A splendid Stele in a dingy den

He has been sitting almost right in our backyard all along . 

But its only now , on an unplanned visit at a darkening twilight hour , that i was destined to see him : all dusty and grimy , but not one bit diminished in beauty or majesty . Thanks to a chance meeting with the priest who takes care of him in a small, quiet village beyond the famous  Brindavan Gardens in Mysuru. 

It was pure good fortune, getting to see  the fabulous murthi  up close . Real close ! 

The UmaMaheshwara stele , Kanveshvara Temple , Hosa Kannambadi .

Kannambadi ,  a large village ( Ooru ) on the bank of River Kaveri  , was taken over by King Raja Wodeyar of Mysore  from the palegara , Dodda( /Hebba)yya in 1608, and became an extension of the City. 

But this Ooru has a longer lore going back to puranic times when Rsi Kanva is said to have built his hermitage here to  do penance - a penance so intense that it  “ did not waver even when Kaveri , in spate, raised 10 ft high waves that crashed into the village “.  Some Penance, that!

The Lingam , Kanveshwara , was installed by him at this  ashrama. . The region was named in his honour as Kanvapuri aka Kanvapadi or Kannambadi in local lingo. 

                                       

Kanveshwara  is the oldest of the three temples of Kannambadi which went underwater , along with the whole region  , when the Krishnaraja Sagara Dam was built ( 1911 - 1931) 

Before the dam was completed , the residents of Kannambadi  were relocated  to a newly built  village , Hosa Kannambadi. ( Hosa=New) The worshipped icons of the three temples were also moved and installed in newly built shrines at the new settlement - except the large Kanveshwara Lingam in the moolasthana , which , for whatever reason, just could not be prised away from its position.  It remains underwater .

The submerged temple might have been an early Hoysala  or Chalukyan structure  (no photos of it available ) but the modern one is very plain and functional . Just a hall and a sanctum . With no sort of ornamentation on the walls or pillars , the vimana itself being bare and perfunctory. In the  garbhagriha is a small lingam , faced by a little  Nandi placed at an angle , so that  the slightly larger and more ornamented Nandi , sitting outside , gets an unobstructed view of the sanctum . 

                                          

On recesses on either side of the sanctum doorway are placed a Ganesha and a Surya . 

                                                       

Just as a traditional trikuta structure would have , there are two cells on either side of the hall . 

The  cell on the right , as we enter, has the saptamatrka slab . Longtime worship with vermillion and turmeric , so generously smeared , has covered up all detailing on the slab . It looks like the last wash it had was at its relocation . It would be a wonderful piece of art , if only it were  cleaned more often. 

                                         

The cell opposite to it houses a lovely Mahishamardhini 

which , in contrast ,  fares well . She looks magnificent , cleaner and with  bright silver eye- kavacha. The sculpture is very elegantly made  , without too many ornaments  . The fingers of her eight weapon bearing hands are finely tooled right down to shapely nails . 

                                   

In the niches on the outside wall of the temple are Dakshinamoorthi and Chandikesa . 

                                              

Behind the main shrine are two nondescript cubicles with sad looking wooden doors . 

One of them houses the Devi , standing on a large peetam . 

When the priest unlocks the door of the other cubicle and a shaft of weak  light hits the dark interiors, a face looms up . A vision so unexpected , it  feels surreal. That  face ! ....

The priest switches on a naked bulb and the spell is broken. 

The Umamaheshwara stele is about 2 ft high and dominates the narrow cubicle which also stores a small plain looking Ganesha , a few tiny  lingams and three small, standard Nandis . Hardly noticed ! 

Eyes get rivetted to the stele , those faces , the details , The Presence , all at such a close range ! 

Overwhelmed ! 

The stone looks very dry and could use a good oil bath. But inspite of accumulated grime , the details can be seen very well . 
And what amazing details !

The first thing to catch attention is Shiva’s diadem . Made of grinning skulls . And then,  his earrings : looped snakes !                              

The rest of his fashion accessories are regular , non-macabre items : necklaces , bracelets, rings .... The trident and the drum are held up in the rear hands, while in the varada hastha swings a japamala . 

                                                    

Uma has a fairly large mongoose by her foot who seems to be licking Nandi’s ear . The Family has a large  menagerie of useful pets, but they seem to get along well.

Why do I get the feeling that the Devi's  expression is of passive endurance ? She definitely does not look happy . 

Perhaps , if the grime is cleaned off, the lips would show an upward curve at the ends ? But,no,  even  very close scrutiny of the perfectly featured face reveals no  mark of  bliss or beatitude. This is one thoughtful Mother !

                         

The two armed Devi has her right hand on Shiva’s back in an "affectionate" embrace which is reciprocated by his left hand on her shoulder . In her other hand , she holds the conical bahubheejaphalam, a favourite motif of Medieval  sculptors . 

                               

                                          

The couple’s two children, posing for the family  portrait,are placed on either side of the parents . Next to the father is spirited Ganesha , riding a large , frisky mooshika . He seems ready to run off to some sport , once the portrait is done . On the mother’s side is a more tranquil Shanmukha , seated on  his peacock . 

                                                       

The avali framing  the group shows curling creepers and a kirthimukha at the apex . 

So what if the stele sits in an obscure little house, a not well kept one at that, majesty is majesty . The skill of the artisan, the worshipful nature of his hard work , the nobility of the Art refuse to be masked by the inglorious dust of neglect.

Jagatah pitarou vande parvathee parameshwarou .