Palani Āndavar Icon: A Scientific Analysis

It is a normal practice to sculpt the idols for all Hindu temples in granite stone. The main reason to choose granite is its tensile strength. But other than this enormous strength, only granite stone contains all the five elements of creation, namely the pañca bhūta-s. They are earth, water, fire, air and ether.

As an exception, in Palani the idol for the mūlavar or presiding deity is believed to be made out of an amalgam known as nava pāsanam. In Sanskrit the word nava has two meanings. Nava means both 'new' and also 'nine'. Similarly the word bhāsana also has two meanings. Bhāsana means 'poison' and may also mean 'mineral'.

The observations made by the researchers who delved into the ancient literature lend support to the theory that the siddha munivar Bhogar was the one who formulated this amalgamation of nava pāsanam. The idol for the presiding deity was sculpted out of this nava pāsanam. It is believed that this amalgam is a clever mixture of nine poisonous metals. By this amalgamation, the poisonous nature of all these metals was harnessed, hardened like granite and converted into a beneficial amalgam with medicinal and curative values. The idol for the presiding deity was subsequently carved out of this hardened amalgam.

To evolve such a unique amalgam reveals the alchemy expertise possessed by the siddha munivar Bhogar, the enormous spiritual heights achieved by him and the endless concern he had about the welfare of the followers devoted to Lord Murukan in future generations.

After cleverly compounding the amalgam, Bhogar chose to sculpt the figure of Lord Murukan in an unconventional style. Normally, in all the temples of Lord Murukan, the deity is sculpted with a splendour of beauty and an expression of charming adolescence. The idols always faced east. In contrast, the idol at Palani temple is quite slim with a saintly expression facing westwards with a shaven head, clad in a saffron loin cloth and holding his baton staff called the dandāyudham. The recluse and renunciation brought out in the idol's expression, clearly flashes the message, "I am the Fruit of Wisdom".

It is astonishing to note that this cleverly composed and delicately sculpted figure of the Lord has stood the effects of devotees pouring their love and devotion in the form of abhishekams. About 6-700 abhishekams are performed every month on kiruttikai days. This delicate idol has withstood all this miraculously and beyond human explanation.

Nevertheless, a close examination of the idol will disturb anyone. For the region below the neck, the idol has lost its proportionate shape. The hands and feet are totally eroded by the corrosive action of the abhishekam materials. The region below the knees has become very thin and slender and now the legs look like polio affected legs, thin like two steel rods resting on a pedestal.

The body region is not only eroded but appear rugged, with uneven surface and with sharp angular edges. During abhishekam, the archakas are not able to smear and rub oil on the idol, fearing possible cuts from its sharp and rugged surface. At one stage, people thought that the idol would soon buckle and fall for lack of support for the eroded legs.

The devotees and the public became concerned about such a condition of the idol of the presiding deity. Several representations were sent to the Tamil Nadu State Government. Realising the seriousness of the situation, the Government took up the issue during the year 1983-84 and started considering various possibilities to ensure that the valuable idol would be preserved without any further damage at the powerful temple at Palani.

The Government at one stage considered the possibility of replacing it with a new idol. At this point, the real problem cropped up. There is a code laid down by the agamas that every twelve years a temple should be renovated. On completing the renovation, a kumbabishekam (consecration) of the temple should be performed. But this has never involved the replacement of the idol. This was never done and there was no precedent.

The replacement idea never occurred even in temples where the idol is sculpted out of granite. In such cases, the idol is temporarily moved to another location in the temple complex. The idol is re-installed in it's original location with new astabandhanam (an adhesive material made out of herbs and made into a paste by mixing with butter).

At Palani, the scenario is totally different. The strong belief is based on the tradition that the idol of the presiding deity is made out of a unique amalgam formulated by Bhogar with his divine power and futuristic thoughts reflecting his concern for future generations. The amalgam is widely believed to have medicinal qualities and curative abilities.

