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THE DANCE OF
CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN R E L I G I O U S T R A D I T I O N S
DAVID SMITH
Department of Religious Studies, Lancaster University
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Contents
1 T h e Nataraja bronze lO
2 T h e Cidambaram myth • 31
3 Temple, priests, and ritual 46
4 T h e Hall of Consciousness, the Heart of the Universe 80
5 Saiva Siddhanta and Vedanta 103
6 T h e Goddess 135
7 Bhiksa^na 161
8 Bhairava the Terrible and other forms of ^iva 186
9 Saints, dancing girls, and Apasmara 207
10 Last words 228
Mtes 240
Bibliography 287
Index and glossary 295
IX
Illustrations
PLATES
1. Nauiraja in the Cit Sabha. Detail from painting by
G. Paramesvara Diksita. <i:ourtesy: G . Paramesvara Diksita. 11
2. Detail of Na^raja. Vedaranyam, c. 1200. Tanjavur Art
Gallery. 13
3. Natoraja. Vikrama Kulottunga period, c. 1150: From the
Cidambaram hoard. Courtesy: D r R . Nagaswamy. 16
4. Kail dancing near Nataraja's feet (Bhrtgin partly visible
to left). Brhadisvara temple, Gangaikondacolapuram,
c. 1025. 25
5. Urdhvatandavamurti. West gopura and East gopura,
Cidambaram. 26
6. Natoraja. Vedaranyam, c. 1200. Tanjavur Art Gallery. 27
7. Siva dancing on Apasmara with a cobra bending its hood
beneath his raised foot. Pillar in the western entrance of the
Sivaganga tank, Cidambaram. Seventeenth century or later. 29
8. Patafijali. East gopura, Cidambaram. 34
9. Vyaghrapada with son and wife, milk tank to the left,
Mulanatha Shrine to the right. Ceiling painting,
Sivakamasundari mandapa, Cidambaram. Seventeenth
century. 42
10. Roofs of the K a n a k a Sabha (on the left) and Cit Sabha
(on the right) viewed from the top of the East gopura,
Cidambaram. 47
11. Plan of Sabhanayaka temple. Madras 1867 edition of K^il
Puranam. 49
12. Dance stage. Wall painting, Narumpunathar temple,
Tirupudaimarudur, Tirunelveli Dist, ^.1700. 86
13. T h e Cit and Kanaka Sabhas as visualized by Vyaghrapada,
adjoining the Mulanatha shrine. Ceiling painting in
Illustrations xi
FIGURE
I. Plan of Sabhanayaka temple, Cidambaram. Principal
features.
Acknowledgements
Xll
Introduction
Dancing Siva is the form of the Hindu god Siva best knovm in the West,
and indeed seems to be the most popular visual representation of
Hinduism for the modem v^rorld. Although there is a wide variety of
Dancing Sivas, dating back to at least the fifth century AD, VK^hat has
become so familiar to us is one particular form, known as Nataraja,
'King of Dancers'. This image achieved canonical form in C51a bronzes
of the tenth century AD and then continued to be reproduced in metal,
stone, and other substances up to the present. T h e C5ia N a ^ r a j a is often .
said to be the supreme statement of Hindu art.
Napiraja dances, his right foot supported by a crouchingfigure, his left
foot elegantly raised. O f his four arms, one swings downwards, pointing
to the raised foot; another with pzdm held up signals, 'Do not fear!' In his
other hands he holds ziloft a drum and a flame. T h e river Ganga sits in
his hair. A cobra Uncoils from his lower right forearm, and the crescent
moon and a skull are on his crest. He dances within an arch of flames.
This dance is called the Dance of Bliss ifinandatmdavd)?
This dance is said to have been first performed in Cidambaram, 244
km south of Madras, on the east coast of India. Historically, Cidambaram
has been a centre for the worship of Dancing Siva since the seventh
century, and for the worship of the Dance of Bliss since its origination
300 years later. For worshippers of Siva {$aivas) the Dance of Bliss is
eternal, having neither beginning nor end; and for many of them the
Cidambaram temple is the most important of all Siva temples. For
Southern Saivas, it is simply kdyil - the temple. All other Siva temples
have a Nataraja shrine, or at least a Nataraja image, beside the main linga
shrine.
The theology of Nataraja is as follows. Na^raja is Lord of the
Universe. His dance expresses the state of bliss which he enjoys and
2 The Dance of ^iva
universe, are visual images of the dance of Siva equaUing those of the Indian
artists in beauty and profound significance.
The metaphor of the cosmic dance thus unifies ancient mythology, religious
art, and modem physics.'
While Nataraja appeals to the modern world through the dynamic
harmony of his image, he is at the same time redolent of an elementtd
primitivism with his skull, snake, and the tigerskin that is usually draped
around his waist. T h e Sanskrit scholar Ingalls remarked,
More than one element of Siva's iconography shows traces of a primitive and
probably non-Aryan origin. The matted... hair,... the ornaments of skulls and
snakes, as also the wild dance in which the god is often pictured, recall the
costume and practice of a tribal shaman.-^
O n e notable writer on dance, Beryl de Zoete, felt unable to explain
this transformation of Siva. In her study of dance in South India, The
Other Mind, she wrote.
How and when Siva, the pre-Aryan deity who is associated with such savage
rites and sacrifices among the primitive tribes and devil-fearing castes of South
India, became the mystic dancer, the ultimate embodiment of rhythm in the
visible universe of created things and in the invisible universe of the human soul,
we have no means of knowing.5
T h e present book deals neither with possible scientific connotations
for Nataraja, nor with the early development of the image,.though these
topics are each worthy of a book in their own right. With regard to
origins, however, it is surely true that the final image gains power from
the obvious presence of primitive elements. T h e wild shaman dressed in
skins goes back a very long way in human history. In Nataraja the state of
possession enjoyed by such figures is transmuted into the inwardly
concentrated, enstatic, bliss of the Upanisads, though the creature
beneath his feet often writhes like a subhuman ecstatic.® Again, in
Nataraja the uncoordinated prancing of the possessed shaman is
transmuted into the perfect mastery of movement formulated in classical
dance over a long period, and defined in a very extensive literature.
For hundreds of years prior to the Cola bronzes Siva was famous as a
dancer, referred to as such in the Mahdbhdrata', and a wide variety of
images so portrayed him. No attempt will be made here to chart the line
of development of sculpture that led up to Namraja, for those experimental
variants were not continued once the perfect form had been achieved.
The history of the literature of Dancing Siva is more significant, in that
the Tamil poets who worshipped earlier forms of dancing Siva remain of
great importance, their songs available today all over Tamilnadu on
16 The Dance of ^iva
N o r t h gopura
Thousand-pillared Hail
S i v a g a n g a tank
SivakamasundarT Shrine
Hundred-pillared Hall
E a s t gopura
Mulasthana
(Original linga Shrine)
Deva Sabha
Cit Sabha
(Hall of Consciousness) |
Kanaka Sabha -f—
W e s t gopura
S o u t h gopura
-•t
Fig. I. Plan o f S a b h a n a y a k a t e m p l e , C i d a m b a r a m . P r i n c i p a l features.
kuncitanghrim bhqje
I worship Him Whose foot is curved.
T h e word kuncita, 'curved' is a technical term for the dance step wherein
the heel is raised, the toes bent down, and the middle of the foot curved.7
T h e oldest sources for the life of Umapati are the two Sanskrit texts
published in the preface to his Bhay^ia on the Pauskaragama. O n e is the
Parthavana Mdhatmya, in 240 slokas, which claims to be the fortieth
conversation between a certain Brahmananda and his pupil Saiikara, in
a work otherwise unknown called the Cidambarasara. T h e site of
Umapati's dsrama was where Siva, satisfied by Arjuna's penance, is said
to have given him the Pasupata weapon - the grove of Partha, Partha
Introduction 9
ID
The Na^raja bronze II
N a ^ r a j a in t h e C i t S a b h a . D e t a i l f r o m p a i n t i n g b y G . P a r a m e s v a r a Dllcsita.
C o u r t e s y : G . P a r a m e s v a r a DTlcsita.
12 The Dance of ^iva
the one piece of evidence which might be expected to establish the type of the
image in the early eleventh century AD, the paintings in the Rajarajesvara
temple at Tanjavur showing the Nauiraja in the Kanakasabha [the Cit Sabha] -
seems to depict an image closer to Type II [with outward-streaming locks] than
Typ)e III [with the gende undulation of one to four fairly short braids on or
alxjve the shoulders], with very long locks flying high above the shoulders.3
Photographs of the painting, however, do not seem to fit Barrett's
description: two strands rise above each shoulder, but the majority of
strands are lower, with three or four visible beneath the upper arms.4
There is no direct and unique connection between the N a U r a j a of the
poem and the Nataraja (or type of Natoraja) now in the Cit Sabha other
than the presence of two musicians on the bronze and the number of
flames on the encircling arch, the prabhavali - twenty-one.5 T h e
references to the form alone of Natoraja are relatively few; seen several
times a day'by the poet and the readers he wrote for, and meditated upon
by them, the form was more than sufficiently vivid for them.
Let us begin our examination of Umapati's presentation with this
most striking aspect, the streaming matted locks.
I worship. (,52)9
A few verses spell out the form of Nataraja, such as verse io8:
He bears the fire and the drum in two hands.
The other two hands
make the 'swinging' and the 'fear not' gestures.
The Notary a bronze 15
Umapaii docs refer to the five acts and relates them to the dance without
connecting them to the p>ose:
In the beginning He Whose form is the self
created Brahma for the creation of the worlds,
Hari for their protection,
and the form of Rudra for their destruction,
and then M a h e » for concealing everything,
the form of Sadasiva with ParvatI beside Him
to show favour to those worlds.
He performs the Dance of Bliss in the Hall.
Him, His foot curved,
I worship. (102)'®
One day as Visnu was practising yoga, he noticed in his heart a flame in the
middle of which Sadasiva was dancing . . . Questioned by his wife, he told her
that he had seen the Supreme Being Siva dance in his heart and that his dance
had fascinated him.'S [Visnu, as required by Siva, installs a linga in KaAcTpuram
(the Ekambara temple), and then he and all his entourage make their way to
Cidambaram.] Sjva then began to dance. Sri, the king of birds (Garuda) and the
king of serjjents (Adi^sa) saw him and meditated on him. The Ganas performed
on musical instruments while he danced. Visnu wished to do so too and played
the kettledrum. Afterwards he asked the God of the Vedas (Siva) to grant him
the boon of playing this instrument in all his dances.3°
Visnu playing the drum is incorporated into the statue ofUrdhvatandava
Siva in the Nrtta Sabha, rising at an angle from the base of the sculpture,
counterbalancing KalT on the right-hand side.
Siva dances in Visnu's heart because as Supreme Being he is the
consciousness present in every individual. This brings us to a major
feature of Umapati's Nataraja - that the Dancer is Himself saccidananda,
'Being, Consciousness and Bliss'.
KALI
Every major South India temple has its own legend, its local version of
mythology. T h a t of C i d a m b a r a m is found principally in the Sanskrit
CidambaraMdh^mya} and in the Tamil version of the CidambaraMahatrnya,
the K^il Puranam, one of the earliest T a m i l sthalapuranas."^ The'sthalapurana
forms the subject of the ceiling paintings on the north side of the mandapa
of the Sivakamasundari shrine in the temple, paintings which like the
mmdapa itself probably date from the late seventeenth century. T h e story
is also told in paintings on the ceiling of the veranda round the C i t Sabha,
which like the veranda probably date from the late nineteenth century. It
is highly probable that the sthalapurana was portrayed in paintings in
Umapati's day. Nothing can be said of these paintings, but it is likely that
his imagination would have had visual prompting and affirmation of the
reality of events.
T h e Cidambaram myth is at the same time the myth of the
anandatandava, and is essentially a reworking of the well-known Pine
Forest myth but, unlike its model which is found in several Sanskrit
Puranas, does not seem to be known outside Cidambaram until modern
times.3 T h e central episode concerns Siva's visit as wandering beggar to
the sages in the Pine Forest. He is accompanied by Visnu in the form of a
beautiful woman. Together they arouse the lusts of the sages and their
wives. When attacked by entities from the sages' sacrificial fire, Siva takes
them as his attributes. He then dances the Ananda T a n d a v a for the first
time. T h e repeat performance of this dance is awaited in Cidambaram
by two sages, one of them Patanjali, an incarnation of Sesa, Visnu's
serpent, the second, Vyaghrapada, otherwise unknown. T h e y worship
the lifiga while they wait. Finally, there is an account of a mythical king
from the north, who, gaining a golden skin, moves to Cidambaram,
rebuilds the temple, and institutes rituals and festivals.
T h e story begins with an account of Vyaghrapada, 'Tigerfoot', who
worships the original lihga of the Mulasthana ('The Original Place'),
3'
The Dance of ^iva
In the beginning
on a full-moon Thursday in the month of the Deer,
under the Pusya lunar asterism,
to fulfil the promise
won by those excellent sages' asceticism,
He summoned Snake-bodied Patafljali
and the great sage, Tiger-footed Vyaghrapada,
and performed His dance
against the wall
in the blessed Hall of Consciousness.
After it was over,
He granted them permanent residence.
(8)9
The Dance of ^iva
34
Thus ends the first half of the sthalapurma. Siva's performance for the two
sages is represented by a majestic panel on the ceiling of the
SivakamasundarT shrine, unfortunately now greatly damaged.
T h e last major part of the sthalapuram is the story of Hiranyavarman,
the King from the North, perhaps from Bengal, as the region is called
Gauda. An important event in that story is the King bringing priests
from the North to Cidambaram. Within the story they are the original
priests, who left Cidambaram at Brahma's request to attend his sacrifice.
It is with Brahma's decision to perform a sacrifice that the second half of
the text begins.
Antarvedi, literally '[the area] within the sacrificial ground', is the Doab,
the district between the Gartga and the Yamuna, a region of North India
of particular sanctity, especially perhaps from the perspective of South
India.
Clearly, one aim of the story can be seen to justify the presence of
priests in Cidambaram who hail from the C a u d a region. Indeed, a high
status is claimed for them, since Brahma intended to invite the gods, but
they all refused to leave Cidambaram vyhere they were watching the
dance of Siva; and at Vyaghrapada's suggestion the priests are sent in
their stead. T h e story would seem to confuse officiating priests with the
recipients of the sacrifice.
east side of the Sabha, and in modern times a special roof has been buUt
on piUars in this part of the courtyard solely for this event. M y friend
Paramewara Diksita took pride in his 4-year-old son performing this
lamp action with a small Nataraja in his home, and stressed to me that
his son's skill was untaught and innate.
T h e next verse to be cited contains all the essential details concerning
Hiranyavarman.
travellers. He makes friends with a Brahman and gives him half his
money. T h e Brahman is pleased to get the money, but admonishes
Pulkasa for his .wickedness. Pulkasa then sees the error of his ways, and
becomes depressed. T h e Brahman advises him to go to Cidambaram,
the best of holy places, where the Lord of Ambika dances. As soon as he
sees the Litde Hall in the distance he is to prostrate himself on the
ground. He is to give away his wealth to both yogins and men in the
world, and to strenuously protect the place from danger.
Full of faith Pulkasa goes to Cidambaram, accompanied by the
Brahman despite their difference in caste. Pulkasa gives away all his
wealth to yogins and others. When he sees in the distance the heavenly
Litde Hall {dabhrasabha} of wonderful glory, he pays homage at a distance
of 5 krosas, and remains there continuing to do homage, full of joy, and
protecting that place. In the course of time he dies, and after enjoying the
delights of heaven attains supreme salvation. So too does the Brahman, it
is briefly added.
Kulke, in his painstaking analysis of the Cidambara Mahatmya, which
will shortly be referred to in detail, overlooks the fact that the story of
Pulkasa is taken from the Suta 1.4.17-39), to argue that it
is based on another story from that text, namely the story of Durgha^.
The version in the Cidambara Mdhatnrya differs from its source only in that
Siita's references to his audience, ' O Brahmans!' and so on, are removed
and the phrasing altered to preserve the metre; and the interesting detail
is lost that the Brahman who befriends Pulkasa is a brothel-keeper
(ganikapati). T w o other sinners with interesting specific details are
mentioned in the Pundankapura Mdhatyma, though they too have generic
nomenclature - Durmata and Duhsaha. T h e real interest, however, in
the story of Pulkasa is in its contrast with that of Nanda, although both
were of low caste. Nanda's story is here given according to the
Hemasabhdnatha Mdhatyma, which devotes its ninth chapter to this
Nayanar. Nanda was renowned for saying that he would visit Cidambaram
'tomorrow', but his constant toil as a labourer did not allow time. Even
when at last he goes, his family seek to restrain him since such a holy
place is not for the likes of them. Once there he does not pass through the
courtyard gate but dwells outside. Daily he circumambulates the city,
oppressed by the fact his caste is an impediment to seeing God. T o
succour {rakntum) him, Siva with smiling face comes to him in a dream
and tells him that by entering fire he will conquer his caste and be able to
worship him alongside the Brahmans. Then Siva came to the Brahmans
of Cidambaram and said to them in their dreams, 'If any person of the
40 The Dance of ^iva
lowest caste should enter fire tomorrow, let him be honoured by you.'
T h e perfect priests had a fire lit at the entrance and went into the temple.
'I am a slave and yet am I fortunate,' declared Nanda, and with joyful
devotion he entered the fire. He lost his previous body and took on the
glory of a Brahman. Chaste, pure, his upper body clad only with the
sacred thread, reciting the Vedas he came fbrth from the fire, and as the
gods showered down flowers entered the temple to be seen no more,
having won identity with ^iva.
Especizdly for readers familiar with the Nayanars, there is a marked
difTerence between the story o f N a n d a and that of Pulkasa, extending even
to their names. T h e factitious quality of the latter means that his caste is all
the name he needs. T h e CidambaraMahatmya even leaves out the detail of
the Brahman's occupation. Partly perhaps its redactors did not want to
diminish the power of the central narrative by adding distracting details;
and certainly not by introducing the well-known Nayanars. T h e story
they had to tell was new, and its success was not assured.
W e have still to deal with the son of Valkala. H e is known from the
CidambaraMahatmya as a demon who defeated Indra, since Siva had given
him the boon of being unconquerable (7.17). M o r e details are given in 41:
4'
The Cidambaram myth 43
One day the priest on duty was opening the door for the night pujd when it was
discovered that the Lord of the Sabha and Amba had disappeared! Hearing this
incredible news the excellent sages, every one of Uiem, assembled in the Deva
Sabha and reflected on the matter. They came to the conclusion that the Lord of
Dancers now remained in the Sabha only as space, bereft of qualities. Someone
meditating on His lotus foot must have drawn the form of Lord to his own place
and installed Him there!
The Cidambaram myth 45
Every day the sun sees the golden pinnacle of His stage,
mistakes it for Meru, stops his chariot
and stays there for a moment
until he hears again the auspicious sound
of Him being worshipped - the ringing of the bells,
and the Vedic mantras of the three thousand Brahmans -
and realises it is the city called Tillai Wood.
(289)'
T h a t the sun mistakes a high building for the cosmic mountain is a
convention of Sanskrit poetry, but has added point here since in the
virtual reality of the slhalapurdna C i d a m b a r a m itself is a cosmic mountain,
46
Temple, priests, and ritual 47
LX >_l II LS
The most obvious feature of a South Indian temple is '\ts gopuras. Those of
Cidambaram are around 40 m in height, and are landmarks for sailors,
Cidambaram being some 5 km from the sea, as well as for travellers by
64 The Dance of ^iva
land. T h e Vedas here signify the number 4, there being four Vedas, but
at the same time the special Vedic authenticity of the temple is asserted.
T h e gopuras are shining (vilasad). Vi-las is an important word in
Sanskrit poetry. It signifies the vibrant quality of light, and of life itself.
Today there is a double contrast in the gopuras at Cidambaram, as
elsewhere. T h e stuccowork of the tiered upper section, m o d e m since it
has to be periodically renewed, contrasts with the fine C o l a sculptures of
the stone lower section. Again, the garish colours of the upper section
contrast with the bare stone beneath. Originally, the stonework was
probably finely plastered and painted, and the stucco work would have
matched the stone sculpture in quality.
The^o^rfls were completed not long before the writing of our poem,
and quite possibly within Umapati's memory. For him they were
relatively modern buildings. T h e West and East gopuras were probably
completed around 1250. In Harle's opinion, the South was entirely
built at some time between 1248 and 1272, though some decorative detail
and bas-relief figures were left unfinished. Because of slight differences
between the West gppura and the three other ^o^i/ras, and because of the
style of the West gopura, Harle argues that the West is the earliest. T h e
South gopura bears the mark of Sundara Pandya, and it is called the
Pandya gopura^ but his claim to have built it is generally disputed by
scholars. Although the South gppura, closest in time to Umapati, displays
an evident stylistic decline from the art of the first two gopuras,
nevertheless, Umapati may fairly be said to have lived amid the glories of
C5ia art. It must indeed be stressed how dominant the gopuras. are. Not
only in entering and leaving the temple, but wherever one moves in the
outer courtyard, one cannot but be aware of them.
Harle begins his discussion of the iconography of the Cidambaram
gopuras with these words:
At the end of the C51a period, the grent gopuras succeeded the vimanas as the most
important buildings of the temple in a physical sense and the stage was set for a
new phase in South Indian temple iconography. The iconography of these
gopuras, some with upwards of seventy niches containing images, was potentially
far richer and more complex than that of any previous buildings, not excluding
the great vimanas, of Tanjore, Gartgaikondacoiapuram, Darasuram or Tri-
bhuvanam.'a
Harle goes on to say that the Cidambaram gopuras 'are among the very
first seven-storey gopuras to have been built and the eariiest to have
survived intact.' A point which I do not think has hitherto been made by
any scholar is that it was precisely and uniquely at Cidambaram that
Temple, priests, and ritual 53
such structures were needed because the centre of the temple contained
no vimana to carry the iconic statement of the forms of iSiva.'® In every
other temple of the period, the exterior of the vimana, the towering
superstructure of the garbhagrha, bore the sculptures that were the
temple's chief public statement after the essential form, the mQlanmrti,
hidden within. T h e kings who built the four royal temples named by
Harle were all devotees of Nataraja, and the creation of Cidambaram is
intimately related to those other temples. Its grandeur could be no less
than those statements of royal power, and the only way to achieve that
was by building the gxtdXgopuras. It was not feasible to build a vimana over
the Cit Sabha; and the form of the gopuras is manifestly based on that of
the vimana.^^ T h e lack of a vimana over a central shrine necessitated the
development of the gopuras, in Cidambaram as major iconographic
statements. I would add the thought that once the decision was made to
shift the iconographic statement formerly found on the vimana,. the logic
of the situation demanded four such gopuras, otherwise the' centre of
iconographic gravity would entirely shift away from the centre. With
such gopuras, in each direction, however, due weight was restored to the
centre.
The first tier of all the gopuras is crowded with divinities other than
Siva; the second tier rises up grandly and spaciously and is devoted to
forms of Siva. T h e first tiers each have forty-six images, the upper tiers
twenty-three. T h e sculptural programme of each gopura is the same.'®
We shall have occasion in further chapters to refer to particular images
on the gopuras; note here that vilasad surely refers not only to the shining
masses of the towers, but also to the throbbing presence of multiple
sculptures.
Finally on the subject of the gopuras in this chapter, the fact that the
gopuras are in each direction -
Sabha. It may well be that the South and \Sicst gopuras are on the site of
entrances of a very early period of the temple, whereas the other two had
their positions determined only at the building of the gopuras now in
existence, by which time the whole site had grown.
Let us turn now to one more other striking characteristic of the
Southern temple in general, namely the series of enclosure walls.
Jouveau-Dubreuil likened the procedure by which the temple precincts
were expanded to the phenomenon of the growth of a tree trunk, the
cross-section of which shows a number of concentric rings each an
annual contribution to its thickness. O n the same principle the earlier
enclosures are those towards the centre, while each concentric wall with
its gateways records successively a later addition. However, a full quota
of enclosures seems to have been present at an early stage in Cidambaram.
Not only does Umapati speak of five walls, or enclosures (the word
prakara means both wall and enclosure), five enclosures are mentioned
already in the Cidambara Mdhdtmya. In chapter i8, the gams ask
Nandikesvara who is going to protect the boundaries of the temple
Hiranyavarman has renewed.
In both accounts, the preceding discussion shows the Ganas, Siva troops
under Nandikesvara's command, to be indignant that mortals should
freely behold Siva's Dance. This angry jealous nature seems to be proper
to door-keepers, and here perhaps increases along with distance from
the centre. KalT is mentioned only here in both texts.^^ T h e Cidambara
M-ahatmya, by referring to KalT as she w h o stands beside the Lord, is
perhaps referring to Sivakamasundari in her separate shrine in what is
now the third enclosure. Alternatively, the KalT temple is referred to It
Temple, priests, and ritual 55
may well be that the fifth enclosure is the remainder of the city. A variety
of fierce boundary goddesses is to be found around the outskirts of the
town, especially to the north, and such has doubdess been the case for
centuries. But today there are not held to be any such dangerous
presences within the temple itself.
Given that Umapad does refer to five enclosures, it is also surprising
that when he introduces the Upanisadic idea of the five sheaths of a
human being, he links this idea not to the enclosures, but to the five halls.
That the enclosures represent these sheaths is a notion which is popular
in modern times at least. For example, G . Vanmikanathan:
T o Maanikkavaachakar and, indeed, to all the saints of Tamilnaadu, and, for
that matter, even to the common man, the abode of God is his own body, his
mind, his heart . . . This faith has been extended to the ground plan of the
temples by the great sages who wrote the Aagamas . . . [The] five courtyards
represent the five sheaths of a human body, viz. annamaya kosa, pranamaya kosa,
manomaya kosa, vijnammaya kosa, anandamaya kosa.^.. the sheath of food, i.e., food
transformed into flesh, the sheath of breath, the sheath of mind, the sheath of
intellect, and, ultimately, the sheath of bliss.'S
And more pertinendy the same claim with regard to Cidambaram itself
was made in 1983 by Somasetu Diksita in his introduction to the second
volume of the Cidambaram ritual text, the Citsabhesotsavasutra. Umapati,
however, unquestionably links the sheaths with the five halls -
. .. five halls
which are the sheaths of Brahman -
food and the others
T h e five halls as understood today, and presumably then, are, in inverse
order of proximity to the centre, the Raja Sabha (the Thousand-pillared
Hall), the Deva Sabha, the Nrtta Sabha, the Kanaka Sabha and the Git
Sabhi.^5
The five S a b h ^ do not correlate with the five enclosures. T h e Git
Sabha and the Kanaka Sabha, respectively the sheaths of bliss and
knowledge, are in the innermost enclosure. T h e Nrtta Sabha, the sheath
of intellect [manas) and the Deva Sabha, the sheath of breath, are in the
second enclosure. T h e Raja Sabha, the Thousand-pillared Hall, is in the
third enclosure.
Other than the key identification of the Git Sabha with the Gonsciousness
that is Bliss, there would seem to be no special force in the connections
made here. Gertainly none is spelled out. But the five halls do have both a
certain unity and a clear progression of significance. All have the same
type of roof, and are as it were variations on the basic theme of the Git
68 The Dance of ^iva
Verse 76 quoted above includes the Visnu shrine when it speaks of the
five shrines:
In modern times 'the five shrines are frequendy spoken of by the priests,
but the Visnu shrine is no concern of the Saivas, and the Cit Sabha is
included to make up thefive.'^^T h e Visnu shrine was clearly subordinate
in Umapati's day, as dernonstrated by its orientation with the head
submissively towards the Cit Sabha, and it was perhaps under the overall
control of the Diksitas. T h e Cidambara M^dtmya, as we saw in the last
chapter, establishes Visnu as Siva's helper.
THE PRIESTS
But among those munk who were devoted to Him, their selves perfected, 3000 in
number, there was one the King did not see. Then the King's face went white,
his heart was dismayed. When he had counted again and again, but could not
see the sage who would complete their number, who indeed was not to be found
amongst aU the people, then even as the King was lamenting, a voice was heard,
sweet and calm, audible among other voices but which came from no embodied
person {srojjya vamnam asanrin^. 'O Hiranyavarman, one among these sages
(muni) is missing. Do not grieve in your heart as to how this came about. For
these of pure lineage, whose lustre is that of blazing fire, I shall be the one who
makes their number total three thousand.' Hearing this speech which was like a
proclamation of coronation the King lost his grief and considered those
Brahman lords {viprendra) to be the Lord incarnate {isaviffraJia).
[Cidambara Mahatmya 24.78-84)
In the Cidambara Mahdtmya, the chapter concludes with the sages {muni),
'their faces and hearts bright, great in power', telling Vyaghrapada that
even if Brahma again asks for them to attend his sacrifice, they must
never again be sent from Cidambaram:
And the son of Madhyandina, hearing the words of those sages {muni) of
unlimited power smiled gendy and said, 'So be it.' Then setding the sage-lords
{mumsvara) and the army to the west of the Golden Sabha, the King, his joy
unequalled, dwelt there with his armies, the sage-lords {mumndfa) and all his
p>eople beholding the Tandava of ^ambhu.
T h e version in the K^ilFuranam is similar, but the account of the journey
is expanded and poeticized. Mention is made several times of the
chariots ('like red suns' K^il PUranam, IraniyavaTma carrukam 119) the
priests are given to ride in; and when they reach Cidambaram, 'the great
jewelled chariots' are drawn up in a straight line so that they can be
presented to Vyaghrapada {K^l Puranam, Irarnyavanma carrukam 127).
T h e priests' status is thus affirmed in the words of the K^il Puranam:
The Unblemished One who is
Mother and Father to all beings
Saw the sincere anguish of the prince
Who could not find one of those
Great ones of perfect truth and
Proclaimed for all the gods to hear,
They are all equal to Us and we are equal to them.
We are one among them.'
This is not unlike the Cidambara Mahatmya, though it does not repeat the
Sanskrit text's mention of the great power and indeed the unlimited
power of the priests; but the next verse of the K^lPurariom is very different:
Devoted to truth and religious observances, their radiance blazing like fire,
the topmost peaks of the mountain of Dharma, suns to the darkness of sin,
they bestow knowledge free from taint through the attainment of seedless yoga,
seeing Siva in their hearts, these ascetics rejoice.
Seeing those twice-born just once, their bodies adorned uith ash,
is very great tapas for the body and removes the taints.
