Temple car

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.

Stone temple car in the Vitthala Temple at Hampi, India.

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.

Earliest pictures of Temple chariots
  • Vintage Temple chariot procession pictures
  • Chariot procession in Madurai in 1872.
    Chariot procession in Madurai in 1872.
  • Tiruvadmarudur Temple chariot in 1913.
    Tiruvadmarudur Temple chariot in 1913.
  • Someshwara Temple chariot in 1918.
    Someshwara Temple chariot in 1918.
  • Vintage Temple chariot pictures
  • Banashankari Temple (Badami) chariot in 1855.
    Banashankari Temple (Badami) chariot in 1855.
  • Srirangam Temple chariot in the 1890s.
    Srirangam Temple chariot in the 1890s.
  • Srivilliputtur Temple chariot in 1930.
    Srivilliputtur Temple chariot in 1930.

Largest temple chariot
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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

List of places with traditional Temple cars

Tamil Nadu

Karnataka

Odisha

Kerala

Andhra Pradesh

Others

Malaysia

Sri Lanka

Germany

List of places with golden Temple cars

Andhra Pradesh
  • Lord Shiva temple
  • Narasimhaswami temple and tirumala Sri vari ratham

Karnataka

Puducherry

Tamil Nadu
  • Arulmigu Yoga Lakshmi Narasimar temple, Sholinghur, Ranipet district.
  • Arulmigu Vijayapuri Amman temple, Vijayamangalam,Erode

See also

References
  1. Rajarajan, R. K. K.; Rajukalidoss, Parthiban. "Nāyaka Chefs-d'oeuvre: Structure and Iconography of the Śrīvilliputtūr Tēr". Acta Orientalia.
  2. 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.
  3. "Government of Tamil Nadu Welcomes You". tn.gov.in. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012.
  4. "Official Website of Arulmigu Thiyagaraja Swamy Temple,Tiruvarur - Festival". thiyagarajaswamytemple.tnhrce.in. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  5. "Festivals, Culture & Heritage | Tiruvarur District, Government of Tamil Nadu | India". Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  6. 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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