘Noah’s Ark’ may be of value for inter-religious dialogue. Several hundreds of the Tamil hymns have something to say on the symbolism of water. We cite a few examples hereunder. The emphasis is on water and Viśvarūpa.
Research Interests:
Vālmīki and Kampar stand at the polarities of two cultural traditions, separated by the time and space of nearly two millennia. Vālmīki’s Rāma is a true Āryan and the torch-bearer of its cultural usages. What Rāvaṇa did may be fair from... more
Vālmīki and Kampar stand at the polarities of two cultural traditions, separated by the time and space of nearly two millennia. Vālmīki’s Rāma is a true Āryan and the torch-bearer of its cultural usages. What Rāvaṇa did may be fair from the demonic cultural point of view (cf. Zvelebil 1988: 126-34, viewing Rāvaṇa as a noble Dravidian demon-hero) but what Rāma finally does is to establish the Āryan dharma which is accepted by the monkey (Sugrīva) and bird (Jaṭāyu) tribes, including Rāvaṇa’s brother Vibhīṣaṇa. However, with the lapse of time, Kampaṉ at the other end of the millennium polarity, accepts the Āryan ideology and will not allow Rāvaṇa to touch Sītā. Several other versions of the Rāmāyaṇa (e.g., Adhyātma- and Rāmacaritamanas) indirectly echo the same idea and it is very interesting to find these motifs receiving the serious attention of śilpis through the plastic and pictorial arts of India through the ages. The presentation is in three segments: 1) Literary background of the Rāmāyaṇa, 2) Visual arts with particular bearing on Cinema and Indonesian ballets of Rāma-kathā, and 3) western plastic and pictorial arts.
Research Interests:
Invited lecture “The Mother Goddess Cult in South India”, in the Refresher Course in Historical Studies, Department of History, organized by UGC – Human Resource Development Centre, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore on 07/09/2022.
Research Interests:
A seal of the Indic culture represents a Goddess standing close by tree, and receiving sacrifices. Seven more goddesses, hypothetically the Ēḻukaṉṉimār or Sapta Māt kā, are linked with the Tree Goddess. The ancient Tamil Caṅkam... more
A seal of the Indic culture represents a Goddess standing close by tree, and receiving sacrifices. Seven more goddesses, hypothetically the Ēḻukaṉṉimār or Sapta Māt kā, are linked with the Tree Goddess. The ancient Tamil Caṅkam literature, Naṟṟiṇai and Cilappatikāram (down to 450 CE), mention a Goddess of the vēṅkai tree, Vēṅkaik-kaṭavuḷ. Tiṭṭakuṭi in south Ārkkāṭu district is the venue of a temple for Vaidhyanāthasvāmi, the Goddess called Acaṉāmpikai or Vēṅkai-vaṉanāyaki, cf. Dārukavana or Vaiṣṇava divyadeśa-Naimisāraṇya. The presiding Goddess of Tiṭṭakuṭi according to the sthalapurāṇam is 'Mistress of the vēṅkai Forest', based on oral tradition (twelfth to the eighteenth centuries). Caṅkiliyāṉpāṟai (district Tiṇṭukkal) at the foothills of Ciṟumalai, the Sañjīvi-parvata (Hill of medicinal herbs and trees) associated with Hanumān of the Rāmāyaṇa fame, is a centre of folk worship. Recently, scholars claim to have discovered some pictographic inscriptions resembling the Indic heritage. Several hypaethral temples for Caṅkili-Kaṟuppaṉ (the Black tied with iron chain), Ēḻukaṉṉimār (Seven Virgins) and [Ārya]-Śāsta (equated with Ayyappaṉ of Śabarimalā) are under worship. People from the nearby villages congregate on certain occasions to worship the gods and goddesses, and undertake periodical and annual festivals. It seems a "sacred thread" links the archaic traditions of the Indic culture (c. 2500 BCE) with the contemporary faiths (cf. Eliade 1960, Brockington 1998, Shulman & Stroumsa 2002) of Tiṭṭakuṭi and Caṅkiliyāṉpāṟai. The article examines the story of the Tree Goddess, the neo-divinity (vampat-teyvam) or numen (cf. Vedic devamāt-Aditi) with reference to the Caṅkam lore, datable since the third century BCE (cf. Aśoka's Girnar Edict-Mookerji 1972: 223), Vēṅkaikkaṭavuḷ, Acaṉāmpikai of Tiṭṭakuṭi and the Caṅkiliyāṉpāṟai vestiges. Why the invisible folk cults are linked with the invincible Vedic is an open secrecy or question!
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
National Workshop on “Tamil Socio-Cultural History Gleaned from the Classical Literature”, sponsored by CICT and organized by School of Languages, Literature and Cultural Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (9-18 March)
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The aim of the present lecture is not to compress in a nutshell all that is told in the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki (c. 1000-500 BC) and Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ (12th century CE), the two eminent Sanskrit and Tamil scholars separated by a gap of... more
The aim of the present lecture is not to compress in a nutshell all that is told in the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki (c. 1000-500 BC) and Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ (12th century CE), the two eminent Sanskrit and Tamil scholars separated by a gap of more than two millennia. Therefore, what was the sociological notion (e.g. the concept of chastity [Tamil kaṟpu, cf. Cilappatikāram in Rajarajan 2016, also consult Tirukkuṟaḷ, atikāram 6] or an alien touching an orthodox Indian woman, cf. the treatment meted out the Pāñcāli by the Kauravas or Rāvaṇa lifting Sīta in Vālmīki and Kampaṉ; I may emphatically add it a living tradition in rural India) of the first millennium BC could not have been the same in the mid-first millennium CE.
Research Interests:
The Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa are the legacy of India to world literature; recast in various Asian languages, and translated in western languages such as Deutsch, English and French. If the prefix, “the Great” is added to the Rāmāyaṇa,... more
The Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa are the legacy of India to world literature; recast in various Asian languages, and translated in western languages such as Deutsch, English and French. If the prefix, “the Great” is added to the Rāmāyaṇa, it is not an exaggeration. Both the Hindu itihasas put together make up the greatest heritage of humanity. Divided into seven kaṇḍas, John Dowson (A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion 1928) says the Rāmāyaṇa consists of 50,000 lines (in 25,000 ślokas). The Mahābhārata is in 110,000 ślokas (Dowson 1998 reprint: 183), and both put together make up a fantastic 270,000 lines something unparalleled in the history of world literature. I may add “the whole of English literature may not be equal to a shelf accommodating the Indian itihāsas and purāṇas (mahā- and upa-) in Sanskrit and Asian languages.
The aim of the present lecture is not to compress in a nutshell all that is told in the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki (c. 1000-500 BC) and Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ (12th century CE), the two eminent Sanskrit and Tamil scholars separated by a gap of more than two millennia. Therefore, what was the sociological notion (e.g. the concept of chastity [Tamil kaṟpu, cf. Cilappatikāram in Rajarajan 2016, also consult Tirukkuṟaḷ, atikāram 6] or an alien touching an orthodox Indian woman, cf. the treatment meted out the Pāñcāli by the Kauravas or Rāvaṇa lifting Sīta in Vālmīki and Kampaṉ; I may emphatically add it a living tradition in rural India) of the first millennium BC could not have been the same in the mid-first millennium CE.
I would like to add here we find two different stages in retelling the Rāmāyaṇa annals in Tamil (see bibliography listing the publications of the present author):
1) Pre-bhakti (sporadic notes in Caṅkam and post-Caṅkam literature*, e.g. the Cilappatikāram) and bhakti phase (literature of the Āḻvārs, dated during the 6th-7th to 9th century CE); this phase covers a vast span since the third century BC (e.g. the reference to Cōḻa-Pāṇḍya-Kēraḷaputra in the Girnār Edict of Aśoka) to the ninth century CE.
* Caṅkam 250 BC to 250 CE; post-Caṅkam 250-550 CE.
2) The Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ (12th century CE) retelling Vālmīki’s epic in six kāṇḍas* omitting the Uttarakāṇḍa.
* Tamil kāṇṭam (large section of a book), Sargaḥ (section, chapter) is paṭalam (chapter).
I follow the reverse order in the present lecture discussing Kampaṉ and then taking up the Āḻvārs, allowing scope for discussion.
The aim of the present lecture is not to compress in a nutshell all that is told in the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki (c. 1000-500 BC) and Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ (12th century CE), the two eminent Sanskrit and Tamil scholars separated by a gap of more than two millennia. Therefore, what was the sociological notion (e.g. the concept of chastity [Tamil kaṟpu, cf. Cilappatikāram in Rajarajan 2016, also consult Tirukkuṟaḷ, atikāram 6] or an alien touching an orthodox Indian woman, cf. the treatment meted out the Pāñcāli by the Kauravas or Rāvaṇa lifting Sīta in Vālmīki and Kampaṉ; I may emphatically add it a living tradition in rural India) of the first millennium BC could not have been the same in the mid-first millennium CE.
I would like to add here we find two different stages in retelling the Rāmāyaṇa annals in Tamil (see bibliography listing the publications of the present author):
1) Pre-bhakti (sporadic notes in Caṅkam and post-Caṅkam literature*, e.g. the Cilappatikāram) and bhakti phase (literature of the Āḻvārs, dated during the 6th-7th to 9th century CE); this phase covers a vast span since the third century BC (e.g. the reference to Cōḻa-Pāṇḍya-Kēraḷaputra in the Girnār Edict of Aśoka) to the ninth century CE.
* Caṅkam 250 BC to 250 CE; post-Caṅkam 250-550 CE.
2) The Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ (12th century CE) retelling Vālmīki’s epic in six kāṇḍas* omitting the Uttarakāṇḍa.
* Tamil kāṇṭam (large section of a book), Sargaḥ (section, chapter) is paṭalam (chapter).
I follow the reverse order in the present lecture discussing Kampaṉ and then taking up the Āḻvārs, allowing scope for discussion.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Workshop on “Caṅka iḻakkiyattiḻ Tamilppaṇpāṭṭuk kaḻaikaḷiṉ marapu” [Caṅkam Literature – Tamil Cultural Heritage Art], sponsored by CICT and organized by Department of Tamil, Quaid-E-Millath Government College for Women, Chennai,... more
Workshop on “Caṅka iḻakkiyattiḻ Tamilppaṇpāṭṭuk kaḻaikaḷiṉ marapu” [Caṅkam Literature – Tamil Cultural Heritage Art], sponsored by CICT and organized by Department of Tamil, Quaid-E-Millath Government College for Women, Chennai, (27.01.2014 – 06.02.2014).
Research Interests:
Workshop on “Cevviyal iḻakkitaṅkaḷiḻ mēḻāṇmaic cintaṉaikaḷ” [Management ideas in Classical Tamil Literature], sponsored by Central Institute of Classical Tamil and organized by the Department of Tamil, Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed... more
Workshop on “Cevviyal iḻakkitaṅkaḷiḻ mēḻāṇmaic cintaṉaikaḷ” [Management ideas in Classical Tamil Literature], sponsored by Central Institute of Classical Tamil and organized by the Department of Tamil, Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed University, Gandhigram (22.03.2015 to 31.03.2015).
Research Interests:
Workshop on “Cevviyal iḻakkitaṅkaḷiḻ mēḻāṇmaic cintaṉaikaḷ” [Management ideas in Classical Tamil Literature], sponsored by Central Institute of Classical Tamil and organized by the Department of Tamil, Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed... more
Workshop on “Cevviyal iḻakkitaṅkaḷiḻ mēḻāṇmaic cintaṉaikaḷ” [Management ideas in Classical Tamil Literature], sponsored by Central Institute of Classical Tamil and organized by the Department of Tamil, Gandhigram Rural Institute – Deemed University, Gandhigram (22.03.2015 to 31.03.2015).
