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Home , 238 BC, 700 BC, Abhayamudra, Abhisheka, AD 100, AD 120

AND THE

Series Editor: John Hinnells, University of Derby The arts have always been one of the primary means of communicating religious traditions; indeed, visual or performing arts may complement, predate or supplant many scriptural sources. This series explores how the visible has been used to express the invisible, and is designed to provide an understanding of the world's through the various forms associated with religious practice and experience.

Already published Art and Religion in Africa by Rosalind I. J. Hackett Arts in the Religions of the Pacific by Albert C. Moore Ganesa, Orissa, thirteenth . and the Religious Arts

Heather Elgood

CASSELL and New York Cassell Wellington House, 125 Strand, London WC2R OBB 370 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017-6550 First published 1999 First published in paperback 2000 © Heather Elgood 1999 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0-304-70739-2 (paperback) ISBN 0-304-33820-6 (hardback) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Elgood, Heather, 1950- Hinduism and the religious arts / Heather Elgood. p. cm.—(Religion and the arts) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-304-33820-6 (hardcover) 1. Art, Hindu—. 2. Art, Indie-India. 3. Hindu . 4. Art patronage-India. 5. Art and religion-India. I. Title. II. Series: Religion and the arts series. N7301.E38 1998 294.5'37-dc21 98-24595 C1P Designed and typeset by Ben Cracknell Studios Printed and bound in Great Britain by Redwood Books Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire Contents

List of Illustrations vi Acknowledgements viii

CHAPTER i Introduction 1 CHAPTER 2 Sacred Imagery 13 CHAPTER 3 Hindu 44 CHAPTER 4 Hindu Sacred 93 CHAPTER 5 Royal Patronage of the Religious Arts and Its Historical Development and Objectives 135 CHAPTER 6 Village and Tribal Patrons and Their Religious Arts 187 CHAPTER? Conclusion 227

Glossary 232 Bibliography 237 Index 241 List of Illustrations

Frontispiece Ganesa, Orissa, thirteenth century CHAPTERS Figure 3.1 Siva Lingodbhava, . Chola, COLOUR PLATES 900 Plate 1 Modern of Siva. Figure 3.2 in a secondary , in Plate 2 , Basohli, c. 1700. a at , Plate 3 offered by the , Figure 3.3 Siva Nataraj, Tamil Nadu. Chola, 1100 Basohli 1740. Figure 3.4 Dakshinamurti Siva from Kailasanatha Plate 4 of in , shrine at temple. , early eighth century Gingee, Tamil Nadu. Figure 3.5 , Kanauj, Central India. Late Plate 5 of Adivaraha temple, , tenth century mid-seventh century. Figure 3.6 An original drawing of Vishnu Plate 6 Mariyamman, Tamil Nadu. Figure 3.7 A modern painting of the baby Krishna Plate 7 shrine, Tamil Nadu. Figure 3.8 A modern painting of the goddess Plate 8 Wall painting, Orissa. CHAPTER 1 Figure 3.9 Village shrine in Tamil Nadu Figure 1.1 Cauri bearer, commonly known as the Figure 3.10 A modern painting of , third-second century BC Figure 3.11 Terracotta female figurine, Indus Valley. 2600-1500 BC CHAPTER 2 Figure 3.12 A seal from Mohenjo Daro, . Figure 2.1 A stone linga, Indus Valley. Harappan Harappan period, 2300-1750 BC period, c. 2300-1750 BC Figure 3.13 Naga kals shrine, Tamil Nadu Figure 2.2 Figure 3.14 , temple in Tamil Nadu Figure 2.3 Seal showing a horned cross-legged Figure 3.15 Cow carving in a cave temple, figure, Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan. Harappan Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. AD 700-800 period, c. 2300-1750 BC Figure 2.4 Male figure (possibly a ) from CHAPTER 4 Parkham, . Sunga second-first Figure 4.1 The elements of a temple century BC Figure 4.2 Drawing of Kirtimukha Figure 2.5 Sacred tree hung with cradles. Figure 4.3 , Visvanatha temple, Khajuraho. Tamil Nadu Chandella dynasty, eleventh century Figure 2.6 Linga from Gudimallam, Andhra Figure 4.4 Mithuna. temple, Pradesh, c. First century BC Khajuraho. Chandella dynasty, tenth century Figure 2.7 Hand gestures: the mukula Figure 4.5 Surasundari figures, Lakshmana temple, (closed lotus), padmakosha mudra and the Khajuraho, Chandella dynasty, tenth century alapadma (open lotus) Figure 4.6 Radial plan of images Figure 2.8 Nageswara temple, Tamil Nadu. Figure 4.7 Drawing of Kumbhakonam, 886 Figure 4.8 Purna - a pot overflowing Figure 2.9 Vyala with flowers and plants List of Illustrations

