Kirtimukha Motif in Temple Architecture

Temple Vimanam

Kirtimukha at the Nasika of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple Tower Madurai

Kirtimukha above a Hindu temple entrance in Kathmandu, Nepal (Wikipedia)

Kirtimukha at Kasivisvesvara Temple at Lakkundi, Gadag district, Karnataka, India (Wikipedia)

Kirtimukha in Rock cut Ratha

Kirtimukha on the Vimana (Exterior wall)

Kirtimukha at the Adhishtana

Kirtimukha on Pillar Capitals

Kirtimukha at the top of the metallic arch structure over the deity (Thiruvachi)

Jewelry Pattern showing Kirtimukha

Have you come across in many Indian Hindu temples over the lintel arch (torana) of the inner sanctum entrance or the ramparts, nasikas of the temple tower, kapotas, dormer arches, at the top of the metallic arch structure over the deity (Thiruvachi)  the monstrous disembodied head with swallowing fierce face with decorative line of triform arch representing the eye-brows, narrow forehead, protruding eyeballs,   two horns with fanciful shape, erect ears of the lion, thick moustache, bulged cheeks, grooved and sharp  fangs, the rows of gory teeth, wide open mouth and protruding tongue? You might have wondered how this seeming incongruity came to adorn the inner entrance of sanctum. The Hindu iconography represents Kirtimukha aka Kirttimukha (Sanskrit terminology: 'Kirti' means glory or fame and 'Mukha' means face) with opposite meaning, 'the glorious face.' The Southeast Asian tradition represent it as 'Kala' and the Chinese iconography discern it as  T'ao t'ieh (Monster of Greed).

In Skanda Purana, the ancient Hindu mythological tale of Lord Subramanya, Lord Shiva created  from His 'Third Eye' an all-devouring monster to destroy  Jalandhara, the powerful king of the Daityas. The monster was roaring like thunder.It was in intense hunger and prayed the Lord for food. Lord Shiva instructed the monster to appease its hunger by devouring its own body commencing from its tail. The monster finished eating its own body leaving only its face in tact. The monster's face with sanguinary appearance impressed Lord Shiva and preferred to call it as Kirti Muka aka 'Face of Glory.' Lord Shiva ordained to represent 'Kirtimukha' at the lintel of the sanctum of the Lord. The Lord also noted that whosoever worship the Kirtimukha would acquire the benevolent grace of the Lord.

Due to this reason Indian Manual of Hindu Architectural texts like 'Manasara' have prescribed it, and the sculptors, wood carvers and painters used to  represent Kirtimukha as a decorative motif. The motif often find its place on the lintels of the gate of the inner sanctum,  at the corners of the pillars and pilasters, surmounting the pinnacle of a temple tower or vimana or in the iconography of an Hindu deity. Often the image of the Kirtimukha resembles the monstrous lion's face engaged in swallowing some object with bulging eyes and protruding tongue and gory teeth.

Earliest Kirtimukhas in India are demonic in forms.In western India this motif is understood as 'Grasamukha'and Rahu-mukha in eastern parts of India and 'Kala' in in South East Asian Countries. Also known as Simha-mukha in some other parts. Medieval Maurian (Indian) artists represented kirtimukhas as stylised lion's face on pillar capitals. The research has identified the presence of similar decorative motifs in Scythian, Helenic, Chinese art traditions.  Traditionally Kirtimukhas are believed to be warding the edifices off the evil and destroyers. The Kirtimukha motif was often used as a decorative motif surmounting nasikas of the temple tower or or at the top of the metallic arch structure over the deity (Thiruvachi). At the beginning our temple architecture widely used in the  "chaitya" arch with a "kirtimukha" above it. It is very popular in Hoysala temples and others. The motif was profusely used as sculptural decorations, where the artist wants to show strings, foliage or festoons issuing from its mouth, till 14th century. After the use of this motif was occasional used. In Gujarat people pay much respect to this motif when they are about to cross the thresholds of the sanctum and even sprinkle scented water while making entry.

Sangam Anthologies (சங்க இலக்கிய நூல்கள்): Vaidhehi Herbert Translated 12 out 18 Anthologies in English

Mrs. Vaidhehi Herbert from Hawai, USA

Mrs. Vaidhehi Herbert with Mr.Herbert

Vaidhehi Herbert, a Tamil scholar from Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) and at present she lives in Hawai, USA. She has translated 12 out of 18   anthologies of Sangam literature into English.   - body of Tamil classical  literature created between the years c. 600 BCE to 300 CE - i.e, The Major Eighteen Anthology Series (பதினெண்மேல்கணக்கு) comprising The Eight Anthologies (எட்டுத்தொகை) and the Ten Idylls (பத்துப்பாட்டு). The books are published through Konrai Publication. The English translated titles, Mullaipattau (முல்லைப்பாட்டு) and Nedunalvadai (நெடுநெல்வாடை), were reviewed and certified by Dr. George Hart, American Tamil and Sanskrit scholar, Tamil professor at University of California at Berkeley, California, U.S.A. Similarly the translated title Pathirrupathu (பதிற்றுப்பத்து) was reviewed and certified by Dr. Takanobu Takahashi, Japanese Tamil and Sanskrit Scholar. The Tamil Literary Garden, a Canadian literary organization and charity, has aptly honoured  Vaidhehi Herbert with Tamil Translation award in 2012. The Canadian University also  honoured her with an award and recognized her immense contribution to Tamil Literature. The author has plans to translate the remaining six more anthologies within 2014. However she also convinced that the translations will not be commercially beneficial to her.

