Dr.

GARIGIPATI RUDRAVYA CHOWDARI ENDOWMENT LECTURE - 5

. EMERGENCE OFSAIVISM IN ANDHRA

by

D. KIRAN KRANTH CHOUDA~ Department of AI-HC & Archaeology Sri Venkateswara University TIRUPATI

25th February 1998

. Ramachandrspuram East Godavari District..

Saivismis the oldest, or one of the oldest religions in 1he S1& continent existing since five thousand years. ·In Ardlra.desaBlglIIe

. evidence for the linga worship Can be traced back to the second - century B.C. as evidenced by the Siva IIngaof Gudimalam1. near Ren1gu~ta in Chittoor district. Thi$ unique lingais made Out d

"hard dark brown stone (Sanarayl .which,is. avaIabIe IocaIy aIdknown as CekkarayiJ. The lings has seven sides- in 1he mOle. nut shape at the top and is square at the bottom. It looks .. b male organ in state of erection. Siva as a samapw1a ."......... - is carved in the lings itself in bold relief. He bas only two tmnds,- -a remarkably early state in the iconographic cOnCept of Siva·~ Siva holds a goat in his right hand by its hind legs wiIh Is head Ia9IQ down . beyond the right knee. I.K. Sanna suggests.the gOat as ... sacrificed animal'. The left hand holds -8 water pot, a gIoIUar vase with narrow mouth, looking like soralcayllbuna.. The' Pal.., rests _ - upon the left shoulder, as is the practice of the n.aaI. even tDdaJ. 'Siva has curly plaited hair, lookihg like 8 turbart, with fIoweIs, lea • ., some scholars calling the god as Agni Audta , is rDeMxliy

the fine cloth (vastrs) wom by the God is tied below 1he aIxb'naI and winds up round the thighs. The creases and $m8Ier t*Is d the cloth are very well sculptured, the larger and heavierfdds .. .ru between the legs. The double parallel lines {SIIIa ..... " bI'dUD. over the m~kha/a string defining the folds of the gainI8IC. characteristically opaque, voluminous' and heavy as on .. aiiI.,.·

Yakshas. Besides, the meIch.";""'ndhs, and aHIDW· b ...

in the form of -an ornamental sash tied in a Ioop-Icnot ..

right side. recalls the early Bhamut-Amaravall carvings.IIrnIJ .

1

to Maurya - Sunga period". Having dressed finally, the male organ of the god is depicted visible, hence digambaradeva. Siva stands !"\ er the shoulders of a guhya. The linga is fixed inside the two

one circular rings. Thus the linga combines the Vedic Rudra and' t e formless one. The linga has a stone railing around it. The excavations around the linga indicate that the worship was a sociated with the sacrifices of animals li~e goat, ram, as is evidenced by the cut marked bones. I.K. Sarma rightly concludes t at the linga was worshipped in an open shrine located within the habitation. All these points put together, one can also say that' the linga can. be the cult of fertility. The lings andyonl as the symbolS of the cult of fertility, are well known. The lings at Gudirnallam, as said earlier, is a perfect representation of the erect male o(gan,

ay be incflcating the. phallus cult. Further, the occurrence of animal r mains around the linga indicate the tribal origins, of ritual of animal sacrifice of the cult of Siva. The ritual practices and the form of the lings sculptures during the 2nd century B.C., might have originated even much, earlier. HClving taken all these points, into COIl$ideIation it may not be out of place to state that the pres8nt lkiga ~ have been apotheosization of a wooden post representing the lord of the

. hill and forest 8nd anthropomorphic symbol of the fertility cult. Even' ow the region around Gudimallam is inhabited bY. tribals., The '~ ractices of worshipping the cultie symbol of fertility Is well known

mong the primitive communities. The . earlier practlc and

trad~ions perhaps. transformed and transmuiat in the tonn of

resent IInga. Situating the lings in the. circular of AIftIIA

ymbolically relates to the earth, womb and r~

sacrifice sustains the heat'in the flame of sacrtfIciaI .... andaaa1ft. PRlca!_. • In this context we have to remember figure of Siva on the ling. has no ~"Ga.MJr&

normative figure according to all the ~"""._*':J_".

