The Great Temples of South India

Masterpieces of Architecture

Some of the most inspiring and breath-taking sights in south India are the sprawling temple complexes dotted around the region with their towering ‘Gopurams’ rivaling the modern high-rises. Having seen the life and times of millions over the ages, these great time-defying structures stand as a testimony to the prowess of our ancients. Starting from the master-builders, the Cholas to the empires of the Pandya, the Chera, the Pallava, Vijayanagara and the Nayaks, these architectural symbols of Dravidian cultures were centres of art, dance and drama. Even today, millions visit these magnificent places of worship daily.

From India’s largest temple at Srirangam to the richest at Tirumala; from the awe-inspiring big temple at Thanjavur to the quiet ruins of Hampi; from the thousand pillars of Rameshwaram to the town of a thousand temples, Kancheepuram; from the sea-side temples of Mamallapuram to mountain temple of Sabarimalai. The variety and beauty of the architecture is simply incomparable. Each is an epic in stone to it deity, be it Rameshwar or Ranganath, Ayyapan or Ayyanar, Sundareshwar or Skanda.

Every time I visit one of the grand temples, I feel like being in a time-space warp! The atmosphere, the sculptures, the ‘abhishekams’ and the ‘mantras’ transport me to a long-lost era where that very place was the centre of life under the ‘Maharajas’. I marvel at the innumerable figurines on the ‘gopurams’ and spend a lot of time gazing at the intricate carvings throughout the complex. The colorful paintings on the walls and ceilings portraying great mythological and historical occasions make a wonderful read. The wonderful layout of the complexes itself, the floor plans and the utility of each building etc are as advanced as modern constructions. Of course, for centuries there has been this practice of placing a coin on the temple elephant’s trunk and getting Lord Ganesha’s blessings!

Worldwide Influence

The other day, I was going through the website of the New 7 Wonders Foundation. Yes, the Taj Mahal is a candidate but what caught my interest more was the world’s largest temple complex, Angkor Wat in Cambodia. As I was going through the pictures what became obvious was the extent of the influence of the Chola-Dravidian style of architecture and sculpture! But it was not surprising, considering the fact that the great Cholas once ruled lands as far away as Java, Sumatra and Malaya, let alone Indo-China! Not many centuries ago, Hinduism and Buddhism were the state religions of those kingdoms. The royals oversaw the construction of some of the most marvelous temple complexes in the world – Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Borbudur in Java, Bali temples etc. Angkor Wat itself was constructed by Raja Suryavarman, a Hindu king. But today, most of them are ruins and many more are lost to the forests. This is in contrast to our temples, which have been in continuous use for millennia!

Still the countries of south-east Asia, from Thailand to Indonesia have retained many aspects of our culture. The Ramayana and Mahabharata are still part of popular folklore including the famous shadow puppets that continue with the same old Sita-Rama-Ravana story! In fact, Jakarta has many sculptures related to these epics and their national airline is called ‘Garuda’ Indonesia, a testimony to the influence of Indian culture. When the new international airport of Bangkok was named, it gave me great pride. Why, you might ask? Well, it was christened ‘Swarnabhoomi’, meaning ‘Golden land’ in Sanskrit. This shows how much influence this golden language has had abroad. More importantly, languages like Thai, Malay and Bahasa (as in ‘bhasha’!) Indonesia have a large number of Sanskritized words in them!

The Temples Today

Coming back to India, the great temple complexes were intended to be mass places of worship and serve as the heart of a bustling temple-town surrounding it, providing livelihoods to thousands. But that’s all they were for centuries! Of course, there were temple dancers (the ‘devadasis’) and many festivals to celebrate the grandeur of the holy centres. Then there are the ‘kumbhabhishekams’ that take place once in a few decades. Apart from the regular daily ‘archanas’ and ‘poojas’, there are the occasional ‘mahayagnas’. Even today, the great temples’ corridors serve as public meeting places and the tanks are the baths for the townspeople. In many places, free public feasts (‘annadanam’) are held. Outside the red-white perimeters of the complexes are the straight roads lined with nice little shops selling anything from flowers and fragrances to coconuts and collectibles. Also seen are the huge banyan, neem and mango trees that provide shade to the devotees. It is heartening to see that even in this ultra-modern age, people wear traditional clothes like ‘dhotis’ and ‘saris’ while going to the temples.

But since the temples were built, there is one thing that hasn’t changed – the beggars! No matter who rules the country, the rajas of yesterday or the rowdies of today, their pitiable plight remains the same. I wish temple authorities had the power and the will to accommodate them and give them a new life, if possible in the temple itself. After all, service to mankind is service to God.

