Looking Back..
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Picture taken in the Halebidu temple complex, Karnataka.
Marking Boundaries
“Our feet had stood within thy courts..”
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Picture of a Hindu temple’s boundary wall taken in Cochin.
Within The Temple Walls
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On entering Trichy’s Jambukeswarar Temple, much of the frantic commerce quietens.
Despite the milling devotees
And in-house retail outlets,
It retains a sense of peaceful piety.
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The temple is a complex brew of dreams, devotion and domestic activities.
But still manages to breathe the air of religious worship.
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The Temple Approach
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From breakfast in Thanjavur to the grand and ancient temple of Trichy.
The temple approach provides a thriving business enterprise zone.
All is for sale:
From kitchen utensils
To human hair, newly shorn from the faithful – an act of religious piety.
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Everyone appears to be involved
In either shopping,
Or fixing deals:
A heaving mass of bustling commerce which the children sit back and enjoy.
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Temple Tourists
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After a promenade in Pondicherry it was time to start the journey back towards India’s south-western coast.
Thanjavur was our overnight stop.
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A south Indian breakfast provides more than sufficient calories to fuel the rigours of temple tourism. But should hunger overwhelm the pilgrim, spiritual snacking is permitted.
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Among The Temple Ruins
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Hampi is such a vast archaeological complex that exploring it requires transport, a sense of purpose
And several bottles of water.
Otherwise even the hardiest tourist tends to wilt.
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The site consists of a truly remarkable array of beautiful temples and palace ruins, built between the 14th and 17th centuries.
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Sic transit gloria mundi..
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Temple Traders
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Finally we had arrived in Hampi,
The primary goal of our travels.
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Hampi is a city long deserted.
All that remains are the ancient stone temples and palaces: some remarkably intact; others in various degrees of dilapidation.
But the vast site provides excellent opportunities for those wishing to make money,
From both tourists and pilgrims.
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Family businesses
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And children’s market stalls:
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Young men
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And old men:
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All ply their trades
In an exotic world where religious piety and financial profit seem reluctant to part.
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Temple Twilight
“..your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams..”
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Our day began in Mysore.
Seductive mangos had waylaid us along the journey.
By lunchtime, Halebidu was being explored.
And now, at dusk, we were in another city and another temple.
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The Chennakesava temple of Belur was built by the same Hoysala kings who constructed the temples in Halebidu.
We arrived as the sun was starting to set.
The perfect time to sit peacefully and observe a temple, its artefacts and its people:
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Until finally we slipped away into the night.
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Temple Light
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Shafts of light pierced the massive walls of the two temples
Revealing colours in the stonework not apparent under the tropical sun’s glare.
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Thick temple walls kept the interiors cool and shaded.
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The Temples Of Stone
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Our mango-fed journey had brought us to Halebidu,
A name that means “Ruined City”
Nine hundred years ago, this was the capital of an ancient Dravidian kingdom which was twice laid waste by invaders.
But two stone temples still stand strong,
With their impressive relief sculptures largely intact.
Silent echoes of long-forgotten glories.
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Weighing One’s Options
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In Indian temples, one of the traditions of religious offerings involves weighing the giver.
Then donating the same weight in gifts.
This usually consists of food such as bananas, rice or other local commodities. But maharajahs would give their weight in precious gems, silver or gold.
Maybe it’s time for me to focus on my weight…
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Pictures taken at Nanjangud Temple, Karnataka.
The Temple On The Plains: Part 2
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We had experienced darshan.
Now the rest of the temple complex was to be explored.
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Along with its people:
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The Temple On The Plains
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We left the temple on the hill and crossed a small part of the massive Deccan Plateau.
Simon, our driver, had marked the 1,000 year old temple at Nanjangud as the next place to be explored.
Compared with Gopalswamy, this temple was vast and crowded.
Having entered the complex, we joined a tightly packed queue to enter the heart of the building. The line’s great length was concealed by its snaking around countless corners and through a maze of columned passages.
It was a little like queueing for a popular ride at Disney World.
But without the benefits of skilled crowd-management.
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Finally, our destination was revealed.
We were to receive darshan.
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A Visit To The Hill-Top Temple
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From the wilds of Wayanad and the elephants of Tamil Nadu, we crossed into Karnataka.
Our first stop was at the Himavad Gopalswamy Betta Temple.
Built almost 700 years ago at the summit of a quiet and lonely hill, it is often hidden by mist. But we had arrived in brilliant sunshine.
Despite, or perhaps because of the presence of many devotees, there was a palpable sense of quiet and prayer.
Having received the blessing of the temple priest in the inner sanctum, we walked around the temple then made our way back down the steep and narrow track.
On this road, a pilgrim bus had jammed the rear corner of its chassis while taking a sharp hair-pin bend.
With minimal fuss, the passengers disembarked while the bus was re-manoeuvred into a drivable position, then quietly returned to their transport. There was neither shouting nor horn-tooting from drivers blocked by the stationary vehicle.
Something of a rarity in India.
Perhaps the calm and peace of the temple was more pervasive than I had realised…
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The Temple At Twilight
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In central and southern Kerala, non-Hindus are not allowed to enter Hindu temples .
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But we can glimpse their exotic beauty from the temple gates.
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A Visit To The Jain Temple
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“Live and let live. Love all. Serve all.”
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“All Souls are alike and potentially divine. None is Superior or Inferior.”
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“Have compassion towards all living beings. Hatred leads to destruction.”
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“A man is seated on top of a tree in the midst of a burning forest. He sees all living beings perish. But he doesn’t realize that the same fate is soon to overtake him also. That man is a fool.”
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All quotes are taken from Thus Spake Lord Mahavir: Excerpts from the sacred books of Jainism
Taking The Waters
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While culture and traditions vary immensely, a sense of personal failure and having fallen short of the mark seems integral to us all.
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From Christian Baptism through to Jewish, Islāmic and Hindu purifications, the desire for some sort of redemption from our follies is often expressed by the symbolic act of washing.
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In India, beside almost every temple is a small reservoir or tank.
Often, before offering puja, the faithful will bathe in these waters.
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On Sunday we visited the Suchindram Temple, just across the state border in Tamil Nadu.
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Strolling around the temple tank,
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We watched the bathing and laundering,
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The houses and people,
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And made the most of the facilities.
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“Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.”
Psalm 51.7
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“Cleanliness is next to Godliness” *
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*The origin of “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”, a common proverb, dates as far back as ancient Hebrew writings and possibly longer.
‘While some attribute to the Bible, it’s actually not found there. The known English appearance of the proverb is from the writings of Sir Francis Bacon in 1605. In his ‘Advancement of Learning’ Bacon wrote, “Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God.” Roughly 200 years later, John Wesley used the words we are now familiar with, “Cleanliness is indeed next to Godliness” ‘
From: reference.com
Temple To The Arts
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During the monsoon rains I visit a temple dedicated to the performing arts.
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For Body and Soul
A little local shopping was required yesterday.
In Mattancherry,
An old part of Cochin,
Largely unvisited by tourists and Europeans.
In a maze of narrow streets and alleyways, small shops and godowns, offices and gated passages, compete to supply most of life’s needs.
A lively fruit and vegetable market
Is serviced by trucks from the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.
Shops can run on low stocks.
Others are full.
Clothes shops
Stand opposite offices.
Brightly coloured, plastic utensils are displayed
Beside quiet temple gateways.
Gates which in Kerala, are open only to Hindus.
