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| Ambarnath Temple, Maharashtra dt.1060 CE |
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| Mamleshwar, Omkar Mandhata, Madhya Pradesh |
Curator: Nived Narayanan
Artist/Researcher: Rajlakshmi Jadhav
Topic: Constructing Religio-Political Identity: The influence of Saiva Siddhanta sect on the Bhumija temples of Medieval Central and Western India
Idea: The Bhumija temples of Medieval India sprung forth as a new style of temple architecture but the question unaddressed was what were the catalysts for the development? Was it just patronage? Was it a guild's new venture? Or was it the cultural sect? A possibility of Saiva Siddhant sect was found in relation to some of the temples. This research presents the findings.
Process: Earlier research on the topic was conducted by Krishna deva in Studies in Temple architecture (1975), Nitesh Patel, Adam Hardy and Kumud Kanitkar (2012). Ambarnath Temple (1060 CE) was found to be the earliest dated Bhumija temple in India even before completion of Udayeshwara in Malwa, the supposed homeland of the style. Kanitkar's Ambarnath Shivalaya proved to be the starting point as she brought to notice the Saiva Siddhant sect of Saiva cult to be instructive on the temple's rituals. Tracing the temples and adding them in chronology in terms of formal analysis with the study of epigraphy, led the researcher to look into the Shilaharas of western India whose three important branches were ruling the regions of North Konkan i.e Thane area near Mumbai, South Konkan in present-day Goa and the Kolhapur district in the 10th-11th centuries. The Thane branch had Ambarnath as its only extant temple with some remains of smaller temples near Lonad and Parol. Out of the three branches, two of them showed links to Saiva Siddhant cult. A deeper research led to the unravelling of the sect's influence on Mamaleshvar, Omkar Mandhata in Madhya Pradesh where an inscription of 1063 CE mentioned Halayudha stotra linking it to Guhavasi, one of the gurus in Saiva Siddhanta school. Tracing such links to Saiva Siddhant led to the study of texts of the Saiva Sect and the construction of religio- political identity of the kings who supported the cult. The sect also having monasteries near the temple is seen in Ambarnath temple which led the researcher to look for the other monasteries in central and western India. Tamara Sears' Worldly Gurus and Spiritual Kings (2014) mentions a monastery near Balsane in Maharashtra which also has triple-shrined Bhumija temple. The research is on-going. For the workshop, extensive mind maps were produced and places, ideas linked to each other through thread and play of words and images.
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| Final Display |
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| Miniature model of Bhumija temple |
Details of the blue board include:
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| Part of final mind map |
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| Saiva Siddhanta and links to Bhumija temples |
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| Additional readings for the viewer and photographs Of the temple plans and elevation |