Apart from that, one word aptly describes the management of our cultural icons – neglect! It is indeed shocking to know that many temples are in such a state of disrepair that they are beyond restoration. Of course, the ASI and other agencies are doing stellar work in maintaining and restoring most of these masterpieces, not just the temples but also the artifacts, treasures and manuscripts in them. However, the sheer size and number of our ancient monuments overwhelm them. Nature and time also have their part to play in the slow decay of our monuments. There is even a legend that the sea has claimed six of the seven shore temples at Mamallapuram. I don’t know how true that is but legends aside, it is a fact that our activities are also destroying our heritage. The reckless behavior of visitors, including throwing trash and scribbling on the walls pollute the sanctity of the temples. Modern sanitation facilities are unavailable in most of these places. All these are decreasing the quality of the temple complexes.

Instead of taking pride in the zenith of our culture’s achievements, there are those who would rather steal and sell the sculptures for money. Such smuggling and thievery are costing us our precious cultural treasures and they end up in museums and auction houses abroad! Precious bronze, stone, silver, brass and gold idols have been smuggled out of the country. Security to our temple complexes has become a major concern. In the midst of this, all that the government wants is ‘World Heritage’ status for them instead of addressing the ground concerns. Another thing that has been bothering me is the question of entry to non-Hindus. Though I have no second thoughts about the inhuman practice of preventing Dalits from entering the temples, I’m not yet decided on whether or not non-Hindus should be allowed to enter the greatest shrines of Hinduism! It might be retrograde in today’s modern secular society, but still every religion has its own beliefs and practices. Maybe, non-Hindus can be allowed just before the sanctum sanctorum. That wouldn’t hurt the feelings of the faithful either. Even though non-Muslims aren’t allowed in Mecca, you can very well go and pray in a mosque or a church. Please give me your idea on this.

The Future of the Great Temples

As I said earlier, the N7W website gave me a wonderful insight into the way great monuments across the world are preserved and promoted. Right from the Acropolis in Greece to the Great Wall, from the Sydney opera house to Stonehenge, every monument in foreign countries is well preserved and beautifully marketed. Though they may not be places of worship, they attract millions of tourists every year. This set me thinking about the way we handle our monuments especially the great temples. Though commendable work has been done in marketing the diversity and richness of Indian culture (‘Incredible India’), a lot of work is still to be done. It is not enough if tourists finish off their India itinerary with just the so called ‘Golden Triangle’ of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur. The grand temples of south India should also be repackaged as a great tourist attraction. After all, the artworks in the temple should be enjoyed by everybody. In fact, I was very much disappointed when the Madurai Meenakshi temple couldn’t make it to the final 20! Of course, more tourists along with devotes would mean better business for the people around the temple complexes and it would also bring in more money for temple administration.

This reminds me of the many examples we have in our country itself. There are many wonderful temples and monuments that are a marketing success, the biggest of which is of course the Taj Mahal. But the one place that awed me the most is Swaminarayan Akshardham, Delhi. The temple was an experience in itself! It was as if the great craftsmanship patronized by the great kings had been given a new life. The stunning sculptures and beautiful landscape of Akshardham was breath-taking. No amount of words can describe the immensity of the place! One has to see it to experience it. However, the most important aspect of Akshardham is the fact that it is not just a temple, it is almost like a theme park! There is a wonderful boat ride there that illustrates the glorious history of our civilization. Also, there’s a musical fountain that ‘dances’ according to the light and music with the theme of creation-preservation-destruction of Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva. It is an experience par excellence!

Akshardham attracts thousands of tourists daily and it holds out an important lesson in the promotion of our temples. We have to package them properly and add auxiliary experiences to them. Their history, spiritual and religious significance ought to be explained to the visitors. Each and every sculpture, each and every painting should have an explanatory board detailing the beauty and greatness of the work. Plus, cleanliness in the temples complexes along with aesthetics in the surrounding are important. This draws my attention to the awesome ISKCON temples I’ve been to. Though they are much smaller, they have all modern facilities and even shops. Though the commercialization is sickening, their method of marketing is really good. A ‘shining’ example of Indian hospitality and openness is the Harmandar Sahib, formerly called the Golden Temple. Other examples from around the world are Angkor Wat and the ruins of Greece and Italy.

The ASI and other agencies must think innovatively to preserve, protect and promote our temples. Thousands of years of our civilization’s cultural, architectural, artistic and scientific achievements are embodied in the great temples of south India. It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that this heritage is maintained and passed on to the next generations. At the least, we can start off by learning more about the temples in our region, knowing their background and their current status. Ultimately, only if we give our patronage by visiting and learning about these magnificent monuments can their greatness be furthered!

PS:

I am disappointed the second time now that Angkor Wat didn't make it to the N7W while some statues and tombs made it! But I'm still happy that the Taj Mahal made it.