A Testament of Time, Nay, Faith

Imagine standing on the same ground very the mighty Cholas stood, flanked by the walls of a temple which is about a thousand years old, praying to a 16-armed Bhadrakali – who is both the protector and destroyer—for the well being of the land and its people, for success in all your expeditions, for the continued prosperity of the civilisation. If it engulfs you with a feeling of pride and humility, inspiration and action, faith and fervour, you have imagined it right. This was my overwhelming sentiment while spending a weekend at Gangaikondacholapuram, in Ariyalur District of Tamil Nadu. The town gets its name from the act of Rajendra Chola I, who brought back the water of the Ganges to the land of Kaveri. Rajendra Chola I, the illustrious son of the great Rajaraja Chola, was one of a kind. He led maritime expeditions to Kedah (Malaysia), marched up to Ganga, and built dams and lakes which have lasted over a millennium. The main Brihadeeswara temple in Thanjavur, built by the father, is a world-renowned monument, so unique in its architecture that it doesn’t cast a shadow on the ground. Now, Rajendra, in a manner of paying tribute to his father, built another Brihadeeswara temple, except 9 metres shorter and 72 kilometres away. He didn’t want his glory to overshadow his father’s achievements. Talk about being a dutiful son!I was one of the thousands of people who had visited the temple during the Aadi Thiruvathirai Festival, where the Government of India had lined up an audio-visual exhibition on Shaiva Siddhanta, some classical arts performances and a release of a commemorative coin in honour of Rajendra Chola I. Standing on the lawns, hearing Carnatic compositions on Shiva fill the air, while the Nandi and the Srivimana towered above me, I was at a loss of words. The concert was followed by a dance recital, where children in their teens and pre-teens depicted the story of Amrit-Manthan and how Shiva consumed halahala to save the world. The stories are several thousand years old. The technology is recent. The message and the object of devotion were eternal. The irony was not lost on me. I was amidst wonder in every form and being.While climbing the stairs of the temple, I noticed that the foundational plinth was as tall or higher than me. The dwar-palaks at the entrance of the shrine were easily 9-10 feet tall. The main Shivalingam—befittingly called Brihadeeswara (in Sanskrit) and Peruvudaiyan (in Tamil)—is 13 feet high, with a serpent hood adorned in gold. To say I was awestruck is an understatement. After visiting Shiva’s shrine and heading towards Parvati Devi, called Brihannayaki or Perundevi here, my mind was reeling with the sheer beauty and grace of the sculptures that were on the vimana. I came out, sat down, and basked in the silence of what must be one of the world’s greatest architectural marvels.But that’s the deal. It’s not just architectural beauty. We have stories of airport ceilings caving in, flyovers bearing new cracks and modern temples with monsoon leakages flooding our news on a daily basis. What supports this temple, which is a thousand years old, that our 21st-century mortar and cement can’t match?Perhaps, the fact that every sculptor here worked as a devotee. Perhaps, the fact that the king saw himself only as a servant of Lord Shiva. Perhaps, the fact that they didn’t have a deadline before some elections, to botch up the plastering and carvings. Perhaps, the fact that only faith can be the foundation of something eternal and inspiring. The thevarams, ode to Shiva written by the Nayanmar saints, sung at temples by generations after generations of odhuvars, the Bharatanatyam pieces beautifully passed on through guru parampara, the classical Tamil preserved and passed on sincerely through our scriptures and inscriptions, the temple blocks with intricate carvings—everything had one thing in common. They had stood the test of time only because of compelling faith. With the same faith, I stood there, silenced, humbled and inspired.

A Testament of Time, Nay, Faith

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