Wonderful musical pillars in Hindu temples

If you have time, you can find hundreds of wonderful sculptures in major Hindu temples in India.

One of those wonders is Musical Pillars.

Enter through the north gate of the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple. On your left you will find wonderful musical pillars. Since all the visitors abused the pillars with granites and hammers, the pillar has been protected by a fence.

What is a musical pillar? Smaller axes are grouped around a larger central column; each with a different thickness and different grooves, producing different notes when struck with a hard substance such as a pebble or hammer or with a rubber head.

Sha, Ri, Ka, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sha are the seven basic notes of Karnatic music. These notes could be produced on these wonderful pillars.

A team led by Dr. Kameswaran, an otolaryngologist in 1983, conducted a comprehensive analysis on them at the Madurai Meenakshi Temple in South India.

Computer analysis of the sounds produced by musical pillars shows that the principles of body vibration have been applied in the construction of these pillars. The length and diameter of the pillars have been cleverly varied to obtain different musical sounds. Several musical pillars have been carved out of the same stone, each producing different sounds. This has been achieved by varying the length, diameter, and shape of the musical pillars. A geological analysis of the musical pillars reveals that the rock is a common variety found in what is known as the archaic formations (the oldest formation) of southern India. This particular rock is quite abundant near Hospet. It is a rock rich in silica. Alumina, potash, and soft drinks are the other important components. The iron content is not high. The team used ultrasonic instruments for rock sampling.

There is an excellent article written by Dr. T. Marimuthu in 1994 on these pillars. He has done extensive research on the pillars and provided wonderful details.

According to him, these are not found in temples previously built by Chola, Pandya and Chera. The pillars are appearing from the period of the Vijayanagar empire.

Pillars are found in many temples and each temple has its own way of designing and building musical pillars.

A remarkable and thinner pillar 4 cm in diameter and 1.6 meters long stands at Thanumalaya Perumal Temple in Suchindram near Cape Comorin.

These pillars are found in many temples including the Alwarthirunagari temple, the Thirunelveli Nellaiappar temple in southern part of India.

It is a pleasure to see these pillars and listen to the music they produce. Recently, musicians, scientists, engineers and sculptors are showing great interest in musical pillars. In keeping with their profession, they are providing wonderful new information that makes us proud of these monuments highlighted by the artistic, architectural, scientific, engineering, technical and technological talents of our former artisans.