The Pavillion

The mandapa is situated a little off the side of the road. Although it was almost completely hidden by bushes and shrubs, I noticed it many times. Passing it from the distance in a car it was just an impression of ancient pillars and a roof. But although I often thought I would like to have a closer look I never stopped the car. Till a week ago.

Something had changed. The shrubs and bushes had been removed, and the mandapa was clearly visible now, and could easily be reached. Whoever did this service, I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to them. So this time I stopped and got out of the car. It is a simple open mandapa, which means a pillared hall. Four rows of six pillars are supporting a flat roof. The central isle is somewhat wider then the side-isles. The back end has been closed off at one time with bricks, and between two pillars on one side an arch shaped entrance had been constructed. This was probably not part of the original structure.

I went inside and started making photos. There are two types of pillars basically, and the mandapa is structurally divided into two parts. The main building is positioned on a raised stone floor, with pillars that are alternating square and octagonal and capped with an unshaped or T-shaped corbel. In front of the main structure four pillars form a kind of porch or veranda. These pillars are alternating square, octagonal, and polygonal (16 facets), and capped with corbels sculpted in a style belonging to approximately the 13th or 14th century. Some pillars have been left unfinished.

I walked around, avoiding the debris lying around, while at the same time photographing the sculpture on the pillars. The best sculpture is found on the square base of the pillars. The base is decorated with nagapadams, cobra heads, rearing at the corners. There are several deities depicted such as Shiva, Murugan and Sarasvati riding her swan, and a figure that might be Vishnu as Mohini. There is a Nandi performing tapas, some bhutagana figures. The upper parts of the columns are either not carved, or carved very roughly with various abstract symbols and figures. It struck me that there are also quite a few depictions of humans, which are usually the donors in a context like this. On the pillar in the South-East corner there is a most peculiar relief of what is undoubtedly a European trader or sailor. From the dress I could gather it was most likely one of the Dutch merchants once settled in Sadras nearby. His coat, hat, high boots, and the sword he wears, indicate his high rank.

Walking around and enjoying the sculpture was a pleasant experience. I am always inspired by the achievements of our ancestors. The pavilion is a pleasant one and the sculpture is very nice, but it is not a master piece. I made what I thought was a final round and was about to go back to the car. But as has happened to me more often in my life, something, some intuition, made me look up, at the ceiling. And there I discovered the hidden treasure of this mandapa.

First my eyes caught the depiction of cobras undulating in front of what I knew to be the Sun and Moon. This is the traditional way of depicting an eclipse. One cobra about to swallow the disk of the Moon. Another depicted as moving in the opposite direction, about to swallow the Sun disk. These are Rahu and Ketu, the ascending and descending nodes of the Moon. Neighboring these eclipse depictions are mythological and real animals. A deer, several sea-creatures, one with a human face, monkeys. A little further I discovered the mythological being that had been calling me for many years now. The Indian sphinx or purushamriga (human-beast) faces a multi-facetted lotus. Opposite this sphinx the saint Kanappa is depicted in the act of giving his eyes to Shiva, a well know legend from the Shaivite tradition.

A little further a scorpion with a human face and a two-headed bird are facing each other. Another multifaceted lotus is on the slab next to them. And further two fish face each other. I was stunned with this unexpected treasure of sculpture with so much meaning and went back inside the mandapa to inspect the ceiling there. Several more eclipses are depicted, as well as mythological animals and lotuses. I saw more pairs of fish, two cobras almost touching with tiny figures near their heads. Another scorpion with a human face is situated opposite a tortoise.

So many questions arise from this iconography and from these symbols. This mandapa is a remarkable astronomical monument. I feel and could say it is an astro-archaeological discovery of high significance. It obviously commemorates several solar and lunar eclipses so the next question was which astronomical events were depicted here? I used the Solar and Lunar Eclipse Explorer calculators on the Nasa Eclipse Website and looked for what would have been extra-ordinary celestial events in the past that would fit the architecture and sculptural style.

