CHAPTl-H - 111
CULT. MYTHICAL ACCOUNTS AND ICONOGRAPHY
OF LORD BHAVANARAYANA
Lord Bhavanarayana, considered to be one of the many manifesta tions of Lord Vishnu, is the God worshipped in a limited geographical area of about 200 Kms radius, itv the mid Coastal Andhra with Bapatla to be the epicentre. The name of the Lord suggests that it belongs t o t h e Vaishnavaite cult of \vorshi[) and iconogr&phy.
Lord Vishnu is chanted witli a number of names like Kesava, Nara- 4
yana etc. in the Kesava namas a n d Vishnu Sahasra Namam. Added, Lord
Vishnu is also known as - Sriman Narayana (the Lord Himself), Aswatha
Narayana (the Lord in the form of Aswatha Vrksha), Satya Narayana
(the Lord as the Incarnation of Truth), Nara Narayana (tlie Lord along i w i t h Nara i.e. Arjuna), Yoga Narayana (the Lord in the Yogic Posture),
Surya Narayana (the Sun God), Yagna Narayana (the Lord as the Receiver
of sacrificial oblations) Lakshmi Narayana (the Lord with His spouce
Goddess Lakshmi), Sesha Narayana (the Lord in the reclining posture
on the serpent), O m k^a Narayana (the Lofd in the anthropomorphic
form of Primordial sound), Veda Narayana (thee Lord in the physical
form of the Vedas) and the like (lV-KD-1973); but there is no Dhava
Narayana.
There does not seem to be any reference made to Bhava i n t h e
status of a God, either in the Vedas, Aranyakas, Brahmanas, Upanishads,
/ Puranas o r t h e Kavyas. Lord Siva one of the three members of Indian
Trinity, is known as Bhava (the first vowel toeing short) but not Bhava
(the first vowel ';being long). Hnwover there are refnreiires to Bhavya
34 35 a n d lihavayasya i n I h o Kg Viida, only in llio conloxl oi a pntrt)n, but not a God (VI-M6K-Pt.II-195H).
Lord Rama and Lord Krishna, th incarnations of Lord Vishnu are « «
identified individually in tuultii)le forms. There are temples dedicated
t o Lord Rama in different names such as Rajiva Lochana, Kodanda Rama,
Pattabhi Rama and the like; and for Lord Krishna in the names of Gopala,
Venugopala, Ras B i h ' a r i , Giridhari etc. , but neither of them are identified
with the prefix Bhava.
According to the local tracts i.e. the Macanzie Manuscripts (MLT-
V I-F.83884), Kaifiyats a n d t h e Sthala Puranas (BNKM-NVD-1985), \he date
given to the construction of the earliest temple of the cult of Lord Bhava-
Narayana in Bapatla, by a contemporary Chola King is 515 SE, correspon
ding to 593 CE.
Though there does not seem to be any historical j(ing by name
Krimikantha Chola said to have caused the construction of the Temple
of Lord Bhavariarayana at Bapatla during the sixth century AD, the epigra-
phical records under study reveal th royal patronage to the temples
__ S - at Bapatla, during the reign period of the Telugu Chodas like I’inamalli
Deva Choda {SIl-VI-139; 1023 AD), Kannera Deva Ch“oda (S1I-V1-155-111G AD);
the local rulers like Kadiyalaraja (Sll-Vl-191:1125 AD) and Rajendra Kona
Raja (SII-VI-175-1150 AD), belonging to the family of llaihayas of Kona
and the famous Vijaya Nagara ruler Sri Krishna Deva Raya (SII-VI-146;
1518 AD); and to the temple at Sari)avaram during the reign period of
Sri Veerapermadi Devara (SII-V-IH; 1219AD) of , Iho Pithaf)U! rim linn of
Chalukyas; and Kumaragiri Rcddi (SlI-V-1; 1323 AD). Thus, the temples
under study received royal pati’onage through ages. Added the donors 36
/ _ included the Queens of Sri Vf!f!ra>)criiiadi Uevara ■ (SIl-V-12, 15, 16, 18
Q 23): Nagala Devi, the Queen of Panda Raja (SIl-Vl-137: 1147 AD); Soinan- diamma, the wife of Gonka-ll (SIJ-VI-135: 1144 AD); the royal ^officials like, Kavalia, the official scribe of Tribhuvana Malla Pottapi Choda (Sll-
VI-128: 1149 AD); Pendli Tera, the Collector of Marriage Taxes (Sll-VI-
131: 1149 AD); the Ministers for War 6 Peace in the Courts of Mahamanda-
leswara Bhiina Nayaka (SIl-Vl-133: 1147 AD); Ra jndhyaksha, tho Prime
Minister of Velanati Gonka (SII_VI-154: 1152 AD); Padalu, the Commander-
in-Chief of Gonka-ll (S11-V1-19B; 1136 AD), and tlie Kinsmen of the royal
officials like Murthi Raja the grandson of Mahamandalesvvara Kandanavole
Rama Raja (SlI-VI-122: 1551 AD); Mallaya Preggada, son of the Prime Minister
of Pottapichoda Deva (SII-VI-132-. 1151 AD); the Chiefs of the occupational
guilds like Enumadala Balanja (SII-VI-120; 1275 AD), Telika 1000 (SII-VI-
149 8 152: 1154 AD), Nakaramu (SlI-Vl-136: li45 AD). In addition, the
ordinary devotees 9SI1-V-20) including ihe children of the workers in
/ _ the temple service (Sri Bhavanarayana Devara Koluvu Sani Kapama Koduku.. .
SIl-VI-169; 1167 AD) were among the donors for the maintenance of the
temple and its services.
The inscriptions under study refer to the God enshrined at the
Centres like Bapatla and others as - Uhavaya, Bhavadevaya, Uhavasureswaraya
and thee like in addition to Bhavanarayana as found in the earliest inscrip
tion at Bapatla dated 1023 AD (Sll-VI-139). The inscriptions onn the Sarpa-
varam temple refer to Lord Bliavanara'yana as Sarpavaranatha ( S I I - V - 4 ) ,
named after the village, Vimagaralvar (SIl-V-12, 16, 18) and Purushothama
Devara (SII-V-13 8 19). HowevGr, the name Bhavanarayana Perumal i s
found common in most of the inscriptions of all | the temples. 37
In all the inscriptions, Iho name Bliava :s found only to be a prefix to the suffixes like Ueva, Ucvara, Sureswara, Narayana, e t c . T h u s , inn the light of the supposition that Bhava Narayana is the combination of two words, i.e, Bhava a n d Narayana, a n d Narayana being one of the many incarnations of Lord Vishnu, it becomes necessary to search for the person whose name presumably is Bhava. he be a political ruler, donor,
philosopher or an evangelist.
The date given to the origin and spread of the cult of Lord Bhava- narayana is 5th-6th Centuries AD. hi the context of the study of the
formation of the cult, it would not be out of place to peep into the contem
porary social and cultural background the area under study.
