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The Indian Analyst
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South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA From the description of the Chaturānana-Paṇḍitas in these inscriptions, we understand that though when the first Chaturānana made an endowment, he entrusted it with the Sabhā of Narasiṁhamaṅgala, the Paṇḍita himself was also in charge of the affairs of the temple at Tiruvorriyūr. The record of the Mānyakhēṭa merchant at this place refers to Maṭhapati Chaturānana as bearing the office of Dharma.[1] Nirañjana-guru is described in the inscription[2] of Vijayakaṁpavarman as the lord of Tiruvorriyūr (Tiruvorriyūr uḍaiya) and in our own inscription as Ādhigrāmapati,[3] In similar terms, the inscription of Rājēndra Chōḷa[4] refers to Chaturānana as one in charge of the temple and the maṭha at Tiruvorriyūr [Tiruvorriyūr-tirumayānamu(m)maḍam(um)-uḍaiya]. It was at Chaturānana’s instance that Ravi built the Vimāna (Chaturānana-chōditēna) of the Ādhipurīśvara shrine.[5] In the time of Kulōttuṅga I, the Paṇḍita is entrusted with the scrutiny of the temple accounts.[6] The Chōḷa king Rājādhirāja II is stated to have attended the temple festival at Tiruvorriyūr with Chaturānana by his side,[7] and in another inscription of the same king we find the Paṇḍita ordering the recording of some gift left unrecorded.[8] the position of authority held by Chaturānana is borne out by the Sanskrit portion of the inscription[8] of Rājādhirāja II in which Chaturānana who looks into the accounts is expressed called Vārēśaḥ,
that is, head of the Vāriyaṁ which was an executive committee functioning under the Sabhā.[9]
Mr. T. N. Ramachandran says[10] that there was an order of Sannyāsins at Tiruvorriyūr to which both Nirañjana and Chaturānana belonged. This is not likely. There was no succession of Nirañjana but only one Nirañjana of Kaṁpavarman’s time. Both Nirañjana and Chaturānana were Śaiva gurus and even as their names, which are different from the advaitic appellations ending in Ātman, Ānanda, etc., show, they had nothing to do with Advaita. That Śaṅkarāchārya visited the place and put down the Vāmamārga obtaining there is known from tradition ; what we actually know from the inscriptions is that so late as the time of Rājādhirāja II, one Vāgīśa Bhaṭṭa was there expounding Sōma-Siddhānta, quite in keeping with the Bhairava and Pāśupata traditions of the place. But this hardly means that other forms of worship and currents of thought did not join to build up the richness of the spiritual associations of Tiruvorriyūr. The tradition of Śaṅkara brought Advaita and the worship of Dēvī on refined lines ;[11] the tradition of Vyākaraṇadāna, revelation of grammar, shows the probability of the upāsanā of Śabdabrahman attaining some importance at the shrine ; and above all, the hymns of the Śaiva Nāyanārs relating to Tiruvorriyūr show the growth, at the place, of the path of Bhakti to Śiva. _______________________________________________
[1] No. 177 of 1912 of the Madras Epigraphical Collection : (Sanskrit) | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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