Always wondered on the use of temple theru - we always grew up watching the ther pulling rituals along mylapore - the thanga teru in tiruchendur to the elaborately carved ( one of the biggest in south india) - in avinashi ( you cant miss it as you drive from coimbatore to tirupur)
.. the height, solid construction, huge wheels... why make something that is so cumbersome to move - obviously it could not be pulled by yoked animals - meaning it couldnt go fast. why put the deity at such a large height, even though you could say it gives everyone a view to the deity - the utsavars are normally pint sized versions of the mulavars. With all the decorations you would be lucky to get a glance of the god on top of some of the larger the'rs.
I dont remember where, but i saw a discription that the traditional temple cart ( kovil theru) was infact a war machine - an armoured car - precussor to the tank but with height....to reach the ramparts of a fort giving the archers protection...with ability to pour down hot oil etc etc - was this what gave the cholas the superiority. Intersting to see the evolution of the temple carts - where they in vougue before the cholas.
could it be that in peace time they were put to use in temples
> I dont remember where, but i saw a discription that the traditional > temple cart ( kovil theru) was infact a war machine - an armoured > car - precussor to the tank but with height....to reach the ramparts > of a fort giving the archers protection...with ability to pour down > hot oil etc etc - was this what gave the cholas the superiority. > Intersting to see the evolution of the temple carts - where they in > vougue before the cholas. > > could it be that in peace time they were put to use in temples
A siege tower (or in the Middle Ages a belfry[1]) is a specialized siege engine, constructed to protect assailants and ladders while approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. The tower was often rectangular with four wheels and a height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on top of the tower and fire into the fortification. Because the towers were wooden and thus flammable, they had to have some non-flammable covering of iron or fresh animal skins.[1] The siege tower was mainly made from wood but sometimes they had metal parts.
Used since the 9th century BC in the ancient Near East, 305 BC in Europe and also in antiquity in the Far East, siege towers were of unwieldy dimensions and, like trebuchets, were therefore mostly constructed on site of the siege. Taking considerable time to construct, siege towers were mainly built if the defense of the opposing fortification could not be overcome by ladder assault, by sapping or by breaking walls or gates.
The siege tower sometimes housed pikemen, swordsmen, or crossbowmen who shot quarrels at the defenders. Because of the size of the tower it would often be the first target of large stone catapults but it had its own projectiles to fight back with.[1]
Literally, âdestroyer of cities;â the name given to an engine invented by Demetrius Poliorcetes (q. v.) for besieging fortified places, consisting of a square tower placed upon wheels, and run up to the height of nine stories, each of which was furnished with machines for battering and discharging projectiles of enormous size and weight
Temples with large theers/where the cart festival is famous:
Aragalur Avinashi Chennimalai Colombo, Sri Lanka. Elampillai Kanchipuram Kapaleeshwarar temple, Chennai Palani - golden car Periya Veerampattinam near Ariyankuppam Salem, Tamil Nadu Udupi Thirthahalli Tiruchirapalli Tirunelveli Tiruvadamarudur near Kumbakonam Thiruvarur
most of them seem to be linked to chola/pandya strong holds!!
The long lever is to give the ther a push start. It is hoisted on both the rear wheels (left and right), has serrations for people to sit; 4 to 6 people sit on it and push it down with synchronous shouts and to the beat of drums. The 'muttukattais' are used in front of the wheels to brake or steer the ther. It is a dangerous and tricky job, wiht the ther swinging and the man hanging on to his post holding a rope tied to the ther. Sampath
Hi It costs around 3-7 lakhs to have a ball bearing supported axle for a temple ther depending on the size of the ther it was first initiated by BHEL and a lot of temples have these systems.
But more than the technology its the lack of pullers that dissuades a lot of temple management. I have observed that in Kalyar koil its a hoiday for the schols and local textile establishments, mainly for people to come over and pull the ther.
