Early morning at Kapali temple

When I am in Chennai and have company to walk with me I wake up before the crack of dawn and make the pilgrimage to the Kapaleeshwarar temple. The walk through those crowded Mylapore streets is not easy even at that early hour. There are people milling about, waking up in their beds on the footpath, or setting up their vegetable or flower stalls. The roads are busy with cars and two-wheelers hurtling to beat the rush hour traffic. Its hard to find one’s footing while avoiding stepping on garbage or being run over. Nestled in this bustling corner of the city is the ancient Kapaleeshwarar temple which is said to have been built by the Pallavas in the 7th Century A.D. Kapalam means head and the temple gets its name from the legend that Brahma showed disrespect to Shiva on Mount Kailash and Shiva retaliated by plucking one of Brahma's heads (God of creation with 4 heads). However, to appease Shiva, Brahma installed a Lingam (symbol representing Lord Shiva) at this site for the “Lord of the head”, "Kapaleeshwarar". His consort Karpagambal is said to be performing a penance to restore her original feminine glory having come here as a peacock under a curse, giving this location its name as the abode of the peacock “Mylapore”. Here devotees also worship the 63 Shaivaite saints, the Nayanars, and the four Vedas. The famous Theppakulam or water tank, adjoining the temple, stands as a Chennai landmark, having purified devotees for centuries. Nowadays no one bathes in that tank but it still represents a marvel of urban planning having spawned a rich and diverse cultural community around it. Due to its location in the heartland of India's arts and cultural capital, Chennai,it has inspired scores of musicians to compose songs in its praise in the South Indian classical Carnatic music tradition.

However, it is not the legend of the place or its cultural history that fascinates me. It is just the awesomeness of walking through massive gates reaching 20 feet into the sky, that have stood for over a thousand years welcoming the millions of devotees who have passed through with a prayer on their lips, hope and joy or a plea for support and sustenance in their hearts. Within the temple's quadrants time stands still. When I walk on the ancient stones laid there by human hands I think of all the life energy that has flattened these stones underfoot. As I enter the dark inner sanctum to behold the dieties lit only with oil lamps, the musty smell assails me and evokes an experience so primeval as if I have reached into a timeless corridor abandoning my individual identity. My ego submerged, I experience a sense of oneness with the throng of devotees who strain towards the priest to place their hand over the flame that was held before the dieties, just a few seconds prior, and eagerly receive the sacred ash or vermillion that I then smear on my forehead. If I am lucky and have a hair pin I clip the flowers that I gratefully receive from the priest, to my hair. The oil lamps have stained the dark stone walls with grease and the smell of the ancient comingled with the fragrance of the incense, camphor, flowers and coconut water evoke in me feelings of intense nostalgia, so like the call of the womb. There is a sense of deja vous, of having been at this place several times before, over several births.

Shaivaite temples unlike their Vaishnavite counterparts have an austerity about them that glorifies renunciation and withdrawal of senses from worldly pleasures. As I step into the Kapali temple, and for the few moments that I spend lingering in that ancient monument I forget the commerce and activity that goes on just a few feet from that entrance and feel a quiet serenity from a merging of the past, present and future in one composite moment of stillness. I experience a suspension of time and space with no great compulsion to go anywhere, be anyone or do anything. I am content to just walk consciously placing one foot in front of the next and soaking in the energy of a live monument where the worship is sincere and the space is accessible to all - to walk about, sit in quiet contemplation, chant, sing, even rest or partake of the free food devotees distribute. In India where space has such premium, ancient monuments like the Kapali temple provide dynamic spaces that keep the community spirit alive. I go to the temple to lose myself and become one with that spirit.