The author don't like claim herself either as a poet or a language scholar and she is 'simply passionate and disciplined.' Over the last three years the author showed much dedication in studying Tamil and kept her engaged in translating number of Tamil Sangam poems into English. She has approached and learned  Mullaippaatu, an anthology from Dr. Rukmani Ramachandran, Assistant Professor of Tamil, Queen Mary's College, Chennai. She has undertaken the mammoth task of translation of 12 Sangam Tamil anthologies on her own and she never expected any aid from any government or other institutions. She has co-authored three books with Dr. Rukmani Ramachandran. She has also compiled the dictionary for terminology of Sangam Tamil anthologies. She is also prepared to teach the Tamil loving public on Sangam Tamil literature either in person or over phone. For this purposes she has also developed 20 web sites to enable online instruction and to encourage distance learning.

Anyone interested in learning more about Sangam poetry is encouraged to visit Herbert’s main websites at http://sangampoemsinenglish.wordpress.com and www.learnsangamtamil.com.


Reference:

1. Sangam Poems Translated by Vaidhehi Herbert http://sangamtranslationsbyvaidehi.com/
2. Tamil Bookstore http://www.tamilbookstore.in/
3. The Tamil Literary Garden (Wikipedia)
4. சங்கத் தமிழை மொழிபெயர்ப்பதில் பல சவால்கள்
   http://www.bbc.co.uk/tamil/multimedia/2013/06/130616_vaidehiaudio.shtml

Vaidehi Herbert Hawaii USA Sanga Ilakkiyam (YouTube)

Ninety Nine Flowers from Kurincippattu Sangam Age Tamil poetic work: Slide Show

Here is the slideshow of 99 Flowers with pictures mentioned in Tamil Literature on 100 BCE-100 CE, with their botanical name

99 Tamil Flowers from Palaniappan Vairam Sarathy

Kurincippattu (Tamil: குறிஞ்சிப்பாட்டு) is a Tamil poetic work of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE.  ”Kurincippattu” describes the kurinchi landscape of the mountainous terrain and mentions almost 100 different plant names along side the main storyline of the  the love affair between the hero and the heroine. The poems were written by the poet Kapilar. Below are the lines from Kurunjippaatu

வள் இதழ்
ஒண் செங் காந்தள், ஆம்பல், அனிச்சம்,
தண் கயக் குவளை, குறிஞ்சி, வெட்சி,
செங் கொடுவேரி, தேமா, மணிச்சிகை,
உரிது நாறு அவிழ் தொத்து உந்தூழ், கூவிளம்,  65
எரி புரை எறுழம், சுள்ளி, கூவிரம்,
வடவனம், வாகை, வான் பூங் குடசம்,
எருவை, செருவிளை, மணிப் பூங் கருவிளை,
பயினி, வானி, பல் இணர்க் குரவம்,
பசும்பிடி, வகுளம், பல் இணர்க் காயா,  70
விரி மலர் ஆவிரை, வேரல், சூரல்,
குரீஇப் பூளை, குறுநறுங் கண்ணி,
குருகிலை, மருதம், விரி பூங் கோங்கம்,
போங்கம், திலகம், தேங் கமழ் பாதிரி,
செருந்தி, அதிரல், பெருந் தண் சண்பகம்,  75
கரந்தை, குளவி, கடி கமழ் கலி மா,
தில்லை, பாலை, கல் இவர் முல்லை,
குல்லை, பிடவம், சிறுமாரோடம்,
வாழை, வள்ளி, நீள் நறு நெய்தல்,
தாழை, தளவம், முள் தாள் தாமரை,  80
ஞாழல், மௌவல், நறுந் தண் கொகுடி,
சேடல், செம்மல், சிறுசெங்குரலி,
கோடல், கைதை, கொங்கு முதிர் நறு வழை,
காஞ்சி, மணிக் குலைக் கள் கமழ் நெய்தல்,
பாங்கர், மராஅம், பல் பூந் தணக்கம்,  85
ஈங்கை, இலவம், தூங்கு இணர்க் கொன்றை,
அடும்பு, அமர் ஆத்தி, நெடுங் கொடி அவரை,
பகன்றை, பலாசம், பல் பூம் பிண்டி,
வஞ்சி, பித்திகம், சிந்துவாரம்,
தும்பை, துழாஅய், சுடர்ப் பூந் தோன்றி,  90
நந்தி, நறவம், நறும் புன்னாகம்,
பாரம், பீரம், பைங் குருக்கத்தி,
ஆரம், காழ்வை, கடி இரும் புன்னை,
நரந்தம், நாகம், நள்ளிருள் நாறி,
மா இருங் குருந்தும், வேங்கையும், பிறவும்,  95
அரக்கு விரித்தன்ன பரு ஏர்அம் புழகுடன்,

Source and Courtesy : KarkaNirka.org , Wikipedia