Early thinkers have written that all creation is made up of five elements- space, air, fire, water and earth. As per the Taittriya Upanishad these elements came from the Supreme Being. Kalidasa’s Abhijnana Shakuntala begins with the verse “yA shrShTihi shrAShTurAdhyA bhavati…” which traces all creation to the divine couple Parvati and Parameshwara thereby embodying them as the Supreme source of all creation. In South India, on the same lines, there are five important temples, all dedicated to Lord Shiva, each one of them representing him as one of the five elements.
Chidambaram
is the shrine where Shiva is worshipped as Space. The sanctum has the
world-famous icon of Nataraja, the dancing deity beside which is an
empty space referred to as Chidambara Rahasyam or the secret of
Chidambaram. The very word Chidambaram is full of cosmic symbolism for
it refers to the space within the heart of the devotee where the Lord is
said to be in cosmic dance as depicted by Nataraja. This space is also
called daharAkAsha. Dikshitar’s kriti here is Ananda naTana prakAsham in
raga kEdAra. The song opens with the lines describing the Lord as being
effulgent in dance and as the Lord of Sivakamavalli. The first lines of
the anupallavi, emphasising the space motif, describe the Lord’s
effulgence as being equal to many suns. It then states that he pervades
daharAkAsha and grants salvation. The last line of the anupallavi has
the legend behind the temple as it states that Shiva displayed himself
with an uplifted foot to Patanjali and Vyaghrapada here. The charanam,
continuing on the space theme, says the Lord bears the moon and the
Ganga (which is believed to be of heavenly origin) and has a blue neck,
the colour blue once again indicating space. The importance of
Chidambaram as the foremost Shaivaite shrine is emphasised when the
composer says Nataraja here is the basis for all shrines beginning with
Kedara. The raga name is also incorporated here. Legend has it that 3000
sages left for Chidambaram from Kailasa and on reaching their
destination found one missing. The Lord then indicated that He was that
person and counting Him in would make 3000. This is highlighted in the
line “bhUsura trisahasra munIshvaram”. The song, in keeping with one
dedicated to a dancing deity has sollukattus to be sung at the end of
the anupallavi and charanam.
shrI
kAlahastIsha in raga Huseni is on Shiva as Vayu Linga. A lamp that
keeps flickering in the rather airless sanctum shows the manifestation
of Shiva as air here. The song says Shiva is like the zephyr to His
devotees. The anupallavi states that He is the life breath of the Gods
and manifests as the five elements, for all five have shrines for
themselves here. The shrine is referred to Dakshina Kailasa (the
Southern equivalent to Kailasa). The charanam says the Lord here is the
consort of Gnanaprasoonambika. The last line speaks of Kannappa Nayanar
as the lowly huntsman who worshipped the Lord here and made the shrine
famous. The raga mudra is in the line prANamayakOshAnIla bhUmi salila agni prakAsha. In the Dikshitar system this raga was called UshAni.
The
Lord manifests as fire at Tiruvannamalai. Called Arunachalanatha, His
consort here is Apitakuchamba. The song in sAranga, aruNAcalanAtham,
mentions Her in the pallavi. Simply thinking of Arunachala is said to
grant salvation and Dikshitar states this in the opening line of the
anupallavi as smaraNAt kaivalya prada. Taking fire as the theme, he says
the Lord is like many suns at dawn. The charanam says that He is the
ancient effulgent Shiva Linga. It has been scientifically proven that
the rock of Arunachala is one of the oldest on earth and has a fiery
origin, either a volcanic eruption or a meteor strike. The Linga itself
is unusual for it is grey in colour bringing to mind a stone of volcanic
origin. Dikshitar states that the Lord bears a Saranga (deer) in His
hand, thereby bringing in the raga mudra. The madhyamakAla charanam
begins with viprOttama viShEshAntarangam, bringing to mind the special
grace shown to Gnanasambanda at this shrine. The last line once again
brings in the fire motif – the Lord’s effulgence puts the sun, the moon
and fire to shame. sAranga is a synonym for camphor, an easily flammable
substance.
jambUpatE
in raga Yamuna (also the name of a river) is on Shiva as water, in
which form He is worshipped at Tiruvanaikka near Trichy. The sanctum of
Shiva always has water from the Kaveri seeping in and in the rainy
season it floods the shrine. This is a song steeped in fluid symbolism.
The pallavi asks the Lord to give the nectar of bliss. The anupallavi
states that He is worshipped by Brahma who is seated on the lotus which
is born in water and that He quenches the fires (sorrows) of the heart.
Then it states that He is the Lord of the rivers Sindhu, Ganga, Kaveri,
Yamuna (also the raga mudra) and Goddess Akhilandeshwari who has a
throat like a conch (which is of water origin). The charanam refers to
the sthala puranam and says that the Lord here is the water Linga
worshipped by the daughter of the mountains and residing at sAmajATavi
(the forest of elephants).
Shiva
in the form of earth is worshipped in Kanchipuram. Here he is
Ekamranatha, residing at the root of a mango tree. He is hence also
referred to as mAmUlanAtha. Dikshitar refers to this in cintaya mAkanda
mUla kandam. A panel depicting Shiva as Somaskanda (Shiva with Uma and
Skanda) is below this mango tree and hence the second line of the song
propitiates Somaskanda. The anupallavi states that Shiva’s feet provide
empires, an indirect allusion to the Pallava Empire that flourished from
here. An empire is also an earthly possession. In the charanam, there
are allusions to the God of Love and the God of Death (Shiva excels
Madana in beauty and quelled Yama) both important personages for humans.
The last lines speak of the deity as Bhairavi prasanga (embraced by
Parvati). This brings in the raga mudra and also refers to the purana
here where Parvati worshipped Shiva in the form of a sand linga. To test
her devotion, Shiva sent a flood through the river Kampa which
threatened the linga. Parvati in her anxiety embraced it and Shiva was
pleased. This song mentions no consort for there is no shrine for Her in
the temple. All the Shiva temples of Kanchipuram have no shrine for
Devi and the only Devi shrine is that of Kamakshi.
By : Dilpreet Singh, dilpreet111@gmail.com
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