KUMARASWAMI TEMPLE (Cave near)
15.012200,76.564700
Description
The elusive –>Tarkasura's Cave, Sandur, has been referred to by the name of the locally famous temple dedicated to Kumaraswami, Kumara Swami (note 1), »Comara or Kartica Swami [note 2], the Hindu Mars« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 144). IDENTITY: The »cavern, some distance in the jungle from the temple of Comara« (CRAVEN, S A 1969: 25), i.e. Kumara, Kumaraswami, etc., is –>Tarkasura's Cave, which actually lies »hard by« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 144) »the little temple of Harishankar« that serves as »… a restful halting-place for weary pilgrims to Kumarasvami's temple« (FRANCIS, W 1904: 321). ETYMOLOGY: "Swami" is a corruption of "suamin" (Sanskrit), »Lord«, and used in southern India in two senses, (a) a Hindu idol (note 3), especially applied to to those of Shiva and Subrahmaniyam (note 4), (b) as »a respectfull address« (YULE & BURNELL 1886 ed. 1903: 883), a »title of respect« (LONELY PLANET, India 2005: 1112; 2009: 1214). "Kumar" (Sanskrit) signifies a boy, a prince, but the "Karnatic" (Marathi) "kumári" or "kumari" is the word for »cultivation of high and wooded lands after clearing them« as »Kumári-maratti« is the name of a »caste of Marathi origin, in Mysore, employed in clearing and cultivating high and wooded lands« (WILSON, H H 1855: 301). Needless to say that Hindu credulousness workers prefer to trace the name of the temple back to the very Kumar, the boy or prince of the divine couple Parvati and Shiva. So far, I saw the name of the temple referred to as Comara, temple of NEWBOLD, T J (1838: 144); CRAVEN, S A (1969: 25) Comarswami pagoda NEWBOLD, T J (1838: 128) Comarswami temple NEWBOLD, T J (1838: 150) Comarswami, temple of NEWBOLD, T J (1838: 149) Karteekeshwar N15°01': E76°34' Internet (accessed 16.11.2003) Kartica Swami NEWBOLD, T J (1838: 144) Kartika, pagoda of SMITH, G (1882: 381) Komara, pagoda of SMITH, G (1882: 381) Kumarasvami Gudi (±200 m) N15°00'44”: E076°33'53”: circa (±20 m) 900 m asl (Everest 1830, Survey of India 57-A/12 edition 1978) Kumarasvami's temple FRANCIS, W (1904: 321) Kumaraswami N15°01': E76°34' Internet (accessed 16.11.2003) Kumaraswami Temple (±1 km) N15°01': E76°34' AMS sheet ND43-04 Bellary, U502 series (1961 edition) Kumaraswami Temple 1036 m asl (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 22: 42) Kumaráswami's temple FOOTE, R B (1895: 123) Kumarsvami temple CRAVEN, S A (1969: 25) Kumarswami N15°01': E76°34' Internet (accessed 16.11.2003). SITUATION: The »famous and ancient temple of Comara or Kartica Swami, the Hindu Mars« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 128, 144) is »pleasantly situated near the bason of a ravine near the summit of the S. W. part of the cordon of hills that enclose the [Sandur] valley« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 144). SITUATION 1838: Captain Thomas John Newbold was guided to the entrance of –>Tarkasura's Cave, which lies not only »considerably below the summit of the range: at a little distance in the jungle from the path« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 149) but also »at some distance in the jungle« from the »Temple of Comara« which itseld stands »near the bason of a ravine near the summit of the S.W. part of the cordon of hills that enclose the [Sandur] valley« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 150). SITUATION 1882: »Sandoor State, in Bellary District, a valley covering 140 sq. m. … isolated by hills of the same name, of which the chief is Ramandroog' (3150 ft.) or Ramanamalai, 38 m. W. of Bellary … In the S. is the old pagoda of the Hindoo Mars, Komara or Kartika, frequented by pilgrims« (SMITH, G 1882: 381). SITUATION 1889: At the time of »my last visit in 1889« (FOOTE, R B 1895: 123) when Robert Bruce Foote not only »did not come across« it but also his »guide knew nothing« of it, and »so … I did not spend