The Shelter of Caves, Part 18
BY: SUN STAFF
The main interior temple in Batu Cave
Jul 14, 2013 — CANADA (SUN) — A study of famous caves in ancient Bharat.
Batu Cave
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is ancient cave complex so large, it houses a full-size temple with gopuram. The cave is situated within a limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples branching out from the main entrance. Located in the Gombak district, about 13 kilometres (8 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur, Batu Cave is named after Sungai Batu, or the Batu River, which flows past the hill. A village of the same name is nearby.
Interior of Batu Caves
The limestone formation of Batu Caves is said to be around 400 million years old. In the mid-1800's, Chinese settlers began excavating guano (bat excrement) for fertilising their vegetable patches. It wasn't until 1878 that the caves came to the world's attention, when American Naturalist, William Hornaday visited and recorded the natural wonder. A few years later, an Indian trader, K. Thamboosamy Pillai was inspired by the 'vel'-shaped entrance of the main cave, and decided to build a temple dedicated to Lord Murugan within the caves. (Murugan's paraphernalia is the vel.) The Sri Mahamariamman Temple was thus consecrated, with installation of the Muruganswamy deity, in 1892.
Lord Murugan at Batu
Lord Murugan, also known as Kartikeya, Skanda and Subrahmanya, is a god of war and victory. There are six major temples dedicated to his worship, of which Batu is the largest. Murugan is mentioned in various Vedic and Puranic texts, as the son of Agni and Svaha. He is also known as a son of Lord Shiva.
Shrine at Entrance
Today, Batu Cave complex is one of the most popular Hindu religious shrines outside of India. Dedicated to Lord Murugan, the cave temple hosts a large annual festival known as Thaipusam, that draws residents from across Malaysia in the Tamil month of Thai (late January/early February).
Cave Entrance
In 1920, a very long queue of wooden steps was built up to the cave entrance. At the base of the hill are two smaller cave temples, refurbished in 2008 and named the Art Gallery Cave and the Museum Cave. Both are filled with devotional statues and paintings. Commanding all attention, however, is a 42.7 metre (140' ) high murti of Lord Murugan, which was installed in 2006. It is the tallest Lord Murugan in the world. Taking three years to build, the murti cost approximately 24 million rupees. It is made of 1,550 cubic metres of concrete, 250 tonnes of steel bars and 300 litres of gold paint, brought in from neighbouring Thailand.
Cave's limestone interior
The limestone cave complex rises almost 100 meters above the ground. The wooden stairway was later replaced with 272 concrete steps. Pilgrims ascend to the main shrine, known as Temple Cave, because it houses several shrines under its high vaulted ceiling. The interior is filled with ornate painting, wall art and sculpture, and opulent ornamentation.
To the far left of the main temple is the Ramayana Cave, where a 15 meter (50') tall murti of Hanuman resides. The temple is dedicated to Hanuman, and art in this cave narrates the Ramayana pastimes along its irregular walls.
Temple in the cave
In a previous segment of this series, we quoted the following passage from Vayu Purana, which mentiones Lord Murugan's affinity for caves:
"The caves are ancient residences of the gods. It is there too, and not only on the banks of rivers that they love to dwell. Their presence in the caves is felt so strongly that cave and god are one; "on the Visakha Mountain there is a great dwelling belonging to Guha, the Secret one (Karttikeya), the god who is very fond of living in caves (guha)".
(Vayu Purana, XXXIX. 55)
Cave stairway
Sources: Murugan Temple Sevyats, Wiki
