Wayanad - Discovering a ruined gem

It was our second day at Wayanad, and we were driving to Kuruva Island, when our guide pointed to some ruins and asked us if we would like to see an ancient temple. It speaks volumes of our interests, when I say that we perked up at once, and hastened towards what, at first glance, appeared to be a pile of stones lying by the roadside.

‘Pile of stones’ might be an exaggeration, but most of the temple seems to have fallen apart at some time, and then put together in an attempt at restoration. There was no ASI board at the site, so unfortunately, I have no details whatsoever about it. From a book I picked up at Kalpetta and the internet, I think this must be the Janardhana or Vishnu temple near Panamaram.

Since I cannot give you any details about the temple or its history, let me instead give you a photo-tour of the temple itself so you can get an idea of what it’s like.....

We are welcomed at the door by this beautifully carved figure of Hanuman...

Peeping through the doorway, the temple is now visible. Nature has taken over. Left alone, in a few more years, the temple will surely disappear among the weeds and the trees.....

And yet, the erstwhile beauty of the temple shows itself... through these intricate carvings in stone...

Inside, there are more stones lying around. Some may once have adorned the walls, some, like this one, might have been used as a lamp...

Here is the sanctum itself....

Inside, it is dark... but thankfully, there are no bats inside... The only reminder of life is a fragment of a discarded snake skin on the wall....

These are the pillars inside, with various carvings on them...

And above the sanctum is this... an image of a goddess...

Right opposite the sanctum is the mandap, with 4 pillars still (sort of) supporting the roof, the interior filled with rubble. Though I had my qualms about climbing atop something which once was part of a sacred spot, Samhith had no such hang ups.

However, his antics did bring about something good. It gave him a closer look at the carvings, and he recognised one of the few sets of icons that he does know well – the Dashavatar, or the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. I wasn’t able to get decent pics of all, but here are those I did manage...

Narasimha and Kalki

Matsya (the fish) and Varaha (the boar) (?)

Kurma (the tortoise)

Vamana (the dwarf, holding an umbrella and water pot or kamandalu)

Krishna

There are also a few couples, and this one could be Rama and Sita

While Samhith jumped about, trying to decipher more figures, I was intrigued by the pillars themselves. They reminded me of the monolithic stone pillars we had seen at Hampi, with the layered carvings, the inner rounded layer and the outer decorated one. Does this imply that the temple belongs to the Vijayanagara period?

There are many more beautiful works of art on the stones, each more interesting than the other.

Look at this one, for instance..... it looks like a monkey, but I doubt it is Hanuman. The posture and the hair look feminine, doesn’t it?

And then there is this one... a Yoga posture?

A dancing girl?

There is no separate shrine for Ganesha, but here he is, on a pillar...

Apart from the Narasimha on the Dashavatar pillar, here he is again, as Yoga Narasimha...

And here is another of Krishna, this time with the gopis...

This, I assume, is Garuda...

And I wonder.... is this probably the merchant who commissioned this temple?

And here is another monkey figure – with a musical instrument this time.

And another monkey couple, sitting back to back.... wish it was clearer!

Unfortunately, the condition of this place is pitiful. Look at this pillar with the carving of a devotee... it is practically covered with lichen!

These are what would once have been the outer corridor.... the roof is caving in, weeds are growing in every crack, and little remains of the floor.

And there are lichen everywhere!

We can see carvings on even the outer walls... though they have probably been placed there mistakenly as part of the attempted restoration.

As we leave, Samhith declares “I like old, ruined temples. They are better than new ones, and much better than crowded ones.” I cant help but agree, though I also wish such beautiful ruined temples would be restored properly, so we can really enjoy visiting them. After all, the effort which goes into building a temple is colossal. So much talent, so much labour, and so much money..... And all that is left of it are stones lying by the wayside. Terribly unjust, don’t you think?

Wayanad is known for its natural beauty, and had I as usual planned a trip there, I would have, in all probability, taken the well worn tourist paths, and missed such beautiful, but less known sites. It was only thanks to Thomas Cook’s well planned itinerary, and the guys from Muddy Boots who know the area inside out, that I was able to discover such hidden gems, and experience a completely different facet of Wayanad. It was such experiences which made our trip memorable. After all, it isn’t every day that you discover gems by the roadside!