Alluring Thondanur - The village of the reckless devotee

 

We are in scenic and serene surrounds, in the midst of rolling hills, expansive fields and clear blue waters. We are in the village of the reckless devotee – “Thondanur”, as the region came to be named by Ramanujacharya, the 11^th century Vaishnavite philosopher-saint who sought refuge here after fleeing from his native Srirangam in Tamil Nadu. His towering 36-foot tall statue stands here in Kere Thonnuru or Thonadanur Kere in all majesty, installed by the Yadugiri Yathiraja Mutt of Bengaluru as part of the Saint’s Sahasramanotsava (millenium) on 26th April 2017.

The village, referred to as Yadava Narayana Chaturvedi Mangalam in ancient times, set in sylvan surroundings, beckons visitors with its trio of ancient temples and the sprawling man-made lake.

 

The shimmering aqueous beauty - Thondanur Kere or lake, is our first halt. We drive on good motorable roads flanked by swathes of sugarcane and paddy fields, fringed by coconut and banana groves, to come upon it. Nestled in picturesque environs, the lake area encompasses the Tipu Caves, the Padmagiri hillock with its Turtle Rock that is much sought after by rock climbers, and Ramanuja Gange, a small waterfall. 

 

The lake it is believed, was designed and built as a gorge between rocky hills under the guidance of Ramanujacharya who named it Tirumalasagara. The belief is that the water body has medicinal properties and that it has never dried up since its creation, even in severe drought conditions. Presently, it is the main source of water for the region’s rice and sugarcane fields. History records that when Tipu Sultan visited it, he saw pebbles through its clear waters. He named the lake Moti Talab, or the Lake of Pearls.

We descend a flight of steps to savour the cool waters of Thondanur Kere. We barely reach the last couple of steps when we spot some species of snake putting its head out from a crevice between the steps. The creature is patient enough to allow me a couple of shots with my digital companion before it makes a dive into the waters and disappears from our view.

History records that Ramanujacharya fled Srirangam to escape persecution by the Chola king, Kulothungan, a staunch Shaivate who ruled large regions of Tamil Nadu. Traveling along the course of the Cauvery River, Ramanuja reached Thondanur, a flourishing centre of Jain theology, then ruled by the Hoysala king Bitta Deva. Ramanuja was warmly welcomed here by one of his prime disciples, Thondanur Nambi. According to existing inscriptions, Thondanur, also called Thonnur, served as the second capital of the Hoysalas, and Veera Narasimha, the Hoysala ruler led his entire kingdom encompassing Thonnur, from his capital Dwarasamudram.

There is an interesting anecdote relating to the Jain monarch’s conversion to the Vaishnavite faith. King Bitta Deva was unhappy over the plight of his daughter who was unsound of mind, having been possessed of an evil spirit. Neither medicine nor mendicants could heal her. At the suggestion of Nambi, Bitta Deva approached Ramanuja who bade the king make his daughter bathe in Thondanur kere. Ramanuja then invoked the blessings of Lord Narasimha at the temple atop a small hillock in the region and placed the Narasimha dhanda or wand on the girl’s head. Much to the surprise of all those present, miraculously, the girl was instantly rid of her malady. An overjoyed Bittideva, much against the wishes of his people, adopted the Vaishnavite faith. He was re-christened as Vishnu Vardhan by Ramanuja.

However, not convinced of Ramanuja’s genuine spiritual powers, Jaina priests confronted him in a debate. Outside the Narasimha temple he was posed one thousand questions by them.  From behind a curtain, Ramanujacharya addressed the gathering and answered the thousand questions at one shot by taking the form of Adishesha. The amazed pundits, awe struck by his versatility became his ardent followers. 

 We climb over a dozen steps to reach the Narasimha temple that also houses a unique idol of Ramanujacharya. Legend has it that the idol of Narasimha was installed in the Tretha Yuga by Prahalada, a steadfast devotee of Vishnu. We see a rare image of Ramanuja here, one that the Acharya himself installed before he left for Srirangam. He is in Sesha Roopam, having as hood, the seven-headed cobra. Also exhibited in this temple is the magical wand or danda with which Ramanuja is believed to have liberated Bitta Deva’s daughter from the evil spirit. To date it is believed that whoever invokes the blessing of Yoga Narasimha here, will have his or her wishes fulfilled. A box used by Ramanuja during his stay at Thondanur is also on display in the temple. The annual Narasimha Jayanthi, Ramanuja Utsavam and Swathi Thirumanjanam are the important festivals celebrated here.

 

Our next halt is the Nambi Narayana Temple, which according to some quarters of people was originally a Jain basadi. The shrine is considered to be the first and oldest of Karnataka’s Pancha Narayana Kshetras. Here the idol of Vishnu as Nambi Narayana was installed by Ramanuja himself. While the image in the sanctum is said to be over 5500 years old and dates back to the Dwapara Yuga, the temple which is a blend of different styles of architecture, was built about 1,000 years ago with contributions by several kings who ruled over the region at various points of time. Though the Cholas are credited with its architectural design, the actual construction is attributed to the Hoysalas. According to an inscription, Suragi Nagaiah, one of Vishnuvardhan’s generals is credited with building the temple in the 12^th century to commemorate the king’s victory over the Cholas at Talakad. The absence of the Raja Gopuram or entrance tower is a pointer to Hoysala style of temple building. Its outer walls and the entire inner circumambulatory area display a solid base and strong structure. Ramanujacharya is believed to have renovated the edifice, added mantapas and consecrated the deity in its sanctum sanctorum.  

The structure as it stands today, consists of a Navaranga, a Maharanga Mantapa, an Ardha Mantapa, a Sukanasi, a Garbha Griha and a massive 40-pillared Paataalankana. The pillars in the navaranga are embellished with motifs of flowers and beads besides carvings of ashtadikpalakas. The vimana or tower is built of mortar in Dravidian style. While the Maharanga Mantapa looks grand in simplicity, held aloft by fifty pillars, the paataalankana with its 40 octagonal-faced pillars is eye-catching. The 45-feet Garuda Sthambha, the characteristic feature of all Vishnu temples, stands erect in front of the paataalankana.

The garbha griha is adorned with a tall East-facing idol of Nambi Narayana, the presiding deity. With conch in the right and discus in the left hands, he stands resplendent in all finery. The Utsavar or processional deity is Lakshmi Narayana with his consorts Sri Devi and Bhoo Devi. One of the main festivals celebrated by the temple is the 5-day Brahmotsavam between April-May every year.

 

Walking across the road and bang opposite the Nambi Narayana temple, we come upon the Venugopalaswamy temple, our final stop in Thondanur and the last of its three temples, dating even before the Nambi Narayana temple. It is dedicated to the flute-playing Lord Krishna and is believed to be a re-structured version of an earlier one built by the epic character, Yudhishtra of the Mahabharata. A basadi-like tower, sukanasi, navaranga, mukha mantapa and garbha griha, define its architecture.

 

Thondanur is 30 km from Mysore, 15 km from Pandavapura in Mandya District. Pandavapura station is the closest railhead from where one needs to commute by road for about 20 minutes to reach Thondanur. Alternatively, one may avail of public buses that ply between Mandya and all other Karnatakan cities. From Mandya cabs may be hired or local buses may be taken to reach Thondanur.