My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
The small town of Sultan Bathery in Wayanad was originally
called ‘Gananaptivattam’. It was only when Tipu Sultan arrived here, and used
an abandoned ancient Jain temple for storing his ammunition, that the town got
its new name. Tipu Sultan has long been gone, and so has the ammunition which
gave the town its name, but the ancient temple still stands!
Sadly, little is known of the temple, such as details of
when it was built and by whom.
There is no idol inside either. We visited the
temple late in the evening, when it was about to close, and found the temple
empty, but for a lone ASI official who also acted as a watchman. He told us
that the idol which originally occupied the sanctum here was shifted to a newer
Jain temple at Kalpetta, but that every year, for Mahavir Jayanti, the idol was
brought to this temple and prayers conducted as per the rituals. The temple
thus served its original purpose just for a day each year!!!
The temple is a simple one, going by other Jain temples we
have visited, but there was no dearth of detailing or ornamentation on the
pillars and walls.
Samhith was excited by the depictions, and we tried our best
to understand the symbolic representation. Unfortunately, there was no guide
around to help us out. Eventually, the ASI chap himself helped us out, pointing
out the important ones….such as this Swan in meditative posture….
And this Naagapaasham, which, I thought till now was only a
Hindu concept!
Here is Samhith, trying to figure out how the snake is
entwined, with the ASI official's help!
This Jain temple was among the last places we visited at
Wayanad. It was then time to move on, and now it is time to move on again…. To the
other places we visited on that trip. Meanwhile, I am off again, once again to
Karnataka, in search of some relaxation for me, and more stories for you. I
will be offline for a week or so, but when I come back, I will hopefully be
rejuvenated enough, and full of enthusiasm to write more regularly!!! See you
then!
What a beautiful temple, Anu. My kind of temple, if I may say so :) And what's in a name?
ReplyDeleteThis Wayanad series of yours is turning out to be a real treat, considering that whenever one reads about this region it's only about it's natural beauty. Honestly, I have not come across anything on sights such as this. Great work.
its absolutely "our" kind of temple, Sudha! and yes, most posts about wayanad would be about natural beauty since it is indeed a beautiful place... but then we are the kind who arent satisfied with nature alone, and also love to explore the traces others have left before us, so such places do tend to attract us, i guess!!!
DeleteVery descriptive and informative post. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletewww.bnomadic.wordpress.com
Thank you!! and am glad you liked it!
DeleteThis is absolutely a lovely jain temple. Also one of the few well maintained ones in Wayanad.
ReplyDeleteNice post.
www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in
Yes, Niranjan. it is indeed one of the few well maintained ones, but at least even the others are left as they are, instead of modernisation in the name of renovation as it happens every where these days.
DeleteAwesome. I can't wait to visit... Loving the photos :)
ReplyDeletethank you. i hope u visit soon!
DeleteI never knew how much Tipu and such history had infiltrated into the temples of Wayanadu until I read this. It also came as new knowledge that Jain temples existed in Wayanadu.
ReplyDeleteI would like to ask you one thing. How to ensure that this was a jain temple? Is there any evidence? Or simply a historical deduction in comparison to style of architecture?
ReplyDeleteThats an interesting thought, but yes, most of the evidence is indeed the architecture and the carvings, besides the idol inside. of course, there are similarities to hindu temples too.
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