Tale of the Temple

The new Ram Temple in Ayodhya is a politically charged nationalistic expression of the regressive, patriarchal, and singular Hindutva ideology. Hindutva is different from Hinduism; Hindutva is a religious ideology based off certain aspects of Hinduism whereas Hinduism is the broad set of beliefs and cultural information passed down slightly differently in each household. This thesis is a critique of this Ram Temple dedicated to Lord Ram, the protagonist of the epic Ramayana, through the design of three temples from the perspective of three characters of the epic that have been overshadowed by Hindutva. The Sita Temple (dedicated to primarily to Sita, wife of Ram) explores the theme of divine femininity; the Nala Temple (dedicated to the monkey architect Nala) explores the theme of progressive spirit; and the Vibhishan Temple (dedicated to the half demon king Vibhishan) explores the themes of discourse and contemplation, challenging Hindutva ideology in theme and design.

What the Ram Temple

In 2019 The Supreme Court of India ordered the government of India to create a trust to build the Ram Temple in Ayodhya at the site that had been disputed since 1949. This was a supremely controversial decision, especially within educated communities. To get into why this is controversial, it is important to understand the cultural context of Ayodhya. Ayodhya has long been colloquially considered the Birthplace of Ram, the protagonist of the Ramayana. This epic is cultural information known by almost every single person that grew up in an Indian household in independent India, and Ayodhya is synonymous with the birthplace of Ram mythically. It has long been a matter of debate and concern that there is a fair-sized mosque built by the first Mughal emperor stands on the apparent birthplace of Ram, however the mosque became a disputed in 1949 when a statue of Lord Ram was placed in the mosque in the dead of night by miscreants. Since then, this site has been politicized and used as a way of riling up Hindus and Muslims against each other for vote partisanship. This flame of communal hatred was fueled for decades until it came to crescendo in 1992 where mobilized civilians demolished the mosque in the matter of hours proclaiming victory to Ram. This was an object of national emergency and caused massive civil unrest. After archaeological investigations and speaking to lots of historians and politicians and keeping the sentiments of the majority of the country in mind, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the building of the temple. This was greatly celebrated national win for Hindutva and seen as a win for the current conservative ruling party, the BJP and PM Modi.

The trust created to look after the conception and construction of this temple is made up of religious leaders and members of Hindutva organizations aided financially and supervised governmentally by the ruling party. The design of the temple and its ethos reflects their ideology. This temple is a beacon of Hindutva in being dedicated to the idealistic protagonist Ram who is seen as singularly great and flawless as an avatar of Lord Vishnu on earth. No real consideration is offered to the nuances of the disposition of the protagonist or the importance of other characters in the development of the story. While Ram is a noble and seemingly just man, he is a product of his situations and is celebrated for choosing the moral high ground in times of despair. Ram is able to be the hero because of his birth and all of the people in his life who support him and enable him to do so. However, the focus of the temple is on Ram and his personal prowess. This is because of the discrediting of several other versions of the Ramayana so that the narrative of the greatness of Ram may be perpetuated. Although the Ram temple is designed by Sompura Architects, it is acutely controlled every aspect including sourcing of the materials, ornamental details, and iconography by the members of the trust. This intense and active veneration of Hindutva and Indianness is celebrated by the design of this temple in that everything is sourced from within the Indian subcontinent and employs Indian nationals.

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The Ram Temple in the age of Modi’s India: a critique

The current Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been vocal about the Ram temple and the members of his party have rallied and celebrated the conception of this temple. Modi, by likening his ‘rule’ over India as Ram’s rule of prosperity (aka Ram Rajya) equates himself to Ram, making him seemingly untouchable and divine in media representation. However, when one tries to find proof of the prosperous rule of Modi, one comes short of finding prosperity. With moves like economic moves like demonetization and GST, ever rising unemployment, continuously lowering press freedom index as well as happiness index, and the widening of the wealth gap, it is clear to see that prosperity is for the select few.

