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Exquisite temples aplenty
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The villages around Ranipet are dotted with ancient temples of rare beauty set in sylvan surroundings. PRADEEP CHAKRAVARTHY visits a few of them.
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The artistically carved vimanam of the Ranganatha Temple in Thiruparkadal, near Ranipet.
RANIPET IS 160 km from Chennai on the Bangalore highway. I go there by train on an overcast day in November. All the temples are near very small villages so though buses do ply to these villages, it is useful to take your own transport. We leave early in the morning and visit Thiruparkadal (10 km south east). There is an old Ranganatha Temple and a more recent Venkatesa temple.
More than the temples themselves it is the setting that is beautiful. The temples are set amidst groves of trees with fields beyond. Rain has cleaned away the dust and despite a rather unsympathetic coat of paint, the temples are in a tranquil setting and provide a perfect spot to relax.
The Venkatesa temple is famous for the main deity — it is not on the usual lotus shaped pedestal but on the Avudaiyar on which the lingam usually is. The Thiruparkadal temple is not only famous for its main deity that is carved out of wood but also because, Ranganatha is seen reclining on a marakaal, a vessel of measurement, with Brahma arising out of his navel, and with his consorts. Particularly beautiful is the stucco panel, on the gopuram, of the Devas and asuras churning the mountain with asides as the rope.
From these two temples, passing streets filled with busy weavers we move on to Kudimallur (three km south of Ranipet). There are two temples for Siva, one of which was built by a private donor a few centuries ago. While one temple has a few beautiful paintings, the other — Bumipureeswarar temple — has beautiful bass reliefs of Siva's attendants playing on various musical instruments and dancing! Due to the remote location, the bronzes are all stored elsewhere for safekeeping. The archakar makes special mention of the Murugan with six faces but I am keen on counting the myriad varieties of butterflies that are flitting around in the luxuriant Lantana bushes.
The temple is in great need of restoration but inscriptions speak of more prosperous times when royal patronage was available. An inscription dated 1547, the reign of King Sadasivadevar Maharayar, records the digging of a river channel. The town also seems to have witnessed an altercation and subsequent settlement of the fight between the "right hand" and "left hand" castes, in 1380. Although research has been done on this, the exact constituents of these castes aren't commonly agreed upon — but they are likely to refer to the artisan and trader (middlemen) groups. Our afternoon trip to Melpadi (17 km north) was definitely the highlight of the trip. It is difficult to decide which is better, the drive to the temple or the temple itself!
On either side are sugarcane and rice fields that stretch up to the end of the mountains, which in turn go on till the end of the horizon. The temple itself is behind massive peepul trees, on the banks of the River Ponni. The temple is under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India, and its representative is a willing guide. As we enter the temple I am struck by a curious carving of a man preaching to a devotee, sitting on a fish. Between the first and the second gopuram is an immaculately maintained rectangular strip of land. This is the most beautiful part of the temple. There is a small four-pillared mandapam on the right end and a larger one to the left extreme. It is not difficult to imagine that this part could have been a place for performances in ancient times. We had to however contend with scampering squirrels and a few monkeys.
The shrine for Somanatheswarar was bricked and a false shrine added in medieval times — this has now been removed, and has two bronzes. The detail of the blossom in the Devi's hand is exquisite. We make a quick tour inside and the Thapaskrithambal shrine. Particularly interesting are the mammoth stone troughs in the now unused temple kitchen.
Padi means a camp and this is borne out from the history of the temple. The Chola army had camped in this area during the Thakkolam battle when Raja Raja's grandfather Arunchezhiyan passed away. The King interred his remains and built a shrine over it. Fearing that it may fall into disrepair, he built the Melpadi temple opposite it. Inscriptions of circa A.D. 999 record gifts of land, gold and lamps from Rajaraja I.
A more gloomy inscription is dated A.D. 895. In this, the temple Mahasabha warns villagers who ceded their rights of land to the temple tank of going to a hell lower than the seventh hell should they re-assert their rights.
We also visited the small shrine opposite the temple, which has some fantastic sculptures. Particularly remarkable are the miniscule yalis prancing out of the patra kundalas on the ears of one of the dwarapalakas.
Around the inner shrine are five alcoves with typical Chola figures with kudu arches carved in astonishing detail.
We then walk down the few feet to the riverbed. The approach itself is beautifully framed by the over arching boughs of a Banyan tree. Looking at the size of the bushes on the riverbed, it is clear that water hasn't flown in the Neva/Ponni River for many years!
I try in vain to spot a few more of the 18 temples that are supposed to dot the riverbank. Then I see the sun coming out of the heavy rain clouds only to slip away behind the horizon. As if on cue, parrots from all over fly back to their homes for the night.
Following their example we too head back towards Ranipet.
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