Lubrication: Partially burnt rice hay (not converted to ash, like charcoal) finely ground and mixed with castor oil, more like modern graphite grease. Even today, sleeve bearings lubricated under pressure are used in heavy equipment.
lets assume that the temple theru was built for the purpose of exhibiting the temple diety ( the utsavars) -
1) i think it was only during late 9th century you come across utsava murthi's in temples - they were either pancha lokam or bronzes ( pl correct me if i am wrong) - and these were not big at all. so why build something so massive to display these
2) Normally the ther passes through the main through fares ( leading to the names theeradi veedhi etc) - we can presume that these were good roads, if so how do you justify the enormous wheels - they would be more manageble with smaller wheels but more in number. were the larger wheels are needed to negotiate obstacles??
3) If you looking at displaying an idol - you would normally think of a platform with the idol being at the topmost point ( ok discount for a rain/sun shade on top) - then how do you explain the huge conical construction on top of the theeru. this infact obstructs the vision.
4) in those days am sure the best you could have in terms of houses were one addnl storey ( mettha veedu) - ok at best a balcony - how do you justify these massive carts which tower over three/four floors.
5) if you look at even later day movies ( incl lord of the rings) of depiction of battle siege scenes - you see the best form of defense for those inside the sieged fort - are archers, stone throwers, hot oil and inflammable material. Now envision our humble temple theru as a seige tower - the conical top shields those inside from whatever is thrown from top + allows the thrown stuff to slide off and not accumulate, so does the large wheel base. Greek accounts of similar towers talk of fire proofing these with animal hides etc...
I will stick with Tamils for now as comparison with others will trigger war(joking).
But to the point raised -
Theru are more common in TN then anywhere else. Other than the places mentioned in the previous posts almost every other town/village has it, as a bustrip through TN will show.
lots of our gods are connected with wars.so why not give them thers also.
most hold weapons and are mounted on animals and birds
there are specific legends of gods riding 'ther' like shiva who went to the thirupuram burning ( its notable his axle broke in acharapakkam( achu iru paakkam) I feel thers were a part of rituals.
The one main requirement seems to be - for the theru to be taller.
If that is the main requirement then the base has to be thicker as there was not much metal in those days. If the base is thicker then automatically because the weight is more the wheels have to be thicker ( wood) to carry the weight. Slanting roof is always better to avoid the hassle of stagnant water.
Now why want a taller theru ...competitive people want bigger and better things.
1) Now - we are looking at two the'rs - the correct word to be used for the ones used by our gods ( and kings - ok kings were gods those days) would be ratham - horse drawn chariots. I dont think our temple carts resemble chariots in any way..
2) Also when you talk of large temple carts and the popular festivals - most of them seem to be linked with chola temples. later day temples could have just continued based on their formula.
3) I have seen a couple of contemporary temple carts being built - they are built with solid team beams - meaning the structure is mostly hollow ( to allow movement inside and to keep it light).
4) We also know that these temple carts were usually plated with metal ( thanga theer - velli theer) - the wood is already elaborate carved and it would have been easier to just paint them with bright colors - why go through the rigmarole of painstakingly metal plating the entire structure.
5) Normally the back of the diety is not seen /shown ( for obviously purposes) - you are not allowed to circumabulate the inside of garba graham - you only do the outside. so why is the temple cart open on all four sides?
6) Ok, you build a tall structure with a high pedestal to display the idol. common sense would be to give it a flight of steps or atleast some padi/foothold/hand rail on the outside. Why is there a complete absense of such tools to get up the theru on the ouside. Its almost immpossible to climb without assistance /external ladder. Is it built to keep people out...
If someone can look up any temple cart ( preferably old in their pristine condition) and post some snaps of the internal plan of the base and the cone on top - we could see more..
"But technology might have moved from one use to another as spin off." Nice thought. I have some thoughts too. Maybe some king made a replica of his war machine and presented it to the temple to get the blessings of the lord (similar to human body part replicas given in some amman temples) to win his war. The other scenarios is he gave the replica or an actual war machine to the local temple after a successful war as a way of showing his gratification to the lord. As time passed his successors probably thought it is mandatory to present a replica of the war machine to a temple to win a war and it continued.
A device used during the Middle Ages ( Medieval period ) in siege warfare. The Siege Tower was designed to to protect the soldiers attacking the defensive walls of a castle, town or fortress
Description and Siege Tower Design The Siege Tower was designed to to protect the soldiers attacking the defensive walls of a castle, town or fortress. It was also designed to hold soldiers and siege weapons. The siege tower was usually a tall, rectangular construction with four wheels and a height roughly equal to that of the wall or sometimes higher. The siege tower mechanism carried scores of soldiers, who climbed ladders to move between the different levels of a siege tower.