any time in hunting for them« (FOOTE, R B 1895: 126). SITUATION 1904: »The Kumarasvami temple is picturesquely situated in a natural amphitheatre of wooded slopes at the head of a ravine near the top of the hills almost due south of Sandur. It is between six and seven miles from the town, four miles of the way being along the level and the remainder on a ghat of which one mile is practicable for carts. The views of the valley from this part of the road make an expedition to the temple a pleasant morning ride, but architecturally the building itself is disappointing. Towards the end of the ascent a path which takes off from the right side of the road leads through the jungle for about a hundred yards to the little temple of Harishankar which lies in a picturesque glen under fine shady trees. A perennial mineral spring in the hill side behind it pours through the mouth of a cow, rudely fashioned in stone, into a small square basin, and the spot is a restful halting-place for weary pilgrims to Kumarasvami's temple. A dozen yards behind the shrine is a cave [–>Tarkasura's Cave, Sandur] …« (FRANCIS, W 1904: 320-321). SITUATION 1969: »Newbold (1838) visited the Sondur Valley and found a cavern, some distance in the jungle from the temple of Comara, 6 miles [9.7 km] south of . He grouped along one of of the passages for some distance but returned for want of a torch. He continues that the summit of the ridge abounds in caves, some of considerable extent. The one he visited branched into two shafts beyond the entrance, and the locals repute it to extend 'an incredible distance in the bowels of the mountain'. Francis (1904) was not impressed by this description and claimed that the cave, a dozend of yards behind the Kumarasvami temple, ends in a few yards. He mentions several other caves in the area, of which two are called Kuptasvami and Guptasvami« (CRAVEN, S A 1969: 25 after FRANCIS, W 1904: 321). SITUATION 2004: On 21st and 25th February 2004 i visited one Kumarswami temple, which was advertised on signboards and seems to be the same as the »Kumarsvami Gudi« indicated near N15°00'40": E76°33'55" (Everest 1830) on the Survey of India sheet 57-A/12 (edition 1978) and as »Kumarswami« on AMS sheet ND43-04 Bellary (U502 series, 1961 edition) about 10 km along the road south of Sandur (N15°05'10": E76°32'35" Everest 1830) and about a kilometre in a direct line south-east of the peak Kumaraswami Betta (N15°01': E76°33': 1098 m asl) but considerably lower. Here, the resident people told me that there is no cave in the vicinity of this temple. There is, however, another temple, which I have not seen, but dedicated to »Ishwara« (literally: Lord, Master; Shiva, the Hindu god) and indicated near (±250 m) N15°01'20”: E76°34'40”: 760 m asl Everest 1830) and on the right-hand side of where the road to Kumarswami temple takes one of the left-hand turns part way up on the ascend past Kumarswami temple towards the village of Subbaravanahalli (in short: S.B. Halli N15°00'30”: E76°33'25”: 1010 m asl) the plateau of the ridge. GEOLOGY: »… the western range [south of »Sondur« or Sandur] is ascended to the famous temple of Comarswami, by a road just practicable for elephants and camels [note 5] that leads along the side of a ravine, at the bottom of which runs a rivulet having its source in the holy well of Augusta Tirtum [Agastya Tirtha, Aghastya Tirtha] in front of the temple on the summit. Leaving the schist at the base of the range the road lies over masses of lateritic rock, which in this locality differs from the laterite of Malabar in being more compact and heavy, containing a larger proportion of iron, less felspar, and but little lithomarge or porcelain earth; interiorly it has not the same sectile softness which, together with the property of hardening by exposure to the atmosphere, is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the latter and renders it so advantageous for architectural