Cosmic Meru and the Temple Chariot

The great temple chariots of South India are amazing structures for amazing events, architecturally and artistically. They are at the centre of the grand festival or utsava celebrated once a year. Each temple has its own tradition with respect to the calendar and also the number of days and the progression of the processions. But the chariot day is always the central feature and also the most spiritually and aesthetically inspiring.

Temple chariots in Chidambaram

At the same time the ratha or ter, as the chariot is called in Sanskrit and Tamil, is quite mysterious. Structurally it is an upside-down pyramid on four wheels made of wood. On top of this pyramid is a small dais which is also a stepped pyramid, but right side up. For the occasion of the actual festival a temporary upper structure will be constructed of poles which will be covered by colourful cloth. Although every temple has its own specific details, generally these upper structures also have a pyramidal structure and shape.

Some time ago a much respected FB friend, VJ Kumar, who is a fellow enthusiast, raised the question why the chariots are sometimes so huge, while the murtis which ride in them for the processional ride around the car streets are not very large at all. This is a very good question. The general question of the relationship between the form, function and meaning of the South Indian temple chariots has so far hardly been asked. Searching the literature we have to draw the conclusion this question has not enjoyed any attention so far. So I thank my FB friend for bringing it up. From my late friend Raja Deekshithar I understood the essence of this a long time ago. But the time, and also the material or textual proof was not ready. During one of our recent trips we accidently came across one crucial proof.

The relief from Madurai which was posted by Ramjee Nagarajan depicts another interpretation of the same idea. Here the Cosmic Turtle carries the Nagas and the Elephants on whose backs Shiva and Parvati are depicted as Somaskanda or as Uma-Maheshvara. (I am not sure Skanda is present here in between his father and mother, a more detailed photo could clarify this).

With thanks to Ramjee Nagarajan

The ritual ratha, ter or chariot is first and foremost a physical representation of Meru, and Meru is the Cosmic Mountain and World Axis. What is the proof for this? Two reliefs depicting Meru in a simplified form establish the connection. The first Kandhan and I found in an eclipse pavilion on a short trip to Tiruvannamalai. This alone standing mandapa somewhere along the road has the usual eclipse depictions of nagas with lunar and solar disk, makara, fish and other eclipse symbols (http://www.asianart.com/articles/pavilion/index.html;  http://www.asianart.com/articles/pavilion2/index.html ) besides cosmological symbols. One is a small relief of Meru with the Shiva Linga on the summit.

Here Meru is carried on the back of the World Turtle. On the back of the turtle Nagas or cobras carry the next level, that of the Cosmic Elephants. On the back of the elephants rests the actual mountain, on top of which is a platform in the shape of an inverted lotus. The whole is crowned with the Formless-Form of Shiva, the Linga.

Meru the Cosmic Mountain

That this is a depiction of ancient cosmological concepts can be understood from some of the ritual platforms we find in festival mandapas, for instance in Madurai itself. In the Thousand Pillar Hall the large stone Nataraja and Sivakamasundari are placed on a ritual platform shaped in the form of the Cosmic Turtle. The Cosmic Turtle carries on its back the Cosmic Nagas and Elephants, and the Dikpalas, the Lords of the Directions are positioned at their appropriate places. Atogether this forms the platform which is the stage of Shiva’s Cosmic Dance.

The Cosmic Turtle offering his back as the stage of Shiva's Cosmic Dance in Madurai

Another such platform is found in an eclipse pavilion in the outer prakara of the lower temple in Thirukallukundram. Alas Time has robbed this Cosmic Turtle of its head. Nagas, Elephants, the Lords of the Directions, and miniature mountain peaks complete the symbolism of the Cosmic Meru. It was obviously a platform for the performance of ritual. Possibly in connection with eclipses, as an eclipse is depicted in the ceiling above the ritual stage.

Here the Cosmic Turtle carries Mount Meru in Thirukallukundram

 Now what is the connection between these depictions of Meru and the festival chariot? The chariot actually represents the same concept. Not on all chariots we find all the symbolism combined in the same way, but many do, and they make the connection clear. Here I present two chariots. Both are from Chidambaram. The first is the large chariot for Ganesha which belongs to the great festival of the Shiva Nataraja temple. The other a small chariot belonging to a Vinayaka temple some distance away from the great temple in the centre of the city.

