The Hounds Of Shiva

Each time we circumambulate around the central shrine of a Shiva temple, we encounter a row of 63 mysterious stone statues clothed and venerated with sacred markings. As Nada Yogis, practitioners of sacred sound, these esteemed spiritual personages are of profound significance to us. And here's why:

Between the 6th and 8th centuries, a wave of devotion across India developed into the Bhakti movement of the middle ages. Interestingly, the movement's origins coincided with the Muslim invasions, whose strong beliefs about graven images destroyed many Hindu temples and statues. This detail is relevant solely to the context of the extraordinary calling of these hounds of Shiva, who helped inspire devotion under extenuating circumstances.

These musician saints and poets of the Bhakti period inspired a wave of devotion in India's early medieval period while helping to preserve the stories and the philosophies of Hinduism. Furthermore, they ingeniously expressed in the vernacular (local languages) both the sentiment and the lofty ideas conveyed in the Vedas, making these concepts and experiences accessible to the local farmer and craftsperson who did not know Sanskrit, the language of the Vedas. Their poetry is expressed in spontaneous song in the sanctums of temples even today.

Watch the video: blog continues below...

These musician saints and poets of the Bhakti period inspired a wave of devotion in India's early medieval period while helping to preserve the stories and the philosophies of Hinduism. Furthermore, they ingeniously expressed in the vernacular (local languages) both the sentiment and the lofty ideas conveyed in the Vedas, making these concepts and experiences accessible to the local farmer and craftsperson who did not know Sanskrit, the language of the Vedas. Their poetry is expressed in spontaneous song in the sanctums of temples even today.

The 63 statues we encounter are the Nayanmars, literally the "hounds of Shiva." They were "hounds" because they were passionately devoted to the Lord and expressed themselves in exquisite verse that they often rendered in spontaneous song in the inner sanctums of the temples. Later, they were referred to as "teachers of Shiva" because they helped to propagate the faith through verse, song, and devotion. We recently experienced this with devotional vocalists in the inner sanctum or, when they were not present, the priests themselves.

The Nayanmars inspire us because they were musician-saints and poet-saints who used bhakti (devotion) to connect to the holy mystery beyond thought encountered in the temple's inner sanctum and the innermost chambers of our hearts. "Radiant in its light, yet invisible, in the secret chamber of the heart, it lies concealed in every being," the Upanishads speak of it. The structure of the temple and how we approach our devotion inspires the internal spiritual process that we seek to bring back to the west on our return after we complete our pilgrimage.

By the way, the melody and the words of the chant you hear on the video are what our pilgrims chant as we circumambulate the temples we visit.

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