Further, the concept of the High god ~ 'I or

(Kondadevar.) associated with the tribes Ilk. the C,. ..... YanacIs, Bhagatha, Kondadora, Kondareddl, etc., r .... ~_ .. : gods In the fonn of cylindrical wooden IoIJ.'HKt

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elongated or roughly round associated with animal sac 'f' , I .

n icra ntuals

These are to be considered as the amurta forms of Siva "Thl h .

id d l ' IS as

to be cons: ere In the light of the technological level f th

T Th 0 ese

oornmum '~S'. ose who advanced in the technological realm

developed ICOniC forms. The attributes of Rudra Rudra S' in th

.. • • • t Iva In e

VedIc and Post Vedic literature appear to have been borrowed from

among 'the autochthonous population, and conceptualised as Rudra and Rudra Siva", Thus the Gudimallam IInga has the unique form of Siva showing a distinct stage towards classical art tradition. In other words the tribals viewed their God, Le., Rudra Siva in their

, own form and through their profession .. the presence of the Lord.

In tribal traditions or in Megalithic cultures "a long wood is a proxy for a piece of stone, which in tribe and village was set up to indicate the presence of deity" .. That was the period -when the 'Gudimallarn region was emerging into advanced rural society with iron and

copper technoiogy and wider trade contacts. . ,

In Andhradesa, the prevalence of Saiva faith in the centuries

.' prior to the Christian era is well attested by archaeological evidence.

Dharanikota-Amaravati, Siddhesvaram, Virapurarn are worthy of mention in this context. Especially the Maharathi chieftains were patrons of the Saiva faith like the satavahenas.

The later Satavahana period, i.e., early centuries of Christian era witnessed the phenomenal growth of Saivism. The distribution of Siva temples in the villages of the upper Krishna and lower Kr1shna and the. Svarnamukhi is significant. We may also underline the linkage between the trade routes and centres. and the temple centres. Virapuram, Siddhesvaram are the points of entry Into the southern Andhra as is Gudimallam on the route to Kanchi. AmaravatiDharanikotais too well known and it is described as 'gatf)Way cItY' of the lower Krishna valley. We can also surmise on the baSIs of the Gaths Saptasati that the Saptagodavarl tract also had Salva

temples going back to this period,

Amaravati yielded a tiny sculpture of 8 mulc#Jllllll" (Gre~nish lime stone), now exhibited in the central gallery of the 3

Andhra Pradesh State Government Museum, Hyderabad. The size of the linga suggests that it could be an object of personal worship 'an archa or ishta linga'. 'It is of a conventional manushalinga (man-made) type, the Rudra or Pujabhaga having human faces signifying various aspects of Siva'. This Panchamukha/inga, with flanked top portion, contains four faces in the four cordinal directions, representing Siva as Sadasiva. Each face of the linga represents the air, fire, earth, water and sky on the east, south, west, north and top of the linga respectively. Thus Siva as Sadasiva, the highest and the supreme being is worshipped during the first-second centuries A.D.-, 1.0 the lower Krishna valley. We also have sculptural evidence from Amaravati for the popularity of Ganesa, depicted as one of. the garland bearers carved on 'the coping .stone of the Mahachaitya. It. may be noted that the Ganesa cult by this time was absorbed ~~o the Saivism. Its occurrence in the Buddhist context reveals its folk roots and appeal. I.K. Sarma rightly says, "It should be noted that Hinayana sect introduced little change in the nomenclature as well as iconography of the Brahmanical deities who were always shown as acolytes of Buddha". A Nandi (limestone) assignable to the Satavahana period was found during the renovation of the Sikhara of the Am areswa ra temple. The Nandi in round form with the decorations indicates the sacred nature and it must have stood before a sanctum - sanctorum. Tbe literary work of Hala begins with the invocation of Si~ Parvati and (i8lnesa..