Figure 4.9 The characteristic features of northern CHAPTER 6 (right) and southern (left) Figure 6.1 'Seven sisters' at a village shrine in Figure 4.10 Kandariya Mahadeo temple, Tamil Nadu Khajuraho. Eleventh century Figure 6.2 A village shrine with and Figure 4.11 Muvarkovil temple, Kodumbalore. spears, Tamil Nadu Early Chola, ninth century Figure 6.3 Sacred termite mound, Tamil Nadu Figure 6.4 A priest of Aiyanar shrine, Tamil Nadu CHAPTERS Figure 6.5 A crudely made terracotta Aiyanar and Figure 5.1 Narasimha Mamalla I, Patron of the his two consorts. Rural shrine, Tamil Nadu Adivaraha temple, Mamallapuram. Pallava Figure 6.6 Women decorating pots, Jhun Jhunu dynasty, mid-seventh century district, Figure 5.2 temple, Mamallapuram. Pallava Figure 6.7 . Tamil Nadu dynasty, early eighth century Figure 6.8 celebrating , Nepattur Figure 5.3 Portrait of Narasimha Mamalla I, on the village, Tamil Nadu Dharmaraja , Mamallapuram. Pallava Figure 6.9 An image of Lajja Gauri dynasty, early eighth century Figure 6.10 Terracotta horses offered to Aiyanar Figure 5.4 Princess on Nagesvara temple, Figure 6.11 Women at a tree shrine Kumbhakonam. Early Chola, AD 886 Figure 5.5 Portrait of Rajendra Cola, CHAPTER 7 Brihadishvara temple, Gangikondacholapuram, Figure 7.1 at Tamil Nadu. Mid-eleventh century Figure 5.6 tank, Gangikondacholapuram, Tamil Nadu. Mid-eleventh century Figure 5.7 Carving of a figure his own head, cave, Mamallapuram, Late seventh century Figure 5.8 , Varaha cave, Mamallapuram, Late seventh century

vn Acknowledgements

This book is conceived as part of a series and Alix Lawrence for her help and en- inspired by Professor John Hinnells couragement My own original contribution (formerly at the School of Oriental and to my writing has been inspired over many African Studies, University of London and years by working alongside and by listening now at the University of Derby) and to many of my friends who have given me originally under the of Pinter encouragement and advice. Of these I Publishers. I am grateful to Professor would like to mention, in particular, Dr Hinnells personally for his support and Anna Dallapiccola, Robert Skelton, Dr encouragement and more generally for George Michell, Dr Stephen Huyler, Dr initiating a project which is so close to my Vivek , Dr Michael Willis, Dr Angela own interest in an area where art, religion Hobart, Richard Blurton, Dr Giles Tillotsin, and anthropology meet. In the research for Dr Linda Leach, Alastair Shearer, Rosemary this text I have drawn on the ideas of many Crill, Dr Don Stadtner, Dr Adam Hardy, scholars from these disciplines and have John Burton Page, Gheerawo, Stella attempted to form these into a seamless Marsden, Dr Julia Leslie, Professor whole. For this research I am grateful to Piatigorsky and Dr Rashmi Poddar. I would SOAS whose library resource was a vital also like to thank my many students from component. the Asian Arts Programme, who are Amongst those who helped me to write responsible for inspiring some of my ideas this book I would like to give special mention and who have read selected chapters of the to Dr John Marr, not only for suggesting manuscript. I would also like to thank staff that I should work on this series but for and students of the Bharat Bhavan being a constant source of encouragement, for so often providing me with insight into support and inspiration over many years. I the practical demonstration of the visual am also profoundly grateful to him for a arts, and the Director Nanda Kumar, and critical reading of the text prior to Dr Shastri. I would also like to thank Janet publication. For a valued contribution, Joyce as Director of CasselPs Academic welcome criticism and support in the Division who showed understanding, reading of the chapters at an early stage I patience and gave much needed encourage- would also like to thank Dr Stephen Huyler. ment and enthusiasm. With regard to the In the final editing I would like to thank illustrations I would like to thank Pat Veronica Brinton for her patience and time, Barylski, Madhuvanti Chose, Naman Ahuja, Acknowledgements