SOCIO-CULTURAL SETTING:
During 5th-6th Centuries AD, Andhra Desa with special reference
to the area under study was under the political control of the Vishnu 'li * Kundins proceeded Pallavas, Ikshwakus and the Satavahanas in the Chronolo
gical order. Vishnukundins like their predecessors were staunch followers
of Brahminical faith, performing the sacrifices like Aswamedha, Rajasuya,
Purushamedha, Sarvamedha (APAS-No. 8-p. 13), However the inscriptional
records like the Indrapalanagara plates of Indrabhattaraka (Bharathi-Telugu-
July 1965) speak of their religious tolerance causing the construction of
the Temples and the Buddhist Viharas.
Buddhism made its way into Andhra Dosa, even durnig \llin lile
time of Lord Buddha. According to some of the traditions, the Lord Him
self had visited Andhra and rocoivod int(j his relipjon a countless multitude
{TW-OTYC-II-p.209), which however is far from truth. The reasons for
the phenomenal triumph of Buddhism in Andlira like in the other parts 38 of India, were the spiritual unrnsl and tlic discontnnt against the Bralimini- cai ritualistic practices. Added, the teachings of Buddha were not totally new to Andhras, for, the hereticaal new religiousi i.e. Buddhism, Jainism and Ajivikism have their origins in the primitive animist background as found common in the Buddhist princi[)les of Sila, Samadhi a n d Prajna; and in the cardinal principlees of Saivism in the name of Yoga (RA-BSL-
1973-P.35).
Since its entering Andhra Dona, Buddhis/ii could establish as a popular movement in the masses, independent of total royal patronage.
The donations made for the construction , renovation and maintenance of
the clergy were the results of the pious private munificence of the women
folk, including the royal ladies, the traders, the artisans and the like.
It is the simplicity and the scope for self impj’ovemnt through the eight-
fold-path, that made Buddhism popular among the commoners of Andhra.
However, the intelligentia of Andhra did not leave Buddhism to be a simple
faith, but with their com mentnrios and evangelical potency have elevated
Buddhism, to be a World religion. llianks to the eternal efforts of Scholars
like Acharya Nagarjuna followed by Arya Deva, Asanga, Buddhaplilita,
Bhavya alias Bhavaviveka.
In course of time Buddhism was divided and subdivided into a
number of schools and sects as many as 32 under the Orthodox, Unorthodox
a n d Other categories (MASl-No. 71-35 fj 36). Theravada a n d Mahasanghika
along with a few sub-sects wrnt! f;slablished in Andhra Hesa. 'I'he most
important of th Theeravadin schools of Andhra are: Theravada, Mahisasaka
and Mahaviharavasin; and thn schools of Mahasanghika are: flaityakas,
Purvasailas, Aparasailas, l^ajagiri kas, Uttaragirikps and the Siddharthas.
The doctrines of Mahasanghika school slowly evolved into Mah'ayanism,
branched off into Madhyamika, Vijnanavada a n d Vajrayana schools of philosophy. 39
Mahayaha, otherwise known as Duddhayana is the philosophy believing in both the Pudgalanairatmya and the Dharmanairatmya i.e. the realisation of the non-existence of the soul (Pudgala) as well as the five elements, composing the worldly objects and beings (Dharma).
In otherwords, Mahayanism propounds the theory of Suhyata or Suhyavada,
the non-existence or the void of any iiialerial life.
The theories prcjpounded by Acharya Niigarjuna, Uu; founder of
the Suhyavada, in course of time were characterised by many philosophers
as Vitandavada i.e. the Nihilism refusing to assume any thesis betweeen
the Brhminical and the Buddhist elite: and were interpreted in multiple
by Commentators like Buddhapalita. Triratna Dasa, Bhavaviveka and others
(ER-Vol.II.McM-1987).
BHAVAVIVEKA:
In this background shines a luminary named Bhavaviveka, wlio
according to the Tibetan sources is knnown as Legs-ladan-' byod-pa and
in Chinese as P'o-p'i-fei-ka; both, when translated mean cloamoss-discri-
minating i.e. Bhavaviveka (YTl-TWD-Vol.Il-1961-p.221).
Bhavaviveka, said to be belonging to the last decade of fifth
century CE, was a profound scholar of Buddhist i)hilosophy and founder
of the Swatantrika-Madhyamika school of philosophy, a branch of Mahayana
theology. He was born in the family of scholars in the Malayara i.e.
Malayagiri region (identified to be) a part of Venginadu (comprising the
modern eras of Kovvoor and Nidadnvolo talut^s of tlie West Godavari District),
and was a resident of a great mountain Cavern, immediately south of
the town of Bejawada (Vijnyawnda) in a singulnr isolated rock iiill, along
whose base and sides are the remains of a considerable number of rocks,
identified with the present Undavalli ('aves (BRWVV-HT-tr.Suyuki-X-y3. 22v3 ). 40
Dhavaviveka had sludind both Sutra anci Sastra literatures during his formative years and eexcellod in tiie art of debate, especially against
the Vedic apologists of the Samkhya school. His chief influences were
the teachings of Acharya Nagarjuna, on the thories of Siinyavada in the
Madhyamika philosophy avoiding the extremity by denying both absolute
reality and absolute unreality of tilings and asserting their conditional
existence; and the treatises on logic from the traditions of Buddhism
(espeecially the works of Uignaga, Asanga, Vasubandhu), and Brahminism
(with special reference to Nyayapravesa). He, along with Sthavira Buddha-
palita had founded two indoj)ondent schools of logical thinking known
to be Prasangika and Sthavira.
In the historical develo[)ment of the Mahayana philosophy, with
special reference to the Madhyan\ika school, according to Prof.Stcherbatsky,
a split is noticed between the hloalistic school represented by Stliiraniati
and Dignaga and the Relative sctinol represented by r3viddha[>alita and
Bhavaviveka. (l^BlI-JT-1975-p. 101 ).
Bhavaviveka as seen from the records of Using was a powerful / scholar and a Sastra Master. In the words of Professor Sukumar Dutt
(BMMI-SKD-1962-P.245) 1
We are informed by Using, of a serial biography of th Great Mahayana Masters written by an Indian monk not long before. In Using’s own time ...... Nagarjuna, Deva (and) Aswaghosha (as) of an early age and Vasu bandhu, Asanga, Sanghnbliadra (and) Bhavaviveka ( a s ) of the middle ages ...... ■ 'T ^ 3 T h 3 following text from I'homas Watters gives a dntnilnd ncrxnint
o f Bhavaviveka and his erudition (YTl-T\VB-1961-p.220 to 224); 41
....n e a r the south of the city, in a cave in which Sastra Master (i.e .) P'o-p'_i-fei-ka slays awaiting to have an interview with Maitreya when the latter came as to be Buddha...... Julien restores this name as Bhavavivoka. The authority for this name is found in Burnouf's descriji- tion of a Sanskrit treatise known by name Vinaya Sutra (but properly the Madhyamika vrttis), ' composd by Actiarya Chandra Kirti as a commentary on th axioms of Nagarjuna. This treatise, Burnouf tells us,_quotes certain Buddhist brethern (like) Buddha[>ali ta, Arya Diva and Acharya Bhavaviv^a. ...
