Kumbakonam, near Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, one of the oldest towns in South India, is a sacred pilgrim centre on account of its numerous ancient temples and the sacred Mahamakam Tank. Situated on the banks of the river Cauvery, it rose as an important and oldest cultural centre of South India.1 From about the 6th C A.D. it seems to have been under the rule of the Pallavas. Thirunavukkarasar and Tirugnana Sambandar have visited Kumbakonam and sung in praise of the deities. The noteworthy temples of Kumbakonam included the Ramasamy and Adikumbeswarar temple which contain excellent and exquisite sculptures. The Ramasamy temple is in the western part of the city near the market place called Ayyankadai. It is believed to have been constructed in the 16th century by Regunatha Nayak of Tanjore. 2 The temple contains the well known idols of Vishnu as Trivikrama, Rama in coronation robes, Vishnu with his consorts Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi and the marriage scene of Siva with Parvathi. The temple is full of beautiful and artistic sculptural pieces. The exquisite image of Lakshmi standing with a lotus bud in her hand is a marvellous piece of architecture. An ear-ring with a lotus motif, armlets, bracelets and belts of artistic design give her a quiet serene beauty.3
The Dora Sari is tightly worn and the sculptor has succeeded remarkably in showing the figure of Lakshmi to advantage suggesting the dress, yet not allowing it to hide Her charms.
The important temple in Kumbakonam is the Adikumbeswarar temple. The temple is in the centre of the city and has a lofty gopuram about 43 metres high. The presiding deity Siva Linga is said to be composed of fragments of a ‘pot’ or ‘Kumba’. The town derives its name from the presiding deity ‘Kumbeswarar’.4 The gopuram of the temple can be viewed from a distance as the view is obstructed by rows of shops on either side of the roadway leading to the front entrance. The Goddess here is known as ‘Mangalamba’ and the sculptured figures depicting the legend of Adikumbeswara forms the high point of the art work. The Mahamakam festival5 is celebrated once in every twelve years only in this temple.
The Nageswara Swamy temple is also of great interest. It is constructed in such a way that the front ‘gopuram’ is at higher level than the ‘sanctum sanctorum’. Every year during the month of Chitrai, for three days, the sunlight shines directly on the Lingam when the ‘Surya Pooja’ is performed. 6 A separate shrine is constructed for the Sun God, who is said to have worshipped Siva at this place.
The idol of Nataraja in this temple is a striking one. It is said that Goddess acted as the drummer, when the Lord danced. There is a stone chariot in the temple which is noted for its workmanship on the wheels, all in one block of stone.7 Apart from these Siva temples, there are a few other minor Siva shrines within the town itself such as Adhimuktheswara temple, Gautameshwara temple, Kalakastiswara temple and Ekambareswara temple.
Kumbakonam is also famous for its Vaishnava temples. One of the early temples is that of Sarangapani, otherwise called as Aravamudhan.8 The temple is in the form of a stone chariot from which Vishnu is supposed to have descended to please Hema Rishi and did penance here. Vishnu is in the Ananthasayana posture inside the beautifully carved chariot. The Goddess of this shrine is called Komalavalli. The temple chariot used for the annual Brahmotsava is one of the biggest in South India. The Sarangapani temple tower is the tallest in Kumbakonam, and has been recently renovated. It has a height of about 50 metres and stands on a base with 30 mts x 18 mts. It has eleven tiers and there are steps to reach the top from where one can have a panoramic view of the country side. 9 The Teppothsava (floating festival) of this temple is celebrated on a grand scale in the Tamil month of Masi. The Pottamaraikulam (golden lotus tank) is just outside the temple. A mandapa with sixteen pillars is situated in the middle of the tank.
