Sanjūsangen-dō Temple in Japan

Kyoto is the cultural capital of Japan and a travel to Kyoto is filled with Temple visits. After visiting the famous temples of Kiyomizu-dera and Kinkaku-ji, I decided to go to Sanjusangen-do only because I had a lot of time at hand. A quick web search suggested that the 1001 wooden statues in the temple will be a unique site to see, reminding me of the Terracotta army in China that I had read about. I might not get an opportunity to visit China, why not see something similar in Japan. Well, that's what I thought. Sometimes the impact of what we do turns out to be much better than the intentions. This was one of those instances.

While most other temples looked and felt touristy, Sanjusangen-do was a but different. Footwear were to be removed before entering the temple, and photography was not allowed.

While the impact of Hinduism is visible in most temples, it was very obvious in Sanjusangen-do. The texts displayed in front of all the idols referred to their original names, mostly in Sanskrit, with some description of their purpose/skill.

The temple was built in 1164 with the main deity Kannon (sounds like the Hindu god Kannan?). Kannon is depicted with a 1000 hands is also called Sahasrabhuja avalokitesvara. The meaning of the name in Sanskrit is the one with 1000 arms who sees and hears the world. (Note: some research shows that Avaloka can directly mean to "glance", but in here Loka is used to mean both Look and World; the word svara represents "sound" and could also be a reference to esavra or God).

The temple has 1000 armed Kannons with a peaceful gigantic Kannon in the middle, sitting on a lotus. I realized in a moment of tranquility that I had my hands clasped in the Hindu way of workshop when I was in front of the central statue - not something that I do in any of the temples outside my area of primary belief. 

Photo: Central statue of Kannon in Sanjusangendo. Photo courtesy Wiki. The photo does not do justice to the feeling that one gets at the temple. 

The temple has 28 guardian deities in front of the 1000 Kannons. wish I could have remembered their names and Indian/Sankarit versions of them. Since I could not, have collated the names from the web. Some had different names across sites, so there is still some confusion.

1. Fujin - Vayu - Wind god
2. Raijin - Varna - Thunder god  
3. Naraenkengo-ou/Guhyapada - Vajrapani - Punisher of evil
4. Nanda
5. Magura - God of music
6. Kinnara - Kinnara - Gods of music; In Hinduism, Kinnaras are half-human, half-bird-horse musicians
7. Karura - Garuda - Bird that guards the law
8. Gandharva - Gandharva
9. Bishamonten - Bishabava - A yaksha
10. General Sanchi
11. Manzenshabachi
12. Manipadhara
13. Bishamonten - Vaishravana/Kubera
14. Head Priest King Raita
15. Basu Sen - Vasu
16. Daibentokuten - Lakshmi
17. Tai shakuten - Sakra deva/Indra
18. Bontennou - Brahma 
19. Birou
20. Birou Hiroshi
21. Mawara - Mahabala/Shiva
22. Golden Peacock King
23. Konpira
24. Bibhagara
25. Ashura - Asura
26. Ibachira
27. Sakra Dragon King
28. Vajrayana

Karnataka Temples - 8. Thondanur Ramanuja Statue

The 41 feet Ramanujar statue is less than 5 minutes drive from the Nambi Narayana temple. I would say that it is just a photo op 📸.

The statue is beside the lake that Ramanuja created himself.

Karnataka Temples - 7. Thondanur Nambi Narayana

About 18 kms from Ananthazhwan avathara sthalam, and ~22 kms from Srirangapatna Ranganathaswamy temple, is the Thondanur Nambi Narayanan temple.

Swami Ramanujar stayed in Thondanur for 12 years. During his time there, he freed the king's daughter from a Brahma rakshasa and converted many people to vaishnavism. The Hoysala king Bittideva also changed to Vishnuvardana, and built 5 temples for Narayana called the panchanarayana temples. The wand used by Ramanuja to shoo the Brahma rakshasa is there at the Yoga Narasimha temple in Thondanur.

A point to note is that convertions happened in those days based on debates. Scholars used to debate their philosophies and the losing scholar many times converted to the other faith. Tough to imagine this in today's context where people don't even hear another person's view point, let alone evaluating it logically and accepting defeat. The debates that we watch in TV are just about who screams at the higher pitch 😮‍💨

The Nambi Narayana temple is one of the pancha narayana temples. The God in the Nambi Narayanan temple has the chakra and shangu interchanged in his hands depicting the Samaasrayanam pose, since many people were converted here. 

The temple area is vast. The dwajasthambam has Garudan, Anjaneyar, Swan and Simham on the four sides. The dwajasthambam looks straight when seen alone, but looks tilted when viewed from within the temple. The temple is about 1000 years old and the God's idol is about 5500 years old.

The moolavar is Nambi Narayana with Aravinda Nayaki thaayaar. The urchavar is Lakshmi Narayana with Bhoodevi thaayaar.