Robert Skelton, John Marr and Stephen selected during a field trip to India in 1997. Huyler who were kind enough to lend me I would also like to thank Chris Glanville some of their slides. I would also like to for his line drawings. thank Debbie Swallow at the Victoria and This book is dedicated to my husband Albert Museum and Michael Willis at the and family. My husband showed unfailing for their kindness in patience and encouragement in helping allowing me to use some of the photographs with the editing of this book; without him in the collection. Finally, I would like to it would never have been completed, and thank my husband who took many of the my children who put up with my work on pictures of and temples that I this book for several years.

ix Map of the Indian subcontinent, showing the places mentioned in the text. Drawing by Christopher Glanville RWA. CHAPTER 1 Introduction

In prehistoric times in the Indian sub- man), resulting in creation. Sacrificial continent, man's sense of wonder and offering was believed to bridge the void enquiry into the mysteries of existence between their world and that of the , appeared to be satisfied by communal song, who were identified with the forces of masked dance and spirit possession, nature. Their purpose was to ensure the which met a deeply felt need to com- continuance of the cosmic order of all municate with the . In time things great and small. This objective these wild occasions of release became continued a concern with the regulation of ritualized, and this proved comforting since rainfall and the seasons, and a preoccupa- in continuity there appeared to be certainty tion with the natural elements of fire and in an uncertain world. It became necessary water, which had been crucial to the Indus to convey abstract concepts about the gods valley agricultural society of 2500 BC. In its in a form that changed words into images attempt to understand, control and even that were recognizable to the whole transform nature, the ancient world of community. These images became known religious or magical powers, of which the and acknowledged across wide areas. rite of is a part, resembles the Religious art was created, not as art for art's modern world of scientific technology. sake but rather to meet the burgeoning spiritual needs of the community. It was Definitions, Hinduism, Hindu Beliefs believed that these images provided and Concepts protection from the fickle, invisible spirit world. Religion, in the context of this book, may The desire to propitiate, protect and be defined as a particular system in which secure wish fulfilment from the gods was , , sentiments and institutions the simple but essential element leading are interconnected for the purpose of more to the formation of Hindu ritual practice. effectively reaching out to a divine authority In Vedic times (from 1500-300 BC) a that is believed to regulate and control sophisticated ritual sacrifice developed society, the environment and the individuals under the direction of a priestly class known within it. The communication of Hindu as the Brahmans, who believed that human religious beliefs and concepts was from an or animal sacrifice imitated the initial early stage facilitated by the development dismembering of the Purusa (primordial of ever more sophisticated iconographic Hinduism and the Religious Arts symbols which incorporated proto-historic Indo-European people, known as the cult images and visually defined the earlier , who were perhaps originally from Vedic oral tradition. Symbolic diagrams, the steppe country of Southern Russia and folk images, dance or mime linked to Central Asia, over the last 2000 years. in sympathetic magic were also involved. Hinduism should be understood more as One might suggest that art in proto-historic a social system, or fabric of diverse religious times was a magic device which was so customs than a religion, which has been strongly rooted in folk custom that it codified and transmitted by a single inspired became necessary to absorb it into main- individual. Its beliefs are found to have stream Hinduism.1 For the purpose of this no clear beginning, founder or central book magic may be defined as the attempt authority. It has been eclectic, retaining to achieve deliberate ends by the unorth- ancient practices and absorbing others. odox use of orthodox religious practices. Today it is perceived predominantly as a This depends on a belief in the supernatural of prescriptional devotion. Essentially, and the paranormal operation of un- religious truth is believed to be a matter of measurable and invisible laws beyond the personal spiritual vision but is also believed normal principles of science. A continuing to be beyond philosophy or imagination. use of magic from as early as 1000 BC can This has led to a characteristic religious be seen in the unorthodox use of tolerance and eclecticism. or , probably by shamans (referred Unlike the Western linear and chrono- to in the