Ram Temple: Architecture as symbol

The August 5 ‘bhoomi pooja’ for the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya has been seen as the beginning of a new era for the country. The event was remarkable in many ways, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself leading the religious ceremony, with the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat by his side, and declaring that a ‘new India’ would be built on the stone laid by him for the temple. The occasion was pregnant with many meanings, which will become clear in the years to come. These will be different for different people, but they will be used as tools to define politics and society in the coming days. There is much rhetoric and assertion of the symbolic value of the temple for the country. This value can be illustrated in a way that has not yet been thought of because the conventional idea of a temple has dominated the thoughts of its proponents and planners.

If the temple stands for a vision of a ‘new India’, it should visually demonstrate it, and when it is completed, show it by the way it functions. The model of the temple is available now. As it is visualised now, the temple is to be built in the Nagara style which is common in North India. It is a North Indian temple, in the best sense of the term. Some of the most impressive temples in the country have been built in the Nagara style and they evoke great admiration. But, by stated intent, the Ayodhya temple is being built for the entire nation. Why can’t some elements of South Indian temple architecture be incorporated in its the design to make the idea real? If Ram is a symbol of the nation, his abode should reflect its diversities. The temple will be richer with some Chola grandeur and Chalukya finesse and possible elements from other regional traditions of temple architecture.

A meeting of the Nagara and the South Indian styles can be seen in the Vesara architecture in some temples in Karnataka. An Ayodhya temple that combines the main architectural styles of the country will be more representative and inclusive. People from other parts of the country who go there will be able to relate to it better. The ambience of a temple, derived from its physical features and design, is important for many devotees who go there. Limiting the Ram temple at Ayodhya to a North Indian temple will limit Ram and the appeal of the temple. The temple has been projected as a symbol of national unity. Let the architecture talk unity and embody the vision of unity in diversity.

Creative fusion of architectural styles has produced wonderful structures in India and elsewhere. It is not too late to act on this. The design of the temple has been changed many times and it is not difficult to make changes even now, because the construction is going to take many years. There is no need to worry much about the ‘Vastu’. If there is a will to do it, the shastras will not stand in the way. A house is good and beautiful when it meets the dweller’s needs, goes with his nature and becomes him. Architecture reflects the culture of a society, and society can express its values, pre-occupations and aspirations through it. Can the builders of the Ayodhya temple take up that challenge?

There is a view that a temple or any place of worship is built to reflect the region and the period of its construction. Tamil King Raja Raja Cholan’s empire extended up to the Ganges and overseas up to Java and Sumatra. He never imposed Tamil language anywhere, let alone the Thanjavur big temple architecture, a marvel though it is. Angkor Wat in Cambodia is another symbol of Indian influence, but it is done in the Khmer style. The argument is that since it is the local ethos and style that has shaped such temples, there is nothing wrong in the Ayodhya temple being built in the local style.

A Ram temple built in the Nagara style is not wrong, but it can be more right if it is cosmopolitan and has a composite style. It is true that most temples are built to reflect local or regional styles. That is why each temple is unique and different, though they are built according to the same standard rules. That is also why they are beautiful. The point is that in the case of Ayodhya, the idea of region can be expanded to cover the whole country, as Ram is presented as a representative and symbol of the nation. Hence the argument that a national idiom should express a national Ram.

It should also be noted that all temples are not strictly regional, when special considerations go into their making or working. In Ayodhya itself, there are many styles. The Vijaya Raghav Mandir, which is a major temple there dedicated to Ram and Sita, follows Ramanuja’s Vishishtadvaita school of Vedanta, and has a South Indian stamp on it. The Kochi Thirumala Devaswom temple has a style different from the usual Dravidian style. The various Ayyappa temples across the country are not built according to local and regional styles but follow a general Kerala pattern of temple architecture.

The bigger idea of the temple can go beyond the design, too. For this, according to a view, the temple should adopt a new mix of practices and worship, adornment rituals, music and bhajans drawn from all over the country. Individual worshippers may carry their methods of worship to the temple but a ‘pooja’ plan and ‘aradhana’ scheme evolved from various practices in other parts of the country can be adopted in Ayodhya.

Finally, who will be the priests of the temple? Are they going to be the Brahmins from Ayodhya, going by the tradition? Every Indian should have the right to be a priest of the Ram temple. Since a person from a backward community from a different part of the country has done the ‘bhoomi pooja’, the priesthood should also be open to everyone from all parts of the country — the south, the east and the west — and to backward communities, scheduled castes and tribes and all other sections of people. Lord Ram, who travelled south and had a close friend in the boatman Guha, would be happy about it.

(The writer is a former Associate Editor of Deccan Herald)