Announcing New Publication on the Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal

H-Asia Announcing New Publication on the Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal

Discussion published by Cathleen Cummings on Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Hello, All -- I am pleased to announce the publication of my new book, discussing the iconography of an important Early Chalukya Hindu temple.

DECODING A HINDU TEMPLE: Royalty and Religion in the Iconographic Program of the Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal by Cathleen Cummings 6" x 9" (15.24 x 22.86 cm) Black & White on White paper 706 pages South Asian Studies Association ISBN-13: 978-0983447269 ISBN-10: 0983447268

Decoding a Hindu Temple: Royalty and Religion in the Iconographic Program of the Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal interprets the iconographic program of Virupaksha Temple. Queen Lokamahadevi, the chief wife of the Early Chalukya king Vikramaditya II, began construction of the Virupaksha Temple in approximately 733 at the dynasty's royal consecration site of Pattakadal, in Karnataka, India. The Virupaksha Temple commemorated his crucial victory over the rival Pallava dynasty to the southeast. My work demonstrates that the iconography of the temple is expressive of royal aspirations-both material and spiritual-as well of past successes. Specific imagery that legitimizes the king through references to his genealogy and lineage, his royal marriage, and his conquests and defeats of other rival monarchs are identified, as well as his role in upholding the social order. I read the temple as the formal "stage" for the king's ceremonial life, a testament to his wealth and authority, and the vehicle through which his reign was sacralized and reified. Overall, I suggest that through its figurative imagery, the temple's iconography reiterates the world orders of both the physical realm and the cosmos at large. At the same time, I look at the issue of female patronage to show that the temple reflected the importance of the role of the queen to the functioning of the kingdom. The book suggests a function of the Hindu temple not previously identified, but likely applicable more generally to monuments throughout ancient India.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1. Introduction

• Dharma, Rajadharma and Moksha in Tension and Equilibrium • Visualizing Kingship through a Queen’s Lens • The Bigger Picture

Chapter 2. Constructing the History of the Early Chalukyas and Chalukya Temple Building

• History of The Early Chalukyas • The Virupaksha Temple • The Mallikarjuna Temple • Kingship and Temple Building in Early Chalukya History

Chapter 3. Iconology of Rajadharma: Establishing the Kingship of Vikramaditya II

Citation: Cathleen Cummings. Announcing New Publication on the Virupaksha Temple, Pattadakal. H-Asia. 07-23-2014. https://networks.h-net.org/node/22055/discussions/35357/announcing-new-publication-virupaksha-temple-pattadakal Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Asia

• Creating the King: The Royal Consecration • Iconography of the Chalukya Lineage: • The Badami Murtis • Creating the King: Vikramaditya and Rama, the Epitome of “Rajadharma”

Chapter 4. Images Of Royal Victory on the Virupaksha Temple

• Victory Imagined Through Iconographic Appropriation • Victory and the Metaphoric Enemy

Chapter 5. Images of Liberation: Pashupata Shaivism and the Virupaksha Temple • Pashupata Teachers: Lakulisha and Kapila • Models of Pashupata Asceticism • Images of Liberation

Chapter 6. Through a Queen’s Lens: Female Patronage and Devotion in the Nandi Mandapa

• The Patronage of Queen Lokamahadevi • The Origin of the Nandi Mandapa at the Virupaksha Temple • Iconographic Program of the Nandi Mandapa

Chapter 7. Conclusion

Appendices Appendix 1: Comparison of Proposed Dates of Early Chalukya Monuments Appendix 2: Selected Early Chalukya Inscriptions Appendix 3: Sculptures of the Virupaksha Temple’s Iconographic Program

For further information, visit: https://www.createspace.com/4811179 OR