Ahobilam Temple Restoration

Venu Srinivasan has shifted his focus North of Tamil Nadu to Ahobilam to carry out a ‘Srirangam’ style extensive restoration of the Thiru Mangai Azhvaar Praised Divya Desam

In the last 50 years, new and unwanted constructions had come up within the temple complex and many historical structures were seen in a dilapidated state

Earlier this decade, in a matter of 18 months, Venu Srinivasan under the direction of the then CM of TN J Jayalalitha undertook what was to be a once in a century restoration of the Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/11/venu-srinivasan-srirangam-temple.html). It was transformational because in the 75 years preceding the renovation, almost every single sannidhi in the temple had seen unwanted additional construction that took away ventilation and made every Sannidhi dark and congested. Most of the Sannidhis remained shut. The restoration exercise saw every single such new construction being brought down and the sannidhis brought back to its historical glory in terms of architectural beauty. Today, every Sannidhi is open each day of the year.

Last year, this section had pointed out the drastic reduction in  restoration exercises (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/02/renovation-issues-in-tn-temples.html) in recent years in TN, following the intervention of the court. Several hundreds of temples in the state, including remote ones, have been waiting for approvals from the court appointed committees but those have been easily forthcoming. Many temples have, much to their dismay, found devotee donors going away elsewhere with the contributions.

Venu Srinivasan himself has a couple of big restorations pending in his list in Tamil Nadu, those have been on hold for quite sometime now. For the moment, he has moved North of the state, to Ahobilam Divya Desam,  located just over 100kms North West of Cuddapah. With the lifting of the lockdown restrictions, he has just begun a large scale restoration initiated there for the first time in almost 50 years under the blessings of the Jeer of the over 600 years old Ahobilam Mutt.The scenario at Ahobilam was no different from what the one that existed in Srirangam prior to the commencement of the activities. Since the last large scale repairs work organised in 1974, there has been extensive additional construction within and outside the temple complex in lower and upper Ahobilam.                

It was the Ahobila Narasimha cave temple in Upper Ahobilam (about 8kms from Lower Ahobilam) at the foot of Garudathri about 3000feet above sea level that Thirumangai Azhvaar visited and sung praise referring to this location in his verses as Singavel Kundram. The difficulty of visiting Singavel Kundram can be seen from this verse of Thirumangai where he says that it is almost impossible to reach this temple as this is a rocky terrain with constant forest fires and the presence of bow wielding hunters.

முனைத்த சீற்றம் வின்சுடப்போய் 

மூவுலகும் பிறவும்

அனைத்தும் அஞ்ச ஆள் அரி ஆய் 

இருந்த அம்மானது இடம்

கனைத்த தீயும் கல்லும் அல்லா

வில் உடைய வேடரும் ஆய்

தினைத்தனையும் செல்ல ஒண்ணாச்

சிங்கவேழ் குன்றமே

Ahobila Narasimha is seen in an Ugra Posture with Prahalada standing opposite to him. The Utsava deity of Ahobila Narasimha Divya Desam is seen at the Lakshmi Narasimha Prahalada Varadan temple at Lower Ahobilam. 

12/24/36 Pillar Mandapams – Restoration

Within three months of beginning the restoration exercise, there has been a sea change at this Divya Desam. Just ahead of the lockdown, the 24pillar mandapam at the entrance arch was seen with huge amount of debris with the structure having gone down. After removal of the debris and work around the structure, the mandapam has been brought back to its historical best.

Worse was the state of the 12 Pillar Mandapam. Rubbles surrounded the Mandapam that was seen in an unattended state. A good portion of the mandapam had sunk below the earth. After the first phase of work as one sees it in Karthigai, it is almost unrecognizable. 

The 36 Pillar Mandapam and the Sasana Mandapam are no different. The bottom part of the Mandapams has not been visible with huge quantity of mud and debris that had collected over several decades. In fact, those visiting the divya desam in recent times would not have been aware of the historical nature of this architecture. The work is now under progress to reflect the foundation of the mandapams in its historical beauty. While the base of the Sasana Mandapam had gone below, the flooring and roofing were in dilapidated conditions. Stones were seen in broken condition and these have been replaced. A new weathering course has been initiated on the roof of the Mandapam. 

Deterioration over 50 years

To get a feel of how the Divya Desam had deteriorated in terms of its architecture, one only had to visit the Ramanuja Sannidhi in Ahobilam. There was a thick growth of shrubs, the sannidhi had gone beneath, the path leading to the Sannidhi was strewn with rough stones and the sannidhi complex itself provided a forlorn look. Subsequent to the activities undertaken over the last three months the Ramanuja Sannidhi and around stand transformed. Even as one looks at it from a distance, one can feel the historical nature of the Sannidhi.

Before and Now - The Transformation

Dilapidated Theppakulam Mandapam/Pavement

The pavement around the Theppakulam pointed to the dilapidated state of various zones at the temple complex. The west entrance had remained shut for a long time, the south side was full of shrubs and the west mandapam was in a dilapidated condition. Repair works around the Theppakulam over the last quarter has reopened this entrance and provided a facelift to the entire zone. There is beautiful greenery on the South side reminding one of similar restoration near the 1000 pillared mandapam in Srirangam.

Theppakulam - the old pillars earlier and the restored pathway, now

9 Forms of Narasimha

Narasimha is said to exist in one of the nine forms- Ugra, Veera, Jwala, Sarvamukham, Nrisimha, Bisanam, Bhadram, Mrityu and as Vishnu (Lakshmi Narasimha). It is only here at Singavel Kundram that one is able to see him in all the nine forms in a single location. As there are nine Narasimhas here, this place is also referred to as Nava Narasimha Kshetram. As Garuda undertook penance at the mountain here, this is called Garudachalam.  Every month on Swathi, there is a special Abhishekam for all the nine Narasimhas.