Research Interests:
P.G. & Research Department of History, S. Vellaichamy Nadar College, Madurai on 07.08.2016.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The present book presents a summary of Lalitā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva -sahasranāmas to demonstrate how the epithets are reciprocal that is a mutual give and take. To give a modern example, the Second World War was a success when the USA entered... more
The present book presents a summary of Lalitā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva -sahasranāmas to demonstrate how the epithets are reciprocal that is a mutual give and take. To give a modern example, the Second World War was a success when the USA entered the race supporting the righteous cause of the ‘Allies’ to break the ‘Axis’. This is the dire need at this crossroad of the ‘Corona’ virus war. The lesson taught by the mid-twentieth century history is that the righteous nations should get together once again to root out terrorism in whichever form it manifests. Otherwise, the ‘Cosmic Harmony’ is endangered, and humanity shall always be under the black or white veil of terror-phobia. In this war for peace, the UNO is bound to play its committed role. The sahasranāmas and aṣṭottaramśata are ancient guidelines for Universal Harmony; the institution of Dharma and annihilation of adharma (cf. chap. V).
The scope of the work is three-pronged:
1) To cogently list the Romanized sahasranāma of Lalitā, Viṣṇu, Śiva in alphabetical order; supplement the data from related aṣṭottaramśata, and compilation of the epithets from other sources such as the Devīmāhātmyam, Devīsahasranāma, and Rudratriśatī.
We do not claim to be innovators of the alphabetical pattern. Nearly a century ago, John Dowson (1928) had followed this method for recording the names under various heads such as Devī, Viṣṇu, and Śiva.
2) To identify the reciprocal epithets, and
3) To summarize the epithets that come under common heads, i.e., concordance (cf. Rajarajan et al. 2017b: 285-320).
By the way, we would like to demonstrate how the recital of the nāmāvaḷis results in a mental armistice leading to universal harmony. Several epithets focus on the destruction of demonic powers that dare frighten Cosmic Peace. The world fellowship may hope to derive mānasa-śāntiḥ by just uttering the names of Rām[a] or Kṣṇa (Nārāyaṇa, Sabhāpate, cf. Wilkins 1882/2000: 197).
The scope of the work is three-pronged:
1) To cogently list the Romanized sahasranāma of Lalitā, Viṣṇu, Śiva in alphabetical order; supplement the data from related aṣṭottaramśata, and compilation of the epithets from other sources such as the Devīmāhātmyam, Devīsahasranāma, and Rudratriśatī.
We do not claim to be innovators of the alphabetical pattern. Nearly a century ago, John Dowson (1928) had followed this method for recording the names under various heads such as Devī, Viṣṇu, and Śiva.
2) To identify the reciprocal epithets, and
3) To summarize the epithets that come under common heads, i.e., concordance (cf. Rajarajan et al. 2017b: 285-320).
By the way, we would like to demonstrate how the recital of the nāmāvaḷis results in a mental armistice leading to universal harmony. Several epithets focus on the destruction of demonic powers that dare frighten Cosmic Peace. The world fellowship may hope to derive mānasa-śāntiḥ by just uttering the names of Rām[a] or Kṣṇa (Nārāyaṇa, Sabhāpate, cf. Wilkins 1882/2000: 197).
Research Interests:
The Temple Cars (better Car Temple) of South India is a group of monuments designed on the model of the Hindu Temple. These are important for intensive studies of archaeologists, art historians, and sociologists. Essential for the art... more
The Temple Cars (better Car Temple) of South India is a group of monuments designed on the model of the Hindu Temple. These are important for intensive studies of archaeologists, art historians, and sociologists. Essential for the art historian from structural design and sculptural decoration, it is a vital theme for socio-cultural analysts. Scholars have viewed the ratha (or tēr “temple car”) from the art-historical point of view rather than from the perspective of sociologists. The chariots are famous since the Indic culture (c. 2500 BCE), and the Vedas are attractions for the multitude during the annual festivals in Indian temples, e.g., Pūri and Citamparam. Extolled in
the hymns of the bhakti mystics, the Nāyaṉmār (the Tēvāram hymns), and the famous saying is Tiruvārūr tēr aḻaku “beauty is the Ārūr chariot”. Millions of people assemble close to the temple premises during festivals to celebrate the Car. All-time solitary reaper, the Cars stand at a corner of the temple streets unrecognized. Therefore, these beautiful monuments of artistic decoration fall easy prey to pilferers and are at the mercy of wind and weather, undergoing a process of natural deterioration. Our forefathers invested incredible funds to build up such a rich temple culture that goes to the bin of history unwept, unhonored, and unsung. Scholars dedicated to the study of South Indian Car Temples suggest these should be conserved as heritage monuments for social awareness in the future.
the hymns of the bhakti mystics, the Nāyaṉmār (the Tēvāram hymns), and the famous saying is Tiruvārūr tēr aḻaku “beauty is the Ārūr chariot”. Millions of people assemble close to the temple premises during festivals to celebrate the Car. All-time solitary reaper, the Cars stand at a corner of the temple streets unrecognized. Therefore, these beautiful monuments of artistic decoration fall easy prey to pilferers and are at the mercy of wind and weather, undergoing a process of natural deterioration. Our forefathers invested incredible funds to build up such a rich temple culture that goes to the bin of history unwept, unhonored, and unsung. Scholars dedicated to the study of South Indian Car Temples suggest these should be conserved as heritage monuments for social awareness in the future.
Research Interests:
The book is in two parts dealing with the sacred hymnss of the Āḻvārs and Nāyaṉmār; rooted in the Vedas, the Itihāsas, the Gīta and the sahasranāmas of Viṣṇu and Śiva. The first part presents the Roman transcription and English... more
The book is in two parts dealing with the sacred hymnss of the Āḻvārs and Nāyaṉmār; rooted in the Vedas, the Itihāsas, the Gīta and the sahasranāmas of Viṣṇu and Śiva. The first part presents the Roman transcription and English translation of the holiest of the hymns, the Tiruppāvai and Tiruvempāvai. The second part is on “Morphological Riddles and Mythological Setting” of the Āḻvārs hymns, and historical reflections on the ‘Divyadeśas” (Sacred Geography) of Viṣṇuism in the Kāviri delta.
We have presented a transcription and transliteration in Roman script, word-to-word English version and a digest. This may help any not-Tamil knowing audience to have an understanding of the hymns. The aim is to bring alive the hymns at the lips of the readers.
The book includes an historical introduction on the bhakti cult. Rooted in the ‘Bhāgavata’ or Vṛṣṇī-vīra worship, the bhakti adumbrated by the Āḻvārs and the Nāyaṉmār (6th-9th century CE) had a tremendous impact over the course liturgical literature, temple building and the temple arts, sculpture and painting through the ages in South and Southeast Asia.
Chapter IV and V elaborately deal with the Tamil Veda, the ‘Nālāyiram’ in the context of the ideas aired in Chapters II and III. The annexure-s on Viṣṇusahasranāma and Śivasahasranāma pinpoint their art historical relevance.
We have presented a transcription and transliteration in Roman script, word-to-word English version and a digest. This may help any not-Tamil knowing audience to have an understanding of the hymns. The aim is to bring alive the hymns at the lips of the readers.
The book includes an historical introduction on the bhakti cult. Rooted in the ‘Bhāgavata’ or Vṛṣṇī-vīra worship, the bhakti adumbrated by the Āḻvārs and the Nāyaṉmār (6th-9th century CE) had a tremendous impact over the course liturgical literature, temple building and the temple arts, sculpture and painting through the ages in South and Southeast Asia.
Chapter IV and V elaborately deal with the Tamil Veda, the ‘Nālāyiram’ in the context of the ideas aired in Chapters II and III. The annexure-s on Viṣṇusahasranāma and Śivasahasranāma pinpoint their art historical relevance.
Research Interests:
Kannaki and the annals of Cilappatikaram are foremost among the Tamil epics. The focus of Masterpieces of Indian Literature and Art: Tears of Kannaki: Annals and Iconology of ‘Cilappatikaram’ is on iconology and visuals bearing on the... more
Kannaki and the annals of Cilappatikaram are foremost among the Tamil epics. The focus of Masterpieces of Indian Literature and Art: Tears of Kannaki: Annals and Iconology of ‘Cilappatikaram’ is on iconology and visuals bearing on the subject.
Designed in five nodal chapters, the book in two parts includes two annexure-s, glossary, bibliography (Part I), and Roman transcription of the Cilappatikaram followed by a comprehensive index (Part II), prepared by the publisher. Part I presents a copious picture of the following aspects:
— Introduction dealing with formal details and date of the epic
— Enumeration of the sequence of mythology of Kannaki
— Iconography as may be summarized from each chapter (katai)
— Iconology of Kannaki and the Cilappatikaram events
— Two annexure-s dealing with ‘religious imagery and architecture in Classical Tamil Literature’ with special reference to Kalittokai and Manimekalai
However, the main work is discussed in chapters III-V. For illustrations the author had done fieldwork from Kotumkallur in Kerala through Early Cola in Tamilnadu to Sri Lanka and Prambanan in Java.
Part II of the book presents the epic in Roman transcription. This part is evidenced by telegraphic notes within the format of the text.
More than 140 photographic samples are presented to bring to our eyes the events that took place 2,000 years ago.
Designed in five nodal chapters, the book in two parts includes two annexure-s, glossary, bibliography (Part I), and Roman transcription of the Cilappatikaram followed by a comprehensive index (Part II), prepared by the publisher. Part I presents a copious picture of the following aspects:
— Introduction dealing with formal details and date of the epic
— Enumeration of the sequence of mythology of Kannaki
— Iconography as may be summarized from each chapter (katai)
— Iconology of Kannaki and the Cilappatikaram events
— Two annexure-s dealing with ‘religious imagery and architecture in Classical Tamil Literature’ with special reference to Kalittokai and Manimekalai
However, the main work is discussed in chapters III-V. For illustrations the author had done fieldwork from Kotumkallur in Kerala through Early Cola in Tamilnadu to Sri Lanka and Prambanan in Java.
Part II of the book presents the epic in Roman transcription. This part is evidenced by telegraphic notes within the format of the text.
More than 140 photographic samples are presented to bring to our eyes the events that took place 2,000 years ago.
Research Interests:
The present book deals with the tiruvilaiyatal (Sanskrit lila) myths from the most ancient to the 18th century AD. It is the self-financed report of Dr R.K.K. Rajarajan and Dr Jeyapriya. The reflections of the theme in the art of the... more
The present book deals with the tiruvilaiyatal (Sanskrit lila) myths from the most ancient to the 18th century AD. It is the self-financed report of Dr R.K.K. Rajarajan and Dr Jeyapriya. The reflections of the theme in the art of the Pandya country is cogently traced and illustrated with 140 photographic illustrations.
Two chapters deal with the artistic potentiality of theme in Maturai and Greater Maturai. The literary sources are summarized in two chapters. Few western scholars have written on Minaksi, “marriage” and Alakar heading to Vaikai from the literary point of view. The present works brings out the artistic dimension of theme. A chapter on Pandyas deals with their history purely from a literary point of view cursorily reflecting on epigraphical sources. An annexure deals with the Sanskritic sources. Another annexure examines the sculptures in the “New Pavilion” with due reference to the myths that support such illustrations.
The work represents a new trekking in art historical scholar-ship, based on Tamil sources. The tiruvilaiyatals as literary motifs have been traced from the ancient (Cilappatikaram 5th century) to the Nayaka period. The photographic illustrations in colour are unpublished and add immensely to visually enjoy the theme. The study shows how a regional theme has acquired national and international recognition by virtue of its many-fold expression in art, thought and literature.
