Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Masteer of Arts

by

Renu Kochar, B.A. M. A.

Tbe Ohio State University z 875

Approved by

Department of History of Art AC Kn'ClWLEDGME NTS

I mideeply gmtcful to my adviser, Professor Susan L. IIuntiagton, for her constant guiclmcc and patience which enabled me to finish this shidy aucccss- fully. The debt of gratitude which I owe her can ncver be adequately expressed in words.

f am equally ttxtnkhl to Professor Joh C. I-hntingdon, my swoncl reader,

€or his help and advice given in this regard, and throughout my tenure as :i graduate student.

Also I woiild like to acknowledge and thank all my friends, particularly

Ms. Devj Shahmcy and Ms. Gectha Balasubramaniarn , for thcir constant encouragcnient and never-failing optimisn-v,

Thanks are also due to MS. 1Llargi Gudfrey for typing the first draft of this thesis, and to Ms. Barbara Parker who has done such a marvelous job of typing thc final n~aniiscripE.

Finally, I 1%70uldlike to dedicate this thesis to my parents, I3nj and tljaU:,, and my brotiier, Amrit, whosr? faith in me ncver faltered. mcl wliosu lo.i~,patience: and understmdiiig will always bc cherislicd by ~nc.

ii TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

A CTC!\;'O'CfrLED G>!CENT S ii

LIST 0 F IL LUST IUTIONS iV

IKT ROD UCar ON 1

Review of Literature 4

CHAPTER

I DURG~;;IN INDIAN L~EIZATUIIE 7

L[ EARLY IMAGES OF DURGA niIAHI~~SURAiL1.ARuIN~ UNTIL THE SEVENTH CENTURY 23

111 IMAGES OF D?.JRGx &L4MIS%URAMARDINf AFTER THE SEVENTH CENTURY:-REGIONAE VARXATTONS 42

Southem Ind ia 4% Wrestern India 54 Eastern India 69 Northern and Central India 74

CONC LUSSON 80

SE L,EC TED BTBLTOGRAPHY 8.3

ILLUSTRATIONS 92

iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOI\IS

1. Gold Coin of Kaiiishka BI, Collection of the Late Narsndra Sing11 Singhi, C c?Zcutea, Source: B. N. Muldierjee, Nann on Lion,- Calcutt;~, 1 369, pl. 1.

2. Gold C oiri A’ Huvishka. British Museum, Sotirce: B,N, Mukiiei-jcs, Nana on Lien, Calcutta, 1369, pl. 18 & 20.

3. Sandstone Image of Mahi~Zsur:miardin?from Matliurz , Ku$&I Period. Math~aMuseum. Source: 0. Viennot, “The Godclcss Mahish~suramarLinTin I~ushnaa

Art,t’ CIArtibus Asiae, XX,3 -4, 1956, pp, 355-373, fig. I..

4, Terracotta Placpe of kIaEni~5isuramardinTirdinifrom Nagar, Xtajasthan. Amber Muscum. Source: R. C. Agrawala, “A Tcrracoth Plaque oT Rlahishkxirnar-

din7 from Nagar, Rajasthan, --^_Lalit Kal2, 1-2, 1955-56, pp. 72-74, fig. 1.

5. A. Guph Coin: Lion-Slayer Type of Kumaragupta I. British Museum. €3. Guptn Coin: Lion-Slaycr Type of Chandragxqitx? IT. Byitis h Museum.

Souxe: J. Alan, Caklogue of Coins of the Guyta Dlinsties-I_ rind__ .of- &6%ka, King of Gnuc&~,London, 1936, pls. ICW & TX.

6. Terracotki Seal from Rajghat. Source: IC. B. Ipr, ‘!An Early Gupta Sesl of the Mahils”asura2lJar~dillT, -At-tibus- Asiae, 31, 19G9, pp. 179-154, fig.

iV 9. Mahi$kxmnmwdinli from Besnagar. Gwalior Museum. Source: D. R. Patil, '' 'Telin' or iuIahigamnrdiiu" from Besuagxr, 'I -Proceedings--- of the Indian History Coiigress,- XI, 1948 (1951!, pp. 96-100, fig. 1.

10. Sandstoiic Relief fsam Bhita.

Source: 3. H. Marshall, "Excavation at Bliita ~ It -Archaeolog.i.ca.1.- Survey -. -of- hi&, humal Rcports, 191 1-1912.

11. Sandstone Relief from Bhita, Smtrct-: J. €1. Marshall, op cit.

12. Tarracotta Figuring from Ahichchhatra. Source : V. 5, kgran~&, "Terracotta Figurines I.rom Ahichchhatra, rr Ancient India, 4, fig. 120.

13. Mahi@suramardi6 from the Rock-cut Shrine I at Badami. Source: Seshadri, pl. 6B.

14. Source: E. S. Guptc, Art and Architecture 01Ailiole, Bombay, 1967, -- ---_I pl. 123,

15. Mahig5:surarnardinT from the Rock-cut Shrine at Ailide. Source: R.S. Gupk, -op-cit..- pl. 135.

IG. Inscribed Bronze Image of Mathi~~siiramardinYfrom Rralmor, Charnba. Source: Scshadri, pl. 9.

17,

18. Pduscum. Source: M.R. Sharm=t, op cit., p. 127. _I_--

19. Source: M. In, Sharma, --op- cit;. , p. 128.

20.

V 21. M~~hi~~su~~i~~a~~~jii~,Alanipur Museum. Source: M. In. Sharma, op cit. p. 136.

22. Ma hiig5suraiiiardirii. Alanipur Muscum. Source: M.R. Sharrna, op cit. p. 135.

2 3. Ma hi $2 sura113 a rdin'. Alam pu 1- Museum . Source: Seshadri, pl. 30B.

24. Mahiv5suraniardini. Alampur Museum, Source: Seshadri, pl. 25.

25. Mahi~Esuixmardiu'Yon the Faqade of Tyimurti Rock-cut Shrine at Mai-,lallapuram. Source: Seshadri, pl. 19.

26. MahiG%mmxmlinT Panel from Rock-cub Shrine at Mamalhpui-aL. Source: l'vIarg? 23, 1970, p. 58.

2'7, %ialzi~%cramardin'iRelief from Ma1ii~~isurarn:[email protected], Mama] - lapiwarn

Source: H. Zimmcr, I-c^-.The Art of Indian Asia, New York, 1955, p1. 284.

28. Mah+%x1raim;LrdiTiT Panel in front of Atiranaclmndas Cave Tewplc st Saluvaahppam . Source: -Mai., 23, 19'70: p. 69,

29. MahisZsaramardinY Relief from Lower Cave at Ti ruchirapalli, Source: Marg, 23, 19'70. p. 70.

30. M~~i~~s~~~~~i~2~~d~~~from Mamallapuram, Boston Muscuin of Fine Arts. Sourcc. H. Ziini~iei-~The Art OF- Iridinii- Asia,- New York, 1955, pl. 288.

33. Du@ from Pas'upatiknyi! at Tazjore.

Sourcc: _BostonI- Museum of Fiiic Arts, Bulletin,-- XXV, 23, fig. 1.

vi f 34. Durgz from Sivit Temple at Pu?1j3i’, TaEjore. Source : J. C. Harle, “Durg5, Goddess c Vict ry, I‘ Artibus Asiae, =I, 3-4, 1963-64, pp. 237-246, fig. 2.

35, Dug5 from Ty5garEja Temple at Tiruvarur, TaEjorc.

Somce: J. C. Hark, _II-op cit. Eig. 3.

36 a Ma hi? 5 s 11 rarn 3. rc7 inT f r on) Ganga iko ndc.. o! a pu ra m . Source : Ses hadri, pl. 3 1A.

37. 34 ahi$isu ram a rclii5 from D1i’Era“suram. Source: H. Krishna Sastri, --_- South Indian Irn;ges---- of Gods and Goddesses,- &Iadras, 1916, €ig. 130.

38. Rltihi~~ssuramardini’from the Western Gopuram of tkc Cid%nbi-am Tern pl e.

Source: J. C. Harle, Templc GatewaysI in Saul;h India, Eoiidon, 1963.

39“ MaM~”asuran~arcliriYfrom the Norkhem Gopuram of the Cic?$mbram Temp1e. Qourc.2: S.C. Hark, --oy cit. pl. 149.

40.

41.

42 MahilS.~sura~2JarCfin~Panel or1 the Right Wall of Cave 14 (Rk~a~a-ki- Id3ai), Ellora. 3ourcc: R. S, Girptc, Ajaiita, Ellora and Aurangabad C:tves, Bombay, 1962, fig. LLG.

43.

44,

45.

vi i 46. ~l~~liig~suranic\rdinifrom thc Ecft Courlyarcl of the Kail'ida Temple, Ell0I-a. Source: Eastand West;, N.S. 16, 1966, pp. 109-Ill* fig. 1.

47.

48, Mahi~5suramardiGfrom Vimpalqa Temple, J?z&yiakaS. National Museum, F :w Dellii. Source: East and West, N,S. $6, 1966, pp. 109-111% fig. 3.

49.

.9 50. Inscribed 1m:rgc of Saccika. Jodhpur. Source: 3. C. Agra\valat, ''A Unique Sculpture of the Jaina Eoddcss Saccika, Artibus- Ashe, XVH, 3-4, 1954, p. 233.

51.

52, Ter r z! cotta from Kal ibang an, Rag astkan . Source: Seshadri, pl. 12A.

53.

54. Ambika Temple, Jagat: Principal Back Nichc, Faicing West. If Sourcc: R. @. Agrnwala, Khajui-nho of Rajasthan; the tcmplc of

Ambiltn at Jngnt, If Arts Asiaticjucts, 1964, lO/l, pp. 41-65, fig. 13.

55.

56. 57. Mahiykiramardini of the lGla Perid , Eastern India.

Source: EastII_- and West, N.S. 19, 1-2, 1!)G9.

58. KgtyQanY of Madhavapasa. Source: N.K. Bhattasali. Iconography of the Buddhist and Ur;rhmanictil -Sculptures in the Dacca Museum, varanasi, Eelhi, 19'72, pl. LW.

59. Ma~iig~ssuram~.rdiniat S5Wa.

Source: X.K. Bliattasali, c_-op cit., pl. LXVI.

60. Rlahig5surxmardinT from Bandergrani, East India. Source: Pakistan Archaeology, No. 6, 2969. cI_

61. ~/Lahip~isnramairlin'ilfrom Bnckerganj District. Dacca nhmum. Source: S. L. Huntin@on, The origin and dovelopmcnt of sculpture in Bengal and Biliar ca. 8th-12th centuries , Ph. D. Dissertation, UCIA, 1972, fig. 303..

62. Mahl$kuraniardinY from Manbhum District. Indian Museum. Calcutta. Source: S. L. Huntington, op cit. , fig. 321.

63. Exterior of the B356beria Temple, Bengal..

Source: Journal of the Asiatic Society,II IS, 1, 1967.

64. Exterior of the Navaratna Temple at k'Zmar?i$ra, Bengal.

Source: Joui-~~alof the Asiatic Society,I TX, 1, 1967.

65. Mshi$hxmxwdinT from the LihgarZja 'P'emple, Bk~waae6vara. Source: Seshadri, pl. 3iA.

66.

67.

68.

is 7 1. Rlahi~~sul.az31arclin’ifrom Ahichchhatra.

Sourcc: Ancient India,I_ 4, 1947-43.

72. Mahi~?isurrm ardinT from Ahiciichhatra , Source : -Ancient- India, 4, I947 -45.

73. Maliip5suramardinT from Baijnath, Himachal Pradcsh. Source: -East- and- West, N. S. 15, 3-4, 1.965.

7 4. Ma his 5 surii rn ardin: from Lak~m a~aTern pl c , Kha j urzt ho . Source: Seshadri, pl. I&$. ,

The worship of ;z goddess is not a new phenomenon in India. Arches- logical finds from pre-historic sites of the ludus Valley civilization have revealed the prevdence of fertility cults. The basic iden of the cult of the

Mother-goddess was t?ie belief in a female energy as the source of all creation.

In the period QE the Vedic literatwe the worship of the goddess docs not appear to haw been popular with the uppc'r classes, h tlic early years OF the Christian era the goddess becomes an important Factw in Indian religious life, but even

I at this point -.Sakti" was subordinated to 6iva. -S/alrt,i"worship becomes integrally

I related to Sa&ism and d.uring the Gupta period female counterparts of the goddess beeonie as important as the gods. This st;eady increase in the impor- tance OS the goddess results in a proliferation of images OE the various goddesses.

Just as the gods were possessed of a dual aspect--the calix and the !ion'i€i.c-- simil.arly their consorts possessed the corresponding calm or horrific aspect. r DUZ.~~,urho j.s the subject of this study, is a Saivite dcity for she is the tcrrif'ic aspect Pzrvati, the consort of 6iva. kccording to varjous texts, ~irig5has many epithets zrn ong \.srhich arc K~ty"ajlat~.i,Bliadrak31T2 C a!i$ilG, Ambilc5,

Mahigasurai~al.diii~.A hjmn in the TunCras~r;l--- rclates that oiie must invskc the om liundrcd and eight n;inies of Durg5 in ordci- to rcceivc iicr blessings.

1 2

This thesis is confined to the study of Durgz Malii~5suramardin7€or this is one of the forms of the goddess most frequently fov,nd in sculpture and painting. The word "durga" is derived from the Sanskrit root "gani" meaning l%:: go, '' with the prefix "durr'- meaning "difficult to do a certain thing. Tlius, f1durga17means "difficult to do away with, If or1 in othcr words flundofcatable.'!

