The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Moving on from Kanyakumari, let me take you to one of the most beautiful temples we visited on our Southern Jaunt - Suchindram. This is a special post for me, since its about what I love the most - a temple and its stories. However, even more importantly, this is the 1000th post on the blog! Besides, I have now been blogging for over 8 years, and it has so far been a fantastic journey, with too many highlights to mention here. As I pen this thousandth post, I would like to thank all of you, my readers, for it is you who have made this journey memorable. Meanwhile, I hope and pray for many more journeys, and stories to share with all of you.....
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| Vishnu (left), Shiva (center) and Brahma (right) on the gopuram of the Suchindram Temple |
Suchindram. What can I say about this amazing
temple, that hasn’t already been said before? The legends are many, and oft
repeated, and as for the architecture, better and more knowledgeable people
have written pages on it. I spent a little more than an hour there, and while
inside, simply stared around me in wonder, awed by the impressive work,
spellbound by the intricacy on display. And no, I did not click any photographs
either.
So,
once again, what do I write?
Let
me begin with the stories, for the stories are what interest me the most.
One
of the oldest stories of the temple is where the town gets its name from. It is said that
this is where Indra worshipped Shiva, and was released from Gautama’s curse.
Suchi means purification, and thenceforth, the town came to be known as
Suchindram – the site of Indra’s purification.
Another
story is
closely aligned to the legend of Kanyakumari. He is the Lord who falls in love
with the virgin goddess, and the truant groom who turns back on the way to the
wedding, because the cock has crowed. The cock of course is Narada, doing the
Gods a favour by stopping the union of the Lord and his beloved, for the virgin
goddess is the only one who can slay the demon Banasura!
There
are stories galore, but let me tell you one more – sometimes considered the most important
one, related to the lord who resides here. He is called ‘Sthanumalayan’, a form
of the trinity – Shiva (Sthanu), Vishnu (Mal) and Brahma (Ayan) (See first pic). The story goes
back to the time of the sage Atri and his wife, Anasuya, who was considered the
epitome of chastity. The gods decided to test her and arrived at her doorstep,
begging for alms, when the sage was out. When she offered them food, they
refused, saying they would only accept alms from someone who wore no clothes.
Anasuya thought for a moment, and then, bringing water from her morning’s puja,
sprinkled it on the three visitors, turning them into babies. She then
proceeded to feed them. The sage arrived to find his wife with three children,
divined the reason, smiled, and went on with his prayers. Meanwhile, the
goddesses were worried at the prolonged absence of their husbands, and eventually
arrived at Atri’s ashram, where they recognized in the three children, their
husbands. They accepted the greatness of Anasuya and begged her to restore
their husbands, which she did. However, the gods stayed back here, at the foot
of a tree, as three lingams, a constant reminder of their descent on earth, and
the greatness of Anasuya.
The
lingam in the
main sanctum is considered to be a form of all the three gods, and thus his
name. Besides, the temple also houses the original lingams at the base of the
tree, and shrines to Lord Vishnu, and a wide variety of deities.
One
of the most popular deities in the temple is Anjaneya, or Hanuman, whose 18 feet tall monolithic
statue is one of the prime attractions here. The statue is an ancient one,
which is believed to depict Hanuman in the manner he showed himself to Sita in
the Ashoka Vana at Lanka. It is said that this idol was buried during Tipu’s
attack of this region in 1740, and subsequently forgotten. The statue was
re-discovered only in 1930, and installed here.
Incidentally, the main offering to Anjaneya here
are white butter and betel leaves. These offerings are so huge in quantity,
that the statue is almost always covered with white butter. It is hard indeed
to see that it is made of granite!
So much
for the stories.
As to the architecture, I can only reiterate that there is so much to see here
and appreciate, that a short visit like mine is barely enough to scratch the
surface.
The
most impressive
and unique feature of the temple, according to me of course, is the interesting
depiction of the Navagrahas, which are depicted, not on a platform, as is
usual, but on the ceiling! Lamps are lit on the base as an offering to them.
The
musical pillars
are another huge attraction here, but sadly, they have been so misused, that
they are now covered with iron grills. This is true not just for these musical
pillars, but also for the many, many monolithic compound pillars (multiple
pillars carved out of a single one, from a single stone) in the temple. Some of
the more beautiful depictions of the Gods as well as Dwarapalakas have also
been covered with grills to prevent people touching them.
The
temple is a massive one, with rows and rows of pillars, each one more beautiful than the other,
and shrines to almost every deity you can think of. There are also stories
associated with many of the minor deities, but there is no way I can do justice
to any of them, so I will not even try to. This is one of those temples you
must visit and experience the divinity and the beauty for yourself.
The only
part of the temple I have photos of, are the gopuram, which is said to be among
the tallest in South India. It is visible from across the town, and so covered
with detailed figures, that it is difficult to identify every one of them. Here
is a glimpse, to give you an idea.
Finally,
before I end this post, I should clarify that this post isn’t meant to be a complete
resource of information about the temple. It is just my impression, from the
short time I spent there. For more information and any queries about the
temple, please head over to the temple website. It is quite detailed and even has contact
numbers.
Information:
- Temple Website: http://suchindrum.com/
- Location: Suchindram is about 13 Km from Kanyakumari. There are frequent buses from Kanyakumari as well as Nagercoil.
This post is part of my series on my #summertrip 2015, and I hope to take you along with me as I recount stories from my month long trip, which took me across the country. To get an idea of all the places I visited, and what you can hope to read about, click here.
Related Posts:
- Kanyakumari
Glad to know in detail about Suchindram temple. Congratulations on your 1000th post!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely religious post about Suchindram temple.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to read your 1000th post! Thanks for bringing one of the ancient temples of South India in the focus. I'm sure people will love to know the wonderful history of the Suchindram Temple. Also, the stupendous pictures show the beauty of the temple and its excellent craftsmanship.
ReplyDelete