{Cidambara Mahatmya 5. 6, 9, 14, 21)
Here the ambiguous status of the temple priest has been made into a
52 TTu Dance of
priests e n j o y w i t h S i v a .
Though they do not have matted locks, nor die crescent moon,
nor an eye on their foreheads, nor the woman
in the left-hand side of their bodies, yet are Uiey forms of me.
He is worshipped
by the three thousand sages in the Sabha -
Patanjalis in the science of grammar,
so many venerable Kanadas and Ak^padas
in the discourses of logic,
embodiments of Vyasa in the Vedanta,
the equals of Kumarilabhatta in Jaimini's Mimamsa,
Bodhayanas in the techniques of Vedic sacrifice,
veritable Brahmas in the Vedas -
Temple, priests, and ritual 63
In e v e r y kalpa the V e d a s ,
t o lose t h e i r f e a r o f b i r t h in the first h a l f
a n d o f d e s t r u c t i o n in t h e s e c o n d h a l f ,
satisfy t h e D e a t h o f D e a t h w i t h m a n i f o l d a s c e t i c i s m
a n d at H i s c o m m a n d
b e c o m e three thousand B r a h m a n s -
a s u t e unobtainable b y the gods themselves,
a n d in d u e o r d e r c o n s t a n d y w o r s h i p H i m
a c c o r d i n g to the procedures o f His path.
^ • (176)39
T h e A g a m a s are clearly s e c o n d best, for S i v a ' s p u r p o s e in p u b l i s h i n g
them is
T h e best o f t h e w i s e ,
m a k i n g t h e i r h o m e in H i s h o l y p l a c e ,
m e d i t a t i n g o n H i m in t h e lotuses o f t h e i r h e a r t s ,
c h a n t i n g the M a n t r a ,
(147)^'
Temple, priests, and ritual 65
T h e priests are here called 'the best o f the wise' {vibudhaparibrdhd). The
choice o f n a m e s for the T h r e e T h o u s a n d is significant. A l t h o u g h in this
study it is c o n v e n i e n t , a n d indeed entirely fitting, to speak o f t h e m o f as
priests, U m a p a t i never o n c e does so. T h e y are a l w a y s Brahmans,
ascetics, sages, or simply the p u r e , the wise. T h e term munivaray ' e x c e l l e n t
sage', used five times, plus three times o f particular munis, is possibly
a d o p t e d u n d e r the influence o f the T a m i l for muni, n a m e l y muriivar.^ B y
contrast, muni alone is used o n l y twice (106, 142), muntndra oncf,yativara
twice (95, 210). M o s t f r e q u e n d y they are called B r a h m a n s : vipra (17, 47,
69, 276), viprendra (92). O n e goal of the p o e m , as in the case o f the
Cidambara M^atmya, is to p e r s u a d e the reader o f the true B r a h m a n status
of the priests, a n d the p a l a c e of B r a h m a here is in s o m e sense a vision o f
that goal.
T h e earliest m e n t i o n o f the priests of C i d a m b a r a m is in the eighth
century with C u n t a r a r ' s listing of the S a i v a saints, the Tiruttontattokai
h y m n , w h e r e they h o l d pride of place. T h e h y m n begins,
I serve the s e r v a n t s o f t h e B r a h m a n s l i v i n g in T i l l a i .
W i t h b e a u t e o u s o r n a m e n t s rich b e y o n d r e c k o n i n g
T h e y d e c k the L o r d a n d p e r f o r m the a u s p i c i o u s rites;
T h e y hail the L o r d w i t h t h e w o r d s o f the V e d a s ;
T h e y r e n d e r g l o r i o u s l y all o t h e r s e r v i c e , b e f i t t i n g t h e m ;
S e r v i c e w i t h i n the L o r d ' s t e m p l e a n d shrine is theirs.
T h e y d e s c e n d o f a flawless r a c e a n d a r e i m p e c c a b l e ;
B y their s o v e r e i g n acts sixfold, they h a v e c h a s e d K a l i a w a y ;
T h e y d e e m as w e a l t h true, o n l y the H o l y A s h ;
Love of Siva is all that they seek after; thus they thrive.
Flawless is their m a s t e r y o f C a r y a , K r i y a , Y o g a a n d Jrtana;
T h e y are g r e a t in m u n i f i c e n c e a n d ascesis;
T h e y a r e everp>oised in righteousness;
T h e y lack n o t h i n g ; p o i s e d in p a t i e n c e a n d h o n o u r
56 The Dance of ^iva
H e g o t in the p a l a n q u i n v ^ t h its h i g h p o l e s t o p p e d b y g o l d e n b u l l s o n e a c h
side a n d set o f f w h i l e his sons a n d c r o w d s o f d i s c i p l e s , w h o k n e w t h e V e d a s ,
r e c i t e d the T h r e e V e d a s in d u e o r d e r
RITUALS
T h e b o a r w h o s e n a m e w a s V i s n u , L o r d o f Sri,
c o u l d n o t see the l o t u s o f H i s f o o t .
T o the B r a h m a n s , g o d s o n e a r t h ,
w h o d e l i g h t the L o r d o f D a n c e w i t h the w o r s h i p
they f o r e v e r p>erform six t i m e s a d a y ,
•
a n d to all l i v i n g b e i n g s , o f w h a t e v e r caste,
w h o are His devotees,
H e the P e r f o r m e r g i v e s h a p p i n e s s .
T o the w o r s h i p p e r s in H i s t e m p l e
H e g a v e the C r y s t a l L i n g a f o r lustrations.
I worship
H i m W h o gives v e r y g r e a t h a p p i n e s s ,
W h o s e f o o t is c u r v e d . (15)47
T o their delight,
for t h e m to p e r f o r m H i s w o r s h i p
at the a p p o i n t e d times,
H e g a v e the B r a h m a n s a linga
m a d e f r o m the solidified f o a m o f n e c t a r
f r o m the m o o n o n H i s o w n h e a d ,
like a d i a m o n d ,
surpassing in its lustre
58 Ttu Dance of $voa
the m o o n , fire, t h e s u n ,
l i g h t n i n g , a n d t h e stars,
always sparkling.
O n e d a y U m a p a t i D i k s i t a w a s a b o u t to e n t e r t h e T e m p l e o f t h e D a n c e r . T h e
sage-lords angrily said, ' O U m a p a t i ! y o u must not enter the T e m p l e o f the
D a n c e r . ' T h e f o l l o w i n g d a y , w h e n t h e priests a t t e n d i n g N a u r a j a w e n t t o t h e
S a b h a at t h e first p e r i o d o f t h e d a y , t h e y a t o n c e n o t i c e d t h e a b s e n c e o f t h e
g o l d e n c a s k e t o f C a n d r a m a u l i . T h e y w e n t o u t a n d s u m m o n e d all t h e s a g e - l o r d s .
T h e n t h e y all c a m e w i t h t h e t e m p l e s e r v a n t s a n d e n t e r e d i n t o t h e a s s e m b l y h a l l
(the D e v a S a b h a ) , a n d a s t h e y w e n t in t h e y c a l l e d t o t h e p r i e s t o n d u t y . H e w a s
s t a n d i n g t r e m b l i n g in t h e p r e s e n c e o f the D a n c e r b u t c a m e a s s o o n as c a l l e d t o
the D e v a S a b h a a n d t h r o w i n g o p e n t h e d o o r t o l d h o w o n e n t e r i n g t h e G i t S a b h a
he n o t i c e d that t h e b o x o f the M o o n - c r e s t e d i m a g e w a s n o t t h e r e . T h e n t h e
priest in c h a r g e o f the w o r s h i p o f the D a n c e r w e n t b a c k t o t h e G i t S a b h a t o
f>erform w o r s h i p t o H i m .
A c e r t a i n old m a n g e t t i n g u p t h e r e in t h e a s s e m b l y d e c l a r e d , ' I a m t h e b l e s s e d
L o r d o f the S a b h a ' a n d r e l a t e d t h e w h o l e s t o r y o f U m a p a t i t h e p r i e s t . ' Y o u m u s t
listen.' T h e s a g e bulls w e r e l i s t e n i n g t o his s p e e c h w i t h d e e p d e v o t i o n w h e n a
certain c l e v e r b o y c a m e in a n d w r o t e it all d o w n o n a leaf.
[ U m a p a t i is p r a i s e d b y Siva s p e a k i n g t h r o u g h t h e o l d m a n , a n d it is i m p l i e d ,
since he is said to h a v e b e e n t h e p r o t e c t o r o f Siva's commands on Mount
K a i l a s a , that he is a n i n c a r n a d o n o f N a n d i k e s v a r a . T h e possessed m a n c o n c l u d e s , ]
T o d a y b y m y c o m m a n d t h e b o x o f m y linga, w h i c h h a s m y f o r m , rests in
U m a p a t i ' s faultless a s h r a m . Y o u m u s t all g o t o this w i s e m a n , a s k h i m f o r it a n d
b r i n g ii b a c k . '
Temple, priests, and ritual 69
B r a h m a o f a H u n d r e d Sacrifices
p e r f o r m e d a sacrifice in great A n t a r v e d i ,
a sacrifice that took a thousand years to complete.
In that assembly at V y a g h r a p a d a ' s behest
the chief ascetics w e r e present.
S o that they could continue to w o r s h i p H i m
H e gladly sent a D a n c e r m a d e o f precious stone
arisen from the best o f fires.
H e is the source o f that image,
(•6)3'
yo The Dance of .few
A s in the c a s e o f the C a n d r a m a u I S v a r a , t h e a n t e c e d e n t s o f t h e R u b y
N a t a r a j a , the R a t n a s a b h a p a t i , a r e r e m a r k a b l e . S i n c e t h e i m a g e c a m e
out of Brahma's own supcr-sacrifice, the Vedic affiliations o f the
C i d a m b a r a m priests are t h e s t r o n g e r . T h e DIksitas possess, m d e e d , a
kind of quintessential transformation o f the w h o l e sacrificial p a r a p h e r n a l i a
into N a t a r a j a in litde. J u s t as in ihtjaimin^a BraJimana the daily agnihotra
sacrifice is said t o b e an a b r i d g e m e n t of Prajapad's thousand-year
sacrifice, a n d f u r t h e r the u l t i m a t e a b r i d g e m e n t o f all sacrifices, so t o o t h e
r u b y N a t a r a j a is, impliciUy a n d v i s u a l l y , a n a b r i d g m e n t o f t h e u l t i m a t e .
their bodies, yet are they forms o f m e ' [Cidambara Mahatn^a 5.4), is the
m o r e plausible w h e n w e r e m e m b e r the ritual.
T h e next verse continues to f o l l o w the course o f the d a i l y ritual.
C o n s e c r a t i n g t h e p l a c e a n d t h e vessels,
offering water for w a s h i n g the feet
and water for sipping,
the w o r s h i p o f t h e b u l l ,
the w o r s h i p o f t h e d o o r ,
the w o r s h i p o f G a n e s a , L o r d o f O b s t a c l e s , a n d t h e o t h e r g o d s ,
a n d the b a t h i n g o f t h e C r y s t a l L i n g a a n d t h e R u b y L o r d .
T h e y , the p u r e , w o r s h i p e v e r y d a y H i s f o r m ;
(18)57
T h e p l a c e a n d the o b j e c t s o f the ritual, n o less t h a n the priest, h a v e to b e
m a d e pure. T h e n Siva is invited as h o n o u r e d guest, a n d is a c c o r d i n g l y
offered w a t e r to wash his feet a n d w a t e r to refresh his m o u t h . The
w o r s h i p p i n g o f the c o n c h involves the priest p r a i s i n g it, o f f e r i n g it flowers
and incense, worshipping the sun within the conch, and further
p u r i f y i n g it before sprinkling w a t e r f r o m it o n h i m s e l f a n d all the
e q u i p m e n t . N i n e pots are set out a n d filled w i t h w a t e r a n d o t h e r liquids
to be used in the w o r s h i p o f the C r y s t a l L i n g a a n d also the Ruby
N a u i r a j a . T h e pots a n d their c o n t e n t s are then w o r s h i p p e d .
S i x times a d a y e v e r y d a y
the l o r d l y s a g e s free f r o m sin
worship His linga
w i t h the five p r o d u c t s o f the c o w ;
w i t h oil;
w i t h milk, w i t h c u r d s , a n d w i t h g h e e ,
w i t h h o n e y a n d p u r e s u g a r - the fivefold ambrosia;
H o n o u r i n g H e r W h o is in t h e Sri^cakra o n t h e w a l l ,
and after H e r
the L o r d o f D a n c e r s w i t h i n t h e ^ a i v a c a k r a ,
[then the L o r d o f D a n c e r s ]
a n d o n H i s left H i s J f i a n a ^akti,
She W h o has two hands a n d holds a parrot;
then w o r s h i p p i n g
the Bull, B r a h m a , a n d the o t h e r s ;
O n the t w o - e y e d , t w o - a r m e d , G a u r l ,
o n e - f a c e d , d a r k in f o r m ,
h o l d i n g a b e a u t i f u l lotus in o n e h a n d . .
lOo The Dance of ^iva
T h e BuU and Brahma are here two instances of the eighteen servants
of the Dance [nrttasevaka), whose number begins with G a n e ^ and ends
with A p a s m a r a > Food offerings [ball) are made to Indra and the other
gods on the balifn^ in the second enclosure, and fire sacrifice is offered
in the sacrifice hall iyagasalSj.
T h e y , the pure, w o r s h i p H i m with incense,
then with the l a m p s -
the s n a k e - l a m p , t h e m a n [ - a n i m a l ] l a m p ,
the b u l l - l a m p , the p o t - l a m p ,
the l a m p w i t h five w i c k s ,
the fire-sacrifice-lamp,
the s t a r - l a m p , t h e c a m p h o r l a m p ;
O n the p e r i m e t e r o f H i s d w e l l i n g
a r e the t e n l o t u s - p e d e s t a l s w i t h t h e i r t e n bulls
in a d d i t i o n to t h e l a r g e - s i z e p>edestal
for the c o n s t a n t p r e s e n t a t i o n o f f o o d - o f f e r i n g s
at the t h r e e t i m e s f o r I n d r a a n d the o t h e r s .
T o all t h e q u a r t e r s ,
outside o n high
the flagpoles s h i n e like n i n e m o u n t a i n s .
(22)64
Temple, priests, and ritual 75
FESTIVALS
In o r d e r to c o n s t a n t l y a n o i n t a l o n g w i t h m a n t r a s
at the six times o f daily w o r s h i p
the C r y s t a l L i h g a
a n d the i m a g e o f the L o r d o f D a n c e m a d e o f p r e c i o u s s t o n e
w i t h p u r e a n d s a c r e d w a t e r s {tirtha),
a n d also at c e r t a i n times
the b r o n z e i m a g e o f the L o r d o f D a n c e himself,
G a n g a , w h o f o r m s the o r n a m e n t o f H i s h e a d ,
b y H i s c o m m a n d flows into the W e l l o f S u p r e m e Bliss,
(74)63
In six o f the m o n t h s
o f w h a t is d e c l a r e d to be that d a y -
in Sagittarius, A q u a r i u s ,
Aries, G e m i n i , L e o , a n d V i r g o -
w e r e the e x c e l l e n t f o r m s o f w o r s h i p
b e g i n n i n g w i t h sunrise
for His D a n c i n g F o r m .
(202)66
O n these six occasions the bronze N a t a r a j a of the C i t S a b h a receives
abhiseka. T h e time of day for this progresses through the year. T h u s the
lOo The Dance of ^iva
In His festivals -
first performing the Agnihotra,
the shaving, the purification,
the sipping with mantras,
the sprinkling with mantras,
ritual for conception, and here is used to promote the successful raising
of the flag with which the festival, we might say, is given birth
T h e protective amulets, which also feature in weddings, are of gold,
sUver, or cotton. T h e Acarya has one, as do the festival deities and the
flagpole. T h e bull on the flag is treated with great respect. Agamic texts,
though not the Cidambaram text, describe its representation in great
detaU.73
T h e chief participant deities in the festival are called the Pancamiirti, the
five images. T h e most important is Som^kanda, that is, Siva accompanied
by U m a and their son Skanda. T h e other four are Sivakamasundari
under the name of SivanandanayakI, Skanda with his two wives,
Ganesa, and Candesvara.75
O n the evening of the second day of the festival, the deities process
through the C a r Streets for the first time. Somaskanda is seated on a
crescent moon of silver-plated wood. O n the third evening Somaskanda
rides on a sun-shaped vehicle of gold-plated wood. O n the fourth
evening, Somaskanda is supported by a bhuta, a monster in human form,
with fangs and four arms. O n the fifth evening, Somaskanda is mounted
on a bull, but the bull rides in a giant temporary ratha modelled on the
form o^z.gopuTa. This special vehicle, which has sixteen wheels, has three
compartments. Somaskanda of course takes pride of place, O n his left,
SivanandanayakI, on his right Skanda. O n the sixth evening, Somaskanda
rides on a silver elephant. O n the seventh evening, Somaskanda rides on
Mount Kailasa, with Ravana shaking the mountain with his twenty
hands. This is held to be the most special day of the festival. O n the
Temple, priests, and ritual 79
eighth evening, the usual deities, the Paflcamiirti, are not taken out. O n e
mUrti alone, Bhiksatana, Siva the wandering beggar, is taken through the
C a r Streets, riding in a golden chariot. When B h i k ^ ^ n a has returned,
Somaskanda is taken out on a plain wooden horse. It is said that
Somaskanda is on horseback to check the C a r Streets in preparation for
the following day, when Nataraja himself, the miila murti, will be taken
round in a chariot.
We have now completed our peregrination through the temple, and
we have looked at the priests and what they do in the temple. All this has
been accomplished on the basis of what Umapati tells us in his poem,
with some help from relevant texts. In the next chapter we go into the Cit
Sabha.
C H A P T E R 4
Vyasa:
N o w I will describe the wonderful character of the Sabha.
Tilvavana Mahalmya 4.1
T w o aspects of the complex of religions called Hinduism are crucial for
much of its history. O n the one hand the enthusiasm for idealism; on the
other the perception of physical reality of the supernatural, that it is
embedded in concrete things.The Git Sabha is a superlative example of
the combination of both these aspects. T h e bronze image of Nataraja is
pre-eminendy present in the Git Sabha, which is both the heart of the
universe and the consciousness that is found in the heart of every human
being. T h e Git Sabha not only enshrines Nauiraja, but embodies him:
the Festival Ritual text says that the temple of the Git Sabha is made out
of the body of the Lord of the Git Sabha.'
T h e supreme importance of the Git Sabha is evident in the opening of
the K^ilPurdnam, where the first four verses each end by hailing it, under
its Tamil name, tirucinambalam, 'the holy litde hall'. Shulman brings out
the contrast between the litdeness of the hall and the greatness of $iva in
his translation of the refrain of Guntarar's single hymn devoted to
Gidambaram:
our great lord in the little hall at great T i g e r t o w n . '
80
The Hall of Consciousness, the Heart of the Universe loi
dm! [The teacher should say:] 'Now, what is here in this city of Brahman, is an
abode, a small {daharam) lotus-flower (puridajikarn). Within that is a small space
[daharo... akasah). What is within that, should be searched out; that, assuredly, is
what one should desire to understand.'
. . . 'As far verily, as this world-space [akasa) extends, so far extends the space
within the heart. Within it, indeed, are contained both heaven and earth, both
fire and wind, both sun and moon, lightning and the stars, both what one
possesses here and what one does not possess; eveything here is contained within it.'
[Chandogya Upanisad Q.1.1 2ind ^^
T h i s t e a c h i n g , w h i c h b y t h e t i m e o f the Suta Sarnhitd w a s k n o w n as the
D a h a r a V i d y a , is p r o m u l g a t e d in t h e C i d a m b a r a m Mahatnryas.^ A n o t h e r ,
r e l a t e d i d e a is a l s o d e v e l o p e d , n a m e l y t h a t t h e g e o g r a p h y o f India
c o r r e s p o n d s t o t h e p h y s i o l o g y o f t h e h u m a n b o d y , in a s m u c h as k e y
S a i v a sites o c c u r as t h e cakras, s p i r i t u a l n o d e s , o f t h e c o s m i c g i a n t w h o is
t h e w o r l d . In this, t h e V e d i c i d e a o f P u r u s a is l i n k e d w i t h t h e m u c h l a l e r
ideas o f H a t h a y o g a .
I n c h a p t e r 15 o f t h e Cidambara Mahatmya, ^ e s a h a s b e e n practising
e x t r e m e tapas in h i s l o n g i n g t o see t h e d a n c e t h a t V i s n u h a s t o l d h i m o f ,
w h e n ^ i v a a p p e a r s a n d tells h i m a b o u t t h e C i t S a b h a a n d its site.
T h e eanh and the body may be said to be the same, O wise one!
T h e earth has a great vein, the Ida nadl, that reaches Lanka.
There is another called Pihgala that reaches the Himalaya,
and between them is the famous Susumna
which reaches the middle of Tillavana.
Very extensive, it (like the other two) belongs to the beautiful earth
which is thus shaped like Purusa.
Sriparvaia is said to be at his crown,
K e d ^ a mountain is at the forehead,
the great place called Kailasa peak at the head,
O Sesa! VaranasT, with the holy river, is between the brows,
82 The Dance of ^iva
K u r u k ^ t r a is o n the c h e s t , a n d P r a y a g a is c a l l e d t h e n a v e l ,
w h i l e C i d a m b a r a m is in t h e m i d d l e o f t h e h e a r t ,
a n d K a m a l a l a y a ( T i r u v a r u r ) is t h e [ M u l ] a d h a r a cakra.
H e w h o l e a v e s this p l a c e a n d g o e s t o o t h e r p l a c e s
a b a n d o n s a g r e a t j e w e l h e h a s in his h a n d f o r a p i e c e o f glass.
T h e c e n t r e o f that p l a c e is v a s t , d i v i n e , p u r e , like B r a h m a n ,
TTiere is O SCM a g r e a t tihga n a m e d t h e H o l y M i i l a s t h a n a .
T o t h e s o u t h o f it, n o t f a r a w a y t h e r e is a m i g h t y h a l l , n a m e d S k y {ambara).
It is w o n d e r f u l , the s o u r c e o f all g o o d t h i n g s .
In it I p e r f o r m m y i n v a r i a b l e D a n c e o f Bliss.
{Cidambara Mahdtmya 15.31-9)
T h e r e is a t h i r d a s p e c t o f t h e s y m b o l i s m o f t h e C i t S a b h a t o b e
m e n t i o n e d . N o t o n l y is t h e C i t S a b h a t h e h e a r t o f t h e w o r l d a n d t h e h e a r t
o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l self,"but it a l s o h o u s e s t h e R a h a s y a , t h e S e c r e t . T h i s h a s
a s p e c i f i c l o c a t i o n , o n t h e w a l l t o t h e r i g h t o f N a t a r a j a , a n d is h i d d e n
f r o m p r o f a n e v i e w b y a curtain. F o r U m a p a t i a n d the ritual texts o f
C i d a m b a r a m , t h e R a h a s y a is ayantra, a diagram, or rather a diagram
w i t h a p i c t u r e o f N a t a r a j a a n d ^ i v a k a m a s u n d a r i in t h e c e n t r e . T h i s
R a h a s y a Y a n t r a is e s s e n t i a l l y a m o d i f i c a t i o n o f t h e w e l l - k n o w n S r T c a k r a . ' °
U m a p a t i several times speaks o f Siva d a n c i n g on the wall o f the' C i t
S a b h a , w h i c h m u s t r e f e r t o t h e Y a n t r a , t h o u g h o n e is r e m i n d e d o f t h e
C i t r a S a b h a , t h e s e v e n t e e n t h - c e n t u r y S a b h a in K u t r a l a m , T i r u n e l v e l i
District, w h e r e the shrine consists essentially o f a w a l l w h e r e o n are
painted N a t a r a j a , SivakamasundarT, a n d the SrTcakra.
It is s t r i k i n g t h a t t o d a y t h e S e c r e t is t h o u g h t t o b e n o t h i n g b u t e m p t y
space. T h u s S. M e y y a p a n , a well-informed resident o f C i d a m b a r a m ,
says o f the R a h a s y a :
No images are sheltered within, only a garland of golden bilva leaves is seen as a
pendant. T h e mystic secret purport is that God exists in the form of Formless
space. How to worship God who is present in every space of the expansive
universe? Here it has been provided to worship the empty space itself as G o d . "
lOo The Dance of ^iva
aspect of Siva, Nataraja is the form aspect of Siva {sampdj^ and the Crystal
LiAga, CandramauEvara, is the form-and-formless {rOpdmpay but gives
no source for this tripartite formulation which puts the Crystal Lifiga on
a higher level than Nateraja. Siva tells Sesa at the beginning of chapter 15
of the Cidambara Mahdtntya, before mentioning the existence of the Cit
Sabha, that he has two forms, one with form, the other without form.'®
Despite its extreme importance, little has been been written on the Cit
Sabha as a building. T h e building today consists of a massive stone plinth
topped by walls, supporting pillars, and roof beams £ill of sandalwood.
T h e tiles are of copper, plated in gold. A slightly smaller version of itself,
the Kanaka Sabha, stands direcdy in front of it, to the south, separated
by a hallway 1.5 m in width. Such a wooden superstructure is found in no
other Cola temple, though subsequendy other Siva temples in Tamilnadu
copied the basic form of the Cit Sabha to house their own Nataraja
festival bronzes. Provision for human dancers in Cola temples is typified
by the Nrtta Sabha, with an open area amid a mass of pillars, and
everything of stone.
T h e shape of the roofs of the twin Sabhas is distinctive - rectangular
with a curvilinear sikhara, resembling the roof of the Draupadi Ratha at
Mamallapuram - and is repeated on the other halls in Cidambaram,
and also over the other shrines there.
Given the wooden structure of most of the Cit Sabha, it is not surprising
that no early examples of similar buildings survive, but a seventeeth-century
painting seems to show the kind of raised dance pavilion that the builders
of the temple reproduced in a sacred version; see plate 12.
The best idea of the Cit Sabha in Umapati's day can be gained from
the mural painting in the circumambulatory of Rajaraja I's Rajarajesvara
temple at Tanjavur, consecrated in 1009/10, a painting which,
contemporary with the founder, portrays him worshipping at the Cit
S a b h a . S i v a r a m a m u r t i describes it as
representing N a t a r a j a in all his glory at C h i d a m b a r a m , with the entire
concourse o f DIkshita priests a r o u n d h i m , the emf>eror shown at o n e end,
a c c o m p a n i e d b y his queens a n d a large retinue, including his chosen soldiers
and bodyguards. T h e g r o u n d plan o f the temple is also w o n d e r f u l l y given here.
It is a very interesting representation o f the v e r y high regard that the C h o l a
emp>erors had for N a t a r a j a at Chidambaram.®"
86 The Dance of ^iva
12. D a n c e s t a g e . W a l l p a i n t i n g , N a r u m p u n a t h a r t e m p l e , T i r u p u d a i m a r u d u r ,
T i r u n e l v e l i D i s t , c. 1700.
K a n a k a S a b h a is a d o u b l e t i e r o f c o l o n n a d e s w i t h a t i l e d r o o f , a s e x i s t s
today, t h o u g h with a r e n o v a t e d frontage. T h e priests a n d w o m e n are
t h e r e f o r e s h o w n in the c o u r t y a r d o n t h e e a s t e r n side o f t h e S a b h a s . T h e
right-angle o f the buttress to the right o f this p i c t u r e p o r t r a y s a n o t h e r
w a l l o f the s u r r o u n d i n g c o l o n n a d e . T h e right buttress itself h a s a m a s s i v e
structure painted on it, w h i c h m u s t b e a k i n d o f g a t e h o u s e t o the
c o l o n n a d e , h a v i n g a s i m i l a r set o f t i l e d r o o f s , t h o u g h a l s o a t r i p l e set o f
s m a l l e r r o o f s a b o v e t h e m . T h i s s t r u c t u r e is e n t i r e l y m i s s i n g t o d a y ; b u t
the t w o roofs, at least, o f the twin S a b h a s s e e m unchanged.
It is c l e a r f r o m t h i s i l l u s t r a t i o n t h a t t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a l i n t e n t i o n o f t h e
S a b h a wais o r i g i n a l l y v e r y d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h a t o f t h e %i2ir\dz.vd garbhagrha,
being intended to facilitate display. T h e gilding o f the roof, c a r r i e d out
b y s e v e r a l C o l a k i n g s , f o s t e r e d this d i s p l a y , m a k i n g t h e S a b h a a b e a c o n ,
as it w e r e , r a t h e r t h a n a d a r k r e c e p t a c l e ; a n d i n p a i n t i n g s t h e s h r i n e is a n
o p e n s t a g e . B y c o n t r a s t , in K r a m r i s c h ' s w o r d s , ' T h e c u b i c a l c h a m b e r o f
t h e G a r b h a g r h a is r e p l e t e w i t h static order.'^'^ Y e t K r a m r i s c h twice
refers to C i d a m b a r a m garbha^ha in h e r
in h e r b r i e f a c c o u n t o f t h e
authoritative study o f the H i n d u temple, a n d c o m p a r e s garbhagrha t o
the h e a r t . T h e o p e n display o f the S a b h a q u i c k l y r e g r e s s e d to the heart, if
n o t t h e w o m b . T h e S a b h a , h o w e v e r d i f f e r e n t its o r i g i n a l i n t e n t i o n , h a s
converged with the garbhagrha. ' T h e w o r l d in w h i c h w e l i v e is i n d e f i n i t e in
e x t e n t a n d o p e n o n all s i d e s t o q u e s t i o n a n d u n c e r t a i n t y ; w i t h i n l i m i t s ,
n u m b e r a n d m e a s u r e is t h e G a r b h a g r h a . '
T h e T a n j a v u r p a i n t i n g is a r o u n d 2 0 0 y e a r s e a r l i e r t h a n Umapati.
S o m e 300 y e a r s l a t e r t h a n U m a p a t i w e r e p r o d u c e d t h e p a i n t i n g s o n t h e
ceiling of the ^ivakamasundari shrine. H e r e there are several paintings
of the C i t S a b h a , the largest m u c h d a m a g e d . T h r e e smaller ones give
c o n s i d e r a b l e detail, b u t d i f f e r w i d e l y . O n e s h o w s V y a g h r a p a d a w o r s h i p p i n g
at t h e M u l a l i n g a , w i t h t h e t w i n S a b h a s b e s i d e it. In f a c t t h e C i t S a b h a is
empty, awaiting Siva's p e r f o r m a n c e of the d a n c e .
