Jagannath mural in a T.N. Temple !
June 20 - Puri Ratha Yatra

S Balakrishnan *

Jagannath mural

Lord Jagannath of Puri gave me unexpected darshan in an unexpected form! He appeared before me in a Tamil Nadu temple in the form of a mural. I never expected Lord Jagannath in the temple town of Kanchipuram because these two sacred Hindu towns are 1300 kms apart. But there He was, smiling from a 17th century mural on the walls of Shri Varadharaja / Devaraja Perumal (Vishnu) Temple.

Kanchipuram (some 70 kms from Chennai) is a holy city with hundreds of temples of both Saivaite and Vaishnavaite sects of Hinduism with extraordinary sculptures, temple architecture and living tradition. For these reasons, the town is under the Tentative List of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

Kanchipuram as such has been an important centre of Thondaimandalam area of Tamil Nadu, with references available in Sangam literature (2nd BCE). It was a capital city of the Pallavas. So much so that the town is divided into Siva Kanchi and Vishnu Kanchi, with each Kanchi having hundreds of temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, respectively.

Naturally, therefore, Shri Varadharaja Perumal Temple, the most important Vishnu temple of Kanchi, is situated within Vishnu Kanchi in the eastern corner of Kanchipuram. Its origin is mystic and the temple legend takes us back to many yugas.

The present temple structure is a comprehensively reconstructed one during the 10th – 11th centuries, with many additions by various dynasties at various later periods. However, there are no evidences of the original 7th century construction or its still earlier structures.

Solid proof is available in the form of an inscription dated 1050 AD in the Narasimha shrine that records the gift of an ear ornament and perpetual lamp to the deity. Varadharajar temple complex is spread over 23 acres and has 19 towers. It is one of the 108 Divya Desams (Sacred Vaishnavaite Shrines). The temple has exquisite stone works as well as murals (wall paintings).

One such mural depicts Lord Jagannath of Puri. Most of these murals are found on the walls of circumambulatory walls around the sanctum sanctorum. The specialty of this mural cluster is that this is the only temple that depicts all the 108 Divya Desams at one place.

A few more murals are found in other places within the temple complex, depicting the most important annual Brahmotsavm festival of this temple (which is held in May/June), Krishna Leela, temple legend, Bhagavatha purana, the Twelve Vaishnavaite Saints (Aazhwars), etc. Natural herbs have been used to colour the paintings. While restoring these paintings, a fine layer of paintings of an earlier period has been revealed beneath these.

Though I had visited the Varadharajar Temple twice earlier, I never had the opportunity to notice these paintings in detail. Anyhow many of them are damaged, vandalized by visitors or in the name of restoration. One can see pvc pipes carrying the wiring work installed right on the murals!

As I was waiting in the queue that was winding up slowly for darshan of Lord Varadharajar, I became aware of the murals to my left, right, front and back! Then, to my surprise, my eyes caught the Jagannath mural!

But the Puri temple does not come under the 108 Divya Desams (Sacred Vishnu Shrines) according to Tamil Nadu Vaishnavaite tradition. However, as the temple belongs to an important cult of Vaishnavaism, probably it has found a place among the murals of Varadharajar Temple.

The mural depicts Jagannath (Krishna, in blue colour) with His elder brother Balabadhra (Balrama) and their sister Subhadra. Local touch is visible in garlands and attire. I was so excited to see Jagannath in Kanchipuram because of my Orissa connection. I had lived in Odisha for a few years (1980-83) and had even witnessed the Ratha Yathra once. But it is my bad luck that I had never darshaned Him within His shrine.

So it was natural that I got excited to see Him in my own State in a 17th century mural. My hands started itching to click Him with my mobile. But is it permissible within the temple, so close to sanctum sanctorum? I was scared they would snatch my mobile, if noticed. But I desperately wanted to click Him that I pretended as if talking on the mobile and clicked just once, hoping it would have come well.

As I came out of the inner precincts I was happy to see that I had secretly & successfully recorded the unique Jagannath mural in a Tamil Nadu Temple!