Our heritage: Stories behind our temples

|
  • 2

Our heritage: Stories behind our temples

Wednesday, 04 May 2022 | V Vidyavathi

Our heritage: Stories behind our temples

Temples have also been centres of commerce, art, culture, education and pivot of social life. Everything in the community revolved around the local temple

India is a land of temples. Every village, every town, every habitation has a temple dedicated to one deity or the other. Going to a temple is not just a ritual for an average Indian; it is a basic necessity. 

Temples in India have never been just that. Even from ancient times, they have been centres of commerce, art, culture, education and pivot of social life. Everything in the community revolved around the local temple. This is where prayers were made to Gods and Goddesses for health, for wealth, for progeny or for a specific obstacle to be removed or even for acquiring something valuable. This is where people met each other, exchanged news, exchanged views, exchanged gossip, shared their stories, their difficulties, solicited each other’s advice and planned their daily lives.

In the modern era, much of how we live has changed. But our attachment to the temples has not changed as much. We still go to temples; we still believe in the power of the deity there; we still solicit the peace and comfort we get from going to a temple. Atleast most of us. Why do we go to a temple? What is so special about a temple? Is it the deity there? Or is it the miracles which the deity is supposed to have performed? Or is it that there is something more there? Some unsaid, untold, inexplicable feeling which permeates the place making it sacred?

All religions and faiths have pilgrimage as one of the most defining elements. Think about it; travelling to Jerusalem to walk the earth which the Lord walked, is something any good Christian would live for. Going to Mecca and completing the Hajj is something which every practicing Muslim aspires to, once in his/her life time. Buddhist and Jain monks come from all over the world to visit the places where Lord Mahavira and Gautama Buddha lived and preached. While in exile and before formation of Israel, Jews from all over the world would live on the slender hope of going back to their Blessed Land.

What does all this mean? Humans from times immemorial seek to get meaning for their existence. Visiting a temple or a church or a monastery brings the human close to the divine. That experience is of the heart. Of the mind. Of human existence.

Every year, thousands of Indians traverse the length and breadth of the country in their journey to visit a temple or more. Something in that temple draws the devotee in as much as something draws the tourist in. There are traditions, legends and myths behind these temples. These stories make them what they are. It is what makes them special and sacred. Without that legend or myth, that temple is just another building with four walls. The myth and the story is what gives the temple its soul.

It is a truly humbling experience to understand the power of these stories. In the modern world of writing and visual communication, we have forgotten the power of shared words. The stories of these temples have remarkably survived over several centuries and several generations. Yet more remarkable is that these stories are similar across geographies, with minor variations. The ability to hold the baton of knowledge and information which our ancestors had, is something most of us seem to little appreciate. At another level, we have also forgotten the power of human memory. As Lesley Hazelton put it succinctly “it seems ironic that the more literate we become, the more memory fades”. Writing has not complemented memory; it has replaced it. That is when we seem to have lost the treasure of our spiritual heritage. Stories and legends which were passed down from one generation to the next, suddenly seem to have lost their relevance. They are consigned to fantasy and books for children.

When we go back to the earlier times, this was their world. Imagine yourself in village in any part of India. It is late evening and the children are huddled around the lamp (for warmth and light). There is no other distraction - no books to read, you don’t play games in the night and of course none of what we think are necessities today. The elders narrate stories from the Puranas - about Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva and the Goddess. The children absorb these stories with rapt attention. This is their world to explore and experience. Those of us who have heard stories in our childhood vividly remember the story teller not the story writer.  That is the power of narration. And this narration of the stories of each of our temples come from collective memory. These stories continue to live in the heart and mouth of each listener. And they pass on to the next, binding us together as a collective organism seeking the meaning of life.

The legends and myths of our temples open a fascinating world. When I started to research and collect these legends, a fascinating new world opened before me. Stories started popping out from every corner. Puranas, epics, local folklore, customs and traditions, sthala puranas - all of them mention about several temples and their importance in the enriching the Hindu way of life. It is a very humble beginning to the stupendous amount of work waiting to be done in the field.

Some people may brush away the subject of legend and myth stating that they are in any case not true. Legend is a story yes, but it is not just a story. It is a powerful narrative describing the place. It is immaterial whether a particular incident happened there or not. Rather it is the belief that something like that happened, which makes the place special. World over, across centuries, this is how pilgrims went to holy places. This is communion with the Divine.

When one looks at these legends and stories, one feature is striking. These stories both humanize the divine and divinize the human. For example, Lord Shiva is prone to anger and Andal is elevated to the status of deity in her own right. This is extraordinary; it demonstrates that ‘divinity’ is about a person’s character and behavior. At one level, it shows that no one in the universe is infallible. At another level, by implication, it also shows that each of us can be Divine. This, to me, has been the most important learning from these stories. The multiplicity of deities is a manifestation of the Singularity of the Divine, who is within each one of us. I look at awe at how comprehensive our stories and beliefs are, when I try to comprehend how seamless is the integration of the One and the plurality of deities.

 Last but not the least is the lesson of Hope which are there in these stories and legends. That at the end of every trial and tribulation, there is a positive outcome awaiting us. Every story and every legend stands testimony to this lesson of hope. As humans we need to have faith. And that is what sustains us and holds us together. Without these legends and stories of hope and miracles, many of us would find ourselves floundering.

(The writer is Director General, Archaeological Survey of India. The views expressed are personal.)

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda