[INDOLOGY] Konkaneswara, Konganar, & Brhadisvara Mahatmya?

Mon Feb 10 07:19:57 UTC 2025

Dear Westin,

Chidambaram, Kanchipuram, Tiruvanaikka, Tiruvannamalai, and Kalahasti indeed all feature in the hymns of the Tēvāram (7th to 9th c.?), but the concept of these five sites forming a group is not. The earliest reference to the pañcabhūtasthala concept that I am aware of is found in verse 100 of the Kuñcitāṅghristava of Umāpati Śivācārya (14th c.) (quoted in Hermann Kulke: Cidambaramāhātmya, Wiesbaden 1970, p. 140). However, it is not clear when this concept became well established. At least in the case of Kanchipuram, the local māhātmya/sthalapurāṇa texts do not make any mention of Kanchipuram being a part of such a group.

Best wishes,
Jonas Buchholz

From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info> On Behalf Of Westin Harris via INDOLOGY
Sent: Saturday, February 8, 2025 1:13 AM
To: Rastelli, Marion <Marion.Rastelli at oeaw.ac.at>
Cc: Indology <indology at list.indology.info>
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Konkaneswara, Konganar, & Brhadisvara Mahatmya?

Dear Jonas, Marion, and other Indologists,

Many thanks for your replies. These are extremely helpful leads. If I may, I have one more question to add to the conversation.

When do we first find mention of Thilla Nataraja (Chidambaram), Ekambaresvara (Kanci), Jambukesvara (Tiruchirapalli), Arunacalesvara (Thiruvannamalai), and Srikalahasti (Kalahasthi) as the pancabhutasthalas (five elemental [Saiva] sites)? I have found references suggesting that these same temples are mentioned among the 200+ padalpetrasthalas in the medieval writings of the Nayanmars. Is the pancabhutasthala collection also mentioned in these (or other) medieval sources, or is it a later development?

Sincerely,

Westin Harris
Ph.D. Candidate
Study of Religion
University of California, Davis
https://religionsgrad.ucdavis.edu/people/westin-harris<https://religions.ucdavis.edu/people/westin-harris>

2021 Dissertation Fellow,
The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies
Sarva Mangalam.

On Fri, Feb 7, 2025 at 4:16 AM Rastelli, Marion <Marion.Rastelli at oeaw.ac.at<mailto:Marion.Rastelli at oeaw.ac.at>> wrote:
Dear Westin,

The Divyasūricarita, a Śrīvaiṣṇava hagiography, describes a Koṅkana riding on a flying tiger at the beginning of chapter 3.

Best wishes,
Marion Rastelli

From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info<mailto:indology-bounces at list.indology.info>> On Behalf Of Buchholz, Jonas via INDOLOGY
Sent: Friday, February 7, 2025 12:46 PM
To: Westin Harris <wlharris at ucdavis.edu<mailto:wlharris at ucdavis.edu>>
Cc: indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>
Subject: [EXT] Re: [INDOLOGY] Konkaneswara, Konganar, & Brhadisvara Mahatmya?

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Dear Westin,

I’m afraid I cannot really answer your question, but in just case you were not already aware, Indira Peterson has worked on the Bṛhadīśvaramāhātmya. I don’t know if she is a member of this list, but it might be worth contacting her directly.

For what it’s woth, the sage Koṅkaṇa also features in the origin story of the Vīraṭṭāṉeśvara temple in Kanchipuram as it is told in the Śaiva Kāñcīmāhātmya and its Tamil adaptation, Civañāṉa Muṉivar’s Kāñcippurāṇam. There is, however, no mention of Koṅkaṇa riding a tiger or of the other narrative elements that you mentioned.

Best wishes,
Jonas Buchholz

                                                           ____                _____
Dr. Jonas Buchholz
Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Project “Hindu Temple Legends in South India”

Karl Jaspers Centre
Voßstr. 2 | Building 4400 | Room 004
69115 Heidelberg, Germany

P:  +49 (0)6221 54 4095
E:  jonas.buchholz at hadw-bw.de<mailto:jonas.buchholz at hadw-bw.de>
W: https://www.hadw-bw.de/htl

From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces at list.indology.info<mailto:indology-bounces at list.indology.info>> On Behalf Of Westin Harris via INDOLOGY
Sent: Wednesday, February 5, 2025 4:36 AM
To: INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>>
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Konkaneswara, Konganar, & Brhadisvara Mahatmya?

Greetings Indologists,

I am looking for some help from the list's esteemed cadre of experts on Tamil Nadu. Direct answers or references to secondary sources are both welcome.

If I am reading Gopalan's preface to Raghavan's edition of the Cola Campu correctly, the Brhadisvara Mahatmya attributes the establishment of Tanjore's Konkanesvara Temple to the siddha Konganar. Is this correct (narratively speaking, not historically)? If so, do we have any reliable dates for the Brhadisvara Mahatmya?

At Konkanesvara, there are several images (paintings and statues) of an ascetic riding upon a tiger. Local informants explained that this image represents Konganar Cittar himself, and relates to a local legend in which Śiva came to reside in Konganar's jatamukuta and Indra transformed into his tiger mount. Can anyone corroborate these details? If so, is this legend, particularly the tiger-riding element, attested in any written sources (of course, not to imply that a narrative must to be written to be important)?

Many thanks.

PS. I'm writing from my phone so I apologize for the lack of diacritics.

Sincerely,

Westin Harris
Ph.D. Candidate
Study of Religion
University of California, Davis
https://religionsgrad.ucdavis.edu/people/westin-harris<https://religions.ucdavis.edu/people/westin-harris>

2021 Dissertation Fellow,
The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies
Sarva Mangalam.
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