Dwajarohana Mandapam - Debris and Buried

Another zone in the temple complex that exposed the deterioration over the last half a century was the Dwajarohana Mandapam. This too like the above mandapams had submerged and gone below. With the removal of the mud that had built up near the mandapam, this too has been restored and original stone structure around the Mandapam is now clearly visible.

Submerged under mounds of mud - And Now

Cashing in on devotees’ prasadam craze

The Laddu Counter, and this is typical of most of the historical temples, is a prime example of how new constructions have come up inside temple complexes of late, to cash in on the popularity of the ‘prasadam’. The new construction is being dismantled and a traditional open stall is being set up.

Huge complexes relating to Anna Dhanam sheds, the provisions storage and the devotee toilets had all been built within the temple complex. These are being shifted outside of the prakaram into more acceptable zones.

                             Laddu Stall and Anna Dhanam Shed - New Accretions

In the first prakaram, new flooring had meant that historical epic carvings lay hidden and unseen. The Flooring has been restored and the entire stone carving that date back several centuries are now clearly visible to the devotees. In the second prakaram, a stone mandapam lay completely hidden with big sized new constructed that had converted it into rooms and offices. These additional constructions have been brought down and the mandapam restored to its historical grandeur.

White and Red Paints on the Mathil

Another common feature seen in almost all the historical temples in the last few decades has been the painting of the ‘Mathil’. Across the entire temple complex, the new styled paintings have been removed and the temple walls now have the historical look to it.

The Vahanam and Alankara Mandapams are also being restored. As with many of the temples, the madapalli is often a discarded area with new modern innovations. The current exercise also involves restoring the madapalli. In all the mandapams, roof leakage is being arrested by using traditional weathering course and pressed tiles. New  electrical facilities will be installed in the entire premises. In addition to these, rain water harvesting systems will be introduced around the temple complex.

Upper Ahobilam

Vishnu took the form of Narasimha (half man-half lion) in this mountainous terrain to kill Asura Hiranyakashipu. The pillar – Ugra Stambha- out of which Vishnu came out in his Narasimha Avataar is seen at the top of the Nalla Malai forest, about 7kms above the Upper Ahobila Divya Desam.

Thiru Mangai Azhvaar begins by praising Narasimha's physical strength and his special appearance in a half man-half lion posture and tearing Asura Hiranya’s chest while the world looked awe struck at his power and ability to destroy the Asura.

அம் கண் ஞாலம் அஞ்ச அங்கு ஓர் ஆள் அரி ஆய் 

அவுணன் பொங்க ஆகம் வள் உகிரால்

போழ்ந்த புனிதன் இடம்

பைங்கண் ஆனைக் கொம்பு கொண்டு பத்திமையால்

அடிக்கீழ்ச் செங்கண் ஆளி இட்டு இறைஞ்சும்

சிங்கவேழ் குன்றமே

It is one of the most exhilarating experiences to make the trip across rocks and water falls to reach the top of this mountain. While it is not an easy task, especially as there is no straight path or steps (unlike a Sholingur), a sincere devotee whose thoughts center around the Lord will be able to make it to the top of this mountain in about 2hours from Ahobila Narasimha temple.

Red Blood of Lord Narasimha

2kms below the Ugra Stambha and 5kms above Ahobila Narasimha Divya Desam is the Jwala Narasimha temple, the exact place where Narasimha tore open Hiranyakashipu. This temple is in a very scenic location, mountains on all sides, with the water fall just about 50yards away. To this day, one can see the red blood below the rock signifying the Hiranya Samharam. At the Jwala Narasimha Sannidhi, one finds Lord Narasimha in the middle in a fiery sitting posture here with 8hands. With a couple of hands, he is seen tearing open Hiranyakashipu and with another two, he is seen holding the Conch and Chakra. 

The developments at Upper Ahobilam is no different to the one below. New additions, Polished granite flooring, shutting out of light and ventilation in most mandapams with the construction of closed walls all around. As with Lower Ahobilam, there too the ‘accruals’ of recent decades have been removed, the polished floors replaced with traditional stones and all the mandapams restored to what it once were.

Festivals 220days a year

There are several inscriptions inside both the Lower and Upper Ahobilam temples. 14th Century inscription records the construction of the steps at the Upper Ahobilam (Divya Desam) temple. A 15th century inscription reveals the gifting of the village (Kaluvacheru- Komaragiripuram) by Karama Reddi for the conduct of the daily rituals and worship at the Divya Desam. A mid 16th century inscription reveals the contributions made by Vijayanagar kings. Kakatiya kings also contributed to the improvement of the temple and the mandapas. Inscriptions relating to the 16th century provide insights into the building of mandapam, Garuda Stambha and festivals on 220 days in the year. Another interesting inscription refers to ‘Thaligai’ to be presented to the Lord twice a day- once at noon and the other in the evening at the Lower Ahobilam temple. Krishna Deva Raya, who sought the blessings of Ahobila Narasimha before going for a battle, came back after having won the battle and installed the Vijaya Stambha in front of the temple here.

Every year, a 12day Brahmotsavam is celebrated in a grand way in Panguni.

While in every large scale restoration exercise including Nava Tirupathi and Srirangam, there has been an initial apprehension and resistance, Venu Srinivasan has found a lot more openness in temples in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The appreciation of the months of  hard work in restoring the nine Narasimha temples in Ahobilam to historical glory has found resonance in the people there. And that for the moment is motivating enough for him to carry on  such large scale restoration work well past the 25th year (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/07/venu-srinivasan-historical-temples.html). 

This section will track further the restoration developments at Ahobilam over the next few months.