 We again find the Cosmic Turtle carrying the whole universe on its back. Here the turtle is also depicted in human form, it seems. On its back nagas and elephants, and above these the whole cosmos of worlds with heavenly beings and deities. I don’t have a photo of this, but the tail and the feet of the turtle stick out at the back and the sides of the chariot.

The second chariot also has the human form of the Cosmic Turtle represented. On its back once again the Nagas, the Elephants and miniature mountain peaks. This small chariot clearly shows the inverted pyramid structure and the layers of divine worlds.

We can conclude the ratha or ter of South Indian temple festivals is a representation of the Cosmic Meru, which is at the same time the world axis, the skambha. Both the Turtle and Meru itself are other forms of the divine. The size doesn’t seem to be as significant. Possibly bigger chariots were build for the larger temples, in the same way the gopura seems to have become higher over time.

I hope this clarification of the meaning and function of the ritual festival chariot will help us all to understand the significance of the ancient traditions better. And the next time I pull the chariot with the Nataraja in it I will realise all the more He is the embodiment of the whole cosmos. And the festival is its unfolding.

© 2012 Liesbeth Pankaja Bennink

Adi Perukku, the Tamil Calendar and the Archaeology of Time

Adi Perukku

On the 18^th of the month of Adi, which falls on the 2^nd of August of the Gregorian calendar in 2012, people in Tamil Nadu will celebrate Adi Perukku, the festival of the descent of the river Cauvery. It is a significant and peculiar date. I have enjoyed this and many other Tamil festivals and have become fascinated by the calendar which regulates their celebration. Raja Deekshithar taught me a lot about it and together we realised it is a treasure trove for the Archaeology of Time

The Doors of Midwinter and Midsummer

Twenty-five years ago I visited the Shri Chakrapani temple in Kumbakonam for the first time. As a Bharata Natyam dancer I have a special interest in this temple as it holds a representation of the 108 karanas. The main sanctum of Vishnu is a beautiful example of later Chola architecture with the shrine build in the form of a chariot with horses and elephants as draft animals.

But another feature raised my curiosity. The serving priest told how a day earlier one of the great festivals of the temple had taken place. He explained that at the time of the solstices one of the two doorways leading to the sanctum would be closed and the other opened. At the time of midwinter the northern doorway would be opened and at the time of midsummer the southern doorway. What raised my interest was the fact that the solstice or midwinter had been several weeks earlier. What would be the reason behind this discrepancy? At first I dismissed it as an example of ignorance, but as I came to know more about the Tamil ritual calendar through my collaboration with Raja Deekshithar I became convinced there must be a good reason behind it. Searching together for answers led us to astro-archaeology and some amazing realisations. 

 

Shri Chakrapani temple Dakshinayana door

The Adi month of the Tamil calendar starts this year (2012) on July 16. The 18^th day of Adi is celebrated as Adi Perukku. Most festivals in the Hindu calendar are connected to the movements of the moon. They celebrate a tithi, or moon phase, like new moon or full moon, or they are linked to the moon joining a particular nakshatra (lunar mansion). This is a (Vedic) unit of one or more stars on the ecliptic. Because the lunar year is different from the solar year such festivals fall every year on different dates of the calendar. However, Adi Perukku is fixed to a particular (solar) date in the calendar and has no connection to the moon. 

River Cauvery at sunset

 

On Adi Perukku people celebrate the descent of the river Cauvery. The monsoon rains swell the river and the cycle of planting and harvesting begins again. People go to the banks of the river, or another water place, to express their gratitude through worship and celebration.

In the city of Kumbakonam there are two temples dedicated to Vishnu, the Shri Sarangapani and the Shri Chakrapani. Both these temples have two doorways connected to the solstices in the same way. From the time of the winter solstice the sanctums are approachable through the northern entrance and from the time of the summer solstice through the southern entrance. This is connected to the two periods of uttarayana or northern course of the sun (midwinter to midsummer), and dakshinayana or southern course of the sun (midsummer to midwinter). 

