Fh5 Stone Lanterns In Ek Balam

“The 8th c. AD Balasagun temple has been constructed to hold 3000 stone lanterns. The stone lanterns are formed in a way of eight, representing the 8 planets of the zodiac, and the symbols of the Hindu mythology and associated with the Hindu deities Dhren, Vishnu, Uma, Aupam, Mugha and Chandra Shekharacharya. The 8th c. AD Balasagun temple structure of stone lanterns was erected in 572 A.D. on a remote area of forest in Palakkad district of Kerala over a place inhabited by forest tribes who were later invaded by the Vijayanara community. Dantivijayi Gada Muttu Pillai in Palakkad declared an open war on the Vijayanara community, killing 40 of them. The sculptures were subsequently collected and brought to temple.” According to Praveen Murali, co-owner of EK Balam ICONY, “The stone lanterns were transported to the temple in two wagons driven by six male volunteers in the early 60s after a decade of being a common practise for the forest tribes. The wagons had two carts each which acted as a battery, while the crew sat in two platforms below, ready to start the cart to transport the stone lanterns from the place being a forest village.” The lanterns were selected out of different stone sculptures, different angles having different motifs and colors. These were transported on a back road for transport from Cuddalore towards the Mahalakshmi Temple of Kaliacharya at Thiruvananthapuram. The stone lanterns are hollowed out to resemble real lanterns and are sold individually. Their motifs were selected in accordance with these traditional lamps depicting different aspects of the Hindu mythologies. With the eight stone lanterns and “silent cast” with bell, the temple has the connotation of a village of woods and is called as Dantiviyanagar. It is located near a place near Koravur. (The temple has undergone changes and a statue like one found in Karthavathi temple also surrounded by stone lanterns which is actually a modified version of the original Dantivijayigada temple.