It also refers to the image of Ganapati. The buH type of

. Satavahanas and their Saivite names also are in contkmtty . archaeological evidences and lead us to conclude that SaMe __ also flourishing along with the domineering presence

Siddhesvaram yielded a large brick sl1ri", mukhamandapa, antara/a and garbh.llr/h. and a few am_ shrines between the present stone temple and thEllnnnar_..- .. 1W temple revealed the Vastu Vlnyasa detalls in the fon"n vessels over the plinth deposited in circular grooves at

directions at corners. In the gerbil t

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Vastupurusha figure were found beneath the 1Ioor_ These temple units belong to the 1-2nd centuries A.D.

Kudavelli, Phase-I revealed a brick shrine of Siva Whk:h (3) be dated to 2nd century A.D. Similar brick shrines were brOll!l1t to light at Rangapur, Gumakonda,· etc. The Virapuram brick teqlIes numbering fourteen belong to two phases. 1l1e early phase is dated to the beginning of the first century A.D., while the other 10 1he ~ 4th century A.D. Each of the temple units of-the first phase contails a linga, rolled river pebble of quartzite, fixed into the floor of the shrine. Each of the temples of the later phase, possesses a_. on pedestal in the centre of the shrine wiHlout oIher ioons or '*he

.figures. 'V.Je deem them as independent lIliIs raised by 1he devoIaes who frequented this tirfha-kshetra'. There is clear e\'kIerK:e fnJm the Gurzala Brahmiinscription for the existence of a Saiva len .. . belonging to the late Satavahana period prior to 1he cons1ructiCJn the Nava-Brahma temples at Alampur .

. The Ikshvakus were also personally staUlCh OI"UIOfbcVedists They performed Vedic sacrifices and yet encouraged 8udcI1ism.

is well known that Vasishthiputra Sri Chamtamula was a great devotee of Mahasena or Kartikeya, the son of Siva- and Panal.

. They regarded Mahasena as the guardian deity and ~ laliples for him on all the four cordinal directions of their citadeL In between 275-340 A.D. a great Saiva temple building activily look place in .. Sriparvata Vijayapuri valley. It was due to the irqJact m the _ ..... __

and western allies of the Ikshvakus. The discovery m IIBIJ". lingas, normally installed in honour of the deceased, Pushpabhadrasvami and Nandis clearly indicate hit S*IVIIIIID very popular in this region. Further the temples foil ..... Nagarjunakonda dedicated to the gods KartIceya and several lingas suggest the developna1t d Salva the Ikshvaku period.

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3rd century A.D .• is attested by the Caturmukha linga from

A __ ~~.r.;:dJ·. and as I.K. Sanna avers, had much early beginning dated to century B.C. who cites Gudimallam linga as evidence. W~ may consider the Ikshvaku period as the conducive period for the slnlllO Pasupata sect emerging in Andhradesa. Commercial and ooIiOOaI contacts with central and western India brought in the LaldMt-l~upcl1lSm which is characterized by the Yoga and Bhakt/,

_1PI£!hi-in m Siva as llahesvara as an essential element of Pasupata 6

The shrine dedicated to Pushpabhadrasvaml is called as MaltJadeva m the epigraph.

The new evidences from the conservation work by the- Southeasl.em circle of Archaeological Survey of IF)dia at Chejerla provided ~1In~ for the apsidal temple foundational details. Its beginning

. -

has been assi!JIed by tK. Sarma to the late Satavahana period.

The ling8 in limestone set up at the centre of the apsidal .. Maar" .-rat a squarish mortise hole on top corresponding apb pilar butsrnaJler in size and girth when compared to fIItIo.noI~ mUle lJI'aIJIakshetr;'. Recent writings on this temple suggest ttm Ihe temple originally was conceived as a Siva temple and not a COIwelSlC .. of BIDIlist- shrine into -a Saiva shrine. It was a major sanra~_fnI which deve~ further in the post-Satavahana acquiring open air lingas and several avarana shrines of brick" each c:onIai*lg a linga fixed into the· floor.

We lenoir Of 1he worship of Karlikeya and exclusiVe temples bla him at Nagarjl.ntkonda. But Ganesa had 'indePendent status only. h post-IIcshvaku period, though the cult of Ganapati and his lad an eartier beginning. The two armed Ganesa from 0Iejeda n.calas a closer afftnlty to the Ikshvaku style.