The sandal wood paste in particular, applied on the idol and left overnight, is considered to act as a wonder drug, a panacea for many incurable and complex diseases. Every drop of water, coming out of abhishekam is consumed by the devotees with pleasure and many devotees get rid of their chronic ailments. "This curative aspect has a scientific explanation," the Devasthanam claims in one of their publications.

One hypothesis says that the idol acts as a store house for millions of good bacteria and when the abhishekam materials flow over the idol the bacteria get mixed with the materials and pass on to the devotees, who get relief from their ailments. The abhishekam materials remain preserved for a considerable period of time, an example to show the curative nature of the abhishekham water. Thus it is not surprising that many siddha medical centres are based in Palani and around the Palani Hills.

Since the Lord Dandāyudhapāni at Palani is the first physician of Tamil tradition, the idea of replacing the existing idol was unacceptable. In order to ensure that the mūlavarwill continue to be servicable for generations to come, the Government constituted a special committee. Justice Sadasivam, an eminent judge, a scholar of repute and a man of immense faith in religion, was appointed as the Chairman of this committee. On his assuming charge, he instituted five sub-committees to view the problem from varioius angles. The five respective sub-committees consisted of:

1. heads of large mutts and religious institutions;

2. sthapatis (temple architects);

3. experts on agamas;

4. priests and pandarams; and

5. scientists.

By virtue of my educational background, I had the great honour of being a member of the sub-committee consisting of scientists. The main objective of this committee was to find out the nature and composition of the material, out of which the idol for the presiding deity had been sculpted. As a special case, the members of this committee were permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum along with the priests and pandarams. I considered myself very fortunate to experience this great moment, an important one, in my life.

As a first step towards our investigation, we took a close look at the idol of the Lord. We were astonished when we found the face of the idol to be quite fresh with no signs of damage or deterioration. It was so clear that it looked as though the idol was recently installed. An examination of the idol under the magnifying glass, the material appeared to resemble granite or grano-dioritic material.

Our happiness and surprise were only short lived, as we moved from the face to the body of the idol. It appeared in marked contrast to the condition we observed on the face of the idol. The entire body region of the idol, was full of distortions, rugged, with flaking sharp edges and the two legs were like slender sticks standing on the pedestal. With its weak support by the thinned down legs, the idol was threatening to buckle and fall down at any time.

The very distinct contrast between the face and the body of the idol disproves the theory that the primary cause was the many abhishekhams. If this cause is accepted, then the question arises, "Why does the face remain fresh while the body is showing all these irregularities?" So, once in for all, this theory was rejected.

The other theory, concerns the possibility of a conspiracy between the siddha doctors of Palani, the archakas and others who have access to the sanctum sanctorum. Under this scenario, the valuable material from the body region of the idol was being scrapped up by those who have access to the sanctum sanctorum, for marketing the scrappings to the siddha doctors, who in turn diluted the material and included the same in their potions for their eager patients. This, once again reflects the prolific growth of the siddha medical centres in and around Palani.

Though the preliminary visual examination of the idol revealed the possibility of the material being of granitic origin. It could not be confirmed, as neither a microscopic examination nor a chemical analysis could be done in the absence of loose material from the idol being available for such detailed investigation. But we were aware that the abhishekam materials flowing over the idol could possibly absorb some of the ingredients from the idol to acquire the medicinal property, curative qualities and offer relief to many devotees from their ailments.

Guided by this knowledge and taking a clue from this, we applied sandalwood paste to the idol and let it remain overnight. The next day the sandalwood paste was collected and a solution was prepared for further chemical examination, using a sophisticated instrument, the Perkin-Elmer 707 atomic absorption spectrophotometer to identify the trace elements. A standard solution required for the experiment was made to calibrate the instrument.

As the next step, the sandal wood paste solution from the paste left on the idol overnight was subjected to the experiment. The instrument showed no apparent reading. The experiment was repeated several times and the instrument showed a zero absorption. When other samples were tested, the instrument showed positive results but for the sandal wood paste left overnight on the idol of the lord, the result was zero absorption. It was revealed to us as a stupendous moral - that even modern scientific analysis cannot penetrate the Divine Structure.