Vedic sacred text, the , as logical patterns of ethical thought, with 'munis'), to achieve powerful and specific their preoccupation with division and objectives. It is also seen in the rich categorization and absolutes, collection of spells and magical rites2 found philosophical mind, expressed in verse, in the Atharva Veda, the last book of the image, music and drama, is cyclical, four ancient religious texts known as the synthetic, subtle and inclusive. Despite this . Some women's folk rituals continued flexibility, certain key concepts and a the use of these spells in practices which tendency to hierarchize characterize Hindu are still current and are known as Vrat. belief. Mystery is also inherent in the Hindu belief First, there is -Brahman, the in the invisible but living divine presence doctrine which links the self and the whole within . or universe. Atman means self or and The actual word 'Hinduism' stands for Brahman ultimate . Brahman gives the civilization of the inhabitants of rise to the universe and to all beings which Hindustan, which literally means the land emanate from this ultimate reality. Brahman surrounding the (referred to by being all things is the self or soul (Atman) ancient Persians as Hindhu). Hinduism as of all living beings. The personal search for a term was not common until 1830, when Atman-Brahman, the one that is all, has it was used by English writers to refer to been a focus of religious enquiry in India's the civilization in the Indian subcontinent, spiritual life for 3000 years. which has gradually evolved from Vedic Second, the concept of a divine trinity Brahmanism over the last 2000 years. comprising Vishnu the preserver, Siva the Brahmanism was the religion of the ancient destroyer and a personification of

2 Introduction the impersonal Brahman, is a physical Aims of this Book depiction of more abstract and elemental forces. This trinity also serves to describe These essential elements of Hinduism are in philosophical terms the synthesis of well known and scarcely need repeating. unity in diversity. This concept is largely However, religious art has given boundless forgotten, however, in individual devotion variation to this fundamental core while towards one or other of the gods. Devotees dramatically influencing ritual development generally choose Siva, Vishnu or the - It is difficult in the twentieth century to dess as the focus of their worship and conceive the fearful dramatic impact of the requests. first encounter of a devotee with the image Third, there is recognition of the Vedas, of his god. It is to give art a more central the corpus of hymns and prayers role in the study and understanding of transmitted orally and later written in the Hinduism that this book has been written. form of sacred literature. Pre-Vedic and Hindu religious art was and Fourth, , or respect for life, is remains functional. Its role was to act as a linked to ideas of the unity of life threshold between the worlds of gods and symbolized by Brahman, which shows itself man; as a vehicle for defining, transmitting in the avoidance of meat eating and the and preserving ideas. will be seen of the cow and other sacred to have an essential relationship with ritual animals. practice. Finally, there is a continued pre- Hindu art includes the performing arts occupation among with the related such as theatre, songs, masked dance and concepts of and . Dharma a variety of sacred dances, but this book stands for a concept of right living which will be mainly concerned with the monu- should correspond to laws and mental arts, which include sculpture, expectations, while karma, literally action, painting, architecture and religious folk art is the accumulation of past deeds that It attempts to look at the origin of Hindu determine or . The images and to analyse the extent to which fundamental objective of every thinking these images are representations of or Hindu is , 'liberation' from samsara, actually become vessels for the numinous the cycle of rebirth. presence of the divine. The book also According to Biardeau, the Hindus have analyses the function of images, their use 'constructed a universe of logical coher- by the devotee and the representation and ence, which is almost too perfect, both in character of the actual deities in the and philosophically and a system and the manner in which this of logic, which is breathtaking in its deepens our understanding of Hinduism. subtlety.'3 The didactic role of monumental temple art Despite Western and folk art is also considered as well as an as glorifying in contradictions such as analysis of the multivalent symbols of 'being and non-being', the sophistication of Hinduism together with the role of patrons the philosophy lies in an understanding that and artists and the principles that governed the absolute is a reality that cannot be both royal and folk patronage. The book confined in normal structures of thought. also takes account of the fact that recent

