Riddle Of The Cloaked Man of Hoysala Temples

 Yaarivanu ? 

It is said that between the 10^th and 13^th Centuries,  the super busy Hoysalas commissioned scores of temples to be built , out of which , about a hundred are still standing , albeit in various states of preservation.

The Hoysala artisans built  modest sized structures, but managed to  create more surface for decorative work by opting for the stellate plan with indented walls . The bhitti part , consequently ,  afforded ample canvas to mount innumerable icons of  Deities, demi-gods, celestial attendants, dancing nymphs, Purnaghata motifs and aedicules, not forgetting endless friezes of elephants, horses, hamsas and makaras.

Inspite of the profusion of highly stylized accessories held in various arms, almost all the murtis are  recognisable by anyone with a basic  knowledge of the Hindu pantheon.

Almost all. 

One figure who cannot be slotted as a Deity or attendant or mythical being , stands right there , shoulder to shoulder, with the  Gods , but looking very much a man from terra firma …wearing a tailored tunic !

 He appears in temple after  Hoysala temple , always in company of Gods, always exhibiting a certain swag  in that long front-open  tunic or angi hanging from his shoulders reaching to just above his ankles . His head gear is a floppy hat.  And often, he wears some species of sandals and never forgets to carry a staff .   A sash , a snake and a circular object are the other  variables seen.

Being fairly large, he does not go unnoticed by visitors. But no one seems sure of who he is . There are guesses galore.

Is he  a guard ? A donor who gave a grant to the temple?  Or a foreign trader  - the oft mentioned Portugese or Arab horse merchant  - else, why the “coat and cap”?  In Social Media University , he has even been identified as a  “Judge”,   evidenced by the Danda or Gavel he carries ! A Chief Priest  or a Seer ?

But to take a place among Gods, he cannot be a mere mortal . 

Why, even a mighty King  , like Vishnuvardhana or Vira Ballala , has never been portrayed in Divine company !

The Cloaked Man had to be someone  who commanded very great respect , like a Raja-Guru or  Rishi . His image shows  no  attributes common to  Rishi icons , like Jata  (matted hair), Kamandalu ( water pot) or beard. Besides, he has a constant  risqué companion , a figure  generally termed Vishakanya , a diabolical unclad nymph, wielding snakes !

Hoysala sculptors  often scrawled their signatures or the names of  murtis with uncommon iconography on the pedestals. But nowhere is the mystery man given a helpful name tag. Obviously, they felt he was too well known , at that time, to need a label. They owed no explanation to common folk scratching their heads 700 years later.

 It is known from records that ruling dynasties affiliated themselves to monasteries or  mathas of choice , a prominent example being the Kalamukha mathas of  Balligave region.

There were various creeds, following different rituals and beliefs. One pointer to the identity of the Cloaked Man might come from the Temple complex of Doddagadduvalli , built in 1113 CE.  This site is  famous for Shakthi worship and could have followed “tantrik” paths too , as evidenced by the most unusual , fearsome ghouls serving as  dwarapalas to the Kali Sanctum .

The Bhairava shrine of this complex  has  more fearsome images. Pertinent are the  scenes of self sacrifice  ( Atma Bali) seen on the door jambs of its sanctum . On one side, is seen a man slicing his head off . On the other is his mate eviscerating himself and holding up his entrails. Standing right next to these self sacrificing devotees,  are  the same Cloaked Man and the Snake Lady , overseeing the sacrifice ! Their images are smaller here , but apparently important enough to the ritual,  to be portrayed there.

Balipeeta relics showing decapitated bodies, heads and snakes around a pair of paadukas have been found  in this temple, adding strength to vague deductions  inspired by the above gory scenes. Similar Balipeetams were found  in Halebeedu too.

The  suspicion that takes shape is that the Cloaked Man and his frightful companion could represent some Vamachara sect -those that take a black-magical route to attain The Truth. But  the suspicion fails to precipitate into a conviction.  If they did officiate rituals  not meant for the faint hearted, it still made no sense to put them on the same pedestal as Gods .

Its while pondering on this stalemate that the mind recalled from its depths certain vague whispers caught in passing through the Cyber highway .

