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