Acharya BhavavivOka hat] given a new interpretation to the existing
Arya Ashtanga Marga ( tht; I’.ight-lold-path), from the Maliayana ptiilosophi- cal perspective. To quote Prof .Dutt:(
Whil^ retaining these (the _old cult described itself as the Aryan Eight-fold-path; Arya Asthanga Marga), Dhava- v i v ^ a gives to ^ c h one of them a new interpretation, from the Mahayanist point of view, so that the ethical or practical content of each is transmitted into an attribute of the inner life of contemplation... BhavavivCka adds that the significance of all these is shown loco citato in the Bodliisatva-fii taka by which is meant the Mahayana- sutras.
Btiavaviveka is oik? of tin; traditionally re{iortod eight commentators on Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyama Karlka, the others, being, Nigarjuna, Buddha- palita, Chandrakirti, Uevasarman, Gunasri, Gunamati and Sthiramati. Of these Devasarman, Gunasri, Gunamati and Sthiramati belong to Yogacara school. Bhava wrote anotlier commentary on Muiamadliyaiiia Karika. I iknown as Prajnapradipa. Buddhapalita' s philosophical methodological approach is without himself maintaining any thesis or proposition to be established and tried to point out the necessary, but undesired consequences resulting
from a non-Madliyamika o[)poncnt's ttiesis. Tliis method wa's strongly
criticised by Bhavaviveka, who made us^ of independent inferences
(Swatanntranumana) to prove the ' Madhyam ika standpoint. 'I'hus, tlio
Madhyamika was divided into two independent schools headed by Buddha
palita in the name of Prasniigi ka and by Bhavaviveka in tlie name of
Swatantrika. 42
Coming to the theorios propounded by Acharya Hhavaviveka, the Madhyamika thought did not aKsert any claim about the Ultimate
Truth/Reality ( paramartha Satya). But tlie independent reasoning (svatantra anumana) of Bhavaviveka was applied to the Conventional Truth/Reality
(Samvrtisatya) , as a means of rescuing the logico-linguistic conventions
(Vyavahara] from a systematic negation (Prasanga) that opened the school
to the charges of Nihilism while Bhavaviveka acceptcd the Madhyamika
view that ultimately ( paramarthatah) no entities could be predicated
with any form of existence, he was willing to employ such predication,
on a conventional level. In order to maintain the reality and the Utility
of traditional Buddhist categories for talking about the path of spiritual
growth and while denying the Ultimate Reality of such categories, Bhava
viveka employed a syllogistic thesis ( Prati jna), a philosophic strategy
that was nearly incomprehensible to scholars of the Madhyamika school.
Bhavaviveka, in order to affirm a thesis on the conventional
level, while denying it ultimnloly, had creatively i'oinler[)rotnd tlie
Madhyamika doctrine of the Two Truths (Satyadwaya). In his Madhyamartha
Sangraha, Bhavaviveka propounds the two levels of Ultimacy: the Highest
Ultimate beyond all predications and specifications (Aparyaya-}iaramartha)
in confirmity with all tlie Madhyamika teacl,iings and that Ultimate which
could be inferred logically and specified meaningfully ( Paryaya-Paramartha) :
the later being the bold innovation in the history of Madhyamika thought.
Tfius, ntiavavivoka's two main philosoi)liical contributions - his
affirmation of a thesis on a Conventional level and his reinterpretation
of the doctrine of Two 'I'ruth's (Salyathvaya) - are ovaluatrMl divorsoly
by contemporary scholars. Those unsympathetic towards his views maintain
them to be an unhajipy concession to the logic^d conventions of liis day; 43 a concession that dilutes the ripor of the Madhyamjka dialectic. Those with more sympathy towards liis interpretations accept his contributions as a creative surge that rescued the Buddhist religious phi^losophies from those dialectical negations tliat threatened the integrity of the Buddhist path itself.
As a measure to refute the charges on the Sunyavada philosophy,
Bhavaviveka composed the basic texts on the Naturelessness (Swabhavahee- navada) of the Madhyamika school. By the dint of his ability (prajna) of expression, Bhavavivfeka could become Head of about 50 monastries in the region of Dhanyakataka and could popularise his views among tlie masses, through a large number of disciples and thousands of monks.
Thus, Buddhism which essentially was a moral order preached
by Buddha for self purification, in the course of Time, was divided,
sub-divided and further'subdivided into innumerable branches. In the
process it lost its moral code and became a Iheistic religion speaking
about the unknown and unseen Gods. Slowly there developed the parapher
nalia of worship which included the process of circumambulation, offering
of flowers and flower-garlands, lamps, incence, etc. With this Buddhism
took all together a different turn and lost its identity and becaiic a shadow
of Hindu religion in practices of worship and offering of prayers. As 1 recorded by Yuan Chwang- at Tc-na-ka-che-ka (Dhanakataka - Ulmnyakataka-
Dharanikota) there was a crowd of Buddhist monasteries but most of them
are deserted, about 20 being in use. 'I'here were about lOU Deva temples
and the followers of various sects wore numerous (YTI-TVVD-10G1 -p.215).
In this background- by the same time in North India, Lord Buddha
was identified as one of tiie 'I'en Incarnations of Lord Vishnu and was 44 represented in the sculptures and panels. The same technique was adopted in Andhra Desa too. Bhavaviveka till his death and even after was alive for a long time in the arfjuinents propounded by him and carried on by his followers like Acharya Jnanagarbha, who could recite many sutras and defeat many tirtlukas of the times.
By the same lime the sculptures of Buddha-Na^rayana i.e. placing
Lord Buddha in the panel of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu were carved, as best seen in the square panel on the ceiling of the temple of Sun
God in Alampur and in the same panel repeated in one of the Papanasanam group of temples in Alampur, giving the impression tliat Buddha was conceived as Mah'apurusha and that the incarnations ar emanated • from
Him (MYE-MAWK-pl.XXIX).
I _ _ / During the same period from tlie West Coast Acharya Sankara
emerged as a strong exponent of Vedism and he with his logical arguments
and references from both Buddhist and Upanishedic treatises proved that
Buddhism and its tenets are no new to the followers of Brahminism arid
they are one and the same being sides of a single coin.
Taking the advantages of time and situation the Acharyas of Brah
minism could carefully transform Bh'avaviv’eka as one of the many manifes
tations of Lord Vishnu and elevated him to the status of Lord Bhava- I
narayana, constructing a toini)Io, c.ronting an iiiin>',o, n\i(l nslahliKiung a
cult knitting mythical origins of tlie newly created and coined God i.e .,
Lord Biiavanarayana. Tiio Haint? was made iu;ard through llu; royal
mouth in the form of a dream sequence of King Krimikantha Chola, a
quasi-historical ruler said to be belonging to the early t.'hola dynasty. 45
It is for t^e same roascju lliat Ihere is no siiiiilarUy in tlio mythi cal accounts of one centre and tho ollior. The anecdotal narrations connec ted to each of the twelve tciiii)los, reproduced in the following pages under individual heads of centres are singular, unique and dissimilar; for if it be the iiiythicai accounts of tiie sojourn of Lord i^aiiia or the childhood pranks of l.ord Krishna, the narrations wouldbe the same all over India, with local flavours.
