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" Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha !"
84. Q .: The black namam on SREE MALAYPPA SWAMY and HIS CONSORTS is kasturi tilakam,is it kept every time or is it made permanent jus like the silver namam ? the general practice is that SREE DEVI and BHUDEVI are adorned with red kumkumam but in the idols of SREEDEVI and BHUDEVI in tirumala,kasturi tilaka dharana is seen,is there any reason behind this ?
Ans .: The naamam of Lord Malayappa Swamy and the two consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi are all fixed and is made of Silver. That is called 'Chinta Pikka' here. And to the Silver Naamam, in the centre Kasturi is pasted, whenever necessary, but the Silver naamam is not removed in any case. That is fixed and permanent. Even for the consorts also it is like that there's no special reasons whatsover, for this.
85. Q .: during brahmotsava vishesha alankarams a black hair like thin layer of garland can be seen, what is that?
Ans .: That black garland is called 'Kuru Veru' and it is a herb, odorless and is kept wet always. That is mainly used to avoid insects in the surroundings of idols and it is a herb.
86. Q .: Swamy, why their are erotic carvings on the temple pillars? and why do all big temples have such erotic carvings?
Ans .: The Hindu temples do not contain sexual or erotic art inside the temple or near the deities; however, some external carvings bear erotic art. Also, some of the temples that have two layers of walls have small erotic carvings on the outside of the inner wall. There are many interpretations of the erotic carvings.
Kama (materialistic living which includes sex) is one among the four paths(Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha) suggested in Hinduism to merge with Brahman (Lord Vishnu) or to escape from rebirth (Moksha). Many scholars think these sculptures were meant to explain the ‘Kama’ aspect to people.
They portray that, for seeing the deity, one must leave his or her sexual desires outside the temple. They also show that divinity, such as the deities of the temples, is pure like the atman, which is not affected by sexual desires and other characteristics of the physical body. It has been suggested that these suggest tantric sexual practices.
Meanwhile, the external curvature and carvings of the temples depict humans, human bodies, and the changes that occur in human bodies, as well as facts of life. Some 10% of the carvings contain sexual themes; those reportedly do not show deities, they show sexual activities between people. The rest depict the everyday life of the common Indian of the time when the carvings were made, and of various activities of other beings and also depicts stories from Puranas. For example, those depictions show women putting on makeup, musicians, potters, farmers, and other folks.
Those earthly mundane scenes are all at some distance from the temple deities.
Jai Srimannaryana !
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