Accordingly, a report was prepared and submitted to the Chairman of the Committee. The Chairman gathered all the reports from all the sub-committees and sent a final report to the Government with his recommendation. The committee recommended that all precautions should be taken to protect the idol by taking a major decision to restrict the number of abhishekams on the Lord.

It is also widely believed that the siddha munivar Bhogar had made three identical idols and after installing the present one, the other two idols were hidden somewhere in the Eastern Ghats to be discovered at an appropriate time and by an appropriate person probably, another divine personality for replacing the present idol which had stood the test of time and started showing signs of deterioration.

It is here, that one has to understand and accept human limitations. Humans can discover and harness the power of nature, but humans cannot conquer nature which is God's creation. It will be appropriate to recall the observation made by Sir Isaac Newton when praises were showered on him for his great discovery. Sir Isaac Newton modestly remarked. "All that I have done to the human community is to make a common man understand His observable laws". He added further by saying. "God created the forces of gravity. I connect this by a mathematical equation in an understandable way".

The modesty displayed by the great scientist is reflected in the zero absorption shown by the instrument in our experiment on the composition of Lord Murukan's idol. It will only be appropriate to recall the verses by kavignar Kannadasan, the poet of modern times when he said, "Dwelling within the realm of Zero, ruling a Kingdom and beyond normal understanding is God. He would reveal Himself to those who understand and realise Him".

Dr. Prof. M.S. Saravanan, M.Sc., Ph.D., F.M.S., F.G.S. was an earth scientist and mineralogist and former Director of the Tamil Nadu Department of Geology & Mines and Chairman of Tamilnadu Minerals Limited and a one-time close associate of Kripananda Variar.

Extracted from: http://palani.org/saravanan.htm

Uncle Podger

Uncle Podger hangs a picture

You never saw such a commotion up and down a house, in all your life, as when my Uncle Podger undertook to do a job. A picture would have come home from the frame-maker's, and be standing in the dining-room, waiting to be put up; and Aunt Podger would ask what was to be done with it, and Uncle Podger would say:

"Oh, you leave that to me. Don't you, any of you, worry yourselves about that. I'll do all that."

And then he would take off his coat, and begin. He would send the girl out for sixpenny worth of nails, and then one of the boys after her to tell her what size to get; and, from that, he would gradually work down, and start the whole house.

"Now you go and get me my hammer, Will," he would shout; "and you bring me the rule, Tom; and I shall want the step-ladder, and I had better have a kitchen-chair, too; and, Jim! You run round to Mr. Goggles, and tell him, 'Pa's kind regards, and hopes his leg's better; and will he lend him his spirit-level?' And don't you go, Maria, because I shall want somebody to hold me the light; and when the girl comes back, she must go out again for a bit of picture-cord; and Tom!—where's Tom?—Tom, you come here; I shall want you to hand me up the picture."

And then he would lift up the picture, and drop it, and it would come out of the frame, and he would try to save the glass, and cut himself; and then he would spring round the room, looking for his handkerchief. He could not find his handkerchief, because it was in the pocket of the coat he had taken off, and he did not know where he had put the coat, and all the house had to leave off looking for his tools, and start looking for his coat; while he would dance round and hinder them.

"Doesn't anybody in the whole house know where my coat is? I never came across such a set in all my life—upon my word I didn't. Six of you!—and you can't find a coat that I put down not five minutes ago! Well, of all the—"

Then he'd get up, and find that he had been sitting on it, and would call out:

"Oh, you can give it up! I've found it myself now. Might just as well ask the cat to find anything as expect you people to find it."

And, when half an hour had been spent in tying up his finger, and a new glass had been got, and the tools, and the ladder, and the chair, and the candle had been brought, he would have another go, the whole family, including the girl and the charwoman, standing round in a semi-circle, ready to help. Two people would have to hold the chair, and a third would help him up on it, and hold him there, and a fourth would hand him a nail, and a fifth would pass him up the hammer, and he would take hold of the nail, and drop it.

