Temple cars[1][2] or Temple chariots are used to carry representations of Hindu gods around the streets of the temple on festival days. These chariots are generally manually pulled by the devotees of the deity.
Temple car procession during Thanjavur Chariot festival, Tamil Nadu.
As of 2004, Tamil Nadu had 515 wooden carts, 79 of which needed repairs.[3]Annamalaiyar Temple, Tiruvannamalai, Chidambaram Natarajar Temple are among the temples that possess these huge wooden chariots for regular processions.
The Natarajar Temple celebrates the chariot festival twice a year; once in the summer (Aani Thirumanjanam, which takes place between June and July) and another in winter (Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai, which takes place between December and January). Lord Krishna of Udupi has five temple cars, namely Brahma ratha (the largest), Madya ratha (medium), kinyo (small), and the silver and gold rathas.
The size of the largest temple cars inspired the Anglo-Indian term Juggernaut (from Jagannath), signifying a tremendous, virtually unstoppable force or phenomenon.
Tiruvadmarudur Temple chariot in 1913.Stone temple car in the Vitthala Temple built during Vijayanagara Empire, India.
Temple cars are used during festivals called Ratha Yatra, a procession in a chariot accompanied by the public. It typically refers to a procession (journey) of deities, people dressed like deities, or simply religious saints and political leaders.[4] The term appears in medieval texts of India such as the Puranas, which mention the Ratha Yatra of Surya (Sun god), of Devi (Mother goddess), and of Vishnu. These chariot journeys have elaborate celebrations where the individuals or the deities come out of a temple accompanied by the public journeying with them through the Ksetra (region, streets) to another temple or to the river or the sea. Sometimes the festivities include returning to the sacrosanctum of the temple.[4][5]
Traveler Fa-Hien who visited India during 400 CE notes the way temple car festivals were celebrated in India.
The cities and towns of this country [Magadha] are the greatest of all in the Middle Kingdom [Mathura through Deccan]. The inhabitants are rich and prosperous, and vie with one another in the practice of benevolence and righteousness. Every year on the eighth day of the second month they celebrate a procession of images. They make a four-wheeled car, and on it erect a structure of four storeys by means of bamboos tied together. This is supported by a king-post, with poles and lances slanting from it, and is rather more than twenty cubits high, having the shape of a tope. White and silk-like cloth of hair is wrapped all round it, which is then painted in various colours. They make figures of devas, with gold, silver, and lapis lazuli grandly blended and having silken streamers and canopies hung out over them. On the four sides are niches, with a Buddha seated in each, and a Bodhisattva standing in attendance on him. There may be twenty cars, all grand and imposing, but each one different from the others. On the day mentioned, the monks and laity within the borders all come together; they have singers and skillful musicians; they pay their devotion with flowers and incense. The Brahmans come and invite the Buddhas to enter the city. These do so in order, and remain two nights in it. All through the night they keep lamps burning, have skillful music, and present offerings. This is the practice in all the other kingdoms as well. The Heads of the Vaisya families in them establish in the cities houses for dispensing charity and medicines. All the poor and destitute in the country, orphans, widowers, and childless men, maimed people and cripples, and all who are diseased, go to those houses, and are provided with every kind of help, and doctors examine their diseases. They get the food and medicines which their cases require, and are made to feel at ease; and when they are better, they go away of themselves.
The procession of the Asia's largest and greatest temple car of ThiruvarurThiyagarajar Temple in Tamil Nadu features prominently in an ancient festival held in the town.[7] The annual chariot festival of the Thygarajaswamy temple is celebrated during April – May, corresponding to the Tamil month of Chitrai. The chariot is the largest of its kind in Asia and India weighing 300 tons with a height of 90 feet. The chariot comes around the four main streets surrounding the temple during the festival. The event is attended by lakhs of people from all over Tamil Nadu.[8]
The Aazhi Ther is the biggest temple chariot in Tamil Nadu. The 30-foot tall temple car, which originally weighed 220 tons, is raised to 96 feet with bamboo sticks and decorative clothes, taking its total weight to 350 tons. Mounted on the fully decorated temple car, the presiding deity – Lord Shiva – went around the four streets with the devotees pulling it using huge ropes. Two bulldozers were engaged to provide the required thrust so that devotees could move the chariot.[9]
Galleryedit
Taladhwaja, Darpadalana and Nandighosha in 2021 Ratha Jatra, Odisha, India.
Temple festival in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India.
Tiruvarur temple car, the largest (chariot) temple car in the world, it weighing 300 tonnes (295 long tons; 331 short tons) with a height of 90 feet (27.43 m).
^Rajarajan, R. K. K.; Rajukalidoss, Parthiban. "Nāyaka Chefs-d'oeuvre: Structure and Iconography of the Śrīvilliputtūr Tēr". Acta Orientalia.
^Rajarajan, R. K. K. "Iconographic Programme in Temple Cars: A Case Study of Kūṭal Alakar tēr". East and West, Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO), Rome.
^"Government of Tamil Nadu Welcomes You". tn.gov.in. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012.
^ abMichaels; Cornelia Vogelsanger; Annette Wilke (1996). Wild Goddesses in India and Nepal: Proceedings of an International Symposium, Berne and Zurich, November 1994. P. Lang. pp. 270–285. ISBN978-3-906756-04-2.
^Fa-Hien (1875). "A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms (Chapter XXVII: Pataliputra or Patna, In Magadha)". gutenberg.org. Translated (published 415). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^"Official Website of Arulmigu Thiyagaraja Swamy Temple,Tiruvarur - Festival". thiyagarajaswamytemple.tnhrce.in. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
^"Festivals, Culture & Heritage | Tiruvarur District, Government of Tamil Nadu | India". Retrieved 9 March 2021.
^Kumar, K. Sambath (16 June 2016). "Car festival held at Tiruvarur Thyagaraja Swamy Temple after a gap of six years". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Temple car news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Temple cars 1 2 or Temple chariots are used to carry representations of Hindu gods around the streets of the temple on festival days These chariots are generally manually pulled by the devotees of the deity Temple car procession during Thanjavur Chariot festival Tamil Nadu As of 2004 Tamil Nadu had 515 wooden carts 79 of which needed repairs 3 Annamalaiyar Temple Tiruvannamalai Chidambaram Natarajar Temple are among the temples that possess these huge wooden chariots for regular processions The Natarajar Temple celebrates the chariot festival twice a year once in the summer Aani Thirumanjanam which takes place between June and July and another in winter Marghazhi Thiruvaadhirai which takes place between December and January Lord Krishna of Udupi has five temple cars namely Brahma ratha the largest Madya ratha medium kinyo small and the silver and gold rathas The size of the largest temple cars inspired the Anglo Indian term Juggernaut from Jagannath signifying a tremendous virtually unstoppable force or phenomenon Contents 1 History 2 Early photographs and lithography of temple chariots 3 Largest temple chariot 4 Gallery 5 List of places with traditional Temple cars 5 1 India 5 1 1 Tamil Nadu 5 1 2 Karnataka 5 1 3 Odisha 5 1 4 Kerala 5 1 5 Andhra Pradesh 5 1 6 Others 5 2 Malaysia 5 3 Sri Lanka 5 4 Germany 6 List of places with golden Temple cars 6 1 Andhra Pradesh 6 2 Karnataka 6 3 Puducherry 6 4 Tamil Nadu 7 See also 8 ReferencesHistory editFurther information Ratha Yatra nbsp Tiruvadmarudur Temple chariot in 1913 nbsp Stone temple car in the Vitthala Temple built during Vijayanagara Empire India Temple cars are used during festivals called Ratha Yatra a procession in a chariot accompanied by the public It typically refers to a procession journey of deities people dressed like deities or simply religious saints and political leaders 4 The term appears in medieval texts of India such as the Puranas which mention the Ratha Yatra of Surya Sun god of Devi Mother goddess and of Vishnu These chariot journeys have elaborate celebrations where the individuals or the deities come out of a temple accompanied by the public journeying with them through the Ksetra region streets to another temple or to the river or the sea Sometimes the festivities include