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Shiva’s divine play: art and literature at a South Indian Temple

Holt, Amy-Ruth
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1196129102

Abstract Details

2007, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History of Art.
This study analyzes the sculpture reliefs of the Tiruvilayadal Purana, or “the Divine Play of Shiva,” that were added to the temple sanctum of the Nataraja Temple at Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, in the mid-seventeenth century. At first glance, these reliefs appear to be shocking later additions to this temple complex, since this text does not highlight the deity worshipped at this temple, Shiva Nataraja, but instead focuses upon the marriage of a local goddess from the southern Tamil city of Madurai called Minakshi, who marries the god Shiva as Sundareshvara. Further, the text of the Tiruvilayadal Purana shows clear indications of being a political tool of the mid-seventeenth Nayaks due to a number of temples and festivals sponsored in Madurai by the Nayak ruler, Tirumala Nayak. Meanwhile, the Nataraja temple complex at Chidambaram has been a historic and religious stronghold of the ancient Cholas, who were the legendary enemies of the Pandyas from Madurai. Given these divergent traditions, the sculptural depiction of the Tiruvilayadal at Chidambaram seems very out of place. Through my study of these reliefs and my translation of this Tamil text, I have been able to uncover how the Tiruvilaydal Purana has been incorporated into the iconography of Chidambaram so that it does not conflict with the worship practices at this site. One of the most noted features of this new visual text at Chidambaram is that it only shows twenty-eight of the sixty-four chapters of the Tiruvilayadal Purana. Through the selective use and placement of these scenes, this text is then reorganized around the central iconography of Chidambaram, which includes the hiding of the major character of this text, the goddess Minakshi, in a handful of dance images throughout this relief series. This study then demonstrates how literature can be transformed into a new art form in order to bring about the centralization of modern religious practices.
Susan Huntington (Advisor)
794 p.
Madurai; Minakshi; Shiva Nataraja; Chidambaram; Tiruvilayadal; South India; Hinduism; Shaiva Siddanta; Tamil Nadu

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Holt, A.-R. (2007). Shiva’s divine play: art and literature at a South Indian Temple [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1196129102

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Holt, Amy-Ruth. Shiva’s divine play: art and literature at a South Indian Temple. 2007. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1196129102.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Holt, Amy-Ruth. "Shiva’s divine play: art and literature at a South Indian Temple." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1196129102

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1196129102
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.