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Temples Are Found Throughout India Particularly in Tamilnadu and They Have Retained Their Importance, Signification and Popularity Through the Ages

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Temples Are Found Throughout India Particularly in Tamilnadu and They Have Retained Their Importance, Signification and Popularity Through the Ages 1 Temples are found throughout India particularly in Tamilnadu and they have retained their importance, signification and popularity through the ages. Art, religion, culture, philosophy have been inseparable with society in the history of Indian culture. Among them art is the gift of God. The purpose of art is at the heart of the God is unifying the depth of all things. Man is still able to achieve and contact with the world of God, because of the aesthetic significances of the ancient and modern temples. All temples express the devotion and piety to the people1. Temple art has been described as imitations, as representation of reality, as intuition, as expressions of need and emotions as communication as adjustment and as beauty. They tend to imply in one way or the other, the cognitive, affective and aesthetic function of art. In its aim, means and ends, art has been closely associated with life and its conditions. The art can be regarded as very conductive to the harmonious development of personality, it will live as long as humanity exists. Radhakamal Mukherjee says that true art is born out of the struggle but the integration of the emotion, of aesthetic contemplation by which the artist can secure peace with self and society 2. Art as imitations, art as pleasure, art as expressions, art as a quality of experience and art is an integral part of life cannot be separated from the daily activities of men and women. What men see and feel is intimately connected with what they think and know. Art is given out of the aesthetic 2 response, and it is also an expression of the personality of the artist. Art has a wider basis and also universal appeals. It appeals to the cognitive, cognitive and emotional aspects. Art in the true sense reflects the culture and civilization of the people. Mekinnery puts it art has a daily impact on the lives of every one and should form an integral and significant part of living. It is a field of human activity in which men use their talents and abilities to communicate their fellows the meaning of experiences through which they lived 3. Art is a wholesome living experience and a total self expression that lend meaning to life. According to Ramasamy Aiyar, art as a form of yoga, being essentially universal and spiritual being the presentation of the divine the ideal in artistic terms. Art plays the important part of making the truth, lovable and enjoyable to human heart. In short art should foster self control through self experience, self conquest through self giving, replace lust by love, pride and prejudice of the mind by piety and beauty of the soul, arrogance of ego, by the elegance of the spirit discord by harmony of the being, falsehood by truth, perversion by perfection, turbulent passions of the heart by the sublime peace of the soul. The highest aspiration of every individual should hence for the became a perfect work of art 4. Fine arts are important for human culture and progress. They purify man’s mind and help them to lead fuller and happier lives. They 3 develop the sense of beauty and the way of life. The temples focus as all aspects of everyday life of Hindu society spiritual, religious, cultural, educational and social. The temple also the place where one can transcend the world of man. Hindus believe that their lives are merely stages in the progression to ultimate enlightenment. The temple is a place where God may be approached and where divine knowledge can be discovered. All the aspects of the Hindu temple focus on the goal of enlightenment and liberation. The principals of design and construction, the forms if its architecture and decoration, and the ritual performed and all these are determined by the ancient text called sastras which are compiled by the priest5. We may hold that temples are turbines of divine energy. It has been said that the temple is like a power station that stores electricity and distributes among the people. It stores up divine power and makes it available for all who resides in the area in which it is situated. The Westerners call our place of worship as temple, a derivative of Latin word “Templum” which means square or rectangular drawings made by the priest. Temples originally means a holy shrine or building that is screened from the eyes of the profane. It is the dwelling place of God. It serves the purpose of housing his image and it is the architectural frame of the liturgy and cult of the God 6. The word Templuism is divided in to two terms namely Temple + ism which mean the word ‘Temple’ means the place of 4 worship and ‘ism’ means one of the various kinds of doctrines, theories or practices. So Templuism means a place of