Sanamahism and Seven
- Part 1 -

S Balakrishnan *

Sanamahism temple at Kangla in May 2013 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

Sanamahism was revealed to us by Krishna, not the Lord but our Guide Krishna! We were into our second day trip of Manipur but were not aware of existence of such a pre-Hindu religious sect in Manipur. How ignorant of us! And, till our 4th day, neither did we know that it is still a vibrant sect. Ignorance is not bliss, we realised then.

In Bishnupur, as we were shopping for knickknacks in a shop, we found many religious/puja items, like the photo of the coiled snake, etc. It was then the revelation was made by our Guide Krishna. As other things were pre-occupying our mind, we did not probe about it further.

The next day, after Dol Jatra celebration at Lord Govindajee Mandir, when we visited Kangla Fort, we realised the importance of Sanamahism. A temple at the citadel of the erstwhile Kingdom, parallel to Lord Govindajee Mandir (old)! That meant to us that Sanamahism has a powerful role to play in Manipur society.

Again, the next day, we found a small temple of the sect at Chandel hill district, on our return journey from Moreh. Proceeding further towards Imphal, we witnessed vibrant Yaoshang celebrations by the sect's followers in Thoubal District; we were then rest assured that Sanamahism is not a pre-Hindu sect of bygone era but a vibrant religious sect to this day. This celebration of dance and music was a rewarding experience for us.

In Bishnupur, that little shop was brimming with religious items which were quite different for us South Indians. But how much can we buy? Already there were boxes and boxes of items procured from the places I worked and we travelled, fit for a mini museum. 'Just take a snap of the shop, enlarge it and hang it around your neck. There is simply no place in the house – either for artifacts or for the photo', snapped my wife. I obeyed her reluctantly and took a snap of the shop.

Of course, at Kangla Fort, we could only snap and buy nothing. It was our first darshan of a Sanamahism temple, Ibudhou Pakhangbagi Sanglen. The white temple with its own architectural style seen nowhere, presented a majestic appearance rising from the vast open ground. It seems number seven has some strong bond with Sanamahism.

Everything is represented in seven – the first flight of steps is seven; upon reaching the platform, another flight of seven steps lead to the altar; the towers (4 small and the big central one) above have seven rings each with horn-like shapes on either side that give a Viking helmet look; again, the flag poles on these towers have seven flags each in red, white, black, yellow, gold, blue and green colours.

The flag posts around the temple also have seven rings; on four sides of the structure seven folds cascade downward; these metal festoons resemble decorative stencils.

Everything and anything is revolving around number Seven, I wondered. Also in Tamu, the border town of Myanmar with Manipur, we found in the pagoda and stupas, seven images of Lord Buddha specifically representing each day of the week. So does this have anything to do with seven days of the week? I got the answer in a mythological story which I am reproducing here for the benefit of non-Manipuris:

According to the legends, Tengbanba-Mapu (Guru Sidaba), the creator of the Universe, desired to hand over the administration to one of his three sons, the one who was intelligent and talented amongst the three. His sons were called Atiya Sidaba, Sanamahi and Pakhangba. Guru Sidaba commanded that the one who arrived first at the throne after circling the earth seven times would succeed him. Accordingly, the first two sons mounted their horses and took off to circle the earth seven times.

But Pakhangba, who was physically weak, could not do so. The weakling was advised by his mother Leimarel Sidabi to just move around the throne of his father which was as good as circumambulating the earth itself. Pakhangba circled the throne seven times and ascended the throne of his father.

On return, both Atiya Sidaba and Sanamahi got agitated at their mother's partiality. They were pacified by their parents by declaring that Sanamahi would become the Lord of every household in this Universe, a household deity, and that Atiya Sidaba would be united with Guru Sidaba (Lord Tengbanba-Mapu) Himself!

Thus Pakhangba became Ibudhou (Lord) Pakhangba and the ruling deity of Manipur, while Sanamahi became the head of deities of every Meitei household. On reading this legend, I understood the relevance of number Seven and its omnipresence in the temple! Seven could also indicate the seven salais (clans) of Meitei created by Pakhangba, I read somewhere.

At this point, I can't help citing a mythological story prevalent in Tamil Nadu, quite similar to this legend. It goes like this – Once Siva & Parvathi were leisurely chatting in Kailash. At that time Saint Naradha came along with a rare mystic mango which he offered to Lord Siva.

Goddess Parvathi said it could be shared among their two children, Ganesh & Karthik. But the Lord felt that if cut, the fruit's specialty would be lost. He declared a contest for his sons – the one who circles the earth fast and reaches back first would be rewarded with the mango fruit. Thereupon Karthik took off on his peacock 'vahan' (mount) immediately.

Ganesh's vahan being mouse, he considered for a while and asked the Lord if one's parents were not equivalent to the earth, why, even universe. On an affirmative reply, he went around them and was instantaneously rewarded with the mango. Everything was over within a wink's time. On return, Karthik felt cheated and infuriated; in anger, he renounced everything, including the parents, and came down to a hill in Tamil Nadu and settled there.

Of course, he was later pacified by Lord Siva and Goddess Parvathi. Thus goes mythology. This is said to be one of Siva's leelas. And the hill where Karthik stood came to be known as Pazhani (pazham=fruit, nee=you, meaning 'You are the fruit; as we now say ' the apple of my eye'). Here again a 'short cut' plays a pivotal role to win in the competition.

to be continued ....