Durg:., therefore, is the goddess who is indestructible. Mahi$suramardinT is a carnbiiiation of throe words rnalrisa -* psura - niarclini. Mahisa was thc

mnie oE the t;luffa!o demon, asura mcms demon and mardiiii derives from the 4

Sanskrit root frm$idllwhich means destroy. I' Therefore the word means

"destroyer of the demon JMahip.

The goddess Ihiry;'l IGlahi@suraroardinT is generally represented as R youthful female with multiple arms holding all or some of the following attri- butes : cakra (discus), &lildia (conch), tri&la (tridcnt), glianfa (loell), pzs'a

(noose), shield, b3ipa @m7), and - - dhanus'a (arrow). Sometimes she is depicted with a third eyc in the ccntl-e t7f tier forehead. Generally she is accompanied by her lion n7ount--alt;hough this is essentially a later €eatilrc of the icono- graphy, not becoin ing conimon uutil. aftcr the Gtlpta period. Thc demon Mahi?a who is cngnged ii: combat with thc goddess is dcpickd variously 1.1s a 1;uff:ilo; or as =! humnn h-ing cmcrging from the scvcrcd neck of the buffalo; or as a human Sciiig with citlicr a Ix[ffalo liead or :i human ixad with horns; 01- cvcn as a human bcing with no indications of his bu€falo chrmr:ictcristics. This latter type occurs around the eighth century and indicates the familiarity with the icon, 3

Also at this later date, the goddess is representcd standing on the severed head of the buffalo holding some of the aforementioned attributes, Tfiis form

113s been rightly labelled the KZty5yaiiY Eorm of Dur@ by many scho1a.r~. .r Occasionally the goddess is represented seated on a lion and holding lotus stems, and in this aspect she is lmo-m as SfhhavakiiiT. Thus jl. is necessary to keep in mind the fact that the different names by which the same icon is called all refer to the same deity. '

Perhaps c01ou.r may have been an important iconographic clenncnt.

Many of the relevant iconographic texts place colour as an important aspect in dc?tcrmio.ing the different fmms of the goddess. Generally the cohn-ing

(if inciecd there was any) has not survived GR the irnagc:~thereby making the

9 dBerentiation of iconic forms mom difficult.

The theme of the goddess overcoming the buffalo demon has a broader connotation. The goddess here stands for the powers of good, the bufEalo €or the powers of evil. At the end of cvcry age &ilpa.. tkc forces cf evil bccomc extremely powerful 2nd tlmxiten to overrun the would and it is at this ~nwi~x~n~~ that the hrccs of good arise and after a hectic battle with the evil foxes ultimately vanc4uisk them, This is ai? 111midi11g circle. In this coritcxt the icon presents an intercsting subject for detailed shidy. Tlie purpose of this

regionally with spcci:ll relcrciicc to thc political, social mcl religious conditions. Review of Literature

An examination of the avsilrrblc sources reveal sever:il scliolarly

# studies dealing with the theme of Sakti in Indian literatxi-c and traciag the

0 development of Saleti: worship. Psoininent among these studies are: S. Das,

# '"Sakti, or Divine Power (A study bzscd cwiglilal Sanskrit texts), If Calcutta,

c 1934; S. Chakravarti, "Qxtrine of SakK in Indim Literatme, Calcutta,

1940; S. Chattopadhyaya., "Evolution of Theistic Sezts in India, l' Calcutta,

1962. These three works generally follow tlic same trend of thought. All

d three scholars fii:st attenapt to define Sal& as precisely as possible, then

I they trace the development of SakG worship ics revealed hi the Indian literahzrc

0 and also present thc various interpretations of the Sakti ideals according to the different schools of thought. DurgZ is mentioned as one of tile embodiments of Sbakti and the ttJdrcesttidies agree that ~urg~was one of the iiamcs of tfic consort of the Vedic god Rudrzr. Although these studies deal rnthcr cf€icientIy

fi with the conccpt of Snkt7, they do not suffice in context of this .ctudj7 since not much cmphasis is placed on the icon which is the subjcct of this study.

J Apart from rcferciiccs in tliese md other texts clcnling with SaklP has certainly assembled a considerable number of images oE the icon and hi.s

st,l.dy is devoted to sorting these images into four distinct: catcgories: one,

depicting the demon in the form of a buffalo; two, sliowiiig the gddess standing on the severed head of the buffalo; three, depicting the demon with a human body and a buffalo head, horns and snout; and, four, showing the demon in himan form emerging out of the seve3:ecI head of the buffalo. Although them

is a strong need to neatly Iabel. 311 the images into comp;-tct categories, this

manner of division into types falls short of expectations because not much

attention is paid to the religious, political and social conditions that could

possibly have resulted ir* the popularity of certain types of imrtgcs in certain

regions. Dr. Geshadri does mention that; there werc significant changes occur-

ring in the different religions under the different dynssties, but hjs discussion

is very superliciai. In essence, his study takes on the form of a descriptive

catalogue. Nevertheless it: is or' importance because it amasses a significant

number of imagcs of Durg'i Mahi$k~ramarclinT.

The other s tiidies dealing with this particular thcme arc sc~verdshort

articles appcnring in the winci-ous scholarly journals. Mostly thew de21 with

descriptions of nnc im;igc, or of a gro,up of iiiiages bclong5ng io onc complcx

of temp!cs, or of :I iiuiiibei: of images currciitly in niic muscum, 01. of images

Ixionging to onc dynastic period. Therefore these studies :ire insufr"iciciit

although one c:iunot totally ignorc the importance of thcsc studics inasmuch as

they draw attentiwi to the various fmagcs of this icon. Most of this research 6 has been conducted by wcll-la~o~vnscholars such as E. C. Agrawala, V. S.

Agrawaln, J. Hark and 0. Viemot. Bccausc of the iasufficicncies ol: their studics, this irivcstigation is necessary to throw light 011 thc political, social and religious conditions prevailing in the diffcrcirt regions which may have created the cnviron for thc worship of this goddess. To that end this study will Pirst of dl refer to all the iconographic texts periincnt to the icon, then dilsr~ussthe early images lxgiiming with possible origins of the icon, and finally the detailed description OF tlic rcgional developm cnts. CHAPTER X

This chapter deals with the primary sources which lay down the basis for the iconography of the goddess arid also attempts to trnuce thc literary references to Durg5 in an attempt to date the antiquity of DurgZ worship.

The earliest known reference to Durgz occurs in the Pg-Veda- wherein

there arc two verses praishg her. In the -4--Dwyupanisad of the Atbarvn-Vlcda,

DlclrgZ is mentioiied as one of the embodiments,of --ialctr in the Taittii-Tya- - -LAsaryaIra, .-. which has beeii generally dated to about the third century €3, C.

Durg5 is mentioned as one of the 1i:unes of the consort of the Vcdic dcity

Rudra.' Ruclra, in later Hinduism is transformed into 6iva and by fiim similar development Dur@ becomes one of the forms of Pkmti. Thesc early rcfcr- ewes are just references t~ the goddess as a vcry minor deity and these do mt contsiii refercnccs to the physicz,! sr iconograpliic form of thc goddcss.

Claronolcgically , and if the dating is corixct, the nest refercnce to

DurgZ occurs ii: a verse roinmcc in Tamil attribritcd to thc pen of ;I Jairra prince Ilaiig; Adikal who livcd during the third cenlurp A. D. This work is

entitlcd _cShi1ril~p:tdilinran~ - -- (The L:\y of the Anldc Eracdct) and is a work belong- ing to the elid of the third Saiiga~n. Prince IlangG Adik:ll is bclicvcd to havc bccn thc bixl.hcr of thking Slrcnguttx~;~nwho ~*ulcdlhc wcstcri? co:lsL of South

7 8

India in the third century. Although Prince Ilang5 Adiltal llirnself wus a Jaina, his work shows that Br~1mmnisi-n, Jaiiiism and Buddhism were existing together in the South, The story contains iiimerous rcfc!rcnccs to DurgZ who had Rpparently gained considerable importance sincc the Vcdic per iod. s he is &scribed as the 'rgg.oddess beyond reach. lr' She is also described 2s

"Korravai, the victorious goddess who carries in her hand a glorims spear and stands upon the neck of a defeated buffalo Tosing its blood tlirorgh its flesh wounds. The surviving iconographic tcsts although later in date, describe the goddess in almost the same manner. This gives us the first hint that those was possibly an oral tradition h the worship of the goddcss and also pkit;; k Stic possibility that there maj7 hsve been earlier iconographic text? +.hathave 110 longer survived. Another striking clement is that this epic talc was written ~JISoui;J.ax~ Zlidia where 2s the important surviving iconographic texts were believed to liave been written in the North-West rcgion of Lixtia. 6 and of theLasur=r Mrthign's blood.

The next reference to Durgz occurs in thc M%.-ka@eya-Pur?ini. The chapters froin this text pertaining specifically to the iconography of the godcir~ss arc called Dcv7-MalCitniyain or "Glori€ication of thc Great Goddess, 'I or DevT- ---_I_- _I_-

/ Sapt56ati. This section of the .puGp--- has no coiincction with the rest of Lhc text and therefore could have 'i3een a later addition. The dating o€ the tcxt is not too conclusive. The basis €or thc tentative dating is an inscription in a

a in which tl verse from the Devi-hRlaIi~tmyatm is quoted. The date of the inscrip- tion has been read diflerently by various scholars, Rhnndarkm- has read the date as 289 nnct by using thc Gupta era has quaked it with 60s A. D. R. C.

Agrawala has also rcad the date a 289 = 608 A. D. lo Dr. V. V. 'RIIiraishi has contradicted the rending of the date 2s 289, and has rcxl it as 189 according to his inkrprctation of the riurnericd symbols involved. Accordhig to him3 the palacogeography of tiic inscription itself ncgates the earlier date assignc4 by Bhandarkar and Agrawdz. His dating is accc-rding to the BhZtilcn whic:h was helicvcd tc bc! in vugtic in this rcgion. Therelore he dntcs if; to cor:-cspofid

during t!ie dedication of temples. Altlwugh t?ic dn ting of tile test still rctmnins inconclusive it is cniirely possiblc that the tcxt may have been Eormulatcr?d ciuring the Guph period and put hito writing later.

Dr. V. S. Agrrawala who has also read the dating of the inscription as

2S9, has dated the test to the Guptn period on f;hc hasis Qf scvertll €eatures

4 occurring in the text itsclf. Tiic -nZga-IGra givcn to the goddess I3y sesa is fOLlllC2 commonly in the Gupla sculpture and is also referred to in the -K7d-d am- 12 ha ri' of Gp. A second element is the umbreila givcn to the goddess by I_

Vamp which is also rcferi:cd to in numerous literary works such as the

Hardacariki of BQxa mid thc Raghuvafiia o€ K%icl5.sa. A third, mol-e impor- tant element, is the deinon in human iorm emerging out of the sevei:ed neck of the bdfalo, which ~ppearsas an iconographic feature in tIzc pcriod =~Ek>r

%L' iCiFZ\ia dynasty, ~c'h(~i-c;isthc dating of the test remains inconclusive, these elements rcinforce tlic t-;iief that the text of the Dcv?-Mah5tmytu~ was well known in the Gupta period.

The story of thc DcvT-Mali5txiyam- enumeratcs tlm various glorious exploits of thc goddess. TIiese are narrated by the s3gc named hl5rk:ii~(;ley:i.

A king, Stii-ath, cluprivcd of hjs kingdom by the clcvious worltilgs of his ~:iinis-

tcr, and a nicrshant S:iin5cIhi, driven oal of his horric: by his ungratd'iil family,

arrive at thc 11crmitzlg.c or n sage MndlG!~ to sccli consolation. Tlwy ask thc

sage why: cven in their iniscrics, thcy rcmain :ttt2clicci tu those th:~tcauscd

thesc miseries. In reply R'lcdh'il> says that the Diviiie Pov-cr which lies at tlw

ixsis of this rmiverec can cast a. veil of illusion even over thc nijnds of thc 11

circle of safiis5r.a (transmigration) so that they remain attached. to the sources of their misery. In reply to their cpestion--"Who is slic, this Divinc Power? It-- the sage describes the naturc of this Divine Power of Ihirg; and how and why shc recurs. The book is divided inte three parts, de:iliiig witJi three separate episodes. In the first chnpter, when tlzcre was no creation asd Viagu lay

P asleep on his serpent -scm,- two asuras (Madhu and Kai$ablta) sprang up from the impupitics of his cars and thrcaknecl to devour BralunZ. In his desperation,

BrahmE invoked the goddess Yoganidi-5 dwelling in the cyes of ViGy to wake him up. When Vienu.. aii&ened, he undertook a fight with the asums which lasted five thousand years, at the end of which hc clcstroged thcm.

In thc second chaptcr the asura is Maliiga, who defeats Inch after a length37 b3ttle and bccoincs filled with llis own importance and power. Dceply troubled, and quite powerless, the gods approach Yi~vuto sumli?on his 5nM.

X combination of tlic encrgies of a?: the gods creates :I goddcss wlrose physic;il characteristics are n combination of those of all the gods. Eaclr god also

4 presents the godck~sswith his pcrsond \vcapon or :lttrib:u'ic: Sim gives hcl- a gave her a shining sword (kha@ga) and shield.; Occan gave her various articles

B of jewelry; ~i~vrt~carmzla shining zxe barasu),--- other weapoiis me an ariiicsirr;

Ocean ~SgaveO hci- lotuses to wear and to hold; I3im5layn gave licr a lion

I (sirbhzl)I__- to serve as hcr mouiit; Kubera a drinking cup f~illof' wine; and, Scsn - a naga-hzra,- Thus cquippc:d the goddcss first eqqed in battle with the armies

with the goddcss. Wicu she caught ?iim in her mose he changed frijm his buffalo fwm into a liort, niid when, the godcless cut of€ his lion head with licr

sword he turned jsto 21i1 elephant, and while he \vas attempting to desf,roy the

lion mount of ti-ic goddcss she ent off his trunk; whereupon he rcsunicd his

buff;l'to form. Then the godd.ess pounced upon lkIhi:3 digging !icr Coot into his

throat and piercing him with her spear wliereupoxi the IISU~;~in his liuman form

issued out of the mouth of thc buffalo and the goddess cut off his had. After 13

At. the end of this narration h'IedhZ1; advises Suratha and S=lm%lIii to take refuge in the Divine Power. Thcncc they retire to thc banks of a nearby rivor to perform tapasp. Upon completion it thc appears t~ :isk tlicm what * -- 01 goddess they want: Suratha prays for help to regain his lost !ringclom and rule it witliout attaclxnent; Sarn%llii wants nothing but liber ..Lim. Thcir boons are grantcd.