Two chapters deal with the artistic potentiality of theme in Maturai and Greater Maturai. The literary sources are summarized in two chapters. Few western scholars have written on Minaksi, “marriage” and Alakar heading to Vaikai from the literary point of view. The present works brings out the artistic dimension of theme. A chapter on Pandyas deals with their history purely from a literary point of view cursorily reflecting on epigraphical sources. An annexure deals with the Sanskritic sources. Another annexure examines the sculptures in the “New Pavilion” with due reference to the myths that support such illustrations.
The work represents a new trekking in art historical scholar-ship, based on Tamil sources. The tiruvilaiyatals as literary motifs have been traced from the ancient (Cilappatikaram 5th century) to the Nayaka period. The photographic illustrations in colour are unpublished and add immensely to visually enjoy the theme. The study shows how a regional theme has acquired national and international recognition by virtue of its many-fold expression in art, thought and literature.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The doctoral thesis by R.K. Kesava Rajarajan is a very serious effort to put some order in the great deal of monuments belonging to a period, which is too often underestimated by the scholars. The work contains both a survey of the... more
The doctoral thesis by R.K. Kesava Rajarajan is a very serious effort to put some order in the great deal of monuments belonging to a period, which is too often underestimated by the scholars. The work contains both a survey of the temples and an analysis of iconographical themes. The painstaking examination of original sources is perhaps the most important contribution by Rajarajan, but also the chapter “Paradigms of Nayaka Art” is extremely useful as it takes into consideration and systematically discusses most of the features characterizing Nayaka temple architecture [...] The scholar is right in stressing the importance of the changing European taste in the evaluation of Indian art [...] the material collected is impressive, the references to the literary tradition are vast and exhaustive, the iconographical interpretations are well-grounded and rich in detail [...] It is my opinion that, once it is published, it will remain as a fundamental reference book for Nayaka architecture and iconography. — Prof. Maurizio Taddei, Rome/Naples
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The aim of the present lecture is not to compress in a nutshell all that is told in the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki (c. 1000-500 BC) and Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ (12 th century CE), the two eminent Sanskrit and Tamil scholars separated by a gap of... more
The aim of the present lecture is not to compress in a nutshell all that is told in the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmīki (c. 1000-500 BC) and Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ (12 th century CE), the two eminent Sanskrit and Tamil scholars separated by a gap of more than two millennia. Therefore, what was the sociological notion (e.g. the concept of chastity [Tamil kaṟpu, cf. Cilappatikāram in Rajarajan 2016, also consult Tirukkuṟaḷ, atikāram 6] or an alien touching an orthodox Indian woman, cf. the treatment meted out the Pāñcāli by the Kauravas or Rāvaṇa lifting Sīta in Vālmīki and Kampaṉ; I may emphatically add it a living tradition in rural India) of the first millennium BC could not have been the same in the mid-first millennium CE. I would like to add here we find two different stages in retelling the Rāmāyaṇa annals in Tamil (see bibliography listing the publications of the present author).
Research Interests:
The 'twin Epics' Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa are the legacy of India to world literature; recast in various Asian languages, and translated in western languages such as Deutsch, English and French. If the prefix, "the Great" is added to... more
The 'twin Epics' Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa are the legacy of India to world literature; recast in various Asian languages, and translated in western languages such as Deutsch, English and French. If the prefix, "the Great" is added to the Rāmāyaṇa, it is not an exaggeration. Both the Hindu itihasas put together make up the greatest heritage of humanity. Divided into seven kaṇḍas, John Dowson (A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion 1928) says the Rāmāyaṇa consists of 50,000 lines (in 25,000 ślokas). The Mahābhārata is in 110,000 ślokas, and both put together make up a fantastic 270,000 lines something unparalleled in the history of world literature. I may add "the whole of English literature may not be equal to a shelf accommodating the Indian itihāsas and purāṇas (mahā-and upa-) in Sanskrit and Asian languages.
Research Interests:
A seal of the Indic culture represents a Goddess standing close by tree, and receiving sacrifices. Seven more goddesses, hypothetically the Ēḻukaṉṉimār or Sapta Mātṛkā, are linked with the Tree Goddess. The ancient Tamil Caṅkam... more
A seal of the Indic culture represents a Goddess standing close by tree, and receiving sacrifices. Seven more goddesses, hypothetically the Ēḻukaṉṉimār or Sapta Mātṛkā, are linked with the Tree Goddess. The ancient Tamil Caṅkam literature, Naṟṟiṇai and Cilappatikāram (down to 450 CE), mention a Goddess of the vēṅkai tree, Vēṅkaik-kaṭavuḷ. Tiṭṭakuṭi in south Ārkkāṭu district is the venue of a temple for Vaidhyanāthasvāmi, the Goddess called Acaṉāmpikai or Vēṅkaivaṉanāyaki, cf. Dārukavana or Vaiṣṇava divyadeśa-Naimisāraṇya. The presiding Goddess of Tiṭṭakuṭi according to the sthalapurāṇam is 'Mistress of the vēṅkai Forest', based on oral tradition (twelfth to the eighteenth centuries). Caṅkiliyāṉpāṟai (district Tiṇṭukkal) at the foothills of Ciṟumalai, the Sañjīvi-parvata (Hill of medicinal herbs and trees) associated with Hanumān of the Rāmāyaṇa fame, is a centre of folk worship. Recently, scholars claim to have discovered some pictographic inscriptions resembling the Indic heritage. Several hypaethral temples for Caṅkili-Kaṟuppaṉ (the Black tied with iron chain), Ēḻukaṉṉimār (Seven Virgins) and [Ārya]-Śāsta (equated
Research Interests:
A seal of the Indic culture represents a Goddess standing close by tree, and receiving sacrifices. Seven more goddesses, hypothetically the Ēḻukaṉṉimār or Sapta Mātṛkā, are linked with the Tree Goddess. The ancient Tamil Caṅkam... more
A seal of the Indic culture represents a Goddess standing close by tree, and receiving sacrifices. Seven more goddesses, hypothetically the Ēḻukaṉṉimār or Sapta Mātṛkā, are linked with the Tree Goddess. The ancient Tamil Caṅkam literature, Naṟṟiṇai and Cilappatikāram (down to 450 CE), mention a Goddess of the vēṅkai tree, Vēṅkaik-kaṭavuḷ. Tiṭṭakuṭi in south Ārkkāṭu district is the venue of a temple for Vaidhyanāthasvāmi, the Goddess called Acaṉāmpikai or Vēṅkaivaṉanāyaki, cf. Dārukavana or Vaiṣṇava divyadeśa-Naimisāraṇya. The presiding Goddess of Tiṭṭakuṭi according to the sthalapurāṇam is 'Mistress of the vēṅkai Forest', based on oral tradition (twelfth to the eighteenth centuries). Caṅkiliyāṉpāṟai (district Tiṇṭukkal) at the foothills of Ciṟumalai, the Sañjīvi-parvata (Hill of medicinal herbs and trees) associated with Hanumān of the Rāmāyaṇa fame, is a centre of folk worship. Recently, scholars claim to have discovered some pictographic inscriptions resembling the Indic heritage. Several hypaethral temples for Caṅkili-Kaṟuppaṉ (the Black tied with iron chain), Ēḻukaṉṉimār (Seven Virgins) and [Ārya]-Śāsta (equated with Ayyappaṉ of Śabarimalā) are under worship. People from the nearby villages congregate on certain occasions to worship the gods and goddesses, and undertake periodical and annual festivals. It seems a "sacred thread" links the archaic traditions of the Indic culture (c. 2500 BCE) with the contemporary faiths (cf. Eliade 1960, Brockington 1998, Shulman & Stroumsa 2002) of Tiṭṭakuṭi and Caṅkiliyāṉpāṟai. The article examines the story of the Tree Goddess, the neo-divinity (vampatteyvam) or numen (cf. Vedic devamātṛ-Aditi) with reference to the Caṅkam lore, datable since the third century BCE (cf. Aśoka's Girnar Edict-Mookerji 1972: 223), Vēṅkaikkaṭavuḷ, Acaṉāmpikai of Tiṭṭakuṭi and the Caṅkiliyāṉpāṟai vestiges. Why the invisible folk cults are linked with the invincible Vedic is an open secrecy or question!
Research Interests:
Webinar “Extremes of Visual Hijacking – Shifting Paradigms of Goddess Cult”, for the Centre for French and Francophone, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Research Interests:
‘Mythical Hybrid Beings in Sculptural Art and Asian Region’ is a fascinating title for the literature and art researchers. The term hybrid, derived from the Latin hybrida, variant of ibrida ‘mongrel’, meaning ‘offspring of a domestic... more
‘Mythical Hybrid Beings in Sculptural Art and Asian Region’ is a fascinating title for the literature and art researchers. The term hybrid, derived from the Latin hybrida, variant of ibrida ‘mongrel’, meaning ‘offspring of a domestic (tame) sow and a wild boar’. Hybrid exists in all aspects, but the mythical hybrids are conceptually diverse in the beginning and changing through the course of time. The article will focus on ‘mix-mongrel metaphors’, through the literature and visual culture of the Tamils. The pan-Indian prototype Ardhanārīśvara ‘left-breasted’ icon is entirely different from that of the classical Greco-Roman Hermaphroditus, from the basic idea and form. Consequently, the south-Indian archetype Kaṇṇaki-Ardhanārī ‘right-breasted’ Cōla imagery is an offshoot of the Ardhanārīśvara. Subsequently, the Maturai ‘triple-breasted’ Taṭātakai-Mīnākṣī is a unique form in the evolution of visual culture. Kaṇṇaki-Ardhanārī and Taṭātakai-Mīnākṣī might have been a regional folk theme by origin and elevated to statuesque through the classical post-Caṅkam literature as appearing in Cilappatikāram, the bhakti hymns of Tēvāram and Tiruvācakam and a 10th century literary compilation, called Kallāṭam. The Tiruviḷaiyāṭaṟ Purāṇam is the sthalamāhātmya of the Mīnākṣī-Sundareśvara temple at Madurai (Maturai according to the Tamil Lexicon, Anglicized Madura). It tells the sixty-four plus sacred sports (Tamil viḷaiyāṭal, Sanskrit līlā) of Lord Śiva in and around the city of Maturai. In fact, it deals with the legends of Maturai. The main aim is to see how and why these Tamil regional mix-mongrel hermaphrodites are different and unique in the study of visual culture.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Popularly known as Mat[d]urai Mīnākṣī kōyil, the temple is āgamically the Mīnākṣī-Sundareśvara. Today we celebrate the temple for its art and architecture, but without the literature, e.g. the talapurāṇam, nothing is important for... more
Popularly known as Mat[d]urai Mīnākṣī kōyil, the temple is āgamically the Mīnākṣī-Sundareśvara. Today we celebrate the temple for its art and architecture, but without the literature, e.g. the talapurāṇam, nothing is important for celebration. The Tiruviḷaiyāṭaṟ Purāṇam is the talapurāṇam (sthalamāhātmya) of the Mīnākṣī-Sundareśvara temple at Maturai. It tells the 64+ sacred sports (Tamil viḷaiyāṭal, Sanskrit līlā) of Lord Śiva in and around the city of Maturai. In fact, it deals with the legends of Maturai. A folk theme to begin with, few of the episodes appear in literary works since the post-Caṅkam period, the Cilappatikāram (Rajarajan 2000, 2012 & 2016), the bhakti hymns of Tēvāram and Tiruvācakam and a 10th century literary compilation, called Kallāṭam (Zvelebil 1974: 178-85).
