SIVAKUMAR finds that from being a mere tourist attraction, the temple has once again become a place of worship Until four years ago, the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district was largelya tourist attraction with little religious activity. Things, however, changed when the state government, in 2010, organised large-scale cultural events to mark a thousand years of the temple’s existence.The millennium celebrations attracted huge crowds from across the world and the temple became a place of worship, once againFor many years, people had been visiting the temple to see the Shiva Lingam and the statue of his vahanaor vehicle, Nandi, drawn by their size and history. During my earlier visits to the temple, I, too, would simply stand and stare at the lingam, overwhelmed by its size. But this time,it was different.While standing in the queue for a darshanof Shiva, the presiding deity, I found myself chanting his name, concentrating on his form. After the aarti, devotees assembled in the hall,shouted his name in reverence; I joined them.Built in 1010 CE by the great Chola king Raja Raja, the sprawling templecomplex is a Unesco-protected monument.The 64.8 metre-tall temple tower is testimony to the engineering skills of the Cholas. In keeping with the size of the temple, there is a gigantic lingam inthe shrine,measuring 4 metres in height. Beside it, there is a monolithic statue of Nandi, measuring 5.94 metres in length, 2.51 metres in breadth and 3.66 metres in height. It is said to be thesecond largest statue of Nandi in India.The temple has a rich history of Shiva worship with King Raja Raja conducting pujas and other rituals seven times a day.According to the temple’s historians, the royal familywould shower flowers on the lingam from the terrace of the temple to the accompaniment of a Bharatanatyam performance by 108 dancers and an equal number of voduvars — traditional Shiva devotees — chanting Tamil treatises in praise of the lord. But later rulers could not carry on the tradition of conducting seven pujas a day and reduced it to four, a practice that still continues.After the darshan, I spoke to the temple officials and asked whether locals were involved in the temple’sactivities.“ Since 2010, footfalls have increased and local residents have formed groups to undertake temple-related activities and also conduct the Pradosha Puja on a grand scale, every month,” said a temple guide and official, R Puniyamoorthy. “On any weekday, the Pradosha crowd is around 10,000, but on Saturdays, the crowdswells to 40,000 as many people from nearby villages and towns participate in the puja and processions,” he added.“The temple was locked for over 90years after the reign of the Cholas, the Nayaks and other successors to prevent desecration of the shrine by the Mughals and European invaders. When the temple was finally reopened, people trooped into see the temple as a historical monument and not as a place of worship. But there is a subtle change now.People now book slots for performing abhishekams or consecration ceremonies, and otherrituals,” Puniyamoorthy said.Maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India, the temple is believed to have secret chambers,where several sculptures of Bharatanatyam mudras and Thanjavur paintings are safely stored.These treasures,however, are still to be excavated.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 04:36:54 +0000