This is the story of the DevT-Mah5hiiyam- on the surface but it obviously

has 8 dceper meaning. The text of thc -"Y_Dev~-Mnli~hnyam - stiivcs to gjvc jn an allegorical form the "lihcration of human consciousncss i'rom the illusions , limitations and attachments of the lowcr worlds. These limitations are part of the. evolution of the soul J~eforeit realizes its true nature and ultimately attains liberation, The individual soul is essentially divirie btit loses its divine nature 1t7hi1edescmding illto 1orz.er WvoE'lds of mnnifestil",on. Llftcr attaining a high level of maturity when it is ready to enter thc Iield of spiritual evolution it faces its first dilficulties. Two dangers thrcatcn it: etei.na1 pursuit of plc:i- surc, and power by pcrno:iality. It is at this tiinc tlic Higher Mind appcals to

Universal Wisdom i. e. . ViGp to enlighten personality.

The fimt part of: thc story symbolizr!~this state. When discriminntion is ac?ecluatcly devclopcd and spiritual cvolvtion bcgins , thc fimt hu rdlc is ll1c lowctr self with its :iniinnl cp.inlitjc.s, and then tlw strugglt.: i~twscnth lo~cr

:ind higher self ill m;iii hcgins. In (,tiis st~~rggicm:in invvlics his 1:~kntspiritii:tl powers ancl with his undying faith in the Divine powcr within him, the lower sclf is dcfeatcd. This phase is rcprcscntcd in the stcry of Mahi~~sum.TIrc different animal forms Maliiga t;ikcs in battle no doubt rcprcsent the varied animal tendencies in man, and tlic 1iurn:in fsrni that emcrges is the lower mind.

At; the eiid of this chapter wheii the Goddess promises to rcturn when she is remcmbered, symbolizes the zbility of the aspirant who has diminatcd his hwcr self to approach his higher self without any intermediary. The third stage is most important for this is after lower self has bcen subjugated and

t discrimination formed. TThc story of Sun7bbIin symbolizcs thc destroying

# power of egoism and latent ambition. Suinbha and the other daityas represent the different undesirable tendencies that bar the path of thc Yogi and which are ultimately dcstrogcd by the Divine Power. In this chaptcr, mantras are frequently iised to remove tlicsc tendencies. In this stage tiicn, tlic Yogi cz?n develop his yogic powers. The ultimate end of this text is the booiis granted by the Goddess to Surathn the king, and Samzdhi, the mcrchant represent the two paths towards liberation. Q3e leads to the world whcrein he carries on his divine work and helps his brethren. The other path rcrnows him fi.0117 the lower w~trldsto the spiritual realms.

The De 6-fila115 tm y:!iii- is gene m11y invoked f fir !le1 p i11 1'c M o v i rig obstacles or in g2ining some object for persona1 satisfaction. Among Ihc various ~aniesgiven to tlrc godclcss in this text arc Diirg5, Mnh3sur7. Pralirt7.

S ri , ~var~,~n~ni 517 5 . c apqilcz , A 1ii i , G ;nu.i, ~a r?-Z;.ij 1321- v:l E, I<;I Li si 1<7,

IGiIi, c 5in ui>ftS, NZ~Z~~~IT,~:1IE 6va I-Y, 'v' a I +vi. L~IICSnili , sa1-3 s va t T,

IC5 tyZyanT, B 11 a cli*aKI 7, 6 13 a 1=I . B h rm~3 r f. 15

Ole question that arises is, why is the demon represented as :i bul- falo? The word MahiFsl itself now means baffalo. l4 In Vedic symbolism thc

Bull represents Scrya and the Buffalo reprcscnts the dzrlc wntcrs of P:ir3- mcg~liT. Tlius it is that the Bull is the vehicle of giva and ivlwn depicted

# Ly it.self, syii~bolizcsthc god Siva, and the bufEalo becomes the a~mbolol the evil forces. IIiridu belief is that whcrc thcre is good, there will be somc evil forces at work, and similarly, when the evil forces become predominant tIien the good forces will arise to defeat: tl-len~, In ot,lier words, good and e17il arc tftwosides of the same coin'' and this close relationship bettvcen thcse forces is stressed by deyictiiig them 3s tlie bdl aiici the Imffaio.

The very same story of the? goddess ' victory over the asuras is also1 I6 related in the -Cap

Though these texts arc not claimed as 6'aktZ tests, there can be no doubt

that the pervacIing principle in :ill these tcsts is the prcdominmcc of thc feni:ile

princjple ovcr the rnsle. It is only tlie combined galctis of l;hc gods in one

fi supreme sakti'tliat is able to destroy the powerful forces of evil, The gods

can rid the world of: an? evil only through the nieclium of their &kti"s,

A text wliich is Iatcr in date and wliicli is an ac~mo~i-~cc~gcc~ihtZtext is

the DeVT-Bh5gavatnm. This test is believed to have l~ccnwritten in its

present form betwecn the ninth and eleventh centuries A. D. although thvrc is

310 coiicrctc evidence for such a dating. The text, lio'vvcvcr, is cicfinilcly later

than the Dev7-iLIah2mpalu and DZpls Canp%jataka because the story has been

elaboratcd considerably, containing niany mol-c details. More emphasis is

placed on hlaliiga relating the story of his birth and his rise to power, in order

to establish the extci:t of his power. Thereby the author of tiic text 113s einplin-

sized tlie supreiiic power of the goddess who is the oirly one capable of dcstt-cry- 17 croc~dilc,cauglzt thc legs of the submcrgcc2 1krambh;t 311d lciIIcd hixi. This made Rambho want to give up his own life. But he was stopped by Agni who offered to grant hin~a boon. Rnmbha asked for. the hooii of a son who would destroy his enemies and coiicper the thrcc worlds. Agni granted him such :i boon and told him to inate with a fernde of any species. Whik wandcring around, Rambha s;tw a silo-buffalo aiid matodur-’.thher. Another buffalo got jealous and killed Rmibha, At his funeral, the she-buffalo c:cprcsscd the desire to immolate herself and ivhca she threw hcrsclf on thc funeral pyi-c,

Mahip arose from her womb and Rambha toa re-emerged as RnktaEj;:!.

In those days w?mthe battlc wns otl bctweer, thc Devas (Gods) and the

Snavas (asur=1s), hXahi9a went to mount S~lno~*~iarid pcrformcd sevcre I. 8 again went to Visp who tlicn suggcstec? that if they could comhhie their cnergics they could create a supreme goddess who would bc able to destroy Mahiga. Thus,

II strong light emamntcd from the gods arid a suprcnie godrlcss--n’Iaii~l,lk~mi-- was created. SIie possessed eighteen hands. The attributes given Iics hy thc gods were: jewels from Ocean, Vi&akarm:i, lotuses from Va.rupa; HimXaya

# / gave her a golden lion, Vigm a cakra, Sahkara a tri&la, Varqa a Sarikha, Fire a gatzgtmi, Maruva 3 bow and a quiver full of arrows, Iricira a t~iundc:r~;o~tand a bell that uscd to adorn his elcphailt Aii-?ivata, 515117:1 a staff, Bralin’i a 1miia~-

hlahiga who desired to mwt her, and tc wed her. The goddess clcclarcd that she, the m3ther of the gods, is going to destroy Makisa. She added that no one eau escapc his fate, Iind that it was ordained for Incr to kill Mahi$a. Angered,

Mahi;a appr’oaclicd the goddess, triggering off 3 terrible war. Mahip ch:ingecl from a human to a lion, then a malc elephant, thcn :I buffalo, Thc goddcxs seeing this took ;t sip cf :viiic fmni hcr golden cup aiid with addccl strc!ugt,ii struck the demon wit!i hcr trident;, sc;vcrcd his Iicacl with hcr cak~ithcnce killing him. The gods tlieil gathered to sing praiscs.

This t.est. t.oo is divided into three sections. Each scctioai is tlcvotcd to the victory of the godcless ovcr scme demons. As is evident from this text, t5e goddess is supremc and thcrc can lie 110 doubt that: this tust: is indccd n purcly 19

&kG text, and since the text Eollows the hasic story as prcscritcd in the Devi- I_

h~ah8tmyam,that too can hc called a &"at; text. The DevT-Mali5tmgx-r~is a -___I-

text that is rcpcatcd ewii today in many regions of India :ind it; is not oidy thc

/ -&kEs-- who rcpcat it, but Saivitcs and VaiGtpvites too, lor they fidieve that this goddess who is unconquerable is the one to Ix-ing them good fortune and

good luck.

A lafx test dealing with goddess worship is the IGIilGpuEipa.-- This

text is a Tantric text dealing primarily with the rituals conncckd v7ith worship

8 of goddess in her various shapes. Siva is the narrator explaining the eiitirc

exposition to his sons Elipgi and MaIGk5la who were born as inordxy-faced

human bciiigs bccause of a curse. Their only rescue apparently was the worship

/ of the Goddess, Siva's consort, Tlic text is mom or lcss like a collection of

cults and practices current at the time. The first category is of the common

worsl~ip--thc ritual ~wxihip oE &lah%nSyZ. The second category deals with

religious forms of hetcrociox communities. The third category is mainly at1

account of Durgapuja,-e-. containing numcroiis stories which are also found in the

Dev7-Rlah7tmyam. Thc main theme of the elitire text therefore is t1J:lt the

Goddcss is thc suprcme deity and tile ccntre of ritual. Shc is gsc~icrdlyrcfcrrcd

the mount of Yha, thc god of dezth. This test has no dii-cct relation with

/ this thesis brit still one must touch upon it to revcal t!ic nnturc of Saliti worship at 20 a Iater date. and especially in Eastern India where Durg5 is thc most popular deity cvcn today.

TO sum up this survey of Durg5 in Indian litcrattire it secms evident that in the pre-Christian years Durg5 was a very minor deity with no clefinitc form or iconography. In the early years of the Christian era she gained ppularity so much so that siie figures prominently in a scculn.r work of the

South. From the Gupta periad on the Goddess gains trcmcnclcrus importance and this devdopment is riellectcd in the taiitric nature oE the Inter texts and the rituals that beconie an integral aspect of her worship. Referencc s

1.

2.

d 3. -__I.-Shilappadikriram by Prince Illang5 Adikal tmuslated by Ahin Dar,i&ou, New York, 1965 p. 7 9.

4, . Bid., p. 129. -I__ 22

8.

Epigrapfiia Indica,-. Xi, pp. 239 ff.

9. -fiid.,- p. 74.

Agra.wa1;1--"Godcless ~vorshipin Ancient Itajjasthana" 10. R. C I_..-Journal of the Bihar Research Society-XLI, March 1.955 pt. 1, 11. ti. ^_------

T 11. V. V. Miraishi I A Lower Liinit for the Date of the Devi-lVlahi~tnri:,ramff --'Rirkarn VI, No. I., Jac. 1965 p. 184.

12. V. S. Agrmvala Dev~-hlab2tmyam: @lori€icatioaof the Goddess, I_- -- Varaiiasi L9G3 p. x.

13. I. K, Taimni--Aa introduction to Hindu symbolism^ Madras 1965 p. 106.

1.4. Monk illiain s -A Sanskrit-- Englis h Dic t iosiar y , Oxford, 1899. r- -W ---I_-

15. V, S, Agrawala p. 18.

16. -.,--1-- B'ina's C andTsataka tr. by G. P. QuackenLm (Columbia University Indo-. Iranian Series, 1701. 9) 1917.

17.

1s. CI-LAPTER II

‘I’his chapter dcnls wftli the early imagcs oE Duq6 Mriliis~ssu1.ai-rrardiiii up to the seventh ccnh~ryA. D. In a discussion of this type ciie must .y1atL11-311y try to trace the preccdcnts for tlic surviving images. The prolifcratirn of images of goddesses in India tlirougli the ages probably Iiad a precedont in the fertility cults that appear to haw Ixen important in tl:c pre-historic era. The several sites that form part of the Indus Vallcy civilization haw yielded nurncr- ous female figurines made of terracotts. While it has not yet been est:iblished what rcligion prevailed at that time, the fact that so many of thcwc figurines were unearthed f~..omthe various sites has Zed several scholars to bclicvc that fertility cults formcxl an important aspect of the rcligioii. The gener9.1 type of figwriite fourid is rather crude with ciLcular pellets foriniiig the eyes and the breasts. Sonietiixcs the figurincs represent pregnznt females, tlrereb37 empha- sizing their fertility aspect. Thcse very fig~rrinesmay Ixivc bccn household objects and in fact some of thcsc stahicttcs hnwc cup-lilcc eicmcinls on cithc~* side whjch may havo been used for burning iamp-oil or inccnst:. Tt n-cm1ci appear that; the fein:~1~figurines of thc Iridus V:1X7cy cjvilimtioii scri.ud 2s protcltypcs for the goddcsscs I;hat appcar qain and ag:Lin in tlw sculptni-si history ol: Lnctia.