A layer of the critique of the Ram temple has to do with questioning the priorities of the BJP government. The PM prioritizes rallies and international events while his cabinet and government prioritize coming up with shiny new schemes for the welfare of the people and not following through with them for long and refocusing on another scheme or matter of emergency, so the public has something to focus on to distract from their worsening economic state. The Ram temple is a means to this method of distraction and gaining people’s attention especially as it opens 3 months before elections are due despite being largely incomplete in terms of construction. The temple is a grand backdrop for the picture of Modi as he campaigns for his third term as prime minister, uninterested in his past failures, looking wistfully into the camera as the luminous leader of the masses. One of his many failures as PM is the failed ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme that focuses on the saving and education of the girl child in India’s patriarchal society. This is in stark contrast to the depleting security of women in several parts of the country which is not helped by the slowdown of the justice system and the corrupt ways around legislation and jurisdiction. The temple that venerates the divine feminine would be a small step towards reestablishing respect for the women of India at large; especially in the age of today as Bilkis Bano’s violators run amok.

Another layer of critique for the Ram Temple with Hindutva as a guiding force is considered a visionary design but its celebration of antiquity is mediocre. It emphasizes scale and aggrandizes the traditional design of the Nagara style temple, favoring modular construction over design intent. It reeks of a singular North Indian approach to temple design, favoring one religious ideology over the broad geographical and architectural culture that is Hinduism. Progress is viewed subjectively with the Hindutva sympathizing Modi’s campaign for 100 smart cities that were expected to bring India to the level of the first world. This project is still ongoing; however, this project has only come to fruition on the surface level, with shaky standards of what it means to have a smart city. Many such promises of a better future have been made to the people with Modi’s initial campaign “Achhe Din Aayenge” (Good days will come), however the reality for the common man has not changed but worsened over the decade long reign of the Prime Minister. This dichotomy reveals the need for reform based in ideology, embracing progress objectively and trying to implement change creatively across all sectors of government to achieve the goal of collective success for India. This inspired the design of a temple rooted in Hindu visuals but achieving its functionality of a temple using technology.

An additional layer of discourse regarding the Ram temple has to do with its idea of worship. The Ram Temple is designed for mass worship at its large scale, more interested in becoming a place of visit over a place of worship. Upon a visit to the Ram temple in January 2023, I was able to get a firsthand look at the scale and context of temple in Ayodhya. Ayodhya is a small town in India, with small temples at every corner. The main street in Ayodhya, the Ayodhya Dham Road was a road recently widened to facilitate the masses to visit this temple. Ayodhya, despite being well known as the birthplace of Ram, is not a site many religious people visit on their religious journeys in the state, but it is definitely going to become one. Ayodhya has no choice but to become a tourist destination to become an economic success and the manufacturing of tourism here has been sold to people as their way out of poverty. I was accompanied by a child guide, who found me as I was walking towards the temple area. He escorted me to the Ram Janmabhoomi (birthplace) before which I had to put away all my belongings including my phone for security purposes. The guide knew little about the area but was eager to talk about the greatness of the unbuilt temple and when prodded upon his thoughts on the demolished mosque, he looked at me confused about why I would bring up such a topic, saying nobody talks about such impious things on the land of Ram. It was a bit of a shock to me considering the mosque had been there much longer than the still unbuilt temple, but to each their own.

Clearly this is a temple of hope for the people of Ayodhya, who expect it to bring the godliness of Ram back to their area by using tourism as the means of inviting anyone into their humble town. The dichotomy of the holiness of a temple and the profitability of a tourist destination invites critique and begs for internal reflection. This calls for a temple of contemplation and discourse with emphasis given to curiosity and truly understanding something for what it is and what one can learn from it. This way of enlightening oneself to one’s surroundings is a path to being one with God. This form of enlightening oneself is strongly opposed by Hindutva ideology which believes in dissemination of a specific way of life that must be followed by all without question. The spirit of curiosity was also echoes by the first PM of India Jawaharlal Nehru. Modi constantly brings up Nehru to belittle him and his achievements while being diametrically opposed to PM Nehru politically. Nehru’s policies for India were based on national unity whereas Modi’s policies for India are based on national oneness.