Shri Sanrangapani temple gopuram, Kumbakonam

 

In the Tamil ritual calendar uttarayana begins from Makara Samkranti, which was celebrated this year on the 14^th of January. The start of dakshinayana is celebrated on Adi Perukku, the festival of the Cauvery River, which falls on the 18^th of the Tamil month Adi. This year the 18^th of Adi equals the 2^nd of August. The difference between actual midwinter on the 21^st of December and Makara Samkranti is 24 days. The difference between midsummer on the 21^st of June and Adi Perukku is 44 days. What is happening here? At first sight the conclusion might be this ritual calendar doesn’t understand astronomy very well or maybe expresses strange superstitions. The actual reason is this calendar is very ancient indeed and represents a time well over 3000 years ago.

Precession

To explain this we have to introduce an astronomical phenomenon, called precession. Precession is a movement of the axis of the earth which results in a slight shift in the point of sunrise and sunset relative to the fixed stars of the ecliptic. Every year this point shifts 50 second of a degree relative to the stars in the opposite direction from the yearly movement of our sun. The sun shifts its rising and setting point 1 degree every day along the band of the ecliptic, and comes back to the same point after one year. That is how we understand the solar year and recognize the zodiac. But in actual reality the sun doesn't come back to exactly the same point after one year. The sun stays behind just a little bit. So today the sunrise at midwinter occurs in the constellation Dhanus/Sagitarius. Two thousand years ago it occurred in the constellation Makara/Capricorn. The amount of this shift over time is a well known astronomical value. Therefore we can calculate exactly where the point of midsummer and midwinter would have occurred on the ecliptic at any time in the past.

The Tamil calendar is a sidereal calendar which means it is fixed to the stars. As the stars shift very slowly relative to the seasons due to precession and we know that the rate of this shift is approximately 72 years for 1 degree, we can calculate the time reflected by the date of the festivals in the Tamil calendar because one degree shift more or less equals one day later in the calendar: 360 degrees of the circle equals 365 days of the year. The 24 days difference between the winter solstice and Makara Samkranti shows this festival was fixed to this date around 1728 years ago. The 44 days difference between the summer solstice and Adi Perukku shows this festival was originally established 3168 years ago. Our conclusion must be the Tamil ritual calendar was already functioning in 1000 BCE.

Midsummer and Monsoon Rains

There may some who maintain no such sophisticated civilisation existed so early in time in Tamil Nadu. But we can present supporting proof. Adi Perukku is also the festival of the river Cauvery when the coming of the rains, the overflowing of the river and the beginning of a new planting season is celebrated. Now the start of the monsoon generally lies around the beginning of June, and around the third week of June the river starts filling with water arriving from its upper reaches. So there is a natural relationship between midsummer, the arrival of the rains and the river descending. As the ritual calendar fixes this event on the 18^th of Adi, and this is today the 3^rd of august, the explanation is this date has shifted due to precession.

Adi is also connected to ancestor worship. Traditionally the period from midsummer to midwinter is also called the pitryana or path of the ancestors. The summer solstice is an auspicious moment to perform rituals for the ancestors. The relationship between the month of Adi and ancestor worship shows this month was once associated with the beginning of the southern course of the sun.

Archaeology of Time

The ritual of opening and closing of the two doorways in the Sarangapani and Chakrapani temples in Kumbakonam thus reflects a time really very long ago through the Tamil calendar. These festivals are treasures from a long ago past ‘unearthed’ by an Archaeology of Time made possible by the accuracy of the ancient time keepers and the deep astronomical knowledge recorded in the Tamil ritual calendar.

Tamil: the language spoken by the people in South-East India. An ancient laguage representing an ancient culture of southern India.

Adi Perukku: a festival celebrated on the 18^th of the month Adi of the Tamil calendar. Tamil people celebrate the descend of the river Cauvery, the summer solstice, the arrival of the monsoon rains and the beginning of the agricultural season. Adi Perukku is also celebrated on the 28^th of Adi, especially in the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram. This indicates and even earlier date!

Adi masam: the month in the Tamil Calendar when the sun resides in the sign of Karkata/Cancer, from mid-july to mid-august

Thai masam: the month in the Tamil Calendar when the sun resides in the sign of Makara/Capricorn, from mid-january to mid-february.

Makara Samkranti: when in the Tamil calendar the sun enters the sign of Makara/Capricorn

Uttarayana: the northern course of the sun, between midwinter and midsummer.

Dakshinayana: the southern course of the sun, between midsummer and midwinter.

