Nagai Choodamani Vihara

This morning I woke up to the images of the grand festival of Kallazhagar descending on to Vaigai River in Madurai. Lakhs gather for days at Madurai celebrating first the wedding of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar, Meenakshi’s coronation and their chariot ride and then the Lord of Thirumalirumsolai, Sundararajan, Azhagan visiting Maduari after making a long detour and back to his abode Azhagar Koil.

Then one was reminded that it is also Chitra Pournami, and Buddha Purnima. As usual I wanted to pick up one of the Buddha images from my archives and post them – but decided not to do that as my mind was still lingering on the readings of India’s maritime history. Himanshu Prabha Ray’s ‘Beyond Trade: Cultural Roots of India’s Ocean’ has a topic dedicated to the famous port of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu.

Over 250 Buddha bronzes were discovered over a period of 50 years from late 19^th century to early parts of 20^th century and were distributed across museums, the chapter said. Photographs of images from the Chennai museum and a few more are given in the book.

But, I was interested in looking at the one said to be in the Rockefeller collection for whatever reasons. My interest in it didn’t go waste. An interesting information is provided on their page transcribing and translating the inscription on the base of the image.

“The inscription has been translated by Vidya Dehejia as: Well-being [and] prosperity. The nayakar [Buddha], of all of the eighteen countries, of the metalworkers. / The procession image, for the sacred festival of the alvar temple, which was caused to be taken in procession by the respected one (utaiyar) endowed of the four gunas from Cirutavur; [in] the perum-palli (great place of worship or great vihara) of the metalworkers, [in] the perum-palli of Rajendra Chola.”

This image of Buddha like many south Indian Hindu images, in fact Ray mentions how many of the Buddhist images are difficult to identify because of similarity to the Saiva, Vaishnava images was meant to be a utsava murthy, to be carried in a procession during a temple festival. The four holes in the base allow it to be carried, suspended on poles, says the photographic description.

My mind wandered to a remote past in the late 11^th century or early 12^th century – to a day when Madurai would be celebrating Azhagar’s visit with a remarkable procession, maybe Nagapattinam would have witnessed a pious procession of the ‘Nayaka’ Buddha.

Till the time I read Ray’s book, Choodamani Vihara was part of the fictional construct for me as the ignorant me carried only memories of Kalki’s historical fiction. Nagai Choodamani Vihara is unforgettable part of my memory, but not for a moment I thought the great Vihara existed for real, and existed well into 19^th century.

Look at what a great monument we lost. Records as evinced from the Leyden Plates show Choodamani Vihara (Cudamanivihara) at Nagapattinam was an initiative of the kings of SriVijaya of Kedah and Sumatra, and construction started during the reign of the Chola King Rajaraja I (985 – 1016) and was completed during the reign of his son Rajendra Chola (1012-1044). It was from Nagapattinam Rajendra launched his famous SriVijaya expedition, yet both supported and gave grants to the Vihara.

“In spite of local objections, the governor-in-council approved the demolition of the Buddhist monastery on 28 August 1867 by French Jesuits who had been epelled from Pondicherry and wanted to construct a college in its place”. – Ray

How unfortunate, as if there was  no other land available in all of Nagai for a college in 19^th century that a great monument had to be pulled down to make way for it. It looks like there is no college there now as I believe it soon shifted to Trichy and it is the present day St.Joseph’s College.  

I do not like the idea of moving things to museums, that was so British. Let us dream of a day when someone can  build a new Choodamani Vihara at Nagapattinam and bring back all the 250 Bronzes.

Pic Credit: Rockefeller Collection, Asia Society Museum

P.S. Few days after posting this I read from the last portion of Radha Kumud Mookerji's book 'The Gupta Empire' the observations of Fa Hien about Magadha. The description about a religious procession of Buddha's image, "at their religious processions of images carried in 'four-wheeled cars of five storeys' the Brahmins 'come to invite the Buddha..." Find this mention of Buddha image in procession and related festivities very interesting.