Welcome to the last part of the stories from the Amrutheswara temple. Last of this series and last from me for now. All these parts put together however do not even begin to scratch the surface of everything that this temple has to offer. The secrets left to be understood and uncovered and the tiny little signature hints in each carving left to be interpreted still await the curious eyes of its visitors. I wonder if even a 30 part series can do justice to the magnitude of elegance that has been cramped into one temple, tucked away in Southern India.
As the warm February sun was busy tanning my skin multiple times over, I ignored the sweat pouring down my back while tales of Lord Krishna's childhood kept me captivated. Starting from the very beginning...
Frame 1 -
As each child was born to Devaki and Vasudeva , a donkey positioned outside the cell would act as the harbinger of childbirth. The donkey was said to be sensitive enough to detect the mother in labor. Its not so subtle heralding was a signal to Kamsa, Devaki's brother, to rush to the cell and kill the baby. This was in a bid to escape the prophecy that Devaki's eighth child would be responsible for Kamsa's death. Better safe than sorry, Kamsa made it a point to kill every child born to his sister rather than target just the eighth one. Just as the eighth child, Krishna was born, Vasudeva prostrates before the donkey requesting it not to alert the evil king about the birth. Though I had never heard of anyone else assisting Devaki or Vasudeva with the birth, this panel seemed to be pretty packed with a whole lot of characters. Baby Krishna is next to his mother on the cot, three ladies attending to Devaki, two guards and of course Vasudeva and the donkey. There is also a comfortable mattress that shows slight indentation under the mother and baby. That is a lot of details in a single panel.
Frame 2 -
Under the cover of darkness, Vasudeva takes the young one to his friend Nanda in Gokul where Nanda's wife Yashoda has just given birth to a baby girl. Gokul was across the river Yamuna and the river was in spate but parted enough to provide a passage for Vasudeva to carry baby Krishna across comfortably. Again the stories I've heard mention Vasudeva making the journey alone. But in this panel there are two guards seen accompanying Vasudeva. Yamuna is filled with creatures of various sorts similar to the panel on the Ramayana side.
Frame 3 -
Yashoda has given birth to the baby girl in a cowshed and Vasudeva has reached there with baby Krishna for the quick switch of babies. It was imperative he got back before Kamsa realized the prophecy was already in motion. The beautiful part about the depiction of Gokul in these panels is the number of cows that are carved. The same was also seen on the panels of Veeranarayana temple in Belavadi. Here also Yashoda is surrounded by cows and calves as Vasudeva is leaving baby Krishna with Yashoda.
Frame 4 -
My interpretation is that this is a scene of celebration at Gokul on the birth of Krishna. Our friendly guide had better things to do, so it was left to me to understand the panels. It could be the demon Trinavarta trying to kidnap baby Krishna in the process. Musical instruments are being played. The cows and calves seem to be dancing as the women wait their turn, bearing gifts for the child. Of course the demon was killed by Krishna soon after. Since the faces are eroded some amount of translation may be lost. But the musical instruments are surprisingly intact in the carving.
Frame 5-
This is a beautiful panel. A pretty cradle all ready for baby Krishna, as Yashoda is tenderly placing him in it. Adoring women all around eager to catch a glimpse of the beautiful baby. The lady on the far left could be Putana, sent by Kamsa yet again in another attempt at Krishna's life. The calves are in sync again, dancing beautifully.
Frame 6 -
Now that Krishna has grown up a bit, his irresistible naughty phase has begun. Yashoda, all demure and decked up is churning the butter. She is sitting on a very pretty seat with tiny tassels and a cushioned top. Krishna has his hands in the pot grabbing the butter nonchalantly.
Frame 7 -
One of the pivotal moments in the Mahabharata, leading to the Kurukshetra war was Draupadi vastraharan after the game of dice. Dushasan at Duryodhana's behest is pulling Draupadi by her hair while attempting to disrobe her. Of course Krishna's divine intervention prevented the unholy act, but I did not see a frame depicting that.
Frame 8 -
Flames rising from the ground engulfing every tree and every creature in the forest while arrows are flying overhead to prevent the creatures from escaping. This is the burning of the Khandava forest where Krishna and Arjuna help Agni in consuming the forest, while preventing Indra the god of rain from saving the forest with his thundershowers. The story by itself is pretty complicated, so I am giving you a link to it right here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khandava_Forest There are multiple versions of the story. This link is just a gist.
Frame 9-
To end the series, a scene from the war with Arjuna deftly shooting the arrows and a stocky Bhima, wielding his patent weapon, in tow. The bedecked elephants running furiously while the warriors atop them are armed with spears, arrows and a host of other weapons. Both circular and rectangular shields seem to be used here. The depth of imagination can be seen in the depth of the carvings. The elephant's leg is evident behind Arjuna's leg, while Bhima's leg is in front of Arjuna's leg. Achieving this kind of variation in such a small space to clearly indicate the chronological order of their standing is impeccable.
With this, winding up the Amrutheswara temple series. Like I had mentioned earlier, I've not even covered ten percent of this wonderland that can transport you into the epics and hold you captivated. Go see for yourself. If you are a heritage buff like me, then this temple is the place to visit.
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