Sivakamiyin Sabadham (Shattered Dream Book 4) by Kalki Krishnamurthy

Author:Kalki Krishnamurthy [Krishnamurthy, Kalki]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781630033774
Published: 2014-06-08T22:00:00+00:00

28. Festivity and Disaster

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The sight of centuries-old lush green banyan trees standing tall with widespread branches is breathtaking. The aerial roots of such ancient banyan trees growing close to the parent trees give the illusion of being independent trees themselves. Likewise, the two faiths that developed as offshoots of the Sanathana Hindu Dharma71 and rooted firmly as distinct faiths were Buddhism and Samanam. In ancient times, these two faiths were instrumental in significantly augmenting the artistic treasures of Bharata.

Two thousand years ago, bikshus had started carving chaithyams and viharams out of the granite rocks that lay on the banks of the crescent shaped river, whose precipitous flow tore across the inaccessible Ajantha Mountains. The wonderful arts of sculpting and painting had flourished in that secluded province for almost six hundred years up to the times of Emperor Pulikesi II. Sculptures carved out of indestructible boulders and portraits painted with indelible paints abounded. The Brahmas72 living in the chaithyams had created Gods and Goddesses, valorous men and women and handsome males and females who were beauty personified, captivating the eyes and hearts of the viewers.

During the thirty sixth year of the reign of Emperor Pulikesi, a festival whose grandeur had never before been witnessed by that province was conducted. That year was also the last year of the Chalukya Emperor’s reign. In ancient Bharata Nadu, the influence wielded by the various faiths waxed and waned with the rise and fall of the patronising dynasties. As in the present times, those days too there lived narrow-minded people deeply attached to their respective faiths who lacked religious tolerance and in whom prejudices ran deep. Periodically, great souls who viewed all faiths equitably and who caused the arts to flourish also emerged.

During the times of this epic, foremost amongst the kings who possessed such forbearance were Harshavardhanar in the north and Mahendra Pallavar and Mamalla Narasimha Pallavar in the south. Emperor Pulikesi of Vatapi, after returning from his Kanchi expedition, gradually joined the ranks of such broad-minded kings. He encouraged the arts to flourish by endowing sizable grants to the Ajantha Buddha Sangramam. Due to this, the Ajantha bikshus acted in a manner unprecedented during the last six hundred years — they decided to invite Emperor Pulikesi to preside over a festival commemorating sculptures.

A highway was constructed across the forests and mountains to receive the Emperor and his retinue. The Emperor and his retinue, minsters and strategists, army commanders, famous poets and art connoisseurs of the Chalukya kingdom and foreign dignitaries travelled on elephants, horses and palanquins to Ajantha to participate in this art festival. The Ajantha bikshus accorded a royal welcome and warm hospitality to the visitors. The visitors divided themselves into groups and visited the chaithyams and viharams and appreciated the sculptures and paintings. As it was possible to clearly view the life-like paintings on the inner walls of the viharams only during noon when the sun was shining brightly, arrangements were made for the guests to stay overnight so that they could see the paintings the following day and then return.

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