T h e s e c o n d painting s h o w s the C i t S a b h a a m i d a stylized p l a n o f the
w h o l e site, a f t e r t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n w o r k c a r r i e d o u t b y H i r a n y a v a r m a n .
H e r e t h e C i t S a b h a is g i v e n a d o u b l e - t i e r e d r o o f , m u c h h i g h e r t h a n t h a t
of the Kanaka Sabha. In the sequence of registers the painting
i m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w i n g this o v e r v i e w o f t h e t e m p l e as a w h o l e r e p r e s e n t s
t h e t w i n S a b h a s as n o r m a l . W h e t h e r o r n o t t h e artists a r e d i f f e r e n t , t h e
s e c o n d p a i n t i n g e x p r e s s e s t h e i n h e r e n t d e m a n d in t h e l o g i c o f a t e m p l e
f o r a vimana o v e r t h e c e n t r a l s a n c t u m .
A t the centre o f the t e m p l e are the twin S a b h a s , the C i t a n d the
K a n a k a . T h e s e adjoining edifices, of almost identical rectangular plan,
88 The Dance of ^iva
13. T h e C i t a n d K a n a k a S a b h a s as v i s u a l i z e d b y V y a g h r a p a d a , a d j o i n i n g t h e M u l a n a t h a
shrine. C e i l i n g p a l m i n g in S i v a k a m a s u n d a n C i d a m b a r a m . Seventeenth century.
I H E I N T E R I O R OF T H E C I T SABHA
W i t h i n t h e hall five s i l v e r - p l a t e d s t e p s l e a d f r o m t h e K a n a k a S a b h a t o
t h e h i g h e r l e v e l o f the C i t S a b h a , t h o u g h t h e first s i l v e r s t e p is o n t h e
s a m e level as t h e K a n a k a S a b h a . W i t h i n t h e C i t S a b h a is a f u r t h e r s t o n e
The Hall of Consciousness, the Heart of the Universe loi
p l i n t h set b a c k a b o u t i m w i t h a w a l l b e h i n d it, w h i l e b e n e a t h N a t a r a j a
a n d S i v a k a m a s u n d a r i t o h i s l e f t , this is f r o n t e d w i t h gilt p a n e l l i n g , w i t h
t h e p l i n t h s o f t h e t w o murtvi r i s i n g a b o v e this. T o N a t a r a j a ' s r i g h t is t h e
C i d a m b a r a m R a h a s y a , w h e r e several strings o f g o l d e n bilva l e a v e s h a n g
in f r o n t o f a c u r t a i n . T h e c u r t a i n is 1.5 m h i g h a n d 3 . 5 m l o n g , e x t e n d i n g
b e h i n d N a t a r a j a a s w e l l a s c o v e r i n g t h e C i d a m b a r a m R a h a s y a . It is
m a d e o f t w o layers, the i n n e r o n e red, the o u t e r o n e black: illusion
o u t s i d e , e n l i g h t e n m e n t i n s i d e . It is r e n e w e d t w i c e a y e a r , o n t h e t e n t h
d a y o f the m a i n festivals, old c u r t a i n s b e i n g p r e s e r v e d in t h e D e v a S a b h a .
T H E C I T S A B H A A N D K A N A K A S A B H A IN THE
K UfJ CIT Alio HR IS TA VA
a n d o n the wall
the L o r d o f the C i t S a b h a is d a n c i n g .
H i s m a n y d e e d s are praised
b y the five elements, the six sciences,
a n d the f o u r V e d a s ,
e a c h manifest in the f o r m o f pillars.
I worship
H i m w h o gives limidess happiness.
W h o s e foot is c u r v e d . (3)'5
T h e first l i n e o f t h e S a n s k r i t , t r a n s l a t e d a s -
f o r m e d o u t o f the letters o f the a l p h a b e t
f r o m the bzise plinth to the g o l d e n stones,
- c l e a r l y p a r a l l e l s a p a s s a g e in t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e C i t S a b h a g i v e n i n
t h e F e s t i v a l R i t u a l t e x t , ' a d o r n e d w i t h a b a s e {adhis^andj t h a t is t h e f o r m
o f all t h e m a n t r a s b e g i n n i n g w i t h e a c h o f t h e l e t t e r s f r o m a o n w a r d s ' . ' ®
T h e n u m b e r s o f t h e e l e m e n t s , s c i e n c e s a n d V e d a s a r e n o t s p e l l e d o u t in
the Sanskrit, b u t they at least are entirely c o n v e n t i o n a l , a n d d o not rteed
to b e stated to b e u n d e r s t o o d .
T h e b a s e p l i n t h {mUlapTtha) is a m a s s i v e a n d a r c h i t e c t u r a l l y c o m p l e x
s t r u c t u r e , as a r e all C o l a p l i n t h s , a n d is s i m i l a r in s t y l e t o t h e b a s e m e n t s
o f t h e gopuras."^ T h e F e s t i v a l R i t u a l t e x t i d e n t i f i e s t h e v a r i o u s g r o u p s o f
letters o f the a l p h a b e t w i t h specific m o u l d i n g s o f the plinth, in a v e r y rare
hnkage of the highly f o r m a l structures o f architecture with the m o r e
usual topics o f intellectual discourse. In s u b s e q u e n t verses Umapati
c o m p a r e s t h e tiles a n d b e a m s a n d s o o n o f t h e b u i l d i n g w i t h r e l i g i o u s
t o p i c s , f o l l o w i n g t h e Ttlvavana Mahatmya, b u t t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a l s i d e o f t h e
e q u a t i o n r e m a i n s r u d i m e n t a r y , a n d , a s w i l l b e s e e n in t h e c a s e o f t h e
g2 Tfu Dance of ^iva
n u m b e r o f pillars, s o m e w h a t r e m o v e d f r o m reality.
W i t h t h e five g o d s n a m e d h e r e w e a r e b r o u g h t i n t o t h e w o r l d o f S a i v a
Siddhanta. T h e architectural structure contains an iconological structure:
five-headed S a d a s i v a is s i t u a t e d o n t o p o f t h e f o u r l e s s e r g o d s , t h e m s e l v e s
supported b y the alphabet.
T h e roles of these forms of Siva are clearly stated by Umapati in verse 102:
In the beginning He Whose form is the self
created Brahma for the creation of the worlds,
Hari for their protection,
and the fomi of Rudra for their destruction,
and then Mahesa for concealing everything,
the form of Sadasiva with Parvati beside Him
to show favour to those worlds.
He performs the Dance of Bliss in the Hall.
(I02)»8
It is i m p o r t a n t t o u n d e r s t a n d t h a t N a t o r a j a is t h e h i g h e s t f o r m o f Siva,
s u r p a s s i n g a s w e l l a s s u b s u m i n g t h e o t h e r five f o r m s .
W e h a v e s e e n U m a p a t i r e f e r t o t h e U p a n i s a d i c i d e a o f t h e five s h e a t h s ;
a n d h e l a t e r r e f e r s t o t h e m a g a i n i n t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e five d e i t i e s i n
question here:
At His command
Brahma shines in the sheath of food,
Visnu whose excellent vehicle is Garuda
shines in the sheath of breath,
and Rudra in the sheath made of mind,
and then Mahesa in the excellent sheath of consciousness,
and Sadasiva in the sheath called bliss.
E a c h o f t h e s e five f o r m s o f Siva h a s h i s o w n t h r o n e { p i ^ ) w i t h i n t h e C i t
Sabha. Umapati refers in verse 3 to t h r e e o f these seats w h i c h are
constituted b y pillars:
In t h ^ l o w e r p a r t o f H i s hall
The Agamas, Kamika a n d the others,
o r i g i n a t i n g f r o m Siva's m o u t h s ,
h a v e a s s u m e d the f o r m o f g o l d e n pillars
to the n u m b e r o f twenty-eight.
T h e y praise H i m W h o is w o r t h y o f praise
in H i s d a n c i n g f o r m praised b y h u n d r e d s o f scriptures.
(4)3'
T h e twenty-eight pillars that are the A g a m a s are said to constitute the
throne o f B r a h m a . C o n c e i v a b l y the esoteric parts o f the A g a m a s are
referred to h e r e as w e l l as the h i g h parts o f t h e pillars w h i c h are
c o n c e a l e d w i t h i n t h e o v e r h a n g i n g r o o f . T h e N a t a r a j a c u l t is c o n s i d e r a b l y
l a t e r t h a n m o s t o f t h e A g a m a s , a n d is t h e r e f o r e c o n c e a l e d w i t h i n t h e m ,
so to speak. T h e V e d a s , the ' h u n d r e d s o f scriptures' {srutisata), a r e a l s o
m e n t i o n e d : t h e r e is n o s e n s e o f a n t i p a t h y b e t w e e n t h e t w o c l a s s e s o f
r e v e a l e d literature.3^
I worship
Him Whose constant dance is there,
Whose foot curves.
W i t h i n t h e h a l l five s t e p s l e a d f r o m t h e K a n a k a S a b h a t o t h e h i g h e r l e v e l
o f t h e C i t S a b h a , t h o u g h t h e first s t e p is o n t h e s a m e l e v e l a s t h e K a n a k a
S a b h a . T h e five s t e p s a r e h e l d t o r e p r e s e n t t h e five s y l l a b l e s o f t h e ^ i v a
mantra, namah ^ivaya. T h e s t e p s w e r e p l a t e d in s i l v e r b y M a n a l i M u d a l i a r
in t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y , b u t g i v e n t h e i m a g e o f t h e S i l v e r m o u n t a i n , it
is likely t h e y w e r e a l s o o f s i l v e r in U m a p a t i ' s d a y . T h e c o m p a r i s o n o f
t h e s e steps w h i c h rise a b o u t a m e t r e f r o m t h e l e v e l o f t h e K a n a k a S a b h a
to t h a t o f t h e C i t S a b h a , w i t h a m o u n t a i n , m a y se-em less o f a g r o s s
e x a g g e r a t i o n w h e n it is r e m e m b e r e d t h a t C i d a m b a r a m is t h o u g h t t o b e
o n t o p o f a m o u n t a i n in t h e Cidambara Mahatmya, a n d t h a t t h e C i t
lOo The Dance of ^iva
S a b h a a s t h e s u p r e m e a b o d e o f N a t a r a j a is s u p e r i o r t o a n y H i m a l a y a n
mountain. * • u .u
. \ l t h o u g h t h e n i n e t y - s i x Uittvas a r e m e n t i o n e d b y A p p a r m t h e s e v e n t h
century, systematic e n u m e r a t i o n s a r e late. U m a p a t i refers to t h e m m his
T a m i l p o e t r y b u t n o t in h i s t r e a t i s e s . ^ S i n c e , a s U m a p a u s a y s , t h e s e
tattvas w h i c h s u m u p t h e p h e n o m e n a l w o r l d a r e t o b e u p r o o t e d -
t h e i r p r e s e n c e in t h e C i t S a b h a is p e r h a p s l e s s t o b e e x p e c t e d t h a n a n y
other o f the constituent symbolisms. But as c a n b e seen f r o m the next
v e r s e , t h e C i t S a b h a is n o t o n l y t h e h e a r t o f t h e w o r l d , b u t t h e w o r l d i t s e l f
in e s s e n t i a l f o r m .
U n l i k e this s m o o t h a n d c c ^ e r e n t m e d i t a t i o n a l p r o c e s s t a k e n b y t h e
C i d a m b a r a m ritual f r o m the A g a m a s a n d the s t a n d a r d ritual m a n u a l s o f
S a i v a S i d d h a n t a , t h e s y m b o l i s m o f t h e C i t S a b h a is b y c o n t r a s t ad hoc,
a n d s o m e w h a t i n c o h e r e n t , w h i c h is n o t a l t o g e t h e r s u r p r i s i n g s i n c e w e
h a v e to d o with a n a c t u a l b u i l d i n g r a t h e r t h a n a n idealized p s y c h o l o g y .
In the H a l l H e h a s a r o u n d H i m ,
in front, to right a n d to left,
G a n e s a , S k a n d a , L a k s m l , B r a h m a ' s fifth h e a d ,
the A s t r a d e v a , H i s sandals, the C r y s t a l L i n g a ,
A l t h o u g h f r o m a d i s t a n c e o n l y N a t a r a j a is v i s i b l e i n t h e C i t S a b h a , it is i n
f a c t a d d i t i o n a l l y p o p u l a t e d . B r a h m a ' s fifth h e a d w a s c u t o f f b y S i v a ; in
t h e S a b h a it t a k e s t h e f o r m o f a lihga, t h e F a c e L i i i g a . I n v e r s e 3 0 it is s a i d
t h a t B r a h m a is t o Siva's r i g h t a s m e n t i o n e d , a n d t o h i s l e f t , t h a t is b e s i d e
C a n d e s v a r a in t h e B r a h m a - C a n d e s v a r a s h r i n e a d j o i n i n g t h e C i t S a b h a .
T h e A s t r a d e v a , t h e ' M i s s i l e D e i t y ' , is t h e T r i d e n t , a n o b j e c t o f g r e a t
ritual significance, p r o v i d i n g p r o t e c t i o n f o r rituals a n d festivals, a n d
w o r s h i p p e d in its o w n right. Siva's g o l d e n s a n d a l s a r e prominent in
m o r n i n g a n d n i g h t - t i m e r i t u a l s , f o r t h e y a r e c e r e m o n i a l l y c a r r i e d in a
p a l a n q u i n to a n d f r o m t h e b e d c h a m b e r h e s h a r e s w i t h Sivakamasundari,
she h a v i n g an i m a g e p e r m a n e n d y within that c h a m b e r .
T h e s e five v e r s e s , f r o m v e r s e 3 t o v e r s e 7, s h o w t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e
C i t S a b h a . A d j o i n i n g t h e C i t S a b h a is t h e K a n a k a S a b h a , w h i c h is
referred to only o n c e b y U m a p a t i .
He it is in front of Whom
the Kanaka Sabha, the Golden Hall, shines,
supported by the Puranas in the form of pillars,
in which the lotus face of the Lord of Bulls,
the very form of Dharma, looks north,
lOo The Dance of ^iva
Abhisekas a r e p e r f o r m e d i n t h e K a n a k a , n o t i n t h e C i t S a b h a . U n l i k e t h e
C i t S a b h a w h i c h h a s a r a i s e d p l a t f o r m a n d a w a l l i n its c e n t r e , the
K a n a k a S a b h a has a smooth floor, reputedly m a d e with just five huge
flag s t o n e s , a n d a c h a n n e l s o t h a t t h e d a i l y abhisekas flow s m o o t h l y a w a y .
In the m i d d l e o f the south e d g e o f the floor o f t h e K a n a k a S a b h a is
N a n d i n , S i v a ' s bull, f a c i n g n o r t h in c o n s t a n t a d o r a t i o n . I n v e r s e 178,
U m a p a t i says that with the G o d d e s s o n his l a p , Siva s p e e d s a c r o s s t h e
o c e a n s o n his l o r d l y bull, i n c a r n a t i o n o f D h a r m a .
S c a r c e l y less t h a n a lihga, t h e s e a t e d b u l l is t h e s i g n o f a S i v a t e m p l e . I n
Cola times b r o n z e figures o f the bull with a human body became
p o p u l a r , p o r t r a y i n g N a n d i n as N a n d i k e s v a r a , S i v a ' s w i s e a n d learned
chamberlainUmapati mentions N a n d i k e s v a r a as the source o f the
l i n e a g e o f his s c h o o l .
A s I h a v e s a i d , t h e a b o v e v e r s e is U m a p a t i ' s o n e m e n t i o n o f t h e
K a n a k a S a b h L N o e x p l a n a t i o n , s o f a r <is I a m a w a r e , h a s b e e n o f f e r e d a s
t o w h y t h e K a n a k a S a b h a is s o n a m e d . U m a p a t i s e v e r a l t i m e s r e f e r s t o
t h e C i t S a b h a a s t h e G o l d e n H a l l - a s i n d e e d t h e h a l l is n a m e d i n e a r l y
inscriptions - but invariably uses s o m e o t h e r t e r m t h a n Sabha.
In verse 246 N a n d i k e w a r a sees Siva i n a l l h i s f o r m s i n t h e C i t S a b h a ,
h e r e c a l l e d t h e G o l d e n H a l l {kanakasadas). O n e o f t h e s e f o r m s is OM.
In another verse the Cit Sabha itself, again called Golden Hall
{svarmsamsad), is OM.
The Hall of Consciousness, the Heart of the Universe loi
B y l o o k i n g at H i s D a n c e o f Bliss
f r o m w h i c h streams forth
the r a d i a n c e o f s u p r e m e S i v a
in the G o l d e n H a l l w h i c h is DM itself
H e is the t e a c h e r o f e n l i g h t e n m e n t
t h r o u g h k n o w l e d g e o f the S u p r e m e Spirit,
H e is ancient, H e m a k e s darkness d i s a p p e a r ,
(222)4'
T h e b r i g h t n e s s o f t h e C i t S a b h a is t h e b r i g h t n e s s o f S i v a :
W e h a v e n o w r e a c h e d t h e p o i n t a t w h i c h it w i l l b e f r u i t f u l to' c o n s i d e r
the t w o o p e n i n g verses o f the p o e m . T h e p o e m at o n c e addresses the
h e a r t o f t h e m a t t e r , in a w a y t h a t is r e m i n i s c e n t o f a t e a c h e r b e g i n n i n g
w i t h t h e mUla sUtra, t h e s u m m a t i o n o f w h a t h e w i l l g r a d u a l l y e x p o u n d t o
his p u p i l s , r a t h e r t h a n t h e n o r m a l b e g i n n i n g o f a k a j y a .
o f the five h u n d r e d m i l l i o n m i l e s o f t h e e a r t h ,
the h e a r t o f t h e c r e a t o r w h o s e n a m e is h o l y V i r a j ,
H i s feet c o n s t a n d y w o r s h i p p e d b y t h e t h r e e S a k t i s ,
s h i n i n g in the N a d a n t a , H i s d a n c e s n i n e f o l d ,
His foot curved. (a)^^
I w o r s h i p the g r e a t C i d a m b a r a m R a h a s y a w h o s e g l o r y is w o r l d - s u r p a s s i n g ,
w h o s e l i f e - g i v i n g d r u g , the P a f i c a k s a r a , g i v e s g o o d t h i n g s to all t h e w o r l d ,
in w h i c h at the e n d o f t h e d a y ,
s h e l l - h a i r e d S i v a s w a l l o w s all the S a k t i s a n d is e m b r a c e d b y G a u r i ,
f r o m w h i c h at d a w n the u n i v e r s e arises, S a k t i s h i n e s
- let that s h i n e f o r t h in m y h e a r t . «
T h e S a m m e l a n a c a k r a , t h e K i n g o f Y a n u - a s , is t h e c e n t r e o f f o c u s .
T h e r e is n o m e n t i o n o f a n y c u r t a i n , a n d it m a y w e l l b e t h a t t h e C a k r a
w a s n o t c o v e r e d o v e r i n h i s d a y . O r it m a y b e a q u e s t i o n o f t h e m i n d ' s
e y e . U m a p a t i is g o i n g t o c a l l b e f o r e t h e r e a d e r a l l a s p e c t s o f D a n c i n g
The Hall of Consciousness, the Heart of the Universe loi
S i v a in C i d a m b a r a m , a n d the c o r e , so to s p e a k , o f this a c t o f i m a g i n a t i o n
is t h e m e n t a l c o n s t r u c t t h a t is t h e ^an/ra. J u s t a s t h e t e c h n i c a l t e x t s o n
yantroi spell o u t d i m e n s i o n s a n d p r o p o r t i o n s , so t o o the d i m e n s i o n s o f the
u n i v e r s e a r e s t a t e d , f o r t h a t a l s o is a s u b o r d i n a t e p a r t o f t h e grand
construct c e n t r e d in C i d a m b a r a m .
T h e h e a r t is t h e s e a t o f t h e i m a g i n a t i o n i n H i n d u i s m . T h e yantra,
w h i c h is c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n a l o t u s , is a t t h e s a m e t i m e c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n
t h e h e a r t o f t h e w o r l d . N a t o r a j a is t h e u l t i m a t e c o r e o f t h i n g s ; w i t h t h e
d e v e l o p m e n t o f his cult h e b e c a m e e v e r m o r e central. A n d y e t w i t h i n the
d i a g r a m s a n d m e n t a l c o n s t r u c t s t h e G o d r e t a i n s his f o r m , e v e n if h e r e his
feet alone are mentioned. His feet are w o r s h i p p e d b y the feminine
principles w h o a r e c o m p r i s e d w i t h i n his C o n s o r t . T h e t h r e e Saktis a r e
I c c h a S a k t i , J n a n a S a k t i , a n d K r i y a S a k t i . T h e i r l o c a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n s in
t h e C i d a m b a r a m t e m p l e a r e a s f o l l o w s : I c c h a S a k t i is b e s i d e N a u r a j a i n
t h e C i t S a b h a , J f l a n a S a k t i is S i v a k a m a s u n d a r i i n h e r s e p a r a t e s h r i n e ,
and Durga, whose small shrine is backed by the outer wall of
SivakamasundaiTs, is K r i y a Sakti.4® I n the theology o f the Saiva
S i d d h a n t a , I c c h a S a k t i is S i v a ' s d e s i r e w h e n h e is m o v e d b y t h e p i t i a b l e
condition o f selves, to save t h e m , a n d for that e n d h e creates the w o r l d ;
J f l a n a S a k t i p e r m i t s S i v a t o k n o w w h a t h e c r e a t e s ; a n d K r i y a S a k t i is h i s
a c t i v i t y m a n i f e s t i n g itself b y m u l t i p l e a c t i o n s .
L i k e the n i n e Saktis referred to a b o v e w h i c h a r e r e p r e s e n t e d b y the
Rnicds o f t h e C i t S a b h a , t h e s e t h r e e S a k t i s a r e a l s o i n v o l v e d in t h e
meditational process of invoking Siva. A f t e r the nine Saktis o n the petals
o f the lotus throne, the w o r s h i p p e r visualizes three c o n c e n t r i c circles on
top o f the lotus throne, outermost b e i n g the sun circle with w h i c h J f l a n a
S a k t i is i d e n t i f i e d , t h e n t h e m o o n c i r c l e , w i t h K r i y a S a k t i , a n d i n n e r m o s t
t h e fire c i r c l e w i t h I c c h a S a k t i .
J u s t as a s t a n d i n g b r o n z e o f P a r v a t i a c c o m p a n i e s e v e r y Natoraja
b r o n z e u n d e r w o r s h i p , so too w i t h i n the Y a n t r a the s t a n d i n g f o r m o f
S i v a k a m a s u n d a r i is d r a w n .
T h e r e a r e t w o m o d e r n p a i n t i n g s h a n g i n g in t h e N a t a r a j a t e m p l e , n e a r
the D e v a S a b h a , o n the m a i n route to the C i t S a b h a , w h i c h s h o w Parvati
s e a t e d in a c o m f o r t a b l e c h a i r as s h e w a t c h e s t h e D a n c e . I k n o w o f n o
C i d a m b a r a m text w h i c h so describes the G o d d e s s , a n d the p a i n t e r s w e r e
d o u b t l e s s i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e ' e v e n i n g d a n c e ' in t h e $iva
PradoM Stotra q u o t e d b y C o o m a r a s w a m y in his f a m o u s essay on the
D a n c e o f Siva: ' P l a c i n g the M o t h e r o f the T h r e e W o r l d s u p o n a g o l d e n
throne, s tud d e d with precious gems, S u l a p a n i d a n c e s o n the heights o f
K a i l a s , a n d all t h e g o d s g a t h e r r o u n d H i m . ' 4 9
lOo The Dance of ^iva
Siva, our poet tells us, is 'shining in the Nadanta', and here we have to
do with another matter given wide currency by Coomaraswamy.
Coomaraswamy in his essay twice refers to Siva's dance in C i d a m b a r a m
as the Nadanta dance, but does not explain the temxS® Dorai Rangaswamy
in his detailed study of the Tevaram poet Appar objects to Coomaraswamy
calling the Cidambaram or Tillai dance the Nadanta Dance, roundly
declaring that 'Thepaiicak^a natma cannot be the Nadanta dance.' T h e
Nadanta, in Dorai Rangziswamy's view, is the Dance in the crematorium:
flawless radiance
becoming wind
and fire,
and earth -
when shall I reach him
whom I know
as the great Dancer in the forest.j®
The lord
who becomes primordial sound [nMa],
life within flesh
and the living lamp of wisdom - 33
The Hall of Consciousness, the Heart of the Universe loi
He danccd in forests;
He danced in the thoughts of His devotees;
He danced in the junction of Susumna within;
He danced in Jfiana Endless;
Thus He danced away,
He, my Lord.
{Twumantiram
T h e ecstatic singing of Tirumiilar is far removed from the complex
and sometimes tortuous syntax of Umapati, and its complex of ideas,
though parallel, is less constrained. After the tight and concentrated
opening of his poem focussed on the Sabha, Umapati too, in Tirumular's
words, dances away, flitting from one idea to another, but his Nataraja
remains securely housed in the Cit Sabha, the Cit Sabha that is also the
heart.
His dance that is pure consciousness
He, inconceivable, performs
in the heart more subde than the subde,
in the palace called the lotus of consciousness,
in the little cave.
Him Whose foot is curved,
I worship. (273)5®
CHAPTER 5
Examination of the temple ritual and the symbolism of the Cit Sabha has
involved mention of elements of Saiva Siddhanta, or the S i d d h ^ t a as it
was called in the Sanskrit texts.' It is now time to set these elements in a
wider context. It will also be necessary to consider the references to
Vedanta and Advaita in the poem; the latter is not necessarily a subset of
the former. By Umapati's day there had been several centuries of
development of Saiva thought, development fostered by royal patronage
over much of India. T h e Siddhanta had become an all-embracing
system, encompassing temple worship and architecture. T h e r e was an
increasing readiness on the part of that system to compromise with what
was originally the alien thought of the Vedzis. W h y forego royal favour
and patronage by antagonizing such conservative and purely orthodox
forces as yet remained in society by asserting difference from the Vedas?
Vedic recitation and Vedic sacrifice remained prestitigious, and continued
to assist the sanctification of royal power. Although the Siddhanta
system seems to have originated in individual practice, in the course of
time its core texts, the Agamas, become more and more concerned with
temples. A t the same time, the various Vedanta schools were developed
in conjunction with sectarian affiliation; their monastic centres sought
power and influence. T o mention only Sankara's Advaita, one important
innovation was the worship of the Sricakra; and several ^akta texts, most
notably the Saundaryalahari, ' T h e Ocean of [the Goddess's] Beauty', were
attributed to l^ankara. A n d it may be questioned whether the ^ivadvaita
of Srikantha's commentary on the Brahma Sutras was a S i d d h ^ t a
colonization of Vedanta, or vice versa.
T h e Siddhanta has three fundamental categories:/>fl/i, Siva; pasu, the
individual self; pasa, the bonds. Maya, one of the three bonds, is the
material cause of the universe, Siva is the efficient cause, and his female
part, Sakti, is the instrumental cause.^ M a y a evolves in a long series of
tattvas, from bindu, the subtlest, to earth, the grossest. This evolution is in
103
lOo The Dance of ^iva
However, Umapati's verse 268 over-rides the Agamas: the mere sight
{alokamatra) of Nataraja destroys all kamum. Umapati makes his point
delicately, in that he says simply that 'they' are destroyed. I have
translated tmi ('they', 'those*) as 'all forms o(kamum' since Umapati used
the dual endings for the two sorts oikarman that the S i d d h i i t a says can
be desu-oyed (by the knowledge that £ksa brings), and the word iani has to
apply to all three karmam for the plural to be justifed. Beneath the formal
grammar of the verse there is also a certain frisson in the way that the
tarn, those that are destroyed, follows closely after the neuter plural
nigamavacam^', and the Agamas are over-ridden, though not destroyed.
Verse 308, ' . . . they burn up . . . the very hard set of bonds . . .',
considered earlier, likewise departs from the doctrine of the Siddhanta,
when it claims that meditating on Siva in one's heart achieves what in the
^ataratnasamgraha and all the literature of the Siddhanta is the sole
province of (nksd. Meditation is a good thing, and should lead to diksa, but
the verse in question does not mention diksa, nor does the poem at large.
Again there is specific mention of something called spiritual yoga
{adhyatmayoga). As in verse 268, with its bold contrast between the
statements of the Agamas and the sight of Siva's dance, so too in verse
273, Umapati's most detailed reference to the teaching of the Siddhanta,
the Siddhanta is distanced from intimate connection with Nataraja
mysticism.
already been referred to, for the process of mental purification of the
body that is part of the Cidambaram ritual was lifted from the standard
Siddhanta texts. In discussing the verse that mentions hhutasuddM'^ I
pointed out that each of the elements corresponds to a face of
five-headed Sadasiva and that the element of the earth goes up as far as
the knees, and by further stages, water to the navel, fire to the throat,
wind to the mouth, and ether to the dvadasanta above the head. Each of
these elements is seen as a domain pertaining to a kald ('portion'), with
the names as given in the present verse. Each kaB is seen as a mode of the
highest tattva, the bindu. Mvrtti kald, corresponding to the element earth,
the solid aspect of bindu, is the energy that stops. PraHsM kala,
corresponding to the element water, the liquid aspect of bindu, is the
energy which establishes. (An instance of the establishing power of water
would be vegetable growth. From within the poem, an instance of this
establishing power can be found in the water drops from Siva's hair that
establish lingas all over the w o r l d . V i d j > d kald, corresponding to the
element fire, the fiery aspect of bindu, is the energy which permits
knowledge, ^nti kald, corresponding to the element air, is .the calm
aspect o{ bindu. $dntyatita kald, corresponding to the element ether, is that
aspect of the bindu which is in no way shaken by the evolution of the
realities of manifestation.
The kalds play an important part in the key initiation, namely the
nirvana diksd, in a more sustained and elaborate version of the daily bhUta
suddhi. In this diksd a cord called thepdsa sdtra, 'bond cord', equal in length
to the initiand's height, has transferred on to it all the constituents of that
person, most notably the kalds, along with the dtman. In this context the
ontological framework of the manifest world is provided by the kalds.
Each kald therefore contains a slice, as it were, of the complex series' of
realities that the Siddhanta perceives. Each slice is envisaged in detail by
the guru, on whom all the activity of the ritual falls, though the true agent
is thought to be Siva. First the guru follows the order of emission of the
world, beginning with the most subtle of the kalds, the sdntyatUa,
transposing them each into the cord. Coloured powders mark out the
places of the respective kala^ on the cord. T h e next day the guru detaches
each kald section in turn from the cord, this time working upwards in the
order of reabsorption, beginning with nivrtti, and places it in the
sacrificial fire. The bonds that each kald contains perish with it in the
flames.