Bhairava ! Someone, somewhere did call this cloaked phantom a Bhairava. Given that Hoysaleshwara Temple , the biggest and pre eminent Temple in The Hoysala Capital, Dwarasamudra , is fairly crawling with Bhairava images , big and small, on its walls , north, south, east and west, it is safe to presume that this terrific form of Shiva was special to the emperors and the public. Bhairava murtis are  scattered across all other Hoysala temples too, finding a place even in shrines dedicated to the sweet, peaceable  Chenna Kesava.

Bhairava murtis are generally carved  so attractively that even the features meant to spook one out ( fangs, snake ornaments, skulls, sliced head dripping blood for his dog ) just seem  like alluring accessories to the glorious halo of curly hair, well toned body , serene eyes and the graceful smile .

All Bhairava murtis follow the same iconography . Whether expressed  on stone or in the chitra lakshana texts . All texts mention (basic) Eight kinds or Eight Groups of Bhairavas . While the name lists given in different Agamas do not always tally , the prescribed forms generally  do and none depart too widely from the standard image . That’s the image seen in Hoysala temple walls too .

 There may be an extra pair of arms on a Bhairava here or a platform heeled slipper for a Bhairava there , but there is no description of any clothing and, in common usage, Bhairava images remain gloriously naked.

How then can  our  Cloaked Man , with his long coat, only two arms and no weapon of war , aspire for the Bhairava label?

After some frantic reference work  through worthy articles of respected biggies in the field , there blinked a light at the end of the tunnel . There was a Bhairava partial to an overcoat after all !

Zoom in to Sirkazhi Temple , near Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu . The temple, where the child prodigy Tiru Gnana Sambandhar sang his first  Thirumurai (Thevaram)  song . Here , Shiva is worshipped in three forms in three sancta  built in three levels . 

The first ( ground level) is as the Lingam Brahmapurishwarar , the second, on a platform raised high , is the colossal  stucco murti in Umamaheshwara form  , Thoniappar , and above that , at the highest level , the Bhairava murti called Sattanathar.

Sattanatha swami  wears a long cloak and holds a staff. Ahaa !

I have no idea when this icon was conceived and by which agama. It seems to have enjoyed  popularity during the Bhakthi movement ,  till about 16^th – 17^th century . Only a few temples portray this cloaked Bhairava in Tamil Nadu.

The legend is that Shiva took a Bhairava form to control  Vishnu Trivikrama , who was  on an irresponsible high of arrogance and conceit , after subduing Bali by covering the three worlds with three footsteps . The Bhairava  flayed the Trivikrama and wore his skin as tunic and made his mighty spine his danda. He also confiscated the Chakra , helping Vishnu calm down, sort out his personality issues and regain normalcy .

Since Shiva wore the skin as an upper garment ( called Sattai in Tamil), he was named Sattainathar / Sattanathar .

( An alternate belief  :  Sattam means Law and Shiva is giver of law , one who ordains Dharmic laws and hence Sattanathar is also  worshipped for speedy and beneficial settlement of people’s cases in law courts ! )

Now to our Hoysala temples .

Is the Mystery Man , enjoying equal status with other Gods on the  chlorite schist wall panels of Hoysala nadu , indeed Bhairava as Sattainathar ? (And , by the way , someone had mumbled the word  “judge” too )

Puranas and beliefs travel well . How they attract which populace to what extent are all matters left to anybody’s guess.

The riddle of the Hoysala Cloaked Man cannot be taken as Solved still . The toss up is between a Revered Preceptor and Sattainathar .

 Besides, there is the matter of the Constant Companion ,Snake- Lady , still hanging  loose in the void.

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Notes on Bhairava Murtis 

The Origin of Bhairavas is ascribed to Shiva's battle with Andhaka . When the latter smote Shiv's chest , eight Bhairavas emerged from the wounds : Vidyaraja , Kamaraja, Nagaraja, Svacchandaraja,  Devaraja , Ugraraja and Vighnaraja 

( Vamana Purana)

Names of the Eight Bhairavas ( Group Heads) who lead Eight Groups of Eight Bhairavas each : (These are the eight common Bhairava names used widely .)

Asitanga Bhairava , Ruru Bhairava , Chanda Bhairava, Krodha Bhairava, Unmattha Bhairava, Kapaala Bhairava , Bhishana Bhairava  and Samhaara Bhairava.

(Rudra Yamala)

Ref : Siva Kosha Vol II  - SK Ramachandra Rao