returning to the sacrosanctum of the temple 4 5 Traveler Fa Hien who visited India during 400 CE notes the way temple car festivals were celebrated in India The cities and towns of this country Magadha are the greatest of all in the Middle Kingdom Mathura through Deccan The inhabitants are rich and prosperous and vie with one another in the practice of benevolence and righteousness Every year on the eighth day of the second month they celebrate a procession of images They make a four wheeled car and on it erect a structure of four storeys by means of bamboos tied together This is supported by a king post with poles and lances slanting from it and is rather more than twenty cubits high having the shape of a tope White and silk like cloth of hair is wrapped all round it which is then painted in various colours They make figures of devas with gold silver and lapis lazuli grandly blended and having silken streamers and canopies hung out over them On the four sides are niches with a Buddha seated in each and a Bodhisattva standing in attendance on him There may be twenty cars all grand and imposing but each one different from the others On the day mentioned the monks and laity within the borders all come together they have singers and skillful musicians they pay their devotion with flowers and incense The Brahmans come and invite the Buddhas to enter the city These do so in order and remain two nights in it All through the night they keep lamps burning have skillful music and present offerings This is the practice in all the other kingdoms as well The Heads of the Vaisya families in them establish in the cities houses for dispensing charity and medicines All the poor and destitute in the country orphans widowers and childless men maimed people and cripples and all who are diseased go to those houses and are provided with every kind of help and doctors examine their diseases They get the food and medicines which their cases require and are made to feel at ease and when they are better they go away of themselves Faxian c 415 CE 6 Early photographs and lithography of temple chariots editVintage Temple chariot procession pictures nbsp Someshwara Temple chariot in 1918 nbsp Chariot procession in Madurai in 1872 nbsp Banashankari Temple Badami chariot in 1855 nbsp Srirangam Temple chariot in the 1890s nbsp Juggernaut Car Madras 1850 nbsp Three temple cars outside the Hanuman Dhoka or Old Palace Kathmandu Oldfield collection 1850 1863 nbsp The Car of Juggernaut as depicted in the 1851 Illustrated London Reading Book nbsp Tempel car in Bangalore 1870Largest temple chariot edit nbsp Asia s Largest Temple car Aazhi Ther Big Chariot in Thiruvarur Tamil Nadu The procession of the Asia s largest and greatest temple car of Thiruvarur Thiyagarajar Temple in Tamil Nadu features prominently in an ancient festival held in the town 7 The annual chariot festival of the Thygarajaswamy temple is celebrated during April May corresponding to the Tamil month of Chitrai The chariot is the largest of its kind in Asia and India weighing 300 tons with a height of 90 feet The chariot comes around the four main streets surrounding the temple during the festival The event is attended by lakhs of people from all over Tamil Nadu 8 The Aazhi Ther is the biggest temple chariot in Tamil Nadu The 30 foot tall temple car which originally weighed 220 tons is raised to 96 feet with bamboo sticks and decorative clothes taking its total weight to 350 tons Mounted on the fully decorated temple car the presiding deity Lord Shiva went around the four streets with the devotees pulling it using huge ropes Two bulldozers were engaged to provide the required thrust so that devotees could move the chariot 9 Gallery edit nbsp Taladhwaja Darpadalana and Nandighosha in 2021 Ratha Jatra Odisha India nbsp Temple festival in Chidambaram Tamil Nadu India nbsp Tiruvarur temple car the