A Tamil theme for literary compositions, it was adapted to the taste of Sanskrit scholars that recast a number of works such as Hālāsyamāhātmya, Śivalīlārṇava, Kaḍambavana Purāṇa and so on. I want to emphasize this point because many scholars and visitors to the temple are not aware of the local legends that are vital to understand the festivals; and sculptural wealth of the temple as it may be found on the rāyagopuras, putumaṇḍapa, kiḷikkaṭṭumaṇḍapa, stucco images on the wall of the Sundareśvara shrine, wood-carved chariots and so on.
One may come across a stunning triple breasted Goddess in Mīnākṣī Temple and the Tirupparaṅkuṉṟam Murukaṉ Temple in suburban Maturai. The image may not be intelligible to scholars from the north of India if they do not know the legends of Maturai as told in the Tiruviḷaiyāṭaṟ Purāṇam (hereinafter TVP). Such an image purports to portray a legend from the TVP in which on the presence of Śiva, Taṭātakai transforms into Mīnākṣī. To unmask the veil, this article is presented, which takes cue from the legends told in literature, rituals of the temple involving the baliberas (processional bronze images), sculptures in wood and paintings in the temple and the region around.
Method of Approach:
• Myth: Folk, Regional and National
• Define: Androgyne, Androgynous, Androgenize
• Western: Greco-Roman Model: Prototype: Horizontally split (naturally perceived)
• Indian: Archetype: vertical split (from collective unconsciousness ‘Ardhanārīśvara’)
• Pan-Indian: Ardhanārīśvara: Prototype ‘left-breasted’
• Tamil: Ardhanārī: Archetype – Kaṇṇaki ‘right-breasted’ (exceptional): Regional Identity
• Disappearance of Kaṇṇaki Chronicle – living cult in Kerala and Śrī Laṅkā: Sanskritization
• Maturai: Taṭātakai ‘triple-breasted’ – exceptional: Tamilization
• Rise and Pinnacle of Mīnākṣī cult: Sanskritization
A Tamil theme for literary compositions, it was adapted to the taste of Sanskrit scholars that recast a number of works such as Hālāsyamāhātmya, Śivalīlārṇava, Kaḍambavana Purāṇa and so on. I want to emphasize this point because many scholars and visitors to the temple are not aware of the local legends that are vital to understand the festivals; and sculptural wealth of the temple as it may be found on the rāyagopuras, putumaṇḍapa, kiḷikkaṭṭumaṇḍapa, stucco images on the wall of the Sundareśvara shrine, wood-carved chariots and so on.
One may come across a stunning triple breasted Goddess in Mīnākṣī Temple and the Tirupparaṅkuṉṟam Murukaṉ Temple in suburban Maturai. The image may not be intelligible to scholars from the north of India if they do not know the legends of Maturai as told in the Tiruviḷaiyāṭaṟ Purāṇam (hereinafter TVP). Such an image purports to portray a legend from the TVP in which on the presence of Śiva, Taṭātakai transforms into Mīnākṣī. To unmask the veil, this article is presented, which takes cue from the legends told in literature, rituals of the temple involving the baliberas (processional bronze images), sculptures in wood and paintings in the temple and the region around.
Method of Approach:
• Myth: Folk, Regional and National
• Define: Androgyne, Androgynous, Androgenize
• Western: Greco-Roman Model: Prototype: Horizontally split (naturally perceived)
• Indian: Archetype: vertical split (from collective unconsciousness ‘Ardhanārīśvara’)
• Pan-Indian: Ardhanārīśvara: Prototype ‘left-breasted’
• Tamil: Ardhanārī: Archetype – Kaṇṇaki ‘right-breasted’ (exceptional): Regional Identity
• Disappearance of Kaṇṇaki Chronicle – living cult in Kerala and Śrī Laṅkā: Sanskritization
• Maturai: Taṭātakai ‘triple-breasted’ – exceptional: Tamilization
• Rise and Pinnacle of Mīnākṣī cult: Sanskritization
Research Interests:
Buddhist, Christian and Hindu, especially Vaiṣṇava images do appear in three different postures such as seated - āsana, standing - sthānaka and reclining - śayana. Though religions philosophies have different messages to transmit, the... more
Buddhist, Christian and Hindu, especially Vaiṣṇava images do appear in three different postures such as seated - āsana, standing - sthānaka and reclining - śayana. Though religions philosophies have different messages to transmit, the postures in iconography are of universal design. These may suggest some unity of thought in devotional inheritances. The present article examines two specimens each from Buddhist, Roman Christian and Vaiṣṇava iconography to underline the unity of design and material among the religious iconographies. The selected specimen may belong to assorted chronological scheme rooted in thoughts of ancient scriptures of the respective creeds. The method of approach is to consider the composition and textile. The interpretations are not philosophical even if some contemplation in Sanskrit and Tamil appear dogmatic. I have employed Indian iconographic terms (see Liebert 1986, Bunce 1997), which in a wider sense are applicable universally (Lederle n.d.: figs. pp. 28, 67, 84; Figs. 5-6, 13-14). The article strives to present a cross-cultural picture of Buddhist, Christian and Vaiṣṇava art, casually hinting at Śaiva and Śākta.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Gaṅgāvatāra in Śaivite lore is associated with the penance of Bhāgīratha. Śiva received the Gaṅgā on his matted locks of hair, and then released her for prosperity of Jambudvīpa or Bhārata-varṣa. The Tamil Vaiṣṇava hymns of the Āḻvārs... more
Gaṅgāvatāra in Śaivite lore is associated with the penance of Bhāgīratha. Śiva received the Gaṅgā on his matted locks of hair, and then released her for prosperity of Jambudvīpa or Bhārata-varṣa. The Tamil Vaiṣṇava hymns of the Āḻvārs claim this feat for Trivikrama, elaborated in their codified work, the Nālāyirativviyappirapantam. This idiom is elaborated in this article pointing out how it had a long-lasting impact on the pictorial arts of South India. Few specimens from Pallava, Hoysala and Nāyaka art are examined to show how the idea had repercussions over the Śaiva-Vaiṣṇava religious dialogue in South India through the ages. The holiness attached to the cult of Gaṅgā is pinpointed.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Māliruñcōlai (folk: Aḻakarkōyil) is one of the celebrated divyaadeśas in southern Pāṇḍya country. Noted in the earliest stratum of Tamil literature (e.g. the Paripāṭal 15 and Cilappatikāram 11.91-110), it was the holy land cherished in... more
Māliruñcōlai (folk: Aḻakarkōyil) is one of the celebrated divyaadeśas in southern Pāṇḍya country. Noted in the earliest stratum of Tamil literature (e.g. the Paripāṭal 15 and Cilappatikāram 11.91-110), it was the holy land cherished in the hymns of the woman mystic, Āṇṭāl. She considers the Lord Aḻakar/Saundararāja her bridegroom, Māliruñcīlai-maṇāḷar (Nācciyār Tirumoḻi 4.1). Not less than 128 hymns (Rajarajan 2012: 70-75) have been contributed on the sacred land by six among the twelve Āḻvārs (see Rajarajan et al. 2007a: 727-28). The author did his Master of Arts thesis on the Nāyaka period [raṅga]kalyāṇa-maṇḍapa of the temple. Left abruptly, after a brief report in his doctoral thesis (Rajarajan 2006:46-47), the author would like to throw further light on the art heritages with due reference to the Rāmāyaṇa narrative sculptures. The Nāyaka paintings on the Rāmāyaṇa in the Tirukōkaraṇam Temple are examined for comparative study. The aim is to collate the ideas gleaned from the Āḻvārs’ literature (7th-9th century CE) and the Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ (12th century). It may acquire an unwieldy format if entire range of paintings is investigated. Therefore, the scope of the article could be briefed in the following terms:
1) Examination of select Episodes from the Rāmāyaṇa Paintings
2) Comparative study of the Māliruñcōlai (Vijayavenugopal 1987) and Tirukōkaraṇam imageries
3) How they reflect the thoughts of the Āḻvārs that composed hymns nearly 1200 years ago?
4) How the ideas of the Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ are reflected?
5) Investigate how a pan-Indian epic was regionalized by the Tamil poets and how the Nāyakas compromised the themes channelizing the ideas toward the national mainstream?
6) I keep in mind the array of Rāmāyaṇa sculptures (e.g. Western Calukya and Rāṣṭrakūṭa [Markel 2000]; Ellora: XVI [Gail 1985], Badāmī: Upper Śivālaya, Aihole: Durga Temple, Paṭṭadakkal: Pāpanātha temple); not popular in Pallava-Pāṇḍya (Empire I) art (Kalidos 2006: I, pls.) down to the Imperial Cōḻas (Stanford 1974, Rajarajan 2008: 405-14) and Hoysalas (Evans 1997).
7) Popularizing the amaranāyaka-Rāma was la renaissance under the Nāyakas that brought the idea from their homeland, Vijayanagara, the metropolis (Settar n.d.), e.g. the Paṭṭābhi-Rāma Temple.
1) Examination of select Episodes from the Rāmāyaṇa Paintings
2) Comparative study of the Māliruñcōlai (Vijayavenugopal 1987) and Tirukōkaraṇam imageries
3) How they reflect the thoughts of the Āḻvārs that composed hymns nearly 1200 years ago?
4) How the ideas of the Irāmāvatāram of Kampaṉ are reflected?
5) Investigate how a pan-Indian epic was regionalized by the Tamil poets and how the Nāyakas compromised the themes channelizing the ideas toward the national mainstream?
6) I keep in mind the array of Rāmāyaṇa sculptures (e.g. Western Calukya and Rāṣṭrakūṭa [Markel 2000]; Ellora: XVI [Gail 1985], Badāmī: Upper Śivālaya, Aihole: Durga Temple, Paṭṭadakkal: Pāpanātha temple); not popular in Pallava-Pāṇḍya (Empire I) art (Kalidos 2006: I, pls.) down to the Imperial Cōḻas (Stanford 1974, Rajarajan 2008: 405-14) and Hoysalas (Evans 1997).
