Devaratham: A Study of Temple Cars of South India

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Born in a family of traditional cultural prominence and academic exuberant excellence Dr Susil Pani is an Eye Specialist, presently stationed at Puducherry, India. His clinical place of travail is mainly his own clinic 'RAGHU EYE CLINIC' named after his father late Dr Raghunath Pani who was one of Orissa's prominent educationist, singer and music composer etc. 'GEETA GOVINDA PRATHISTHANA' was founded by his father late Dr Raghunath Pani in Puducherry which basically promotes Indian culture by organising cultural programmes, where artists from many different regions of India are projected and encouraged highly through their varied renditions. Dr Susil Pani is a passionate, not really a professional, from the practical point of view, but a creative photographer ever since his childhood days. His third eye camera lens has been his constant companion along with his scalpel over human eye lenses from the time and even before he became an accomplished eye surgeon. In the region of his creative photography, the sculpture on ancient temples and ancient architecture; especially the sculptures on Indian temple cars, remained his most passionately devoted affinity of all. There are so many other areas where his photographic excellence is really remarkable. There is no doubt that if he would have not come to the medical profession he would have become an academically famous photographer of the time. These few lines about Dr Susil Pani are certainly not adequate, but just enough to introduce him in this book of his 'DEVARATHAM - An Introduction to the temple cars of South India', which is indeed an assiduous detailed work of many years. This book is completely true and authentic in its substances; texts, architectural illustrations etc.. and the photographs taken on the spot (not from any book) in its presentation before the great humanity as an offering to the Divine, vertically, whose guidance has enabled it to emerge.

The Soul is the rider on the chariot of the body with the intellect as its charioteer and the mind as the whip, is the meaning of the above sloka from the Kathoupanisad. This chariot is a representation of the cosmos with the Divine in the form of the Uthavamurti seated at the centre. In another place in Skhanda Purana it is said that 'Darsana of the Vimana of the ratham is good enough to free one from the repeated cycle of life and death'

Man's discovery of the wheel almost more than seven thousand years back preceded the eventual development of the chariot. The Rigveda has used the term ratham more than thousand times, along with a complete description of the components of the ratham like rathamookha (face of the ratham), chakram (wheels) etc. The Sulabha sutras describe the methods and measurements in the art of making the devaratham. In the Puranas we have full description of the principles of ratha nirmana which is called as Rathanirmana Paddhati and a detailed description of the rites and rituals for the consecration of the ratham known as Ratha prathistha vidhdhi. The epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata have description of the rathams. The most popular is Sri Krishna giving the knowledge of Gita or Gitaupadesa to his Sakha Arjuna as his charioteer before the commencement of the great war of Kurukhetra. In the later period the divine builder, Vishwakarma has written a complete treatise on the art and craft of designing a ratham known as 'Viswakarmiya rathalaxanam'. Traditionally all the gods and goddess right from the Vedic times have been identified by their vahanas and rathams. The Sun god or Surya devata has a chariot of one wheel with seven horses.

Historically there has been large number of terracotta seals found from the Indus valley civilization showing many types of carts. Some models of carts of that period also have been found. Presently there are many temples all over the Indian sub-continent with some form of rathams. The entire Konark temple is like a giant chariot dedicated to Surya deva. The Vithala temple in Hampi in Karnataka has a stone chariot whose wheels can be freely rotated. Many temples in Tamilnadu have the front part carved out to appear like a chariot, prominent among them are Khumbhokonam Sarangapani temple, Thiruvarur temple, Darasuram temple, Nadana mandapa of Chidambaram Nataraja temple.

First of all I am extremely happy to notice that a person who is a professional Doctor taking interest in the making and use of temple cars called deva ratham in religious festivals. I congratulate Dr. Susil Pani, for not only undertaking this laborious work, but successfully completing it.