largest chariot temple car in the world it weighing 300 tonnes 295 long tons 331 short tons with a height of 90 feet 27 43 m nbsp Type of temple car called Theru from the Chettikulangara Kumbha Bharani Kerala nbsp Type of temple car called Kuthira from the Chettikulangara Kumbha Bharani Kerala nbsp Temple car decorated Udupi Karnataka India nbsp Bisket Jatra Chariot Bhaktapur Nepal nbsp Picture of Tirunelveli Nellaiappar Temple Golden car nbsp Picture of Alwarkurichi People pulling Sivasailanathaswamy Temple car nbsp Temple cars in front of Jagananth temple 2021List of places with traditional Temple cars editIndia edit Tamil Nadu edit Alwarkurichi Tenkasi Aragalur Avinashi Sri Avanashiappar Temple Bhavani Kooduthoorai Tamil Nadu 4 chariots Coimbatore Tamil Nadu Koniamman Temple Chidambaram Tamil Nadu Nataraja Temple Dindigul Abiramiyamman Kovil Denkanikottai Betarayaswamy Kovil Erode Chennimalai Sivagiri Sivanmalai Gobichettipalayam Sri Kondathukalaimman Temple Sri Balamurugan Temple and others Kadayanallur Kallal Town Somasundareswarer Kovil Kanchipuram Varadharaja Perumal Temple Ekambareswarar Temple and others Karuvalur Shri Mariamman Kovil Karamadai Ranganathaswamy temple Kumbakonam Sri Saarangapani Temple and others Lalgudi Saptharishishwarar Temple Madurai Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple and others Mannargudi Sri vidhya Rajagopalaswamy temple Minjur Sri Ekambaranatha temple Mylapore Chennai Kapaleeshwarar Temple North Authoor Sri Somanathar Somasundari Temple Palani Perur Patteewarar Temple Sakkottai Karaikudi Sankarankovil Sankara Narayanasamy Temple Srivaikuntam Sri Srivaikuntanathan Permual Temple Fourth largest temple car in Tamil Nadu Suchindram Thanumalayan Temple Srivilliputtur Sri Andal Temple Second largest temple car in Tamil Nadu Salem Elampillai Aranagalur Rasipuram Sholinghur Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple Sholinghur Srimushnam Boovaraha Swami temple Second largest temple car in Tamilnadu citation needed Tiruchendur Sri Subramanya Swami temple Thirupathiripuliyur Cuddalore Padaleeswarar temple Thiruvanthipuram Cuddalore District Devanathaswamy temple Tirunelveli Sri Nellaiappar Temple Third largest temple car in Tamil Nadu Tiruchengode Sri Arthanareeswarar Temple Fourth largest temple car in Tamil Nadu Tiruvannamalai Annamalaiyar unnamulai amman temple 5 Chariots Tirupattur Aruilmigu Muthukumara Swamy Thirukkovil God Shiva chariot Thirthahalli Tiruvallur Tiruvidaimarudur Mahalinga Swamy Schariots Thungapuram Ariyalur Perambalur Thiruvarur Thiyagarajar Temple First largest temple car in Asia citation needed Thiruthangal Perumal Kovil Thirukoshtiyur Sri Sowmiya Narayana Perumal Kovil Vickramasingapuram Sivanthiappar Kovil Virudhunagar Vasudevanallur Sri Cinthamani Nathar temple arthanathiswarar temple Karnataka edit Banavasi Bengaluru Someshwara Temple Bantwal Gokarna Sri Mahabaleshwara Temple Hampi Immovable stone chariot built by Vijayanagara Kings Karinjeshwara Kateel Shri Durga Parameshwari Temple Kollur Udupi Mookambika Temple Mangalore Shri Venkataraman temple Nanjangud Srikanteshwara Temple Mulki Shree Venkataramana Temple Mulki Shree Kalikamba Temple Mulki Shri Bappanadu Temple Mysuru Chamundeshwari Temple Puttur Shri Maha Lingeshsara Temple Suratkal Udupi Odisha edit Bhubaneswar Puri Kerala edit Chettikulangara Chettikulangara Devi Temple Cherai Palakkad Kerala Many temples in settlements of Palakkad Andhra Pradesh edit Kadiri Sri Khadri Lakshmi Narasimha Swami Temple Koduru Others edit Manali New Town Aiyya Temple Yanam Malaysia edit George Town Nattukkottai Chettiar Temple Kuala lumpur Seri Maha Mariamman Temple Devasthanam Teluk Intan Nagarathaar Sri Thendayuthapani Sri Lanka edit Colombo Trincomalee Koneswaram temple Germany edit Hamm Germany Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple List of places with golden Temple cars editAndhra Pradesh