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Imagery of Monks -Bodhidharma and Aṟavaṇa-Aṭikaḷ in Visual Art

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Imagery of Monks -Bodhidharma and Aṟavaṇa-Aṭikaḷ in Visual Art Journal of Fine Arts Volume 2, Issue 4, 2019, PP 4-17 ISSN 2637-5885 Saṅgama of Buddhism in the Asiatic Diaspora: Imagery of Monks -Bodhidharma and Aṟavaṇa-Aṭikaḷ in Visual Art R.K.K. Rajarajan* Gandhigram Rural University, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu, India *Corresponding Author: R.K.K. Rajarajan, Gandhigram Rural University, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu, India, Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Buddhism is a creative religion in Asiatic civilization, creative in the sense the proliferation of a rich literature and visual art leading to Universal Harmony. The present article is an attempt to examine the imagery of Buddhist monks in visual arts with special reference to Bodhidharma/ Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ, propagator of the Buddhist creed. Bodhidharma hailing from Kāñcīpuram lived in China to propagate the Buddhist dharma in the land of Confucianism and Taoism. The imagery of Bodhidharma is popular in Chinese and Japanese annals and visual art through the ages. Visual culture is an authoritative source to demonstrate how a personality was viewed some 1000 or 2000 years ago, e.g. the murals and fresco in the Ajaṇṭā caves that illustrate the Buddhist annals. The Buddha‟s nativity was Nepāḷa, which means his physiognomy should have been of the Mongoloid milieu. The article examines the facial anatomy of the Buddha with reference to monks that propagated Buddhism. Bodhidharma was of the Tamil stock, which means what anthropologists normally designate Drāviḍian. Āryan and Mongolian are of different genres and pigments, viz. Āryan-white, Mongolian-yellow (or golden) and Drāviḍian-black. By the way, the personality of the Mongol reflected in Vassili Yan‟s novelJenghiz Khan is corroborated while dealing with facial anatomy that is known as mukhalakṣaṇa in Indian iconographic jargon. Keywords: Asiatic Diaspora; Bodhidharma/Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ; imagery of monks; iconography; mukhalakṣaṇa INTRODUCTION (Tamil literature, particularly the „Twin Epics‟) and Bodhidharma (see Japanese portraiture, Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ and Bodhi-dharma were Buddhist Mecsi) obtained through arts of the Asian monks of Kāñcīpuram that are supposed to have Diaspora (cf. „Indian Asia‟ Zimmer 1955). Aṟavaṇa flourished by about the 4th-5th century CE. -aṭikaḷ appears in the Maṇimēkalai. In fact, the Bodhidharma‟s career was eventful who a five great epics in Tamil literature, viz, prince of the Pallava royalhouse (Pine 1989: ix) Cilappatikāram (cilampu “anklet”), Maṇimēkalai is said to have migrated to China. He was the (mēkalai/mekhalā “girdle”), Kuṇṭalakēci founder of Ch‟an and Zen Mahāyāna-Buddhism (kuṇṭalam/kuṇḍala “ear-hang”), Nīlakēci (nīlam (Faure 1986, Kalidos 1986: 77-85). The two “blue- gem” cf. Orr 2005: 12) and Cīvaka- monks are legendary figures as they appear cintāmaṇi (cintāmaṇi “magical gem”) are of prominently in literatures of the Tamils, the Buddhist-Jain lineage. Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ was the Chinese and the Japanese. The portraiture of Master of Mātavi, Maṇimēkalai and Cutamati. Bodhidharma is abundant in the visual arts of He was chiefly instrumental in Maṇimēkalai Japan (Chapin 1945-46, Lachman 1993, Faure undertaking an aerial adventure to Cavakam/ 2011, Mecsi 2016). It is a matter for speculation Jāva (Rajarajan 2017 and 2016a). Here the whether we obtain any portraiture of Aṟavaṇa- question is: did Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ and Maṇimēkalai aṭikaḷ in the art of South India. The present undertake a voyage to Jāva by the oceanic author (Rajarajan 2017 and 2016: chap. V, pls. route? In those times, it may not have taken a 136-139) has reported a few images of Aṟavaṇa- couple of days by the Indian Ocean to reach aṭikaḷ from the mahāstūpa of Borobudūr (bo/pū Jāva from Māmallapuram or Nākapaṭṭiṉam “flower”, budūr/putūr “new City”, cf. „Villiputuvai‟ (Pine 1989: x), the seat of the famous Cūḍāmaṇi Parthiban & Rajarajan 2016: 148-49) in central -vihāra down to the time of Rajarajan I Cōḻa Jāva (Rajarajan & Jeyapriya 2016: pls. 135-139). 1 (985-1016) . Did Maṇimēkalai return to Vañci The aim of the present study is to examine the from Jāva and Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ proceed to China? parallels in the personalities of Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ Is there any evidence to prove Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ Journal of Fine Arts V2 ● I4 ● 2019 4 Saṅgama of Buddhism in the Asiatic Diaspora: Imagery of Monks -Bodhidharma and Aṟavaṇa-Aṭikaḷ in Visual Art and Bodhidharma are the same personalities? to present iconographic details (cf. the These are hazy historical speculations that could „Bālakāṇḍa‟ of Vālmīki‟s Rāmāyaṇa). not be answered in the absence of solid Similarly, the Tamil epics dealing with evidences. Anyhow, the questions are relevant Kavunti -aṭikaḷ and Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ do not in studies pertaining to Bodhidharma2. accurately enumerate their characteristic The present article examines the personalities of iconographic features, i.e. pratimālakṣaṇa. In Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ and Bodhidharma from the case of the absence of evidence, it is left to the visual evidences available in Borobudūr, China free will of the śilpācārya (Kalidos 2012: 58) and Japan. What was the make-up of a monk in to give shape to a ṛṣi or siddha keeping in Indian art and its reflection in Chinese or 4 Japanese art? Do the Indian types agree with the mind the living sādhus and saṉṉyāsins , cf. Chinese or the Japanese facial make-up? The the Japanese imagery of Bodhidharma (infra). faces in Chinese and Japanese art are square or A ṛṣi by ethos is supposed to be full of peace oblong (Figs. 11e-f) with sharp eyes, thinly and compassion for the animal kingdom, sprouting hair moustache and beard (Fig. 12), including sthāvaras living in sylvan lands, e.g. that are Mongoloid whose voice was shrill. Naimicāraṇya, abode of mahaṛṣis where the Faces in Indian art or as for the matter Indonesian Mahābhārata was rehearsed, cf. the living are with broad eyes and with prominent noses. examples of Christian seminaries and the Early portraiture of Bodhidharma (Chaplin 1945-46) appears in Chinese a millennium later Vatican (Gallico 1999: pls. pp. 2-3, 116-27). than he migrated to China. By this time, the The Tamil didactic work, Tirukkuṟaḷ (27 .1- original face was forgotten and Bodhidharma is 10) on tavam(“renunciation and meditation”) likely to have been replaced with Mongoloid says how a saint should be. He should follow and Chinese-Japanese faces. I have collected a celibacy, be full of peace, and the human few visual evidences of monks to compare these frame dispelling brilliance of wisdom5: with the physiognomy of