Throwing light on Big Temple
A. SRIVATHSAN
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“The architecture and sculptural layout are manifestations of liturgical ideas”
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BRHADISVARA TEMPLE-Form and meaning: By R.
Nagaswamy, Published by the Indira Gandhi
National Centre for the Arts, Janpath, New Delhi
and Aryan Books International, Pooja Apartments,
4B, Ansari Road, New Delhi-110002. Price Rs.
3000.
Almost two decades ago, the Government of India funded-IGNCA launched an elaborate project to study the Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur. It planned to bring out a series of publications, including a multilingual bibliography and a compendium of epigraphs, to disseminate the findings of the study. However, only one comprehensive publication saw the light of day. Pierre Pichard's excellent work on the temple architecture was the first book to be published, and that was in 1995. Nagaswamy's book under review is the second one in the promised series. The millennium celebrations of the Brihadisvara temple probably provided the impetus.
There are more than 600 sculptures ranging from the large wonderful ones found in the niches of the vimana (temple tower) to the smaller ones in the cornices of the temple. The book, which identifies almost every one of them, describes them elaborately, and explains the associated legends, should serve as a useful compendium for the scholars as well as others interested in the subject.
An equally important feature of the book is the exhaustive explanation it offers about the ‘form' of the temple in terms of its plan and structure. Nagaswamy strongly disagrees with earlier studies that see the form and sculptures as an expression of personal power. At the core of his contention is the point that the architecture and the sculptural layout of the temple are manifestations of liturgical ideas and that they were not driven by the “temporal ambition” of Rajaraja I (985-1014 CE). Take, for instance, the several identical sculptures seen in the vimana featuring persons with long bows and arrows. Drawing support from the descriptions found in the religious texts, he identifies them as Sata Rudras, rejecting the commonly held view that they represent Tripurantaka, Siva as the vanquisher of three cities. This interpretation is significant since the alternative theories cite these sculptures as important evidence of royal symbolism. Temples emerge at the intersection of many factors and any deterministic viewpoint — whether political or religious — will only tell a part of the story.
Agamic aspect
On the strength of some architectural and sculptural evidences, Nagaswamy concludes that the Brihadisvara temple was based on the Makutagama, a Saiva agama (liturgical text) that invokes ‘Paramananda-Tandava-murti' (the dancing aspect of Siva).
However, there are places where the book suggests that the temple was not exclusively based on any one agama but combined in itself aspects of several agamas. For example, the sculpture in one of the niches of the vimana identified as ‘Aghora murti' — an important factor in establishing the core concept of the temple — is from ‘ Aghora-Sivacarya-paddhati', not Makutagama. Also, some key aspects of the temple such as the shape of the linga do not entirely accord with the tenets of Makutagama.
Interestingly, the Brihadisvara temple, which boasts a large number of inscriptions that speak of a wide range and variety of things related to it, has none that throws light on the agamic aspect. This is in contrast to the Sundaravaradaraja temple in Uttiramerur (Kancheepuram district), where the inscriptions contain specific references to the use of liturgical texts. The inclusion of a chapter dedicated to a discussion on the dates and chronology of agamas would have helped in clarifying their role. Its absence is conspicuous and acutely felt particularly because the premise on which the book is based and the alternative view are text-related.
The section on karna (dance postures) sculptures is quite appealing. Brihadisvara is the earliest temple that has 81 of the 108 karnas depicted. Over 400 dancers had dedicated themselves to the service of god. Apart from providing a detailed description of the panels, the book cites ancient commentaries to explain and locate the sculptures within the history of Indian dance tradition. It also establishes that the temple followed the southern recension of Bharata's Natyasastra and the panels were carved before Abhinavagupta's commentary reached Thanjavur. The layout of this section and many others could have been more reader-friendly. For example, placing illustrations alongside descriptions would have made it easier for the reader.
Based as it is on newly found inscriptions, many of them discovered by the author himself, the book offers refreshingly new insights into the history and sculptures of the temple. Going by an inscription datable to the Rajaraja's period, Nagaswamy adds seven more metal images deified in the temple to the 60-plus which historians have listed so far. He thinks it is possible a few more had existed.
One of the most interesting, but intriguing, finds is an inscription, somewhat damaged, in the inner gopura (entrance tower). Nagaswamy is of the view that it suggests the entire vimana had been covered with gold. Does it? Or, could it be a case of poetic liberty wherein a simple offering of gold is romanticised as a lavish covering of the entire tower? The book is certain to provoke constructive debates on this and many other questions.
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