"There!" he would say, in an injured tone, "now the nail's gone."

And we would all have to go down on our knees and grovel for it, while he would stand on the chair, and grunt, and want to know if he was to be kept there all the evening.

The nail would be found at last, but by that time he would have lost the hammer.

"Where's the hammer? What did I do with the hammer? Great heavens! Seven of you, gaping round there, and you don't know what I did with the hammer!"

We would find the hammer for him, and then he would have lost sight of the mark he had made on the wall, where the nail was to go in, and each of us had to get up on the chair, beside him, and see if we could find it; and we would each discover it in a different place, and he would call us all fools, one after another, and tell us to get down. And he would take the rule, and re-measure, and find that he wanted half thirty-one and three-eighths inches from the corner, and would try to do it in his head, and go mad.

And we would all try to do it in our heads, and all arrive at different results, and sneer at one another. And in the general row, the original number would be forgotten, and Uncle Podger would have to measure it again.

He would use a bit of string this time, and at the critical moment, when the old fool was leaning over the chair at an angle of forty-five, and trying to reach a point three inches beyond what was possible for him to reach, the string would slip, and down he would slide on to the piano, a really fine musical effect being produced by the suddenness with which his head and body struck all the notes at the same time.

And Aunt Maria would say that she would not allow the children to stand round and hear such language.

At last, Uncle Podger would get the spot fixed again, and put the point of the nail on it with his left hand, and take the hammer in his right hand. And, with the first blow, he would smash his thumb, and drop the hammer, with a yell, on somebody's toes.

Aunt Maria would mildly observe that, next time Uncle Podger was going to hammer a nail into the wall, she hoped he'd let her know in time, so that she could make arrangements to go and spend a week with her mother while it was being done.

"Oh! You women, you make such a fuss over everything," Uncle Podger would reply, picking himself up. "Why, I like doing a little job of this sort."

And then he would have another try, and, at the second blow, the nail would go clean through the plaster, and half the hammer after it, and Uncle Podger be precipitated against the wall with force nearly sufficient to flatten his nose.

Then we had to find the rule and the string again, and a new hole was made; and, about midnight, the picture would be up—very crooked and insecure, the wall for yards round looking as if it had been smoothed down with a rake and everybody dead beat and wretched—except Uncle Podger.

"There you are," he would say, stepping heavily off the chair on to the charwoman's corns, and surveying the mess he had made with evident pride. "Why, some people would have had a man in to do a little thing like that!"

From 'Three Men in a Boat', Jerome K. Jerome

अंकल पॉड्जर ने तस्वीर लटकाई

लेखक: जेरोम के. जेरोम

अनुवाद: अपराजित रामनाथ

आपने ज़िंदगी में किसी घर के अंदर ऐसा हंगामा नहीं देखा होगा जो तब मचता था, जब मेरे अंकल पॉड्जर किसी काम को अपने हाथों में लेते थे | ढाँचेवाले के यहाँ से आयी हुई कोई तस्वीर भोजन कक्ष में खड़ी होती, जब तक कोई उसे दीवार पर न लटकाता; आँट पॉड्जर पूछतीं कि इसके साथ क्या किया जाए, और अंकल पॉड्जर कहते: “अरे, उसे मुझ पर छोड़ दो | तुम लोगों में से कोई उसकी चिंता मत करो | वो सब मैं कर लूँगा |”

फिर वे अपना कोट उतारकर शुरू हो जाते | छोकरी को छः पेनी की कीलें खरीदने भेजते, फिर लड़कों में से किसी एक को उसके पीछे दौड़ाते, उसे यह बताने कि किस नाप की कील चाहिए; और वहाँ से वे धीरे-धीरे आगे बढ़ते, और सारे परिवार को काम में लगा देते |

