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Marvellous carvings on temple car
An exquisite piece of art at Chozhapandyapuram ...
MANY TEMPLES around Thirukkovilur are in a highly dilapidated condition. Foreign invaders had mercilessly ravaged several of the monuments of historical and archaeological importance. These temples require massive investment for renovation. In a few of them there is none to even light an oil lamp at the sanctum sanctorum. These temples are a storehouse of beautiful sculptures and have lot of inscriptions on stone.
Chozhapandyapuram, also known as Chozhavandhipuram, is a relatively unknown small hamlet. It is next to G. Ariyur, (Gedilam Ariyur — another small village), about 17 km off Tirukkovilur, in the southwest direction. The temple is dedicated to Lord Siva and is spread over 1.33 acres of land. The deity is Kailasanathar. The shrine is no doubt yearning for attention, but what catches the eye at first is the temple car nearby, standing majestically for the past several years, weathering the rain and the Sun. The temple car, it is said, was taken out in procession more than 15 years ago and has been grounded since then. What one finds in the car is classic art, and it is reported that a few of the carvings have already been stolen.
The front, known as Kodungais and Chendu, are marvellous pieces of art. On one side of the car the story of Markandeya is told in four frames, in its full and true form. Markandeya being told by his parents about his date with Destiny, Siva holding him, as Yama, seated on his vahanam (buffalo), is killed by the Lord with His soolam, Yama and others being graced by the Lord and Markandeya being blessed with Chiranjeevi padam have all been beautifully depicted.
The second side has events from the Ramayana — Rama blessing Sugreeva for the Dwandayuddham with Vaali, Rama aiming an arrow from a shadowed area unseen by Vaali and Sugreeva Pattabhishekam.
Then there is the story of Hiranyakasipu and Prahaladan. Lord Narasimha breaking the pillar open and coming out, as Hiranyakasipu watches and Prahaladan prays to the Lord. Next is Narasimha catching hold of Hiranyakasipu, and tearing the stomach while He sits at the entrance of the exit door with Hiranyakasipu on his lap; The Lord in His ukra nature is seen with the dead Hiranyakasipu while the final carving deals with the enthronement of Prahaladan.
In the other frame, Lord Nataraja is performing the cosmic dance while Nandi is playing on the maddalam and Narada and a rishi are playing on the yazh. Lord Vishnu is seen playing the talam. Brahma is setting the rhythm as Ramba and Urvashi sing and dance — the sculptor's imagination is astonishing.
In yet another frame, Lord Krishna is playing on the flute reclining on a cow with left leg crossed and Lord Vishnu is seen with his Consort. An elephant hooks a yali by its tail while the yali tries to swap the pachyderm with its mouth. One frame is for Gajendran being blessed by the Lord, and another deals with Garuda Sevai. It is regrettable that the temple car is decaying and there is no protection from vandals, who have defaced it by scribbling their names on it. The surroundings are also very dirty. We have lost quite a few cars due to one reason or the other. While new temple cars are being built at some of the city temples recently, is it not our duty to preserve the existing ones? Why should small temples and temple cars as the one above, which are architectural marvels, be discarded?
G. KRISHNARATNAM
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