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The design of the temple and its ethos reflects Hindutva ideology. This temple is a beacon of Hindutva in being dedicated to the idealistic protagonist Ram who is seen as singularly great and flawless as an avatar of Lord Vishnu on earth. No real consideration is offered to the nuances of the character of the protagonist or the importance of other characters in the development of the story. This thesis explores designs of temples through the ‘unimportant’ characters of the epic including Sita the wife of Ram, Nala the monkey architect in monkey army that aided Ram, and Vibhishan the morally sound half demon half man who helped Ram defeat Ravan. ?

?In response to the Ram temple

?The Sita Temple

The Sita Temple is dedicated to Sita as well as the female characters of the Ramayana that are not given due importance in the Hindutva telling which has added to the patriarchal nature of Indian society. Sita was born of the earth and found by her father King Janak and was raised to be a princess. Lord Ram won her by show of strength and Sita became his devoted ideal wife who refused to leave his side despite her hardships. She gets kidnapped by the demon King Ravan as payback to her husband and brother in law’s treatment of Surpanakha (Ravan’s sister). When Sita is finally set free by her husband, he refuses to believe in her chastity despite Sita proving it through trial by fire. She is then exiled to the forest while pregnant to deal with the birth of twins by herself at a meager cottage. With the leaving of Sita, there is loss of prosperity in Ayodhya. Sita was the human form of goddess Lakshmi (wife of Lord Vishnu) who is the goddess of prosperity. It is said that prosperity never returned the Ayodhya after that. Furthermore, there are versions of the Ramayana wherein Sita defeats Ravan herself which oppose the patriarchal popular version of the Ramayana accepted by Hindutva. The temple hence uplifts the voices of Sita and other such underrepresented women characters of the epic in the Hindutva versions, by emphasizing the feminine over the masculine but still maintaining balance between the two.

The general design of the temple is based on the sacred Linga-yoni assemblage wherein the Linga represents the phallus, and the Yoni represents the womb; the slender Linga sits withing a majestic Yoni that holds all the programs in the temple. The Linga is effectively ornamental. The temple is accessed on both sides, however there is emphasis to the east, as is customary with temples in the Indian subcontinent. The temple invokes the ideas of both cave temples as well as mountain temples. It may be understood as both a mountain to be climbed and a cave to be explored. As one climbs the Yoni through the stairs etched into itself, one gets a surface level iconographic view of the feminine with the oversized lotus petals and the yakshi figures. The yakshi figures are representations of semi divine nymphs referencing those from Sanchi stupa, usually characterized in their most alluring forms as sacred. The yakshi figures are organized in two concentric circles that allow for multiple paths of circumambulation. In the middle is the head of the phallus that may be venerated by pouring milk on it.

At the ground level, the temple can be explored as a cave with an adult truly having to crouch and explore the cave to gain access to the wonders inside. Once inside, one is surrounded by carved reliefs of scenes of the Ramayana on the curving walls of the yoni, providing a rich visual and textural experience even in the dark. It invokes the discovery mentality allowing people to explore the story in various ways as each experience is unique based on the person. The temple also acts as a place of shelter and for the homeless that may need shelter for the night with smaller caves that can be accessed from the perimeter of the Yoni, providing the safety of a womb to those who have no roof over their head. A temple is a place for all and functions as such. The temple maintains its grandeur and philosophy while propounding the audience revere the divine feminine in its many forms.

