| Temples & Legends of Himachal Pradesh |
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| Temples & Legends Of India |
CHAMBA |
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lintel again is decorated with flying gandharvas, those in the centre holding a crown, the
rest various unidentified objects, each carrying his mate on his back. Here also we find,
over the entrance, a row of flying figures four on each side the two in the centre
carrying a crown, whereas the remaining six are accompanied by female figures each seated
on the hip of its companion. Beneath these (flying figures) there is a row of thirteen
cross-legged figures, of which nine represent the navagrahas, i.e. the sun, the moon, the
five planets-Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn, the eclipse-demon Rahu and the
comet Ketu. Rahu is represented by a demon's head without a body, in agreement with the myth told in the puranas. It is said that Rahu stealthily partook of the nectar (amrita) produced by the churning of the ocean, but was betrayed by the sun and the moon, who had noticed the theft. Vishnu beheaded him, but the head had become immortal by the use of the nectar. Since then Rahu's head persecutes the Sun and the Moon and causes them to eclipse. The four remaining figures at the two ends possibly represent the guardians of the four regions (Iokapalas). Among the standing figures we notice to the right the six-faced Karttikeya with his peacock, and Indra, the rain god holding a thunderbolt (vajra) and accompanied by his vehicle the elephant (Airavata); and to the left the four-armed Brahma, carrying a rosary and a water-pot and accompanied by a pair of geese. The inner rows consist each of four figures. On the left side we recognize Vishnu, three-faced, the side faces being a lion's and a boar's; and Durga slaying the buffalo-demon (Mahishasura). The two lowermost figures are again Ganga and Yamuna, the personifications of the sacred rivers of India. In the upper corners of the doorway we notice the same winged dragons as are found on the Lakshana temple. |
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