“अब तू जाके मेरा हथौड़ा ले आ, विल,” वे चिल्लाते; “और तू पटरी ले आ, टॉम; और मुझे सीढ़ी की ज़रूरत पड़ेगी, और फिर एक कुर्सी भी पास हो तो अच्छा होगा; और जिम! तू मिस्टर गौगल्स के यहाँ जाकर उनसे कहना, ‘पिताजी की शुभकामनाएँ, और वे आशा करते हैं कि आपका पैर अब ठीक है; और क्या आप उन्हें अपना स्पिरिट-लेवल उधार पर देंगे?’ और मरिया, तुम कहीं मत जाओ, क्योंकि मेरे लिए बत्ती पकड़कर रखनेवाला कोई चाहिए; और जब छोकरी वापस आएगी, उसे फिर रस्सी लेने बाहर जाना होगा; और टॉम! — अरे, कहाँ है टॉम? — टॉम, तू इधर आ; तुझे नीचे से तस्वीर देनी होगी |”

फिर वे तस्वीर को उठाते, उसे गिरा देते, वह ढाँचे से निकल आती, अंकल शीशे को बचाने की कोशिश करते, और उन्हें घाव लगता; और वे अपने रूमाल की तलाश में कमरे में इधर-उधर फुदकते | उन्हें रूमाल नहीं मिलता, क्योंकि वह कोट की जेब में था, जिसे वे उतार चुके थे, और उन्हें पता नहीं था कि उन्होंने कोट को कहाँ रखा है, और सारा परिवार अब उनके औज़ारों की तलाश छोड़कर उनके कोट को खोजने लगता; और अंकल यहाँ-वहाँ भटकते हुए उनके काम में बाधा डालते |

“पूरे घर में किसी को पता नहीं कि मेरा कोट कहाँ है? ऐसा झुण्ड मैंने सारी जिंदगी में नहीं देखा है, कसम खाकर कहता हूँ | छः लोग! — और एक कोट नहीं ढूँढ सकते जिसे उतारे हुए पाँच मिनट भी नहीं हुए! मैं तो कहता हूँ — ”

फिर वे उठते, पाते कि वे खुद कोट पर बैठे हुए थे, और चिल्लाते:

“अच्छा, अब खोजना छोड़ दो! मैंने खुद उसे ढूँढ लिया है | तुम लोगों से कोई चीज़ ढूँढ निकलवाने से बेहतर है कि बिल्ली से पूछूँ |”

और जब उनकी उँगली बाँधने में आधा घंटा गुज़र चुका था, एक नया शीशा लाया गया था, जब औज़ार, और सीढ़ी, और कुर्सी, और मोमबत्ती लाए गए थे, वे फिर से शुरू हो जाते, और सारा परिवार, लड़की और नौकरानी सहित, मदद करने की तैयारी में अर्धवृत्त के आकार में खड़ा हो जाता | दो लोगों को कुर्सी पकड़ना पड़ता, कोई तीसरा अंकल की उस पर चढ़ने में मदद करता और उन्हें वहाँ थामे रखता, चौथा उन्हें कील देता, और पाँचवा उन्हें हथौड़ा दिलाता, और वे कील को हाथ में लेते, और उसे गिरा देते |

“देखा!” अंकल आहत स्वर में कहते, “अब कील भी गयी |”

और हम सब को घुटनों पर उसके लिए रेंगना पड़ता, जबकि अंकल कुर्सी पर खड़े हुए घुरघुराते और पूछते कि क्या उन्हें सारी शाम ऐसे ही खड़ा रहना पड़ेगा?

आखिर कील मिल ही जाती, लेकिन तब तक वे हथौड़े को खो बैठे होते |

“हथौड़ा कहाँ है? हथौड़े के साथ क्या किया मैंने? हे भगवान! सात लोग हो तुम, वहाँ मुँह बाये खड़े हो, और तुम्हें पता नहीं कि मैंने हथौड़े के साथ क्या किया!”