The Ramalingesvara temple. originally of brick, t

IIIIJIaINlI4Mn Ramatirtham Is an apsldal one enshrining .. estIme .... on a square slab pIthII. The lings with a morti8e hole an lop IRI the apsidaI plan of the temple suggest the early ...... d .. tampIe. Ike the Chejerta example.

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In the Post-Ikshvaku period the Brihatphalayanas ruled the Guntur region. The king Jayavarman (300 A.D) issued a copper plate grant the seal of which contains a trident and describes the king as mehessara pads parigahita. (Ep. Ind. VI, P. 315). The

Salankayanas, also the successors of the Ikshvakus, held sway over the Vengi region. From the regal epithets like Paramamahesvara and adoption of bull for their seal it is evident that the SaJankayanas were the followers of Saivism. Another interesting epithet, Chitrarathasvami-Padanudhysta is borne by all the. Salankayana kings. According to one set of scholars like

. . ,

Mallarnpalli Somasekhara Sarma, I.K. Sarma and others,

Chitrarathasvami is identical with the sun god, who is described to be travelling every ~y from . east to west in his unique ratha. ~ scholars like D.C .. Sircar, consider Chitrarathasvam; as identical' with god Siva in his Tripurantaka aspect. , It is the iatha of Lord Siva which might have given the name Chltrarathasvamin to him. While editing the only avaiiable lithic record of the Salankayana Nandivarman II. from Guntupalli, West Godavar,i districf, S. Sankaranarayanan opines that Chllraratha may be used as a synonym of Sanskrit '_"~mraratha a chariot In· which RUdra' Siva' is said to be tiding in the heavens (ct. TamT11$V8S = T.".,.."",.,. - - ito Rudrah gatah- The TaM/riya ArtlnyaIui 1.7~4). In support of hls thesis he draws our attention to the foRowlng points. . lit Is interesting to note thai the inscription refers to H¥tIva- as the performer of' certain dharma. besides establtshfng temples and the Vedic schools out of his devotion to th8 god named ""ann· (bhagavat - Tamra - bhaktya 1crIttJ'-). There 1$ no such ~

the name Tamra in the Hindu Pantheon. But In the expression bhagavat- Tamr., the word Tamra seems to constitute • name rather than a' mere adjective; and this excludes the ~ • reference here to the said deities. The Talttlrlylt SamItIIIIIn SatarUdriya chapter describes the God Rudra SIva ",,,,"'" i.e., i~ the form of the just rising Sun (asau y.- 1aII""~""

pays homage to that God Tamra (nama. ~ .......

S.mhlta, 4.5.7. yaJu., 2). Though there is

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refer Rudra Siva in the form of the Rising Sun (Tamra), it is unique in the South Indian context Chitrarathasvamin, apparently. the family god of the Salankayanas, has been identified with the Sungo . But this word, like another word, Ch;trabh~nu, "having bright rays" is recognised by the lexicons as an appellation of the Fire god (Agni) as well. Therefore, the said appellation alone may not decide

, the point. 'But the reference to the early Salankayana ruler Hastivarman's devotion to bhsgavat Tamra seems to suggest that the family deity was also probably Rudra Siva himseH in the form of

, the Rising Sun. May be Chitraratha "one having a bright chariot" of the Salankayana records used as a synonym of Sanskrit Tamrarafha "one having coppery-red chariot" - chariot which Rudra Siva is described, in a Vedic text, as riding in the heavens'.

.

. The-j:>ost-'Ikshvaku period witnessed the emergence of another major power l.e., the Vishnukundins. ' Some of the rulers of this

. . -. ...

dynasty styled themselves as Parama Mahesvaras.' The Velpuru

pillar inscription speaks of the setting up of an image of the elephantfaced god 'Vinayaka(Dantimukha Svaminah pratlmah} (Ep. 'Ind. XXXVIII, pp. 128-129). Probably it is .one of the earlie$t records in South India- to refer to the installation and worship of Dantimulma Vinayaka (485 A.D). The Chikkulla plates , (~ A.D) Indicate the worhsip of Siva with his consort, The three eyed~· ('»'yambaIca) is referred to Somagirisvaranatha, Somagirisvara perhaps 1he local name of the goddess Parvan, ,this name of Siva remind$· us of the name Kalapriyanatha. The excavations at Yeleswaram whiCh Is a

. .

complex of small Salva brick temples, ~ many ~

set on square brick basement, assignable to the Vishnukundin ~ The Keesaragutta (near Hyderabad) exca~tlon too broug!lt to J several brick shrines with Iingas set Into brtck pedestals whiCh

also aSSigned to the Vishnukundin rulers. .