The Chakrapani temple,10 situated near the Chakra bathing ghat of the river Cauvery is an ancient shrine. The presiding deity of the shrine is Chakrarajan and the Goddess is named Vijayavalli. Sun God, whose brightness was absorbed by Chakrayudha, prayed to the deity and got back His lusture. The place where Brahma offered worship to Chakrayudha under an ‘Arasu’ (Ficus religiosa) tree on the southern bank of the river Cauvery is known as the Chakrabath ghat. Some of the other Vaishnava temples11 are Varaha Perumal temple near Chakrapani temple, Gopalaswamy temple in the big bazzar street, Varadaraja Perumal temple, north of the new bridge on the river Cauvery, Vedanarayana Perumal temple, near Sowrashtra big street, Udayavar temple at big bazzar, Brahman Koil in Sowrashtra street, Pattabhirama temple near Kamakshi Joshyar street and Saranarayana Perumal temple at big bazaar street.
Kumbakonam became famous on account of the sacred Maha Maham tank.12 This is a fine reservoir of water surrounded by picturesque mandapas situated in the heart of the town. It is also known as ‘Kanya Tirtha’ as nine virgins bathed here. There is a belief that this tank contains a number of other ‘Tirthams’ in the form of wells or springs. There are sixteen towers with mandapas all round and the gods from all the temples assemble here for sacred bath. The legendary belief is that on the Mahamakam day, once in twelve years, all important rivers enter the tank at Kumbakonam.13 By taking a bath in the tank on that day, the pilgrims have the benefit of having bathed in all the sacred rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswathi, Cauvery, Narmada and Vegavathi. It is the popular belief that the Mahamakam tank has numerous natural springs in its bed to supply fresh water to it. Before the great festival day, the tank water is drained to facilitate the collection of fresh waters from the springs. The water level is also used to be kept very low to guard against drowning accidents and to accommodate lakhs of pilgrims who take a dip in the tank on that day.14
After taking bath in the sacred tank, pilgrims usually take a second bath in the river Cauvery. The pilgrims start the bath at 5 a.m. and it goes on till afternoon. The leading mutts and philanthropic institutions15 like the Annadana Siva Samajam and Arulneri Sangham undertake feeding the poor on an extensive scale. This is the great occasion for the residents of Kumbakonam to play host.
Dr. S. SIVAKUMAR, Assistant Professor in History, Thiru. Kolanjiappar Govt. Arts College, Vridhachalam – 606 001.
END NOTES
- F.R. Hemingway, Tanjore Gazetteer (Reprint), (New Delhi : Cosmo Publications, 2000), pp. 217-218.
- T.S. Kuppuswami Sastri, A Short History of the Tanjore Nayak Princess, (Madras : University of Madras, 1903), pp. 45-49.
- C. Sivaramamurti, The Chola Temples, (New Delhi : ASI Publications, 1984), pp. 10-14.
- Papanasa Mudaliar (ed.), Kumbesar Kuravanji (Tamil), (Chennai : Dr. U.V.Saminathiar Nool Nilayam, 1961), pp. I – VI.
- S.M. Natesa Sastri, Hindu Feasts, Fasts and Ceremonies, (New Delhi : Asian Educational Services, 1988), pp. 68-75.
- ARE Vol. II of 1908, pp. 1235-1242.
- K. Bharatha Iyer, Indian Art A Short Introduction, (Bombay : D.B. Taraporewala Sons & Co., Pvt. Ltd., 1982), p. 56.
- Kapila Vatsyayan, Dance Sculptures in Sarangapani Temple, (Madras : Kalashetra Publications, 1982), pp. 8-9.
- Manohar Sajnani (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Tourism Resources in India, (Delhi : Kalpas Publications, 2001), p. 307.
- K. Sundaram, Monumental Art and Architecture of India, (Bombay : D.B. Toraporewala Sons Co. Pvt. Ltd., 1974), pp. 94-99.
- Kenneth R. Hall, Trade and State craft in the Age of the Cholas, (New Delhi : Abhinav Publications, 1980), pp. 101-109.
- R. Sathianathaiar, Tamilaham in the 17thCentury, (Madras : University of Madras, 1956), p. 173.
- R.M. Collart, Geography of the Madras Presidency, (Madras : Longmans Green & Co., 1922), p. 72.
- Thanjavur Regal Glory and Cultural Heritage (Folder), (Chennai : Dept. of Tourism, 2002).
- C.K. Sivaprakasam, Saiva Mathas in the Tamil Country – A Historical Study (A.D. 600 – 1300), (Madras : University of Madras, 1983), pp. 35-47.