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Objet d’art
The most spectacular manifestation of the Hindu rite of clockwise circumambulation — Pradakshina — is the annual procession of gods, goddesses and their attendants riding in specially constructed chariots known as Raths. Nowhere are these chariot festivals more spectacular than in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India, where every important shrine has its own chariots.
The chariots are assigned to different divinities that are normally housed within the sanctuary, and are brought out of the sacred precinct into the streets on auspicious days of temple ceremonies. Chariot festivals provide occasion for public worship on a popular scale with thousands of participants taking part. The more energetic devotees are expected to help pull the chariot, an act that guarantees them blessings from the gods. Worshippers run beside these mobile shrines as they move through the streets in order to gain merit and blessings: by catching glimpses of the decorated divinities inside the chariot.
In olden days, there was hardly any Hindu shrine in South India which did not have a temple chariot of its own. But nowadays these traditional chariots are only of antique interest. Thanks to tourists, the intricately carved pieces from many an old chariot are now a collector’s item. There was a period, when the craft of making chariots was considered divine and craftsmen were highly respected. Changing times, however, have corroded the fortunes of these craftsmen. Many old temple chariots now lie impaired, with the result that some of these are being sold by the pieces in order to raise money for activities at the temples.
The structure of a chariot comprises four sides symbolizing the four cardinal directions, which are covered with carved panels to conceal the internal frame. The panels are engraved with images of gods and goddesses shown often in the company of attendant deities, guardians, women, musicians, dancers, beasts and lotuses. All of the figurative, animal and vegetal motifs are densely packed to create continuous cultured friezes that rise in ascending storeys. The iconography of these images is closely, though not precisely, related to that of the temple itself. The panels of each storey of the chariot are arranged in rows, three being the customary arrangement.
On the morning of the festival, the processional deity is transferred to the chariot by the attendant priests. A prayer is offered to the chariot before the crowd begins to pull it. The chariot is pulled only in a clockwise direction, proceeding slowly through the streets. It occasionally stops so that the riding gods and goddesses may receive respects of the smaller shrines located along the route. Late at night, when the last of the devotees has finished worshipping, the chariot is brought back to its temple sanctuary.
The traditional use of these antiquated temple chariots might perhaps never return, but there is no denying the fact that ornamental value of these chariot panels will continue to be appreciated by collectors worldwide.
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