Umapati in his treatises stresses the importance of diksd. In the
^taratnasamgraha he cites, for instance, the ^rvajmnottama Agama:
lOo The Dance of ^iva
The self is bound by these UUtvas and associated with aU their features. It can
obtain release only through the Saiva diksa:'^
Umapati enlarges on this in his gloss, saying that the self is associated
with the tattvas and their features (in other words, with maySj, and is
tightly bound by the beginningless \amvd\ mala and by the river ofkarman.
Near the end of his treatment of this sutra he declares:
Because mala is material, knowledge alone cannot make it disappear, no more
than it can a film over the eye. Mala's disappearance is brought about only by
the physical action of the Lord that is called diksa, [and the cataract] only by the
eye-doctor's surgery.'®
Prior to this he cites three passages that dismiss the panorama of other
religious actions - bathing in holy waters, sacrifice, vows, worship,
meditation - nothing can bring about release save diksa. This stern
concentration of purpose is demanded by the constraints of the
Siddhanta system, but it is as alien to the free-ranging of the poet of the
Kmcitahghristava as it is to religion at large.
U M A P A T I ' S T E A C H E R , M A R A I S A N A C A M P A N T A R
In this world where through the malign influence of the Kali Yuga the meaning
of the Agamas has been lost, the heretical {pasarida) doctrines are increasing, and
the succession of teacher and pupil is confused, the supremely compassionate
Umapati Sivacarya in order to benefit his own pupils . . . drew together one
hundred Siitra jewels.'"
In his Tamil poems, Umapati hjis much to say concerning his teacher.
His messenger poem, Nencuvi^tutu, 'Message through the Heart', is
directed to his teacher; Umapati apostrophizes him as Campantar the
great muni, who liberated him from his bonds, and as Campantar the
Lord, nalha. Since Siva appears in the form of the Guru, it is often
difficult to discern when the Guru is specifically referred to, but the
following passage seems to apply to Marainana:
He got in the palanquin with its high poles topped by golden bulls on each side
and set off while his sons and crowds of disciples, who knew the Vedas, recited
the Three Vedas in due order.
A certain learned Brahman, Vedajftana Sambandha by name, was sitting in the
street with his disciples and when he saw that palanquin with the Brahman
riding in it, with Vtfdic recitation, music, and the lamp on the pole he called his
disciples to him and declared, 'This man is blind in the daytime. But you don't
see the whole picture. Things will turn out well for him.'*® Then the Brahman
knew this speech to be true and got down from his palanquin.
After prostrating himself at his feet, he filled his stomach with the leavings of his
meals, recognizing him to be the giver of knowledge; and thereafter he followed
him for three years.
That teacher when he had provided instruction in true knowledge to that pupil
bom in the family of the lordly sacrificers {yqjvendra) attained the form of the
supreme self free from birth and death.
With his pupils Umapati dwelt in the monastery built by the Cola called Vira in
the beautiful wood called Rajendrapura that is splendid on the outskirts of
Cidambaram.
But the three thousand Brahmans, intent on worshipping the Dancer, when
they heard all that had happened to Umapati, all assembled in the second hall
[the Deva Sabha], and summoning both his sons, said to them, 'Today your
father who has in his possession the Bull-flag of the Blessed Lord of the Original
Lifiga Shrine has abandoned all the pure behaviour laid down by the Vedas.
Intent on worshipping the feet of a mystic {Jnanin) he has abandoned his kinsmen
and has strenuously applied himself to the path preached by that man.'
When all the sage-lords had sp>oken thus, the two sons remained silent in the
assembly. 'From now on, these sons, wife and daughter must refrain from
sacrificing with, eating with and honouring this man.'
When they had heard the sentence of the sage-lords, the two sons, of excellent
character, rose to their feet, prostrated themselves before the sage-lords, and
went home mulling over what had happened. They bowed several times at their
mother's lotus feet, and said, 'O Mother! hear the order given today in the
assembly with respect to our father. "His daughter, his sons, and all his kin must
entirely cease relations with him - they must not sacrifice, eat, speak with him;
they must not honour him." Thus those sages pronounced in the assembly.
What reply shall we two make to their sentence?'
'This very severe sentence must stand. We are forever bound by their sentence.'
Then one day Umapati DIksita was about to enter the Temple of the Dancer.
The sage-lords angrily said, 'O Umapati! you cannot enter the Hall of the Dancer.'
pupils, but so has Umapati; and it will be recalled from chapter 3 that the
priests are described as having flocks of pupils.
Why the palanquin? This is always understood as an indication of the
life of luxury of pampered priests.®? T h e DUcsitas' socio-economic
condition in the days of the glory of the temple would have been higher
than today. In more recent times, such riding in state is normally the
privilege of the head of a mat^. Paintings from the seventeenth century
onwards often show distinguished ascetics riding in palanquins. Just such
a palanquin, though made only of wood, is to be found today in the moAa
in Cidambaram where Aghora Sivacarya is said to have lived in the
twelfth century.
But it is by no means impossible for Umapati to have been simply a
successful priest at this time. I can point to a contemporary parallel.
Several priests in Cidambaram today are wealthy, due in most cases to
the system of tendering for annual contracts on each of the main shrines;
and one priest, benefiting principally from foreign visitors to the temple,
is the proud owner of a white Ambassador car, complete with driver,
which stands resplendent outside his modest and shared hpuse. In itself,
then, the magnificence of conveyance is not impossible; though to have
pupils would have meant some other claim to prestige than mere wealth.
But what of the lamp? Not even the priest of today I have mentioned
drives round with his headlights on in broad daylight.
Let us now consider the Parthavana Mahdtmya's version of these events.
[Umapati] performed the midday pigd and then mounted the beautiful
palanquin brought by the temple servants who acted as bearers, and started to
go to his home. But there on the road was the SivacaryaVedajftana, surrounded
by his pupils.
He was fervently teaching the Saiva Siddhanta to his pupils. One among his
pupils, hands in anjdi, pointing out to his teacher the Diksita lord, mounted in
his palanquin, accompanied by lamps and music, in the very hot month of
Madhu, politely asked him, 'What use is there now for lamp-bearers? The
teacher said, 'How can you be in doubt? It is an owl-man going by!'
Then, hearing the speech of the guru, Umapati, the sacrificing Brahman, was
startled and obtained a trace from a previous birth.
Jumping down to the ground from his palanquin as if he had been burned by
fire, he at once in haste began to praise the Teacher.
{Parthavana Mahatmya 72-7)'®
This is similar, but the verses that precede provide a clue to another
interpretation: Umapati's father, after teaching him to perform the
Vedic sacrifices (63), 'taught him the Five-Syllabled Mantra and other
mantras, and the Patanjali ritual rules. T h e n he gave him, following the
&iiva Siddhanta and Vedanta 113
Like the owl which cannot see even in bright sunlight, the soul (though present
in God) cannot perceive God, owing to its connection with Anava Mala.33
114 The Dance of ^iva
It is l i k e l y t h a t t h i s s t r i k i n g p h r a s e w a s e n o u g h t o s p a r k t h e i m a g i n a t i o n
o f a b i o g r a p h e r . A l s o i n c o r p o r a t e d w i t h i n t h e i n c i d e n t is a common
S i d d h a n t a simile, o n e cited b y U m a p a t i in his ^ratnasamgraha:
Just as someone [looking for something in the daric] abandons the torch he holds
in his hand when he has found the thing, so the soul being now able to perceive
[Siv-a] the One to be known, afterwards abandons the means of knowing [Him].
L a s t l y , t h e w h o l e t e n o r o f U m a p a t i ' s w r i t i n g o n S a i v a S i d d h a n t a is
g e a r e d to the action o f g r a c e - that the k e y e v e n t s in his life s h o u l d
p e r t a i n t o c o n v e r s i o n e x p e r i e n c e s is a n e x p r e s s i o n i n s t o r y f o r m o f t h e
k e y s t o n e o f his t h i n k i n g .
INITIATION BY UMAPATI
U m a p a t i d o e s n o t m e n t i o n a n y t e a c h e r in r e s p e c t o f h i m s e l f in the
Kuncitahghristava. I n a p o e m , m e n t i o n o f a t e a c h e r w o u l d n o t b e e x p e c t e d .
A g a i n , in so f a r as h e w a s w r i t i n g a s a D i k s i t a , m e m b e r o f a d e m o c r a t i c
c o m m u n i t y all m e m b e r s o f w h i c h w e r e b y d e f i n i t i o n t h e e q u a l o f S i v a ,
a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t o f a t e a c h e r w o u l d b e less likely. A n d y e t Umapati
claims himself to b e a h i g h - p o w e r e d teacher, referring to a n event that
might otherwise have been thought biographical embroidery:
' O Umapati, I am "the Dancer who favours His devotees". T o d a y , when you
have read this, you must make that Suta, a man of the lowest caste, receive
release through the descent of Sakti from you.'
&iiva Siddhanta and Vedanta 115
P l a c i n g this c o m m a n d o f t h e L o r d o f t h e S a b h a o n his h e a d , a n d h a v i n g b r o u g h t
b e f o r e h i m the n o b l e a n d v e r y c o n s t a n t outcaste, h e , the m o s t e x c e l l e n t o f
e n l i g h t e n e d m e n , l o o k e d u p o n h i m a n d b y b r i n g i n g d o w n his o w n S a k t i c a u s e d
a surge o f the r a d i a n c e o f t h e S u p r e m e S e l f t o e n t e r h i m .
{Rymdrapura Mahafyma 70-1)
T h e w o o d - c u t t e r ' s w i d o w is m o s t u p s e t a t t h e d i s a p p e a r a n c e o f h e r
s p o u s e in flames, a n d despite U m a p a t i ' s explanation c o m p l a i n s to the
K i n g . U n d e r investigation, U m a p a t i opts to d e m o n s t r a t e his p o w e r s b y
c o n f e r r i n g e n l i g h t e n m e n t o n a b u s h . T h e b u s h a c c o r d i n g l y g o e s u p in
flames, to r e v e a l a y o g i n w h o h a d b e e n w a i t i n g f o r release w i t h i n (or
behind!) the b u s h . L e e S i e g e l ' s w o r k o n m a g i c in I n d i a leads o n e to b e o n
t h e l o o k o u t f o r c o n j u r i n g tricks;37 b u t m o r e l i k e l y is t h a t t h e a c c o u n t o f
t h e i n c i d e n t w a s i n s p i r e d b y a n u n i n f o r m e d v i e w o f t h e fiery n a t u r e o f
e x t r e m e ^ a k t i n i p a t a . A s U m a p a t i s a y s i n t h e ^ataratnasamgraha, ' W e r e t h e
(Rksa t o b r i n g a b o u t c o m p l e t e d e s t r u c t i o n o f a l l t h e p ^ a s a n d t h e t r u e
nature o f o n e ' s b e i n g to b e r e v e a l e d , at that v e r y m o m e n t t h e b o d y w o u l d
fall away'.3® F o r t h e S i d d h a n t a , t h a t c a n n o t h a p p e n b e c a u s e , a s U m a p a t i
g o e s o n t o s a y , t h e karman t h a t h a s p r o d u c e d t h e b o d y i n t h e p r e s e n t l i f e
has to take effect. A s s u m i n g the event h a d a historical basis - he does
a f t e r all r e f e r t o it - it m i g h t r e a d i l y b e s u p p o s e d t h a t t h e s h o c k o f t h e
i n i t i a t i o n w a s s o g r e a t t h a t t h e o u t c a s t e d i e d o f a h e a r t a t t a c k , a cause
celebre t h a t y e t e n d e d f a v o u r a b l y f o r U m a p a t i .
T h e FarthavanaM^tmya also describes U m a p a t i ' s giving o f enlighten-
m e n t t o his w i f e , ParvatT. W h e n h e b e c a m e a n a s c e t i c , his w i f e w e n t w i t h
h i m t o t h e p e n a n c e g r o v e . H e t a u g h t t h e Pauskara Agama t o d e v o t e e s
there for a m o n t h , then she asked for release f r o m rebirth for herself, a
w i f e n o t b e i n g d e p e n d e n t o n a m a n w h o is ajiogin. U m a p a t i , after other
p r e l i m i n a r i e s , f e d h e r pancagaiya, t h e five p r o d u c t s o f t h e c o w , t o r e m o v e
h e r sins, b l i n d f o l d e d h e r , ' a n d e n t e r e d h e r b o d y t h r o u g h h e r v a g i n a
{bhogamarga), t o o k o u t t h e p a r t i c l e {kala) t h a t is t h e s u p p o r t o f life a n d
c o m i n g out again t h r o u g h the v a g i n a placed [ h e r life f o r c e ] i n t h e
s u p r e m e s p a c e o f t h e atman. H e b u r n e d h e r l i f e l e s s b o d y , b a t h e d , a n d
r e g a i n e d his purity.'39
T h e m a g i c a l t u r n o f t h e s e t w o e p i s o d e s a c c o r d s ill w i t h t h e S a i v a
S i d d h a n t a treatises o f U m a p a t i , b u t reflects a real a n d i m p o r t a n t c u r r e n t
o f H i n d u t h o u g h t , a m p l y p r e s e n t in m o s t T a n t r i c s c h o o l s . M o r e t o t h e
p o i n t , it is n o t s o f a r r e m o v e d f r o m t h e m i n d s e t o f t h e Kuncitahghristava,
w h i c h is v e r y m u c h c o n c e r n e d w i t h p o w e r o v e r e v e n t s s o u g h t b y t h e
a d e p t {sadhaka) w h o s e e k s e n j o y m e n t {bubkukm)A°
116 The Dance of ^iva
A k e y f e a t u r e o f t h e T a m i l S a i v a S i d d h w t a , o n e m i g h t a l m o s t s a y its
d e f i n i n g f e a t u r e , is t h e c l a i m t h a t its s o u r c e l i e s i n t h e V e d a s a s w e l l a s t h e
Agamas, in w h a t it c a l l s the VedagamasThere was already a
m o v e m e n t in this d i r e c t i o n w h e n , a r o u n d l o o o , B h a t U i Ramakantha
mentions that a m o n g s t other threats to the S i d d h a n t a ' s p u r i t y some
people sought to reconcile the established truth o f the S i d d h a n t a w i t h the
V e d a . ' ^ A s w a s s u g g e s t e d in the b e g i n n i n g o f t h e c h a p t e r , this c l a i m t o
V e d i c o r t h o d o x y w a s an a t t e m p t to b r o a d e n t h e b a s e o f the S i d d h a n t a ' s
appeal. With the further d e v e l o p m e n t o f the T a m i l ^aiva S i d d h a n t a , the
c l a i m t h a t ' t h e S i d d h a n t a is t h e e s s e n c e o f t h e V e d a ' ( m a d e f o r i n s t a n c e
in t h e l a t e Ultarakamika Agama) c o m e s t o b e a n e x p r e s s i o n o f i n d i f f e r e n c e
t o b o t h t h e V e d a s a n d t h e A g a m a s , i m p l y i n g t h a t i n s p i r a t i o n is f o u n d
elsewhere - indirecdy in t h e Tevaram a n d o t h e r T a m i l p o e t r y , a n d
d i r e c d y in t h e w r i t i n g s o f M e y k a n t e r .
A verse attributed to U m a p a t i m a k e s a n adroit s u m m a t i o n o f the school:
U m a p a t i is g e n e r a l l y c o n t e n t t o l i n k t h e A g a m a s w i t h t h e V e d a s i n h i s
T a m i l works. Both he a n d Arujnanti d o not s e e m to h a v e differed f r o m
Tirumular's view:
V e d a a n d A g a m a alike
A r e revelations o f G o d ,
T h a t is T r u t h .
&iiva Siddhmta and Vedanta 117
T h e o n e is g e n e r a l
T h e o t h e r special.
T h e i r goals two, t h e y say.
H i m W h o faces South,
the abode of the illuminating sun,
Whose foot is curved,
I worship. (251)^®
A c c o r d i n g to the A g a m i c texts,
W i t h O u r help attained O u r o w n world,
O u r vicinity, and O u r o w n form.
T h o s e w h o attained great wisdom in U s
G o t to b e with U s without separation.®3
T h e r e w a s i n e v i t a b l y c o n s i d e r a b l e t e n s i o n b e t w e e n t h e rivjil g r o u p s o f
s c r i p t u r e s , a n d U m a p a t i w a s , as it w e r e , a f a u l t l i n e b e t w e e n t h e t w o .
M a n y o t h e r w r i t e r s m u s t h a v e b e e n in a s i m i l a r l y c o m p l e x ideological
position, but he stands out with remarkable p r o m i n e n c e . O f the four
f o u n d i n g f a t h e r s o f t h e T a m i l S a i v a S i d d h m t a , U m a p a t i w a s t h e first t o
u s e t h e t e r m iSaiva S i d d h m t a , t h o u g h T i r u m u l a r u s e d it a m o n g the
m a n y terms he freely coined. T h i s was the term that c a u g h t on, b u t the
colophon of the Pauskara Btmya uses the more significant term
V a i d i k a s i d d h a n t a , the V e d i c Siddhanta, to express U m a p a t i ' s position,
a n d this w o u l d v e r y w e l l fit t h e Kunciiahghristava too.
Inconceivable in terms of
time or space or any other category,
honoured by those who meditate on His own Mantra,
He is the Essence of Advaita [advaitasara),
bereft of middle, beginning and end.
He sees the hearts and thoughts of all men,
He is the first One, the one beyond Maya,
quietened, the illuminator of all heavenly bodies,
24 The Dance of ^iva
This, verily, is That. This, indeed, was That, even the Real. He who knows that
wonderful being as the first-born - namely, that Brahma is the Real [satyam
brahmeti) - conquers these worlds. Would he be conquered who knows thus that
great spirit as the first-^m - namely, that Brahma is the Real {satyam brahmeti)?
[No!] for indeed, Brahma is the Real {satyam hj> eva brahma)7'
This passage of the Brhadarartyoka Upanisad immediately follows mention
of Brahman as the heart:
The heart {hrdaya) is the same as Prajapati (Lord of Creation). It is Brahman. It is all.
Another relevant passage is from the Sandilyavidya section of the
Chdndogya Upanisad:
Verily, this whole world is Brahma. Tranquil, let one worship It as that from
which he came forth, as that into which he will be dissolved, as that in which he
breathes.73
T h e point is not that the world is illusion, but that Brahman is
everywhere.
I turn now to three verses which can be fruitfully considered as a group.
On the best of mountains, the lotus-eyed Visnus,
who had each in turn relinquished their authority,
greeted Krena Govinda come for a boon for the gods.
After embracing him in delight, and asking how he was,
they enlightened him as to Him:
'Dear one, it's because you don't
'comprehend the Essence of Brahman in your heart,
'that you ask for action -
'action is the cause of suffering!'
(215)74
126 The Dance of ^iva
And again,
In b o t h these v e r s e s t h e m e n t i o n o f t h e V e d a n t a is r o l i o w e d b y the
s t a t e m n t t h a t h e c r e a t e d B r a h m a a n d V i s n u . T h e r e is a l s o m e n t i o n o f
M a y a . In verse 2 8 4 S i v a is the e s s e n c e o f all t h e V e d a n t a {samwedarUasaram).
A t t h e e n d o f the p o e m t h e V e d a n t a a n d c o n t e m p l a t i o n o f B r a h m a n a r e
l i n k e d w i t h the g e n e r a l p r a c t i c e o f S a i v i s m :
R u n n i n g , constantly running
to the place that is dear to H i m ,
T h e o b v i o u s m e a n i n g o f V e d a n t a h e r e is t h e U p a n i s a d s . S i v a is, o f
course, sung of in the Matumarayana Upanisad and the ^vetahatara
U p a n i ^ , b u t his d e e d s a n d i c o n o g r a p h y a r e o n l y to b e f o u n d in t h e l a t e
t e m p l e - o r i e n t e d A g a m a s ; a n d it m a y b e t h a t t h e A g a m a s , s e e n a s t h e
culmination of the V e d a s , are referred to here b y V e d a n t a , w i t h a
d e l i b e r a t e a m b i g u i t y . B y this a m b i g u i t y , U m a p a t i w o u l d , w i t h i n the
p o e m , absorb Saiikara, a n d p e r h a p s o t h e r V e d a n t i n s , w i t h i n the a m b i t
o f the S i d d h a n t a .
A l t h o u g h the f o u r g r e a t T a m i l p o e t s o f t e n s i n g o f S i v a ' s d a n c e , t h e y w e r e
writing before the C o l a codification o f N a t a r a j a . T h e three masters o f
&iiva Siddhanta and Vedanta 129
Hear now how the Dance is jjerformed. In his feet is NA; in his Navel is MA; in his
shoulders is si; in his face is VA; in his head is YA.
[These letters are to be contemplated in those parts.]
T h e hand holding the drum is si, the hand held out is VA, the hand holding out
protection is YA; the hand holding the fire is NA; the foot holding down Muyalaka
is MA.
T h e arch {timvaci) over Sri Nataraja is OM; and the aksara which is never separate
from the OM is the filling Splendour. This is the dance of the Lord of
Cidambaram. T h e y understand this who have lost their self [ahahkara).
Understanding, they have left their births behind.
Creation starts from the Drum. Protection proceeds from the Hand of Hope.
T h e fire produces Destruction. From the Foot holding down proceeds
Tirobhava; the Foot held aloft gives Mukti.
By these means, O u r Father scatters the darkness of Maya, burns the strong
Karma, stamps down Mala (Anava) and showers grace, and lovingly plunges
the soul in the Ocean of Bliss. This is the nature of His Dance.
PANCAKSARA
When the self abandons the world of sense {pasa) as a quickly passing mirage, the
Lord becomes cool shade [for it]. It will ponder the Five Letters in the manner
prescribed.
Meykan^r adds:
If the self knows by the Five Letters that it belongs to Hara; if in the heart it
worships Him by diem; if in the navel it offers oblation by them; if between the
eyebrows it meditates; then in that meditation God will appear and the soul will
become His servant.®'
U m a p a t i d e c l a r e s in t h e Tiruvarutpayan,
The holy hymn Sri Rudram occupies the central position among the four
Vedas. The Panchakshara has been mentioned in the middle of Sri Rudram.
The Panchakshara may therefore be considered to be the core of the Vedas. It
may also be considered to be the quintessence of the twenty eight Saiva Agamas
which form the basis for Siddhanta Saivam.®^
&iiva Siddhanta and Vedanta 131
L i k e t h e V e d a s a n d A g a m a s , t h e P a f i c ^ a r a is p r e s e n t in t h e C i t S a b h a
as t h e five silver s t e p s l e a d i n g u p f r o m t h e K a n a k a S a b h a (5).9® T h e r e a r e
t h r e e o t h e r d i r e c t r e f e r e n c e s t o t h e P a A c a k s a r a in t h e Kuncitanghristava-it
d o e s n o t h a v e h e r e t h e p r e e m i n e n t p o s i t i o n it e n j o y s in t h e T a m i l S a i v a
S i d d h a n t a . T h e g o d s o f t h e five d i v i n e f u n c t i o n s w o n t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e
p o w e r s b y r e c i t i n g it a l o n g w i t h o t h e r m a n t r a s (112); V a s i s t h a a n d t h e
other sages m u t t e r e d it e v e r y day f o r a y e a r in C i d a m b a r a m (59);
D a & i r a t h a g o t his s o n s b y r e c i t i n g it in C i d a m b a r a m (116). T h e ^nRudra,
or ^atarudnya, in which the Paficaksara first occurs, and on which
U m a p a t i is s a i d t o h a v e w r i t t e n a c o m m e n t a r y , is m e n t i o n e d t h r i c e . T h i s
section o f the Taittinya Samhita p l a y s a p r o m i n e n t p a r t in t e m p l e r i t u a l ,
b o t h in C i d a m b a r a m a n d all o t h e r S i v a t e m p l e s . N a n d i k e s v a r a , S i v a ' s
c h a m b e r l a i n , w o n his p o s i t i o n b y r e c i t i n g t h e ^nRudra three crore times
(153). B u t as U m a p a t i s a y s , h e h i m s e l f w a s g i v e n b y S i v a ' s u c c e s s t h r o u g h
g r e a t m a n t r a s o f e n o r m o u s p o w e r ' (305): this s t a t e m e n t refers n o t t o t h e
Paftcaksara m a n t r a alone, b u t to a w i d e variety, s o m e o f w h i c h are
c o n s i d e r e d in t h e c h a p t e r f o l l o w i n g . I n t h e c a s e o f m a n t r a , as' in o t h e r
respects, U m a p a t i ' s S a n s k r i t p o e m t a k e s a m u c h w i d e r v i e w t h a n t h a t
m e r e l y o f the T a m i l S a i v a S i d d h a n t a , o r o f t h e S i d d h a n t a .
YOGA
In v e r s e 3 0 5 U m a p a t i also s a y s t h a t S i v a g a v e h i m ' g r e a t m a g i c p o w e r s
t h r o u g h y o g a ' . Y o g a p l a y s , in f a c t , a m o r e i m p o r t a n t role in t h e p o e m
than S i d d h a n t a or V e d a n t a , b e i n g a m o r e o r less c o n s t a n t p a r t of
worship of Siva. However, Yoga is n o t necessarily separate from
Siddhanta. As U m a p a t i himself mentions, Y o g a (along with Carya,
P r o p e r B e h a v i o u r ) is o n e o f t h e f o u r p a r t s o f a n A g a m a . N o w , as B r u n n e r
has s h o w n , this f o u r f o l d d i v i s i o n o f t h e A g a m a s is in f a c t a r e l a t i v e l y
r e c e n t p h e n o m e n o n in t h e h i s t o r y o f t h o s e texts.9' Y e t , as B r u n n e r a l s o
s h o w s , the Y o g a s e c t i o n s , a l t h o u g h n o t c o n t r a d i c t i n g t h e R i t u a l s e c t i o n s ,
n e v e r t h e l e s s are e i t h e r r e d u n d a n t or extraneous.9^
T h e S i d d h a n t a s c h o o l w a s in a c o m m a n d i n g p o s i t i o n in m a n y p a r t s o f
I n d i a ; this p o s i t i o n w o u l d o n l y h a v e b e e n b o l s t e r e d b y a n e x t e n s i o n o f
the a p p e a l o f t h e s c h o o l , a n d the inclusion o f Y o g a , h o w e v e r m o d i f i e d
from that o f P a t a n j a l i , w a s c l e a r l y s u c h a n e x t e n s i o n . T h e Mr^endra
Agama, o n p r e s e n t e v i d e n c e the m o s t p o p u l a r o f A g a m a s b y U m a p a t i ' s
t i m e , a n d a m a j o r s o u r c e f o r his $ataratnasamgraha, has a Y o g a section.
T h e p o s i t i o n o f S i d d h a n t a in g e n e r a l p r o v i d e s a p a r a l l e l f o r U m a p a t i ' s
m e n t i o n o f S a i i k a r a . U m a p a t i in w r i t i n g his p o e m , s o u g h t to b r o a d e n t h e
132 The Dance of ^iva
being in samadhi,
in the state of supreme bliss
that arises from seedless yoga;
The Goddess
In s e v e r a l w a y s t h e G o d d e s s as p r e s e n t e d in t h e Kuncitanghristava can be
s e e n in C i d a m b a r a m t o d a y v i r t u a l l y as s h e w a s in U m a p a t i ' s t i m e . I n t h e
first p l a c e s h e is p r e s e n t as S i v a ' s c o n s o r t S i v a k a m a s u n d a n in t h e C i t
S a b h a , as a s t a n d i n g figure in b r o n z e w h o w a t c h e s his d a n c e . S h e s h a r e s
his w o r s h i p in this m o s t s a c r e d p l a c e . S e c o n d l y as S i v a k a m a s u n d a r i s h e
has h e r o w n extensive shrine o n the w e s t b a n k o f the S i v a g a n g a tank.
T h i s d a t e s b a c k to t h e r e i g n o f K u l o t t u n g a I, a n d w a s p e r h a p s t h e first o f
t h e series o f m o n u m e n t a l G o d d e s s o r A m m a o t e m p l e s e r e c t e d in t h e
thirteenth century. Thirdly there is t h e Tillai Kali temple on the
northern e d g e o f the t o w n , built u n d e r K o p p e r u n j i n g a in the m i d - t h i r t e e n t h
c e n t u r y . A p i l g r i m a g e t o C i d a m b a r a m is u s u a l l y c o n c l u d e d b y a visit to
this t e m p l e . A n d f o u r t h l y , t h e r e is a s m a l l i m a g e o f K a l i in t h e s h r i n e t o
U r d h v a t a n d a v a S i v a within the N r t t a Sabha.
T h i s list b y n o m e a n s e x h a u s t s t h e p r e s e n c e o f t h e G o d d e s s . J u s t
o u t s i d e t h e S i v a k ^ a s u n d a r i s h r i n e is a t i n y s h r i n e t o A k h i l a n d e s v a r T
(spouse o f S i v a at t h e j a m b u k e s v a r a t e m p l e , T r i c h y ) , a n d a d j o i n i n g t h a t
a s h r i n e to D u r g a . In t h e t o w n a r e s e v e r a l G o d d e s s t e m p l e s , to D u r g a , to
D r a u p a d i , a n d others; annual firewalking is a p o p u l a r e v e n t in o n e o r
t w o . In these r e s p e c t s also, t h e p i c t u r e m a y n o t h a v e b e e n so v e r y
different f o r U m a p a t i . Finally, w o r s h i p o f SriCcikra a n d S r i v i d y a c o n t i n u e s . '
SIVAKAMASUNDART
T h e G o d d e s s in C i d a m b a r a m is S i v a k a m a s u n d a r i , the b e a u t i f u l l a d y
w h o is S i v a ' s l o v e , a n d is specific to C i d a m b a r a m in the s a m e w a y t h a t as
K a m a k s T she is specific to K a n c T p u r a m a n d as MTnaksT to M a d u r a i .
