The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Of all the temples we visited during our ten-day trip , this is one temple that stands out in my memory like no other. While I shall think of the Brihadeeshwara temple at Tanjore with appreciation for the beautiful architecture, and Dharasuram for the beauty of sculptures, Nallur , or Thirunallur , is one of those temples where I truly felt the presence of God. This temple is about 10 Kms from Kumbakonam, and just 10 minutes from Patteeswaram. From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip The main gopuram of Nallur As we alighted from the car at this temple , I was arrested by the beauty of the Gopuram. The detail was amazing, and the deities depicted were fantastic! Here are a couple of photographs I took of the deities depicted on the Gopuram. While the first one I learnt later was Maha Sadasiva Moorthy , one of the 64 forms of Shiva, I haven’t been able to understand the second. If anyone knows the name of the deity, please do let me know. From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip Maha Sadasiva Mo...