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The Nala Temple

The Nala temple is dedicated to Nala, the monkey architect in the Vanar Sena (monkey army). Nala was the head architect in the Vanar Sena (the monkey army) and was selected to engineer the bridge from the shores of India to Lanka to facilitate the movement of Ram and the Vanar Sena in order to rescue Sita. This temple is an homage to the engineering and scientific prowess of India throughout history and a beacon to what a temple can be.

Nala was a member of the Vanar Sena or the monkey army that Ram the protagonist gained by helping the monkey kings resolve their power struggle to pick the next monkey heir. Ram helps Sugriva regain his monkey army from his brother and in return Sugriva promises to lend the services of the monkey clan in the journey to search for and rescue his wife. The monkey army is loyal to their leader and in turn Ram whose godliness makes him revered. Part of the monkey army are Nala and Neel, the sons of Vishwakarma the architect of the gods. Nala is the architect of the monkeys and Neel is the commander and architect of the army. These two monkeys were destined to help Ram forge a path to Lanka due to a curse they were given in their earlier life. They angered a river nymph meditating on the riverbed by unintentionally throwing stones into the river at her and she cursed them to never being able to throw a stone in a body of water and have it sink. This played a key role in the building and creation of the Ram Setu that mythically connected the landmasses of modern-day India and Sri Lanka. The Ram Setu was made of stones inscribed with the holy name of Ram, these stones thrown by Nala and Neel were buoyant and the bridge was a marvel. Such mythical marvels in the epics have evolved into engineering marvels of today such as the Elephanta Caves, Bhakhra Nangal Dam, Bandra Worli Sea link, and many more. This makes the basis of a temple design that looks forward while still upholding traditional values. It becomes a way to experience the future while celebrating the past, creating a milieu of visuals inspiring the temple goer about the possibilities that lie to explore in the world around. This temple strives to recognize human progress for what it is, contrasting with the Hindutva narrative that looks down upon western progress and westernization.

The design of the temple is that of a speculative smart temple where the emphasis is on learning and understanding the story of the Ramayana in an immersive way bringing the myth to life. The ground level is designed to bring one into Aranya Kanda - the forest episode of the world of the Ramayana - with the dense banyan trees as well as the Ram Setu leading up to the temple. The ground level is characterized by a series of mandapas that lead to the Garbha Griha with the idol of the deity, still keeping to the traditional style of temple design emphasizing familiarity and tradition. The level underground is where the magic happens. As one descends the stairs one is in a different world once again. This is the world of technological integration where VR technology is used to further educate oneself about the Ramayana. One is expected to pick up VR devices and wear them on their own journey through the story. The space underground is organized in a linear fashion where events occur simultaneously. The audience can experience the familiar Ramayana story in the manner they like, frequenting parts of the story that resonates with them best.

To serve the function of technology, the walls and surfaces are all green screened to provide an immersive experience for the viewer as they move through the different rooms where different scenes of the story take place. One is free to be guided by the chronology of the story or go completely haywire experiencing the story the way they like. This is a reinvention of pradakshina aka circumambulation where one moves around the temple to worship the deities and sacred objects and animals along their way, where one does not view still stone. The performative aspect of the retelling of the story is a fairly common temple practice, especially for an epic at the scale of popularity such as the Ramayana, where dance and musical performances are done in veneration of the deities. The performance is as much as devotional affair for the performer as the viewer. The performer acts in conjunction with VR technology, dressed in a way that the performer appears ordinary without the VR technology but is dressed to perfection in their role with it. This also allows for visual representation of a myth, a story about everyone and no one, a story that outlasts generations and empires but still rings true in what it tries to teach, morphing as needed to convey its meaning in different contexts, always toeing the line between fact and fiction.

The Vibhishan Temple

This temple is dedicated to Vibhishan, the half demon half human who devoted his energies to moral good despite the familial pressure to assimilate with the demon culture. Vibhishan stood for questioning the reason for committing acts and trying to uphold morality over loyalty, something Hindutva stricken India desperately needs.