In the last decade of the 13th century an extra-ordinary series of three solar eclipses that were total over parts of South India took place. Where this mandapa is situated these eclipses did not reach totality, according to the eclipse calculator, but they were very near totality. And the variability of DeltaT leaves room for the possibility for one or more of these eclipses to have been total to the eye-witnesses here after all. These eclipses took place on the 5th of July 1293, the 28th of October 1296 and on the 21st of February 1300 (astronomers use dates from the Julian calendar for events before 1582). In the same period there were an unusual high number of total Lunar eclipses; 1284 (2), 1287 (2), 1291 (2), 1294, 1295 and 1298.



When we look at the style of the sculpture and architecture of the pavilion the period around 1300 would be a proper fit. Also the clothes and hairstyle of the people depicted agree well with this date. Except for the European sailor or trader. He seems to be out of place. Was this figure added at a later date? This relief is executed in a very different style from the others, and may be a later addition which gives this mandapa an even greater historical significance.

But it is the astronomy in combination with the iconography that secures the meaning and the date of this pavilion and its unique iconography. The last in the series of the three solar eclipses that had the phase of totality over South India occurred on the 21st of February 1300. It being a New Moon day infers that is must have been the day before or after Maha Shiva Ratri, which is always celebrated on the night of New Moon in the month of Magha (Masi Masa in Tamil). The Tamil traditional calendar is a sidereal calendar, so the month would have fallen differently with respect to the Western calendar from today. And the Julian calendar is used to calibrate the dates. But this date definitely translates into Maha Shiva Ratri or New Moon night in the period of February-March for the year 1300.






And this explains the presence of the sphinx or purushamriga. Because the Indian sphinx is especially connected with Maha Shiva Ratri, as it is the night that devotees run a race called Shiva Ottam in Kanya Kumari district in commemoration of the race between Bhima and the sphinx in the Mahabharata. The presence of Kannapa also relates to Maha Shiva Ratri. The multi facetted lotus medallion in between them is the representation of the total solar eclipse, with the lotus petals representing what contemporary astronomers call Bailey’s Beads and the streamers of the sun’s corona, I think. It expresses in an appropriate artistic form the vision and experience of a total solar eclipse. This relief also expresses the significance of an eclipse as a major spiritual event.


Besides this total eclipse on the 21st February 1300, the depiction of several nagas or cobras with solar and lunar disks in front of them on the ceiling of this pavilion express the registration of this series of solar and lunar eclipses that had a special significance for the eyewitnesses. They commemorated these events with the building of this mandapa and recorded them by carving these astronomical symbols on its ceiling. The reliefs are in a way 14th century photos of these astronomical events.

Eclipses, both solar and lunar, are of great spiritual significance and are seen by the Vedic tradition as moments of great spiritual power and potentiality. People who follow a spiritual path (sadhana) would perform meditation and rituals because of the special energy generated by the eclipse. The Panchangam or almanac would have predicted the eclipses accurately and people would have been forewarned and would have prepared for them.

Eclipses are also often interpreted as forewarnings of disaster and adversity, depending on the astrological circumstances in which they occur. The reality is that just a little over ten years later South India was invaded. This invasion was a disaster for the civilization of South India, and nothing would ever be the same again. The pavilion as a whole expresses the importance the people of the time attached to this series of celestial events.

When we summarize the significance of this remarkable mandapa we see it is both an astronomical and a historical monument of unusual significance. A series of three solar eclipses that were total over South India concludes with one that coincides with the date of the spiritual festival of Maha Shiva Ratri, one of the most important religious festivals in the traditional calendar. A decade later South India is invaded and thrown into chaos and despair. This small mandapa on the side of a modern road commemorates these astronomical and historical events, and helps us to understand a decisive event of the past, and how it was experienced by those who witnessed it.

The Amrita Kalasa of Kumbhakonam

Brahma saw the cosmic flood that would end the Dvapara Yuga was approaching and prayed to Shiva to be given the shrishtha-bija, the cosmic seed of creation. Shiva re-assured Brahma not to worry but to follow his directions as follows. “Mix soil with amrita (ambrosia, drink of immortality) and water and put this in an unbreakable kumbha (pot). Adorn this pot with a sacred thread made of the radiance of the amrita, and place the shrishtha-bija in the center. Then you pack it on the four sides with the Vedas, agamas, puranas and itihatas. Your pour the amrita on it, and insert the mango leaves and cap the pot with a coconut and kusha grass. Offer archana (worship) with vilva leaves to this kumbha and place it in an uzhi (net). Tie the net around the neck of the pot and hang it on Meru (cosmic mountain) without tilting. When the flood arrives which is the end of the world, the pralaya, it will shake the pot and move it towards the South. Where it comes to rest you can start the new creation.”