worship which curtains many doctrines theories or practices 7. According to Hindu tradition, the temple architecture is a religious architecture which is connected to astronomy and sacred geometry. Normally, the temple is referred to a place of sanctity representing the macrocosm or the universe and the microcosm or the inner space. In modern days architecture is the art of discipline of creating an actual or referring an implied or apparent plan of any complex object of system. Temple arts represent the spiritual expression and representing a new phase in its spiritual advancement and mental evolution. South India is studded with gigantic temples, fascinating in their beauty and imposing in their appearance 8. For the Hindu society the temple is a place of both daily and occasional worship. It may also be an object of pilgrimage at festival times. Temple is the symbolic reconstruction of the universe. The activities of Gods and the lives of human beings are linked together in a continue, in which time is conceived as a cyclical system. The architecture of the Hindu temple symbolically represents his quest by setting out to dissolve the boundaries between man and the divine. For this purpose certain notions are associated with the very forms and materials of the building. Paramount of the identification of the 5 divinity with the fabric of the temple or form another point of view, the identification of the form of the universe with that of the temple9. Such an identification is achieved through the form and meaning of those architectural element that are considered fundamental to the temple. Hence the significance attended to the site of the temple. The famous and significance Shore temple and beautiful rathas and mandapas are situated at Mamallapuram. Mamallapuram is situated on the coromandal coast, 58 kms to the south of Chennai. It was designated a world Heritage site by UNESCO IN 1984 for its standing range of monuments, dating from the 6th century the 10th century A.D10. Mamallapuram is one among the 16 world Heritage sites being protected and developed by the Archaeological survey of India and the Central Tourism Development. The visitor to this tourist spot never fails to experience the rare symphony on the rocks created by the Pallavas. The tourists discover that the resort takes them through a series of wonderful monuments, now getting fresh lease of life and an enchanting beach 11. Mamallapuram has kept alive the ancient art of stone masons and sculptors. The visitors can witness the actual techniques of stone carving, be it with the traditional hammer and chides or with modern powered tools12 Occupying an important place among the classical monuments in India, the monolithic rathas, cave temples at Mamallapuram attract the 6 visitors from the far and wide. Picturesquely situated close to and rich in their artistic wealth, these monuments offered scope for not only the study of ancient architecture and sculptures in Tamil Nadu but also for enjoying a pleasant holiday 13. About Mamallapuram heard of a temple singing in the rhythm of waves, rocks reading epic poetry spell pound sculptures and rock – cut caves echoing a glorious past 14. Mamallapuram is a supreme cultural monument of Tamilnadu and the world, presents the finest flower of the indigenous sculptural accomplishment of the Tamilnadu. It is a perennial treasure trove of Archaeological interest and academic research. It has over the past hundred years, attracted the best of scholars in the field to marvel at its multifaceted artistic splendor and to examine its structural excellence15. Mamallapuram ‘city of the Great wrestler’ is a popular beach resort on the coast of Tamilnadu, South India. Now famous for its monolithic carvings and cave temple, it formally served as a major port on sea lanes stretching from imperial China to Rome. From the third through the ninth century kings of Pallava dynasty controlled the region from Kanchipuram their capital city 60 km in land. Architectural remains at the site indicate that Mamallapuram also served as a major ceremonial centre and residence of Pallava king from the sixth century onwards, though coins from still earlier periods have been found in dunes along its shores16. 7 There are numerous temples, images, icons and sculptures in India and the world. Among them, Mamallapuram Shore temple, Dharmaraja ratha and sculptures occupy a prominent place because of its antiquity and its structure. It represents the religious tolerance because, it has both Siva and Vishnu images in this temple even though it is a Saiva temple. Shore temple has some special features of its own17. Mamallapuram Shore temple, rathas and sculptures represent the religious tolerance, spiritual expression, holy and social activities with their massive and expansive constructions, abounding in admirable architectural achievements full of sculptural splendours, their hoary antiquating, impressive san city, natural locality, scenic beauty, and infuse piety in their hearts.
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