Temple as Consumer

Inscriptions show that the Gods in the temples were treated like Kings. They required all services which were available to the rulers. The temple needed essential services for the construction of its buildings, consecration of the images the maintenance of its employees engaged in pujas and the upkeep of the educational and other institutions attached to it. Thus the temples had become a great consumer. For the construction of the temples and its buildings, stone blocks of different sizes, bricks, wood and lime had to be used. All of these could not be procured free of cost. Apart from the temple construction, its extension and repair works are inevitable. Many records show that for the maintenance and repairs works, adequate funds were allotted to the temples. The recurring expenditure must have look after by the government officials, merchants and the chieftains in the name of the King.^[1]

Moreover, once the buildings were completed, the sub-shrines had to be consecrated to various Gods, both principal and subsidiary, and the images of stone, gold, bronze and brass had to be installed. Every temple used to have at least a dozen smaller shrines dedicated to the associate Gods of the principal deity. But the images of these Gods also used to be executed. The gold images were given generally by Kings and high officials at the time of the consecration of the temple; other images were acquired later.^[2] This temple construction and installation of images gave encouragement to the metal industries and other handicrafts. Besides the metal images, numerous stone images were kept in each temple. Stone images were donated most probably by the rulers and officials.

The temple required many kinds of articles to conduct its daily pujas, rituals, ceremonies and other services. Musicians and dancing girls had to be paid their wages in cash and kind. For this service the temple itself provided the required instruments. In other cases they had to bring their own instruments. Therefore, fresh purchases had to be made by the temple.^[3] The same can be said about the dresses, ornaments and other equipment of the hundreds of dancing -girls.

The deities were lavishly ornamented with jewelers made of gold, silver and other precious stones. The temple mostly used the surplus income for making gold ornaments and silver vessels. The temples may thus have emerged as the biggest clients of the goldsmiths and traders in such articles.^[4] In classical Tamil literary works such as the Cilappadikaram, notice descriptions of various ornaments of the deities.

A large variety of utensils were used in the temples. For the deities utensils of gold and silver were used. For the inmates of the temples and mathas mostly earthen ware was used. The important items of consumption were the foodstuff for the various daily services of the temple. Inscriptions show that in these temples early morning service,^[5] morning service,^[6] midday service,^[7] Ardhajama service,^[8] evening service, daily night service,^[9] and mid-night service^[10] were carried out. On special occasions and festivals required special services. The most popular service was and abhisheha the bath of the deity on Sankaranti days. These baths were performed not only with water but also with other articles. Naturally the temple had to obtain these articles either through gifts or purchase.

Flowers in good quantity were a daily demand. Often the temples had flower-gardens on the premises and maintained them properly. When the temple gardens did not yield sufficient flowers or did not have such gardens, flowers had to be purchased from the market. Besides numerous lamps were burnt for the spiritual benefit of the donors who gave land and money for the purpose. At times the temples themselves paid for the oil and ghee required for the lamps.

The temple needed fresh clothes and similar articles, which were also provided to it out of the interest on the deposits of money made by the donors. These clothes were definitely purchased from the local dealers. At times, grants were made to the temples to cover the expenses of the worship of certain Gods, but the items of expenditure were not specified. In such cases the temple could make purchase according to the needs. We come to known these require sites through the records. The sandalwood for preparing the scented paste, incense for burning in the shrine, and camphor for scenting the food of the Gods and for use in the lamps were purchased. Therefore, we do not find numerous examples of their purchase. Many charitable institutions were attached to the temple, and provisions had to be procured for the feeding and upkeep of their inmates.^[11] These were costly items. The temples may have purchased these at a high price.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

A.R.E., 676 of 1906.

[2]:

S.I.I., Vol. II, Part I, No. 1, p.1.

[3]:

S.I.I., Vol. II, No.68.

[4]:

A. Appadurai, Economic Conditions in Southern India, Madras, 1936, p.300.

[5]:

A.R.E., 61 of 1920.

[6]:

A.R.E.,559 of 1921.

[7]:

Unpublished Inscription. See Appendix No.1 & 2.

[8]:

A.R.E., 69 of 1919

[9]:

A.R.E.,160 of 1921.

[10]:

A.R.E.,196 of 1916.

[11]:

B.K. Pandeya, Op.Cit., pp.126 -130.