The footsteps and sensory experience of devotees linger in an Indian temple

Stone figures hardened by ascetic discipline and heroic effort face north in deep shadow. There they meet the gazes of the same gods and goddesses but with gentler bodies enacting grace, warmth, seduction, and marriage, drenched in sunlight, facing south. These figures adorn the eighth-century Kailasanatha temple complex in southeastern India, built by rulers who were both warriors and ascetics, engaged in the work of this world and in spiritual quests. They designed their temple as an exuberant visual feast to sustain both modes of being.

In Opening Kailasanatha, Padma Kaimal deciphers the intentions of the monument's makers, reaching back across centuries to illuminate worldviews of the ancient Indic south. She reveals how circling the complex in a clockwise direction focuses the mind and spirit on worldly engagement; in a counterclockwise direction, on renunciation and ascetic practice. This pairing of highly charged, complementary pathways enabled devotees to grasp these counterpoised opportunities in their own listening, gazing, moving bodies. By focusing on the material form of the complex-the architecture, inscriptions, and sculptures, along with the spaces they carve out that guide light, shadow, sound, and footsteps-Kaimal offers insights that complement what surviving texts tell us about Shaiva Siddhanta ideas and practices, providing a rare opportunity to walk in the distant past.

The footsteps and sensory experience of devotees linger in an Indian temple

About the Author

Padma Kaimal is Batza Professor of Art and Art History at Colgate University and author of Scattered Goddesses: Travels with the Yoginis.

Reviews

"[W]orks to reimagine how the temple may have been experienced-"how the monument lived" (p. 15)-in the eighth century... Kaimal aspires to address the temple in its entirety-from its architectural plan, to the inscriptions and sculptures, to the superstructure-seeing it as an evolving monument that is contin-ually being transformed. Kaimal's unique contribution is that she reveals patterns that are more or less consistent across every carved surface and throughout the temple compound."

* Journal of Asian Studies *

"Padma Kaimal leads the reader through this temple complex and uncovers the many patterns and pathways available for experiencing Shiva and Pallava worldviews...One major contribution of this study, and there are many, lies in the new conceptual frameworks it offers for understanding the dynamics between art and its patrons, makers, and users."

* Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (JSAH) *

"The book's text and design converge to make the complex subject much easier to understand. The text is unusually clearly written and in a style that is lively and fresh...[A]n engaging and scholarly study of the temple that will serve college students as well as interested travelers."

* Archives of Asian Art *



Book Information
ISBN 9780295747774
Author Padma Kaimal
Format Hardback
Page Count 288
Imprint University of Washington Press
Publisher University of Washington Press
Weight(grams) 748g