T h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f N a t a r a j a in m e t a l s e e m s a l w a y s to h a v e b e e n
a c c o m p a n i e d b y the G o d d e s s . S h e s t a n d s , l e a n i n g slightly to o n e side, as
the p r i n c i p a l w i t n e s s o f the d a n c e . T h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t a s p e c t o f this
f o r m o f the G o d d e s s is s i m p l y t h a t she is n o t d a n c i n g , a n d not a t t e m p t i n g
135
The Dance of ^iva
15. S i v a k a m a s u n d a n . P a r a m a k a I p e r i o d , c. 950. C o u r t e s y : D r R . N a g a s w a m y .
igo The Dance of ^iva
e v e n m o r e i n ritual is a n o p e n s y m b o l o f t h e f e m a l e , o f t h e w o m b a s w e l l
a s t h e b r e a s t . S p e c i a l p l a c e is m a d e i n t h e sUudafmram f o r the providing of
divine m i l k f o r t h e y o u n g U p a m a n y u , in r e m i n i s c e n c e o f t h e p o e t saint
N a n c a m p a n t a r , similarly fed. I n this v e r s e the nutritive m o t h e r b e c o m e s
t h e n u t r i t i v e l o v e r , f e e d i n g S i v a ' s p a s s i o n , a n d p r o m o t i n g a l i q u i d flow i n
w h i c h the p o e t a n d r e a d e r also participate.
If three verses describe the h a p p y love o f the two, a n o t h e r three speak
of jealousy.
T h i s r e f e r e n c e t o a d u l t e r y is p a r t o f t h e l a n g u a g e o ^ kaiyUy a r e f l e c t i o n
o f t h e l i f e o f t h e c o u r t , a n d is t o b e f o u n d e v e n i n s u c h t e x t s a s t h e
Saundaryalahan. I t is e q u a l l y c o n s o n a n t w i t h t h e m a i n l y S o u t h e r n figure
o f B h i k s a t a n a , t h e utterly h a n d s o m e n a k e d ascetic, his loins c l a d o n l y in a
r e a r i n g c o b r a , w h o e n t r a n c e s w i v e s w h e r e v e r h e w a n d e r s . Still more
r e d o l e n t o f t h e c o u r t a n d t h e h a r e m is t h i s :
p r e s e n t In t h e C i t S a b h a ( n o r m a l l y , in o t h e r t e m p l e s , u n d e r t h e p a r a l l e l
n a m e o f B h o g a ^akti). K r i y a $ a k t i , t h e t h i r d o f t h e t r i o , is u s u a l l y
c o n s i d e r e d to b e D u r g a in C i d a m b a r a m .
In o n e v e r s e ^ i v a lists his l i a i s o n s ; in a n o t h e r v e r s e w h e n h e and
P a r v a t T a r e r e c o n c i l e d h e lists t h e m o s t f a m o u s p l a c e s o f his w o r s h i p :
I worship H i m -
H e ' s h a r d to get -
W h o s e foot is c u r v e d . (257)'^
T h e r e a r e m a n y f a m o u s S i v a t e m p l e s , a n d in a c c o r d w i t h a l o n g
s t a n d i n g p o e t i c a l f a n c y i n I n d i a , S i v a t a k e s t o t h e a i r v^rith P a r v a t T a n d
gives her an aerial v i e w .
KALI
his leg to his head. A small image of dancing KaH is on the ground beside
the Ordhvatandava murti. However, the walls of this shrine are clearly an
addition to the original structure, the fine pillars being pardy concealed
within plain stonework. T h e shrine has its own wood-framed copper-plated
roof, as does an open area before it of some 36 sq m which thereby
constitutes a mandapa to the shrine within the main Nrtta Sabha, the rest
of the structure having a flat roof. T h e open area would have been
sufficient for the performance of a single dancer.
The small statue of dancing Kali here is her only representation in a
shrine of the temple; in the alcove of Urdhvatandava on the Y^zstgopura a
small Kali stands to Siva's left, and to his right in the South gopura.^9
KalTs dance is not mentioned in the chief sthalapuramy the Cidam-
baramahatmya, nor in the Tamil version, the K^il Puranamy but one of the
minor Sanskrit sthalapurmas does deal with it. This is how Umapati refers
to the dance competition:
The classic simplicity of C51a art was created at the height of the
dynasty's power. O f R5jaraja III who reigned until 1256, the historian of
the Coias says, 'an incompetent ruler under whom confusion increased
and the dissolution of the Cola kingdom was hastened'.^' Refusing
tribute to Sundara Pandya, he was subsequently captured by that king's
ally, the K5dava K5pperunjinga, and held in the fortress at Cendaman-
galam. In 1231 Rajaraja was released by his Hoysala allies. It was this
warlord, Kopperunjinga, who built the shrine of the present-day K a l i
temple, about half a kUometre to the north east of the Nataraja temple,
on the northern boundary of the city.
The Goddess 145
Tillai K ^ has the unusual feature of four heads, which are said to
represent the four Vedas, though I know of no textual explanation.
Brahmacandesvara in the main temple might be relevant, for this too is a
unique combination with Brahma, and perhaps relates to the claimed
Vedic affiliations of Cidambaram; the Tillai I ^ I i temple also claims to
follow 'Vedic' ritual.
It is through Her
that the Lord protects all the worlds.
Him who is worshipped by the sun and the moon
(I92)»4
Then to show favour to her, the God of Gods performed the Tandava dance at
dusk, he the delighted Trident-bearer along with all the goblin-lords and ghosts.
The Supreme Queen (Paramesvari) after drinking her fill of the nectar of Mild
(Sambhu) Siva's dance herself danced for her own delight, like a^fjgimamidst the
ghosts. All around the gods, Brahma, Indra and Visnu in their midst, bowed
down and praised KalT and then Queen ParvaD too. Thus the Fierce Dance of
the Lord Who bears the Trident has been briefly described to you; but others
say that the Fierce. Dance of the Lord is brought about by the bliss of yoga
{yoganandd)?'^
The goddess has eight arms and apparendy stood with her right leg raised and
placed on the recumbent 'asura'. lioth her legs are now broken. The goddess
wears a crown (ratna mukuU?), with a large flame aureole behind it. Both
contain snakes and other figures. From the goddess' right ear-lobe dangles a
small human figure; from her left ear hangs a large circular ear-ring in the
interior of which is a bird. She has a third eye and tusks, but her excessively
ghoulish expression is probably due in part to a broken nose. There is a rope of
snakes above the goddess' breasts, which are particularly fat, and a sacred
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150 The Dance of ^iva
thread of small spheres (skulls?) passes between them. Many of the goddess'
hands have been broken off and it is not easy to distinguish any of her hand
emblems or gestures.
The 'asura', holding a sword in his right hand, has fallen to a crouching position
on his knees. He has a human head, with slighdy grotesque features, and wears a
crown. Behind him, a bhuta-like creature with tusks and a small sword holds one
hand around the top of the asura's crown.'®
I suggest that the 'demon' is Daksa and the middle figure Virabhadra.
This myth has a long and complex history, going back to Rudra's
exclusion from the sacrifice in Vedic times, and from the Mahdbhdrata
onwards affirming Siva's superiority to the Vedic sacrifice. Umapati's is
a late version, the historical development being first Siva himself doing
the destruction, then Virabhadra, then Virabhadra and Kali. This
development perhaps mirrors the growing importance of Kali. T h e
Goddess is called BhadrakalT in the versions of, for instance, the Kurma
Parana, the ^iva Parana, and the Tamil Kanta Paranam. In the Cidambaram
gopura versions she becomes the dominant partner in the assault, though
Virabhadra retains the executive role. That Virabhadra is decidedly
unlike the powerful figure of the texts is to be explained not only by the
artist's desire to promote B h a d r a k ^ , but also the sculptural impossibility
of fitting two overwhelming images in the same niche.^ In the version of
the ^iva Parana both Virabhadra and KalT are thousand-headed, but the
iconographic texts prescribe only the one head for their images. In the
y^esl gopura image Virabhadra is clearly in the act of beheading Daksa. It
might be questioned why Daksa, if it is he, is holding a sword. The
version of the Kanta Parmam states that Daksa thought it shameful to run
away and resolved to fight V i r a b h a d r a 3 5 - hence the sword. The head of
the victim is also significant, for it looks much more like the head of a
Brahman than of a demon, and a Brahman with a goat-like beard.
K A L I AS S I V A ' S D E S T R U C T I V E FORCE
DRAUPADT
formal and official Sanskrit gods. Although only Durga is admitted to the
devakostha of the standard Cola temple, she is the representative of a
whole throng of Goddesses.
There is at least one Draupadi temple in Cidambaram today, to the
north-west, and one passes by it when going to Singarattottam, the site of
Maraiftana's asrama, where Umapati would have stayed with his new
teacher on being banished from the temple, if his biography is accepted.
T h e importance of the Draupadi cult in historical times should be
remembered when we read Umapati's verse on her former incarnation:
From this subsidiary form of the Goddess, we turn now to her highest
manifestation. As we saw in chapter 3, the poem begins boldly with the
most esoteric form of divinity in Cidambaram, which is a modification of
the pan-Indian esotericism of the Goddess in the form of Sricakra.
T h e role ofyantras in worship in Cidambaram is a complex issue,
concerning which I have only limited information. Somasetu Diksita in
his Sanskrit introduction to the Festival section of the C i d a m b a r a m
ritual text, declares that there are five principal cakras in the R a h a s y a
part of the Cit Sabha, namely the ^ncakra, the Sivacakra, the
Dhvank:akra, the C i n t ^ a n i c a k r a , and the Sammelanacakra,4° However,
this comes at the end of thirteen sets of five elements constituting the
temple, and is perhaps constrained by numerical determinism. W h e n
Pataftjali in the text speaks of the Sricakra and otheryantras on the wall
of the Cit Sabha, the editor gives as footnote a verse listing nine cakras,
adding the Tandava, the Lalita, the Ganesa, and Skanda cakras to the
above five. All seem clearly to be based on the Siicakra, and there can
be no doubt that by Umapati's day Saktism had penetrated to the core
of Cidambaram worship.
T h e first two verses to be considered in this section come at the
beginning of a group of verses that is of exceptional interest. This group
as a unit will be considered at the close of the chapter. T h e first verse
concerns the Sivacakra, 'His Cakra', the Sncakra so to speak comman-
deered by Siva; but the second verse concerning their joint presence in
the centre of the cakra - which I take to be the Sammelanacakra - is so
closely connected with the central S ^ t a tradition and the most famous
and accessible of Sakta texts, the Saundaryalahan, that it seems best to
discuss it here in the chapter devoted to the Goddess; and as we shall see
the group as a whole concerns the Goddess.
seems to flow from the Goddess's golden breasts. And yet for Umapati,
Siva is firmly and dominandy smgara rasa in himself; he is only apparendy
so in the Smndmyalahari, where the source of power is the Goddess. And
for Umapad, Siva is seated beside the Goddess, insinuated into the heart
of Saktism.
T h e sequence of verses following 8 in the Saundaryalahan \& interesting
here and perhaps parallel. Verse 9 states that the Goddess rising up from
the mulMhara cakra through the other cakras sports in secret with her lord
in the thousand-petalled lotus. In verse 10 she goes back down again; in
verse 11 there is a description of the Sricakra. There may here be a
convergence between all three texts, our poem, the Saundajyalahan zxvA
the Tirumantiram.
Also to be noted here is a passing reference to Siva as tnkomsthitijusam,
'present in the Triangle', (280, where most words begin with tr or tr)
which plainly refers to Siva's position in diyantra and which Rajaganesa
Diksita takes to be the Sricakra. Indubitably, the hz&\cyantra, the core
reality here, is the SrTcakra, which is subjected to various and perhaps
ill-defined modulations. But ill-defined is an inappropriate qualification
here - it is rather a question of the shimmering, the rippling of
imagination's power.
I turn now to the Srividya, the intimate correlate of SrTcakra worship.
There are some grounds for claiming that the second century of verses
has near its beginning, from verse 109, an injection of S ^ t a , or modified
Sakta esotericism that parallels the Namraja esotericism of the poem's
two opening verses, discussed in chapter 4; and this new element could
be said to be signalled in verse 101 which includes a brief reference to the
SriVidya, and Siva's colonization of it: he is 'Irikutasthitijusam', 'Who is
present in the Triple Peak mantra, the Trikuta'. Rajaganesa so takes it.
These peaks are the three divisions of the mantra: Vagbhava, Kama,
and Sakti.
His Jfiana Sakti,
enrapturing in the world of the Secret Place,
She who is the blessed great Sixteen Syllables,
the knowledge praised
by the gurus, Srinatha and Tantric heroes
she who is worshipjied by YoginI du&,
She who is Siva undivided from [His] Self,
She it is that the yogi searches for in his heart
and becoming free of mental constructions
is praised by mighty yogis.
igo The Dance of ^iva
These two verses are based on the Lalitasahasranaman rather than the
Lalitopakhyana.
I now return to the sequence of verses 108-14 (see p. 154). Peculiar
force is provided by what can be seen as the concluding verse of the
series. Umapati goes quite outside the usual Southern geography of the
poem by referring to the great poet, mahdkavi, of the twelfth century,
Snharsa, author of the Naisadhacarita - and the identification is exceptionally
precise since Snharsa names both his parents in colophons:
Bhiksatana
Napiraja and his temple, ^aiva Siddhanta and yoga, the Goddess and
the Sncakra - these form the core of Umapati's worldview. They do not,
however, provide a complete picture of Umapati's understanding of the
Dance of Siva. Other aspects are of some importance.
As was noted in chapter i, Siva's first performance of the Tandava
Dance followed his appearance as Wandering Beggar in the Daruka
Forest. Siva as beggar, Bhiksatana, features in a dominant position on
the gopuras of the temple, three of which must have been completed
around the time of Umapati's birth. T h e architecture of the gopuras is
such that there are two especially large niche sections on each of the
main facades, one either side of the doorway. Each gopura having an
inner fa9ade and an outer fa9ade, there are on the gopuras a total of
sixteen statues whose position is particularly imposing.'
O n all {o\xr gopuras each of these dominant niches contains one of four
images, Somaskanda, Kalyanasundara, Bhiksatana or KaAkala. The
four images form two pairs. Bhiksatana differs very little from KaAkala;
the former is naked^the latter is clothed. Kalyanasundara represents the
marriage of Siva and ParvatT; Somaskanda shows the married couple
seated side by side, with their son Skanda between them. T h e opposition
between the pairs is stark: the wandering ascetic as opposed to the
married man and his family. In the case of the East and West gopuras,
both inner and outer fagades have one married and one ascetic image.
O n the South and North gopuras, this opposition does not obtain: -each
facade has either two ascetic or two married forms. O n both South and
North^c^as the ascetic forms face south, and the married forms face north.
The notion of God as Beggar is tautologous. Bhiksatana is a
sublimation of the wandering ascetic who defends himself with his
trident and his magical powers, and whose model is Siva. Moreover, in
the South the dominant literature, the Tevaram, codified a hundred years
or more before Umapati, was the work of itinerant singers who, if not
i6i
162 The Dance of ^iva
the great transformation effected, by the Tamilians in the horrid and terrific
forms . . . these terrific forms with which Saivism started from its early
Bhiksdtana 163
beginnnings, are not so very prevalent in the Tamil Country... It is the lovable
forms and the dance of $iva that have captivated the Tamilians. More than this
the Tamilians have made the terrific forms themselves beaudful and lovable...
By transplanting the terrible and horrible fonn of Kapali to this atmosphere of
love and beauty, the Tamilian has worked a miracle; one gets the sublimation
and universalization of this story.''
There is an element of grim reality here, with the reeking begging bowl;
occasionally concern for modern taste leads Shulman to overstress the
grimness, as in Cuntarar's
a beggar for alms, in the usual sequence, after cutting o f f B r a h m a ' s fifth
head, as Kalabhairava:
He put on a strange appearance
that shone with his radiance,
a holy sacrificial cord,
his gleaming three eyes.
Tormented by Love
who had released his irresistible arrow,
they placed His alms on the ground,
thinking it a vessel.
172 The Dance of ^iva
Some declared,
'O lord! whatever piece of ground
takes your fancy -
even in another wood -
take us to that ground.'
One said to Him,
'O lord! a lot of alms
will be given you in my house.
Don't go to any other house.'
'Our lives seem to be in danger.
Embrace us and give them back to us!'
So said some.
Lest Love torment us
in the guise of Yama who is Death,
protect us!'
some in their fear besought the Beggar.
Gazing at handsome Siva as He was there,
some women danced for joy
in their delight at seeing Him,
and kept on dancing.
Even while the dance, a lovely sight, continued
some women, smitten with love,
gestured theatrically.
As though driven by Love's arrow shots,
so hard to bear,
some young women ran swiftly after Mahesa.
'Why do you hold out this skull of yours as an alms bowl?'
some, oppressed by love unconquerable,
asked the Lord.
As if asking the Lord
'If you don't respond,
think what will happen to us. Lord!'
some kept beside Him.
Seeing Him come for alms
the women pressed against Him,
disturbing their braided hair,
their garlands, necklaces,
and all their ornaments.
Some other lotus-eyed ladies,
as their girdles and saris slipped down,
suddenly fell on Him,
pierced by Flower-bowed Love's arrows.
Bhiksdtana 175
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22o 'The Dance of ^iva
Then Mahadeva,
His charming burden of matted locks swaying,
concentrated on the Tandava dance,
beginning gendy,
for He is an ocean of compassion.
Then those sages who in their delusion
had sent fires and mantras, exhausted,
were briefly filled with alarm,
feeling themselves weaponless.
Then in a flash with the great speed
of His Tandava they lost consciousness
and fell down on the ground.
I too was not at ease.
At His side when He began the Tandava,
I felt great fear like never before.
He speedily put my fear at rest
with His hand resplendent with the snake bracelet.
He thought of Parvati and she came.
When the daughter of the Himalaya
came beside Him, then the gods in heaven
in delight rained down flowers;
•
25. N a u r a j a . V e d a r a n y a m , c. 1200.
A l t h o u g h B h i k ^ t a n a is f a r m o r e p o p u l a r in t h e S o u t h , a n d i n d e e d is
characteristically S o u t h e r n , t h e f o r m o f B h a i r a v a , ' t h e T e r r i b l e ' , is c l o s e r
to the g e n e r a l v i e w o f the essential n a t u r e o f $ i v a . In t h e N o r t h B h a i r a v a
is o f t e n a d a n c e r ; o r r a t h e r D a n c i n g S i v a , w h e n m e n t i o n e d , is likely t o b e
c a l l e d B h a i r a v a , the d a n c e b e i n g a d e s t r u c t i v e d a n c e . W h i l e B h i k s a t o n a ,
in the S o u t h , expresses t h e e r o t i c i s m t h a t u n d e r l i e s N a t a r a j a , B h a i r a v a is
the p u r e d e s t r u c t i v e p o w e r that N a t a r a j a transmutes into rhythmic
m o t i o n . B h a i r a v a also carries a p h i l o s o p h i c a l l o a d . In t e r m s o f m y t h o l o g y ,
B h a i r a v a is o f t e n c o n s i d e r e d to b e a m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f S i v a , b u t in t e r m s o f
m u c h T a n t r i c p h i l o s o p h y h e is i n d e e d t h e full f o r m {pumarupa) of Siva.'
A t the b e g i n n i n g o f t h e ^taratnasarr^aha, U m a p a t i discusses t h e v a r i e t y
o f scriptures that issued f r o m t h e five f a c e s o f S a d a s i v a . O n o n e v i e w e a c h
f a c e p r o m u l g a t e s five t y p e s o f scriptures. B o t h t h e S i d d h a n t a a n d t h e
Bhairava T a n t r a s are o f the type called mantrika - the f o r m e r gives mukti,
the latter destroys o n e ' s enemies.^
In T a m i l n a d u t h e d e s t r u c t i v e p o w e r o f S i v a is c o n v e n i e n t l y s u m m e d
u p in the E i g h t H e r o i c D e e d s , e a c h o f w h i c h is a s s i g n e d a p a r t i c u l a r
place. Timmantiram 3 3 9 - 4 6 s e e m s to b e the earliest listing of the
at^viraUanam. In T i r u m u l a r ' s o r d e r , t h e s e a c t i o n s a r e i. T h e k i l l i n g o f
A n d h a k a . 2. T h e b e h e a d i n g o f D a k s a a n d t h e substitution o f a g o a t ' s
h e a d . 3. T h e c u t t i n g o f f o f o n e o f B r a h m a ' s h e a d s a n d the d r a i n i n g o f
V i s n u ' s b l o o d into his skull. 4. T h e b e h e a d i n g o f j a l a n d h a r a w i t h a d i s c u s
m a r k e d but o n the g r o u n d . 5. T h e d e s t r u c t i o n b y an a r r o w o f fire o f t h e
T r i p l e C i t i e s o f the d e m o n s . 6. T h e s k i n n i n g a l i v e o f the e l e p h a n t d e m o n .
7. R e s c u i n g the b o y M a r k a n d e y a b y b a n i s h i n g D e a t h w i t h y o g i c fire,
t h o u g h this m e a n s s e e m s s p e c i f i c to T i r u m u l a r , a n d the n o r m is k i c k i n g .
8. B u r n i n g u p K a m a , t h e G o d o f L o v e . T h r e e o f these d e e d s i n v o l v e
d e c a p i t a t i o n . T h i s d e c a p i t a t i o n m a y relate to t h e self-castration o f S i v a .
T h e f o l l o w i n g v e r s e d r a m a t i c a l l y s w i t c h e s to the N o r t h e r n v e r s i o n o f
the P i n e Forest m y t h , as g i v e n b y t h e Kurma Parana:
186
Saints, dancing girls, 'ganas' - and Apasmara 187
When the Urtga w ^ cut off the Blessed Bhava, 'Being', vanished, no beings were
visible in the universe. And then all was confused. Nothing gave off light. The
sun gave no heat at all, and fire had no light. And even the planets and
constellations were topsy-turvy. {Brahmanda Parana 1.2.27. 35"®)
When they saw Siva, the Mountain-dweller, in disguise, walking along naked,
they cried, O you scoundrel, rip off that Uhgal SaAkara, the Great Yogin, said to
them, 'I will do so, if you really hate my linga.' So saying the Blessed One, the
Gauger out of Bhaga's eyes, ripped it off. And from that instant they could see
neither the Lord nor Visnu nor the linga. Then indeed there were bad omens,
spelling danger for the world. The thousand-rayed sun did not shine. The earth
shook again and again. All the planets lost their lustre and the great ocean heaved.
[Kurma Puram 2.37.40-3)
'Your behaviour is immoral and violates the Vedic path. Therefore let your
penis fall to the gound.' And when they said that the Uhga instandy fell on to the
ground. . . . And that lihga like fire burnt everything before it. And wherever it
went it burned things. And it went into the subterranean world and it went to
heaven. It went everywhere on earth. In no place did it become stationary. All
the worlds were thrown into confusion. Those sages were deeply troubled.
{&va Puram, Kodrudrasar^ita 4.12.17-183, 19-21)
Siva's lihga while on his body had provided order and stability for the
universe, performing there the role it performs within shrines. In the.first
two versions, everything collapses without this vital element. In the third,
where there is release of energy rather than just its absence, the sages
rather than Siva are the active cause of the lihga falling, and its response is
reactive. In the Cidambaram myth, all opposing forces are absorbed
188 The Dance of ^iva
Siva destroys one avaiara of Visnu after a n o t h e r each aveUara goes o f f the
rails once it has achieved its intended purpose and has to be terminated
(122-5). There is a flutter in the rhythm as K a E in verse 126 repeats the
destruction of Narasirnha wrought by Siva in verse 125. Back to Siva in
verse 127 for the concluding destruction by Siva of a form of Visnu, as the
D w a r f s expanded form is ripped up. T w o verses on the Goddess, one on
Visnu as Mohini in the Pine Forest, then back to the sequence of avataras,
though no longer to be destroyed. P a r a s u r ^ a gets his axe by praying to
Siva (131); by worshipping Siva P a r a s u r ^ a killed the demon and got
other benefits also (132). T h e limited avatdra sequence ends with Kalkin
coming at the end of each K a l i j ^ a with a sword given by Siva (133). T h e
clear sequence oi avcUdras makes a radical shift after the interval of the
Goddess, now propitiating rather than opposing Siva. A nice touch is the
reference to the Goddess's creation of all ten avataras from her shining
fingernails (129). T h e n as a coda to the sequence there is reference to a
purely local myth of a multi-headed Visnu swallowing up a Saiva pilgrim
only to be killed by Siva (134).'® T h e theme of Siva defeating Visnu is
then abandoned.
After the opening section, which we have looked at in detail, this is by
far the longest coherent section. It is not without interruptions (shown in
italics in the list below), but this is because the alternating rhythm here
makes a larger and louder beat.
122 Visnu as Fish recovers Vedas from the ocean.
123 Visnu as Turtle intimidates - Siva cuts him up.
124 Visnu as Boar defeats the demon Hiranya.
125 Siva as Sarabha defeats Man-lion.
J26 Thousand-face KdR defeats Man-lion.
127 Siva defeats Vamana become Giant.
128 The Goddess defeats the demon BharuiasuTa; creates the 10 avataras.
/2g The Goddess is in the ^makra.
130 The sages' wives and Vimu as Mohini want $iva.
131 Parasurama meditates on Siva's dance.
132 Parasurama meditates on Siva, goes to Siva's holy places.
133 Siva pves Kalkin the sword he uses.
134 Multi-headed Visnu kills a Saiva and is killed by Siva.
T w o instances of Siva destroying Visnu are of considerable religious
significance and merit discussion here.
Saints, dancing ffrls, 'ganas' - and Apasmara 193
^ARABHA
In the first place, the presence of a Sarabha shrine in the Nrtta Sabha
must be noted^ At the back, against the enclosure wall, facing north, its
proximity to U r d h v a t ^ d a v a and the small KalT is significant in that
there seems to be here a conglomeration of fierce power amid the elegant
panelled pillars. T h e Nrtta Sabha was probably built by Kulottunga III
(1178-1216), and there may be a special connection of the Sarabha with
royalty. There are only four known Cola images in stone, and the other
three are found in royal temples. T h e earliest is in the Vikramasolisvaram
at Tukkachchi not far from Kumbakonam, the only big temple definitely
constructed by Vikrama Cola (1118-35). There is a ^arabha image at
Darasuram, and also in the Kampaharesvarar at Tribhuvanam, the last
of the four great temples built by the Coias, by the Izist great C51a king,
none other than Kulottunga III. At Tribhuvanam, the image is housed
in a separate independent shrine north-east of the central shrine, with a
metal image in addition to the stone one. L'Hernault remarks.
The royal aspect of the cult should also be stressed, and the bizarre form
could be seen to reflect the growing political stresses as Coia power
waned - desperate measures calling for desperate means. One niight
contrast Rajaraja's preference for the calm and stately Tripurari murti,
which exclusively occupies the niches on the second storey of the vimana
The Dance of ^iva
26. S a r a b h a m u r i i . A i r a v a t e s v a r a t e m p l e , D a r a s u r a m , c. 1170.
C o u r t e s y : F r e n c h I n s t i t u t e o f P o n d i c h e r r y / f ^ o l e Frani^aise d'Extreme-Orient
Saints, dancing ffrls, 'ganas' - and Apasmara 195
^ATTANATHA
I worship. (127)'+
VIRABHADRA
We have met VTrabhadra as B h a d r a k ^ s assistant in the beheading of
Dciksa; Umapati gives another description of this event, omitting KalT.
Visnu's cakra lost its fire,
Brahma's heart was in a whirl,
the sun had lost his teeth,
Indra's cheeks were split, Agni lost his flame,
and everyone else lost his life -
,g6 The Dance of &va — .
He was satisfied
when He saw Virabhadra cut ofTDaksa's head
and roam the sacrifice ground with the ganas.
Him Whose heart was delighted,
Whose foot is curved,
I worship. (24o)'5
KSETRAPALA
All of the violent forms of Siva so far considered have been agents of
punishment and retribution. Three verses refer however to the 'protector
of the holy place', ksetrapala. O n e verse refers to KaH, and has been
considered in chapter 6; of the others, one refers to Bhairava, one to a
local form.
This Bhairava does not differ from the Bhairava previously considered,
except that his protective role is specified. Given the importance of
protecting a holy site, not the least because its holiness is demonstrated
by the fact of its being protected, it is likely that the fierce forms of Siva
already considered are extensions of a primary protective function. T h e
guardian has to be terrible to scare offthe terrifying foe; indeed, he has to
be more terrifying than what is feared, if he is to be effective. Shortly
afterwards, a less imposing guardian is mentioned.
Should a king be his own doorkeeper? But in the case of Siva the
distinction in forms is slight. We now turn to two fierce forms of Siva
mentioned by Umapati but not represented in the Cidambaram temple.
the task of dealing with Andhaka: Bhairava impales the demon, and a
pool formed when he fixed his spear in the earth to remove Andhaka
from it.'^ T o d a y the trident is closely associated with goddesses - a shrine
marked only with a trident will always pertain to a female deity. T h e
trident is not a common weapon. It is best suited for catching fish, as
befits the weapon of Neptune, and it is essentially a ritual implement,
used to induce possession.^"
T h e Andhakari is rare in the South, so much so that Dorai
Rangaswamy is not certain whether or not Cuntarar refers to Andhaka,
the Tamil version of the word being Antaka, and thus referring either to
Andhaka or Antaka, the Sanskrit for Death, the 'Ender'. In considering
Umapati's reference to Andhaka, it will be fruitful to consider also
another demon, Jalandhara. Not only does Umapati mention them in
consecutive verses, in itself of course at first sight a sign of logical
incoherence, so too did Cuntarar, in both of his two mentions of Andhaka.
T h e version of the Tamil Kanta Puranam is that Indra went to visit Siva.
T o test him, Siva takes the form of a naked yogi with matted hair and
blocks the way, not replying when Indra asks who he is. Indra threatens
the unknown person with his thunderbolt. Siva gets angry at this but, not
wishing to harm Indra, directs the fire of his fury into the ocean. There
Siva's anger takes the form of a boy, the boy becomes a righteous demon,
but his doom to is be beheaded by Siva with a discus that is then given to
Visnu.35 Note that the stary begins with Siva acting as door-keeper, and
that this role is the origin of the appearance of the demon who embodies
Siva's anger. In the version of the ^iva Parana there is a subsidiary
parallel. When the demon, led astray by Narada, demands ParvatT be
sent to him, Siva's anger manifests from his forehead and starts to devour
the messenger. Siva restrains it, as he does his anger at the beginning of
the story, and makes it devour its own body. When only its head is left, he
makes it his door-keeper, KIrtimukha.3®
So potent is Siva, anger is not necessarily required to produce
emanations from him.