7) Popularizing the amaranāyaka-Rāma was la renaissance under the Nāyakas that brought the idea from their homeland, Vijayanagara, the metropolis (Settar n.d.), e.g. the Paṭṭābhi-Rāma Temple.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Kamil Veith Zvelebil was a preeminent Dravidologist whose contribution to Tamil studies is immense. He had an occasion to write a note on “what the term ‘tamil’ means?” (Zvelebil 1987) examining the available sources from the most ancient... more
Kamil Veith Zvelebil was a preeminent Dravidologist whose contribution to Tamil studies is immense. He had an occasion to write a note on “what the term ‘tamil’ means?” (Zvelebil 1987) examining the available sources from the most ancient to the modern. However, the learned professor says nothing about the redundant occurrences in the Nālāyirativviyappirapantam of the Tamil mystics, the Āḻvārs. The Āḻvārs (dated during 6th-7th - 9th centuries CE) have told us what “Tamil” is, and at the same time talking about Āriyam (meaning Sanskrit). The aim of the present article is not to examine Tamil vis-à-vis Sanskrit (in the context of the DK movement) but to say what the Āḻvārs mean by Tamil. By the way the inter-relationship between ‘Tamil’ and ‘Āriyam’ (Ārya, contextually ‘Sanskrit’) or ‘Vaṭamoḻi’ (northern language) could be pointed out as it was understood by about the 9th century CE. The Tamil mystics considered the two-languages the two-eyes of ancient Pāratam/Bhārata (Rajarajan et al. 2016). To quote:
Pullāṇit teṉṉaṉ Tamiḻai Vaṭamoḻiyai (Periya Tirumatal 131 of Tirumaṇkai Āḻvār)
“The Tamil of the southerner, the Pāṇḍya, and the northern language (Sanskrit)” (that are cultivated in the divyadeśa at Pullāṇi*)
* Pullāṇi is a divyadeśa (Vaiṣṇava holy-land) close to Rāmeśvaram
Pullāṇit teṉṉaṉ Tamiḻai Vaṭamoḻiyai (Periya Tirumatal 131 of Tirumaṇkai Āḻvār)
“The Tamil of the southerner, the Pāṇḍya, and the northern language (Sanskrit)” (that are cultivated in the divyadeśa at Pullāṇi*)
* Pullāṇi is a divyadeśa (Vaiṣṇava holy-land) close to Rāmeśvaram
Research Interests:
Buddhism and Jainism are the twin in Tamil literary tradition broadcasting dharma in the Asian world; the “Light of Asia” of Sir Edwin Arnold. The Tamil masterpieces, Cilappatikāram and Maṇimēkalai are called the ‘Twin Epics’ (Rajarajan... more
Buddhism and Jainism are the twin in Tamil literary tradition broadcasting dharma in the Asian world; the “Light of Asia” of Sir Edwin Arnold. The Tamil masterpieces, Cilappatikāram and Maṇimēkalai are called the ‘Twin Epics’ (Rajarajan 2016). The other great Tamil epics Kuṇṭalakēci, Nilakēci and Civakacintāmaṇi, including the Patiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakku (Eighteen Didactic Works) are Buddhist-Jain oriented (c. 2nd-9th century CE). It seems the Jains were the earliest to arrive in Tamilnadu to propagate dharma anterior to the time of Candragupta Maurya (c. 325-301 BCE) that is proved by the recent discovery of Tamil-Brahmī inscriptions c. 450 BCE (Rajan & Yatheeeskumar 2013).
An inscription in the Ādivarāha-mahā-Viṣṇu-gṛha (rock-cut temple) of Māmallapuram (ARE 1922, no. 663, Srinivasan 1964: 173) includes the Buddha among the daśāvatāras of Viṣṇu. Sculptural evidence to this effect is found in the Pāpanaseśvara temple at Alampūr (c. 8th century) in Āndhradeśa (Kalidos 2006: 189-90). The Śṛṅgeri temple in Karnāṭaka (c. 8th-14th century) includes the Jain-Tīrthaṅkara among the daśāvatāras of Viṣṇu (Rajarajan 2006: II, pl. 235). These might suggest the Indian religions amicably fostered the gospels of peace [śātiḥ], righteousness [dharma] and justice to all [nīti] from time immemorial. The scope of the present article is three-pronged:
1) To show how Buddhism and Jainism is twin as pointed out by the nāmāvalis (epithets) of the Buddha and Mahāvīra-Tīrthaṅkara in the Tamil epics
2) To summarize the epigraphical sources to pinpoint the antiquity of Buddhism and Jainism in Tamilnāḍu
3) To locate iconographical specimens those include the Buddha and the Jina as avatāras of Viṣṇu leading to universal religious harmony
The aim of the religions of South Asian origin is to broadcast the messages of peace and prosperity for the Cosmos. Names may vary from the Indic or the Vedic to the purāṇic (e.g. Paśupati, Viṣṇu, Gautama-Buddha, Mahāvīra) but their avowed ambition was to see the Cosmos fosters Dharma and Śāntiḥ.
An inscription in the Ādivarāha-mahā-Viṣṇu-gṛha (rock-cut temple) of Māmallapuram (ARE 1922, no. 663, Srinivasan 1964: 173) includes the Buddha among the daśāvatāras of Viṣṇu. Sculptural evidence to this effect is found in the Pāpanaseśvara temple at Alampūr (c. 8th century) in Āndhradeśa (Kalidos 2006: 189-90). The Śṛṅgeri temple in Karnāṭaka (c. 8th-14th century) includes the Jain-Tīrthaṅkara among the daśāvatāras of Viṣṇu (Rajarajan 2006: II, pl. 235). These might suggest the Indian religions amicably fostered the gospels of peace [śātiḥ], righteousness [dharma] and justice to all [nīti] from time immemorial. The scope of the present article is three-pronged:
1) To show how Buddhism and Jainism is twin as pointed out by the nāmāvalis (epithets) of the Buddha and Mahāvīra-Tīrthaṅkara in the Tamil epics
2) To summarize the epigraphical sources to pinpoint the antiquity of Buddhism and Jainism in Tamilnāḍu
3) To locate iconographical specimens those include the Buddha and the Jina as avatāras of Viṣṇu leading to universal religious harmony
The aim of the religions of South Asian origin is to broadcast the messages of peace and prosperity for the Cosmos. Names may vary from the Indic or the Vedic to the purāṇic (e.g. Paśupati, Viṣṇu, Gautama-Buddha, Mahāvīra) but their avowed ambition was to see the Cosmos fosters Dharma and Śāntiḥ.
Research Interests:
A number of iconographical forms of Devī are enumerated in the śāstras. All these forms are not portrayed in the temple arts. A similar category of images not conforming to śāstras had provided the thought for a Conference held in the... more
A number of iconographical forms of Devī are enumerated in the śāstras. All these forms are not portrayed in the temple arts. A similar category of images not conforming to śāstras had provided the thought for a Conference held in the Heidelberg University in the 1980s. The present article examines the manifestations of Devī that are peerless, canonized and unrecognized in sculptural art. Few such iconographical typologies are Ṣaḍaṅgadevī, Catuṣṣaṣṭikalādevī, Śītalādevī, Daśamudrā, Trikaṇṭhakīdevī and so on. The grāmadevatās at the grass root level are innumerable getting absorbed in the fold of the Higher Tradition. Few of these dormant goddesses are illustrated by way of isometric drawings.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Abhirāmaguṇākara Dāśarathe jagadekadhaurdhara dhīramate Raghunāyaka Rāma rameśa vibho varado bhava deva dayājaladhe … (Stotram v. 6) Ramāya ramaṇāya Veṅkaṭeśāya maṅgalam … (Maṅgalāśāsanam 12) of ‘Veṅkaṭeśvara’ “Lord, Thou art the sprout... more
Abhirāmaguṇākara Dāśarathe jagadekadhaurdhara dhīramate
Raghunāyaka Rāma rameśa vibho varado bhava deva dayājaladhe … (Stotram v. 6)
Ramāya ramaṇāya Veṅkaṭeśāya maṅgalam … (Maṅgalāśāsanam 12) of ‘Veṅkaṭeśvara’
“Lord, Thou art the sprout of the Raghuvaṃśa, the son of Daśaratha; Thou are the absolute personification of liveliness, and the kalyāṇaguṇas; Thou are the foremost among the experts in dhanur-dharma, Thou promises śantiḥ for the Milky Way… Hail Rāma; (the Āḻvārs say) Thy heart is the abode of Śrī …”
Ēttukiṉṟōm nāttaḻumpa Irāman tirunāmam “we extol the Praise of Rāma so as our tongue get bruised (see below)” (PTM 10.3.1)
The Āḻvārs’ in their hymns, collectively called Nālāyirativviyap-pirapantam elaborately deal with the annals of Dāśarathi-Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. These ideas were transmitted through the visual medium (paintings and sculptures) through the ages. Continuous array of the Rāmāyaṇa paintings may be detected in the Saundararāja Perumāḷ temple at Aḻakarkōyil (historical Māliruñcōlai), Bṛhadambāḷ temple at Tirukōkaraṇam (suburban Putukkōṭṭai in Tamilnāḍu) and the Rāmasvāmi temple at Kuṃbhakōṇam, all of the Nāyaka period (c. 16th-17th century CE). Professor Raju Kalidos in his pioneering study of the wood-carved temple cars of Tamilnāḍu has reported the wooden images on temple cars (Tamil tēr, Skt. ratha) from Periyakuḷam, Vaṭuvūr, Kuṃbhakōṇam (Rāmasvāmi), Tāṉippāṭi and several other temples. He has recorded as many as 210 images bearing on the Rāmāyaṇa theme (Kalidos 1989: 349-57). The photographic illustrations on the subject have been published from Rome (East and West), Naples (Annali…), London/Cambridge (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society) and Copenhagen/Oslo (Acta Orientalia) since 1984. The present author has worked on the Nāyaka Paintings of the Tirukōkaraṇam Temple for his post-doctoral study of the Alexander von Humboldt stiftung in the Institut für Indische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte der Freie Universität Berlin. The present article is a brief report of my research in Berlin. Toward this end, I compare the Tamil hymnal works and the Nāyaka paintings, both separated by not less than 800 years. The study shows how the later paintings traditions are reflections of the ideas reflected in the hymns of Āḻvārs, earlier codified in the Mahābhārata (the Rāmopākhiyāna) and the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālimīki and the later medieval Irāmāvatāram of Kampar. This is to demonstrate traditions such as kāvyālaṅkāra are inviolable in the Indian thought, literature and art. At the outset, I would like to declare I am not a specialist in the scientific technology of the painting art (i.e., performing artist). My approach is literature or śāstra based art history operating within the sphere of the transmission of tradition, the foundation for Indian iconography . I have summarized few hymns from the ‘Nālāyiram’, which is simultaneously compared with the paintings of the Rāmāyaṇa from the Tirukōkaraṇam Temple.
Method of approach:
1. Presentation of the summary of the hymns from ‘Nālāyiram’
2. Sidetrack by illustrating the theme from the Tirukōkaraṇam Paintings
3. To pinpoint how traditions are inviolable, and kavyālaṅkāra is illustrated in literature and visual art
Raghunāyaka Rāma rameśa vibho varado bhava deva dayājaladhe … (Stotram v. 6)
Ramāya ramaṇāya Veṅkaṭeśāya maṅgalam … (Maṅgalāśāsanam 12) of ‘Veṅkaṭeśvara’
“Lord, Thou art the sprout of the Raghuvaṃśa, the son of Daśaratha; Thou are the absolute personification of liveliness, and the kalyāṇaguṇas; Thou are the foremost among the experts in dhanur-dharma, Thou promises śantiḥ for the Milky Way… Hail Rāma; (the Āḻvārs say) Thy heart is the abode of Śrī …”
Ēttukiṉṟōm nāttaḻumpa Irāman tirunāmam “we extol the Praise of Rāma so as our tongue get bruised (see below)” (PTM 10.3.1)
The Āḻvārs’ in their hymns, collectively called Nālāyirativviyap-pirapantam elaborately deal with the annals of Dāśarathi-Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. These ideas were transmitted through the visual medium (paintings and sculptures) through the ages. Continuous array of the Rāmāyaṇa paintings may be detected in the Saundararāja Perumāḷ temple at Aḻakarkōyil (historical Māliruñcōlai), Bṛhadambāḷ temple at Tirukōkaraṇam (suburban Putukkōṭṭai in Tamilnāḍu) and the Rāmasvāmi temple at Kuṃbhakōṇam, all of the Nāyaka period (c. 16th-17th century CE). Professor Raju Kalidos in his pioneering study of the wood-carved temple cars of Tamilnāḍu has reported the wooden images on temple cars (Tamil tēr, Skt. ratha) from Periyakuḷam, Vaṭuvūr, Kuṃbhakōṇam (Rāmasvāmi), Tāṉippāṭi and several other temples. He has recorded as many as 210 images bearing on the Rāmāyaṇa theme (Kalidos 1989: 349-57). The photographic illustrations on the subject have been published from Rome (East and West), Naples (Annali…), London/Cambridge (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society) and Copenhagen/Oslo (Acta Orientalia) since 1984. The present author has worked on the Nāyaka Paintings of the Tirukōkaraṇam Temple for his post-doctoral study of the Alexander von Humboldt stiftung in the Institut für Indische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte der Freie Universität Berlin. The present article is a brief report of my research in Berlin. Toward this end, I compare the Tamil hymnal works and the Nāyaka paintings, both separated by not less than 800 years. The study shows how the later paintings traditions are reflections of the ideas reflected in the hymns of Āḻvārs, earlier codified in the Mahābhārata (the Rāmopākhiyāna) and the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālimīki and the later medieval Irāmāvatāram of Kampar. This is to demonstrate traditions such as kāvyālaṅkāra are inviolable in the Indian thought, literature and art. At the outset, I would like to declare I am not a specialist in the scientific technology of the painting art (i.e., performing artist). My approach is literature or śāstra based art history operating within the sphere of the transmission of tradition, the foundation for Indian iconography . I have summarized few hymns from the ‘Nālāyiram’, which is simultaneously compared with the paintings of the Rāmāyaṇa from the Tirukōkaraṇam Temple.
