<p>One may well wonder what synergies can a small, ostensibly nondescript village panchayat, Thiruvahindrapuram in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district, about 185 km from Chennai, offer to India's ‘Silicon Valley’ led by Bangalore as the ‘Knowledge Hub of Asia’. <br />But Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, from hindsight seems to jell better with the insight of the ‘whole being more than the sum of its parts’, when he made a quiet visit to the ancient Sri Devanatha Swamy Temple there recently with a prayer on his lips. <br />Despite the sparks over the controversial ‘Hogenakkal water supply project', Yeddyurappa struck culturally empathetic chord when he came down to worship at that Temple, believed to antedate to the Ramayana period, and which houses the oldest shrine in the country to Lord Lakshmi Hayagriva (Vishnu with a horse-face) symbolising ‘knowledge’.<br /><br />Going by its manifest architectural style, it is probably a late Chola period temple, says its chief priest Narasimha Bhattar. For instance, some of the earliest stone inscriptions in this temple that goes back to ‘Kulothanga Chola-I (1070-1120 CE)’ era, also lends credence to that interpretation. <br /><br />However, legend has it that this temple- where the presiding deity ‘Devanatha Swamy’ gives 'darshan' in his trinitarian form, encompassing Lord Shiva and Brahma too, is 3000 years old, claims Bhattar. The hillock ‘Oushadagiri’ on its southern fringe is believed to be a piece of the ‘Sanjeevini mountain’ of medicinal herbs that fell there when Hanuman flew with it to Lanka to resuscitate Lakshmana in the ‘Ramayana’ epic, he pointed out. <br /><br />Even more, what adds lustre to this wondrous temple is the Lord Hayagriva shrine atop this hillock, where the 13th century Vaishnavite preceptor, Sri Nigamantha Maha Desika had a vision of the God, hailed in the Hindu pantheon as the ‘God of Knowledge’ for having restored the ‘Vedas’ to Lord Brahma after he was pitiably robbed of it by demons. <br />Mr Yeddyurappa on his first visit to this temple recently, was astounded as the legend behind it was unfolded to him, officials involved in his visit told Deccan Herald. Sri Vedanta <br />Desika, who went on to flourish as one of the ‘greatest, unparalleled scholars of Sri Vaishnavism’ had spent nearly 40 years in Thiruvahindrapuram doing penance to invoke Lord Hayagriva's blessings before all the ‘Vedashastras’ were taught to him on the hillock. Youth seeking good education and speechless children yearning to speak throng in large numbers to it for that very reason, temple officials said. <br /><br />“Yeddyurappa came alone, worshipped Lord Hayagriva and spent some time at the temple” sources said. Accompanying officials of the State Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Department took the opportunity to also inform him about the renovation work going on. <br /><br />Though some of his predecessors from Karnataka had also visited this temple in the past, this was an intriguingly low-profile visit with Mr Yeddyurappa's office informing the district administration just a day in advance to facilitate security arrangements, an HR and CE Department official said. <br /><br />A pensive Yeddyurappa said nothing then. But the rich tapestry of myths, legends, devotional-hymns and history that the Thiruvahindrapuram temple stands for over the ages apparently moved him deeply as he returned to Bangalore. A week later, a simple but utterly surprising letter from him to the HR and CE Commissioner here said Yeddyurappa's Government will donate Rs one crore towards that temple. The draft for the amount was handed over to Tamil Nadu officials a few days back. <br /><br />It is by no means a small amount, say excited HR and CE officials here on Yeddyurappa's offer. Massive renovation costing about Rs three crore has been taken up at the Thiruvahindrapuram temple, which the officials hope to complete by March 2011 when a fresh consecration will also be done. <br /><br />“Mr Yeddyurappa's extraordinary gesture is timely and will speed up the renovation,” says an official. If the ‘Hogenakkal row’ was feared to drown the ‘statue diplomacy’ he <br />initiated last year with the installation of the Tamil Saint-Poet Thiruvalluvar statue in Bangalore, followed by unveiling of the Kannada poet Sarvajna statue in Chennai, Yeddyurappa's largesse to the Thiruvahindrapuram temple now could help revive that spirit, feel officials. It is yet again the ‘virtues of episteme’ that seems to fondly cement forgotten, latent ties between a ‘Temple of Knowledge’ and the ‘Knowledge Hub of Asia’. <br /></p>