23 24

The Vedic: pre-n'Iauryan and Mauryan periods too have yielded a few terracotta statuettes that are of essentially the smnc typc. The cxaggcrcitcd tsressts and pelvis along with the nudity of the figurines stresscs the f+:rtllity aspect. There are very few esatnples of this type belonging to this period.

The period of the Kq%;mi is more imporhnt fix this sludy because it is dwing this period tnat we find the casiiest surviving antlwopnorphic images of Durgz ~IvIc?hi~~isuramardi~~.The Ku@ps, wvlio were of Scythian

origin from north-west ~~iinzz,drove out the Scytliian tribe, the 6'ilcns I from

Bactriz and set up their own dynasty in that area. Slowly they expanded their territories to incluclc: the Kabcrl Vailey mid Gandhara. Although the k'ug2;rae we. -e Buddhists, thcm is smple proof that they extended thcir patronage to the Br%hmm2cd rcligion. This spirit of tolerarlcc toward thc Hindu rcligicrn is revealed-. mirinIy in their coins. Among the ErZImmical dfities worshipped by the KugZ~pswere 6iva aiid Urn5 or AmhilcZ (cpithcts of Durgl). Thesc deities appe2r ovcr arid ovcr ag:tin on the reverse side of the Kq%p coins.

'The femdc dcity appearing on these coins is generally reprcscnted cithcr seated nn or standing l~csiclc:I !ion which is uhviously her niorrnt. Her feet 25 goddess represented here has also bcen callcd Siriihav%ni which simply means "seated on lion. I' To support this identification of thc goddass as f4ui-g; is thc humpcd bull that- occtirs 011 the obverse of some of thc coins.

8 Thcrc can bc no douht that this humped buli staiids For Siva who was a

/ popular Brzhaonical deity for the bull is the vehicle of Siva. This popular-

I ity of Siva qs well as the identification of the goddess as DurgZ is furtiler stressed by t~ocoins of I-IuvisiTko.. On the OTIC: side of one of tliesca coins are two shnding L'igxires--one malc acd one fcmale--appem5ng along wilh an inscription reading "Oesho (Bhnvcga = S/iva)lrand "Ommo (UmZ)ff (plntc

2A). The second coin reveals the S~MOtwo figures with a variation in thc inscription whi.ch reads. lQc? sho- Nan. ' Kan here is the Elarnite goddess

Nana 01- Nanaia who appears frecpently on tlie coins of Kanishka and Hr;vishka.

Nana was also cGiiceived 3s a Mother Goddess and "appareixtly developed out

~f the ancient Mesopotamian cult of the Lady uE Keavcn (Irananri-Psht;lr) (plate

2B). 7f2 Gcnci~Jlyvshe is depicted armcd with bow, arrows, sword ni;d is often accompaniccl by a lion on which she often stands. Jn inscriptions of tlic

Pasthjan period tl:is goddess is refcrrecl to 2s Nmai,i ;tnd Artciiiis. In view

of the two coins of Iluvisl2c;:i mentioned ;tbc)ve, Nal~c:~ thus 1x2 t'o-rcl ;!Led , with Sniz (01- Dur.gs) and coiisequcntly , can bc idcntificd with tlnc consort ot

f Siva. B. Snrssw:tti 11:~s cvcn suggcstcsl that the lion mount: IWS ~r~>~)ropi..i;itccl for IhrgZ Eroni this smnc gocldcss who was also kno\;\.ll as a vmquislxx of

9 various animals including the buffalo. There is no coiiclusivc evidencc to 26 prove this but it docs provide us with food for thought iiot only because of the lion mount but also because the attributes associated with the Asiatic goddess

are the same attributes that Dnrg3 MahiF"auurarnardiiii is gcrierally depicted

with. The surviving &Iahi~~suraii~ardini belong to 2 Inter period and in these

we find that the lion mount was given to Iter by HimXaya. Because tllc lion

is associated with the goddcss of the Ku$p coiiis we can assume that thc

iconographic texts may even have been written as cr2rIy 3s this period, and

the iconography of the goddess yJay indeed by a combination with that of the -e R.sia tic goddess.

Also belonging to the Ku+p period arc some slabs sculpted with the

representation of DurgZ Mahi$kmKmh3"is Not many of thesc images survive

today, nevertheless the f3ct that there are thcse scuTptcd images rcvoals the

popularity of this form of the goddess even ai; this early d:itc. In esseixc these

iii~agcswould probably IE thc earliest surviving images of this icon. Tlic

image under consideration hcre is now in tlic Mnthura Muscum and is c:ir~~txI

out of the mottled rcd sadstone that is charncterjstic of MatIi~r~'1(p1:ite 3).

Mathura was an important art cciitre tindcr the Ku~7p:is. This imnge is in

rather 3 worn sta1.c and t.hc goddess here is si?i-arnic;d. With him :irnis slic

imJds thc rcariiig anitnal motionless. Thc rest of lhcl haaicls 9ppe:ir to lie

lirottcn. The goddcss stands firmly on the gi*orunJ. Tlic baclr oC tbc buffalo

is pierced by n tlricli spcnr. This image is bclieved lo ix oiie of a group of

eight discovered 3t thc: Imttoni of a nrcll, and is tlx licsl p-cscrvcd om. 4 27

Considering tliat this imec belongs to the Kus@a period, the abseiice oE the lion is rather significant especially with regard to the fact that some scholars have becn trying to prove tliut kIic Ifon was introduced 8s the mount of the 9 goddess during this period as an influence from Western Asia. This prob'lem remains unsolved hecausc. the lion appears in at least one cai-ly reprcsentation of N2e icon. One can thus only conjecture that this was thc period wlzen ttic iconography of the goddess was being fsrinulated and 'was thus not familiar to everyone.

Anothcr early exnniplc, which may or may not 1)clong to the Ku&in dynasty, is a terracotta placpe from Nagar, Rajasthana (platc 4). One thing significant: about this plaque is that it is of terracotta, which woii?d suggcst that it was EYOW or less a folk-object of a type which would have hac1 wider circulation. This would also appear to be one of the earliest surviving images of the icon in tcrracotta. Tho image is executed in vcry low relief, and the slab itself is hrolteiz into three pieces. Thc gorldc!ss is represcnt,ed here with four arms. With one of her right hands she tiolds down the b;i& of tho Jmff:ilo who is rearing on its hind lcgs. The other right hand holds ti.i&la.-- The Iclt hands arc rabher obscu~~ctImt it app,e:rrs that wft.11 oiic nl' tiiesc Itancls sltc grips the mouth of thc mimai. whereas thc! r:thcr hand nppcars to hold a shicld tht is I~areiyciisccrnit,lc. To the lowar Icft of the goddcss is the scntcd lion OH whose head shc rcsts :lei: left foot. TIic presence of the lion is unusual t~ccausc~ it is not until the post-G~ipt;t.period that the lj~nbccoiiic:~ n part. of thc 28 iconography of Mahi$?isurarnardiny. Stylistically, the figure appears to bc an early example with a rounded face and thc distinctive Iicaddress which secrns to be characteristic of this early pcriod, for thcsc fcnturcs are sccii in imagcs from Sambhar and Aliichchatra. Ttic presence of the lion. is still a problem.

It liris been suggested by somc seholars that the artists of this early period look their inspiration from a SOLLTC~other than the Devi-Malilitm yam section

been a common source of inspiration. reflected to a degrcc in Smslcrit literahre of thc timc. Thc PurZigas were

contain the gcncologicat history of the dynasties aiid thcreby servc as histor-

Scnl rccords arid also rcycd the geographical extent of the dynasty. tknoiig the ~?~irZlpgthat are bekwecl to have beeti redacted at! this time is the

M~rkanQcya-Pul~awhich was bc1.icved to have been written in its present

been written later than the rest of the text bc-cause it hris 110 connection with the rest of the story. Of COIWSC it could have lrappened the other way around,

The recanting of the PurZpzlgwas a direct result of the BElmanas in 30 was gaining considerable irnportancc in the religion as is wiclcnt from the number of jmcges oE the various goddesses belor.@ng to this period. Tho images of Alahi~~suramrtrd~iifrom this period reveal that cither tht: texts of the DevY-hfalGinyain liad already been conceived or clsc there was an oral tradition regarding the worship oi the goddess.

The popularity oil the goddess during the Guptn pcriod is reflected in the coins minted by the kings. Tlicsc follow tlie tradition started by tIic

Ku$ips. The reverse of many of the Gupta coins show a goddess seated OH the lion, holding 3 lotus and a noose. The -Devi-Mah5tmyam reveaIs that the lotus and the noose wre two of the attributes of the gocldess for it was with the noose that sfic capbi.rt?d the buffalo dciiion. The S&hav>hini gocidcss which is found on thc coins of Chaizdr~~~pt:1.-Kumnra-dc:vi.,is characterized as the

Lion-Slayer type. The obverse of these ccins usually depicts the cmperor 3s 31 circular seal from Rajghat (plate 6). Bi the placcment of Eiguros it differs from the 3Su$iip examples mainly lxxnusc thc shape oE thc sl:ib is different.

The Kugzp exam pies were carved on rectangular slabs which probably restlltucl in the placemcnt of the €igures in such ;1 way that the goddess holds the mouth of the buffalo who rears on his hind legs. The Rajglmt seal is significantly different in the placement of tlic figures aiid this may have been because of the circular shape of the seal. Although the carving itself js in low relief and rathw- cimclc in stylc, there is no disguising IIic animation in the stance of the goddess. The goddess here is four-armed--the upper right arm is tutdly damaged, and in the lower riglit hand slic holds the long shaft of fhtr! trident (or spmr?) witla which she pierces thc back of the animal. hi the uppcr left hand she appears to hold the discus and in tlic lower left hand she holds thc tail of the bu€f:alo. Her riglit foot rests trjumphantly on the head of the animal emphasizing Iris tolai surrender. The shape 01 the lion reinforces the circular shnpc of the sed giving thc episode n rhytimic qLi=tlibp. Apart from the style of carving, the very einlplicity of the iconography of this icon refiec& that this must lie an cdyjmage. Thc ~COIK~K~PIL~Clcsts wcrc explicit that the goclclcss c:iuglit thc mini a1 in hcr noosc ~viiercrrponhc ciiangcd into 3 lion, then into a IIui113n, then an clepliant, and just 8s sfic cut off its tniiilc, hc chmgcd bacl; into his buffalo form . Whcn she trampled tlmc t-luffn! o and slit; his ncck, he cinerged in his human for~iout of thc sevcrctl neck and she ltillccl hi113. in t’nc Rajghat seal the artist lms obviousiy clioscn to depict the second last phase ior although tkpldcss traniplcs the I-~ffaloand picrces its back, no human issues out of ils mouth. Tlicre could be two x-cnsons for this. One, the people as well as the sculptor himself were so wry fainiliar with the iconography of tlir goddess that the sculptor dit1 not feel the need to bc rzbsolritely explicit in dcpictine; thc icon hut iristcad uscd the bnrc miiiiniuiii elements to express the icon. Second, it could be that the iconography of the goddess was not completely developed so that a11 thc attrihtcs that c?rc prcscrrt in the later exainplt2s are not sccn in this image. One mi!& lie c?wi-c, however, that most of the important religious texts were expanded and detailed to suit the needs of the devotees as one can see from the presencc of thc. Dev'i-BhZg- amtarn text of about thc tenth ceiifxry which is a IYIO~Cdetailed vcrsion uf the story contained in the -Dev'i-MahZatmyam .

Another uiiusual oxample of the carly Gupta pericd is the twelve-armc?d

Mahi$hwaniardin' panel from the Chandragupta r[ shrine at Udaigiri (plate 7).

The shrine has an jiiscriptioii stating that this uionmient was constructcd in 405- 7 402 A. D. cluriiig the reign of Chandragxpta U who ruled from A. D. 382-40I.

Eollou&ig sttributcs: s~iord,shield, I3mv and arrows , club, discus, and tliun- 33

in one of her hands. To reiterate, the only thing different about this was

probably because thc nrlist wantccl to givc a gr-catcr sense of the goddcss

baving "tlio~isanif :irnisffas prcscribed by thc icouogrnphic texts.

Another cxample from this pcriod is the medallion seal froiii thc 6ivn

temple at Shumara (plate 8). This temple is dated by most scholars to the

lab 5th century A. D,. &5aW$'kuramardin?' here is once again four-armed

holding a shield and a SWQ~C~and a trident with which she pierccs tlrc back of

the buffalo while with the fourth hand size hoists him up by his tail. Her riglit

foot rests on the snout of the animal and. she looks ::very inch =I victor.

Although the representation is strikingly likc the one fron.~Rajghat, this

cxample appears inwe rcfincd and very much in the tradition of Gupta art,

and this may have something to do with tkc fact that this medallion was part

of the embellishent of a temple constructed under the emperors them selvcs

whereas one has no idea that the purpose of the Rajghal seal was. 211 thc

Bliuinara ~ned~~lliontliere is an addition in thc form oE ;L second tigurc to thc

right of the goddess. This could probably be a ggs or an attendant altlrouglz

.. according tu the story the goc~dcsswcnk into httle z101ic. Or1 tizc c)l lzor hniid

this figure may be a rcprescntative of tlic niultikiilcs wlis gal hcrccl tu sing tlic

praises of the gocldess dtcr her victory.

A unique cs;imple 01 Mahi~lasummardiiii nrJiich has heen tcntativcly

dated to the 5th century A. D. is thc six-;irnicd irnagc from Bcsnagar (plalxl.