Vibhishan was born a demon but was raised as a human to worship the gods and tried to walk the path of morality and informed intentions to try to gain moksha (enlightenment) even as a half demon. He was a brother to the demon king Ravan who was not afraid to politely ask Ravan to rethink his decisions. Ravan was a pious man who worshipped Shiva and become powerful due to his worship through meditation and following of rituals; however, despite his piousness, Ravan was blinded by his own power and strength and underestimated the strength of a mortal human. Other members of Ravan’s court were loyal to Ravan and had faith in his without question, seeing as he was the bringer of prosperity to Lanka. Vibhishan was the only one with agency to question Ravan and he used his little authority to question the morality of kidnapping the wife of a man as revenge for actions committed by the man and his brother. Vibhishan stuck by his principles even when he was forced to act in favor of Ravan by being disloyal to him and choosing to relay to Ram the information, he needed to slay Ravan. The Vibhishan temple is dedicated to contemplation and gaining knowledge through discourse as Vibhishan tried in the epic.

The temple is designed to mimic a step well in three levels with each level bringing oneself closer to the divine. The step well can be seen commonly in the western part of India in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, but is also seen sporadically throughout the country. ?The square is an important motif of the temple in plan, emphasizing the sacredness shape as per Vaastu Shastra – the astrological/holistic system of building. The ground level has several shrines each dedicated to different characters of the Ramayana. Each shrine also carries forward the squareness while not skimping on ornamentation. One is expected to gain information about the epic at a surface level here, as it is important to understand the charters of the Ramayana independently of each other and then as a parts of a whole to truly understand the motivations of characters and learn from their mistakes. ?As one descends to the first level down, one is surrounded by little niches with benches that invite visitors to sit and take a moment with the space. The walls are chock full of motifs that can be distinguished from the texture when looked upon closely. This act of physically coming close and touching the motifs can be considered a form of worship. The reliefs relay different stories from the Ramayana in graphics using several iterations that exist in different geographies. The Ramayana is not a consistent story and has several iterations and versions. As one sits with the thoughts of the shrines on the ground level and looks around at the walls etched with reliefs of the events of the epic, one is invited to make conversation and have discourse about the events of the epic, daily ailments or experience even small-scale religious monks holding an impromptu sermon. On this level one has conversations and listens to those around them. This is the level for discourse and storytelling. As one descends further to the second level, one is greeted by a smaller simpler view of the space with a body was water, once again in a square tank emphasizing the motif. Having the element of water not only keeps the stepwell true to its form and function, but also serves as a pool of reflection. This is the level of contemplation where one brings together all that they have learnt and sorts through it to retain what is important and discard what is not. As one makes their way back up the stars, one is reminded of the cyclical nature of reflection and interpretation. One is required to revisit one thoughts and ideas every so often to see how they perceive the same information differently through time and experiences in life. ?

Conclusion

The Ram Temple is a ginormous structure that emphasizes its importance through size and scale. Its conception has brought many footsteps to Ayodhya and is now expected to draw many more on January 22, 2024, when the temple is expected to ‘open’. The opening of this temple has transformed the atmosphere of India into one of a festival. It almost seems like it is Diwali again. Banks, schools, shops, stores, markets, even hospitals - everything has come to standstill and India will come to a halt in commemoration of the day that the statue of Ram is reinstated to Ayodhya in the grand temple to the God. In the vibrant tapestry of India's diverse democracy, the inauguration of the new Ram Temple in Ayodhya stands as a poignant reflection of the nation's deep-seated religious fervor. It is fascinating to observe how, in this multifaceted democracy, strong religious sentiments intertwine with politics, shaping the cultural and political landscape. The event marks a significant moment, highlighting the intricate connection between faith and governance in the country. As the new temple becomes a symbol of unity and spirituality, it underscores the enduring influence of religious beliefs on the political dynamics of this dynamic and pluralistic nation.