A significant feature of this work is collecting information regarding the production etc., of temple cars from those who actually produce them. As such this is a work combining technical details and intelligent interpretations. The book consists of thirteen chapters neatly describing the components of temple cars and the process of their production. The introduction traces the origin of temple cars described in ancient authorities like Mayamata and other literary works including the Vedas. Rathas were used by the ancient kings as part of their army as well as a vehicle for travel by kings and other nobles. In ancient Tamil literature we get a number of references stating how the chariots were used by the heroes to meet their lady loves. The word ter "car/chariot" is used in Tamil to refer to both viz, the temple car as well as chariot. The religious significance of this custom is very well described by the author. The author also refers to the varieties of rathas like deva ratha, sangramik ratha, karni ratha etc, Information found in agamas and sastras are collated and explained here. Then the history of deva ratham is traced and explained.

Chapter 11 deals with the relationship between temple and ratha. The author postulates an hypothesis that the ratha is in many ways a replica of a devalaya or temple. The component of a temple vimana is explained first and correspondingly the components of a temple ratha are explained later. Similarly the gopura of a temple and a ratha are compared and contrasted. Then the relation between ratha and human body is explained. Chapter III deals with the structure and classification of the deva rathas. Cattat ter, Vaira tér are explained briefly. Then follows the classifications on the basis of wheels, shape, size etc.

In chapter IV another important topic is dealt with Le.. "measurement" in rathas and vahanas. The ancient measurement concepts of the Tamil and other Indian people are elaborately described. The concept of kol in Tamil tradition is very well explained.

Chapter V deals with the rituals connected with rathas. These rituals include both while making the ratha and during the ratha festival. Ratha prathista or consecration of a ratha is explained with the help of references found in works like kumara tantra,silparatna samhita etc., Sometimes ratha utsava "car festival" is also called ratha yatra as in Jagannath Temple at Puri.

In the traditional Hindu philosophy the individual is a part of the whole cosmos which includes the earth, solar system and beyond. One experiences this only if one develops the necessary faculties. One feels that the seen and the unseen are in perfect rhythm and harmony. This harmony is manifested in various art forms like music, dance, architecture, temples etc. The same beauty of harmony, rhythm and fine sense of proportion is manifested in the ratham also. The ratham is an extension of the temple architecture, which is an attempt to present the cosmos in a defined form. It follows the fine principles of proportion and is in harmony with the cosmos. There is also a significant and analogous relationship with that of a well proportioned human body. The individual parts of a well-built human body are perfectly built as well as they are in harmony and rhythm with the rest of the body and thus as a whole form a part of the cosmos. The same principle is used in the building of the devaratham, which not only resolves any contradictions but expresses pure and uncompromised details of the structure. The system of proportion a sense of coherence and harmony among the elements of the ratham The power and purity of the structure radiates from the exact proportion and measurements as prescribed in the scriptures. A perfectly and meticulously crafted ratham radiates the same joy, peace and tranquility as a temple. Hence it is called as temple in motion during the rathayatra. The Mayamata describes "only if a temple is constructed correctly according to the mathematical system, can it be expected to function in harmony with the universe. Only if the measurements of the temple is in every way perfect, will there be perfection in the universe as well". As one enjoys every aspect of a temple, so does he enjoy the ratham. While performing arati, puja, parikrama etc, one is perceiving (accessing) an aspect of the whole. The principle of Vaastushastra is to render beauty, structural stability and quality of spaces by virtue of arrangement and management of light, volume, sound etc. It creates its own ambience and vibration and draws the devotee into its sphere. As regards to volume, every part of the ratham is controlled by a precise principle of proportional system of interrelated measurements maintaining the unity of the architecture and the individual sculpture. The measurements of the components of the ratham like the Chakram, Pada, Upapitha, Vimana and Simhasana are related to each other by various ratios. These lend aesthesis, visual appeal and stability to the ratham structure both in static and kinetic states (when stationary and moving during the rathayatra).

**Contents and Sample Pages**