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.
This article is a summary of 60+ Tēvāram hymns on Veṇkāṭu which are not only important documents in the history of South Indian Śaivism, but also the sthala and organizing principle of the structure ...of the temple, its location and iconography. The Śaivite Navagraha-sthalas in the Kāviri delta, are Curiyanārkōyil-Sūrya, Tiṅkalūr-Candra, Tiruveṇkāṭu-Budha, Vaittīcuvarankōyil-Aṅgāraka, Ālaṅkuṭi-Bṛhaspati, Kañcaṇūr-Śukra, TirunaḷḷāṟuŚanaiścara, Kuṃbhakoṇam/Nākeśvaram-Rāhu and Perumpaḷḷam-Ketu. The Vaiṣṇavas have their Navagrahasthalas in the Tāmiraparaṇi basin, called Navatiruppatis (nine holy lands). The nava-Kailāsas in this zone are also treated Śaiva grahasthalas. Śvetāraṇyeśvara temple. Tiruveṇkāṭu, is a crucial Śaiva-sthala, much less known to the outer world. The three authors of the Tēvāram, viz., Campantar (Tirumuṟai 1-3), Nāvukkaracar (4.6) and Cuntarar (7) have contributed six patikams (decades of hymns, totally of 62 hymns) on the Budha-sthala in Tiruveṇkāṭu. The different manifestations of Śiva are extolled in these hymns, particularly Ardhanārīśvara, Naṭarāja, Yogīśvara, Candraśekhara, Ekapādamūrti, Bhikṣāṭana, Kālāri, Gajasaṃhāra and so on. These remain unexamined in scholarly works. It is worthwhile to see what the Tēvāram-trio have to say on Veṅkāṭu. It seems during the past, Cōḻa, Veṇkāṭu was a base of the Vīraśaivas. Therefore, a shrine for the Lord Vīrabhadra is present within the Śvetāraṇyeśvara temple. The bhakti Tamil literature clearly recognizes the importance of this venue with reference to its landscape, sthala, vṛkṣa, cultic values, mythologies, nāmāvalis ‘epithets’ and its implications on the visual iconography of the temple that evolved under the Cōḻas and successive rulers of the region. This article hopes to show the importance of an aspect of Tamil Śaivism which is often neglected by scholars.
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).
Rāma as Kṛṣṇa, Rāma-Kṛṣṇa Rajarajan, Raju Kalidos Kesava
ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF INDIAN STUDIES,
2019
1
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
How many are the Rāmas? Rāmaṉ ettaṉai Rāmaṉaṭi is a popular movie song. Kṛṣṇa is here (Kurukṣetra), yonder(Bṛndāvana) and everywhere (minds of devotees). The two are the principal characters in the ...hymns of the Āḻvārs that lead to meditate on Kṛṣṇaism and Rāmaism. They are one with the avatāras of Viṣṇu, and at the same time on either polarity from the feminine point of view; Rāma is ekapatnīvratin and Kṛṣṇa’s anekapatnī. TheĀḻvārs, cf. hymns bearing on divyadeśa-Pullāṇi (Tirumaṅkai in Periya Tirumoḻi), and some north Indian folk songs view Rāma, the beloved of several lovesick maidens. The article proposes to discover Rāma in the Bṛndāvana (cf. Fig. 5), not Aśoka-vanaṃ. In either case, philosophically the several lively women are paśus committed to ātmanivedana due to virahabhakti.
The Tamil Vaiṣṇava mystics, the Āḻvārs offer clues to new mythologies, the source of which could not be traced with reference to the Sanskritic originals such as the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata. One ...such mythology pertains to the boon obtained by Rāvaṇa from Brahmā. The Tamil mystics do reveal Viṣṇu appeared as a baby on the lap of Brahmā to warn him not to sanction the boon, which may be catastrophic for cosmic peace. Viṣṇu appearing as a baby is not a new theme. The Little Master lying on the lap of Brahmā (considered the son of Viṣṇu, originating in the lotus emanating from the umbilicus of Śeṣaśāyī) as a baby is novel. Later medieval commentators, the Ācāryas, e.g. Nam Piḷḷai and Periyavāccāṉ Piḷḷai in their commentaries add the source of this myth could not be traced in the itihāsa-purāṇas. It might suggest the early medieval Āḻvārs had consulted a version of the Rāmāyaṇa that was not accessible to the Ācāryas. Alternatively, it may be added such enigmatic versions were based on folk or oral traditions.
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 Mahal Library edition.
Pancanrtyasabhas Rajarajan, R.K.K. Kesava
Religions of South Asia,
01/2014, Letnik:
8, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The convention among art historians is to begin Nataraja studies with Citamparam. Historically and mythologically, this is a misconception. The earliest mention of Kuttan/Nataraja appears in a fifth- ...or sixth-century ce literary work, the Alankattumuttatiruppatikam of Karaikkal-Ammaiyar, and the theme continued to persist through the ages, being particularly exalted in the hymns of the Tevaram, the first seven compilations of the Saiva canon. The Cidambaramahatmya is a work of the fourteenth century ce or later. Scholarly research has depended more on Sanskritic sources (e.g. Sivaramamurti 1974; Smith 1998) than on the earlier Tamil material. This article says why studies pertaining to Nataraja should begin with Alankatu, the earliest sthala extolled in the Tamil hymns, considered the original base of the Nataraja tradition. It cursorily reflects on the available epigraphical sources. The other dancing venues of the Lord, Tillai/Citamparam, Alavay/Maturai, Nelveli and Kurralam, were added in due course, making with Alankattu a list of five dancing halls (pancanrtyasabha). The article examines a group of five stucco images that appear in the frontal projection of the mandapa to the Alankatu temple.
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