purposes, nor has it the same variegated tints of purple, red, and yellow, being generally of a deep brown ferrugineous hue. It assumes sometimes the appearance of conglomerate, being a paste of clay and peroxide of iron, imbedding angular fragments of the subjacent ferrugineous slate and nodular hematite, which, as well as reniform, botryoidal, and pisiform iron ore, are found in abundance. This rock continues to the summit of the ridge, which it caps in tabular masses: here it assimilates more to the character of the laterite of Malabar, being perforated by both tubular and cellular cavities containing a decomposed felspar in a powdery state tinged more or less by the oxide of iron. Like limestone, it abounds in caverns -- some of considerable extent. The summit of the ridge is a flat extensive table land, extending to the southward from the lip of the semi bason in which the Comarswami temple stands, exactly resembling the summit of the flat topped laterite hills between the western Ghats and the Indian Ocean; and descending in long flat step like spurs to the plains of Mysore and the Ceded Districts. These spurs are separated by ravines of various degrees of depth and width, taking a southerly direction, giving the flat intervening sweeps of lateritic rock the appearance of so many coulees of lava flowing down from the superior ridges and spreading out in the plain below. The whole of these, as well as the rock which forms the table land on the summit, is of lateritic rock, which in these situations approximates in character t that of Malabar and Canara. It has no appearance of stratification, but separates into thick tubular masses without fossil remains. Large beds of kaolin occur …« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 149-150). CULTURAL HISTORY 1838 - kaolin bed legend: »Large beds of kaolin occur« in the »lateritic rock« exposed at »Sondur« (Sandur): »One near the temple [of »Comarswami« or Kumaraswami] is held sacred by the natives, who, from its whiteness and the legends of their priests, believe it to have been formed from congealed milk that flowed from the bosom of Parvati, the consort of Siva [Shiva], who wandered on the iron stone mountains "in quest of her lost child Comarswami." They suppose it to have the miraculous property of renewing itself, and use it for making the distinguishing marks on their foreheads. The decomposing felspar [feldspar] and quartz in contact with the kaolin, is often seen in the form of a soft reddish or purplish shade. The kaolin itself is often coloured yellow or reddish by the oxide of iron« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 150). CULTURAL HISTORY 1889 - clayey schist legend: »… Kumaráswami's temple … A little to the eastward of the temple, a white and purple clayey schist is dug out from under one of the hæmatite bands and shown to the believing Hindus as the fossil remains of the milk which flowed from the breasts of the goddess Parvati as she wandered disconsolately over the mountains in search of her lost son Kumaráswami« (FOOTE, R B 1895). CULTURAL HISTORY 1904: »Kumarasvami, the Mars of the Hindu pantheon, was the child of Siva and Parvati. The legend runs (the sthala purana of the temple gives it in full), that a ferocious demon named Tarakásura who dwelt in this part of the Sandur hills [note 6] so harassed the Devas that they entreated Siva to send his warrior son Kumarasvami to rid them of the monster. Kumarasvami came and slew him and cut off his head. The foundation of the temple commemorates the happy event. An inscription on a detached stone inside the central shrine says that in 1205 A.D. a feudatory of the Hoysala king Vira Ball&la II (1191-4212 A.D.) directed the revival of an endowment to the temple which had been made in the time of the Edshtrakuta king Krishna III (940-956) but had been discontinued, so the building can boast a very respectable antiquity [note 7]« (FRANCIS, W 1904: 321).
