Yalis in Temples

 

Know your Dharma

Content Courtesy Mr.GaneshKalyan #ganeshamarkalam

Yali

You have seen it everywhere as you circumambulate the Moolavar in Hindu temples, the temple walls and in the outer periphery. The main concourse in “thousand-pillar” halls. Or right at entrances. On the balustrade. This is the ubiquitous Yali.

All civilizations feared something which they generally chose to call evil - demonic. The key idea was to create something that is out-of-this-world, more scarier than the demon. They thought these shapes will have to be so grotesque that they will ward-off evil by scaring them away. Should there be a fierce battle, only such creatures will secure a victory. In India it is the Yali and its multiple variations.

In India these figures adorning temple pillars and entrances also signified that the resident God who can casually keep these creatures in his/ her house like a pet must be controlling them. By extension, it was conveyed that the supreme energy in the temple that can control these fierce beings should definitely solve our mundane problems of exam marks, missing notebooks and strict parents.

The number of Yalis seem to have a direct correlation with the age of the temple. The older the temple, the more precious it was considered by the King who built it, more Yalis were incorporated. I see them everywhere, notably Madurai and in very fine detail in the Nagarathar temples so well maintained.

Since the sculptors who built these temples did not have access to AI and graphics these mythical creatures resemble actual animals that the sculptors saw / heard.

Many of the Yalis are a combination of a lion, elephant and snake though there are other variants depending on the state, the ruler of the time etc. These creatures turned-out to be an astounding composite, combining carnivorous appetites and speed of a Lion; hard muscles, ivory tusks, strength of the trunk of elephant and stealth of serpent.

See the picture above. Imagine walking towards the God at the end of the corridor late evening when the temple is not crowded. Can be a scary experience.

There are many types of Yalis with faces of lion, elephant, goat and even horses. The detailing in some of these sculptures in terms of their nails, fangs and eyes is scary and beautiful at the same time.

The latent energy with most of them waiting to pounce on someone who takes one misstep can be a huge deterrent.

That there were stone artisans to carve these – mostly out of single large stone to make the duality of the load-bearing pillars and this creature – and that they were once so busy carving Yali after Yali in pillars for so many temples (do you know 250+ temples around Kumbakonam only) speaks testimony to the necessity felt for these in Temples. Perhaps they mass produced the Yalis and built temples to make use of the Yalis.

The form of Yali’s we are familiar with became prominent in 16^th century. But its legend is older, dated as early as mankind’s “fear” of evil. I wonder with so many guarding us – Tamil Nadu would have been the safest place.

The famous Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple has a 12-15ft tall Yali that never fails to impress you. They were so life-like and at that time quite scary for a child.

The picture below depicts the yalis at the Simhachalam temple in present day Andhra Pradesh. It is a beauty in terms of symmetry and workmanship. 

In a few temples you will find a structure with a yali face that has a gate closed which leads to something below. Was told that there is a water body below and water collected is reached by steps below the yali. The gate and the scary face of the yali is perhaps a good way to prevent abuse of the water body.

There is a Yali mandap in Tiger caves near Mahabalipuram on the East Coast Road, near Chennai. You can spot 11 large Yali’s though details lost to sea and wind over centuries. They seem to have guarded an entrance or a throne where perhaps the King sat to watch wrestling. Nowadays, on Sundays you can sit exactly where the King once sat and feel like a king for a few seconds before you are elbowed out by the next selfie crazed person.

Yalis, once you look at them long enough, have a child like innocence and beauty. I think Yali signifies that life is not all that perfect. There are demonic forces at play in this Universe and religious art has acknowledged this. One school of thought is that there are 16 types of Yalis and each represents a demon.

When you visit a temple to worship, you make sure to leave behind at least one of the demons that royally reside in your mind and return home refreshed and reborn.

To be sure you got rid of it, you can securely tie the demon to one of the temple pillars before returning home. The Yalis you see in temple pillars are perhaps demons that devotees succeeded in locking-up, transformed into stones by the compassion He felt for you.

Some say the Yalis in pillars surely come to life during night and roam the praharas of our temples. Remember the move Night at the Museum where all the Museum exhibits come to life. It will be fun though.

Next time you visit a temple do take a couple of minutes to observe the yalis.