9). FG~rtnlaown rc"s1soiis thc il:hnbitants of thc. rcgion have cal3crl this thc 34

I

''Tclin" CT .Wife of the Oil Merchant. 'I8 The height of tirc figure including 'the pedestal is iiiiic! feet. It is somewhat damaged. One of licr lcft limds rests 011 her hip while the two otlicr lelt hands are brolten. The right hands hold a discus, a club and a lotus ste11.1. Tbcre nppcars te be a third eye in tho centre OF 11e1, forehead. E this is indeed a third eye then the artist is not out of ljnc, for the iconographic tests state that thc goddcss possessed a third eye and thez; this would malie this the earliest; representation of the goddess showing her with three cyes, The goddess stands on a ped.estal ii; the center of which is the head of a huffalo, rtnd on the corncrs of which are squatting lions. To the left of the gaddess is tlit! small figure of a man brandishing cl sword or a dagger towards tIic lion at his feet. There apyuars to bc ;1 corresponding figure 011 the other side of thc pddcss too. Tt is difficult to explain these bvo figures.

From their gesture one would hesitate to label thcm as atkclidants of tk goddess, so one conjectures that they could be part of the c!eEeat;ed army of the demon who are malcjng one last attempt to destroy the lion niouiit of tlic gocttfcss. On thc other hand, thcse figures may not have been brandishing their sworrls in ihc direction of the lions but at some other object that may hzvc :~tonc time formed part of the composition. The dating of lhc ini:yc is still ~)~.'oblcrnm~ticnI.

Beswgar (Vicjes'a) as ai1 impoliant site jn ancient lijstory. ~t lies on tiic confluence o~ t!ie nctwn aiid ~easrivcrs arid was ;I Suiiga capital. ~t tliis timc and up until the Guptn period this site was an iniportr~ntculhral and art centre.

So the mt prodtrccd in this area woulcl be vulnerable to many oiltside iuiluciiccs. 35

But that docs not hclp with the dating of the image. Tlic innnncr of depicting the goddess standing OH the severed head of the buffalo dktnom hecomes tlrc common mode of depicting tlic icon after the 7th century under the Southern dynasties bcginning with the PalXavas. Thcrc is no doubt that this image fonncd the precedent for the South Iridian images and as such 2nd-3rd century ~rouldbe too early, but 5th or even the 6th ccnh.u-y wcluld be a more reasonable date.

Among tbc other esnnlplcs from the Gupta period arc some sandstone reliefs from Bhita (plstcs 10 aiid 11). One is 8-3/4 inchcs in height aid * appears in such a worn out condition that it is di€ficult to distiiiguish the number of arms that the goddess has, The stance is the usual type seen in the Ku~3;in example from &Int!iura as well as the Nagar representation. Thc carving appears rather emde and in thc folk tradition. The goddess appears f;o be standhig alongside thc lxdfalo. The second example also from Uhita is 7-1/2 inches in height and is in a better condition than the e:ii-licr one. The goddcss appears to be four-asmcd and holds in one arm a bow, in mother hand the tail of the animal, in Llw third a tridcnt with which she pierccs tlic head of ttw animal, ruici thc: fourth aim is judistinct. She :ilso h:is hor right foot resting on t!~head of the buffalo. ‘This imngc 4s a inorc refincd vel-sioii of thc lattcr one. These slabs also rcvral tlic Lxro dificm-elit wiys of dcpicling ilw goddcss

Durg-5 suhdujng tlrc dcnion M:iliip, rlnd this 1c:lds 11s lo lxlicivc that Bhita was

an important site with rvgards to the worship of Durgz. 36

A similar representation comes from Aliichclmatra @late 12). This torracotta figurine is rcininiscent of the earlier cxampIe from 3hita. It is believed that tlicrc arc numerous images of this icon Ersm this site but most \ of these are in an zxtremely fragmentary condition. The carving on this exainple is of the crudest type and it appears that thc: fipral elements arc reduced to the bare miniralLuU. As in the first Bhita esample thc gocldcss holds the rearing buffalo by its neck. Hcr other arm rests on its back. It is cliffi- cult to sa37 whether or not the goddess had added arms.

In the fifth or sixth cent'?lry, the Cholukyas rose tc yrominecce in the region of' Western India after hitkr stwgglcs with the R55trah$as, the

# Ka'dambas , the PaIhvas and the Malxip-S5l;as. The e:irlg Ch3luliJ:as n7cre

/ believed to LE Vai$ki?avc?sbut later on became equally attachcd to tke Saiva rcligion. H. Gootz believes tbat "~~ahishamardinThad in Inct heen the patron gocldess of the ChaIu%Jias, and it is even possible that her name originally rcferred to the victory of the Chalukyas over the AIahiga-6Zlrns. ff9 Wc cm discredit the latter jmrt oE this statement becavse wc lniow that the n:inic

M~~liig~sur~rnnrdin~could not have origin:llly rcferrcd to llic victory ovcr this tribc, but it is possjbic that this goddess may linvc hccn thc p::tron goddc!js of the Chnltrkgas. Most of the temples constructed nndcr thc patrontzg.j oC the

Chaluh3an kings have at least one sculptural rcprcscntation of this icon and althougli tlierc is 110 spccific data to prwc it, it is possible? that thc:sc irnagcs of ~~~~~~~~~~~~iii~~cliiii(rlesf:roycr OE tlic dciiioii Ikihiga) n13y lie thcrc to evolx 37 memories of the Chaiukyas victory over the I\lahisa-S/lltns becausc: of the striking similarity in name and also because Mahi@suramarditiY is tlic Sylllbd of the unconqucrable .

One Chbalukyan cxamplc of I\ITahig~isuramard~i'i.is froin the rock-cu t cave

I at Px!ami @late 13). The goddess is four-armed, holding a discus and a conch in the upper bands. With one lcit hand shc hoists the buffalo up by its

tail while she pierces its Eicad with a long trident Iidd in her rjglit tiand. Her right foot rests Gn the Iicad of the buffalo. Tlris typc of imagc has I>cen seen

rcpeatedlg in the previous periods, The ornamentation cspecially the rnu1nrb

is typically Chultkyan. This shrine is one of 3 group of thrce constructed at

this site nucl was believed to be the third to bc completed. Cave If1 has an

inscription in it stating ihat it was rcady in A. L). 578 during the time of Mangales3 38

a cakra, a --_Itsj&lo and the Eou.rt1i is broken. In the lcfl; hands (hvo are brolccn) she holds a ghagt;]~and a &ihldia. The buffalo is shown in an unusual position.

It sits with its head turned up towni-tls the goddess. The tridcnt picrces the neck of the animal. Que significant difference here is thc lion that is situated to the right of the goddcss 2nd looks nut from behind her. The wliolc representation is true to the iconography laid dowz~by the tests. Stylistically the image is similar to t.Iic Badaini image asci can also be dated to about the 6th century.

Thc representation from the Rock-cut Shrine: at Aiholc? (plate 15) also depicts the eight; armed goddess holding a long sword and n discus, 9 conch, shield, a large bow and :i long tridcnt which she thrusts iuto the back sf Lhe huf- falo. She also holds the animal's jaw in one hand. Witii another hand the lion stamcls silently to the left of the goddess. The ornaments worn by the goddess here are the same :IS those seen in other Chalukyan images. Ih.1 this rcpresenta- tion the goddess rests her knee on the back of the animal.. Thc basic formst is

still the same :IS secn earlier.

From the above three csamplcs from the CIia1iiky:iii pcriod it l~ccomcs:ipp3r-- ent that thc !ion bc:cot17es :in integral pa1.t of the icoiiogmphy of thc goddess. Thc iconographic tests dcal iag with this icon ise1-e probably very wc~llknox-n by this

time so that thc sculptor was very aware of: thc importmcc ol the licrn. One thing

tht is rathcr strange is that thc lion olily aypc;ii-s in llic iin:ig:.cs fi-om A;\ihc;Icand not fi*omBadami. An ~musua2.example from the post--Gupta period is a bronze image from Brahmor tplatc 16). This is probably one of tlic c:irliest surviving images of the Mahi@suramardin;inarclini ol' broime. This image originally belonged in a kmple dedicated to the goddess Lak93ya Devi. Thc imagc carries an inscription lrmade by Gugp for king hlcruvarman, son of Divalcava rman accl grandson of Balavarman. l1 The kings of Chamba were worshippers of S'akt?' as is seen from the various tempfes dcdicatcd to tlic diCfercnl; goddesses €or

# example Lakgaxp DevT, SaktT-DevT, Ka'li". The riglit foot of thc goddess rests on the head of the buffalo. She lifts the buffalo up by its tail. In hei- left hand she holds a bell and in hcr right hands she Iiolcis a sword nnci :I trident which she has thrust into the back of the mimal.

So far we have sceii images of n/Zahig~~uran?ardiiilfrom the Ku:s';?;ia period up until the pos'L-Gupt;a/Clixlulcyan period. This brings us to the scventh century. The collapse o€ I.hc Gupta dynasty results in thc set-up of iiuiuerous smaller dynastics adthis may he the rcason why. fson~this timc on, thcrc are more variations ~n tlic thcmc. So far we have sccn only two typcs of imsgcs (not cmnting the coins 01 thc Ku$inas aiid thc GL1pt:is): on(: typc which depicts the goddess gripping the jltws of tile rearing buffdo while she pl~ingcs her tridcrit into its back; thc second typc? repruscnts the gactctcss iioltiiug tlic animal down by msting 11cr foot 011 its hcnd wlrilc she picrccs its back by licr tridcnt. Thcsc csseiltially arc: ininor variations 011 thc sm:c manner. of 40 depiction, and it is only after the seventh centx~rythat we gct major variations on the theme, and since these are more or less regionally located, thcse will be dealt with in the next chapter. 41

Be fe reric e s

1. E. Saraswati, "An~~~-Na!2a-Dur~~"Journal of the Asiatic Society, 1701. VII, Nos. 1 and 2, 1965, p. 96. v 2. Rosenfield, The Dyxastic Arts of the Kusmas,- p. 85.

3. B. Sarnswati,. op cit, p. 97.

4. 0. Viennot, "Goddess MahishZsurmaardin7 in Ki.~shan;lArt" Artibus Asiae-- XDI, 3-4, 1956, p. 365.

5.

6. B. Saraswati, op cit, p. 93. I-

7. P. Brown, Indiari-- Architecture, vol. 1, Bombay, p. 59.

3. grapllie et de la mythologie indielines" Arts Asiatiqucs, e, 1964, pp. 24-25.

9. H. Goetz, "Some early ChaI~kj!ai~Sculptures from Gujarat (rith-3th century A. D. ) in the Museum" Journal of Barocla --. --- Indian Museuiiis vu, N~I.,p. is.

50. M. Se shatdri "A!IahisZs uram ardin? ' Half -Ye nrly Journal of thc &'Iy so rc ----_I University, N. S. vol. ;Yx@I, No. 2, March 19Gc p. io. I_ The seventh ccnhry brought morc variations on the theme of M:this- asuramardini as, in gcneml, this century saw the proliierntion of 1-Iinclu imagery. Frwn this time on the Indian peninsula was broken up into several small dynasties controlling the various regions. These dynnst-ics were constantly at war with nc:ighbouriig ones and die history of this period reveals continuous changeover of mlers. 11; is bccausc of this that tfic discussion has to Like on a different approach. Therefore, to adecpntdy trace the dcvclop- ment of the icon it is neccasmy to follow regional dcveloplilents and for this purpose the discussion is divided into four regions: South, West, Ikst,

North, the latter including Central India.

Southern hdia

42 43

Cnlrgz. This niuttid absorption of ideas resulted in a new form of 'h/Iahi?&rlra- ma.i-dinT. This may have been accelerat,ed ir. the seventh century with the developnient of the lih&ti--- cult in Southern India. Among the saints who were t responsible for spreading this revival of Saivite thought was Appar who was contemporaneous with the Pallava king Mahendra Varrnan I who ruled in the

I early seventh century. Appar recognized three forms of Siva: (1) the lowest

f is Siva who is the meinber of the Trinity in charge o€destruction of the uni-

/ t verse; (2) a combination of Siva and SalctTw'ho he refers to as ParZpZra or LI-

Parazjoti; (3) Sta&bbha--gillar of light, consciousness--the Absolute. This latter is the final goal of spiritual tight, and the way to attnitl it is through steady concentration and unflinching devotion. The most sigriificant factor

f about Appar's religious belief is his recognition of -Sa?dTas an integral part d of Siva, and the combination oP the hvo as the second stage toward enlighten- ment. It is important to keep this in mind because during this period the saints (including Appar) were traversing the land singing hymns of praise and arousing the people.

As a logical continuation of the Cha!ukpn ti-end are examples of the icon from Andhra PrxIc.s!i, a region in the south-east which was probably

images reveal the changes that have taken place in the ilooimgrap1i-y of the goddess in these years. This development docs not cicviate from tkc prescribed iconography. The sevecth century examples (plates 17, 18, 19) are no differ- ent from the seventh century exainples from the C'hslukyan sites especially

Badami. The eighth-ninth ceiitury examples show a dimun itive liumzn demon emerging from the buffalo (pl.ates 20, 21). Then in tlie tenth century, the demon takes on a totally human form (plates 22, 23). In the eleventh ccn- tury we get 311 example which is verjr close to the South Indian type. depictillg the goddess standing on the head of the buffalo (plate 24). Most of these images depict the goddess with eight arms and the attributes she holds are those prescribed by the iconographic texts, It is interesting to see that all these images are now in the Alnmpur Museum and within this group of iinages we can see the development from the early types common before the seventh century, to the type that is peculiar to the Southern region under t?ie great dynasties of Southern India. Such a progressive development of iconic form is not seen elsewhere so werl preserved.