edit Lord Shiva temple Narasimhaswami temple and tirumala Sri vari ratham Karnataka edit Gokarna Shri Mahabaleshwar temple Kateel Shri Durga Parameshwari temple Kollur Mookambika Temple Konchady Mangalore Mahalasa Narayani Temple Udupi Sri Krishna matha Puducherry edit Sri Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Pondicherry Puducherry Tamil Nadu edit Arulmigu Maruntheeswar Thiruvanmiyur Chennai Arulmigu Devi Karumariamman Thiruverkadu Chennai Arulmigu Vadapalani Andavar Vadapalani Chennai Arulmigu Kamatchiamman Mangadu Chennai Arulmigu Kanthaswamy Parktown Chennai Arulmigu Mundakakanniamman Mylapore Chennai Arulmigu Kapaleeswarar Mylapore Chennai Maruthamalai Coimbatore Subramanya Swamy Temple Coimbatore Eachanari Vinayagar Temple Coimbatore Thandu Mariamman Temple Arulmigu MeenakshiSundareswarar Madurai Arulmigu Solaimalai Murugan Pazhamudircholai Alagarkovil Madurai Arulmigu Jambukeswarar Thiruvanaikkaval Trichy Arulmigu Nellaiappar Temple Tirunelveli Arulmigu Ramanathaswamy Rameswaram Arulmigu Subramaniaswamy Thiruchendur Arulmigu Kamatchiamman Kanchipuram Arulmigu Dandayuthapaniswamy Palani Arulmigu Swaminathaswamy Swamimalai Arulmigu Subramanyaswamy Thiruttani Arulmigu Anjaneyaswamy Namakkal Arulmigu Pachaimalai Murugan Gobichettipalayam Arulmigu Pariyur Kondathu Kaliamman Gobichettipalayam Arulmigu Mariamman Bannari Erode Arulmigu Velayuthaswamy Thindalmalai Erode Arulmigu Arthanareeswarar Tiruchengode Arulmigu Subramaniyaswamy Sivanmalai Tirupur Arulmigu Kottaimariamman Dindigul Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Thiruvannamalai Arulmigu Vaidhyanathaswamy Vaitheeswaran Kovil Arulmigu Mahalinga Swamy Temple Thiruvidaimarudur SILVER CHARIOT Arulmigu SankaraNarayanaswamy Sankarankovil Nanguneri Arulmigu Vanamamalai Perumal Arulmigu Balamurugan Raththinagiri Arulmigu Mariamman Samayapuram Arulmigu Masaniamman Anamalai Arulmigu Mathurakaliyamman Siruvachur Perambalur District Arulmigu Angalaparameshwari Amman Melmalayanur Villupuram District Arulmigu Natarajar Temple Chidambaram Cuddalore District the chariot for Pichandavar on the eighth day of 10 day long festival Arulmigu Yoga Lakshmi Narasimar temple Sholinghur Ranipet district Arulmigu Vijayapuri Amman temple Vijayamangalam ErodeSee also editRatha Carroccio CarriageReferences edit Rajarajan R K K Rajukalidoss Parthiban Nayaka Chefs d oeuvre Structure and Iconography of the Srivilliputtur Ter Acta Orientalia Rajarajan R K K Iconographic Programme in Temple Cars A Case Study of Kuṭal Alakar ter East and West Istituto Italiano per l Africa e l Oriente IsIAO Rome Government of Tamil Nadu Welcomes You tn gov in Archived from the original on 19 December 2012 a b Michaels Cornelia Vogelsanger Annette Wilke 1996 Wild Goddesses in India and Nepal Proceedings of an International Symposium Berne and Zurich November 1994 P Lang pp 270 285 ISBN 978 3 906756 04 2 Mandai Paresh Chandra 2012 Rathajatra In Islam Sirajul Jamal Ahmed A eds Banglapedia National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh Second ed Asiatic Society of Bangladesh permanent dead link Fa Hien 1875 A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms Chapter XXVII Pataliputra or Patna In Magadha gutenberg org Translated published 415 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Official Website of Arulmigu Thiyagaraja Swamy Temple Tiruvarur Festival thiyagarajaswamytemple tnhrce in Retrieved 10 March 2021 Festivals Culture amp Heritage Tiruvarur District Government of Tamil Nadu India Retrieved 9 March 2021 Kumar K Sambath 16 June 2016 Car festival held at Tiruvarur Thyagaraja Swamy Temple after a gap of six years The Times of India Retrieved 9 March 2021 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Temple chariots Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Temple car amp oldid 1218784168, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
