This case study will cover two main paths:

1. Within the framework of the first path, the subproject aims to inquire into the Srirangam-Tirupati connection, which is alluded in the story of the journey of the processional idol from the Raṅganātha temple in Srirangam to Tirupati in order to avoid desacralization by Muslim invaders (Spencer 1978, Branfoot 1999, Davis 1999). As such it will continue the previous research of Czerniak-Drożdżowicz on the biggest Vaiṣṇava spot, Śrirangam (e.g. Czerniak-Drożdżowicz 2019. Tradition has it (e.g. according to a Śrivaiṣṇava hagiography Prapannāmṛta by Anantācārya) that the Srirangam idol did not reach Tirupati directly, but was taken on the way to Madurai, to Kerala and Melkote (Karnataka). The role of this story in establishing relations between different places, among them some important divyadeśas, belonging to Tamilnadu and other regions of South India, will be considered in reference to the spatial aspect and topographical specificity of these interconnected places.
2. The second path of research, referring especially to linking several spots within one religious area, concerns the elaboration of the concept of navatīrthas of Srirangam, namely nine ponds associated with the Raṅganātha temple, which Czerniak-Drożdżowicz has already begun to inquire during her previous project. The spatial aspect of these water reservoirs, creating a net surrounding the temple tank of Raṅganātha temple, will be more thoroughly treated, considering also the more general context of the tīrthas understood as sacred places and as architectural creations.

The subproject will be based on the study of textual sources (mostly Sanskrit, but also Tamil texts) as well as chosen epigraphical sources (Hultzsch 1890–1913) and field research on both spots (Srirangam and Tirupati).

Many South Indian temples are not part of just one, but of a number of networks, attesting to rivaling or parallel perceptions and constructions of sacred space. While in many cases these diverse layers of sacred space(s) are not in direct conflict with each other (see Hüsken 2017), economic resources are distributed differently, not the least through the agency of the corresponding pilgrimage routes. In this way, different networks can profit from each other, but also might be in conflict with each other. This relationship between temples and their networks is therefore contested and, over time, undoubtedly very dynamic.

This subproject takes as its starting point those temples which are simultaneously part of two distinct sectarian networks. These are investigated on three levels: local, regional, and transregional. The temples are on the one hand part of the network of “108 (Vaiṣṇava) divine places” (divyadeśa), and at the same time they are situated in or close to the places where the “five (Śaiva) elemental liṅgas” (pañcabhūtaliṅga) are situated. This subproject will investigate the connections between these two temple networks, which converge at specific places, by starting at the sites of the pañcabhūtaliṅgas (Kanchipuram, Srirangam, Chidambaram, Kalahasti, and Tiruvannamalai; see Eck 2012: 253–256), yet focusing not on the Śaiva temples and their Tamil sthalapurāṇas, but rather investigating the Vaiṣṇava sites that are listed as part of the 108-divyadeśa-network and their representations. Three of the five places with a pañcabhūtaliṅga are also home to one prominent divyadeśa (these are Srirangam, Kanchipuram, Chidambaram), and one pañcabhūtaliṅga-location (Kalahasti) is not more than 35 km apart from the maybe most important divyadeśa in contemporary times, the Veṅkaṭanātha temple on the Tirumala hill in Tirupati, which is of enormous regional and transregional relevance. The fifth pañcabhūtaliṅga-location (Tiruvannamalai) stands out insofar, as there is not even one Viṣṇu temple in the entire town, which is extremely rare and can serve as a test case for the other four sites, where the sacred space is shared between these two sectarian traditions.

This case study concerns the issue of temples’ interconnectedness in regard to the complex of Narasiṃha shrines in Ahobilam (Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh), administered by the Ahobila maṭha. Despite hosting ten temples of Narasiṃha, each representing different, locally rooted aspect of the god, the site is traditionally known as the site of nine Narasiṃhas (navanarasiṃhakṣetra). This path of the project will focus on several so far undiscussed aspects of Ahobilam’s involvement in various relations shared with other temples/religious centers of the region and beyond, as well as on its internal web of connections between individual Narasiṃha shrines in Ahobilam. Such an approach seems crucial for filling the gaps in our knowledge of Ahobilam’s role on the pilgrimage and political map of South India.

The subproject investigates the arithmetic and algebra of place (Feldhaus 2003) based on the example of the nālampalam – the Vaiṣṇava temple clusters of Kerala.

Nālampalam (from Malayalam “four temples”) is the concept of cluster of four temples dedicated to the sons of Daśaratha – Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, Bharata and Śatrughna. The most famous cluster consists of the Śrī Rāmasvāmi temple in Tṛprayār, Kūṭalmāṇikyam temple dedicated to Bharata in Iriññālakkuṭa, Śrī Lakṣmaṇapperumāḷ temple in Mūḻikkuḷam, and Śatrughna temple in Pāyammal (Vaidyanathan 2011, 123-134). The temples have adopted a particular pilgrimage pattern (nālampala-darśanam) that prescribes to visit all shrines during one day in the Karkkaṭakam month (July-August) – also referred to as Rāmāyaṇa māsam “Rāmāyaṇa month” in Kerala. Apart from the above mentioned temples, there are said to be at least three more sets of nālampalam that are located across the state of Kerala.

The case study aims at paying particular attention to the issues that appears to come to the forefront while examining the nālampalam phenomenon i.e. the arithmetic and algebra of place (Feldhaus 2003). Within the framework of the project analysis, the arithmetic of place shall concern the creation of the numbered sets of places and their multiplication, while the algebra of place shall refer to the geography replication and relations between the particular elements of the discussed groups/sets of places (Feldhaus 2003).

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Feldhaus, A. 2003. Connected Places. Region, Pilgrimage, and Geographical Imagination in India. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Vaidyanathan, K.R. 1982. Temples and Legends of Kerala. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Murukaṉ is an ancient Tamil divinity, referred to in some of the earliest Tamil texts of the Sangam period. Although identified as Śiva’s son (Skanda) in the orthodox Hindu system, in south India Murukaṉ is considered an independent divinity and a primary God by his followers. The Murukan cult is one of the largest and most popular cults in Tamil Nadu, with many temples that serve as popular pilgrimage centers. Among them, a group of six temples, conventionally called āṟupaṭaivīṭu (“the six army camps”), are considered the biggest and most important pilgrimage sites for Murukaṉ devotees. Each of these temples, located in various parts of the Tamil region, is related to a specific episode in Murukaṉ’s biography, and each has its own practices and ritual cycle.

This project examines the six sites (Tirupparaṅkuṉṟam, Tiruccentūr, Paḻaṉi, Tiruvērakam, Triruttaṇi, and Paḻamutircolai) through their interrelations, attending to the following questions: how did the notion of the āṟupaṭaivīṭu, that is, of six distinguished sites favored by Murukaṉ, manifest in these six specific geographic sites known today? When and by whom was their identification determined? How was the mythological relationship between the six temples realized in pre-modern times, specifically in their designated “temple legends” (talapurāṇams) and other devotional literature composed in their honor? What kind of modifications take place in the conception of the relationship between each site with regard to the others? How are the six sites related ritually, based on contemporary temple practices? By addressing these issues, I aim to provide a better understanding of the processes that bring to the consolidation of religious sites in fixed sets.

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