Siege Tower Coverings The relative safety offered by the Siege tower from missiles or fire was due to the cover that it offered the soldiers. The framework of the siege tower was covered in animal hides. At the last minute when the siege tower was about to be rolled or wheeled into place the hides were soaked in mud and vinegar to add further protection. There were even iron plates which could be added to the siege towers, although this was an extremely expensive option.
Siege Tower Objectives The objective of a siege tower was to allow soldiers to mount a direct and close attack on a fortification - castle, fortress or town. Siege Towers were usually constructed with wheels and reached 3 stories in height. A siege tower was a multipurpose machine which could hold men, their weapons and even small siege engines from close-range positions of relative safety. Mangonels were sometimes placed at the top of the siege tower.
Siege Tower Variations The relative safety offered by the Siege tower from missiles or fire led to a series of siege tower variations. A horizontal version of a siege tower was developed to provide cover for a battering ram. Conventional siege towers were also known to have a battering ram built into the lowest level of the structure. Each siege tower was designed to suit the requirements of the wall it was required to attack.
Siege Tower History Siege Tower history dates back to antiquity. The Siege Tower is believed to be an ancient war engine which was used in China and by the Romans and Greeks. Records of major English sieges of the Middle Ages mention the use of siege towers. It was not uncommon for the defenders also to build siege towers to directly oppose those of the attackers. A siege tower was used at the siege of Kenilworth Castle in 1266. Records show that the siege tower held two hundred archers and eleven siege engines.
Preparing to use the Siege Tower Many preparations had to be made before using a siege tower. Many castles and fortresses were surrounded by moats and ditches so before the tower could be moved near the walls the moat or ditch had to be filled with rubble and earth. The ground leading up to the required position had to be chosen to allow for easy transportation of the siege tower.
Attacking with the Siege Tower When all was ready the siege tower would be rolled, pushed or wheeled into into place next to the wall. Men were positioned on all levels. The drawbridge on the top deck was lowered, like a gangplank, enabling the soldiers to rush forward on to the wall of the fortification. As men departed from the siege tower reinforcements moved upwards from the lower levels which added weight to the initial assault. Not all the soldiers left the Siege tower. They were often were defended by archers shooting through arrow slits.
Building a Siege Tower Building a Siege Tower required the design and building skills. Siege weapons, such as the Siege Tower, were made to order! They were far too cumbersome to move from one place to another. In a siege situation the commander would assess the situation and the siege weapons design requirements to break a siege.
The inside structure is mostly hollow with cris crossing wooden beams. One can go below the wheels and climb up from inside. As kids, we used to playhide and seek, or even compete to see who reaches the top first. The upper part is a temporary structure constructed with bamboos, cloth and decoration every year before the festival.
> > > > During the British colonial era, Christian missionaries promulgated > a > > fallacy that Hindu devotees of Krishna were lunatic fanatics who > > threw themselves under the wheels of these chariots in order to > > attain salvation. Such a description can also be found in the > popular > > fourteenth-century work "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville."
Ra.Ki.Rangarajan's 'Naan Krishna Deva Rayan' has a climax which is spun around this concept of throwing oneself under the wheel of theru. Did RaKiRa bought this idea from this promulgation or did he got any evidence for this???
When you hear thirupugazh song of Muthai tharu, you will hear the lines 'Kothu parai kottum kalam isai' , I believe Arunagiri had visions of these scenes prior to documenting them, hence the Parai and conch etc belong to us.
Arunagiri was much later in history during the hoysala period perhaps 16th century.these instruments of war were much older intamil history.
when historians look to literary sources to support other evidence arnagiri is vey useful whereas the devaram and other thirumurais were written around 8-10 centuries arunagiri wrote after the muslim invasion.
in fact his poem on mylapore temple is often quoted for santhome church being on the site- of the erstwhile kapali temple. as late as 500 years back he insists the sea laps the door ways of the kapali temple.
The great saint was from 1400 AD. however, his visions are not, they rope back into the real time of both kaumaram and cover the entire yugas in his mystical and incomparable works of thirupugazh.