Page:South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses.djvu/23

Rh of which is planted the flagstaff or dhvaja-stambha, made of stone, wood or metal, and on the other is offered what is called the Sribali, when sacrificial cooked food and flowers are offered to the minor divinities or powers who have to be appeased in order to ward off all evil and to prevent disturbance to the ordinary conduct of the daily worship. It is only up to this limit that foreigners are allowed to enter the temples by the orthodox Hindu.

In temples of any importance there will be a separate shrine for the goddess, but generally on a smaller scale than that of the chief deity. There are separate places for the kitchen where the offerings are prepared with scrupulous regard to ceremonial purity; there are storehouses where the articles required for a year's consumption in the temple are stored; and there is generally a fresh water well which is often the best source of drinking water in the village. The whole group of buildings is surrounded by high prākāra walls, whose gateways are surmounted by the characteristic towers (figs. 1 and 2) which lend distinction to a temple city. In some cases there will be outside the temple a big pleasure tank (fig. 3), generally square in size, built round with stone steps on all sides, and with a central mandapa, where once a year the god and goddess are taken in procession for the floating festival.

The outer walls and the lofty flagstaff will easily show to the sight-seer whether the temple is dedicated to a Saiva divinity or to a Vaishnava god. In the former there will be seen images of the Nandi-bull in a recumbent posture, while the latter will show similar images of the Garuda-bird. Temples other than those of Siva and Vishnu are not uncommon and can easily be identified by similar marks of the characteristic vehicle of the god. Vishnu temples may also show the symbols of the conch and the discus and the caste mark (nāmam) of the Vaishnavas painted on the walls.

The ritual followed every day in the temples of Siva and Vishnu may be generally described as rājōpachāra, or the paying of royal honours. Thus in rich temples there will be elephants and camels with their appropriate paraphernalia, the royal umbrellas and chauris mounted on gold or silver handles, palanquins and other vehicles, a troupe of dancers and musicians, a host of other temple servants to wash the god, anoint him with sandal or decorate him with flowers and