Brahma followed Shiva’s instructions and when the pralaya came the kumbha floated towards the South and eventually reached what came to be known as Chola Nadu. There, at one particular place it started whirling. Because of the whirling the mango leaves and the kusha grass were dislodged from the pot and fell down. There the mango leaves became the Vanni tree, and the kusha grass became a Shiva Linga called Darbha Linga. This Linga is surrounded by seven goddesses in the form of water. This sacred place came to be known as Shri Amrita Kalasa temple in the village now called Sarkottai.

The kumbha floated further to the Vayu-dik (the North-Westerly direction). After some distance a prophecy appeared and announced this is the holiest place on earth. The water subsided immediately and the pot came to rest. All this time Brahma followed the pot like iron follows the magnet.

Shiva witnessed all these events from Kailasa, informed Devi he is going there and took the form of a kirata, a hunter. Arriving at Tiruvidaimarudur he found the amrita kalasa, pointed it out to Shastha and asked him if he had an arrow with which to break the pot in one shot. Shastha gave the arrow and said to Shiva that whatever was His will should happen. Shiva thought to himself that this was not the arrow that could break the pot, the truth will be revealed [?]. Shiva bended the bow, and when he released the arrow it went faster than the wind. It hit the amrita kalasa but nothing happened. Shastha bend his head and looked down at the earth.

After this Lord moved a little bit towards the West and shot another arrow at the pot. This time the arrow broke the amrita kalasa. The mouth of the pot jumped in the air and landed some distance towards the Agni Mulai (South-East). There it became a Linga called Kunda Linga Koneshar (in Kudavasal/Kudavayil, app. 20 km to the South-East). The place where Shiva stood when he shot the arrow is now called Banapuram and the Linga there is called Banapurishvara.

The pot broke in two pieces because of the Lord’s blessing. The amrita spread in four directions and flowed a distance of 5 krosha like a river. It spread everywhere.

The uzhi (net), the vilva, the coconut, and the holy thread which all were part of the amrita kalasa spread in all directions and became lingas. The uzhi or net became the Sikkesar Linga (Somanatha temple). The vilva became the vilva forest with the Vilva Linga Ishvara at its center (Nageshvara temple). The coconut became a red coconut tree with the Nalikesaran Linga at its foot (Abhimukeshvara temple). Finally the sacred thread became the Yajnopavita Ishvara (Gautameswara temple)

To give a space for the amrita and the water from the pot, the Earth opened and gave two spaces, now called the Potramarai kulam and Mahamagha tirtha.

All the water of the pralaya flowed away and dried up. The ghona (nose) of the pot was left on the ground. In his Kirata (hunter) form Shiva approached the part of the pot that was left on the dry ground. With the ghona of the pot as a base Lord Shiva made a Linga out of amrita-sand from within the pot and performed ablution to this Linga with the amrita from the pot. Brahma and all Devas joined in the worship. Lord Shiva merged into the Linga and disappeared. There upon the Linga started shining like a jyothi (light). Al the Devas prayed that Uma Maheshvari (Shiva’s consort) should also be present there. The Lord invoked goddess Uma on the left side of the Linga and she was named Mangala Nayaki. Brahma immediately created a temple around the Linga and goddess (Adi-Kumbeshvara temple) and started the festival. All this took place in the month of Magha. The festival was celebrated for 9 days, and on the 10th day the tirthavari was performed in the Mahamagha Tirtha. In this way the Brahmotsava is celebrated every year.

The nine river goddesses Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati, Sarayu, Sindhu, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna and Cauveri were suffering of the burden of all the sins of the people who bathed in them. They approached Lord Visvanathan of Varanasi and asked him what to do. He instructed them to go to Kumbakonam and bathe in the Mahamagha tirtha. All impurity would be washed away from them, and they would be fresh. Thus once in twelve years the nine rivers are assembling together in this tirtha. All people who bath here on that day will be cleansed of sins and impurity, and so will be 101 generations of their ancestors. When the sun is in the constellation Kumbha (Aquarius), and the moon is full in the nakshatra Magha, and Guru, the planet Jupiter, resides in Simha (Leo), the Mahamagha festival is celebrated and a million people bathe in the Mahamagha tirtha.