Cauvery: the largest and most sacred river of Tamil Nadu.

Bharata Natyam: South Indian classical dance.

Kumbakonam: temple city in Tamil Nadu.

Shiva, Universal Guru, Dakshinamurti

Shiva as Dakshinamurti represents the Guru, the teacher, He who initiates and gives knowledge to those who seek it. He is the personification of supreme knowledge and wisdom. And he is worshipped as the god of divine wisdom.

Shiva as Dakshinamurthy

Dakshina first means the right direction. For almost all auspicious acts and rituals we face East, because the East is where the sun rises every day. It is where auspiciousness is born. When we face East, our right hand side is the South. That is how the Southern direction came to be know as 'dakshina'. And Shiva in his aspect of divine teacher is always facing South and is therefore called Dakshinamurti. When we enter a temple in southern India and follow the prakara in the clock-wise direction, we find Dakshinamurti in the central niche of the southern wall of the sanctum.

Around him sit four sages who are named Sanatkumara (always a youth), Sanaka (ancient), Sanatana (eternal), Sanandana (having joy). They are born from the mind of Brahma and live eternally as Brahmacaris. With the chin mudra Dakshinamurti and with great silence he teaches his four sishyas or disciples the meaning of Brahma Vidya, the knowledge of Brahman. The significance of Brahma Vidya is to realise Parabrahmam or the divine knowledge or wisdom. To know about the Brahmam is to know about the Paramatma. Through this teaching they receive all kinds of knowledge and wisdom.

Dakshinamurthy sits in a yogic pose called veerasana. He sits on a tiger skin which shows his yogic powers. With one leg he connects to our world, the world of ignorance and illusion. His other leg is folded across in a yogic pose, generating the energy. In his hair he wears the crescent moon. On his forehead is his third eye. In his four hands he holds his attributes. The tradition reaches us about 108 forms of Dakshinamurti. Among these Jñana Dakshinamurthy, Samhara Dakshinamurthy, Lakudi Dakshinamurthy, Yoga Dakshinamurthy, Metha Dakshinamurthy, Samba Dakshinamurthy and Veenadhara Dakshinamurthy are the most familiar.

He sits under the asvattha tree. This is the sacred tree which is described in the Veda as having its roots in heaven and its branches below in our world. It is the tree which represents the cosmos. Of tis it is said in the Katha Upanishad

“This is That eternal Asvattha Tree with its root above and branches below. That root, indeed, is called the Bright. That is Brahman, and That alone is the Immortal. In That all worlds are contained, and none can pass beyond. This verily is That.”

(Katha Upanishad II.iii.1)

When we worship this great lord who offers us darshan under that Cosmic Tree we will receive great knowledge and wisdom.

Kandhan Raja

A different sacred place called Thirucheyanallur

The ultimate devotee, Shri Chandiskeshvara

                                                    

When driving from Kumbakonam to Thirupananthal we cross a small vilage called Netunkollai. Crossing this a slight distance further, away on the right side of the highway, we find one of the very ancient sthalas of the Caveri delta. On the map it is called Senganoor, but its ancient name is Ceynalur. It received this name because it was the place where Murugan worshipped his father, Lord Shiva, before he set out to conquer Surapadman. Shiva blessed his son with the weapon Pashupatastra with which Murugan destroyed the demon.

It is also known as the birthplace of Chandikesvarar, Shiva's most dedicated disciple, who was made steward of the Lord's household. And of the devotee of Vishnu, Periyavachan Pillai.

Once upon a time it was a well known sacred place held in high regard by the Chola emperors. The mythological ancestor of the Cholas, emperor Sibi Chakravarti, is said to have worshipped here. As did another hero for Truth, king Arichandra. These two great kings came here because Shiva is manifested here as the Lord of the Mountain of Truth, Satyagirishvara. As it was a sthala connected with their great ancestor, the Cholas held it in high regard.

Historically it is known from the hymn sung by Thirujnana Sambandar. In the Thevaram it is the 41^st sthala to the North of the Caveri.

For us, woshipping in the 21^st century, it is a place where we can worship to have so many obstacles removed from our life. And especially for the solution of marriage problem, to resolve obstcles in busines, to get rid of enemies and for the promotion of all wishes and goals in our life.

Kandhan Raja