As I wrote in the earlier blog, the lord carries the name of Thondanur Nambi aka Ananthazhwan. 

This temple's timings are different from the norm. Other than the morning it is open from 3 to 5 in the evening. The temple closes at 5 PM since it is believed that Ramanujar worships the God in the evening in the form of a serpent. 

Photo from the internet, source 

Karnataka Temples - 6. Kirangoor Ananthazhwan Avathara Sthalam

My plan was to go from Srirangapatna to Thondanur. While traveling I noticed Google Maps show "Ananthazhwan avathara sthalam" on the way, about 4 kms from Srirangapatna. I thought of making a stop since there was still time for the Thondanur temples to open.

Ananthazhwan is known for his kainkaryan at Tirupati,  and for his staunch devotion to Ramanujar. Once while teaching a pasuram by Nammazhvar, Ramanujar wishes that one of his disciples should create a garden in Tirupati and perform flower kainkaryan to perumal everyday. Ananthazhwan took the responsibility and established the Ramanuja Brindavanam in Tirupati. I have not been to the brindavanam but it seems to be mapped in Gmaps https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZLFTmCQvjLNpfpS58. It is worth thinking about the fact that Thirumala did not have roads back then. It was a forest that was home to many wild animals, which made some people wary of climbing.

Stories about Ananthazhwan, and details of his compositions, can be found at https://guruparamparai.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/ananthazhwan/.

Let me come back from Tirupati to Thondanur.

The temple was closed when I went. Took few glimpses of the place that the great man was born, and proceeded further.

I had said earlier that I stopped at Kirangoor on the way to Thondanur. One of the deities in Thondanur is called Nambi Narayanan. Ananthazhwan is called Thondanur Nambi. 

Karnataka Temples - 5. Srirangapatna Narasimhaswamy Temple

Sri Narasimhaswamy Temple is about 5 minutes walk from the Ranganathaswamy temple. We reached the temple at around 1:20 PM and the temple was closed. I am still writing about the temple since it seems to be a place that pilgrims should visit.

The Narasimhaswamy temple is about 1000 years old and should have been as popular as the Ranganathaswamy temple. But I did not see anyone from the crowd going toward this temple. A bit of goggling reveals that the lack of crowd was not just because I reached there late. Wonder why this ancient temple, right in the middle of a tourist area, is not getting the needed attention.

The vastness and implicit grandeur of the outside area of the temple tells the story of a place that once had a lot of attention. The dilapidated walls and statutes tell the current story. 

Karnataka Temples - 4. Srirangapatna Ranganathaswamy

The Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangapatna is about 10-15 minutes drive from the Karighatta Srinivasa temple. A priest in one of the earlier temples had commented, "It is a tourist temple and will be open longer than other temples". The crowd at the temple and the plethora of shops outside the temple validated the notion. We took the Rs.50 ticket to have a speedy Darshan.

Srirangapatna is one of the 3 Rangams that are considered special - Adi Rangam (Srirangapatna), Madhya Rangam (Shivanasamudhra) and Anthya Rangam (Srirangam). These 3 temples are located in islands that are in the Cauvery.

Srirangapatna is also one of the Pancharanga kshetrams alongside the temples for Srirangam Ranganatha, Trichy Koviladi Appakudathan, Indalur Parimala Ranganatha and Kumbakonam Sarangapani (or) Vadarangam near Sirkazhi. The last Rangam is listed as Sarangapani in some places, and as Vadarangam in some places. As per legend, people absolve from their sins by bathing in the holy Cauvery. Lord Vishnu manifested as Ranganatha in many places along the river so that Cauvery could absolve from the sins that she took from the people. 

The temple was built by Brahma as per legend. Another legend states that Sage Gauthama built (or rebuilt) it. Today, the temple stands after receiving additions and repairs from multiple dynasties, which is reflected on its architectural styles.

The divine feeling near Ranganathar was amazing. While there was no "Jaragandi", the pressure to keep moving was inevitable. 

Lord Ranganatha,
photo from the internet

I am not going to write much about the temple itself since Wiki has provided great coverage @https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranganathaswamy_Temple,_Srirangapatna.

I will also suggest reading the history of the temple @ http://www.bibangalore.org/indian-heritage/srirangapatanam.

Karnataka Temples - 3. Karighatta Srinivasa Perumal

The Karighatta Srinivasa perumal temple is about 30 minutes from the Mandya Lakshmi Janardhana perumal temple, and about 10 minutes from the Srirangapatna Ranganathaswamy temple. While going from the Mandya temple we were stuck for a while in a level crossing in Mandya. Need to check if there is an alternate way.

I had not heard of the Karighatta temple before, and was going based on online reviews. A wild card, so to say. The temple was on top of a hill at 2697 feet.  It was a scenic drive on the hill which was very pleasant since the road was good and there were no vehicles coming in the other direction. Not sure how comfortable it would have been on a more crowded day. There are about 500 steps if one were to climb the hill instead of driving up. It was a surreal feeling on top of the hill with gentle breeze and great views.