Method of approach:
1. Presentation of the summary of the hymns from ‘Nālāyiram’
2. Sidetrack by illustrating the theme from the Tirukōkaraṇam Paintings
3. To pinpoint how traditions are inviolable, and kavyālaṅkāra is illustrated in literature and visual art
Research Interests:
The epithets of Śiva are crystallized in the Śivasahasranāma that is part of the Anuśānaparvan in the Mahābhārata. These epithets are indicators of the functional qualities, characteristic ethos, yogic faculties, Vedic thoughts and... more
The epithets of Śiva are crystallized in the Śivasahasranāma that is part of the Anuśānaparvan in the Mahābhārata. These epithets are indicators of the functional qualities, characteristic ethos, yogic faculties, Vedic thoughts and iconographical attributes of Śiva. There may be several other sources that list the epithets of the Lord such as the Śivāṣṭottaram, Dakṣiṇāmūrtyaṣṭottaram, Rudratriśatī and so on that may be dated to the fifth century CE. Though these names were attributed to the common man such as a musician or instrument player, it points the societal value attached to these that were given to the elite and folk, including the ruler of the land, the Cōḻa. The cults of Kūttaṉ/Naṭarāja, Bhikṣāṭana, Kapāli and Ardhanārī had deep roots in the society as pointed out by these popular names. Several such names of men and women have been inscribed in the temple at Tañcāvūr. These have not been systematically analyzed to bring out their societal values and relevance in iconographic studies. These, epithets are relevant to art historians in the sense that some of these innovative Tamil epithets are beyond the purview of scholars working in the field. Thus, we need a systematic analysis of all the names appearing in Cōḻa inscriptions.
Keywords: Śiva – Śivasahasranāma – Tañcāvūr - Rājarājeśvara - Gaṇḍarāditya - Cempiyaṉ Mātēvi - Kōṉērirācapuram - Āṭavallāṉ - Kāpālika – Rājarāja I - Tēvāram
Keywords: Śiva – Śivasahasranāma – Tañcāvūr - Rājarājeśvara - Gaṇḍarāditya - Cempiyaṉ Mātēvi - Kōṉērirācapuram - Āṭavallāṉ - Kāpālika – Rājarāja I - Tēvāram
Research Interests:
From Purāṇic to Folk: the ‘Kiratājunīyam’ ballade R.K.K. Rajarajan (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi) Abstract Classical literatures may have their roots in bardic poems of immemorial origin. Similarly itihāsic-purāṇic episodes are... more
From Purāṇic to Folk: the ‘Kiratājunīyam’ ballade
R.K.K. Rajarajan
(Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)
Abstract
Classical literatures may have their roots in bardic poems of immemorial origin. Similarly itihāsic-purāṇic episodes are likely to be based on ballads; e.g. the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmiki supposed to have been derived from the popular recitals of the sutas-Kusīlava. Classical poems in Sanskrit and Tamil (e.g. the several versions of ‘Kōvalaṉ-katai’) came to be recast in folk forms that may be called ballad (sixteenth century and after). Ballad is a simple spirited narrative poem, rooted in French ballade meaning “a dancing song”. The aim of retelling popular mythologies in a language couched in folk literary style was intended to enact these dance-dramas in country theatres, called terukkūttu when cinema was unknown. Several hundreds of such manuscripts may be found all over India in several languages, and oral traditions. The aim of the present article is to examine a folk literary motif from the ‘Kiratājunīyam’. Kirāta (hunter-Śiva) and Arjuna had an occasion to clash with each other during the forest life of the Pāṇḍavas. Arjuna wanted to obtain the coveted pāśupatāstra from Śiva that could only be awarded to a soldier of mettle to wield the missile efficiently. Arjuna undertook hazardous tapas pleased with which Śiva tested Arjuna (leading to a malla-yuddha “duel”) and finally awarded the astra. This myth appears in the Mahābhārata (chap. 167, Vana Parva) dated sometime in the fifth century BCE and its folk origin may get back to the immoral past. This story was retold in a classical work by the poet Sanskrit Bhāravi in eighteen cantos (anterior to 634 CE). The myth was adapted to Tamil literary taste; e.g. Villiputtūrār Pāratam (14th century CE) and Kaccilaiyār Makāpārataccurukkam (18th century). During the terukkūttu saga of Tamil culture a folk work called Pañca-Pāṇṭavar Vaṉavācam* (Forest Life of the Pañca-Pāṇḍavas) was written to meet the need of country theatres. This succinct article examines a key motif relating to the Penance of Arjuna (cf. the Māmallapuram bas relief, dated during the Pallava period) from the Kiratārjunīyam episode. Called pañcāgnitapas, how the Penance of Arjuna is retold in the ballad under study? Several folk motifs of kuṟavaṉ-kuṟatti of Kuṟṟālakkuṟavañci are illustrated in a later phase of the art in Tamilnadu (e.g. the Thousand-Pillared Hall of the Great Maturai Temple of the Nāyaka period). Kiratāṛjunīyam was a popular motif in sculptural art though the ages. Did the folk-ballad have an impact on the plastic and pictorial arts?
* Periya Eḻuttu Pañca-Pāṇṭavar Vanavācam of Pukaḻēntippulavar (apocryphal), B. Irattiṉa Nāyakkar & Sons, Kōṇṭittōppu-Chennai 2013. This work is likely to have been originally published in the 1950s or earlier.
R.K.K. Rajarajan
(Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)
Abstract
Classical literatures may have their roots in bardic poems of immemorial origin. Similarly itihāsic-purāṇic episodes are likely to be based on ballads; e.g. the Rāmāyaṇa of Vālmiki supposed to have been derived from the popular recitals of the sutas-Kusīlava. Classical poems in Sanskrit and Tamil (e.g. the several versions of ‘Kōvalaṉ-katai’) came to be recast in folk forms that may be called ballad (sixteenth century and after). Ballad is a simple spirited narrative poem, rooted in French ballade meaning “a dancing song”. The aim of retelling popular mythologies in a language couched in folk literary style was intended to enact these dance-dramas in country theatres, called terukkūttu when cinema was unknown. Several hundreds of such manuscripts may be found all over India in several languages, and oral traditions. The aim of the present article is to examine a folk literary motif from the ‘Kiratājunīyam’. Kirāta (hunter-Śiva) and Arjuna had an occasion to clash with each other during the forest life of the Pāṇḍavas. Arjuna wanted to obtain the coveted pāśupatāstra from Śiva that could only be awarded to a soldier of mettle to wield the missile efficiently. Arjuna undertook hazardous tapas pleased with which Śiva tested Arjuna (leading to a malla-yuddha “duel”) and finally awarded the astra. This myth appears in the Mahābhārata (chap. 167, Vana Parva) dated sometime in the fifth century BCE and its folk origin may get back to the immoral past. This story was retold in a classical work by the poet Sanskrit Bhāravi in eighteen cantos (anterior to 634 CE). The myth was adapted to Tamil literary taste; e.g. Villiputtūrār Pāratam (14th century CE) and Kaccilaiyār Makāpārataccurukkam (18th century). During the terukkūttu saga of Tamil culture a folk work called Pañca-Pāṇṭavar Vaṉavācam* (Forest Life of the Pañca-Pāṇḍavas) was written to meet the need of country theatres. This succinct article examines a key motif relating to the Penance of Arjuna (cf. the Māmallapuram bas relief, dated during the Pallava period) from the Kiratārjunīyam episode. Called pañcāgnitapas, how the Penance of Arjuna is retold in the ballad under study? Several folk motifs of kuṟavaṉ-kuṟatti of Kuṟṟālakkuṟavañci are illustrated in a later phase of the art in Tamilnadu (e.g. the Thousand-Pillared Hall of the Great Maturai Temple of the Nāyaka period). Kiratāṛjunīyam was a popular motif in sculptural art though the ages. Did the folk-ballad have an impact on the plastic and pictorial arts?
* Periya Eḻuttu Pañca-Pāṇṭavar Vanavācam of Pukaḻēntippulavar (apocryphal), B. Irattiṉa Nāyakkar & Sons, Kōṇṭittōppu-Chennai 2013. This work is likely to have been originally published in the 1950s or earlier.
Research Interests:
Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ and Bodhi-dharma are Buddhist monks of Kāñcīpuram that are supposed to have flourished in the city by about the 4th-5th century CE. Bodhidharma’s career is chequered who a prince of the Pallava family is said to have... more
Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ and Bodhi-dharma are Buddhist monks of Kāñcīpuram that are supposed to have flourished in the city by about the 4th-5th century CE. Bodhidharma’s career is chequered who a prince of the Pallava family is said to have migrated to China and considered the founder of Ch’an and Zen Mahāyāna-Buddhism. Both are legendary figures (for Bodhidharma see Faure 1986) as they appear prominently literatures of the Tamils, the Chinese and the Japanese. Portraiture of Bodhidharma is abundant in the arts of China and Japan (Chapin 1945-46, Lachman 1993, Faure 2011). It is a matter for speculation whether we obtain any portraiture of Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ in the art of Tamilnadu. The present author (Rajarajan 2015: chap. V, pls. 136-139) has reported few images of Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ from the Great Stūpa of Borobudūr in central Jāva, Indonesia.
The aim of the present study is to examine the parallels in the personalities of Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ (Tamil literature, particularly the ‘Twin Epics’) and Bodhidharma (Chinese and Japanese portraiture obtained through the Internet and secondary sources). Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ appears in the Cilappatikāram and Maṇimēkalai. He was an advisor of Mātavi, Maṇimēkalai and Cutamati. He was chiefly instrumental in Maṇimēkalai undertaking an aerial adventure to Cavakam/Jāva. Here the question is did Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ and Maṇimēkalai undertake a voyage to Jāva by the oceanic route? In those times it may not have taken more than a week to reach Jāva from Māmallapuram or Nākapaṭṭiṉam. Did Maṇimēkalai return to Vañci from Jāva and Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ proceed to China? Is there any evidence to prove Aṟavaṇa-atikaḷ and Bodhidharma are the same personalities? These are hazy historical speculations that could not be answered in the absence of any written document. Anyhow, the questions are relevant in studies pertaining to Bodhidharma.
The second part of the article examines the personalities of Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ and Bodhidharma from the evidences available in Boroburdūr, China and Japan. What was the make-up of a monk in Indian art and its reflection in Chinese or Japanese art? Iconographically do the Indian types agree with the Chinese or the Japanese? The faces in Chinese and Japanese art are broad with tiny eyes hidden in the face and blunt noses as they belong to the Mongolian breed. Faces in Indian art or as for the matter Indonesian are with broad eyes and with prominent noses. Early portraiture of Bodhidharma (Chaplin 1945-46) appears in Chinese a millennium later that he migrated from India to China. By this time the original face was forgotten and Bodhidharma is likely to have been fitted with Chinese-Mongolian face. I have taken few sculptural evidences of monks from India, Indonesia and compare these with the facial make-up of Bodhidharma. I may be wrong. In the absence of any imagery of either Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ or Bodhidharma datable to the 5th-6th century CE the generalizations on Bodhidharma studies could only be hypothetical.
The aim of the present study is to examine the parallels in the personalities of Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ (Tamil literature, particularly the ‘Twin Epics’) and Bodhidharma (Chinese and Japanese portraiture obtained through the Internet and secondary sources). Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ appears in the Cilappatikāram and Maṇimēkalai. He was an advisor of Mātavi, Maṇimēkalai and Cutamati. He was chiefly instrumental in Maṇimēkalai undertaking an aerial adventure to Cavakam/Jāva. Here the question is did Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ and Maṇimēkalai undertake a voyage to Jāva by the oceanic route? In those times it may not have taken more than a week to reach Jāva from Māmallapuram or Nākapaṭṭiṉam. Did Maṇimēkalai return to Vañci from Jāva and Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ proceed to China? Is there any evidence to prove Aṟavaṇa-atikaḷ and Bodhidharma are the same personalities? These are hazy historical speculations that could not be answered in the absence of any written document. Anyhow, the questions are relevant in studies pertaining to Bodhidharma.
The second part of the article examines the personalities of Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ and Bodhidharma from the evidences available in Boroburdūr, China and Japan. What was the make-up of a monk in Indian art and its reflection in Chinese or Japanese art? Iconographically do the Indian types agree with the Chinese or the Japanese? The faces in Chinese and Japanese art are broad with tiny eyes hidden in the face and blunt noses as they belong to the Mongolian breed. Faces in Indian art or as for the matter Indonesian are with broad eyes and with prominent noses. Early portraiture of Bodhidharma (Chaplin 1945-46) appears in Chinese a millennium later that he migrated from India to China. By this time the original face was forgotten and Bodhidharma is likely to have been fitted with Chinese-Mongolian face. I have taken few sculptural evidences of monks from India, Indonesia and compare these with the facial make-up of Bodhidharma. I may be wrong. In the absence of any imagery of either Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ or Bodhidharma datable to the 5th-6th century CE the generalizations on Bodhidharma studies could only be hypothetical.
Research Interests:
Elizabethan Shakespeare must have been crazy when he said: “Frailty thy name is woman” (‘Hamlet’). John Milton experienced the agony of termagancy, and so he persuades Adam to say (addressed to Eve) “Bone of my bone thou are, flesh of my... more
Elizabethan Shakespeare must have been crazy when he said: “Frailty thy name is woman” (‘Hamlet’). John Milton experienced the agony of termagancy, and so he persuades Adam to say (addressed to Eve) “Bone of my bone thou are, flesh of my flesh and from your state mine I shall never be parted bliss or woe”. Modern feminist movements may try to find woman equal to man or above man but the law of the animal kingdom or ‘natural selection’ is something different. They loiter in between the heaven and hell, and may be fixed in the svarga of Triśaṅkhu. If in the domestic circle a woman could take to task a man (e.g. Śrivaiṣṇavism in Hinduism ), what will be the status of an empire or kingdom . That is why Arnold J. Toynbee talks of the “Monstrous Regiment of Women”. Toynbee’s mind should have been filled in thoughts of Helen of Troy or Cleopatra, and definitely not Draupadī and Sītā. This article is not so serious from the research point of view. Some free lance historical material is presented to better visualize the problem of the woman factor in history.
Woman in history is a factor to reckon with. Feminist movements in the west demand if woman gives birth to a child let man give birth to one. In this context, the following studies on “woman” are worthy considering.
Woman in history is a factor to reckon with. Feminist movements in the west demand if woman gives birth to a child let man give birth to one. In this context, the following studies on “woman” are worthy considering.
Research Interests:
The primordial Liṅga is prehistoric in its global and proto-historic in its Indian religious setting. As prehistoric artifacts these seem to have commanded their own symbolism. It was identified with Śiva and was the symbol of worship in... more
The primordial Liṅga is prehistoric in its global and proto-historic in its Indian religious setting. As prehistoric artifacts these seem to have commanded their own symbolism. It was identified with Śiva and was the symbol of worship in Hindu temples all over South and Southeast Asia, maybe c. 500 BCE. Certain question hovering round the worship of the Liṅga such as why it is covered with a cloth and the regional variations of the theme in Tamil literary tradition are examined. However, the main focus is on the unreported bronzes in the Brahmapurīśvara temple at Perunakar (district Kāñcīpuram). These bronzes are related to the cult of the Liṅga; e.g. the bronze of Candraśekhara and the Liṅga juxtaposed. A unique collection of Nāyaṉmār bronzes are brought to light and most of these saints were dedicated to Liṅga worship. The vocabulary obtained from early Tamil literature helps to fix the Liṅga cult within the Hindu religious tradition. The bronzes were appealing to the society and served the needs of temples when gala festivals were celebrated. Besides, they served procession, Tamil ulā within the temple or village during nityapūjās and mahotsavas.
Research Interests: Bronzes, Murukan, Liṅga, Liṅgdobhavamūrti, Candrasēkhara, and 7 moreSthānaka-Śiva, Kaṅkāḷamūrti, Piḍāri, Vaḷḷi, Devasenā, Nāyaṉmār, and Caṇḍikeśvara
Research Interests:
The convention among art historians is that they begin Naṭarāja studies with Citamparam as its base. Historically and mythologically, this is a far-fetched idea. In fact the earliest idea of the Kūttaṉ/Naṭarāja appears in a 5th-6th... more
The convention among art historians is that they begin Naṭarāja studies with Citamparam as its base. Historically and mythologically, this is a far-fetched idea. In fact the earliest idea of the Kūttaṉ/Naṭarāja appears in a 5th-6th century CE literary work, called Ālaṅkāṭṭumuttatiruppatikam [added with the prefix tiru] of [Kāraikkāl]-Ammaiyār and it continued to persist through the ages, particularly exalted in the hymns of the Tēvāram, the first seven compilations of the Śaiva canon. The Cidambaramāhātmya is a later work of the post-14th century CE. Scholarly research has depended more on Sanskritic sources (e.g. C. Sivaramamurti 1974 and David Smith 1998) and not the earlier Tamil thought. This article says why studies pertaining to Naṭarāja should begin with Ālaṅkāṭu, the earliest sthala extolled in the Tamil hymns, considered the original base of the Naṭarāja tradition. It cursorily reflects on the available epigraphical sources. The other dancing venues of the Lord were added in due course; they being Tillai/Citamparam, Ālavāy/Maturai, Nelvēli and Kuṟṟālam, called pañcantyasabhās. The article takes for examination a group of five stucco images that appear in the frontal projection of the maṇḍapa to the Ālaṅkāṭu temple. Bronzes of the temples reflect the local cultural ethos and professional limbo behind the type of dance-karaṇas performed.
Research Interests:
Scholars have written on the religions of India for the past 150+ years. The legendary names of this vast subcontinent are Bharatavarṣa and Jambudvīpa. The authorities on Indian religions cite medieval historians such as al-Bīrūnī coming... more
Scholars have written on the religions of India for the past 150+ years. The legendary names of this vast subcontinent are Bharatavarṣa and Jambudvīpa. The authorities on Indian religions cite medieval historians such as al-Bīrūnī coming down to Romila Thapar (e.g. her ideology of “Syndicated Hinduism”). The majority of the religion that the people follow (about 83% CF 1994: 256) is called Hinduism and its land India (ibid). The basic question is: Are India and Hinduism Tamil, Sanskrit or any language-based original names of the subcontinent? If the landmass is called India (derived from Sindhū); why not its religion is called Hinduism just for the name-sake?
An important issue raised in this article is: Did scholars duly consider the Drāviḍian quota of thought, particularly Tamil in arriving at the problem of Hinduism. By Tamil it is not meant the thoughts of the savants of bhakti such as the Nāyaṉmār and Āḻvārs, including the Ācāryas (e.g. Śaṅkara) but the ideas expressed in pre-bhakti Tamil literature. In an adventurous trekking of scholarship, I would like to consider the proto-historical traditions as may be revealed through the artifacts of the Indic culture dated c. 2750 BCE. Let us not worry whether these archaeological evidences point to either Drāviḍian or Āryan. My basic argument is they belong to lands that are associated with the Sapta-Sindhū after which the modern name India is derived. These material evidences are not in any way associated with the religion or cultures of the countries that seceded from Mahā-Bhārata “Greater India” after the colonial partition of the subcontinent for which the British government gave different names (cf. Allchin-s 1982 ).
Another important point for consideration is sanātana-dharma; and specifies whether it denotes the totality of Drāviḍian and Āryan religious movements in India. My basic question is: Is it a Religion? Or Religious Philosophy (e.g. sāṅkhya) or an Ideology of Righteousness in godly pursuit that is the way toward a religion . One may question:
“What is there in a name?” (Shakespeare: ‘Romeo and Juliet’, II, ii, 43)
“In the name lay a moiety of the world” (Shakespeare: ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ V, I, 17-18)
An important issue raised in this article is: Did scholars duly consider the Drāviḍian quota of thought, particularly Tamil in arriving at the problem of Hinduism. By Tamil it is not meant the thoughts of the savants of bhakti such as the Nāyaṉmār and Āḻvārs, including the Ācāryas (e.g. Śaṅkara) but the ideas expressed in pre-bhakti Tamil literature. In an adventurous trekking of scholarship, I would like to consider the proto-historical traditions as may be revealed through the artifacts of the Indic culture dated c. 2750 BCE. Let us not worry whether these archaeological evidences point to either Drāviḍian or Āryan. My basic argument is they belong to lands that are associated with the Sapta-Sindhū after which the modern name India is derived. These material evidences are not in any way associated with the religion or cultures of the countries that seceded from Mahā-Bhārata “Greater India” after the colonial partition of the subcontinent for which the British government gave different names (cf. Allchin-s 1982 ).
Another important point for consideration is sanātana-dharma; and specifies whether it denotes the totality of Drāviḍian and Āryan religious movements in India. My basic question is: Is it a Religion? Or Religious Philosophy (e.g. sāṅkhya) or an Ideology of Righteousness in godly pursuit that is the way toward a religion . One may question:
“What is there in a name?” (Shakespeare: ‘Romeo and Juliet’, II, ii, 43)
“In the name lay a moiety of the world” (Shakespeare: ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ V, I, 17-18)
Research Interests:
Few years ago I was in a small hamlet, called Paḻaiyāṟai (meaning “old river course”) in the company of few of my German colleagues who took me to a high medieval Cōḻa temple for study.* This place is little known to scholars when... more
Few years ago I was in a small hamlet, called Paḻaiyāṟai (meaning “old river course”) in the company of few of my German colleagues who took me to a high medieval Cōḻa temple for study.* This place is little known to scholars when compared with the much familiar Tañcāvūr, Kaṅkaikoṇṭacōḻapuram, Tārācuram, Tirupuvaṉam and Kuṃbhakōṇam (Nanda et al. 1997: fig. 1). Paḻaiyāṟai and its antiquely integrated villages (infra) lay within a radius of 8 kms away from Tārācuram to its southeast (Map). There is a middle Cōḻa temple, originally Arumoḻideveśvaram, today called Somanātha. I had no idea to work on either the temple or the village at that time but in due course an idea crept into my mind when I thought of the melancholic natives of the village whose faces were awfully serene and mysteriously silent as though they had lost something (infra). I thought an article should be written to honour these forgotten psychic people that were steeped in oblivious glories and vanishing memories, handed down orally from generation to generation. The mental disposition and ideas expressed by the people were interesting from the socio-cultural point of view. Perhaps they wanted to forget their great grandfather’s attestations few of them were related to the Cōḻas, members of the royal household, servants of the palace or inhabitants of the village where the ruling family had its capital-villa. It was this psychology of the innocent people that persuaded the author to work on this brief article.