Siva's destruction of this demon is the first of the heroic deeds of Siva
in Tirumiilar's enumeration, but the story was never popular in the
South, and the priority Tirumular gives it might be a sign of Northern
influence. According to Dorai Rangaswamy, 'No sculpture of Andhak^ura
Sarnhara comes from the Tamil Country. N o r is there any description of
it in the Agamas.'^® It is, however, worthy of note that both the demons
Andhaka and Jalandhara are 'sons' of Siva. Virabhadra is likewise an
emanation from Siva. In the case of Ksetrapala, cited from the Unga
Parana in chapter 6 above, Siva takes the form of a baby boy in 'the
burning ground full of ghosts'. David Knipe has described a contemporary
Virabhadra cult in Andhra where dead boys are said to become
VTrabhadra, and to possess men.39 Despite the long time interval, this
litde-knowri cult suggests a parallel with perhaps all of these myths that
see Siva become or generate an angry boy.
K I R A T A , § I V A T H E M O U N T A I N E E R
There is a locjd connection for this story, for Tiruvetkalam, where the
university town of Annamalai now stands, some 3 km from the temple, is
believed to be the place where Siva gave the missile to Aijuna.
fJanacampantar and Appar sang of this place; the temple, recendy
renovated, is dedicated to Pasupatesvara and Nallanayakl. T h e shrine
has two fine images dug up nearby, a Pallava Kiratarjuna and a late C5ia
Parvatl.
As with Bhiksatana, there is a masking of Siva's true nature that at the
same time is not a masking, since he has zilways been a wild god of the
mountains. T o be noted is the contrast between the physicality of the
wrestling match, so well expressed in Hoysala sculpture, and the hieratic
purely formal representation of the Pasupata weapon. T h e absolute
power of Siva playfully finds muted expression in hand to hand conflict,
but the reality under the illusion is the Doomsday weapon.
T H E S L A Y E R OF D E A T H
Mainly restricted to the South and very popular there is the representation
of Siva as the slayer of Death (Death of Death, kalakdla, 176, 241). The Tsi
Mrkandu, offered by Siva the choice between one good son to die at 16
and many bad sons, chooses the one, whose devotion to Siva is such that
when Death comes at the appointed time Siva bursts forth from the liitga
and tramples on Death.
When once Markandeya was worshipping
the lihga of the Lord of the Silver mountain,
then Death, son of the Sun,
of dread visage, drew him with his nooses.
The Great Lord came from the middle of the lihga
to protect that sage.
Then God killed Death the Suppressor.
That eternal Lord of Dance,
praised by all kings.
Whose foot is curved,
I worship. (35)+^
22o'TheDance of ^iva
S O M A S K A N D A
These two verses are Umapati's most extensive reference to another holy
place, and reflect the importance of Tiruvariir, a Saiva temple scarcely
2f>.'4 77ie Dance of ^iva
This chapter conjoins three very different sets of figures. T h e saints and
dancing girls {devaddsT, or rudrakanya) both played significant roles within
the temple, and together constitute the major human presence within
the imagery of the temple. These two are discussed in relation to Siva's
attendants, the hosts, or g a r ^ - multiple goblin-like figures, who are in
turn discussed in relation to Apasmara.
About dancing girls Umapati has little to say, partly it may be
supposed because the centre of his attention was the dance of Siva; but
also it is likely that he felt no need for their presence within his poem.
Their activity of dancing and singing before Siva was in some sense a
rival activity to the writing of poetry to Siva. Like the saints, the
Nayanars, they were specialists in devotion. As Reiniche says, 'dancing
and singing are also acts of devotion, and the dancing girls of the Saiva
temple are, following the pattern {mode) of the Nayanmar, equally atiydr,
servants of the salvatory divinity'.'
SAINTS
207
22o 'The Dance of ^iva
S i v a |jla( u i ^ a w n - a t h o n C l a n c k s v a r a . B r h a d i s v a r a t f m p i c , G a n g a i k o n c l a c o h i p u r a n i ,
(. 1025.
Saints, dancing girls, 'gams' - and Apasmdra 209
other devotees of Siva.3 Their names are listed by Cuntarar in his 39th
hymn, the Tiruttontattokai ('the holy assembly of the devotees [of
Siva]'), and therefore belong to the eighth century or earlier, Cuntarar
himself being the latest and making the number up to sixty-three. Their
stories find full expression in the Periya Puranam of Cekkilar. In a short
poem entitled Cekki[ar Puranam Umapati gives an important account of
how Cekkilar came to write the Periya Puranam. It is also Umapati who
describes the discovery, and then the redaction, of the Tevaram, the
collected works of the three Nayanar poets, in his poem entitled
TirumuraiJumdapuramm. A fourth poet, or poet-philosopher, Tirumular, is
included in the list of Nayanars, though his writings seem considerably
later than the others.^ Manikkavacakar, who is often considered the
greatest Tamil poet, is not included in the list of the sixty-three
Nayanars, and is not mentioned by Cekkilar, though he is generally
dated around the ninth-tenth centuries, and is considered to be the
sixty-fourth Nayanar. There is in addition in the ranks of the Nayaoars
an important poetess, K a r a i k ^ Ammaiyar, who, however, though she
figures also in the general iconography of Nataraja, is not mentioned by
Umapati in his poem. T h e poetry of these poet-saints will be considered
in the finzil chapter.
Other than these great figures, the Nayanars are a varied collection of
historical and legendary people, whose claim to fame as devotees usually
consists in one startling and extravagant action of devotion. O f this
remainder, Candesvara is the most important, since he is the guardian of
every major Siva temple: in his charge are the keys, and his forgiveness is
sought for any errors in worship. From Coia times, property dedicated to
a Siva temple is made over to Candesvara. His iconography is modeUed
on that of a god in body and ornaments, though he has only two arms,
and is always in anjali, palms pressed together in devotion, his axe tucked
under one arm. The major expression of this figure in art is found on the
north-east wall of Rajendra's temple at Gangaikondacolapuram
{c. 1020-30), and similar statues modelled on this are found on thegopuras
at Cidambaram, the three earlier of which were completed around the
time of Umapati's birth.
This is how our poet gives the story.
H e w a s m e d i t a t i n g o n it
w h e n his w o r s h i p w a s i n t e r r u p t e d b y his f a t h e r .
22o 'The Dance of ^iva
h u n t e r . N e i t h e r s e e m i n g e n o r m i t y is o f a n y c o n s e q u e n c e i n t h e f a c e o f
love for Siva.
Another notable Nayanar, the second individual in the traditional list,
is lyaipakai, 'who never said no'. His name signifies 'Enemy of Nature',
and indeed that could be an epithet for several of the Nayanars.
This Nayanar receives only five verses from Cekkilar, and in the Periya
Puranam there is no reference to the appearance of Siva as an outcaste;
but the legend continued to develop, and is found, for example, in the
Agastyabhaktavilma, with the difference that it is Cuntarar (Sundara), not
Ganesa, who alerts the sacrificer to the true nature of the intruder. Siva
enters the sacrificial ground as a drunken Candala outcaste, a dead calf
212 The Dance of ^iva
o n his s h o u l d e r , a c c o m p a n i e d b y f o u r d o g s a n d P a r v a t T a n d his t w o s o n s ,
l i k e w i s e C a n d a l a s . P a r v a t l t o o is d r u n k , a n d o f f e r s t h e B r a h m a n s p r e s e n t
a drink f r o m the p o t o f alcohol she carries o n h e r h e a d . O n l y M a r a , w h o
h a d p r e v i o u s l y r e q u e s t e d t h e p r e s e n c e o f S i v a in a n y f o r m w h a t s o e v e r ,
d o e s n o t flee i n t h e f a c e o f t h i s i n t r u s i o n , a n d g i v e s t h e o b l a t i o n t o t h e
o u t c a s t e w h o is G o d .
S i x v e r s e s l a t e r , t h e V e d i c s t a t u s o f C i d a m b a r a m is m o s t p o w e r f u l l y
affirmed:
Because he has visited a prostitute, his wife refuses to touch him and he
too swears not to touch her. T h e y live without sexual contact for many
years. A t last, in their old age, Siva appears in the form of a wandering
yogin, king among yogins, to resolve the conflict. H e leaves a bowl in the
potter's safe-keeping, but when he returns it cannot be found. .To prove
that he has not stolen the bowl, the potter is asked by the yogin to
immerse himself in the tank, holding his wife's hand, and again affirm his
innocence. T h e potter's vow makes this impossible. T h e Siva yogin takes
him before the DTksitas, w h o declare that he must do as asked to prove
his innocence. Going back to his house, he does as asked, with the
expedient of a stick between his hiand and his wife's. When they come out
of the water, their youth has returned, and they are bathed in a shower of
flowers from heaven.
T h e initial fault of the husband becomes mere bad luck in the version
of the Hemasabhanatha Mahdtmya (which includes the stories of just two
Nayanars, NUakantha, and Nandana): he is returning from the temple at
night when there is heavy rain. He shelters outside a prostitute's house
when the maid throws betel juice water (from a spittoon?) out of the
window. Wet through, shaking his head, confused, he is seen by the
prostitute. Full of apologies, she has him thoroughly soaped and scented.
Thus sent home, his wife refuses to listen to his explanation.
Umapati is restrained in his references to doctrine and philosophy,
but one verse sets out the four categories of salvation according to Saiva
Siddhanta: sab/^am, sdmTpjam, sdmpyam, sdyujyam:
303, 304, 305, 312, 313 and two further verses), so that there is a clear
overall movement from the very highest significance of NaUiraja in the
Cit Sabha described in detail at the beginning, to the poet himself at the
end. T h e Nayanars come in the centre, and at the end, leading up to the
poet himself Most of the verses of the poem deal with worshippers of
Siva, Gods, heroes and sages for the most part from pan-Indian texts, in
seemingly random order. T h e positioning of the T a m i l saints is clearly
coherent. T h e y have a central place, for they have a central role in the
literature of Tamil Saivism, and a final place through linkage with the
humanity of the poet himself What seems to be the random logic of the
poem has, it transpires, structural significance. It is vital for the proper
appreciation of Sanskrit kai^a that detailed consideration be given to
such questions.
Finally, the poet himself may be contrasted with the Nayanars.
Cuntarar in his Ttmtlon^ttokai declares himself the servant of each of the
Nayanars, and says in verse 10 'I am the servant of all w h o serve as
bhakUs'] Umapati's perspective is quite different. T h e Nayaoars are just
one of the groups that as poet he marshals according to his whim, and all
of which are effectively on a level before Siva's upraised foot. In his
commentary to his ^ataratnasamgraha, Umapati calls himselfparamakdninika,
'supremely compassionate', in respect of his pupils.'^' Signally lacking in
the stories of the Nayanars is the traditional relationship of guru and
pupil, for that relationship is part of the natural order to which the saints
are inimical.
Miraculous events occur in the life of Umapati, most notably the fiery
Saktinipata, (descent of divine Grace) he gave to the wood-cutter Suta;
and when the king came to investigate SOta's demise, Umapati sent up a
bush in flames, to reveal a yogin within w h o had been waiting for release.
In verse 305 Umapati does not hesitate to mention his own magic powers
though he properly acknowledges Siva.
Sometimes even mistaken for KalT, her skeletal form is usually shown
seated cross-legged and shaking castanets; she is also shown, as at
Darasuram, walking on her hands up the Silver Mountain to see Siva,
22o 'The Dance of ^iva
D A N C I N G G I R L S A N D T H E GANAS
they begin to sing, dance, leap, tumble, and make different entertainments to
move the god and goddess to joy and to reconcile them, and thus they say as they
make entertainment, O Master, why are you vexed with the goddess and do not
care for her? Is she not beautiful, is she not pleasing? May you thus truly be
pleased to be reconciled together and take pleasure with her, for truly she is very
pleasant. And then she who has said so will lift her leg above her neck and will
spin round for the pleasure of the god and goddess.'^
All around the golden walls of His Hall
unparalleled heavenly nymphs
to please Him carry in their lotus hands
mirrors and all the eightfold auspicious objects
made of gold and precious stones,
and p)erform His worship.
(291)30
Umapati also refers to them as singing:
His stage filled with all the hosts of heavenly nymphs
moving hither and thither,
eager for singing the beginning
of the praising with the seven notes,
sa ri ga ma pa dha m
(252)
Umapati is speaking of dancing girls here, though he does not mention
dance as such. Gros remarks in his introduction to the Tevdram, 'The
musical and choreographic environment of the temple . . . has its
archetype in the troupes ofgana musicians and in the celestial dancers.'3'
But t h e ^ f l ^ are not only musicians but also dancers themselves. T h e y as
well as Siva are exemplars of masculine dance. In sculpture they no less
than the dancing girls form a corps de ballet.
Dhaky observes,
In gay gambolling parties these gana goblins are found in various, though
definite, situations in the fabric of sacred buildings. From weird and impish,
bizarre and demonic to peacefijl, serene, sublime, these dancing, music-making,
frolicking and fighting genii of Sambhu . .. frequendy are the liveliest creations
in the minor figural art of India from the fifth to the tenth centuries.3'
22o 'The Dance of ^iva
While in northern India the depiction ofganas or pramaihas decreased after the
eighth century - indeed they are rarely encountered after the tenth century - the
temple sculptors in Tamilnadu continued to carve them until at least the end of
the thirteenth century with undiminished vigor.33
Theologically, the ^ams, and more so their leaders, the ^o^-lords,
have a serious role to play, and Umapati states it:
He, independent,
creating the hosts of Rudras and ^ga^-lords
their excellent bodies deformed,
sent them forth to protect the world,
He Who is without end,
has always protected the world and the universe beyond;
Him, Who gives happiness to those who bow down to Him
(228)34
Dhaky describes them from the point of view of an art historian, an
Indological art historian:
In their kinds and functions these bhuta entities cover the entire range of Nature
and her inherent, as well as cohering forces. From the dark powers of the
underworlds, through the brown and green forces of the earth's skin {tvac), from
the transparent phantoms and spirits of the intermediate and astral regions to
the Shining Ones of the celestial quarters, every conceivable minor and major
force of the Dynamic Reality, in its apparent and p>enultimate functional
divisions, is represented by diva's trouf>e of elementals.35
As Umapati says in the verse quoted above, they are deformed, though
excellent in that deformity. T h e y are human in appearance, though
sometimes with animal heads. Short and round in shape, they are
pot-bellied and lacking necks. T h e y have two arms. T h e i r poses are often
contorted. Umapati mentions them as the companions of Nandin, under
whose direction they attend on ^iva.
Whereas in Pallava and Calukya art they tend to be adantides, at
ground level supporting the weight of temples, for the C5ias they float
upwards, and are often found high on walls and under eaves. Kramrisch
stresses their inherent lightness:
The inward realisation of lightness, weightlessness, non-existence of the physical
body in a state of concentration on the Supreme Spirit and on His manifestation,
the Word, and the hearing of its music are shown in the images of the Ganas
who, while resembling the shape of man, are unlike. Their bodies made of
breath move in the air.s^
In the story of the Nayanar Comacimarar mentioned above, Siva
bursts onto the sacrificial ground with his garias. These companions of
Siva are prominent in sculpture and mythology. Umapati mentions
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222 The Dance of ^iva
Narada and other skilled musicians, their hands adorned with vmd&,
stood stock-still, not singing, not knowing what to do.
A P A S M A R A
In discussing A p a s m a r a a s f o u n d in b r o n z e s c u l p t u r e , I s u g g e s t e d t h a t
he w a s originally merely a supporting figure, a m e r e pedestal, such as
supported a variety of other figures. One of the earliest of such
a p p e a r a n c e s w a s b e n e a t h s t a n d i n g w o m e n o n t h e M a t h u r a stiipa r a i l i n g ,
where crouching creatures indistinguishable from A p a s m a r a s are clearly
not being crushed by Siva.
The w o r d apasmara means not 'evil', b u t 'forgetfulness', a n d also
'epilepsy':
H e r e is t h e v e r s e , i n S h u l m a n ' s translation:
Foolish Muyalakan,
raging serp>ents,
demons swarming around
a sdnking skull,
howling ghosts,
a dger's skin,
goblins ignorant
of what is right,
richlyfloweringkortrai,
thick mJJcu blossoms,
the serpent with its great jewel
bound to your waist:
how wild
are your deeds,
great lord.
Master! We are afraid
to serve you^"
T h e r e f e r e n c e t o M u y a l a k a o is f a r f r o m e x p l i c i t . N o t e a l s o t h e t e r m s in
w h i c h S i v a ' s ^ f l ^ a r e r e f e r r e d to: ' h o w l i n g g h o s t s ' , ' g o b l i n s i g n o r a n t o f
w h a t is r i g h t ' .
226 The Dance of ^iva
M o r e s i g n i f i c a n t , p e r h a p s , is t h e o t h e r r e f e r e n c e i n t h e Tivaram t o
i^asmara:
more than a very special goblin or ghost, a goblin among goblins, the
artistry of the bronze elevates him to a position of superlative mastery
and balance. There is beneath Nataraja and subsumed within the
Natoraja bronze a whole subterranean world of human experience that
is omitted from the discourse of anandatandava.
CHAPTER 10
Last words
228
Last words 229
U M A P A T I ' S O R I G I N A L I T Y
Whatever is old cannot be deemed to be good [on account of its antiquity alone]
and whatever book comes forth today cannot be judged ill because of its
newness. Men pledged to seek good in everything will not mind the dust that
covere a beautiful gem but only appreciate its true worth. People of middle
calibre will investigate and welcome the beauty and antiquity of a work. Men
who have no capacity to judge of the faults, excellences and substantial work of a
production will praise it, if many admire it, and will in the same breath condemn
it on hearing others speak ill of it, because they have no opinion for themselves."
This is reminiscent of the well-known words of the Director in
Kalidasa's play Malavikagnimitra:
Not every old text is excellent
nor is every new fHjem to.be censured.
The wise make their selecdon
only after careful examination.
The mind of a fool
follows the opinion of others. {Malavik^imitra Prologue^
Umapati makes no claim for the originality of the Kuncitanghristava.
horses to Madurai, and Siva becomes a horseman and does so. The
horses brought by Siva turn into jackals. Manikkavacakar is severely
punished, and prays to Siva for help. Siva causes the river Vaikai to
flood. The king orders a barrage to be built to protect Madurai. Siva
enrols as a labourer, but fails tofillin his section of the barrage. The king,
enraged, strikes him on the back with his cane. Siva at last throws his
load of earth in its proper place in the barrage and disappears. The king,
his wives, his ministers, and the whole world besides all feel the blow on
their backs. A voice from heaven explains all that has happened and
Manikkavacakar departs for Cidambaram.7
Once in the past He sat at the fcx)t of a Kunda tree
and taught true knowledge
to Manikkavacakar whose words are rubies;
and He became the horseman.
Once He received a blow
from the golden staff shining in the hand of the king.
Then, satisfied by the songs he uttered,
filled as they are with sweet emotion,
He gave salvation to him.
He is the Lord, a friend to all.
(28)8
'Sweet emotion' - Pope remarked in 1900, 'These poems [of
M ^ i k k a v a c a k a r ] . . . are daily sung throughout the Tamil country with
tears of rapture, and committed to memory in every Saiva temple by the
people, amongst whom it is a traditional saying, that "he whose heart is
not melted by the Tiruvacakam must have a stone for a heart".'9
Umapati shordy afterwards refers to all four of the great Saiva poets,
whose connection with the Cidambaram temple today is demonstrated
by stucco statues in the entrance of each of the gopuras, each of the four
being supposed to have entered by one of the^o/>Mras- Campantar by the
South, Appar (Tirunavukkaracu, 'King of the Tongue') by the West,
Cuntarar by the North, and Manikkavacakar by the East. There is also a
shrine to the four poet-saints in the third enclosure.
Campantar, Cuntarar, blessed Manikkavacakar
whose words are rubies,
and he who is called the King of the Tongue,
with their own hymns of praise
rich in varied emotion won salvation;
all four praising Him, the Lord,
as present in their own respective places
though He is one, non-dual in form.
232 TTu Dance of $ioa
T h e great difference between the TamU verse and the Sanskrit is the
constant personal note in the former. According to T a m i l tradition, $iva
is supposed to say of the Tevaram poets, ' M y A p p a r sung of myself,
Campantar sung of himself, Cuntarar sung of women.' This brings out
the marked differences between the three, but from the Sansb-it
perspective all three sing insistendy of themselves, in addition to singing
of Siva. Yet, just as the two typical Tevaram T a m i l verses quoted here end
on a personal note, so too does Umapati's poem. Sanskrit poets often
include a personal statement to round off their work, but in the final
verses of the Kimcitanghristava, Umapati reproduces something of the
fervour of the Tevaram, a note made stronger by its oscillation between
personal and impersonal.
T H E C O N C L U S I O N OF T H E KUflCITAftGHRISTAVA
constantly b u m up' {daham daham) the three bonds; they 'utter, constantly
utter' (japamjapam) His mantra. Verse 309, impersonal in that it refers to
the three great devotees of C i d a m b a r a m , Patafljali, V y ^ h r a p a d a and
Jaimini. T h e y 'are aware, constantly aware' [bodham bodham) of His
dance; they 'meditate, constandy meditate' {dhy^am dhyc^ar^ on H i m in
the lotus of their hearts; they 'carry, constantly carry' His foot in their
thoughts. These two verses begin each line with emphatic forms of
virtually all the key religious verbs. T h e next two verses are in a similar
vein, probably referring again to the DUcsitas and Umapati as one of
their number. Verse 312 is entirely personal: 'Bowing, constantly bowing
to the compassionate Lord of Dancers I obtained a good wife and a
handsome son.' So too is the final verse.
Siva's foot plays a large part in the conclusion. In verse 300, human
beings regret not worshipping Siva's holy feet; not until verse 303 does he
speak solely of himself in relation to the divine feet. Personal statements
oscillate for a while with verses about the devotion of others. In verse 311
devout Saivas end by mingling with Siva's foot. In verse 313 Umapati
declares that he continually drank in the wine of the lotus of Siva's foot in
the assembly; and as an afterword he declares that those who read his
verses will uldmately.attain the holy foot, the foot that has been present
throughout in the poem's refrain.
But let us return to rasa.
His wide eyes are bees
agitated by the river of sweet rasa -
the wine of love - coming from the mountains
that are the jutting breasts - golden pots -
of Gauri ever ready to play.
(•49)'®
T h e Tamil poets produce rasa\ Siva drinks rasa from ParvatT, the 'Golden
yellow lady' (Gauri). He is himself the first rasa, that is to say, smgdra, the
erotic rasa -
U M A P A T I C O N T R A S T E D W I T H § A I V A M O N I S M
F o r A b h i n a v a g u p t a h e r e t h e e s s e n t i a l a s p e c t o f w o r s h i p is a r e n d e r i n g
b a c k to Siva o f t h e e s s e n c e (rasa) t h a t f l o w s f r o m all t h i n g s . E x t r a c t i n g this
b l i s s f u l c o n c e n t r a t e f r o m r e a l i t y , o n e o f f e r s it b a c k t o t h e h i g h e s t a b o d e as
the o n l y truly w o r t h w h i l e gift that c a n b e o f f e r e d to Siva a n d the G o d d e s s .
D e s p i t e his f r e q u e n t p r a i s e o f t h e V e d a n t a , U m a p a t i ' s Siddhanta
p o s i d o n is f a r r e m o v e d f r o m t h e m o n i s m o f A b h i n a v a g u p t a , e v e n if his
s e v e r a l r e f e r e n c e s t o d r i n k i n g w i n e - ' D r i n k i n g , c o n s t a n d y d r i n k i n g tlie
w i n e o f H i s L o t u s f e e t in t h e S a b h a ' , in t h e final v e r s e o f t h e p o e m - h a v e
an almost K a s h m i r i a n ring. But these w o r d s o f the N o r t h e r n master, o f
w h o m U m a p a t i c o m e s not a million miles f r o m being a Southern
c o u n t e r p a r t , serve to point u p t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n the t w o views. F o r
U m a p a t i t h e p o e t , t h e t e m p l e is t h e e s s e n c e o f t h e t r i p l e u n i v e r s e , t h e
t e m p l e is t h e u n i v e r s e . T h e p a r a p h e n a l i a o f t h e t e m p l e a r e in t h e m s e l v e s
a multitude o f existing things.
a n d with ash, w i t h f a n ,
with excellent w h i t e u m b r e l l a
and chowry; with mirror,
with flowers sanctified w i t h m a n t r a s ;
with the c a m p h o r - t o p p e d l a m p .
Q u i c k l y they a b a n d o n i g n o r a n c e
a n d see H i m clearly e v e r y d a y .
H i m W h o s e foot is c u r v e d
I worship. (aO'^
A n d t h e d o m i n a n t rasa i n t h e t e m p l e is s h e e r m a t e r i a l l i q u i d :
Six times a d a y
every day
the lordly sages free f r o m sin
worship His lihga
with the five p r o d u c t s o f the c o w ;
with oil;
with milk, w i t h c u r d s , a n d w i t h g h e e ,
with h o n e y a n d p u r e s u g a r - t h e fivefold ambrosia;
with sweet lime j u i c e ;
with the w a t e r o f t e n d e r c o c o n u t ;
with b o i l e d rice;
with f r a g r a n c e s ,
with the w a t e r s o f the o t h e r G a f i g a , the ^ i v a g a A g a tank.
H e is the L o r d , the U n b o r n .
H i m W h o s e f o o t is c u r v e d
I worship.
Listening, c o n s t a n d y listening
with full attention to H i s p u r e d e e d s ,
drinking, c o n s t a n d y d r i n k i n g w i t h m y t o n g u e
the w i n e o f H i s lotus feet in the S a b h a ,
seeing, c o n s t a n d y s e e i n g
H i m W h o is the c u l m i n a t i o n o f t h e V e d a s ,
W h o , b e i n g pleased is the g i v e r o f e n j o y m e n t a n d s a l v a d o n ,
T h o s e mortals w h o r e a d e v e r y d a y
this h y m n , the p r o d u c t o f m y e l o q u e n c e ,
I who am Umapati,
in praise o f ^ a m b h u
W h o p e r f o r m s the D a n c e o f s u p r e m e bliss in the H a l l o f C o n s c i o u s n e s s ,
will first w i n all t h e y desire in this w o r l d ,
son, wife, a n d so o n ,
a n d at the e n d f o r sure
His foot, the state called p u r e consciousness.'®
I, U m a p a t i b y n a m e ,
in the forest-dwelling stage o f life,
w h e n I'd uttered
this royal h y m n o f praise o f the blessed c u r v e d foot
in three h u n d r e d a n d thirteen verses,
s a w w i t h m y v e r y o w n eyes
the D a n c e o f the L o r d o f the HaU.'7
Notes
I N T R O D U C T I O N
1 More accurately, 'The fierce dance {tandava) [modified to become the dance]
of bliss {ananddf.
2 A. K. Coomaraswamy, The Dance of $iva (New York: The Noonday Press,
'957). PP- 77^- This citation omits the final sentence, which is given at the
beginning of the final chapter of this book, p. 228.
3 Fritjof Capra, The Too of Hiysics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modem
Physics and Eastern Mysticism (London: Fontana, 1976), pp. 258^
4 D. H. H. Ingalls, An Anthology of Sanskrit Court Poetry, Harvard Oriental Series
vol. 44 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1965), p. 69.
5 Beryl de Zoete, The Other Mind (London: Victor Gollancz, 1953), p. 44.
6 This is discussed at the close of chapter 9, p. 226f.
7 J^fya Nostra 8.53. A photograph of a dancer's foot in this p>osition is given in
Shveni Pandya, A Study of the Technique ofAbhinaya in Relation to Sanskrit Drama
(Bombay: Somaiya Publications, 1988), p. 35. Every bronze of Natoraja shows
the raised foot in this position.
8 'With his pupils he dwelt in the monastery built by the Cola called Vira in the
beautiful grove called Rajendrapuri that is splendid on the outskirts of
Cidambaram' [Rqendrapura Mahatmya 14).
9 Hermann Kulke, Cidambaramahatmya: Eine Untersuchungder religionsgeschichtlichen
und historischen Hintergriinde JUr die Entstehung der Tradition einer siidindischen
Tempelstadt, Freiburger Beitrage zur Indologie, vol. 3 (Wiesbaden: Otto
Harrassowitz, 1970).
I THE N A T A R A J A B R O N Z E
240
Notes to pages g8-ioi 241
23 rapesam bof^ai^aprarniMaganavaroddaiuladorb^avaiya-
kjvTodvegahatodyadghatadhimidhimitaksabdabha^ /
tanatanataneti hamtadasasaRtaTitrimnanugano-
rmododgrwahibhusavalqyam abfu^adam kuncitahghrirn bhtge'ham //iy>//
24 sahasrahwavaktraprabhavagurumarutptrahttr^urnbhabharnbh^
jhan^hVcrccharnkhasmgapramukhavaramd^ /
drshja hahahaheti bhramitasuragOTidbhTtisanul^parsad-
lyapte rangeya tso natnti tarn anagharn kuncitanghrirn bhaje'ham //151//
Line b. Bhanukopa. Both the Sanskrit text and the Tamil translation
(Panuk5pan) have this, but surely Bhanukampa is in question here, and I
give his name in my translation.
25 They are mentioned in .the Cidambaramahatmya (17.22-6), K^l Purariam
{Nataraja section, 6-7) and in the Cidambaresvaranifyapigasutra they are
included in the list of servants of the dance {nrttasevaka), p. 98.
26 Citrasena, son of VisVavasu, taught Aijuna music {Mahabharata, Vana Pawan).
27 T. Satyamurti, The Nataraja Temple: HisUny, Art and Architecture (New Delhi:
Classical Publications, 1978), p. 18. Siva is rarely shown in this way. An early
and perhaps unique instance of Daksin^iirti as a drummer is found on the
Pandyan rock-cut temple at Kalugumalai - illustrated in C. Sivaramamurti,
Kalugumalai and Early Pandyan Rock-Cut Shrines, Heritage of Indian Art Series,
no. 3 (Bombay: N. M. Tripathi Private Ltd, 1961), p. 5.
Parvati is here called Candika, 'the Fierce Lady', a name often given to
Durga, slayer of the buffalo demon. P. Z. Pattabiramin summarizes M. R.
