Riddle Of The Cloaked Man of Hoysala Temples
Yaarivanu ?
It is said
that between the 10th and 13th Centuries, the super busy Hoysalas commissioned scores
of temples to be built , out of which , about a hundred-plus 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 sects among them , 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 a Vamachara cult -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 .
Not being a qualified Scholar or a serious "Independent Researcher", i keep my eyes and ears open to all inputs . To sieve the grain from chaff , later at leisure.
So, while
pondering on the ID of this Mystery Man , recalled certain vague chats caught in passing through the Cyber highway . Which will be put through the sieve now.
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 ? Hmm. Not valid .......but,
after some frantic reference work through worthy articles of respected biggies in the field , there blinked a light at the end of the tunnel .
Aha ! 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 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 of Umamaheshwara , Thoniappar , and above that , at the highest
level , the Bhairava murti called Sattanathar.
Sattanatha
swami wears a long cloak and holds a
staff !
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 16th – 17th 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 . The Bhairava, says the puranam , 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 ! )
Puranas and beliefs travel well . How they attract which populace to what extent are all matters left to anybody’s guess.
Is the Mystery Man , enjoying equal status with other Gods on the chlorite schist wall panels of Hoysala nadu , indeed this Bhairava as Sattainathar ? (And , by the way , someone had mumbled the word “Judge” in the Facebook chats too !)
Will let this probability hibernate.
Now to our Hoysala temples .
By and large , within Karnataka , the learned people are of the view that the Cloaked Man is a Shivite Seer . ( The Veerasshaiva Jangamas still wear that long robe and head cloth )
The creeds of Pashupata, Kalamukha, Maaheshwara etc were widespread and much revered during that period in the region. These Preceptors played big roles in the construction of Temples and in the Rituals therein. Most of them belonged to Mathas that did a lot of philanthropic works . And consequently raised to level of demigods. No wonder then , their images were as large as those of Devathas , abnd occupied the same same space with them on the outer walls.
Though that is the most plausible explanation that checks all boxes , there is still the matter of his Constant Companion , the Snake- Lady , hanging loose . What was her role , if the Seer was not of the Tantrik order ?
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Ancillary 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
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