NOTE 1: Resident people told me that there is a choice of many different temples to Kumara Swami in the Sandur valley (2004.02.21 and 2004.02.25 personal communication). NOTE 2: »Comara or Kartica Swami, the Hindu Mars« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 144), also »Kumarasvami, the Mars of the Hindu pantheon« (FRANCIS, W 1904: 321), is the Hindu god of war (STRASSER, R 1993: 419), brother of Ganesha (also: Ganapati). His parents are Parvati and Shiva (Siva, Ishwar, Mahadeo) but he was born from Agni (fire) and Ganga / Akashaganga (water) and reared by the tribal Krittikas (RAMAYANA 1.36). Cartica »the son of Mahadeo« (FORBES, J 1840; 181, 2: 326) Carticeya DUNCAN, J (1799 edited 1807: 3) Corticeya »the son of Mahadeo« (FORBES, J 1840; 181, 2: 326) Kartica »the Hindu Mars« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 144) Kartika »… the Hindoo Mars, Komara or Kartika« (SMITH, G 1882: 381) Kartikeya »the God of War, a great deity in Ceylon and southern India« (ELIOT, C N E 1921, 2: 142) Karttikeya CHATTERJEE, A K (1959); GUPTA, S M (1988); MANI, V R (1990) Kartikiya »Kartikiya -- Hindu god of war, Shiva's son« (LONELY PLANET, India 2005: 1108). NOTE 3: Swami = idol: »Towards the upper end there is a dark repository, where they keep their Swamme, that is their chief god« (IVES, E 1773: 70). »There are several other caves in this division of the Sandur hills. In two of them, known respectively as the Kupatasvami and Guptasvami caves, are said to be images of black stone« (FRANCIS, W 1904: 321 note 2). NOTE 4: »Subrahmanya -- another name for Kartikiya« (LONELY PLANET, India 2005: 1112). NOTE 5: »The ascent from the town of Sondur, a distance of 6 miles [about 10 km], is by a steep though safe path flanking the ravine, practicable for horses, elephants, &c.« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 144). »The Kumarasvami temple is … almost due south of Sandur. It is between six and seven miles from the town, four miles of the way being along the level and the remainder on a ghat of which one mile is practicable for carts« (FRANCIS, W 1904: 320). NOTE 6: »It is called Lahachala, "the iron-hill." The Lahachla Mahatmya of the Mackenzie collection is one of the manuscripts which have been removed to the India Office Library and so cannot be referred to« (FRANCIS, W 1904: 321 note 2). NOTE 7: »Newbold says that in the enclosure before the temple is a Hale Kannada sassanam recording an even older endowment in S. 641 (A.D. 719) " by a king of the Marale dynasty named Bijala Naicanu." No such king is known to history, and as the inscription referred to seems to be the one which has recently been partly built into the wall during structural alterations it is not now possible to see what it really says« (FRANCIS, W 1904: 321 note 3). NEWBOLD, T J (1838: 142 footnote): »Anciently according to the inscription or sassanam the revenue of the villages of Saneresihalli, Tyagadahalu, Tresihalu, Mallapura, Komply, Copula, Bamihutty, Comaranahalli and Rampur were given up by Raja Bijala Naika, in the year 641 of Salivahanna, to the temple, but many of them were taken away during the Mohamedan ascendency.«
Documents
Bibliography 05/04/2016History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1837 or 1838: Captain Thomas John Newbold had visited a »cavern«, namely the –>Tarkasura's Cave) situated »a little distance in the jungle from the path« and »considerably below the summit of the range« on which the »famous temple of Comarswami« stands »on the lip of a semi bason« from which extends a »flat, extensive table land to the southward« (NEWBOLD, T J 1838: 149-150). 1889: Robert Bruce Foote paid a hurried visit and found that the cave had disappeared from from public awareness: »Newbold, in his account of the geology of Sandur, mentions some caves as occurring under the lateritoid rock on the Kumaraswami plateau. I did not come across them, and my guide knew nothing of them; so, as Newbold mentioned their not having statagmite flours [sic! qua: stalagmite = secondary calcite floors], I did not spend any time in hunting for them« (FOOTE, R B 1895: 126). 2004.02.21, 2004.02.25: H. D. Gebauer and Werner Busch tried and failed to identify a cave in the immediate vicinity of a Kumaraswami temple about 10 km south of Sandur on the road to S.B. Halli (Subbaravanahalli).