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JULY, 1896.]
SOME SOVEREIGNS OF TRAVANCORE.
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unmistakable Sanskțit word pura I cannot say, though it is not unreasonable to suspect that the motive may have been to secure additional sanctity to the village by giving its name a clearly classical air.
Having already met with the temple of Krishna in 365 M. E., when Aditya Rama presented to the god & mountain-like' drum, we have to take the Gośdlá, here said to have been constructed, as referring only to the outer rectangular hall, in the middle of which now stands the real inner shrine. Architecturally, too, this hall bears evidence of a later origin. Probably it was put up in this rectangular form, which is rather unusual in the sacred architecture of Southern India, to suit the original name of the temple, Gośâlâ, which means literally 'a cowshed.'
The fair lamp-house' referred to can be nothing else than the wooden railings with small iron lamps that now surround the rectangular structure. It is even now regarded in the country as a specially meritorious act to provide an illumination thus round a temple, when the village folks turn out in their holiday garments to amuse themselves with innocent games and pastimes till midnight arrives, when the local beauties, lamp in hand, begin to move in procession thrice round the temple, while the brave and the sturdy, standing apart, shout Haiyu!! at the top of their voices, in the hope of frightening away sickness, famine, and devils! There is no evidence to shew that they succeed thus in frightening away pestilence or famine; but over the last mentioned source of evil they sometimes completely triumph. For on certain occasions, as the procession goes on, a weak-minded village woman suddenly stops and shivers, and the devil possessing her poor soul, his ears thus assailed by the yell which proves too much even for his infernal tympanum, solemnly promises to surrender his prey then and there! Such illuminations and drppu,' as the hideous howling is technically called, must have become about the time of the inscription frequent enough in the rising village of Trivandrum to require the provision of a permanent lamp-house.
The mandapa spoken of is also still in existence, and the wood carvings on the ceiling and the pillars are really admirable in their way. The carved figures are meant to illustrate some of the leading events narrated in the Mahabharata and the Rámáyana, and are entitled to better care than they appear to be receiving in an age when the art of carving may be said to be rapidly on the decline.
But we are here more concerned with king Sarvanganatha than with his wood carvings, however exquisite. Evidently, the name Sarvanganatha is more a descriptive title than an individual appellation. It occurs more than once in the worn out inscription on the conspicuously high altar or bali-pitha in front of the shrine further to the east of the mandapa. Exposed as this altar is to the sun and rains, it is no wonder that of the inscriptions with which it is literally covered, nothing more is now decipherable. As it is in a prominent situation and within easy reach, I would recommend these inscriptions on the altar to such as may be curious to see and know for themselves the condition to which most of these valuable historical records on the West Coast of India have been reduced through exposure. But I should add that if anyone should at the same time feel tempted to try his skill at deciphering, he ought to be prepared for similar exposure; for between twelve and two in the day is the only time suited in this case for leisurely inspection, and umbrellas are objectionable appendages within the precincts of all Malabar temples. In this particular case, a decipherer would have also to take care that the day he selected for his visit did not synchronize with the one on which a certain pions individual among the temple guards is on daty. But with all precautions, I doubt whether anyone would make out anything more from those obliterated engravings than the word Sarvaiganatha, which, as I have already said, occurs more than once among them. The word literally means "master of all the constituents of a kingdom,' which under the name of daéánga are usually enumerated thus: - mountain, river, arable land, towns, garlands, horses, elephants, drums, banners, and sceptre, making ten