As a testimony to his erudition the authorship of the following texts is attributed to Biiavavi\ei the Indians originals of these texts are not available, but the translations rendered by the contemporary foreign travellers in Chinese and Tibetan languages are preserved in their libraries (THBI-tr.LCAC-ed.UPC-1970- p.401); 1. Pradipa - Uddyotana - nama - tika 2. Panca-Krama-Panjika-nama 3. Prajna-Pradipa-mula-madhyamaka-Vrthi 4. Madhyamaka-Ratna-Pradipa-nama 5. Madhyamaka - hrdaya - karika 6. Madhyamaka - hrdaya - Vrtti - tarka - jvala 7. Madhyamaka - artha - Samgraha ^ 8. Nikaya-bheda-Vibhanga Vyakiiyana 9. Karatala-ratna Thus, in the context of the contemporary socio-cultural setup, ( I the logical argument is that tlie cult of LordBhavanarayana is a need based creation to check the exodus of thefollowers ofDrahminical faith into Buddhism and reinduct them into tlie Hindu society to strengthen the 46 moral of the order, and lo slop the flood of donations niado to the Buddhist church', for, the donations made to Buddhist Organisations for their maintenance were from the revenues of the productive school of labour and tfie artisan community, forming the bulk of the society. 'I'he same riches were deposited in the temple treasuries, through the donations made in cash and kind for the maintenance of the temple and the perfor mance of various kinds of religious services, as recorded in the epigraphs. BAPATLA Formerly known as rrenijialJi (SII-VI-13f)), Hrahmafialli (SlI-VI- 189), Rajamanikyapuram (SII-VI-167), Btiapattana (SlI-VI-131), Bhavapattapa (SlI-VI-143), Bhavapattu (Sll-VI-lOfi')), and Bhavapuri (AR . H p. No. 13; Bapatla (SII-VI-146) is situated in the Kammanadu region of the historic administrative divisions of the early Andhra Desa. According to the traditional records, as narrated in the Macanzie Manuscripts (MLT-VI-F-83 S 84) and the brochures (BNKM-NSC-1974) publi- I shed by the temple priests, the following text, in the form of a Sanskrit versee gives an account of Lord Vishnu in the incarnation of I.ord Bhava- narayana in the Kali aeon; Brahmaranye varenye Krtayuga vihite Brahmayajno parardhe Etat Tretayuge vakpatutara munibhih pujitam Dwaparante Sesham ksheeravrksham saranamupagatam tptphalam Bhavanakhyam Viprabhyam Cholapujyam vimala Kaliyuge Bhavanarayanakhyam. In translation it is: (a) During the Krtayuga Lord Vishnu was prayed by the Brahmarshis in the Brhmaranya in the form of VagTiosa while the Brhmayagna was on, (b) In the Treta and Uwapara Yugas He was worshipped as Brahmarshi in the form of a Muni, 47 (c) In the Kaliyuga He look shcUer in a milky tree and was worshipped by nrahiiiins and thn (^hnln kiiiR in tho natiit! nnd form of l.ord IHfavn- narayana. The legend says, whon l’roiM|)alli was a small hamlet near the Motupalli port, two brottiers-in-law went to the nearby forest for cutting the firewood and were separated. Bach shouted for the other as bava (in Telugu bava means brother4n-]aw) and could I'hear only an echo. One of them died when he attempted to cut a pala (mimusops hexandra) tree. The others came to the spot and was surprised to see blood oozing out from the tree and the dead body of his brother-in-law lying next to the tree. He narrated tho miracle to the villagers whoworshipped the same to be sacred in which the l.ord Narayana was supposed to be manifest at the end of the Dwapara Yuga. Ttie Lord who responded to the call of a wood cutter was called as Bava Narayana and the place came to be known as Bavapuri. The semi-historical records of the temple speak of a quasi-histori- cal ruler of Chola dynasty and his association with the construction of the present temple at Bapatla, as folhjwing: During his campaign of conqueest King Krimikantha Chola camped at Amudalapalli. His elephants tied to a particular tree attempted to break the branches of same tree (mimusops hexandra), incidentally in which tree Lord Bhavan'arayana is supposed to be manifest. The elephants could neither break the branches nor disentangle their trunks. Tlie King 1 was wonderstruck at the incident. He came to know the past legend I f . connected to the pala tree, and prayed for the grace of the l.ord. He was informed through a couple of Brahmins overpowered by a frenzy. 48 that the Lord is (a) Davanarayana, hncause Mr; roK[)nnflo(i to thn call Bava (b) Bhavanarayana as Hn icvoalcnl Ilis behest in the niincl (Hhnvam ) of a couplc of Urahinuis^ to Iho Clinla King (c) Kslicora niiavanTTraynna as He manifested Himself in the fiala tree or the Ksheera vrksha, (d) / ^ _ Sesha Bhavanarayana as the remainder in the pala tree at the end of three earlier aeons during which He was worshipped by Brahmarshis and (e) Prasanna Bhavanarayana as He bestowed His grace on the Chola King. The King's elephants worn then frond and ho commenced tho cons truction of the temple for l.ord lihTivaiulrayana at the directions of the Brahmins; and made Amudalapalli to be his permanent residence. He was confounded to find in the mornuig that the entire construction of the previous day had come down. The King was very much ufiset a^t the developments and prayed the l,ord, who appeared to him in tt\e dream i and informed the King that lie should use tlie black stone of tho hill chimmiri banda in Venkatagiri saiiisthanam. The stone, according to the 1 Lord , is cold during summer and wai ni during the winter and the word Bava could be traced in its formation. In an ant-hill towards the oast, an idol of l.ord Jwala Nisbimha swamy was found. Since the attempts to remove tho idol proved futile, the temple was extended towards east and the idol w'as housed in it. Soon after the ant-hill was removed tho fiery looks of Jw'ala Nrshimha have engulfed the village KfTrainchTMhi in flames. In oi’dor to control the wrath of the Lord an image of Lord Santha Kosavaswamy was installed and the flames were subsided. The temple was completed chiselling the bases of the pillars in the form of the feet of elephants as ordained __ ___ . I byLord Bhavanarayana in the droam. Meanwhile two devotees from the nearby Kondapatur village represnntf'd tlio King that they tliscovered 49 in their granary (cholain) an i(Jol of a Goddess (Ainmavaru) who proclaimed through some that She Is Ra jynlnkslTmi, the divine consort of l.ord Bhava- narayana, and desired to be installed in the north-east corner of the temple and continue the construction. The installation ceremony of Rajyalakshmi sametha Sri Bhavanarayana was celebrated on Sunday^ coincided with ihe Pournami of th^ month Phalguna of the cyclic year Pramadeecha (corresponding to 594 CE) with the conjunction of Meena Sankramana, together with deities, as following; Esanam Ranganadham tandanu I’uraliaranantaram Narasimha Agneyyam^ Bhashyakaro Nirtidise Mahanjaneyo Garutman Pratyak Sri Kesavadhyah Aniladis'^i Ramachottara Seshabhavah Madhye ^ri Bhuyuktam Sakala Bhayaharam Bhavadevam Naiiiami. That is; Lord Ranganadha is consecrated on the north-east corner followed (in the clockwise direction) by Lord Siva in the name of Someswara and Lord Nrsimha; on south-east the Bhashyakaras (these Bhashyakiras are the founders of the Visisthadwaita sect of Vaishevism, but not the followers of Acharya Ramanuja] facing west; on the south-west God Anjaneya and God Garutman; on the west Lord Jwala Nrsimha facing Lord Santa Kesava Swamy on east; Goddess Rajyalakshmi, Maharshi. Vikhanasa attended by sages Bhrgu, Marichi, Atri, Kasyaf>a on the north-west corner facing the south and Lord Sesha Bhavanarayana on north of Lord Bhavanarayana are consecrated. BHAVADEVARAPALL1: / _ ^ The anecdotal narrations as divulged by Sri Panchangam Venkata- charyulu, the archaka acharya of the temple at Bhavad^varapalli (tape- record in Telugu) is as follows: 50 Once upon a time thnin was Ifiniine in the stale of Nizam. The villagers went on dacoily find slinrn the booty equally anionpsl \heiii. In the process an onion shop was gi\en to an old Brahmin of the village. The Brahmin found a heap of goJd ccjins (Navarsulu) beneath the onions. He refused to receive the gold coins and informed the villagers to share them. The villagers too refused to receive the same since they belong to the share of the Brahmin. Finally they concluded to spend them for a common purpose. Theold Brahmin left his village and was roaming round the country: after some years he came to the present Bhavadevara- palli area, on tlie hanks of river Krishna. In tlie Islamic State of Nizam there was a Tahsildar. He was on tour for surveying the present Di\i Taluk. He reached Bhavadevarapalli and tied the horses over an ant-hill in which Lord Bhavanarayana was present. By the mid of the night the Tahsildar found his horses suffering ' from acute stomachache. He aciminislered every known medicine with the help of the villagers, but of no use. Tlio Tahsildar dreamt Lord Vishnu and was informed that the Lord is present along with His divine consorts in the ant-hill over which the horses are tied. The Tahsildar __ I I understood the desire (Bhavana) of the Lord and was offering prayers to Lord Bhavanarayana Goddess Rajyalakshmi and CJoddess Sri Devi, till was transferred. By now tlie old Uralimin wlio was roaming round tho country, reached the place where the Tatisildar was offering his prayers. Having informed of the episode he constructed a temple for Lord Bhavanarayana with the gold coins in his possession in Bhavadevarapalli. 51 SARPAVARAM: According to the earliest inscriptions found on the temple walls (SII-V-12 8) dated 11OT) Cl',, SaTiiavarani is known as Sri t’urusliotlaiiia Pattanamu. It is also known with the namesSabbapuramu (Sll-Vl-9), Bhava- puramu (SII-VI-30), Bhavayanagaru (SII-VI-5) and Sarpapuramu (SII-VI- 25Q26). Thus, there seems to be two mythical accounts connected to the temple i.e. the origins oi Lord Bhavanarayana and the Serpents; as found in the work by Kuchimanchi Thimma Kavi dated 1754 CE, named Sarpavara Kshetra Maliatmyamu. One d^y ’ sSge Vasistha visited the court of King Ambarisha. The King requested the sage to explain the circumstances under which Sarpavaram had gained itS. s'a^ctity. Sage Vasistha expounded the following: The serpeenl sons of thc> sage Kasyapa were cursed by their mother Kadruva to get destroyed by fire. However Ananta, one of them had escaped from the holocaust and was rambling every holy place for protection. He finally selected a particular place and penanced for Lord Vishnu. Pleased with the appeals of Ananta, Lord Vishnu appeared to him and granted a boon. Ananta, after adumljrating the curso of his mother and the ill-fate of his brrjlhers, requested the Lord to allow' him (Ananta) to be in His (the Lord's) eternal service, as His sayya (the sacred bed), and the same was accepted. As a mark of sanctity the Lord had created a sacred pond where Ananta penanced, for absolving the impurities of the devotees. Thus it became Sarpavaram. King Ambarisha again requested Sage Vasistha to narrate as to how Sarpavaram became the centre of t,ord Bliavanarayana and tlie relation of sage Narada with Lord Bhaxaiuunyana. Vasistiia narrated tlie following I a c c o u n t : 52 Once Lord Vishnu was in ttio court parlour alongwith (Jodcloss Lakshmi being attended by many cnlnslial Gods and Sages including Narada. Maya M a dir^sh i the divine magician was pleasing th audience witli her magical show. Meanwhile a discussion arose as to could any one escape from the Maya of Lord Vishnu. whereupon Sage Narada out of pride challen ged . that no Maya could touch him. Lord Vishnu smiled at the pride of Narada but was silent. Once Narada was passinglluough the preseent Sarpavaram area. Hee found a Sage (Lord Vislinu iiimsolf) penancing. Sage Narada while in discourse with ■♦tie sago, again challonged tlie efficacy of the Vlsiinu Maya. The misclje^s^ sage invited Narada to be his guest for the day. Narada agreed -for same and went to the nearby pond for a holy path, at the directions of the Sage. The sooner Narada dipped into the waters of the pond he was transformed into a woman, totally forgetting the ^ t past. Now Narada is nor more a man but a woman in youth named Sudathi, roaming lovely in the nearby jungle. I * King Chandrakethu of Birudankapuram (the present Pithapuram) one day saw Sudathi and fell in love with her. Both were married and incourse of time blessed with one hundred cliildren. After a lapse of several years the Kingdom of Chandrakethu was invaded and conquered by a neighbouring Chieftain, FhanikfUha. In the battle King Chandrakethu was killed along with his 100 sons. Sudathi was wandering in the battle field mourning for the death of herhusband and sons, and was completely exhausted. She was trying for a Iruit high up hi tlic l)ranchc;s of a tree to satisfy her hunger. As the fruit was out of reach she dragged the bodies of her hundred sons and piled one over the other. Finally : I ’ she had to drag the body of her luisband also to raise the height to tHn fr*in< 53 At this juncture Lord \ishnu took pity on Narada (Sudathi) and wanted to restore his masculine forni. l.ord Vishnu appeared to Sudathi in the form of an old Brahmin and asked him to have a holy dip in the nearby pond (in whicli f'nilior fiatlin(]j to wasti off the pollution of the death of her husband and children keeping one arm out of the waters and disappeared. Narada- did accordingly and regained his male form, excepting the particular arm with bangles. Narada realised the old Brahmin to be Lord Vishnu and prayed. • Lord Vishnu pleased with the prayers of Narada left ftir niiooloka on Garuda vahana and landed in Patalam (the Netherlands) snalfnl on liis vehicle. Narada dij)])ed his arm in feminine form in the pond and regained the masucline form. The pond is known as Mokshagundam, Narada Kshetram, Narada Gundaiii, Narada Koneru, etc. Since Lord Vishnu appeared to Narada and established the p u r i t y o f bhavam (idea) the Lord is known to be Bhava Narayana. T h e Lord is also known to be Pataja Bhavanarayana, for the Lord reached the Patalm, seated on His vehicle, and settled there. PONNOOR: The earliest inscription (SiI-V-121) of the temple dated 1041 SE (1129 CE) reveals that Lord niiavanarayana came to