हम उन्हें हथौड़ा ढूँढकर देते, उतने में उन्हें वह निशान नज़र नहीं आता जो उन्होंने दीवार पर उस जगह बनाया था जहाँ कील ठोकनी थी, और हम सब एक-एक करके कुर्सी पर उनके बगल में चढ़ खड़े होते, उस निशान को ढूँढने; और हम उसे अलग-अलग जगहों पर पाते, और अंकल हमें एक के बाद एक बेवकूफ़ कहते, और नीचे उतरने को कहते | और वे पटरी लेते, फिर से नापते, और कहते कि कोने से ३१ और ३/८ इंच चाहिए, और अपने मन में हिसाब करने की कोशिश करते, और पागल हो जाते |

और हम सब मन में हिसाब करने की कोशिश करते, और अलग-अलग नतीजों पर पहुँचते, और एक दूसरे की हँसी उड़ाते | और उस हलचल में हम सब मूल अंक को भूल जाते, और अंकल पॉड्जर को फिर से नापना पड़ता |

इस बार वे धागे के टुकड़े का प्रयोग करते, और उस निर्णायक पल में, जब बूढ़ा कुर्सी पर पैंतालीस डिग्री के कोण पर झुके हुए एक ऐसी जगह पहुँचने की कोशिश कर रहा होता जो उसकी पहुँच से तीन इंच बाहर था, धागा फिसल जाता, और बूढ़ा पियानो के ऊपर सरक जाता, और उसके सर और शरीर के अचानक एक साथ सभी स्वरों पर लगने से एक उम्दा  संगीतात्मक आवाज़ निकलती |

और आँट मरिया कहतीं कि वे बच्चों को ऐसी असभ्य भाषा सुनने नहीं देंगी |

अंत में अंकल पॉड्जर सही जगह को फिर से निर्धारित करते, और दाँये हाथ से कील की नोक को वहाँ लगाते, और हथौड़े को दाँये हाथ में लेते | और फिर पहली ठोक के साथ अपने अंगूठे को ताड़ते, और चिल्लाकर हथौड़े को गिरा देते, किसी और के पाँव के अंगूठे पर |

आँट मरिया मंद स्वर में कहतीं कि वे आशा करती हैं कि अगली बार अंकल पहले ही खबर कर देंगे कि वे दीवार में कील ठोकने जा रहे हैं, ताकि आँट एक हफ्ते के लिए अपने माईके जाने का बंदोबस्त कर सके |

“उफ़! तुम औरत लोग, हर चीज़ का इतना बतंगड़ बनाते हो,” अंकल पॉड्जर जवाब देते, अपने आप को उठाते हुए | “क्यों, मुझे तो इस तरह का छोटा काम करना पसंद है |”

और फिर वे एक और बार प्रयास करते, और दूसरी ठोक पर पूरी कील प्लास्टर के अंदर चली जाती, और उसके पीछे आधा हथौड़ा भी, और अंकल पॉड्जर दीवार से मानो इतनी ज़ोर से जाकर टकराते कि उनकी नाक चपटी हो जाये |

फिर हमें पटरी और धागा को फिर से ढूँढना पड़ता, और नया छेद डाला जाता; और लगभग आधी रात को तस्वीर दीवार पर लटकाई जाती — बहुत ही टेढ़ी और असुरक्षित; आस पास के कई गज तक दीवार ऐसी लगती जैसे किसी ने उसे पाँचे से थपथपाया हो; और सभी लोग बिल्कुल थके हुए और दयनीय नज़र आते — सिवा अंकल पॉड्जर के |

“ये लो,” वे कहते, कुर्सी से उतरते हुए ठीक नौकरानी के पाँव के घट्टों को अपने पाँव से कुचलते, खुद के रचाए हुए गड़बड़ का स्पष्ट गर्व के साथ अवलोकन करते और कहते, “क्यों, कई लोग तो ऐसे छोटे काम के लिए बाहर से आदमी बुला लेते !”