Dessigane's French translation of'the Tamil treatise? ivaparakkraman\ p. 162
('Notes d'iconographie dravidienne', Arts AsiaHqius VI (1959), pp. 13-16):
On Mount Kailasa Siva was seated with his wife Uma, amid his court, on a
splendid throne. Gods and fcis came to pay their respects and to receive
blessing. When Bhrtgi's turn came, he approached the throne of the Lord
and revered only Siva, without paying attention to Uma. Angered, she asked
her husband who the rn wzis. Siva said to her, 'My dear, it is a devotee who
firmly believes that I am all and that everything depends on me. His name is
Bhriigi.' Then Uma decided to repress the arrogance of Bhrtgi. She
withdrew from his body all the elements pertaining to vitality or energy
{sakti)-. blood, flesh etc. The rH began to sway without being able to hold
himself upright, having in his body only bones and nerves, the elements
f)crtaining to Siva. At this moment, Siva, in his compassion, gave him
another leg. Uma is led to demand that she and Siva share one and the same
body. [My translation from the French.]
35 R. Venkataraman, Rajaryesvaram: The Pinnacle of Chola Art Mudgala
Trust, 1985), p. 157.
36 For some details, see Anne-Marie Gaston, $iva in Dance, Myth and Iconography
(Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1982), p. 131.
37 Always present in paintings of Siva dancing in Cidambaram are the two
sages, Vyaghrapada and Patafljali, and sometimes a third, Jaimini. These
three belong to the local tradition, and are discussed in chapter 2.
38 kalya sakam pura yah suramunisadasi svahghrim udyamya cordhvam
nrttam krtvatha kdltrn pasupatir qjayat tadbahiskarapurvam /
sarve deva munindrah prabhur iti ca vadanfy urdhvanrtUsamurtim
yarn devam pUjayanti pratidinam anaghah kuncitahghriTn bhqje'ham 7/46//
Notes to pages g8-ioi 245
7 Both are now substantial temples, having been extensively renovated. The
temple on the site of Patafijali's dsrama bears the oldest inscriptions in
Cidambaram (Vijayalaya, 870; Parantaka 907-57); see S. R. Balasubrah-
manyam, 'The Oldest Chidambaram Inscriptions', Journal of Annamalai
University XI1/2&3 (1943).
246 NoUs to pages 33-8
Line a. Read pu^abhe for ta^a bhe, which makes no sense. Umapati refers
to CidambaramaMtmya i5.56-58a: pumime^am pausamase 'mrtayi^ima sarr^U
//56// vare cagaurave tatra pus^arkse ca subhavahe / dinaya madhyamam bkagam
samprapte ca divakare /I'^'jlI toTidavam darsayiyami tapa tayapyamttamam/.
Line b. bhittau 'against the wall'. For discussion, see chapter 4.
13 The Cidambara Mahatmya says that he has the form of a lion, simharupadhara
(20.36). The Hemasabhanatha MMtmya calls him citrin (7.35), perhaps in the
sense of being motded. The appendix to the TilvaoamMahatmyas\xmm2inz\vig
the sthalapuTona says plainly that Sirnhavarman had leprosy (kustha).
14 amndye^ apy ananlew anitarasulabhdn bhimasamsthdn vidhin
apy ahrtya snphamndro nalayajanamahaproksandrlhan ca sutram /
Ttvadau dattavanyat taduditavidhind yam saddradhayanti
traisahasram dvijendrdh lam api natapatim kuncitdhghrim bhaje'ham //14//
Line a. anitarasulabhm: literally, '[precepts] which no one else could easily
find'. But Umapati would hardly suggest any lack of authenticity in the
temple ritual text, and the looseness of his style makes likely the adverbial
turn of my translation, 'in a way that none could emulate'.
15 adauyah^ karmakdridapravacanamahima jaiminir ndmayo^
yy^oktya citsabhesam prabhuvaram urasa narr^a gatva sabhantah /
padante vedayuktarn stavavaram akarot svasaubhagyadarn yam
pafyann adyapi devarn sadasi vasati tarn kuncilahghrirn bhaje'ham //12//
Notes to pages g8-ioi 247
These people are Saivas, and there is no reason to suppose that they were
not so when brought in by the Vaisnava king. The presumption is that the
Diksitas resisted his reforms, and were for a time ousted. Under such
circumstances, it is only to be expected that the Sesasayana image would
have its feet towards Natoraja. There is evidence of Diksita resistance to a
Vaisnava king at the end of the sixteenth century. The Jesuit Pimenta
reports in 1597 a score of priests leaping to their deaths from the top of a
gppura rather than see Krishnappa Nayaka improve the Visnu shrine
(Samuel Purchas, Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas His PUgrinus, vol. x (Glasgow:
James MacLehose, 1905), pp. 2o8f).
29 K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, The Colas, 2 vols., Madras University Historical
Series (University of Madras, 2nd edn., 1955), vol. I, p. 348. In addition to
inscriptions Sastri also notes the evidence of the Tamil court poetry of
Ottakkutton, the Kuldttuhgacolan Ula, and also the RqarqacoUm Uta and the
Takkayagapparam.
O f these, eight are the World-protectors, from Indra toTsana {tridr^. But w h y
the mention of Aruna?
14 T h e r e is one place at ground level from which all (ourg(^uras are visible from
within the temple. This jxjint is outside the entrance to the ^ivakamasundari
shrine.
15 Harle, Temple Gates in South India, p. 86.
16 An impKjrtant gppura in considering the development of form is the one
added to the Sembiyan Mahadevi Vriddhagirisvara temple at Vriddhachalam
around 1186 (see K . V . Raman, 'Gopura Sculptures from Vriddhagirisvara
Temple', in ^rvtidhih: Shri K. R. Srinivsan Festschrift ed. K . V . Raman et al.
(Madras: New Era Publications, 1983), pp. 203-12). But in fact its single and
miscellaneous tier throws into greater relief the majestic Saiva statement of
the second tiers at Cidambaram.
17 As Harle, Temple Gatew(^s, p. 21, and Susan L. Huntington, The Art ofAncient
India (New York /Tokyo: VVeatherhill, 1985), p. 531, both note. Harle, in his
The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent (Harmondsworth: Penguin,
1986), refers also to textual prescriptions: 'Prescriptions in the sastras for the
construction of multi-storey 5o/»ar(2s, moreover, appear to be litde more than
mechanical transp>ositions of those for vimanas,.' (p. 320).
18 Harle notes minor variations of position, Temple Gateways, p. 90.
19 'At first glance, the great gopuras would seem to have been purposely placed
in such a way as to avoid any symmetry whatsoever.' Harle, Temple Gateways,
P- 35-
20 Cidambara Mahatmya, 18.82-6.
250 Notes to pages 54-60
21 K^l Puranam, Nataracaccamkmi 50, trans. John Loud. Both paritam and kuti
resemble the goM, being dwarfish, malfonned, and multiple.
22 In the K^l Puranam KaE is mentioned again three verses later.
23 G. Vanmikanathan, Pathway to God through the Thtntvaachakam, Sri Kasi Mutt
Publication New Series, no. 4 (Thiruppanandal: Sri Kasi Mutt, 1980), p. 114.
24 The five sheaths are mentioned again in verse 105, but in another context.
See p. 92.
25 F. L'Hemault points out that the Nitta Sabha was not originally a Sabha,
since architectural features prove that it was not designed for a Sabha-type
roof, the roof being the defining feature (L'Hemault et ai, Darasuram., vol. i,
p. 6. fn. 17).
26 For an instructive comparison of this Sabha with the ratha-maiulapa at
Darasuram, see ibid., p)p. 6f.
27 Somasetu Diksita in the Sanskrit introduction to his edition of the
Citsabhesotsavasitra lists the five principal shrines as i. Nauraja, 2.
^ivakamyum^bika, 3. ^rimulanatha, 4. Mahaganapati, 5. Subrahmanya,
called the ^riPandyanayaka (p. 3 of unpaginated sequence).
worshipping the lihga and are even seen dancing and making hudukkara noise
[the noise Pasupatas were supposed to make] while worshipping in temples,
a strange survival of the Pasupata customs' {Elements of Hindu Iconography
(Madras: Law Printing House, 1914-16), vol. 11, Part i,. pp. 3if.).
33 sabde sastre phanindraih pramitibhaniHm snkanadaksapadair
vedante vyasarupair jindmsutahrtau bhattakaumaratulyaih /
kalpe bodh^anais tais mttim vidhisamcdh pirate yo mmindrtdh
traisahasra^ sabh^am tarn api guruvaram kufidimghrim bfuge'ham //8g//
34 si^anam vedabahyasthitim adhyusatam bodhanartham pathantas
cajy^(^anghTibhedaprakatitavibhavan kamikddyagamam tan /
bhudeva v^ap^akratugatan^atiproddhrtoddamasukla-
cchatrayam pijayanti srutipathavidhina kuncitafighrim bhaje'ham //107//
35
bkaganam, Citsabhesotsavasutra, p. 88.
36 samadhttmakalavedataipojyavabodhasuvaakrtdi^asambhavandm. Ibid.
37 Jbid.
38 Verse 4 of the Kuncitdhghristava mentions this symbolism; see below, chapter
4, P- 93-
39 kalpe kalpe sva)ayaprabhavalayabhayam tyaktum adye parardhe
vedayam kdlakdlam bahuvidhatapasa tosayitva yadukfya /
traisdhasram dvijatvam divisadasulabham labdhavantah kramena
nityamyam pijayanti svasaraniuidhina kuncitdnghrim bhaje'ham //176//
40 yesam vedoktakarmasv anadhikrtir abhud adrijatd prthityam
tesam dharmadim aptyai parasivaracitam kamikddiprabhedam /
sahgam siddhantatantraprakaram api catussastisanMyah kalas ca
ya^adesat prakasam tv anayad aganutarn kuncitanghrim bhaje'ham //146//
For discussion of the rest of this verse, see chapter 5, p. 118.
At present two flags fly from the South Cidambaram gopvra throughout
the year. Perhaps in the past twoflagswere raised from each of the^/wras for
festivals? The Festival text describes the worshipping of a flag {dhvqja) and a
banner (patakd) in each of the eight directions (pp. 119-22).
68 ya^adye saptavimaty amaladinamahe ipigagiya nava yur
maghe panca rtvigagiya m^asirasi sivarksotsave caika eva /
nityarcasv eka ekoyajanakrta inu yajvava^em suddhah
tam devam citsab/usam nirupamitatamm huncitahghrim bfuge'ham I /
Line b. June-July, ma^. Tamil, am.
Line c. February-March, mrgasirasi. Tamil, mad.
Line c. December-January, sivarksa. Tamil, markali.
69 adau hrtvoffoJiotram vapanapavanamantracamanani pascal
kusmarjdair dehasitddhim padayajanamukham vdstupaiyagnikarma /
nm£ misvairdcurma prattsaram rsabhaproksanam yanmahew apy
otM arohayanti dhvajapalam anaghah kurkitanghrim bhqje'ham 7/25//
acammani, incorrectly for dcamanani, to fit the metre.
70 Citsabhesotsavasutra, p. i. _
71 yad deva devahedanam etc. (l^.S. 20.14-16; TaitA.W.'^.i).
72 Somasetu Diksita, in the Tamil introduction to his edition of the
Citsabhesotsavasutra, pp. 4f.
73 SeeJanjiki, 'Dhvaja-stambha', pp. i34f.
74 mamce candrarkabhutew api vrsagajaradryatadriw aihasve
sorridskandasvaTupah svayam umnayane gorathe mdrgano yah /
slhitvd brahmotsavem tri^ ca natapatih pratyaham vTthiyatram
krtva snatva sodas svam pravisati sivaya kuncitanghrim bhaje'ham 7/26//
Line b. umnayane 'its eyes open wide'. Note that the Festival Ritual text, the
Citsabhesotsavasutra, refers to the of>eningof the eye {unmtlana) of Bhiksauna's
chariot, p. 214.
75 The guardian of the temple or, more particularly, the guardian of the
functioning of the temple, who is found in all South Indian Siva temples.
The role of Candesvara is clearly set out by Davis: 'Like Siva's own power of
reabsorption, the fierce Canda removes and absorbs a host of things: the
afflictions of his devotees, mistakes made in worshipping Siva, and Siva's
too-pure leftovers.' R. Davis, Ritual in an Oscillating Universe (Princeton
University Press, 1991), p. 157. The Hymn to the Deities of the Nataraja
Temple, the Devatastotra, says that it is by Candesvara's grace that worship of
Siva bears fruit (verse 120, PatargalipHjasiilra, p. 213). For Candesvara as a
Nayanar, see chapter 9, p. 209f.
4 t h e h a l l o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s , t h e h e a r t o f t h e u n i v e r s e
Ancient and Modem (New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
/Abhinav Publications, 1991), pp. 268-80, p. 268. And SteUa Kramrisch,
'the edifice of the temple . . . is a reiteration in its own terms, a
re-construction of the all-filling akasa and of the waves of the flood prior to
creation', 'Space in Indian Cosmogony and in Architecture', ibid., pp. 101-4,
p. 103.
23 The opening verse of the poem is an obvious choice, stating as it does that
Siva dances in the heart of the world; the second verse is this:
By the grace of His Sakti
great Adisew incarnated on earth
as the lord of yogis
to remove from embodied selves
the extensive sin
in mind, speech and body
and to tell them how to worship Him
according to the correct procedures.
As Pataftjali he wrote those books named after him
on yoga, grammar, medicine and ritual.
Him Whose foot is curved
I worship.
sakterya^a prasadad adhuUiaram mahan adisesavataro
yo^ndro dehabhajam agham atiuipulam dttavakk^asamslham /
dunkartum cayastumyam akrlakapatha yogasabdausadkarca-
granthan patafgalakhyan svayam api krtavan Imndlahghrim bhtge'ham / /278//
24 There are all told more than fifty verses which refer to the Cit Sabha,
distributed throughout the poem, though with a large gap between verses
159 and 219. Siva is often referred to as Citsabhesa, 'Lord of the Cit Sabha'.
25 yasminn amulapT^vadhikanakaalamatrkdvaTimklpu
brahniasTviatharudrehmasaramtMiabhahambasadakhy /
bhutaih sastrais ca vedaih stutabahucariUm stambharupais ca hufye
nrtyanUm citsabhesam niravadhisukhadam kunciidhghrim bhaje'ham //s//
26 'akdrddyekapaTkasadvamamukhasaw(mantrasvarupddhist^^ Citsabhesvarotsvasutra,
p. 86.
27 V. Sudanthiran analyses the adhis^na of the gopuras and the shrines of
Cidambaram; the Nrtta Sabha seems to be the oldest {'Adhis^anas of the
various structures of the Natoraja Temple at Chidambaram', Tamil
Civilization, 6/1-2, 1988, pp. 53-70); however, more detailed analysis of
Cidambaram and other temples is necessary before any firm conclusions can
be reached as to date.
28 srs^iai brahmanam adau harim athajagatdm raksan^dtmampah
samhrtyai TudTomurtim tv atha nikhilalirodhanahelor mahesam /
tallokmugrahdrtham himagiTitanayasaklasaddkhyamiirtim
yah srsbjanandanrttam sadasi vitanuU kuncitahghrim bhaje'ham //102//
Notes to pages g8-ioi 259
Umapati always refers to Sadaiiva as Sadakhya. This veree was also cited in
chapter i, p. 18.
29 andhahkose vidhata garudavararathah pranakose ca rudras
cetahkose mahesas tadam ca varamjmnakose sadakhyah /
anandabhikhyakose lasati ca satatamya^a sambhor mdesat
tarn devam rqar^esvaravaTasuhrdam kuncitanghrim bfuge'ham //105//
Line b. Sadakhya: here Sadakhya for the metre.
30 The relation of these thrones to the actual building is not apparent. The
clearest exposition is that provided by Ramalinga Dikshitar ('Study of
Chidambaram'), but he is at times at odds with his one cited source, the
Tilvavana MaJiatmya, which itself is by no means clear. On occasion, even
where the Sanskrit is clear, as in the case of Rudra's five pillars, Ramalinga
Dikshitar differs, here assigning the pillars to Visnu's piiAa. Somasekhara
Dikshitendra, in his description of shrines in The HisUny of Chidambaram, ed.
Somasethu Dikshitar, p. 42, assigns them to Rudra. Another order of
complication is that the Tilvavana Mahatyma locates Brahma's throne {asana)
in the Cit Sabha, comprised of the twenty-eight pillars that are the Agamas
(5.52), and also in the Kanaka Sabha {brahmasarutmaym vedirn) (7.31)
comprised of the eighteen Puranas. The Festival Ritual text mentions the
sets of pillars without associating them with particular forms of Siva (p. 86).
31 yatsar^atpiavabhage disi disi vilasaipQrvabhaga nitantarn
svantarg^hottararmah sivamukhabhavarm cagamah kamikadyah /
astavirruarmsarnkf^a dhrtakanakamayastarhbhari^ah stuvanti
stutyarn tarn nrttamiirtirn srudsatavinutarn kuncitanghrim bhqje'ham 11\l I
32 The mutual relations of these two types of revealed texts will be considered
in the following chapter. Natoraja being praised by sruii is also mentioned in
verses 67 and 78. In verse 36 Siva is said to have created Brahma and then to
have given him the whole collection of smti {srutigariam akhiUm).
33 yadgosthyarn dvarabahye rcgatagirinibharn paOcavarriasvariiparn
sopanarn dvarabhagani jayavijayamukhai rakatarn dvarapalaih /
lattvanarn sanrMvatya saha vidhimukharah parkadevas ca nityam
ya^antar bhanti tasminn aviratanatanam kuncitanghrim bhaje'ham I f^/f
34 For Appar, see R. Nagaswamy, $iva-Bhakti (New Delhi: Navrang, 1989), p.
94. Tirumular refers to the 96 lattvas several times (154, 1155, 2027, 2146,
2438). The most commonly cited source of information on these tattva& is the
Tattuva-k-kattalai, trans, by Henry R. Hoisington, 'Tattuva-kat^ld. A Synopsis
of the Mystical Philosophy of the Hindus', {Journal of the American Oriental
Society I, 1853-4, pp. 3-30) but the list given in the Tilvavana Mahatmya,
5.35-51 differs considerably.
35 Meruuvi^tUtu, trans. T. N. Ramachandran, 'Menju Vidu Thoothu (Message
through the Heart)', $aiva Siddhanta, XI/3 and 4 (1976), pp. 101-6; 131-5,
p. 132.
26O ^OUS to pages 94-S
48 Cf. Ramzdinga Dikshitar, 'A Study of Chidambaram and its Shrine', p. 72.
49 Rao, Hindu Iconography, 2.1, p. 233.
50 Coomaraswamy, The Dance of Siva, p. 68 and p. 70.
51 M. A. Dorai Rangaswamy, The Religion and Philosophy of Tevaram, 4 vols
(University of Madras, 1958), vol. i, pp. 493^.
52 Shulman, Songs of the Harsh Devotee, pp. 532f.
53 Trans. Shulman, ibid., p. 536.
54 Trans. Natarajan (slighdy altered).
55 There is a variety of f)0ssibilities. 'The Saivagamas state that Siva danced in
a hundred and eight modes but content themselves with the description of
nine modes only as it is very difficult to describe ail' (Rao, Hindu Iconography,
vol. n/i, p. 224). The Agamas Rao refers to distingfuish first the standard
form of Nataraja in the Ananda Tandava. The second, third, and fourth are
variations of this. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth are varieties of
Urdhvatanc^va, where Siva has his right leg raised vertically. The ninth has
both feet on the ground. The Vyaghrapura Mahdtmya (17.70-2) mentions nine
dances, as Ramalinga Dikshitar notes ('A Study of Chidambaram and its
Shrine', p. 130), but they are all said to be performed in Svetaranyam
(Tiruvengadu); the same Mahdtmya also mentions Cidambaram as one of
nine sites of Siva's dance (17.73-5). ^^^^ Tandavas of Svetaranya are
shown in modern paintings in the temple's Nava-tandava maridapa. A
different nine are sculpted in stone in the Uttarapatisvaram temple,
Tichchengattangudi (S. R. Balasubrahmanyam, Middle Chola Temples:
Ri^cga I to Kulotbmga I (Faridabad: Thomson Press (India) Limited, 1975), p. loi).
Mention should also be made of the Saundaiyalahan, verse 41, where Siva's
tdridava is said to be the embodiment of the nine rasas,. This famous poem
attributed to Sai^kara is discussed in relation to the Kuficitahghristava in
chapter 8; see also chapter 6.
262 to pages 102-3
38 ^Utratnasamgraha, p. 339.
39 Parthavana Mahatmya, 113-15.
40 The actions said to have been peiformed by Umapati are the province of an
Acaiya, not a sadhaka, the latter not being able to confer diksd.
41 For a full discussion of this claim, see H. Brunner, 'Le §aiva-siddhantam
"Essence" du Veda', IndoU^a Taurinensia 8 (1980-1), pp. 51-66.
42 MatahgaparanusDara Vrtti, p. i; but see also Sanderson, 'Meaning in Tantric
Ritual', unpublished essay, p. 23. An instance of the strength of opposition to
the Vedas among some Siddhantins is Aghora Sivacarya's claim in his Dtpika
to Bhana Narayanakantha's Vrtti on the Mrgendra Agama ad ii.u, that the
Vedas had an author, namely Hiranyagarbha, and further an author who,
as Prajapati/Brahma, was not omniscient. Claims for Vedic credibility were
not of course limited to Saivas. Thus the Bhdgavata Purdna declares itself to be
'equal to the spiritual essence of the Vedas' {brahmasammitam, 1.3.40; 2.1.8;
2.8.28), the 'quintessence extracted from all the Vedas and the epics'
{sarvavedetihdsdnam saram sdram samuddhrtam, 1.3.42), 'the essence of the
Upanisads' {saTvavedantasaram, 12.13.12, 15).
43 The verse is quoted and translated by Nzdlaswami Pillai, ^ivajfidna Siddk^dr,
p. li. The attribution to Umapati is mentioned b y j . Jaswant Raj, Grace in the
$aiva Siddkdntam and in St. Paul (Madras: South Indian Salesian Society, 1989),
p. 497, citing the anthology Sivanencchejiyut tirattu edited by P. Ramanatha
Pillai (Kalagam, 1969), p. 4; Jaswant Raj points out the pun on vem^,
butter.
44 Civandm Cittiydr 3.11.13, trans.J. M. Nallaswami Pillai, SivajOdna Sid/dh^ar, p. 229.
45 On the term iraivamul, 'revelations of God', see S. Arulsami, $mmsm: A
Perspective of Grace (New Delhi: Sterling, 1987), p. 15 and p. 152.
46 'Catvdro'pi vedd atha srotordpd eva\ $ataratnasamgraha, p. 31
47 Ibid., p. 29.
48 Ibid., p. 33.
49 Pauskaragama {Jnanapada) with the Bha^a of Umapati Sivacarya, ed.
Ambalavana Navalar (Cidambaram, 1925), p. 10. In verse 177 Umapati
refers to an important Saiva philosopher, Haradatta, who took a position
similar to that of NilakanAa on the Vedic authenticity of Saivism.
Haradatta's date is uncertain. Umapati quotes from Haradatta's $rutisukbmdld
in the Pauskarabhd^a. In the Kuncitdhgkristava Umapati does not mention
Haradatta's name, referring only to his demonstration of his faith in Siva by
sitting on a red-hot plate, while at the same time 'explaining that Supreme
Siva is made known in the Upanisads' {smtyantavedyarn sivam api paramam
bodhayan svdm ca bhQtim). It was in this uncomfortable postion that he is said to
have composed his ^rutisiktimdld] see. S. Swaminathan, 'Haradattar', ^iva
Siddhanta vol. xv, 1980, pp. 17-25, p. 18. S. S. Suryanarayana Sastri lists
'doctrinal affinities' between Srikan^a's Bhd^a and Haradatta's SrudsUktimdld
(The $ivddvaita of ^nkari^a (University of Madras, 1972, first published 1930),
pp. 285f.).
50 Pauskarabha^a, p. 10.
266 MtUs to pages 117-19
In verse 146 the ahgas, pertain to the Vedas; and the sense is probably 'the
Siddhanta as well as the Vedas with their constituent parts',
5 3 sadyojatadimanam vadanajalabhuvam pancakMyaya jatan
mantram traibfyava^apramukhavaramahasiddhidan saptakoSn /
srutva gaunyadukfya jagadupak^ye saprayo^ sakalpan
tan lokan amn^a svqyam atulakrtim kundtdhghrim bhcge'ham //t.^^//
57 Vrtti on the first sloka of the Mrgmdra, vidydpada, Devakdtta edn. pp. 8-9, cited
Notes to pages 119-24 267
70 Tal, 'foot', is Siva's foot which communicates Siva's grace to the devotees
who bow beneath it.
71 Gordon Matthews, ^iva-nana-bodham, A Manual of Saiva Religious Doctriiu,
trans, from the Tamil, (London: O x f o r d University Press, 1948), p. 10.1 have
substituted 'grace' for 'foot'.
72 Trans. Hume, The Thirteen Principal Upamshads, p. 151.
73 Chandogya Upani^ S H-J. trans. Hume, ibid., p. 209.
6 T H E G O D D E S S
12 hndasa/makiagavnkanaka^ia^
prodyatini^ramadhvmadhur /
bhuMnagpktasaul0^apTav(uanagh^
v^akrtsmavaktrapr<muUhapatmuUm kuncitah^rim bluge'ham //149//
18 It has been suggested that this is the Edirambalam or 'shrine opposite [the Cit
Sabha]' ascribed in inscription No. 119 of 1888 to the time of Kulottunga I.
Built perhaps in the reign of C51a Kulottufiga III (1178-1216), it is similar to
the ratha mandapas of Tribhuvanam, Paiaiyarai, and elsewhere. The most
notable example of such stone chariots is in the Sun temple at Konarak,
which would seem chronologically to be due to Southern influence, though
the chariot is an integral feature of the Sun and more obviously appropriate
for him than for Siva. L'Hernault remarks that the stone chariot 'must have
served as the statue of the god's procession to symbolize his excursions {pour
ses sorties ymboliques)\ F. L'Hernault, et al., Darasuram, vol. i, p. 7. [My
translation from the French.]
19 Harle, Temple Gateways,figs.132,133. Neither figure is dancing; the erect hair
gives the identification.
20 kdlya sakam pura yah suramunisadasi svdnghrim udyama cordhvam
pasupatir ajayat tadbahiskaTapiiTvam /
nrttam hrtvatha kilim
sarve devd murimdrah prabhur iti ca vadanty Qrdhvan^samiirtim
yam devam pUjayanti pratidinam anaghah kunatafighrim bhqe'ham 7/46//
272 J^oUs to pages 144-51
21 K. A. Nilakantha Sastri, A Hiskny of South Indiajram Prehistoric Tmus to the Fall of
V^anagar, 3rd cdn (London: Oxford University Press, 1966), p. 213.
23 kjpa padarn ras^am punar apt tatha padam ekam nabha/utharn, 14.22.
24 bhuktva halahalarmam yudhi mhataianum darukakhyarn surarirn
hrtva ghorasvakrtyapracalitabkuvanarri bhadrakaErn sivo yah /
prafyetyarumdanrttam pippatibhuvane darsayitva b^andan
sarvan sarmaksaSsas tarn inavidhmutarn kuncitanghrim bhge'ham //192//
25 Liiiga Parana 1.106.
26 Ibid., 1.106.25.
27 R. C. Hazra, Studies in the Puranic Records (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973), p. 95.
28 Harle, Temple Gatewt^s in South India, p. iii.
29 R. Nagaswamy, Tantric Cult of South India (Delhi: Navrang, 1982), p. 179.
30 Ibid., p. 175. This identification was first suggested by J. M. Somasundaram,
CoUtT Kqyil Panikal, p. 6, according to P. R. Srinivasan ('Important Works of
Art of the ^ r l y Ch51a Period from near Tanjore', Transactions of the
Archaeological Society of South India, 1956-7, pp. 36-52, p. 38; Srinivasan himself
however, argues that this is a Pallava sculpture, and on p. 41 suggests as
Vijayalaya's NisumbhasudanI the Nisumbhasildanl sculpture in the
Ugramak^i temple in Tanjavur; so also S. R. Balasubrahmanyam, Early
Chela Art (New York: Asia Publishing House, 1966), p. 43 and plate 8.
31 Nagaswamy, Tantric Cult, p. 175.
32 It should be noted that Srinivasan describes the sculpture in the Va^bhadrak^
temple as 'seated and trampling on five male figures', 'Important Works of
Art of the Elarly Ch51a Period', p. 37.
33 dakxyasbm pravrtte paramasivam anadrtya tatkanyakctyarn
gatva tatra svatatam natavadanam upek^aindram agnirn visantyam /
gautyam kopMya iso dasasatavadanarn inram utpadya kalm
tabhyam daksMinasani lyaracayad atulam ku^tahghrim bhaje'ham //sa//
34 Another possible explanation for the form of Virabhadra is provided by
David Knipe's account of the VTrabhadra cult in Andhra. Writing of the
East Godavari District, Knipe says, 'it is clear that in this pan of coastal
Andhra, the wrathful Virabhadra, antithesis of establishment sacrifice and
its circulation of cosmic energies, is alive and well. He is one Virabhadra,
Siva's rage personified, and many mrabhadras, all the children of rage who,
even if they died after taking their mother's milk for a single day, are said to
be, like Virabhadra, the children of Siva.' David M. Knipe, 'Night of the
Growing Dead', in Alf Hiltebeitel (ed.), Criminal Gods and Demon DevoUes
(Albany: State University ofNew York Press, 1989) pp. 123-56, p. 139. There
Notes to pages g8-ioi 273
is no reason to doubt that some such cult underlies the formation of the
iconography of Virabhadra, though it may be not be precisely this. Could
such a cult explain the boyish form of Virabhadra on the est gopura image?
Knipe's chapter is considered further in chapter 8, p. 200.
35 Kantapuranam, 6.20.38-49 as summarized in R. Dessigane and P. Z.
Pattabiramin La Legende ^ Skanda (Pondicherry: Institut Frangais d'Indologie,
1967), p. 211.
36 yuddhe bhagnomk^am naraharivapusam garidabherandariipT
bhutva gagantan agre sarabhakhagapatiryah svapfMlaksikuTidat /
tigrapratyah^rakhyam satasatavadanan kalikam asu srstva
ta^c^vagravahmm sucamvad an(^at kundtangkrim bh<ge'ham //126//
37 kdlinrttapramuditahrdqyam hmcitafighnm bhqje'ham 7/262//
Kali for kali for the metre. The Tamil form of Kali is Kali.
38 Pojje, The Timvafogam, p. 16.
39 kacin nal^antti prathitamunisaS bhartur istanu/xta
maridaiyaproktasapajvalanasamanakrddurdinamvil^a /
yanmantradhyanayogad anitarasulabhm pancakmtdn narendran
lebhejanmadihmam sivapadam api tarn kuncitafighrim bhaje'ham //224//
Line d. janmadihtnam 'free from birth and the other [ills of life]'.
