Reflections on Navagraha Temple Tour 2007
John Ryder
The Navagraha temples of Tamil Nadu in south India form a unique geographical concentration in modern times. All are within 70km of Kumbakonam, and whilst popularly visited by the devout Hindu pilgrims for puja and offering to the nine planetary deities, they are not easily accessible to the casual western visitor. For this and many other reasons it was a privilege to experience the temple tour organised by Komilla, which was highly inspirational and educational to all in the group.
The temples were all of varying scale and placed in different settings. Most dated from the 5th to 11th centuries AD, but some sites appear to have been occupied by temples from as long ago as 3000 years. The larger temple complexes including Saturn at Thirunallar, Jupiter at Alangudi, Mars at Vaitheeswaran Koil and Rahu at Thirunageswaram were all in busy town settings, whilst some of the smaller temples such as Moon at Thingaloor and Ketu at Keeza Perumpallam were set in tranquil rural surroundings. Mercury temple was located within a large and peaceful compound in the small village of Thiruvenkadu, whilst Sun at Suryanarkoil and Venus at Kanchanur were of a medium scale. Each is of architectural and historic interest in its own right, and all are described with great care in the wonderful book by Padma Raghavan and Savita Narayan “Navagraha Temples of Tamil Nadu. Kaveri Delta”(1)
Within Komilla’s tour program we had time to relax and enjoy the surroundings and experiences of each of the temples, and through the organisation of Komilla and our local guide were able to enter the inner sanctuaries of the temples and experience the puja ceremonies. This was a new level of experience for many. We were also fortunate to experience a special puja to the nine planets on the first day of the tour at the great Chidambaram temple complex, and also to visit the haunting Shweta Vinayaka Ganesha temple in Kumbakonam itself, which is under restoration, and also the beautifully (UNESCO) restored Airatesvara temple at nearby Dharasarum.
Padma Raghavan and Savita Narayan reminds us that “The Navagrahas are considered to be intermediaries between the principal deity in the temple, almost always Shiva, and the worshipper. They are each in charge of specific areas of concern to the devotee, be it health, wealth (etc)…. The belief is that worshipping the specific graha for the specific need gets the devotee the boon he craves. Of course the ultimate God (adi devata) is Shiva whose benevolence grants the needed boon.”
In his work on the “Myths and Gods of India”, Alain Danielou (2) gives us further understanding of this concept: “There is no purpose in man trying to contact the more remote aspects of divinity, neglecting those within his reach.” And “Our worship goes to the higher gods, but through the hierarchy of all of the degrees of manifestation. There is no short cut.” All of which makes eminent sense to the astrologer who observes the active daily influence of the ‘intermediary’ planetary deities.
Helping the rational western mind to make some sense of the meaning of the deities Alistair Shearer (3) observes that “The Hindu pantheon is an attempt to define and classify the basic energies that conduct the universe. Since all the energies at the origin of all the forms of manifestation are but aspects of the One divine creative power, there is no form of existence which is not ultimately divine in its nature.”. And at a more personal level; “The subtle levels – the invisible realms that form the unconscious springs of our thoughts and actions – are the abode of the hidden energies, the unseen laws of nature that control, modulate and sustain our daily lives. It is the myriad aspects and operations of the Divine – the laws of nature through which it manifests the world of particulars – that are personified as the deities of the Hindu pantheon.……
He also reminds us that “The temple is the place where the gods most readily descend to earth.” And so we partly understand that through siting, orientation, and architectural design according to Vastu Shastra, along with ritual purifications of the ground and other ceremonies, a place is created that brings man in a peaceful state to meet with the deities, whose energies are somehow made more manifest and available by the totality of the temple design. This may be through external agency, or through our inner mind enlivened to connect with the energies of the deity within. We may also speculate that the intensity and depth of the consciousness and practice of the rituals may have lessened over time, as much appears to have been lost and even the temple environs at times seemed to be swept up into the more frenetic currents of our age.
But these are all whims of my speculation, which fall away before the rich memories from this journey; of the haunting echoes of the ancient hymns chanted by a lone priest deep within the Ganesha temple at Shweta Vinayaka, where one was immediately transported beyond time into the deeper silences of the mind; of the ancient banyan tree reflected serenely in the pond in the Thiruvenkadu temple compound, where one could easily imagine the ancient rishis teaching even today; of walking through the long corridors of beautifully carved stone, to join with the inner rituals, surrounded by ordinary people of the land, all seeking the blessing from the deity, as they have done through millennia of devotion and homage; and for each of us, at different times, to experience that strange feeling of connection with the deity during the ceremony, in such a way that one could not help to be deeply moved despite whatever conscious skepticism we may have held.
And while we have only captured a glimpse of the ancient Vedic culture, we have been fortunate to experience this journey of connection to the Navagraha and their presiding deities which will, I am sure, reverberate in our lives for a long time. All of our thanks go to Komilla for making this possible.
(1) Padma Raghavan and Savita Narayan “Navagraha Temples of Tamil Nadu, Kaveri Delta” (English Edition, Mumbai, 2005: english_edition@hotmail.com) p1.
(2) Alain Danielou. “The Myths and Gods of India” (Inner Traditions International, Vermont, 1991) p 366
(3) Alistair Shearer. “Forms of the Formless – The Hindu Vision” (Thames & Hudson, London, 1993) pp8, 90.
About John Ryder
Born and living in Australia, John Ryder trained and has worked as a structural engineer for over 30 years, at one stage in senior levels for an international engineering consultancy. He has also practised meditation and followed a strong interest in the Vedic Sciences for many years, more recently in the study of Vedic Astrology and Vastu Shastra. Recent trips to India with Komilla have helped him to enliven this knowledge and develope stronger connections to the ancient roots.
contact info : js_ryder@hotmail.com