FY-o~the mid-sixth century, the South was dominated by three major dynasties: the Pallmas of KZKci, the PhGyas of &Iadura and the CG!~S01

TaGjore. The origin of the Pp31lavas is still -rnCber obsccrre. hlost schoktrs xgree thnt the Pallnvas were an iutixsive elemcrit in flic region. This theory is propounded bec;.~usetile early records of gilts of the Pa11:tvas are in

Prakrit aticl S3nskrit l~ttei-s,and nut in rYanyil. Secondly, so mi^ of the en~ly

0 kings were Buddhists and Jainas altliougli the Izter rule TS ern'txmxl Saivisin .

The scillptures found in the tcniples of tlie Pallmas include cleitic4 Erom the 45

I Vaiq5rtvite aid Saivite pantheon although it seeins the latter predominates.

Representations of goddesses form an important element; of the temple icon- ography aid all the images belonging to the various t miples. Goddesses depicted in temples mxy be depicted in t3ree aspects, the calm, the terrible, or the ugly, according to the positions in which they are placed. or the cir-

3 cumstances under wkloh they are worshipped. The Saivik goddesses carved on thew temple malls were general1.g of the horrific nature although the form these are given st~owthein to be MOIX benign than their innate character. -..+ Dur$ is one such goddess. In Southem India the Goddess Durg5 as depicted with the demon Mahip is ca1lc.d Dur@ or C%imur;$i. In the same pose she

religious texts had assigned various names to the same goddess by virtue of a slight difference in stance or the number of hands she has. TI? essence the icon has still not undergone any major cliznge 3ithough it generaH:j takes on a new fo1m in Southern Tndia.

The gcneml manner of depicting the I\~a~~ig~surn.nlarcii~~.n1~~~inTicon in South - ern Tndia MTRS thus: the goddess stands in samnabhnl”iga on the severed head of the buffalo, Among the atttributes she holds arc cliscix, conch, sword, shield.

One hand generally rests on her hip ziiid one arni is in the ;rl~’tiayiimutlr;i. ‘.i’\ic attributes she holds are the ones prescribed according to the iconograpliic texts.. The moment depicted here. is t?ie one after th.e victory h2s been

achieved znd the victorious goddess stands in glorj7 011 tbc head of the dekated. The Adinya-mudra is a new elemelit xiid is prolm.bly incoi~~oratedto

give the goddess the protective and benign and qpproachalile quality. Just as

it-, the Devi-MaIi%myam tesxt she promises to return when she is needed, the 3 -

abhaya-niudra here appears to be reiteration of that promise and reassurance. *- 3

The emphasis here is pla.ced on thc triumph of the gocklcss almost as if the

sculptor was tiying to tell the viewers that evil can be conquered. By this

time the story of the struggIe between DurgZ and llahi,sa was probably fani-

ilior to everyone so that the sculptor felt himsell able to convey the story

with minimal means. The viewer is mare not only of the story conveyed in

these images but also of the underlying allegorical meaning.

Pallava examples of t.his tjpe of representation of the goddess are

found on the Pacade of the Trimzrti Rock-cut, shrine at ~~:amai.lapur~.in.and

011 one side of the projected shrine entrance ol another rock-cut shrine also

at hlaniallapuram, both dating from the mid-seventh century (plates 25 and

26), The latter is more elaborate Gf the hvo for the goddess here is accom-

panied by various zttendant figures and gaps holding fly -whisks which

eniphasize her royal clzm-xter.

A unique seventh cenfxi-y Pallzva rcqwesenlation of ~~~~~~~~su~!~~~~~i~~~

is a panel in the interior of the rock-cut cave at i\iIamallapuratn which is

generally called P,,~nTiig~sur~rn~rdiuTMa!!?ap3 (p1:itc f! 7). This c~lvctcmplc

is locally called YZrnap~llT.~Y51na is the god of Death and by calling this

cave Si~rn~purTthe goddess is equated with YEma, mc1 1ierscIf beconies 3 47

symbol of death. TIE panel dcpictiiig thc: Mr~hi~~sur;lm~i.dillTfollows the

prescribed iconography more closely tliaii has been seen so far. The eight-

armed goddess seated astride her lion is ciigngecl in heated battle with the

demon who is clcpicted ~itha Iiu~nan body and a buffalo head. He wears a

crown or Jnukuta which symbolizes his royal position as king of the demons.

The parasol held over his head also empb-asizes his royalty. The similar

parasol held over tlic goddess reveals to the viewcr thnt she too is ,-I royal

personage. The goddess is attended by various g:'apns and female ilttei1d:if1Cs

who are batfling with the dernori army of Mahip. This is one of the Icw

examplcs showing the dcbiled battle between ttic gudciess atid the dernoii aid

this is probably the earliest examplc of the demon with a humnn body. The

birth of thc demon ;is is related in the later texts such as the DcuT-BhZgavaCam I was the result of the mating between an asui-a and a female-buffalo and to

remind the vicwer of this, the sculptor has given the asura a iiicllc l-iuman 1-- body and a buffaIo head.

Another unique eleincrit in t!ie shrine is the rclief on thc opposite wall. depicting CrJis~yr-rslccp on his SI: rpcnt Scsn.I This is obviously ft ~c11i-c- scrktation 'of tlic first phasc of the storj- of thc Dc~~-RT:,Il~tm~.:11;~.- Not only does this relief evokc thc first ch:iptc:r of the test litit it ritso brings to mind the crcatiori of thc wor!d :is urcll as the crc:ition c?f tkc CVI; hrccs that :irisc

Eroin the impurities of Vi5tp's cars. Once thew evil forccs gain this supreme power then the DevY is invol;ecl and shc coinCs to erirth to rid it izf 48

these powers of evil. Not only does this cave sculpture represent the entire

story of the DevT-Mah?ih;gam but; in esseiice it also repmscnts the entire

process of crcatioii, destruction and recreation. This is probahly one of

the reasons why this caw has bccn called the Mahi~~f~ul'a-Mal!pnI~a.Another

significant; feature about this cave is that it was constructed under the

patronage of Narasii~~~ia-V3ri~aH1 who was bclicvcd to have lieen thc grcntcst

of all. the Pallaw rulers. We was Imown its the great warrior and at this point one must note that all the importanb monuments constmcted under him had a prominent imagc oi mrg5 Mahj~~surarnarclin~who is also the great warrior. Could it be that he was trying to romind the vicwcrs that lie \vas

the great wrestler ancl was therefore their protector just as DurgZ was thc

protector of her true devotees ? One more sigiiificniit clemcnt ahout this cave

I is the presence r~fVaispvite and Saivito deities in the sarnc shrimr> indicating

thc current attitude of religious tolerance.

A panel very similar to his esamplc is Er0173 the fac:iclct of the *%tiran- achandas caw temple at Saluvmknppam dating From ttic reign of j:isi& kt3 49

(plate 50). Another example js from Kgn“cipuram (plate 31) but here thc demon is completely human. The identihation has been made on the basis of the attributes the gocldess holcls without which such an identification would

have become impossible.

So far we have seen examples of South Indian representations of

Mahig”auramardjni which undoubtedly are of two types. The general type had their genesis in the one exampie that comes from Besiiagar although we cannot be absolutely sure that there wcre no other examples of the same.

This type of representation was probably more suitcd io fill a nichc in the

exterior of the temple to fulfill its iconographic dcmnnds. The iconography

of thcsc temples is speciflcslly laid out in the various canons mcl scul.ptor

was trained to follow these canons exclusively.

Following the fall of the Pallava dynasty, their territory was aiinexcd

by the Cola dynasty. The Cola power was expanded in the eighth century 4 mainly by Vijayalayn who is lrnown as Parakesarivarman in his inscriptions.

Vijayalrtya is believed to have constructed only one temple at Tonjavvr--a

city he had captured--and this temple is dedicatccl to his patron goddess

Ni~umbhssudZnT. The temple no longer exists but the iii2;yp of tI-1~goddcss

does, albeit in a poor conditicm. This imagc is unlikc any othcr image we

li~wseen so far. Thc goddcss (platc 32) is smtcd on ;I pcclcshl a.nd helow

her is ihe dcmcm. Her. lcft leg rests on anotltcr dcmon ~vhoholcls :I sword

and a shield. Sile 11ol.ds 3 triclciit in izer hand. Although we may be tempted 50 ,

to classify this goddess also as representing Mahis~sur;lmard~~we must

refrain from doing so €or a few reasons. Firstly, the goddess is called

Ni6umbhasudZni' which refers to her victory of the -i1.su1-a- &labha. r~lthougll

the story of the defeat ol SumbhaI and Ni6umbha is also part of the -DcvT-

Mah5tinyam one cannot assume that it is the same form of the goddess. In

essence the goclcless is the same in both episodes but in the third chapter of

the abovementioned kxt the goddess is referred to as Ambikz or CZn~upqi.

Although there is tltis physical variation, the uncIerI_vir1g symbolism is tho

.ciame which is why it is signfficaut to nok tha,t one of tile earlier Cola rulers

was the worshipper of tlic goddess in hen. different fol-nl,

During the ninth century numerous changes occur in tlle Hindu reli-

gion. &ring this time the Pa&zyata!la Eja' was formalized by S(afik~r;ic;~,--~~,

This emphasized the worship of fivc? gods: Vi?qu, &va, 6akti; SGryn and

Gave?i;a. Accordingly, in the temples of this form, t11e principal deity bcitlg

woyshipped was placed in the centre and tile remaining four Iverc placed in

the four corners. This is an extre112ely important devciopmellt for it explains 51

devotee wculd pray for help to rcmove all his obsbcles. The ultimate stop in

circumambu1.ntion is Uurg'j: whc ,is the victorious goddess who Bas siicccss-

fully removed a11 the obstacles in her way. Thereforc thc ritual of cireuin-

. ambulation is symbolic too, first tila devotee rccognizing the obstacles--

mental and physical--in the way of his attaining liberation and then he prays

for help in removing these very obstacles. Then by utter devotion and self-

help the devotee is able to reinwe these obstacles and for that he cm pay

the niche is the carved figure of her mount, the lion, and corresponding to it .. on the other side is the l'igurc of a decr. Therc :.ire h7011131~ figw'os hleclhg

ncxt to tlic goddess and in. the act of decapitating t2iemsclves. This is a very

unusual feature in this icon as is the presence of thc decr. It will bc remelm-

bcred that, wlicn thc Vcdic rcligion infiltrated Ihc Soritiic L'II rcgioizs, locaI

deit,ieF were absorbccl into the Hindu pantheon: and mention was made of the

fact that the village deity Korravsi :vas equated with and absorbed into L'kwgz. 52

The Shilappadikararn clearly mentions the deer as the vekicle oE the goddess

Korravai who is also called the godcless of victory, just as Durg: is. The presence of the deer is also noted in some Pallava cxnrnplcs especially in the VarZIin R.Ia@qu. It is oiily by association with Korravai that thc deer accompanies DurgZ, for, commonly, the deer is ncver associated with licr in my of the texts. The presence of the self-mutilating devotees is extremely unusual. Once again, the Slzilappadikaram refers to the human sacrifices that were made to Korravai/DurgZ. Thc carving of imagcs cicpicting humans decapitating them selvcs to propitiate the goddess reveals the tantric nature of the religion.

Images from the Cola temples of ~~Ii~ai~o~~aco~~~u~.~~i~(plate 36) and DEkZsurarn (plate 37) revert to the earlier types and sliow the denion in human form. The human-bodied demon is also seen in the Gopuram images of DurgZ from the ChidZrnbram temple which belong to the next dynastic period i. e. , the PZp$yan period. These imagcs from the Vi'estern gateway can be dated to the twclrth century and are labelled in the Grafitha script of the twelfth century. Apart from tlie fact that these images arc lnbclled to eliminate error iu iclcntification, thcre is no significant dif'fcrencc in the form itsclf except in tile multiplicity of arins, which is not loo significant

(plate 38). The foui:tec?nth ccnt-ury Nortbcrn Gopui-a in has 3 sizi~il:irin1:ige of ~urgZ(plate 39).

54 the rnoisi~iitafter the battle is over and this goddess is round on almost all. the Pallava riionuxijents. The niajo? exception to this was the rcpresentation in the Mnhia~sura-Map~aI,awhich was dedicated to tlic goddess of victory by a monarc!i who had been succcss€ul at all his military campaiglis. In the

Pallava idiom we do not find any examples of the type sccn up until the seventh centwy in the Westcrn Indian cave temples. This was probably becazlse the iconography of Dur$ had become assimilated wi til %hatof the viliage goddess Korravzti aiicI also the fact 'that the image of DurgZ had -r. started to play a part in the iconography of thi5 entire temple. In the Coia period we find the worship of the goddess became associated with human sacrifice. The goddess Dur@ beconies au inkgral part of the iconography of the temple too. The latier period in South Jiidia brings no more significant variations on the same theine but follows t3e general trend which had actually

begun with the image from Besnagar.

Westen1 India (including present-day states of Rajasthan mct Gujerat)

In the seventh cciitury A. I). the CIzalukyas of Badnmi wre dcfc:itccl

regarding the rulers of the dyiastj7 that ovcrthrcw the Chalulq.as, htit is 7 certain that during this ccntury , thc R3strniwps.. hold powcr in thc i*cgicm.

Gui:jara-Pratihk~jwho ruled the present-day Gujcrnt; and Rnjastiian, and 55

It is necessary to keep this political contact in mind as a possible factor in interchanging influences on art and life. A!though iiiany of the R’%$ral\uta Icings WC~Ctheinseives Jailins, u::der their patronage, many temples dedicrzted to Hindu deities were constructed. The opening verses of

/ many 01 the RZ@ralcuta grants cmtain salutations to Siva and Vipy revealing

-J that Saivism and Vaigpvism were still popular sects in. this region. A5 is discovered in otliei- regions, one finds that in addition to these Hindu deitics, many local deities mcre also ivorshipped. Not inuch attention has been paid

to _I_&&ti‘ worship in this region although tcrnp1.e~declicatcd to goddesses were evidently constructed during this pericd. By this time the goddess was :in

4 integral aspect of Saivism and Vaitpavism as well as Jainism and Buddhism.