We know that by the time of the ~ thII_li ... 1iIIII

an extensive worShip, of Siva In the form 0 8h"'liJill~ Umamahesvara, the tatter being a feature of the Pad_", icon of Lakullsa, the founder· of the PasLlpata cutt f

8

Mukhalingam. By its char cteristic simplicity and archaic .... m.. ....

. "t b .~e~

the carving, len tentativ Jy ascri to 3rd - 4th centu

'd h ry A.O_

Here w m y c n t r t e f ctors for th spread of Pasupata Saiva

cr d.

From the 4th century A.D. onwards the trade dedined and th commodity production had. little demand with the grOWing p rformance of Brahmanical rituals like the Vedic sacrifices and Tatas, and the land grantS to the Bratvnanas donated by the mv:aIIv ere on the increase. Clearance of forests and reclamation of land for agriculture during this period is best remermered by the Paba

king's title Kaduvetti. The creation of ~ ~ bth . renewed contacts with all the COI1UIUlities of the society cmd forest and hiU tribes. The Brahmancial ~ eiIher VecIc sacaiices or the ritual calender of the seasons and the pujll and 1he ".... dharma, integrated the various COITV1'ltriIies' the social hieIaIdlJ. Through the Vedic sacrfficial rituals the Brannan as an entxdIllerf of Dharma played the role of legitamising the ruler. is krIOMl that the rulers of the dynasties in the Deccan and Ardva were aI of low origins. These rulers by perfonnance of Vedic ribtals aIIaW'ted not only high position in the social hierarchy but also aIIai1ed riIuaI purity. Thus their Kshatradharma was sanctioned and legilillized. Further, the rituals and festivals of temple and aa: figles IJrolVII the people close to the Brahmanical sect l COIlb8listil1Calion the very Simple and a few ceremonies of BlJd(I1isI SalVa By

time Buddhism was on the decline for reasons want d rnercai&e

and rich peasant support to the BI.Jd(I)isI SalVa As a ,... Buddhist Sangha lost its roots in the society and eot*I not cope .. with the growi~g popularity and patronage c:A the royaIy and socieIy to Puranic religion. It is at this point of tine thal1he ~QJI'" which had an outlook of a non-sectarian society. acqWad DOI"'_

The acculturised tribals, members of SudnI ...

peasants ~ the nobilHy formed the social support c:A PM",sect. The Pasupata centres during this period pobatJly at Srisailam. Ipurankal near 'Alampur. TaJamanChi. Vel .. ,. ...

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uru, Manchikallu, Peddamudiyam, Siddhavatam, du ogi I varam, Chebrolu, etc 2.

e gro of non-Brahmana Saiva matha and temple's .

er largely responsible for the increasing popularity of "-d:~ala sect and its association with the royalty and trade guilds.

a ne class emerged with the association of temple, I.e., SalrsuwalS The Kalamukhas, an offshoot of the Pasupata sect, were popular and -widespread in Andhra from the 9th oentury A.D. PrabhuIaJasi. the pontiff of the Kalamukha Silamatha at Vijayawada, is referred to in the- Tadikonda inscription of Ammaraja H (945-970 A.D). TIle pontiff was made incharge of the three gifted

-Dages to god Umamaheswara_ Further, the record mentions that Plabhutalasi was the tenth in . lineage of Sakasipu Pasupati,

,. ,

the founder of the Silamatha. It also mentions that the

KaJamukhas had already established their Simhaparishads. at ancient temples e that of Amaravateswara. As the Kalamukhas do not have elaborate doctrines and rituals one should get the H1pression from the inscriptions that the Lakulisvara Agama is the text for them also. Rameswara Pandita, the head of the SiIamaIha at Srisailarn is described as master of Lakulisval1l ......... Moreover. SOIne' the Katamukha acINIIyaatake the Sl.ftx PaSltpiIIIi". ThereIore sotne scholars opine that there was no distinction between the 0 sects. But the Malkapuram and Tf1JuranIakam ~ mention them separately.

