Kevalaodhi Buddhist And Jaina History Of Deccan Vol 2

Author(s): Aloka Parasher Sen, B Subrahmanyam, E Siva Nagi Reddy
Publisher: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan

Page 112

314
Kevala-Bodhi --Buddhist and Jaina History of the Deccan
devored by a crocodile and missing for two years." Ninşasir Nedumāran the king of Madurai who was also called Kun pāndyan and was a hunchback before his conversion to Saivism was cured by Sambandar after he became a Saiva." Cuntarar had lost his eyesight and could regain it only after a holy dip. The only qualification needed to merit grace was unqualified submission and unstinted devotion and loyalty.
The problem of the folk theme was tackled by the system of the local Talapurāṇas. Even in the days of Appar local Talapurāņas connected with a particular shrine had developed. At Pullirukkuvelur, the local Talapurāņam refers to the story of Jaţāyu. The local Talapurāņas are merely reworking of classical Sanskritic myths in a Tamil setting where the local south Indian ideas have been absorbed as in the case of the Mahiśāsura myth, where Mahiśāsura offers a lingam to the goddess which is not a standard account. In the temples of the early Cola period there are sculptures depicting many Purāņic stories and legends of which eight legends are referred to in the Tēvāram. Siva's killing of Andakasura at Koval is the first." Another favorite legend is how Brahma and Vişnu tried to find the head and feet of Śiva but were unable to do so. This is sculpturally represented by the Lingodbhava Mārti". The famous legend of Siva burning the Tripuras is said to have taken place at Tiruvadigai. Siva's burning of Kāma with his third eye is also a favorite legend. This is said to have occurred at Kurukkai. Thus each temple developed its own Talapurāņa taking into account the local sensitivities and adapting to them, which was on of the main reasons for the spread of the bhakti cults.
Along with the local Talapurāņas there were also local festivals celebrated throughout Tamilnadu. There are many references to the popularity of these festivals. In the month of Āippasi, the Thiruvõņam festival was celebrated," the Kārthigai festival in Kārthigai, the Panguni Uthīram festival which was a very popular festival like the Tiruvādirai. The Mahāmaham was also a popular festival celebrated at Kudandai . The epigraphs also contain many references to endowments made for these festivals indicating their popularity
The adaptation to native sensibilities by giving credence to local cults helped in localizing the action of the God and led to the popularity of the local myths as the acquaintance of the people with the above was already there. Another major feature was the rise of short-term avatar as associated with feats done at the particular shrine, which made the gods relevant to the day-to-day life of the people. The repeated assertion by the saints that salvation could be attained even while leading a normal family life became popular as it required no extra effort and rigorous asceticism.
Thus the above features were all synthesized in the temple where they could be systematized as per the Agamic conventions. It was not possible for these features to flourish independently because of the lack of patronage. This was a problem that the temple never faced-it could always draw in patronage and resources. In the early Coļa period many later Pallava temples were rebuilt in stone. The temples also had mathas attached to them and it is said that Appar established some mathas. What strikes one is the absence of temple building on a large scale and the total absence of mathas or seminaries in the prePallava period. It is only with the rise of the Saivaite movement that we find the beginnings of mathas and it is highly probable that they were organized on the patterns of Jaina and Buddhist monasteries of which we get detailed references in the major centers like Kanchipuram, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam. Saivaite saints like Appar were very much familiar with the workings of the Jaina pallis and therefore the need for an organized body of monks was well understood by them and thus arose the Saiva mathas. This lent an institutional force to the temple with organized spiritual leadership. The capacity of the Saivas to absorb into their fold radical elements like the Pāśupatas and the Kāpālikas also contributed to its popularity