At this point one must recali that images of goddesses and especially of

R/IahigkmunardinT were focnd in several cave temples of Western India prior to the seventh century. This trend is tunbroken, for most of the Br3hm;inicnl caves at Ellora as well as of other Western Ifid-ian sites contain images oE the icon. Epigraphical records reveal that there was 11 templc dedicated to

Katy5yanT at Sultogi in thc Bijapur district. Other ten;plcs clcdicatccl to the various goddesses werc also constructed in this rogioii.

At Ellora there arc numerous rcpresentritions of the icon. R. S.

djni. He has dcscribcd as DurgS those images that dcpict the goddcss with her foot resting on lier lion mount liolcling the attributes that are generally associated with Durgz PI/Iahi$kwxmmrdin'i i. e. , triclcnt, sworci, shield, ldiaC1ga. The goddess in these representations usually has a ha1 o behind lzcr head. These images do not include the buffalo clcmon. In the images which he describes as Rlalii@suramardiriT, the goddess is nzultiple-armecl holding the same attributes but holding the 'snout of tlic buffalo and usually stepping on it. The iconographic texts are specific about tlie prescnce of the buffalo along with the goddess but on the other hand the attributes held by the godciess as Dug5 are the attributes generally associated with on157 h2nhi~%xwamar- din?, So there is no reason to support this sort of a division into groups of im ages repre s enting Durg5 or repres en ting Mahis3 sur am a rdin". E llor c?. also has the demon represented in its anthropomorphic form as is seen at

Mamallaptlrmj. %Itis manner of depicting the demon wcrs not seen prior to the seventh century. It is di€ficuIt to credit the innovation tc! Ellora or

Pallava sculptors but it reveals the deep familiariQ with the text and greater freedoin in interpreting the story. Since wc do not hnvc iconographic texts from each historical period arid from cliffcrent regions it is difPicult tu :~sccr- tain what formal changes had I~enincorporated into the icu~zograpli~~of the goddess. The variation in the manner of dc?picting tiic lmffalo after thc

sevcnth century reveals more freedoin iii ii;tcrpreling tlw story and bcIlc!r linowleclge ol: the test itsclf.

Tmagcs rcprescniing Mahi~~surr?ii~~~cliriiarc fou:id in Cave I I, Cavc

14 (plate 42), Cave 15. Thcsc: can lie dated to the eighth century niainly on 57 the basis of an inscription in Cave 15 which mentions the vi.sit 01 R%tralnlia king Dantidurga to the cave on the occasion of its completion in mid-eighth century. 4.0

The ICailSLa temple (cave 1G) has numerous representations of. Mahi?- - asuramardinT (plates 43 and 44). In the portico, tlic right wall has the image of the goddess and on the opposite side is a figure of Gaqep The combin- ation gf Dui-gZ and Gape;Ta 011 opposing walls is symbolic of the god who is

coming obstacles. The fact that this representation occurs in the entrance to the ternplc propares the L:qvotee for his entry into the temple and probably helps hiin to realize that good always triumphs over evil. The presence of

Gods while this battle. talres place reveal that this eternal struggle is of interest to evc ryone, and even divine beings are interested in watching evil being, de Ee a ted .

Tlic North wall of tlic 12a~gamahalof the I

bufEa.10 hcad (plalc 45).

/ depicting Siva T,hk~va. and both rest tlicir fect 011 the figures that represent the forces of evil. 58

In essence the story of the two icons is similar in that both are destroyers of the evil forces that gain too much power in the world. At the end 0.f each yuga

I when the world has degenerated and evil prevails Siva arises to clestsoy the evil world so that it may be created anew. Similarly, Dur@ appears wlien the evil elements bccornc n threat to the hmnn world as well as tha world of thc gods, and she too eliminates these undesirable elements. By ctepicting tliesc two episodes in such close pl*osimity 110 doubt the sculptor was trying to draw the analogy between the h- 1. It is important to notc that by this analogy the goddess is raised to the level of importance that had so far been given only to the gods. This reveals that during this period &ikti worship

? had nchicvecl the same status as the worship of Siva sild Vigu.

~n the left cmrtyrtrd of Ka&a is a clynamic representation of Aqahi9-

3suramardini seated on her lioii attacking n completely human cicivon xirith horns ~n his head signifyiiig that this was indeed Mahip @late 4G), The representation is wry similar to the Pallava examplc. Tf:c importancc oE this panel is that wc! see the various gods above, scated on their respcctivc

C vehicles. Thcsc gocls incluck Siva. Lndra, Kuucrr~. Thc gocts have come to pay horn:ige to Ihis supreme goddess who has succc~c:clocln+crc thy f:iiId.

The iconographic tcsts :ire quitc specific in telling that after. tlic victory ovc:i*

tlrc clcmon, all Ihc gods gathcmxl to sing tlic pi-niscbs or thc gocklcss. Altirough

this was stated in the tesls, thcse gods 113~1not been rcprcscntcd in this

mmnei- carlicr. This also leads us to bdieve that tIic godcfcss was now I accepted =is a suprcme deity on par with Siva and Viey.

The sculpture on the left and right walls of the Rarnzi~~aracave (cave

21) present an interesting seqiiencc. On the left wa11 is ti relief depicting

Kkttilceya. The hack wall is divided into scparatc pniicls, the i‘irst reprc- senting Bralm5 negoti3ting with Himavan for thc marriage between PZrvatT

/ and Siva. he next pane^ represents tlie marriage betwceii giva and P2rvat.T.

‘Thc third @ne1 represents Ps‘rvati doing penance. The right wall of the chamber depicts-the imagc of Wnhi~ZsuramardinT(plate 47). The first three representations are thc story of PZrvatYs life and as the panel progresses the importance of Pkr;ltT increases mitil in tlie R;Ialii~~su~amardiii~panel we get a different manifc.sEntion of the same goddess. On the right corridor is a representation of iiva TztJcava so that once inem we get the. two icons placed almost sick by side so th3t one can make the an3logy hetween the func- I Siva TZ-Gava appecring along with the goddess icon. This r-evds the Bclicf of the patrons of the sculptor that the goddess is performing the same function * as the god and is thus as important zs he is. x Dating Eroni the mid-cighth century is a late Chrrlukyan cxnm plc from the Virupalqa temple at Pai[a$d;al (plate 48). This is in c? fragmentary condi- tion now but 'we can see tbat thc demon is in hurna11 form with horns on his head.

The Chalukya examples of pre-seventh cenkdr'y were of only one type and the demon was depicted as a bilffalo, so it is important to note that in this repre- sentation the dcmon is a human. This emphasizes tlic belief that it was probab%yin thc eighth cenhury that the demon was given 3 human form aiid it is possiI.2~lkat this is due to the greater freedom in interpreting tlx? texts.

This aspect is further emphasized by B \vestern ChaluJq-an example now jr, the National ItZuseun~,New Delhi (plate 49) in which the clc111olr is colll@Cklj7 human without horns or any other physical characteristics of the buffalct

character.

From the Wcstcrn Xtldinn cave sites we turn to thc region of Rajnsthan.

This region has 3 long history of goddcss worship which 1nay in fact h:lvc

resulted from thc ma trilined iialxrc of tiic. society. Tllc ivorship of thc goddess Gl phase one al.so recalls Clie inscription from thc DacUiimat-MZ6 templc in hf%:war district which cpotcd a verse from the DcvT-Mali3tmyam. This itself reveals thc importance oE the goddess in this region. It is bccnusc of this that a dedicatory verse from this important iconographic text was

cated to a goddess albeit a di$fercnt one.

The history or this region after the collapse of the G~apbregime is a rather confusiug one. From about the early sixth centwy the Gurjarn dynasty came into promjncnce in this area which is why R few centuries later this region along with present-day state of Gujcrat was kno\tn as

’ Gurjarztra. l2 The reign of the Gurjaras also poses Seine problems becZ!usc tlicre was believed to be one Gurjtira kingdom near Jodlipur which was founded in the miCi-sixth century, and ttrcre was another principality in the region around ~roac~iruled by Gurjaara chieftains, l3 and there was a tliird

63 64 preseiice of the lion which is gcnerally coiisidercd the mount of Durgz. In thc Vrttnyak$ini temple at GIio@~4 is an iiiscriptioii of V. S, 1003 referring to a grmt of a village. to the goddess Waiayaksini and containing seference

These are just a few of the epigraphical references that emphasize popularity of the goddcsses especially of DurgZ. One cannot fail to note the popularity of goddesses in this region so much so that dedicatory inscriptioiis ta the temples tlia t were constructed invoke the goddess DurgE which urould lend support to the theory that at this time and in this region, DurgZ w3s probably conceived to be the supreme goddess who wss the sum total of all the other goddesses that were also worshipped til? !-e.

Apa.ct from t?iese epigraphical evidences tliere are some images of

Mahig5suramardini which themselves contain dedicatory inscriptians. One of these stands on the,hiiI on tire front of tlic KirZGu which is dated sainvat

15 13, '* A seconci image now in the Bi.lcaner Muscum is dated sm%vat 1465,

0 and states tIwt if; iv;is madc for bhIi3i5j5 Kclh:z?a, son of Sri Kdiar of

Jaiselmcr to conimernor;itc his victory over hlarot and Fugd. 21 Marot and

I Pugal were territories iicigJilx>ring tlic lands of SSKchnr who had tricd to gin control OE thcs~?regions which \irere in the coxltrol of' Raiingdco and his sons. When thcsc soils oonvcrtctl to Islr~rntiicy forfcitc*cl tlicir lands and at this time Kelhlp, the third son of Kehnr niovcd ira and took control of these lands. It is sigiiificnnt that after this victory and to commcmol-atc it, he had this image of M;Ihi~~su~all~ardill~set up. This is probably a victory image the same way the Muslims ercctcd victory pillars and herc it is impop tant that the image he comixissiol.ted was of the goddess who had gai&tl a victory over the most powerful devil. The analogy seems to he that he Iiim- self was victorious over the powcrlui Rmingdr:o's sons who tiad fallen fyom diviiie favour by abandoning the true religim aid taking up the Muslim rcl igjon.

The Jodhpur museum contains :in inscribed image wliich l~nsbcon l.abelled 3s representing tlic goddess Saccika (plate 50). Jninism occupicc? 1111 important place in the entire Wcstern Indian region. Jaiiiisrn had a trenlen- dous influence on the Rxjput society and in fact no differentiation was made

0 between the Jaintt priests and those of Saivvisn.1 and Vai~~invism.This image is in a broken condition--only the surviving lower portion reveals the 1 ioii and the lower portion of the legs of the goddess who appears to bc holding the tail of the buffalc. Thcse fcatures arc indicativc of Mnhig~su1.aInardiriTbut An epigraph from one such temple relates that C;rnup$ was the former iiainc of Saccika who was irritiatecl into tlic Jaina pantheon by 615Rathaprobha Suri. 23 CzmundZ.. is the nanie given to the same gocidess who as Dwg5 had destroyed thc deinon Mahip, hut in this form the ctcinoiis she clestroys me

CaVGa and Mu?+, and this battle forms the third chapter of the DevT-I\(lali$t- yam. Saccika is essentially a Tantric goddess who delights in conswniug flesh aid blood. This may be an in€lueuce of tlie Soutli because in that region especially under the Colas, Dux-@, having absorbed the cult of Korravai, had become a 1:intric dcity who also demanded human sacrifice.

Among the early images from Rajasthan arc a bluc schist image from

Jagat (plate 511, a terracotta imagc from Kalibangnn (plate 521, and one from a niche ir, the temple of Ab:iticri (platc 53). TIicse iiiiages are no different iconographically from thc images of the pre-seventh century. In fact these images too are prior to the eighth century.

These early representations of hT;lhi~~suraninrclinias well :is epi- 67 exclusion of male deities (except for Gaxpp and dikap~llas)and a complctc and total dedication to the worship of the Zivine inothcr. I<. V. Souiidara Rnjnn dcscribed this temple pcrfcctly when he ,statcCl that “thc tcmple cspresses a

sub;imatcd apotheosis of the destixction oi igriorancc by jiiana-saktT,.@- t and the exultant ramificztions of the architectural and the iconographic growth thereof. ,,25

The goddess in rill tier lorms here is the symbol of the lihcrntion of huinan con-

sciousness from ignorance! illusions and limitations. The exterior oE tho main

Durg-5. Generally most of the iiiiagcs carved here reprcscnt thc benign aspects of Dur;;.; with the escoption of one image of Cbu@z and one ol: Bhairavi. The emphasis here is, thercfore, on devotion axid protection. ‘rhe majority of images carved here are of Durg?> LalqmT and Snrasvatl; with those of DurgZ predominating. The exterior walis contain iiiiips depicting the iiinjor mani- festations of Ainb? or AmbilrZ, the aiothcr goddcss; The only inale aicnwnts are the di1qGlas which occur in niches i.n pilasters by their ininor pv iitions they are landing their support to the goddesses, ‘L’llc main projcctions oE thc plinth carry sentcd images of thc femalc counterparts of thc Trinity. Thc yoginis reveal that this Temple was not a Tantric temple. This implies that

-. by this time i. e. mid-tenth century, the Durgz icon had been fully dcveloped. 26

The central niche on the Sack side wall of the slirinc? rcprcscnts an

eight-armed goddess holding a sword, an arrow, trident, ankuga, bells bow

and pzs'a in her hands and in her eighth hand skc holds the head of the 1ium:ln

demon emerging out oE tIic severed bead of the buffalo @late 54). A little

above the Iigad, to the !dt, is the detached image of a parrot.

