Hindu Temple Is Work of Timeless Art

Jagathguru Veerappan built a god last week, out of bricks and mortar. Next week, he may build another, in keeping with the teachings of his trade.

“It is an ancient profession,” said the 28-year-old native of India, while pausing in his work the other day. “It is something we learn from our fathers. . . . It is something you are born to do.”

Veerappan is one of four Indian temple builders living at the site of a Hindu temple being built off Las Virgenes Canyon Road between Las Virgenes and Malibu. Known as silpis in their homeland, these craftsmen were imported to shape a religious center for Hindus living in Southern California.

Although still under construction, the Sree Venkateswara Swami Temple has slowed traffic along Las Virgenes Road because of its spectacular and exotic design.

The temple, rising on a rural 4.5-acre site, is made up of complicated towers and shrines. Financed by the State Bank of India and donations from the local Hindu community, it is scheduled for completion next year.

But, in a sense, it is ancient already. Although the temple has survived its share of zoning hearings and inspections, its shape conforms to rules written on palm leaves thousands of years ago.

These rules, contained in religious documents known as the Shastra , control the work of Indian temple architects and the silpis in their employ.

In India, a silpi is a master craftsman, skilled in everything from stone carving to Hindu theology. Knowledge of the trade is passed along from father to son for generations.

At the Las Virgenes temple, the four silpis have been living in a trailer for more than a year along with the temple manager and a Hindu priest. Natives of southern India, the craftsmen speak only Tamil, the language of their region.

Since arriving, the men have led isolated lives, only occasionally traveling to local restaurants or to places like Disneyland and museums.

For the most part, however, the silpis spend their days in the company of the temple, which is now half completed. Working partly from memory and partly from structural blueprints, they are building the temple on foundations laid by local construction teams.

Some of these men are specialists in elaborate bricklaying or complicated relief work. Others, like Veerappan, shape some of dozens of statues that adorn the sides of the temple.

Raman Raghavan, the temple manager, said the silpis working in Las Virgenes were handpicked by Muthiah Stapathy, a prominent Indian architect who has designed several temples in the United States. All are experts in the Chola style of temple-building, which is prevalent in southern India.

The style takes its name from a line of kings that ruled southern India from AD 900 to 1100. Raghavan said the style is distinguished by high walls and large, ornate towers.

More than $2 million has been spent on the temple, which is made up of a 13,000-square-foot main temple, a multipurpose hall and a series of smaller, separate shrines. When it is finished, the temple will be marked by a 52-foot tower at its eastern entrance.

400 to 500 Worshipers

But even now, Raghavan said, the temple draws 400 to 500 worshipers on weekends and a smaller number of visitors on weekdays. As many as a 1,000 are expected today for religious rites marking the first anniversary of the temple’s consecration.

From the pillars supporting the main shrine at the center of the Hindu temple, a pair of concrete lions stare down at passers-by. The lions are a symbol of strength in the Hindu religion and a good example of the skill of a silpi craftsman.

Perched on a ledge below the ceiling, the figures are identical to those found at Chola-era temples in India, said S. Nallaswamy Gurukkal, the temple priest. Looking more like mythical creatures than animals--with bulging eyes, oversized heads and large, threatening fangs--the lions are built by Veerappan at a rate of one a week from a mixture of brick and mortar.

Facets of Philosophy

Veerappan said his family has been making figures such as these for longer than he can remember at Hindu religious centers throughout India. Like the other silpis at work on the Las Virgenes temple, he learned his trade in a seven-year apprentice program run by Stapathy, the architect. He said he and the others have done restoration work on dozens of well-known Indian religious centers and landmarks, such as the Taj Mahal.

Like all Hindu religious centers, the shrines at the Las Virgenes temple are studded with statues of religious figures representing various facets of the Hindu philosophy. These figures will include a huge set of elephants to be built at the temple’s eastern entrance and various gods set on the roofs of temple shrines.

The shrines, all half-finished, open to the east according to the rules of the Shastra. Each contains a granite statue imported from India and installed by temple priests. Gold-plated cupolas have been installed on the tops of these shrines to mark their location by reflecting the sun.

Concessions to Modern Age

While building the temple, the silpis make a few concessions to the modern age. A cement mixer and a brick-carving machine are visible at the back of the site, and Raghavan said he is planning to buy an air hammer soon.

Vegetarian Indian meals sometimes give way to trips to a nearby Taco Bell. Bricks, mortar and plaster have replaced traditional granite walls. Wiring and plumbing work has been subcontracted to U.S. companies. The basement of the temple is designed for air conditioning.

But in other ways the work is done as it has been for centuries.

Veerappan, for instance, shaped the heads of the lions with small metal tools he inherited from his father. He has built two, at a rate of one a week.

According to the blueprints, Veerappan will build 22 more lions before moving on to another task. And, although he said he is pleased with his work, he is quick to retreat from praise.

‘Still Learning’

“I am still learning,” he insisted, speaking through Raghavan. “You should know that I am nothing compared to older craftsmen.”

Compared to temples in India, the Sree Venkateswara Swami complex is small. At home, said Raghavan, there are religious centers with thousands of pillars, hundreds of gods and towers, rising hundreds of feet. Teams of 400 to 500 silpis are commonly employed to work at these sites, and restoration projects sometimes last for decades.

Even so, Gurukkal said, he often feels at home in his new quarters.

“It is wonderful,” he said, while leading a recent tour. “Walk the stairs and look around. You are now in India.”