Kumbakonam: also called Kudandai and Kudamukku, an ancient town in Tamil Nadu on the bank of the river Kaveri.
Brahma: Deva or god, one of the Trimurti or trinity, responsible for creation.
Shiva: Ishvara, Lord God, also one of the trimurti.
Dvapara yuga: the third yuga in the cosmic cycle of Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali.
pralaya: the flood of the end of one creation, after which another creation will begin.
kumbha and kalasa: a pot
shristhi: creation
bija: seed
Veda: primary sacred texts of the ancient and later Hindu Indian civilization
agama: sacred texts instructing about temple ritual, architecture, doctrine.
purana: sacred texts on mythology and doctrine
itihasa: history.
kusha: a grass that is sacred and used in Vedic and Agamic ritual.
archana: praise, form of worship
uzhi: a net (Tamil word)
vilva: a tree sacred to Lord Shiva the leaves of which are used in ritual.
Meru: Cosmic mountain
Chola Nadu: that part of Tamil Nadu in South India that is the home country of the Chola dynasty.
vanni: sacred tree
Sarkottai: a village to the South-East of Kumbakonam
vayu-dik: the north-western direction, of which the god Vayu, Wind, is the regent.
Devi: Goddess
kirata: a hunter, one of the forms Shiva sometimes uses.
Tiruvidaimarudur: village app. 7 km. to the East of Kumbakonam.
Shastha: son of Shiva
ghona: nose
Linga: the abstract form-less-form of Shiva.
jyothi: light
Magha: one of the nakshatras or lunar mansions, part of the constellation Simha/Leo. Also the name of the month in which the moon is full in conjunction with this nakshatra, which is always when the sun resides in Kumbha/Aquarius
tirtha: crossing, ford, sacred water place, can be a pond, a river or the sea.
tirthavari: festival and ritual in which a deity is taken in procession to the sacred water place and is ritually bathed there.

Many armed gods

A question asked more frequently then any other is why do Hindu gods and goddesses often have many arms?

I remember very clearly the situation when I was asked this question for the first time. I waited a bit, and directed the conversation to some general ground. Then I walked to a nearby motorized pump. I casually asked my friend about it and asked about some technical details. I read the engine label; it said “80 horsepower”. I asked my friend to explain to me what this meant. He answered, “It means the motor has the power of 80 horses.” So I opened the cap of the petrol tank and peered inside. “Where are all those horses” I asked. It took a while before my friend realized I had just answered his question about the many arms of deities. I had to explain it.

We symbolically say an engine has so much horse power. This doesn’t mean there are any horses in the engine. It means the engine can produce as much force as so many horses. In the same way a deity may be depicted with four, six, ten or even a thousand arms. Human beings think partly through analogy. The image of the deity is an analogy and a symbol. The arms represent the many ways and powers the divinity offers the humanity for comfort and support. And humans generally need an image to relate to. Most people can achieve an abstract understanding of the divine only through long and arduous spiritual practice. At the same time the image, the murti, is also truly the embodiment of the divine power. This is Advaita, non-dualism. The divinity is invoked, invited, into the murti through ritual and mantra. The rupa, form, has been ‘seen’ in ancient times by the rishis, the visionary sages who gave the doctrine to the humanity. The form of the god has been seen by the sages. Later it has been given shape by artists for the direction of humanity.

Analogy, a spark for wisdom

“Everything is analogy, it has to be.” These are the words from one of my favorite authors. But I knew it long before I read his books. It reflects the way human beings think, how they learn. So I have been teaching through analogy all my life. I started teaching as a young man. Being one of a very few of my community who could communicate in English and being a priest of two renowned temples in South India, I started my teaching when travelers and seekers from outside India approached me, talked to me, and asked me about my tradition and culture. In those days, in the middle seventies and early eighties people were very different from today. The people I met back then took their journey serious and were open, broad minded and didn’t mind to think deep. Many became friends.

I teach the power of analogy through an analogy: you can’t explain ‘honey’ to a person who does not know what is ‘sweet’.

The power of analogy is to teach an unknown thing through a known thing.