The central niche of the south wall shows mother insngc 01 the goddess

with eight arms, four right hands holding arrow, sword, trident, flower, the

!eft hands holding shield, bell, bow and in the abhaya-rnud.12. The demon is

in animal farm. The lion is barely visible on the right (plate 55).

-hr,2 L-u main iiiclie of the northern wall is the ir:oags of the goddess that

shows an unusual stance. The left leg of the goddess is placed on the demon in an entirely liuman form in a crouching position.

is found in the main nichcs on all three wails of the central shrine. Imagcs

' of Ellis icon arc also found on pilasters OH the Soutlieast and Northeast corner

parrot. The inclusion of the parrot is not stated in the standard iconographic texts

although 3. parrot wi?s seen io the Mahiq%%mXm?in’i panel from Aihole.

The emphasis on the benign 3rd peaceful aspect of Durg5 is present

in these images which are found in the interior of the main shrine. Among

the other goddesses scxlpted in this tzmple are Pa’ivat?, Snr;isvati, L;~ksmT,

Brahm‘i, AmhX According to the Devi-Mah3tmyarn all of them are forms

of ~~~rg;i--Mahi~~suram~~dini,The only god that does have a place in this

temple, as in most inivite temples is Gar,ega mho is the warder of all __ obstacles. Ga9ega and Durg5 are related functionally too as both are

removers of obstacles. Apart from. a few irla.ges of Gqepthe Arnbika

J temple is a true inicrocosm of the -SakKcult as it prevailed in Rajnsthan ia

the tenth centvlry and is the culmination point in goddess worship. Its

emphasis was on the benevolent aspects of the gocldess quite contral-y to the

tantric esoteric cults prevalent: further east. The temple is dedicated to the

concept of the Universal Rlother--the source of causative power.

Eastern India

This region has been desigmted to Snclutle Beiigd 2nd Bihnr Shies

as well as Orism., these being niodci-n divisions. In the region of Eastern

India the idea of gotldcss worship can bc tracccl to the rcmotc p:lst p1s in other

regions. These ideas concerning the state of goddess worship are revenled

to a great extent in the ceremonies and rituals corinected with the festival of

DurgZ-PGjE. Nowhere else is this EestiVill celebrated with suck pomp and

ardour as in the region of Bengal. These ceremonies, cspccially the NavaprrtTika ccreinony I-evcals the connection of thc goddess with vegetation.

Nine plants that are concerned herein cach have their association with parti- cular goddesses. among which are Durgg, BrZhiiianT, SivE,0 Czmunds and *I

Lakgmi. It will be noticed that these arc some of the epithets associated with the goddess of thc DevT-Mah~tinyarn. These nine goddesses can also be connected with the NavadurgZs of many texts. It is believed that the aboriginal inhabitants of Eastem India had also placed their entire faith in the conccpt of fertility mainly because this was an agricuIhira1 society. Them aboriginal tribes also worshipped this goddess as VindhyZv%nT (dwelling in the moun- tains), and Aparp (nude). The concept of Mother Goddess was iinrnincnt in the concept of Lakgrn'i: who was also thc deity of fortune rind prosperity.

Geneixilly, the aboriginals worshipped the goddesses dwelling in the forests and mountains. HLrnxtn and animal sacrifices were not unluiown in this region

of fierce qualities very siinilar to K51T, Chag$T. These ancient goddcsscs

regions it is possible tirat these aboriginal goddcsses ~t7ei-cassimilated jilt0

P tlic Hindu pantheon. Thc position .- saktT worship has in E:istci*n India must

t always occurred dongsick the worship of Siva. Becausc of this position 71

f accorded to -IsaktT in the Eastern rcgion, various forms of goddess are Iuiown.

MahigZsuramardirE is one of tlie popular forms of the goddess. She is ordinarily caIIed Durgz, Carp$ilG and even, Kl?tyZymi', BhadrakCili. Whatever she may be called she is generally represcntecl with tcn, sixteen or eighteen,

03.9 even twenty ar121s. GeneralXy in the iconogrq~l1~7of any deity the attributes held in each arm represent a particular quality of that deiQ so that as the iconography of thc deity advanccs and develops, and as the deity is aLtributed . more qualities, ITIQPZ arms are inchdcd in the physical rcprcsciitation of the deity. It is interesting to iiu~that hi Eastern lndia especially in Bengal, tile average representation of the gocldcss reprcsetits Iicr with more than ten a,r.ms and this inay Imvc smile connection with the growth of tantric ideas and the csoteric qualitics associatccl with the goddess. Of course the attributes the goddess generally bolcts arc entirely within the prescribed iconography, and after all, tBc texts do state thzt the goclcless hsa thousand arms. Thc dcvcl- It is interesting to notc that as a result of a general development of

:&ti warship and familiarity with the pertinent tests, cven in Eastern India t31c goddess is seen attacking a liuinnn cterrion. A typical example from thc

PZla period is now in the National Tt.luseum, Xciv Dclhi @late 57). All the subsidiary elements are the prescribed ones. Also of this typc is tlie image oE the goddess called K5ty?,ip~Tfromthe housc of Madlnvpasa (plab 58) and a later example of hf3hi~~suraniardiSfrcm tkkt?i (plate 59). kbst of these images arc carved out of black stone arid are actually carved 013 a slab. More examples o€ this include a black stone stele from Bandergram (plate GO), black stone stele from Backerganj District (plate GI), and the grey stone stele from

'Pufl~nlAirm~District (plate 62). The position of the goddess in these steles is the same. The goddess \$'ears an elaborate crown and above her head is 3 para- sol with gar7ands emphasizing her role zs the victor. There arc also flying figures above, p3ying homagc. h~ all these examples the demon is depicted

hi his human form and hc appears to cmci-ge from the small figurc of a

buffaio. Generally small tlttciidant figures ztucon1p:iny the goddess. apparently the dcity to whom these temples are dedicated. In the formcr tempic, the central panel is of tlic goddess-to lrer right are panels of Isdro and Vi%p,

/ to her left are BmhmZ and Siva all seated on their mounts. This may hc rcprc- sentative of thc ~an"c'iyatanacoticepts.

Images of Du~gzMahi$isuramarcZin'i: from Bhuvanc6vara reveal two types of rcpreseritatiuns . TJic example from the Liigar3ja tcrnplc tIcpicts :I human demon emerging from the severed head of the buffalo (plate 65) whercas the second image depicts the demon as a limnan with 'J. buffalo Iread (plate GG).

rz This latter type is also found on the Vaital Deul at Blmm&vara (plate G'i). These images rcvcal that; DurgZ was worshipped in this region even without the Tnntrjc con- notations that the worship of the icon hns in Bengal by this date.

Although the present-day state of hlysore is generally included in ttic

Southern region, we include it in the Eastern region because the represcnt:itive iinages are closer in manner of depiction to the images from Bengal than to those from South India. Despite this superfcial similarity to the exawples from Bengal, thesc irnagcs do not reveal the Tantric bclicfs foiind in Bengal.

of the popularity of the goddcss and to show that the im:tge developed i!i the 74

In conclusion, we can say that in Eastern India, -saktTI worship was an outgrowth of the aboriginal belief in the preservative power held by the Mothcr goddess. It is apparent that the aborigiuals luiew that the Mother Goddcss who 7 was Pu'ature incarnate, could also play the part of thc destroyer if not satis- factorily propitiated. However the iconic development shou7ed a significant change in ideology because in the region of Bengal the A5:ihi~~surarnnrdinY was given one forin :iloiie.

Northern and Central India

Following the sovcnth century, numerous images of Mahi$i'suram :ii-cIiiiT are found in the Southern, Western and the Eastern rcgioiis but this is not so in the Northern region for very few images of this icon are hund in the Nortii and in Central hdia. It is extremely difficult to statc the causes for this. It mazy have been partially due to the fact that the NortIi-Cent.ra1 region was the rcgion following the medieval period where the Muslim rulcrs wre based, but this does not €ully explain the phenomenon.

Among thc few examples from thc North arc somc frrtgrricrits from

Ahiclichatra from thc scvc:ntli-eighth century. Tlicsc wc wry early types of

represcnta tions of the prc-scvcnth century (plates 7 I and '72).

A typical esainplc: of early ninth century COMCS from Baijwtii in

Kumaon (plate 73) with all the features fouiid in images of this date. 75

From Khajuraho there arc two images rcprescnting Mahis~suramarclj~l~.

The image from the Lak?ma?la temp!e (piate 14) is the typical nlhtta century example with the human figure of thc dcmon emcrging out of the severed neck of the buffalo. Although the image from the Caupsaf Yogini temple is also of the same type it is important because of the very nature of the temple on whicIl it was carved (plate 75). Thc CauqFa! Yogini temple was dcdicakd to the sixty-four yoginis who me connected with thc: cult of -&il

few sfntucs that have survived and its name is iiiscribed on thc pedestal. The

importance of the im:igc is connected to the iinportE1nce of the tcnlple whicll is

dedicated to s:iktT# worship just as the Ambiiia telnplc? at Jng:lt in Rajasthan as

dedicated to goddesses. Whereas the Am3ika temple is exemplary of the 76

These images from various sites in Northern and Ccntral India reveal the same stage of development that is found in the othcr regions with isolated csamples of the rise of Tantric. beliefs. 1. -History and Culturc of the Indian People ed. R. C. Majumdar. vol. 3 11. 258.

2. Krisna Sastigi--South Indian Imagcs of Gods- and G~.~ddesscs...' Rfadr:~s 1916. p. 185.

3. K. R. Srinivasan--Temples of South India.- New Dclhi, 1971, p. 48.

4. Balasubra~anyanl--Eady Chola Art. Part I Londo~~1966 p. 38.

5. Balasubra~naanyam--Op cit. p. 40.

6. Balasubrahrrlanyarn--''I,abelled Sculptures of the Weskm Tower of Uhidambram Temple. Lalit-- Kala 9-10, 1961, p. 29.

A,. S. Altekar--Rashtrakutas and their times POnlln 1 7. -- --' 3. Ibid. p. 287. 2_

9.

10. _I_Ibid. pp. 183-184.

11. K. N. Puri--Excnvntiolls at Rairh Jnipur State 1938-39. ---_I_.---2

12. -1-Iistol.y- --- and Culture of the Indian People.- ed. IC. Maj1imdar. \'of. 3, ' p. 63.

13. -Ibid. 13. 65, 14. D. Shar.ma--Lccklrcs--- on Rnjput ----History and Culture, Dcllli. 19'70 p. 97. 15. -ibid. 13. 100. 19.

20.

2'1.

22 1

23.

pp. 43-44. 26. For illustrations of all the imrrges of the icon from the Ainbika TcIIiple, Jagat, see Visvcsvaranand Indological Journal,- vol. I, 1, 1963, pp. 130-140.

27. -Visvesvnranard Indological Journal, I, 1, 1963, p. 137. and did not deviate from it. One can also assume that sculptcd images of the icon must have been unfamiliar to the peopIe on the whole, so that the sculp- tors, by carving the icon ovcr and over again began to Eamiliarize thc. people with the icon.

Tile clianges that occur in the set-up of the image after the seventh century reveal the complek familiarity of the people wit11 the icon and with the message.it was 111ea11tto convey, The goddes,c was closer to the Inasses because after all, she was the Mother-goddess, she was nature incanlate and her victory Over the demon symbolized not only the victory over the evil forces but victory over ignorance and over one's own bascr nature, and ultimately even ove~death. Thereby, kttm devotion to the goclcless was the best way to achieve iiberation from all these negative elements. Althot~gi~ inherently DurgZ is the horrific counterpart of P%rvafc in this form sI1e is given a henlgn countenance which contrasts with the X'erocity of thc demo11 to make her more :q~proachabln. With all these c?lemcr~Isi~~fluenci~~g the p-o\vth and development of thc icon, we begin to find chaiqys, t?spccially in thc manner of depicting tile ckmon. This may also reflect thc many sides of thi: ncgative qualities sya~bolizc!dby thc demon, 1jec;iusc thc DurgT rcm:iins uiichangcd--shc is tile mclianging. This is because thc: ~CVO~CCfirst focuscs his meditation on tlic image of this deity, then it1 thc sccolld st3g-c ?ICco!lcc!I- trntcs on the attributes or tlic qualitics of his dcit!; :ind tl~roughthis nicditaticw he can prcp;lrc: him self lor tlic higher st:qge wllerctn hc tries to 82 transcend mental concept so that lie can bland his conscicusncss with that of his deity. The sculptors were aware of these precepts ami that was why tkc images of Durgz remain unchanged just as the attributcs she holds remsiu the same all along. The taiitric reiigioll ai so probably influeficcd the chauges in the icon especially in the greater number of zrms the goddess has. Tl~e orgiastic ckments are nmre evident in the south wliei-e the goddess is s om e t im e s a cco m pan ie d 5y do vote e s - - po s s i bl y eve 11 s elf - s ac r if ice. The popularity of the goddess cmtinues eve11 today. The DcvT-MahZ trnyam hymn is still repeated every day in many regions and the Durg?i--Klj?ifestival which is celebrated with such ardor every year is a cw-nnlemoration of the event that is related it: that text.

84

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-- ~ ''Dourga l'inaccessible, " --IL'Oeil, 31 -32, 1957, pp. 62-67.

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, 'fL:tbclled Sculptures of the Western Tower of Chiciambram Temple, I' Lalit #ala, 9-10, 1961. Le - BZpbhap's CaDQi&taka,--- translated by G. P. Q~acltenbos(Columbia Univer- si@ Inclo-Iranian Scries, vol. 9)s 1917.

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