The reasons for 1he sudden emergence of Kalamukha sed eiIheI" in Vengidesa Of". in western Andhra during the 9th C8n1Ul AD-If IhoIVl not forthcoming ttvough the rlterary or -_.evidence. we may suggest that IhiS change was IaIgal1 royal pabonage - the RashIrakutas replacing the Badami (;h8 ..... 1!11

and . hegemonic 001 .. 01 over Vengidesa. The irMlIvamarw:

.. welfare of 1he society by the KaIamukhas ~ evi .. ,.. UlJ1~ establishment of the ghatllul., dhllnnnf.,' and insIiIutioI .... by them. The Kalamukhas were dilVl(· I8CJ blalChes viLli Sirnhaparishad and Saktiparishad. That

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branch had its early centre at Vijayawada is well known. Other noted centres of this branch were located at Amaravati, Bikkavolu, Draksharama and Chebrolu; Vemulavada, Alarnpur, Sivapuram, Mallesvaram, in Telangana; Pushpaqirl.. Proddutur, Ramesvaram, .Jotl, Siddhavatam, Hemavati in Rayalastma region. The Saktiparishad had its main centre at Srisailam.

In the Saiva Siddhanta system the Para Siva, the supreme being is without form. When he wills for .creation Parasakti comes out from His Self. From her . Adisakti and Ichchasakti and in turn Jnanasakti and their Knyasaktt emerge. From these five Saktis

. . .

emerge the five aspects of _Sadasiva i.e., lsana, Tatpurusha, Aghora,

vamadeva and Sadyojata. Th~se elemental forms are. related with· the Panchakrityas and five mantras. They preside over the five elements, viz., ether, air, fire, water and earth. From the fifth 'aspect of Sadasiva originates Mahesa. He is the direct Agent !n the acts of creation,. prote tion and reabsorption of the universe. Thus this concept of Sadasiva ,of creation, protection and, reabsorption of the universe, the concept of Srisaila and its gateways, the Pancha.ramas or the Chidambaram as the principal centres of Sa iva Kalamukha monastic centres, was .concelved.

The Simhaparishad was instrumental in evolving the five temple centres in the context of cultural centre and sphere3• The Srisaila, central to the circuit of space had other four centres located at the caravan routes in the cordinal directions. These are Tripurantakam (east) Siddhavatam· (south) Alampur (west), Umamaheswaram (north). Similarly the well known Pa_*_" circuit, o raksharama , Kumararama, Bhimarama, Ksbi~ and Amararama, came up 4. To the south eastern part of Andhr'adaIa the Saiva centre, Srikalahasti, in the web of Sadaslva _111GB' Vayu linga and the . other centres are Kanch

t

Jambukesvaram, Tiruvannamalai and Chidambe.

Tamilnadu) representing Prlthvi, Ap •• , A respectively.

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The Saiva Kalamukhas gained popularity due to their non sectarian outlook in spite of their accepting Varnasramadh~rma. Their devotion to the welfare activities like free feeding, free lodging, free education, free medicine, and at times their attention for the development of agriculture and their elevation as royal preceptors

. gain d economic support ·to their monastic organization. Further, the ercantlle guilds, support was notable. The growth of rural economy since 10th century A.D. and with the rise of atrlhaslrl peasants, the urge for ritual and social privHege culminated in the origin of Virasaivamovement to -which the negation of BrahmaniCal

. .

tradition is crucial. The earlier Pasupata outlook too had' created

spa e for questioning ritual and spiritual supremacy. The GoragaSaiva priests are. case in point, But they operated wUhin in the overarching Brahmanical tradition at the same time evolvIng alternate tradition .. By·' 12th century A.D. Basava arncutated the much Sought after chalte 'in ideology and structure of religion~and society. To this end, worshiP'of Siva became central, ultinlatewithout any mediation 'of any class. From this period onwards ~ context and change in every sphere of activity becomes perceptible.