I am not uploading any photos of the hill since I did not take any photos without people in them. A simple Google search will show a lot of great photos of this place.

The temple has 3 Srinivasars - the main deity is the Karigirivasa Srinivasar, who is flanked by shrines for Yoga Srinivasar and Boga Srinivasar. All the three Srivasars are tall statutes casting a gracious glance. We were fortunate to witness the thirumanjanam of the main deity.  

Lord Srinivasa,
 photo from the internet

The Thayar is goddess Padmavati. 

Goddess Padmavati,
photo from the internet 

The urchava moorty is not kept in the temple due to the fear of theft/robbery. We visited the priest's home in the village below the temple and were blessed to get the dharshan of the urchavar.

Urchavar - Srinivasar

Legend/history (Source: https://www.thrillophilia.com/karighatta)

The temple is famous for being associated with two legends of Hindu mythology. One legend says that the temple was built when Sage Kutsamuni performed his penance so as to pray to Lord Srinivasa to bring back to life four maidens (devotees of Lord Srinivasa) who were killed by an elephant called Kari. 

Another legend is related to the Hindu epic Ramayana where it is said that Sugreeva (the monkey king) brought this hill (then called Nilachala) from Thirumala for helping to make a bridge to Lanka in order to bring back Sita. However, at the request of local devotees of Lord Vishnu, he left the hill here and then on it came to be known as Karighatta. 

A different Source quotes that the idol of the God was installed by sage Brigu.

The sangamam of Cauvery and Lokapavani is supposed to be visible from the hill. I did not see.

Operational details: No entry fee. Footwear can be left just outside the temple but will suggest leaving them in the car since there are many monekys. There is ample car parking atop the hill. I could not find the priest's phone number online, so could not check before going.

Karnataka Temples - 2. Mandya Lakshmi Janardhana Swamy Temple

The Sri Lakshmi Janardhana Swamy temple is about 40 kms from the Aprameyaswamy temple. 

The approach roads are narrow but a sedan/cross-over car can go easily. The temple was absolutely empty when we went. Again, to note, it was Ananthyayana Kaalam/ December/ Maargazhi.

Sri Lakshmi Janardhana Swamy Temple 

The deity, Lakshmi Janardhana, is over 1000 years old. The deity was established by sage Mandavya.

There is a separate shrine to the left of the perumal (right from the onlooker's vantage point) for the thaayaar, goddess Vedavalli. The thaayaar statue is about 300 years old and was moved from a different place as per the priest. The larger area was called Vedaranya in ancient times, which might influenced the name of the thaayaar.

I noticed some great framed pictures in the temple walls.

Operational details: Free entry. Footwear can be left just outside the temple - no stand though. 

While many temples in the region are very famous, this very old temple seems to be getting less footfall. The priests were very forthcoming in explaining about the temple's history. 

Karnataka temples - 1. Doddamallur Aprameyaswamy

We visited many temples between Bangalore and Melkote on a day trip. The trip was during Ananthyayana Kaalam, so the temple timings were different than the usual timings.

We started with the Aprameyaswamy temple in Doddamallur. The temple is off highway 275. Our GPS took us through a different route which led us to broken roads in a village. So better to stick to 275.

The main sanctum in this 11th century temple is of Lord Aprameya. Aprameya means one who has immeasurable qualities. Perumal is in Nindra Thirukolam with Sangu and Chakram in the upper hands, and Kamalam and Gadhai in the lower hands.

Photo from internet,
for remembering in the future

The thayar shrine had Aravindavalli thayar. While we were immersed in the benevolence flowing from the thayar's face, the priest explained that we can bring Kumkum and oil the next time for the thayar. I did not find shops selling oil near the temple, so better to buy before traveling to the temple.

Photo from internet,
for remembering in the future

There was a separate shrine for Navaneetha Krishnar. Krishnar was in the form of a baby holding ghee in his hand. The Krishna is typically without much adornments, but was highly adorned on the day that we went, probably because of the month of Marghazhi.

Purandaradasar had composed the song, "Jagadodharana, aadisidalu Yashoda”, at this temple.

Photo from internet,
for remembering in the future

There was a separate Vaikuntanaathar shrine. Vaikuntanaathar with his consorts was a sight to see. Note: I do not find any mention of Vaikuntanathar in Doddamallur in any website. But I am sure that that's what the priest said. 

The temple also had Ramanujar and Vedantha Desikar.

Operational details: No entry fee. There is a place to wash hands on the left side of the temple. The temple is open from 8 am on regular days, and from 4:30 am during Ananthayanam.

Down the memory lane: From my last trip to the Aprameyaswamy temple in 2006 - http://ramanuj.blogspot.com/2006/04/mysore-trip-doddamallur.html