40 Citsabhesvarotsavasutra, p. 3 of unnumbered sequence.
41 amanvasram sudiptam nijatanum abhitah satyarupaprabhmtar
vameyuktam svasaktya vasudalakamalasvarnaJdigalkasobham /
yapUm sahasrakosthasthilasivamanubhir mohanoifyairyadfyam
cakram sampujayanti pratidinam anaghah kuncilarighrim bh<ge'ham //109//
42 Verses 18, 19, 21, 25, 46. Umapati speaks several times of the kMncitahghn
anagham, reinforcing the intimate connection of the DIksitas with the God
they worship.
43 traicatvarimsadasre vasunrpakamaU vrUabhucakramadhye
bindau santanakalpadrumanikarayute ratnasaudhe manqjne /
brahmadyakdrapade nvamayaphalake svamamance nisarmo
deiyay^ pijyaU tarn harimukhavibudhaih kundlafighrim bhaje'ham //no//
vrttabhucakramadhye is difficult. Clearly the verse moves from the outer to the
inner, though in the first line the constraints of metre prevent the linear
expression of this order, bhucakra must be the bhupura or bhugrha, the 'cijy' or
'house' 'of the earth', and there is no problem about the use of the word cakra
in respect of the square, since the several enclosures, including the polygons,
are often called cakras (e.g., Bhaskara writes of 'the eight cakras ^ginning
with the bhupura' (p. 109) but why vrtta 'round', unless we have avrtta, meaning
'not-round', 'square'?
44 For other parallels, see Madhu Khanna, 'The Concept and Liturgy of the
Sricakra based on Sivananda's Trilogy' (unpublished DPhil thesis, University
of Oxford, 1986), p. 98.
274 ^ ^ ^
45 sudhasinUtor madhye swraai^vi^Hxnmle
mamdd^ mpopavanaooH cintananiffhe /
iivakare mance p<xramaHvapaiy(mkamlaj^am
btugarUx toam dhanyah katicana cidanandalahaivn//
Siva here is, of course, Sada^iva. Saandatyalahan 94 mentions that Isvara,
Rudra, Visnu, and Brahma are also present as the four supports of the couch.
46 mnathamair gumbhir api nutam. Rajaganesa Diksita o^ers no assistance,
repeating the Sanskrit, and not translating pirubhir. m natanrarkaUnal
tutikJu^>pattavalum.
47 yo ya^ jnanasaktim daharakuharaijm hrmahasodaiamam
vi^am snnathavrrair gumbhir api mtam yoginidutiseiyam /
abnabhirmam sivam tarn hrdi paricinute sa svt^mm niwikalpo
bhutva yopndrapi^ bhavati tarn aguriam kunntahghnm bhtge'ham / liorjl /
48 The way temple paintings are taken for granted and not subjected to critical
attention is illustrated by the comment on the paintings in question by S.
Meyyapan, a university professor and long resident in Cidambaram, 'As
they ['Devi Mahatmiyam' paintings] were drawn long time ago they are in
decayed stage', Chidambaram Golden Temple (ChidaiYibaram: Manivasagar
Pathippakam, 1987), p. 67. Painted in fact in 1972 these central panels faded
rapidly, and were severely damaged by fire in 1989. According to Job
Thomas, earlier paintings of the 'DevTm^atmlya' were scraped off in 1972
(Isaac Job Thomas, 'Painting in Tamil Nadu A.D. 1350-1650', unpublished
PhD thesis (University of Michigan, 1979), p. 311). However, it is worth
noting that the central portion of the ceiling is visible in James Fergusson's
drawing of the marukpa (woodcut no. 221) in his History of Architecture Indian and
Eastern Architecture, 2 vols. (vol. i, London: John Murray, 1876; vol. 11, New
York: Dodd, Mead and Co., 1891), and that section of the ceiling looks blank.
49 mcakra^andanastkam gajaturagasamarudhasaktyagrabkagam
mtyavarahunmtrirffanucarasahitam drstabalastrauidyam /
sarvastraslistahastarn ranabhuvi vilasadyuddhavesarn bhavanim
drstvatusto'bhavat tarn dhanapatisuhrdarn kuncitanghrirn bhaje'ham // 12S//
50 Lilitasahasranama with the Saubhe^abhuskara commentary of Bhaskararaya
(Bombay: Nirnaya-sagar Press, 1914), p. 46.
51 MfyaparaJcramatopanir^ariasamutsuka, Lalit^ahasranama p. 47.
52 visTUT amsavataran dasakararmkharairyuddharange srjanR
karrtesahkanodyadg<gavadaruikaradhvaslavighnesayantra /
ya^astrermu bhandarn sasutaganapuram nasayam asa daityam
devisncahrasamstha tarn api sivak^arn kuncitanghrirn bhaje'ham //129//
53 mhiral labdhacintamanimanum anusandk^a niijivadehe
matur mamalladevya nisi vigatabhayo harsanamopavi^a /
viprah mrudrabhOmau yad adhikakrpayd mataram sarvavidyam
siddhh ar^as ca lebhe karadhrtadamanan kuncitahghrim bhaje'ham //114//
Notes to pages g8-ioi 275
Har», or §nhar», was one of the greatest Sanskrit poets, author of the
Naisadhacarita. The identification is beyond doubt, for he refers to his father
and mother at the conclusion of every canto of his poem. He also refers to a
Cintamam mantra, which with meditation on SarasvaU gives poetic
inspiration (14.88-90); and which he claims as the cause of his own poem
(1.145). At the conclusion of the twelfth canto he describes his head as a bee
attending the lotus feet of his mother, matrcmanrnibhtgalimauUr, But other
than what is stated here, nothing is known with regard to the events
described in this verse of Umapati's. (There is a passing reference, by no
means unusual, to bringing the dead to life:timyog^ri^amrqaniraSsamye^vat
padmam amumuhac ca / 22.22 'Is not this night a Yogini, for she has brought
Love back to life and rendered unconscious the lotus.') In the Naisadhacarita,
Sarasvad concludes the gods' boon-giving to Nala with the gift which was
the armature of the ]x>em itself: 'King, reflect inwardly and meditate always
on my pure mystic formula, which, without any form, embodies Siva, and is
accompanied by the moon [ H R I N I ] , and represents the form that goes by the
name ParvaO and Paramesvara, universal, but twofold owing to the union of
two shapes, male in one half and female in the other. May this formula prove
effective to thee.' Naisadhacarita 14.88, trans. K. K. H?indiqui, Naisadhacarita of
Sriharsa (Poona: Deccan College, 1965), p. 214.
avamavamardhe sakalam ubhayakaraghatana-
dvidhabhutam rupam bhagavadabhidh^am bhavaHyat /
tadantarmantram me smaTaharamayam sendum amalam
nirakaram sasvtgjapa narapate sidhyatu sa te //1/^.88//
54 ya^ahuT nrttamurteh smtihTdayaxndah saktim ekam aptdyam
kiixm hope ca durgam yudhi jagadavane vimurupam bhavdnim /
bhogejnanakriyecchamayavividhatanum sarvasamhmakaU
svantarlmam prasannam tarn ibhamukhasutam kuncitanghrim bhye'ham //ii^//
7 BHIKSATANA
1 On the second tier, on each side of the gateway are four niches. The grandest
of these is always the second from the gateway. It is the widest, it has a
pillared f>ortico immediately above it, and its outermost pilasters are the
farthest apart. It is the centre part of each side, with two figures on the outer
edge, one figure on the inner edge; but the innermost figure is powerfully
supplemented by the gateway, so that the balance is equal. (On thefirsttier,
the largest niche is not so clearly dominant, having four niches beyond it to
the outer edge, and two to the inner edge.)
2 Dorai Rangaswamy, Religion and Philosophy of the Tevaram, p. 387.
3 Tevaram vn 72, trans. Shulman, Songs of the Harsh Devotee, pp. 465f.
4 Tevaram vii 45.5, trans. Shulman, ibid., p. 284.
5 Tevaram vi 58.7., trans. Nagaswamy, $iva-Bhakti, p. 236 (slighdy altered).
6 Nagaswamy, ibid., p. 236.
7 Shulman, ^ngs of the Harsh Devotee, p. li.
276 Notes to pages 166-87
12 A version of the legend is given in the Kanta Puranam, 'which presents the
major myths of Siva in their authoriutive Tamil version', Peterson, Poems to
p. 343. Dessigane and Pattibiramam {La Legmde de Skanda, Pondicherry:
Institut Fran^ais d'Indologie, 1967, p. i.) date this text to the twelfth century,
but its account of the Pine Forest is clearly later than what we find in the
Cidambaram versions. Not only does Siva explicidy copulate with the wives,
the wives at once give birth to 84,000 boys who immediately undertake
asceticism; on Siva's advice. The sages recognize the divinity of the intruders
before commencing their magical assault. The products of their mane are
more numerous, and include two items essential to the p)ersona of Siva as
Bhik^una, his trident and drum. Lacking these, how could he have made a
prop>er entrance? The Sanskrit version of this text also includes the
instantaneous birth of sons to the rjis' wives {Daksakhanda 14.4), and it is
therefore highly improbable that it is, as Kulke thought {Cidambaramahitmya:
Eine Untersuchung, p. 151), earlier than the Cidambara Mahatmya. I am most
grateful to Kulke for sending me a copy of T. Ramalinga Dikshitar's
transcript of this text.
13 mohinya sambhur addv atinividavaru darukakhye caranyah
saundaiyod vipradaran mumganam api tarn mdyaya mofu^tva /
lyartHikrtyabfacarttm dvgakulavihitam sampradar^atmanrttam
uiprams canvagrahidyas tarn api girisqyam kundtdnghnm bhaje'ham //40//
14 'Bringing about rebirth for themselves', translates the brief^onmano hetum\ a
pun may be intended on birth, in the sense of 'attempting to impregnate'.
18 ya^sa^amsabhuiah hrabhavatukareidmabhadradidevah
kalpe kkpe'mbujaksadruhinamulJi(uIhrtaJ^ /
mghnantah sarvakalam jagad api sakalam palayanto'ntarahge
dhyayantoyam jayand prasmutramahasam kuncitahghrim bfuye'ham //203//
Line d. upadhi is here used in the sense of the Tamil updti, 'torment'.
29 Marco Polo, The Description of the World, ed. A, C. Moule and Paul Pelliot, 3
vok. (London: George Roudedge and Sons, 1938), vol. i, pp. 393f. Is it purely
chance that this pose is associated with a quarrel between the God and
Goddess?
30 yatsamatsvarrfobhittim paritar ampamah svargaiwjyah karabjair
adarsadyastabhadrarn hmakarriammayam ya^a tustyai vahanfyah /
sevam kurvanti pancaoaranam adhigatair brahmavidyesapiirvaih
stutyarn tarn citraJdi^thitibhir atha suredh kuncitahghrirn bfuge'ham //291//
The eight auspicious objects are a metal mirror, a full pot, a bull, a pair of
chowries, a sjwatsam (here a name for an image of Laksmi), a svastika, a
conch, and a lamp. The Festival Ritual text describing the ritual for a
fire-offering pavilion states that the priest should imagine each of these being
held by a particular apsaras (pp. 115-19). Thus he must imagine that the
mirror is held by UrvasI, the full pot by Menaka and so on. See also Brunner,
SomasambhupaddhtUi, vol. 11, p. 331.
CitrakuU is the name used by Vaisnavas for Cidambaram.
31 Francois Gros, Tevaram: Hymnes $ivmtes du Pays Tamoul, ed. T. V. Gopal Iyer
under the direction of Francois Gros, 2 vols (Pondicherry: Institut Fran^ais
d'Indologie, 1984, 1985), vol. i, p. xxvii.
32 M. A. Dhaky, 'Bhutas and Bhutanayakas: Elementals and Their Captains'
in Michael W. Meister (ed.). Discourses on ^iva: Proceedings ofa Symposium on the
Mature of Reli^ous Imageiy (Bombay: Vakils, Feffer & Simons Ltd, 1984),
pp. 240-56, p. 252.
33 Dhaky, 'Bhutas and Bhutanayakas', ibid., p. 253.
34 srstyartham brahmaria yah stutanyavibhavas ta^a Idlatadesad
avirbhUya svatantro vikrtatanuvaran rudravargan garundran /
srsbja tan prerayitva jagadavanavidhau sarvada sa tv asarnstho
'raksad visvadhikam tarn natajanasukhadam kuOcitafighrirn bhaje'ham /I'Z'i&n
10 LAST WORDS
1 Coomaraswamy, Dance of $iva, p. 78.
2 Civapirakacam verses 83 and 84, trans. K. Subramania Pillai, p. 13.
3 Malmiikagnimitra of K^idasa, ed. and trans. R. D. Karmakar (Poona: R. D.
Karmarkar, 1937), 1.2, p. 2 [my translation].
4 Nencuvitutu, verse 25.
5 The kings of Umapati's own time were Pandyas, from Madurai, and it was
one of them who built the small shrine to the Madurai forms of Siva and
Parvatl, Sundara and MinaksT, to the south of the Hundred-pillared Hall.
6 In his Tirukkwaiyar Manikkavacakar refers twice to a Pandyan king called
Varaguna who is probably one of two of that name who lived in the ninth
century. For a discussion of the poet's date, see Glenn E. Yocum, Hymns to the
Dancing ^iva: A Study of Manikkavacakar's Ttmvacakam (New Delhi: Heritage,
1982), p. 47.
7 Ttruvilaiyatarpuranam of Paraficdtimunivar 61.60-6.
18 knd^amsaktagauj^Tiakaghalanibhottuhgavahqjasaila-
prodyacchmgaramadhvimadhuTaTasadhun^olabh^ayataksam /
bhiisanagoklmaukhyapTavacanaghatajaslabdhagarv^dhitaTk^a-
vndakrcchv^avaktrapTamathapatinulam kuncitdnghrim bhaje'ham //149//
286 Notes to pages 236-g
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Hoisington, Henry R., ^Siva-fnTokmam. Light of Sivam. A Metaphysical and
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'Tattuva-kattalei. A Synopsis of the Mystical Philosophy of the Hindus', Jounw/
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Hume, Robert Ernest, The Thirteen I^ncipal Upanishads, London: Oxford
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Huntington, Susan L., The Art of Ancient India, New York/Tokyo: Weatherhill, 1985.
Ingalls, D. H. H., Anthology of Sanskrit Court Poetry, Harvard Oriental Series vol.
44, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1965.
Janaki, S. S., 'Dhvaja-stambha: Critical account of its Structural and Ritualistic
details', in S. S. Janaki (ed.), ^iva Temple and Temple Rituals, Madras:
Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, 1988, pp. 122-93.
Jaswant Raj, J., Grace in the $aiva Siddhantam and in SL Paul, Madras: South Indian.
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Kane, P. V., Histoiy of Dharmasastra, 5 vols., Pune: Bhandarkar Oriental
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Kashikar, C. G. arid Parpola, Asko, 'Srauta Traditions in Recent Times', in
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Knipe, David M., 'Night of the Growing Dead', in Alf Hiltebeitel (ed.), Criminal
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Sv^ambhuvasutrasamgraha, Le Tantra Svayarnbhii, Vidyapada, avec le commentaire de
Sady<^oti, ed. and trans. P. -S. Filliozat, Geneva: Droz, 1991.
Suryanarayana Sastri, S. S., The $ivadvaita of ^nkaritha. University of Madras,
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Swaminathan, S. 'Haradattar', Saiva Siddhanta xv (1980), pp. 17-25.
Swamy, B. G. L., Chidambaram and Nataraja: Problems and Rationalization, Mysore:
Geetha Book House, 1979.
Tantraloka of Abhinavagupta, ed. Mukunda Rama and Madhusudana Kaul,
Srinagan Resejirch Department Jammu and Kashmir Government, 1918-38.
Tevaram: Hymnes Sivaites du Pays Tamoul, ed. T. V. Gopal Iyer under the direction
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«985-
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294 Bibliography
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Index and glossary
295
296 Index and glossaiy
Apasmara, 18, 2 2 2 - 3 C 6 U bronzes,i, 3, 10, 13, 242 n. 21
Mwbk ('enjoyment'), 118 C o m a c i m a i a r , 211, 220
Biardeau, M . , 197 C o o m a r a s w a m y , A . K . , 2, 5, 7, 17, 100, 228
bmdu ('drop', material origin o f creation), 100, Crystal LiAga, 20, 50, 6 6 - 8 , 72, 7 4 - 5 , 85
103, 106-7 Cuntarar, 100, 198, 209, 211, 216, 226, 2 3 1 - 2 ,
Bodhayana, 62, 228 234
Brahma, 18, 35, 59, 6 3 - 5 , 67, 69, 74, 76, 84,
89. 9 2 - 3 . 95. " 9 . ' 2 6 - 8 , 145-6, 156, dabhrasabhi (Cit Sabha), 39
187-8, 191, 193, 230, 232 Dahara V i d y a , 81
Brahma Sutras, 103 Daharavufyakhanda, 256 n. 5
Brahmacamundika, 145 D a k u , 151, 186
Brahmacandesvara, 145 Daksakfumda, o f SarrJsarasa^ita, 276 n. 12
Brahman, 15, 21, 39, 5 8 - 9 , 65, 69, 70, 75, 77, D a k ^ a m u r t i , 132, 166, 169, 197
III, 122-5, '28, 151, 159, 183, 211, 2 1 3 - 1 4 damaru, damanJsa (a type o f drum), 15, 20, 182,
Brahmmda Purana, 158 '89
Brahmananda, 8, 121
dance competition, 9, 24, 148
Brahmotsava, 63, 76, 78, 205
Dance oT Bliss, i, 4, 9, 15, 18, 21, 22, 24, 26, 31,
BHudirarryaka Upanisad, 125
33. 58, 60, 76, 92, 97, 100, 124, 147, 175,
B ^ d T s v a r a temple, 12, 23, 85, 232, 241 n. 7,
182, 222, 224
257 n. 19
dancing girls, 138, 207, 2 1 8 - 1 9
Brunner, H., 131, 262 n. i, 269 n. 91, n. 92 Dandekar, R . N., 41
bubhuksu ('one w h o seeks worldly enjoyment'), Darasuram, 166, 193, 217
"5 Daruka, a demon, 1 4 5 - 7
Daruka Forest, 40, 142, 147, 161, 166, 169, 171,
Bull-flag, III '75
Dasaratha, 131
Camakn, 76 Death the Restrainer, 28
Campantar, see TiruAaoacampantar D e v a Sabha, 56, 68, 195
Candesvara, 85, 95, 209-11 devadasi ('female temple dancer'), 207
Candika, 23 devakoslha ("niche in temple wall containing
Candramaulisvafa see Crystal Lihga image o f a deity'), 153
C a n d r a k k h a r a , 89 Devalaslotra, 98, 189, 195, 197
Cankarpa Mrakaranam, 109, 122-4 Devi, 15, 51, 57, 96, 141, 156
C a p r a , Fritjof, 2 Dedbniakatmya, 152
Cekkijar, 65, 209-12, 229 Devisukta, 76
Cekkilm Puranam, 209 dhakka (a type o f drum), 15, 20
Cfundogya Upani^, 81 dhanalipi ('writing dha and mi'), 18, 242 n. 20
CidmibaTa MBhdbr^ 9, 35, 39, 40, 41, 4 3 - 5 , 50, dhvajasUmbha ('flagpole'), 57, 74, 75, 78, 254 n.
5 8 - 6 2 , 64, 71, 80, 82, 120, 170, 175, 185, 67
222-4 Dhvani mantra, 19, 243 n. 22
Cidambarakalpa, 243 n. 22 Dhvani cakra, 154
Cidambaram cakra, 73 Dhyanayoga, 133
Cintamani mantra, 159, 274 n. 53 ('initiation'), 104-7, 113, 115
Cintamani cakra, 154 Diksita (priest o f Nataraja temple,
cinambalam (Cit Sabha), 80, 81 Cidambaram), 36, 55, 68, 84, 111-12, 139,
Cit Sabha, Hall of Consciousness, 5, 10, 12, 14, • 5 4 - 5 . '57
20, 47, 50, 5 5 - 7 . 64, 6 8 - 9 , 75, 8 0 - 1 , 83, diparadhana ('lamp-worship'), 76
8 5 - 9 . 9 ' . 9 4 - 8 , 102-3, " 3 . ' 3 ' . "42, 189, Dorai R a n g a s w a m y , M . A . , 100, 162, 198
190, 216, 237 DraupadT, 134, 153
Cilampara Mummam Kovai, 17 DraupadT Ratha, 85
Citrasena, a gandharva, 20 D u ^ h a , 39
CitsabhesoUavasutra, the Festival Ritual text, 9, D u r g h a u , 39
63, 80, 83, 91 Durga, 99, 135, 136, 142, 153, 160
Civan^ Cittijiar, 122 Durgasukta, 76
CivanariapdUim, 127, 230 Durmata, 39
CivapirakMom, 105, 108, 122, 138, 214, 229
Index and glossary 297
Durvasas, 139 lyaqiakai, a Saint, 133, 211
dvadasanla (point of rcabsorption above
wonhipper's head), 71, 107 Jaimini, 37, 38, 62
Jalandhara, 186, 198, 200
ecsutic dancing,, 3, 224, 226, 250 n. 32 Jambukesvara, 14, 83, 135
ecstatic possession, 3, 224, 284 n. 43 Jaya, 142, 169
Ekimbara temple, 21 JayapT^, 140
enstasis, 3, 284 n. 43 Jftana, 73, 99, 102, 136, 138, 141, 157
Jflana Sakti, 99, 136
Festival Ritual text, see Citsabheiotsavasutra Jouveau-Dubreuil, G., 54
Five-Syilabled Mantra, see pancaksara
Kailasa, 46, 215, 226
Gangaikondacolapuram, 23, 24, 209, 217, 222 ka&, five Cportions' comprising entire manifest
Gartga, 1, 35, 36, 43, 76, 133, 160, 200, 234 world), 106-7
gmts ('multitudes', dwarf attendants of Siva) 8, kaJas ('portions' of Siva), 46
54. >66, 219, 222, 225 Kalari, 203
Ganesa, 23, 71, 74, 126 Kalasamharamurti, 202
garbhagrha ('womb-chambcr', innermost and Kalhana, 140
principal shrine), 12, 56, 67, 87 Kali ('fourth and last world age'), 65, 109, 192
G a n i ^ , 20, 21, 92 Kali, Tamil spelling of KalT, 54, 152
Gauii, 140, 151, 235 Kail, 21, 24, 54, 56, 135-6, 144-8, 150-2, 160,
Golden Mountain, see Meru .192-3, 217-19, 222, 230
Gombrich, R., 284 n. 43 Kali temple, Cidambaram, 135, 145, 160, 230
e i w a ('temple gateway*), 2 4 - 5 ; 48, 5 2 - 3 , 144, K a l i d ^ , 139, 145, 229
150-1, 161, 218 Kaliya, 30
Govindaraja, 44, 56 Kalkin, 192
Graefe, W., 256 n. 3 kalfta ('aeon'), 64, 212
Gros, F., 219 Kalugumalai, 243 n. 27
Kalyanasundara, 161
Hall of Consciousness, see Cit Sabha K ^ a , 132, 157, 173, 186
Haradatta, 265 n. 49 kima ('love'), 17
Hardy, F., 250 n. 32 KamaksT, 135
Hari, 18, 92, 191, 233 Kamalilaya, 82, 203
Hariscandra, 214 Kamasundari, see Sivakamasundari
Harlc, J. C . , 52-3, 148, 150 Kamika Agama, 63, 93, 117, 118, 119
H a ^ a yoga, 81 Kanada, 62, 228
Hayagriva, 139 Kanaka Sabha, 5, 10, 47, 50, 5 5 - 6 , 66, 69,
heart-lotus, 28, 46, 83, 133 75-6, 85-9, 93, 9 5 - 6 , 131
Hemasabhanatha Mahitmya, 9, 39, 213 KaAcTpuram, 21, 135, 143, 158, 188
Hemavitrman, 36 Kane, P. V., 256 n. 13
Heramba, G a n e » , 211 Kailkala, 161, 166
Himalaya, 81, 82, 83, 94, 181, 200 Kafikalamurti, 166, 197
Hinduism, i, 4, 6, 7, 69, 71, 80, 99 Kanappar, 38, 210
Hiranyavarman, 37, 54, 120, 224 Kanta Puranam, 151, 199
homa ('fire oblation'), 73, 77 Kapalikas, 188
Hundred-pillared Hall, 56 Kapalin, 162, 164 .
Karaikal Ammaiyar, 28, 148, 209, 217-18, 222,
Iccha Sakti, 99, 136, 141 226, 229
Ida, 82 karman, 104-6, 115
Ilamaiyakkinar, 212-13, ^<7 Kashmir, 5, 140, 236
Uamaiyakkioar temple, 213 KasI, 81, 83, 143, 203
Impure Maya, 204 K a u v u j MamuQivar, 285 n. 9
Indra, 34, 74, 119, 146, 147, 183, 199, 203 KacyayanT, 143
Ingalls, D. H. H., 3 koiya (classical Sanskrit 'poetry'), 19, 48, 52, 97,
T&ina, 51, 146 141, 214, 216, 232
298 Index and gbssary
Tamil $aiva Siddhanta, loi, 116, I2i, 124, Uttarakamika Agama, 116
129-31
Tamil poetry, 94, 105, 116 Vaidikasiddhanta, 121
Tandu, 33 Vaikhanasa priests, 56, 77
Tanjavur, Tanjore, 12, 150, 166, 195, 218, 225, Vajapeya sacrifice, 63, 64, 117
232 Valampuram temple, 164
Taitmloka, 236-7 Valkali, 38, 40
U ^ ('power generated by austerity'), 61, 81, Vamana, 192
82, 119 Vanmikanathan, G., 55
tattca ('essential principle') VaranasT, see KasT
36 taUvas, 103, 106, 108, 125, 129 Varuna, 43, 51
96 lamrn, 93-4, 109 Vasistha, 32, 36, 131
Tharum, 28, 41, 51, 81, 100, 116, 148, 163, 205, Vastupuruu, 77
226, 229, 230 Vayu, 28, 51, 133
Thousand-pillared Hall, 56, 76 V^ SamJiita, 119
Three thousand (DBcsitas), the traditional Vedajftana Sambandha, see Maraiflana
number of ^aiva priests in Cidambaram, Campantar
37. 46, 57. 59. 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 69, i i i , Vedt^Mdastava, 230
145, 212, 217, 228 Veda, Vedas, 21, 30, 38, 40, 51-3, 57-8, 61-6,
Tillai, see Cidambaram 80, 82, 9 1 - 3 , 98, 101, 103, 105, I I I , 113,
Tibmana Mahitnya, 9, 47, 80, 91 116-28, 130-1, 138, 143, 145, 188-90, 192,
Tirodhana ^akti, 138 200, 212, 228, 232, 234, 238
&1ha ('sacred site"), 75, 82 Vedanta, 6, 15, 62, 103-34, 228. 236-7
tinuiujambalofTi^ set iinuiiibulont Vedaranya, 143
Tmikkurid, 229 Vidyesvaras, 254 n. 67
Tinimular, 17, 84, loi, 102, 116, 121, 132, 155, Vijayalaya, 150
156, 186, 200, 209, 215 Vikrama Chola, 193
JinimmliTam, 17, 68, loi, 102, 117, 155, 157, 1&6 Vikramasolisvaram temple, 193
Thmittraikmdapuranam, 209 ptfnwui ('shrine and its superstructure'), 52-3,
TiniAanacampantar, 41, 51, 141, 201, 210, 215, 87. '93
226, 231, 234 yinivenfia, n o
Tininavukkaracu, see Appar Vinayaka, see Ganesa
Tirupati, 48 Virabhadra, 151, 191, 195-7, 200
TtniUotUaUokai, 65, 209, 216 Viraj, 83, 97, 98
TiruvalaAkatu, 24, 136, 150, 218 Virarajcndra, 43
Tinivanamalai, 84 lifMO^K:^ ('special initiation'), 110, 113
TiTUsarulpayan, 113, 130, 229, 232 Visnu, 5, 20-3, 31-33, 40, 43-4, 5 0 , 3 6 - 7 , 67,
Tu^vehkatu, 70 73. 8'. 84. 92. 119. «27, 147, 157, 160,
Tinivetkalam, 201 169-71, 187-8, 191-2, 195, 198
bruvaci, see prabhaoali Visnu shrine, 43-4, 57
Tinivariir, 82, 83, 203, 205 Visuddhi, 83
TmiBatavurar Puranam, 285 n. 9 Vnrasura, 119
trance, 8, 60, 134 Vyaghrapura, see Cidambaram
Tribhuvanam, 52, 193 VyaghrapuTa Mafiitmya, 9, 83, 145
Triple Peak, 84, 157 Vyaghrapada, 23, 31, 33, 35-8, 40-1, 43, 48,
Tyagaraja, 203 50, 59, 61, 69, 76, 87, 134, 235
VyaJutranoTruihibha^, 139
Uma, 41, 45, 70, 78, 119, 129, 139, 182 Vyasa, 38, 62, 71, 80, 122, 133, 228
Umipati divacarya passim
Umuuvdakkani, 17, 101, 129 Ti^neda, 76
Upamanyu, 32, 41, 43, 119, 141, 147, 14B, 234 Yama, 51, 97, 174
Upamu^bhakloBUasa, 43 Yantra, 69, 83, 97-9, 154, 157-8, 237
Upaniuds, 3, 15, 21, 120-2, 124, 128, 139, 147 Yoga, 21, 61, 65, 104, 106, 114, 117, 118, 120,
Ordhvatandava, 31, 34, 35, 56, 135, 143, 144, 131-4, 161, 185, 215-16
'52. '93 yi^aiuuuta ('yoga-bliss'), 147
Dancing Siva has become a popular symbol in the West for
Hinduism and Eastern mysticism. T h i s book gives.a derailed
account o f Siva's Dance o f Bliss by explicating'^a Sanskrit
fjoem written in the fourteenth century by Umapati Sivacarya,
Saiva theologian and temple priest. T h e bronze image o f the
King o f Dancers, the G o d s temple in Cidambaram, South
India, and its priests are all viewed in the light o f the poem.
Umapati s Saiva theolog)- is discussed in relation to his life,
and also in relation to Vedanta and yoga. T h e iconography
and mythology o f the Goddess and o f other forms o f Siva
provide ncccessary perspective. Art from Cidambaram and
neighbouring sites illuminates the text.