Bodhidharma. I may be wrong in the absence of any imagery of cuṭaccuṭarumpoṉpōloḷiviṭumtuṉpañ either Aṟavaṇa-aṭikaḷ or Bodhidharma datable to cuṭaccuṭanōkkiṟpavarkku (Kuṟaḷ 27.7, the 5th-6th century CE. Therefore, generalizations on Kaḻakam ed. 1976: 71) Bodhidharma studies could only be hypothetical. It is difficult to portray mental qualities in IMAGERY OF MONKS IN CANON sculptures or paintings (e.g. navarasas) but the When question of portraiture of the Hindu placid-śānta and fury-ugra could be brought out divine (e.g. Śiva and Viṣṇu) and semi-divine by the way the face is sculpted or painted (cf. personalities is considered (e.g. ṛṣis, siddhas), Figs. 1-10). Classical maxims in little rooms, researchers have no other choice but find kuṟaḷ (means “dwarf”, cf. Vāmana, fifth avatāra out an outlet in the śāstra (canon); e.g. śilpa-, of Viṣṇu - Rajarajan et al. 2017: 667-68) deals vāstu-, āgama- or tantra- (Dallapiccola et al. with aṟam (dharma, cf. dharmaśātras), prouḷ 1989, Harper & Brown 2002). In the absence (artha, cf. Arthśāstra of DramiḍācāryaCāṇakya of śāstraic sources the only way out is itihāsa or Kautilya, „Das Capital‟) and iṉpam (kāma, cf. (e.g. the Indian mahākāvayas, Buddhist the Kāmasūtra). Now, scholars propose, it is at Jātakas) or regional literature (kāppiyaṅkaḷ world peace (cf. „Cosmic Harmony‟ - Parthiban & Rajarajan 2018), cf. Lev Tolstoy‟s „War and “epics”, e.g. Cilappatikāram and Maṇim- Peace‟, Tamil Akam-Puṟam, an exclusive genre ēkalai). Śilpaśāstras (e.g. Mayamaya, of its own, alien to Sanskrit (cf. Hart & Heifetz Kāśyapīya) are mostly concerned with higher 1999). divinities such as Devī or Śakti, Viṣṇu, Śiva and Brahmā (e.g. Śrītattvanidhi3). Ṛṣis, ICONOGRAPHY OF SAINTS AND SAGES Prajāpatis et alii are enumerated if they have The Śrītattvanidhi(STN) is an encyclopaedic any mythological link with the higher gods work that the rājaṛṣi-KṛṣṇarājaUḍaiyār had and goddesses (e.g. Mārkaṇḍēya in case of compiled. Few of the forms of Śiva and Viṣṇu Kālasaṃhāramūrti and Vaṭapatraśāyī). Pan- are associated with ṛṣis (see McIntosh 2016: 95- Indian epics dealing with mahaṛṣis (e.g. 96 and Rajarajan et al. 2017). These enumerations Vasiṣṭha, Viśvāmitra, Kapila) do not seem are succinct. 5 Journal of Fine Arts V2 ● I4 ● 2019 Saṅgama of Buddhism in the Asiatic Diaspora: Imagery of Monks -Bodhidharma and Aṟavaṇa-Aṭikaḷ in Visual Art Paraśurāma was an incarnation of Viṣṇu. He provided with “moustache” and long “beard” was an anchorite, noted for raudra (cf. Bhṛgu). and seated in meditation graced with benign if The canon says he was determined to annihilate not smiling face. The pratimālakṣaṇa is the race of kṣatriyas and holds the terrific common to all with no poignant deviation. paraśu (battle-axe) in a hand - Kalidos 1989: pl. Gautama is sānta-svarūpi and bears the 43). His colour is svarṇa “golden” (STN 2. 52). tripuṇḍra on forehead. He carries the japamālā, kamaṇḍalu and yogadaṇḍa. His colour is Vāmana, the fourth incarnation of Viṣṇu was kanaka-varṇa (golden yellow, cf. the Southeast not a ṛṣi but a brahmacāri (STN 2.51). He was Asian population, including Japan, and short with a protruding belly, carrying the Malaysia, the Svarnabhūmi)10. Bharadvāja is anchorite‟s emblems (Mankodi 1991: fig. 72), sānta-svarūpi and firm in meditation as Bodhi- the kamaṇḍalū (water-jug) and chattra Buddha. His emblems are japamālā and (umbrella). His colour is blue. yogadaṇḍa. Viśvāmitra is an aṃśa of Brahmā. The Buddha is counted under the daśāvatāras Kaśyapa had several wives.
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