witness the marriage of a Brahmin. Sesham Rangacharya an eighteenth century poet had recorded the traditional account of the toiiiple at Ponnoor in the name of Bhava Narayana Vilasamu, in the form of Yakshaganaiuu. the folk art form prevalent I in Andhra and Karnata Desas. T'ollowing is the narration; In the village Nandur, n part of the ; fgrnier Kondavoeti seema (in the present Guntur district), there was a hunch-backed devotee named Go^vinda. He, along with his maternal uncle named Narasimha of Karamchedu, left for Benaras on pilgrimage. Bo|l^ were bachelors. Govinda 54 met a Brahmin in Bena"ras anri was nfforoci his daiighlor, Akka I.akshmi. GovincJa refused the [jrcjfiosal; instead, sviggcsLed liis maternal uncle elder to him and still a bachelor, uilli a condition that (Jovinda should bo offered Narasimha's daughter fur marriage. Narasimha accepted the propo sal. Govinda made Lord Bhavanaraynna of Benaras to be the witness. (However there is no record of any Bhavanarayana Temple in Benaras). Years later Narasimha coujjle were blessed with a daughter. I'inding the girl coming to age Govinda reminds his uncle of his promise. Narasimha directs Govinda to his wife, who refuses the proposal under the pretext that Govinda is hunch-backed and becoming old. She was supported by the fellow house wives of the locality. Thus Narasimha i breaks his promise. Govinda remintls liiniii of the witness. But lie was mocked at his dumb witness. Govinda pleads for time and at the end of penance he prays Lord Bhavanarayana to answer him, lest he commits suicide. Lord Bhavanarayana appeared and tlirocled him to proceed to Ponnoor without lookingback for Him, and followed Govinda along with His retinue. By the time they reacheed the boundaries of the village F^onnoor, Govinda forgetful of the condition, turns back for the Lord. At the break of the promise, Lord Bha\anaraynna transforms into a lithic image. Govinda appeals to the Lord and the Lord acknowledges the promise made by Narasimha to offer his daughter to Govinda. Accordingly Govinda's marriage took place with Akka I.akshmi. In a particular verse, (jovinda laments the brak of the promise made by his unclee, sayinng: "O! Lord Viswanatha, on that day my uncle promised me to offer his daughter and broke it; O! (river) Tunga- bhadra, Narasimha broke his promise made on that day; O! Trees, the earlier promise is not maintained till dale; O! Five elements, the assurance by the maternal uncle became untrue today; and looked at the nameless trees, residents of the temple of I.ord BhavanaVayana, the door-keepers, (and) the upholders of justice, for [jrotection". The above descriptive account is as per the palmleave manuscripts. However the oral traditions as narrated by the temple priests differ to the following extent: / Once Lord Siva was di\ulguig the secrets of Vishnu Maya to Goddess Parvati. She wanted to know the divine story of Lord Bhavanarayana. / Lord Siva narrated the mythical importance and accounts of Lord Bhava narayana. The samewere re-narrated by Sage Suta to his fellow sages as following: ;|l Lord Brahma earlier to starting creation was brooding over as to how to begin the creation. He heard a divine message Tapastapasya (penance, penance). Accordingly He penanced for Lord Vishnu for advice. Lord Vishnu appeared and directed I.ord Brahma to penance in Karmabhumi (the Land of Duties). Lord Brahma was in search of a suitable place for penance. He saw a divine light about 12 miles towards the eastern ocean (Bay of Bengal), and selected the same place for His penance. Lord Vishnu appeared to Lord Brahma and ordered to Ijogin the creation. The holy place where They discussed became Goshtivanam, where Lord Vishnu settled aeons later. Once Sage Arti was penancing for Lord Visliiiu in Varanasi. The Lordappeared and assured that Alri would be taken into His service 56 during His incarnation as Lord Bhavanar^yana, for six aeons. Aeons later, once a certain Brahmin by nniiio Kos”avayya of Nanduru village (Gunliir district) went to Benaras along with his wife and hunch-backed nephew Govinda, for blessings of Lord Viswanatha for children. He visited Lord Bhavanarayana also in Varanasi. Govinda requested i his uncle to offer his daughter inn marriage, if he is blessed with a girl, : KesaVayya agreed for the same. In course of time the Kesavayya couple were blessed with a girl. In course of time the Kes^'avayya couple were blesseed with a girl. She is named Akka I.akshmi. Govinda, finding her attaining puberty, reminded his unclc about their promise. Kesavayya turned down the same. Govinda appealed the matter to the local gentleman for justice. Kesavayya pacified the xillape gentleman and Govinda for witness. Govinda proceeded to Benaras and prayed Lord Bhavanarayana to follow him and witness the promise. Lord Bhavanarayana, accompanied by Maharshi Atri, river Tungabhadra, rivulet Peddananu proceeded to witness, with the condition that Govinda should not turn back and look for Him, failing which He would transform into an image. Govinda by the time i they reached the outskirts of the village (present Ponnoor) forgetful of the condition looked back for the I.ord. It was the same place wheree the discussions took place ijolutn'ii i.ord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. At the break of the promise the Lord turned into an image. Having heard that Lord Bhavanarayana came uptn Ponnoor to witnss and turned into an image, Kesavayya along with tlu' rnsidnntR nl llin villngn visited Ih place. Lord Bhavanarayana witncssod the promise of Kesavayya through a divine voice and ordered him to offer his daughter to Govinda and granted a handsome physique to ('io\'irida. Since the Lord came to witness, He is known as Sakshi Bhavanarayann. ri7 Having learnt the episocio, the local ruler had visited the Lord with his retinue, offered prayois niui i)nrlorined tlie iiiarriaRo of (Wiviiida with Akka Lakshmi and appointed him in the service of the t.ord till their reaching the abode of Lord Vishnu. Now, since Lord Vishnu appeared to Lord Brahma inn His bhavam (thought). He is known as Bhavanar^ana. The land where the holy discussions took place is' known as Goshtivanam a n d Brahma Kshetram, for Lord Brahma penanced here. ^ PEDAGANJAM: Long ago Vinata the wife of Knsyapa I’rajapati [)rayed lier liushand for children. Kasyapa Prajapati suppestod her to penance for Lord Vishnu for children. She accordingly had thought of Lord Vishnu, and penanced rigorously. The Lord pleased with her penance, appeared and blessed her with children. Since the Lord ajijjeared as desired (bhavam) b y Vinata, Kasyapa Prajapati had installerl tiie image of Lord Bhavannrayana in the present Pedaganjam tem[)le, as {)or the following invocatory verse: . I Vinata suprasannaya, Kasyapa sthapanayachci Gandhapuri nivasaya, nha\adevaya mangalain. Aeons later UdiayanaChakravarthi, the ruler of the area (undated) has enlarged the Kanuparthi village into a town and constructed 1001 / Siva temples donating 1001 acres of land for their maintenance. Die elephants of the King Udayana