. .'. . ~

NamiJstunga Sireschumbi Cha(1drachamaracharave !

. Trai/okyaT!agararambha mulastambhaya Sambhave II

1. n the early historic sites which yielded t8rJl)1e structures 1.1<. s.nna,

T.V.G. Sastry, V. V. Krishna sastri. R. Subrahmanyam, A. Waheed ,

H. Sarkar, B. Rajendra Prasad have gfven the data and its eva_lIOn

2. For the critical history and doctrines of Pasupata and K.I~IIId'Ullll Lorenzen David is refer~ to.Also S.R. Goyal and N.R. Nandi referred to for a general perspective. with regard to Andhra. tihlih ... Hanumantha Rao briefly discussed Salva sects. In ......... wlnlll,* patronage and changes to popularitv of the sects th~., 01_. and the factors contributing to the change are not t

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3. The popularity of Sadasiva concept from the fifth century A.O. in the Deccan and South India is striking. The role of Simhaparishoo in popularising the Sadasiva concept through five terJi>le centres is suggested earlier by B. Rajendra Prasad, (1980) and AIampc.u;

, Encyclopaedia of Hinduism (in Press). ' ,

4. The Pan_charama shrines are not constructed at one time or located on historical' mounds associated with the Buddhist relics, but as mentioned above, evolved from the ~adasiva concept.

It j~ notcorrect that to state that the Iingas in these Pala._ 1. are the syakakambss of the Buddhist stupas ,on the basisof1he use ot limestone, talt shafts' and the mortoise hole on lop of the .... Further the arguement does' not stand to reason that a ndcaI sect .Iike Kalamukhas'appropriated an insignificartbroken or dan aged sble pillar from a' monument of the Buddhists,who were consideIad as.

, ,avaidilcss (atheists) and their monuments unholy, to install as prillCipII deity in their shrine. ,Even if.it so, ftWOUJd have been remoduslad , according, to the Agaffiic prescriptiOns \.mich is not the case here ie..,

, in Amaravati.' .'_

.. ' .

. From the reign of ChalukyaBhima,('a' new concept Of letuple

.' 'con'structionmeda-gudl (madS1dcovIIJ,-began in Ver".gidesa.. NormaIIj , the temple has a 'ground fJoor~either functiOnal or sold and 1he ,~ flooris reached through a flight, of stepsfrom~ 1he gnUId,lIooror .from outside. "Another' importantcharacterd the S8!fICbIm. .. ,

sarvatobadrai.e., featuring a door way onal the sides The linga emanates from the grou_nd floor and the worsnD on the upper -floor" . This type of temples are not IInI.VI .... Karnataka or Tamilnadu. "However, the KaiIasa temple doubtless must have inspired the architects of Verigidesa COfiCBhe of such a design. This is probable because of the close 00I11ad Vengi court had with the Rastrakutas and the presence Princess in the Calukyan bouse", (B. Rajendra ~ .. m.

The Aramalcshetras locationally reveal multiple or ctII·'_ IUI'I .... the place administrative, commercial, religious or lalli_a. 001IIII.-nature. The presence of Buddhism at these placeS only incidental.

13

L CT 18 IOGRAPHY

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16

Dr. D. Klran Kranth Choudary (b. 1954) did

is Ph.D., (1980-83) under the guidance of Vedasastraratnakara Prof. S. Sankaranarayanan. The title of his Doctoral thesis is SriKalahastisvara Temple - ,Srikalahasti - A Study based on Inscriptions endSculptures. He obtained diplomas in Tamil, Photography and also is trained in Remote Sensing for Archaeology at NRSA, Hyderabad.

Dr. Choudary has been on the faculty since' 1983 and is presently Readerln the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati. He has to his credit 2 books and 38 research papers published in reputed research, Journals. He has presented number of papers at National and International Seminars. He is Member Executive in ' various Academic Bodies. He is on the editorial, Board of Sankalam,the Festschrift of Prof. S. Sankaranarayanan. He has completed two Research Projects sponsored by the UGC and is presently the Principal Investigator of another major project, An Epigraphica/ and Architectural Survey of the Pennar valley, also sponsored by the UGC.

As a poet and creative writer he is associated with many literary organisations.