<p>One may well wonder what synergies can a small, ostensibly nondescript village panchayat, Thiruvahindrapuram in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district, about 185 km from Chennai, offer to India's ‘Silicon Valley’ led by Bangalore as the ‘Knowledge Hub of Asia’. <br />But Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, from hindsight seems to jell better with the insight of the ‘whole being more than the sum of its parts’, when he made a quiet visit to the ancient Sri Devanatha Swamy Temple there recently with a prayer on his lips. <br />Despite the sparks over the controversial ‘Hogenakkal water supply project', Yeddyurappa struck culturally empathetic chord when he came down to worship at that Temple, believed to antedate to the Ramayana period, and which houses the oldest shrine in the country to Lord Lakshmi Hayagriva (Vishnu with a horse-face) symbolising ‘knowledge’.<br /><br />Going by its manifest architectural style, it is probably a late Chola period temple, says its chief priest Narasimha Bhattar. For instance, some of the earliest stone inscriptions in this temple that goes back to ‘Kulothanga Chola-I (1070-1120 CE)’ era, also lends credence to that interpretation. <br /><br />However, legend has it that this temple- where the presiding deity ‘Devanatha Swamy’ gives 'darshan' in his trinitarian form, encompassing Lord Shiva and Brahma too, is 3000 years old, claims Bhattar. The hillock ‘Oushadagiri’ on its southern fringe is believed to be a piece of the ‘Sanjeevini mountain’ of medicinal herbs that fell there when Hanuman flew with it to Lanka to resuscitate Lakshmana in the ‘Ramayana’ epic, he pointed out. <br /><br />Even more, what adds lustre to this wondrous temple is the Lord Hayagriva shrine atop this hillock, where the 13th century Vaishnavite preceptor, Sri Nigamantha Maha Desika had a vision of the God, hailed in the Hindu pantheon as the ‘God of Knowledge’ for having restored the ‘Vedas’ to Lord Brahma after he was pitiably robbed of it by demons. <br />Mr Yeddyurappa on his first visit to this temple recently, was astounded as the legend behind it was unfolded to him, officials involved in his visit told Deccan Herald. Sri Vedanta <br />Desika, who went on to flourish as one of the ‘greatest, unparalleled scholars of Sri Vaishnavism’ had spent nearly 40 years in Thiruvahindrapuram doing penance to invoke Lord Hayagriva's blessings before all the ‘Vedashastras’ were taught to him on the hillock. Youth seeking good education and speechless children yearning to speak throng in large numbers to it for that very reason, temple officials said. <br /><br />“Yeddyurappa came alone, worshipped Lord Hayagriva and spent some time at the temple” sources said. Accompanying officials of the State Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Department took the opportunity to also inform him about the renovation work going on. <br /><br />Though some of his predecessors from Karnataka had also visited this temple in the past, this was an intriguingly low-profile visit with Mr Yeddyurappa's office informing the district administration just a day in advance to facilitate security arrangements, an HR and CE Department official said. <br /><br />A pensive Yeddyurappa said nothing then. But the rich tapestry of myths, legends, devotional-hymns and history that the Thiruvahindrapuram temple stands for over the ages apparently moved him deeply as he returned to Bangalore. A week later, a simple but utterly surprising letter from him to the HR and CE Commissioner here said Yeddyurappa's Government will donate Rs one crore towards that temple. The draft for the amount was handed over to Tamil Nadu officials a few days back. <br /><br />It is by no means a small amount, say excited HR and CE officials here on Yeddyurappa's offer. Massive renovation costing about Rs three crore has been taken up at the Thiruvahindrapuram temple, which the officials hope to complete by March 2011 when a fresh consecration will also be done. <br /><br />“Mr Yeddyurappa's extraordinary gesture is timely and will speed up the renovation,” says an official. If the ‘Hogenakkal row’ was feared to drown the ‘statue diplomacy’ he <br />initiated last year with the installation of the Tamil Saint-Poet Thiruvalluvar statue in Bangalore, followed by unveiling of the Kannada poet Sarvajna statue in Chennai, Yeddyurappa's largesse to the Thiruvahindrapuram temple now could help revive that spirit, feel officials. It is yet again the ‘virtues of episteme’ that seems to fondly cement forgotten, latent ties between a ‘Temple of Knowledge’ and the ‘Knowledge Hub of Asia’. <br /></p>