used to come to the nearby pond for drink ing water. One of tfiem was carrying water and lotus flowers in the trunk and pour the same on an fuit-hill, placing the lotus flowers on it and making a circumambulation. This w'as the daily practice of the elephant.One day the mahout observed the behaviour of the elephant. He was wonder struck at the incident and reported the same to the King. 58 The King having discussed the sanio with his ministers decided to excavate the ant-hill. To the surprise o. tlie witness ax image of a God accom panied by a Goddess is unearthed. Lord Bhavanarayana a[)peared to King Udayana in his dream and instructedti him to construct k t e m p l e for Him and consecrate His image. Accordingly the King constructed a temple and consecrated the image of Lord Bhavanarayana. Now, the Lord is known as Bhavanarayana, for Vinata, the wife of Kasyapa Prajapati had thouglit of (bhavana) Lord Vishnu for children and she was blessed. Tlie King Udayana had thought of (bhavana) L o r d Vishnu to be present in the ant-hill, thus He is known as Dl~avanarayana. [ Me. MSS. M. Vol. 24 (18-22) fi M. Vol. 30 (23-24)] INUMELLA: The mythical account as narrated by Sri Vedantam Rangacharyulu the asthana Pujari of the temple at Inuiiiella (tape-recorded in Telugu) (^ ; is following: r ) Long ago, when tlu; pr(!senl Inumella area was a thick forest, King Parikshit was out on Ininling, iollowed by Ills retinue and minislnrs. » , 1 After a long hunt, by ttie mid of tlie day he Was tired and thurst. He found an oldBrahmin penancing under a tree, and asked him for water. Finding the old Brahmin silent, out of anger, tlie King had put a dead snake around liis neck. Alter sniiin time, tlie Ih'Tilmiin opened liis eyes and understood the desire of the King. In the mean time the son of tlie old Brahmin who was in the hermitage at a distance come to know about the whole episode through 59 his clairvoyance, Overcniiie witli niiRer the young Brahmin cursed the King for death and went to see his lallior. By ttie time the young Brahmin reached his father he found the King and his father talking cordially with each other. The son of the BraViinin had informed of his curse. The old B r ^ m in was sorry for the same and prayed Lord Vishnu for the longevity of the King. He informed the King that the Lord appeared to him in his mind (Bhavam ) and ordered the King to construct a temple for Lord Bhavanarayana by which he will be out of his sins, PADARTHI: The temple of Lord Bhavanarayana at Padartlu in Prakasam district at present is a ' f'oad monumonl. ’I'horn does not seems to bo any inytliical account related to the temple in pojiular. Since the temple is a dead monument no worships are being ofh:red. However the processional deities / are preserved in the house of the fiujari of the temple of Lord Siva of Kothapeta village, three Km nua\’ on north. ! FATTISAM: ' Pattisam, also known as Pattasacliala KshcHram, is important both / for Saivaites and Vaishnavaites as well. According to the brochure, due to the manifestations of Lord Siva and Lord'^^ishnu, the site is known as Kailasam and Vaikuntham for tlie devotees. The hill on which the shrine lies is variously known Dnvakuta parvatham, Neeladri. Veera- / ^ bhadra sikhari and Pattasadri. According to one legend, Devakuludu (the King of Devakuta liill], son of Karaveera went to Kailasa (Himala\as) lo attend tlie (Conference of Mountains arranged by Kailasudu, the King of Himalayas. Uevakutudu 60 felt he was not duly respected by Kailasudu. Unable to bear the luimilia- tion Devakutudu left for penanco for I.ord Siva. Pleased with his penance / Lord Siva granted him a boon tlial He would settle on his body i.e. the hill. Hence the hill acquired iin[)ortance and is known to be Devakuta Parvathamu. Since Neeludu (a Gandharwa in the disguise of a monkey) lived on this hill and penanced for salvation, the hill is known as Neeladri. It is known as Veerbhadra s^ikhari after Lord Veerabhadra the presiding / deity of the Saivaite shrine. According to the trad it inns, ;i pit in tiio Ix m J of tiie river (Iddavari was caused due to the waters of bhogavathi Canga that sprouted from the netherlands (Patalain), when theweapon Patta (a kind of sword used to cut off the heads of animals, usually hold by Mahakali, as one . of 1 iI her weapons), fell on the oarlii from tlie hands of Goddess Bhadrakali, the divine consort of God Verabhacira. The pit, thus caused is known as Bhadrakali gundam and the hill as Pattasadri. The mythical accountrelated to Lord Bhavanarayana is traced back to Ramayana period. Jambavantha, the devotee of Lord Rama penanced for aeons and as per his desire (bhavam), i.ord Vishnu appeared to him, in the form of Lord Bhavanarayana in the aeon Kali and settled along with Goddess Bhudevi on this hill. As a [)roof of the same the image of Jambavantha is seen at the holy feet of the image of Lord Bhava n a r a y a n a . - - - \ NARASARAOPET: There does not seems to be any notable difference in the mythical accounts of the centres at Ponnoor and Narasarao[)ct, exce[)Ung that a local Zamindar B1 of the Narasaraopet area, Raja Malraju Venkata Gunda Narayani, having heard the greatness of Lord I3hri vanarayana had constructed a temple in Narasaraopet and appointed pujaris of Vaikhanasa sect in 1784, and had donated profusely for the eternal maintenance of the temple till date. CHINNAGANJAM: The temple at Chinnaganjam in Prakasam district dedicated to Lord Bhavanarayana, is purely a modern construction of late nineteenth century. As per the oral narrations of the temple priest, (tape-recorded in Telugu) it was constructed about 150 years ago. Certain philonthrof)hist of the village named Bharathamma had contributed for the renovation of the temple 50 years ago. No mythical account of the origin of the Lord or the popularity of the cult is known to them. AMRTHALUR: Amrthalur is named after Lord Amrtheswara, the principal Saivaite deity of the villge. The derivation of the name is as follows: Once upon a time the present Amrthalur area was a thick forest without human inhabitation, excepting a shephard's house. A particular cow of the pen was not milching [iro[)orly and was offering its milk to / Lord Siva in the Linga form hidden in an ant-hlil in the forest. Unknow ing this, the shepherd wanted to watch the movements of the co\i), and found the cow milching over a s tone form. Overcome with angry the shepheerd had thrown his axe to punisli tlio co'v. But accidentally the axe touched the stone form and had cut off a portion equivalent to cow- / shoe shape. Lord Siva ap[)cared to the shephered in his dream and ordered him to go for an abode for Him. Accordingly a temple was cons tructed for Lord Siva by the villagers and the Lord is named as Amrtheswara and the village caam to bo known as A miMhalur. 