Research Interests:
Art history derives its sources from various canons and corpus-literatures, folk traditions and liturgical sources. Sahasranāmas and aṣṭottarams come under liturgies; these being the epithets of a God (e.g. Śivasahasranāma – a compilation... more
Art history derives its sources from various canons and corpus-literatures, folk traditions and liturgical sources. Sahasranāmas and aṣṭottarams come under liturgies; these being the epithets of a God (e.g. Śivasahasranāma – a compilation of Śiva 1,000+ epithets) or Goddess (Lalitāsahasranāma or Devīsahasranāma); aṣṭottarams are 108+, meant for regular recital during worship in temples or personal meditation. These are cryptic that carry weight from the iconographical point of view. These epithets have not been examined in detail for a study of Indian, South Asian or Southeast Asian iconography. It is practically impossible to compress the 1,000 in a small conference paper. I consider most of the epithets of Śivasahasranāma (hereinafter SSN) here and choicest among them for illustration. The SSN is an ancient compilation that forms part of the Mahābhārata in its Chapter XIV, anuśāsanaparva. The Mahābhārata undergoing a process of compilation, edition and reedition seems to have reached maturation by about the 5th century BCE (Macdonell 1979: 240). Interpolations took place down to the beginning of the Christian era of which the Bhagavadgīta is one. The Śiva- and Viṣṇu- sahasranāmas are likely to be such interpolations by about this time. According to mythology, the SSN was imparted to Kṣṇa by Upamanyu. Several such sahasranāmas are available that seem to have been cultivated after the early model set by the Mahābhārata and new epithets added from time to time. The present analysis classifies the epithets of Śiva under certain categories or intelligible units that may fall under a cluster such as:
i) Iconographical forms, ii) Cosmic Form, iii) the Lord’s attributes (such as weapons, ornaments and so on), iv) Guṇāṃśa (Śiva by ethos is tāmasa), v) Vedic thoughts, vi) Yogic qualities, and vii) Miscellaneous.
These epithets are viewed from the art historical point of view to find out whether there is any relevance between the epithets and the images in the art of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The article in the first part presents a crisp summary of the epithets and the second part points out the iconographical parallels. This is to confirm the thesis that the sahasranāma had an impact on artists working sculptural imageries.
i) Iconographical forms, ii) Cosmic Form, iii) the Lord’s attributes (such as weapons, ornaments and so on), iv) Guṇāṃśa (Śiva by ethos is tāmasa), v) Vedic thoughts, vi) Yogic qualities, and vii) Miscellaneous.
These epithets are viewed from the art historical point of view to find out whether there is any relevance between the epithets and the images in the art of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The article in the first part presents a crisp summary of the epithets and the second part points out the iconographical parallels. This is to confirm the thesis that the sahasranāma had an impact on artists working sculptural imageries.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The work thrives to show some light on the ethos of the South Indian vast water reservoirs with festal pavilion that is utilized mainly as a tīrtha or ablution tank and to hold the festival of the raft, called teppotsava. Water plays an... more
The work thrives to show some light on the ethos of the South Indian vast water reservoirs with festal pavilion that is utilized mainly as a tīrtha or ablution tank and to hold the festival of the raft, called teppotsava. Water plays an important role in the sacred rituals of the Indian subcontinent since time immemorial. By virtue of this fact, the rivers have been considered women and are known as Nadīdevatās “River Goddesses”. The iconography of the Aṣṭanadīs is retold in the Śrītattvanidhi (1.4.129-138). Evidences of baths unearthed in the Indic culture (c. 2500 BCE) would establish the fact that a ritual dip in water for ablution was linked with purifying and hydrophilic values that was an established tradition in India since times yore (Marshall 1931: 24-25). Any impure action on the part of a caste Hindu is supposed to be effaced when a dip in water (ritually called Gaṅgā) is completed. For example, a person after sexual intercourse is supposed to have a bath and if no water is available that be a waterless inferno, it is enough if he dips his feet in water. This way water plays an important role in Hindu domestic and temple rituals. However, it will have to be verified whether any architectural manual talks of jalavāstu (cf. “Water Architecture” in Hegewald 2000: 1455).
Through the historical records such as inscriptions and literature, is that the temple tanks, called tirukkuḷam or teppakkuḷam, evolved in to architectural monument of its own typology in the south, catering to the needs of the temples and the public. It could not be said with certainty these would apply to the kuṇḍas in the North; e.g. holding floating car festivals. Therefore, what is needed is a thorough reassessment of the South Indian tirukkuḷams or teppakkuḷams vis-à-vis the North Indian kuṇḍas. The sacred ritual values of the kuṇḍas will have to be compared with those in Tamilnadu. To begin with the origin of the word, kuṇḍa, and its ritual value will have to be traced with reference to inscriptional and literary sources in various languages of the North and South. If such a work is accomplished we may have a better evaluation of these floating edifices.
Through the historical records such as inscriptions and literature, is that the temple tanks, called tirukkuḷam or teppakkuḷam, evolved in to architectural monument of its own typology in the south, catering to the needs of the temples and the public. It could not be said with certainty these would apply to the kuṇḍas in the North; e.g. holding floating car festivals. Therefore, what is needed is a thorough reassessment of the South Indian tirukkuḷams or teppakkuḷams vis-à-vis the North Indian kuṇḍas. The sacred ritual values of the kuṇḍas will have to be compared with those in Tamilnadu. To begin with the origin of the word, kuṇḍa, and its ritual value will have to be traced with reference to inscriptional and literary sources in various languages of the North and South. If such a work is accomplished we may have a better evaluation of these floating edifices.
Research Interests:
Koṭukoṭṭi is a dance type notified in the Cilappatikāram for the first time. It gained popularity with the plastic and pictorial arts of the Tamil country since the Pallava period. The earliest examples are traceable from the Pallava... more
Koṭukoṭṭi is a dance type notified in the Cilappatikāram for the first time. It gained popularity with the plastic and pictorial arts of the Tamil country since the Pallava period. The earliest examples are traceable from the Pallava temples of Kāñcīpuram (e.g. Kailāsanātha, Iṟvātaneśvara) and had an interaction with the Rāṣṭrakūṭa sculptors working in Ellora (Cave XVI, the Kailāsa). During this early phase it is not found in the other centers of South Indian art in Upper or Lower Deccan and the Far South. In the Badāmī, Eastern Cālukyan and Pāṇḍyan zone it is totally missing. It was not so popular an art form with the Cōḻas. It gained a fresh momentum with the Vijayanagara-Nāyaka sculptors in the 14th-18th century CE. Adjoining panels of Śiva performing koṭukoṭṭi and Kāḷi came to be represented on pillars, placed juxtaposed or opposite pillars; e.g. Tāṭikkompu, Pērūr, Maturai (Sundareśvara) and so on.
The present article examines two sets of Pallava and Vijayanagara-Nāyaka specimens from the temples of Kāñci, i.e. Ēkāmranātha and Kaccabheśvara. The agreeing and discordant elements in both the types of specimens are examined and the reasons explained with reference to the corpus and the canon.
The present article examines two sets of Pallava and Vijayanagara-Nāyaka specimens from the temples of Kāñci, i.e. Ēkāmranātha and Kaccabheśvara. The agreeing and discordant elements in both the types of specimens are examined and the reasons explained with reference to the corpus and the canon.
Research Interests:
The epithets of Viṣṇu are 1,000 that appear for the first time in the Anuśāsanaparvā of the Mahābhārata. The epic as a codified itihāsa is supposed to have reached maturation by about 500 BCE. Interpolations (e.g. Bhagavadgītā) seem to... more
The epithets of Viṣṇu are 1,000 that appear for the first time in the Anuśāsanaparvā of the Mahābhārata. The epic as a codified itihāsa is supposed to have reached maturation by about 500 BCE. Interpolations (e.g. Bhagavadgītā) seem to have taken place sometime down to early centuries of the CE. The sahasranāma (1,000 Epithets) of Viṣṇu and Śiva got enmeshed with the main epic by about this time. Definitely the 1,000 could not have been the invention of a particular seer or sage. It must have been a compilation of what was in current in oral, ritual and devotional circulation for a long time and coherently knot at one point of time. The Tamil Āḻvārs that contributed nearly 4,000 hymns (some 3,770), called Nālāyiram on Māl/Viṣṇu have clearly noted the 1,000 Epithets but do not present a list in a form as found in the sahasranāma. They note the āyiranāmam “1,000 Names” sporadically. Regarding each one of these names, they are silent. We do get a list unevenly spread over the thousands of hymns that may or may not be sufficient enough to list 1,000. The present article makes a note of the clusters into 1,000 and deal particularly with the epithets pertaining to the daśāvataras (ten major incarnations) of the Lord. What we propose is a compilation of the Tamilized transcription of the epithets and these are compared with their Sanskritic originals. The aim is to find out whether there is any intelligible concordance or correspondence between the two. This is very important because if the Āḻvārs mention an epithet of Viṣṇu it should be meaningful vis-à-vis its Sanskritic root, yield some historical idea or is significant in the context of religious studies.
Research Interests:
Course description: The aim of the course is to introduce the Vijayanagara-Nāyaka art and architecture in the scheme of art historical development in the later medieval Indian history. Its historical span covers the rise of the... more
Course description: The aim of the course is to introduce the Vijayanagara-Nāyaka art and architecture in the scheme of art historical development in the later medieval Indian history. Its historical span covers the rise of the Vijayanagara in the mid-fourteenth century CE to the decline of the Nāyaka kingdoms in the mid-eighteenth century CE. The territorial extent falls south of the Kṛṣṇā River to Kaṉyākumari in the Deep South. This part of southern peninsula is the area where the Dravidian languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Tulu and Malayalam are spoken. The Nāyakas were the successors of the Vijayanagara rulers, and may be called Vijayanagara-Nāyaka. To be brief, the art of the Nāyaka period is an elaboration of the earlier Vijayanagara tradition. The regional expression within dynastic production in South India reaches to the confinements where there are no further follow-ups as well as innovative vocabulary.
The aim is to study the art and architecture of the Vijayanagara-Nāyaka period through the lens of religious developments, cult orientations, regional myths, and politics of patronage along with recent trends of anthropology of regional cultures within its historical geography. This period has long attracted historians who have studied the politics, agrarian society and flourishing foreign trade. The courtly literature of the age offers a glimpse of the kind of life and ideals adumbrated by the Vijayanagara-Nāyaka rulers. These enquiries may be of help to better understand the historical, religious and cultural context of the buildings and their associated sculptures and paintings in order to open further areas for exploration.
The aim is to study the art and architecture of the Vijayanagara-Nāyaka period through the lens of religious developments, cult orientations, regional myths, and politics of patronage along with recent trends of anthropology of regional cultures within its historical geography. This period has long attracted historians who have studied the politics, agrarian society and flourishing foreign trade. The courtly literature of the age offers a glimpse of the kind of life and ideals adumbrated by the Vijayanagara-Nāyaka rulers. These enquiries may be of help to better understand the historical, religious and cultural context of the buildings and their associated sculptures and paintings in order to open further areas for exploration.