It’s festival season at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, a time when the ‘Pancha Pandavas’ keep their annual tryst with the city. Standing guard at the forecourt along the eastern nada of the temple are gargantuan effigies of the five brothers – Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Clad in red robes, with massive headgear and wielding maces, the towering figures stand their ground in two rows facing the majestic temple as part of the ongoing 10-day Painguni festival, also known as Pancha Pandava Utsavam.
However, erecting the giant structures is no piece of cake, requiring days of preparation and finishing touches. “The central frames for the figures are fashioned out of fabricated iron and steel parts that are meticulously dovetailed by a network of nuts and bolts. Earlier, the frames used to be chiselled out of wood, which was even heavier,” says Venkateshwaran Iyer, secretary of the temple trust. The task of assembling and putting up the figures, a responsibility that used to be leased out to a private contractor earlier, has for the past several years been carried out by the trust employees themselves, says Balu RS, a clerk with the temple trust.
Foreign tourists take snaps at the eastern nada of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
“Once the lease period came to an end, we had to step in, though most of us were inexperienced in the art of installing the figures then. We learnt the process in about 35 days during the 2014 festival,” says Balu, who’s been overseeing the work.
“Each part – the limbs, torso, head – comprises detachable pieces. They are securely connected to the main frame. This entire unit is mounted onto sturdy bases of concrete plates firmly affixed about three metres into the ground. Once the structures are taken out, the bases are covered until the next festival season,” he explains.
A thick moulding of plaster of Paris shaped in the desired forms is cast around the frames. The mouldings are usually painted once every two years, while headgears get fresh finishing touches every three years or so. “It takes about eight-10 days to put up the effigies. If one nut or bolt falls out of place, the particular portion will have to be dismantled and assembled again,” says Balu, adding that about a dozen men work at the task.
Though in earlier times, cotton was used for the colossal robes, polyester is opted for now. Balu estimates that about 350 m of red fabric, 100 m of yellow for the borders and 50 m for white used to wrap the maces are required for the stitching.
An effigies of a Pandava at the eastern entrance of the Padmanabhaswamy temple
The custom followed every year at the temple premises is associated with several legends and beliefs. At the forefront of the line-up is Yudhishtira, the eldest, in a sitting posture, resting his right foot over the left thigh. His is also perhaps the largest effigy, while Bhima is the tallest at about 30 feet high. “That’s because, according to long-held beliefs, the Pandavas should not be taller than Padmanabhaswamy,” says Balu. Sahadeva, the youngest, is the shortest. On the seventh day of the festival, Velakali, which represents the fight between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, is symbolically conducted around these figures.
The structures are dismantled usually a day after the aarattu, which marks the conclusion of the festival on the tenth day. “However, this time, the temple trust has decided to retain the figures for three more days,” says Venkateshwaran.
Once disassembled, all the components are safely covered and stored at Bhiman Pura near Kuthiramalika. The articles remain there until a few weeks before the next Painguni festival when they are taken out again for refurbishment.