62 Lord Bhavanarayaip is tlie principal Vaislinaviate deity of the village.The Lord is known as Miriyala (black popper) Bhavenarayana. The anecdotal account connected to the temple is following: When Anirthalur rose to an urban and commcrcial centre, a pepper merchant was passing througli thr; villngt!. Ilo along with his pci)por bags and retinue was halting near the village. Lord Bhavanarayana in the disguise of an old Brahmin w(;nt U) llic mercliant and asked some pepper to get rid of the cold. The iiiiser trader mocked at Him saying that the contents of the bags are not [)opy)or, but the seeds of a vegetable creeper, of a particular variety fbachali vittulu). The Brahminn blessed may it be so. and disajjpoarnd. I’hn next day wlion the trader ofiened the bags for sales, he found to liis utter surprise the pepper transformed into vegetable seeds. Tlie trader immediately realised the old Brahmin who came the earlier day was God himself to examine his sincerity. The merchant prayed the unidentified l,ord for pardoning his mistake. Lord Bhavan'arayana appeared to him in his dream and said He is in the village since a long time and suggested the trader to construct a temple for Him. The tracier liadac;cei)led tlie same and the seeds were 1 restored to pepper.Tlie morchanl tiad construclcul a temfilo for Lord Bhavanarayana out of the [)r'ofits he marie in th-3 sales. Thus the Lord is known to be Miriyala Bhavanarayana (Me. MSS-M. 381-p . 42 fi 43-Amrthahir K a i f i y a t ) . SADBAYAGUDEM: The temple constructed for i.ord Blia\’anTu'ayana at Sabbayagudom, Krishna district, does not relate an\' mytlioiogical account. According * to the oral narrations of tiin priests and tlie Managing Trustee of tlie (53 temple (lapo-recorded in Toluf’u), yunrs ago in Uie scconcl hall of present century, the village gcMilltMiHMi wanted to have a temple tor liie village. Incidentally they found an image in the village fields, Vlie was being offered prayers in silcinnr' till tlien. The villagers have brought the image from the fields. A lemfile was constructed and the same image in the name of I.ord Hhavanaraynna was consecrated. 'I'he village gentlemen had donated lands for the mainlennnce of the temple and appointed a priest. It is not known how thf! I.ord is named as Hhavanarayana. ICONOGRAPHY OF LORD BMAVANAHAYANA; Iconography, the study of images of the Cosmic Man in plastic / forms, by means of arrangement of ttu' acc(jmi)lishmf!nls - Sankha, Chaki’a . Gada and Padma, in ' the four hands - two front and two rear, the orna ments from toe to top, the di'er.sing, ttie dra])cry and the antliro[)nmoipiiic 1 features etc., provide clue for the sturiy of the antkiuity anfl the aesthetic values patronised by the contnmiinriu y i u Um s . Lord Vishnu is described in many forms and the same have been translated into stone, metal anr) on can\as. Of them, the important are the Dasavatara MCirtluihi (th<' Ten foinis), Chatnrviiiisati Murthulu (the Twenty four forms) and th€ other Minor forms. Treatises on Indian Icono graphy, with special referencee t(i I.orrl Vishnu, such as Padma Pura^na, Rupa Mandana, Agnipurana, Parameswara Sanihila describe the images of Lord Vishnu in His 24 ftjrms, on Ihf' placement ol tlie accomplishments. Though the aforesaid works contain the details of the multiple forms of Lord Vishnu, only the HiTpa Mandana has all the 24 forms of l.ord Vishnu,ff whereas Paramoswara Samhila and the Ahirbudhyana Samhila des- cribe only the first tweUe forms, and Padma Purana describes only the first twentv one forms and the twr'nt\- (nintli form (Table: 1). fi4 Interestingly, the scciuncn of emblems er accomplishments differ from one work to the r)llini- in irlnilifyinR the images of l,orci Vishnu. For example, the image of Lord Kesax'a, according to Padma Purana, Para- meswara Samhita and Ahirbudhyana Sanihita holds Padma. Sankha, Cl^akra and Gada in the clockwise direction tjnginning the right bottom hand to the left bottom iiand; uhnrnas arictjrding to Riipa Mandana they are different. In addition to Ills 10 and the 24 forms, Lord Vishnu is also \ identified in minor forms, such as: Purusha. Kapila. Yajna Murthy. Vyasa, Ulianvanlari, iJaltalroya, llariharfi,__\ isu ,'u'i7[)a, l.aksiimi Nar.-iyana, I’l taiiibara, Vaikunta. Trailokya Mohana. Hay a pinva. Adi Murthy, Jalas'^ayana, Pharma. Varadaraja, Ranganadha, Vonkalosa, Vithoba, .Jagannadha, NaranaVcTyana, • ^ / Manmadlia, Sesiia Narayana, Ardha I.akshmi Nora^^ana, Surya Nara"yana, Hayagriva, Yoga Narayana elc., but n(Jt of Bhavanarayana. 'i’hus, there • • is no image of Lord Vishnu, citlior in the form or vvitii the name of Bliava- : I narayana. Iconographically, the clo\ cn images of Lord Uiiavanarayaip are dissimilar in the arrangement of accomyilishments. In the clockwise direction, the orcJer of the act:ompl ishiiuMits of Die l.orti at diff(;rnnl centres, are following: (Table: 2). The images at Bapatla, lUia\ ade\'arapa] 1 i, Narasarao{)ct, (Jhinnagan- — / jam, Amrthalur and SabbTuagudom hold - radiiinm, (.^liakram and Sankham (in the right bottom iiand, right upper lianti and the left ufipor hand respectively) and the loft bottom palm is phicod on the loft knee in the Varada !\ludra pose. 65 The images at Sar|);ivnr(im .-iiid I’nlllsam holdthe right hotloiii palm is in the Ahhayaiiiutlra pnsn, resting on the knee and S^ankham. Chakram and Gada (in lt\e right uiipor hand, the left upper hand and in the left bottom tiand rcspor.l i \ I \ ). 'iho image at rndaRanjam hohls the right l)oll(3m jjahii in the / Abhaya Mudra pose and Chakram, Sankham and Gada [in the right upper hand, the left ufiper hand and in tlio left bottom liand respectively]. / The images at i’onnoor and Inuiiifdla iioid - Padmam, Saiy;hain, Chakram and Gada (inthe lett bottom liantl, left u]iper hand, right upper hand and tlie right bottom iiand rr^spoctivoly). According to tlie classification of images, yide the Fifth Cliapter of Rupa Mandana (Table; 1), tiie images of i.ord l.i ha v 80*8 ray ana at Dapatla, Bhavadevarapal 1 i, Narasaraopnt, Chinnaganjam , Amrtliaiur, Sal)l)ayagudc:m and Peda-Ganjam are the images of l.ord Janardana, the Twenty first form of Lord Vishnu: nnd the imapt^s at Sarj:)avaram,Pattisam, Ponnoor and Inumella are the images of 1-ord Kesawa, Uio first of the Twenty four forms of Lord Vishnu. Neither of the eleven images is the image of Lord Narayana, the second of tlie twenty four forms of Lord Vishnu, / holding Sankham, Padmam, Chakram and Gada in ttie sequential order. Thus, the dissimilar traditional acnounls narrated in tlie rocfirds, the palm leave manuscripts, tlu? Kaifiyats, the (Hal traditions and the variations in iconogra{iiiic details, when studied correlating with the origin of tlie cult of Lord Uliavanruayana and the socio-cultural history of the periods earlier to the formation of tlie cult, as recorded in the traditional 66 accounts related to the earliest teinple at Bapatla, datable to Gth century AD, once again eslablisli Ihri Uu'slFi Hint llu^ cult of I.oi'd niirivanarnyann is a compound form created to retain H a c followers of Brahminical faith from their being drifted into ttin Bnddiiist fold. And it is very clear, that there is no such attribution to Lord Vishnu as Bhava; o r a n y G o d by such name or any inconogrnphic [orm of Lord Vishnu in the form of Lord Bhiava.