3 Hinduism and the Religious Arts scholarship no longer makes clear-cut goddess or fertility cults, and the divisions between traditional and modern, of a horned bull-masked . The folk or royal patronage or the oral or Vedic text, the Rg Veda, refers to the Indus written traditions. Such theatrical and valley people as 'phallus worshippers' dance performances as the Yaksgana dance (Shishnadevas and Muradevas, literally or the dance of the Kuravanci are examples meaning worshippers of the phallus and the of this interweaving of folk and classical fetish). It has been suggested that from this traditions. This can also be observed in the period terracotta figurines, seals and -Indian traditions of worship provide the earliest glimpse of which has common features at the simplest what became Hindu 2100- shrine or in the most complex temple 2500 years later. It has also been suggested setting. This testifies to the universality of that the most significant structure in this the essential structures of the Brahmanic urban culture was a large water tank which complex now referred to as Hinduism. may prefigure the water tanks or the The study of the arts of Hinduism cannot (bathing steps on riverbanks) associated ignore the art produced for Buddhist and with Hindu temples. Jainist patrons, though Western scholars In around 1500 BC, a group of nomadic perceive distinctions of greater significance tribesmen, known as Aryans, arrived in than do the Asian devotees. There are many the Indus region and eclipsed the shared visual elements in the otherwise Harappan civilization. Their success has distinct religious of , been attributed to a variety of causes, most and Hinduism. These similarities were commonly to military success, due to their perpetuated by a hereditary group of crafts- use of the horse and . Despite the men who used a limited range of image and fact that the Aryans were non-literate they symbol in their work for patrons of varying had a highly structured society based on a sectarian beliefs. fourfold class division, of , warriors, merchants and artisans, which became the The Historical Development of Hinduism caste system (referred to as ''). The priestly class had pre-eminence and sole The earliest traceable civilized culture in responsibility for religious ceremonies, the Indian subcontinent dates from around which revolved around ritual sacrifice. This 2000-2500 BC, from a community settled religion grew out of an earlier worship of on the banks of the river Indus, commonly elemental deities, a part of the ancient pre- known as the Indus valley or the Harappan Zoroastrian Indo-European culture. The civilization. The archaeological finds of the Vedic deities were of a recognizable Euro- Indus valley reveal a conservative culture Asian elemental type such as (god of with advanced building technology, a the storms), (god of the sun) and complex drainage and water system and (god of the rain and the waters). an advanced system of writing. Artefacts They shared features with deities of other such as seals and a few sculptures have also Indo-European peoples such as the Persians, been unearthed. These objects have been Greeks and Romans. The priests were subject to varied interpretation, such as an responsible for preserving in an oral form association with bull worship, tree worship, the sacred ceremonial prayers or hymns

4 Introduction known as the Vedas. These are thought to known as (a region now covered date from around 1200 BC and were by areas of modern ). Coincidentally, subsequently written down. The first of these a period of intense religious speculation sacred texts was known as the Rg Veda. This and enquiry developed in the more settled was the earliest literary source for what urban centres. Paradoxically, this period of developed out of Brahmanism and became urban growth gave rise to a retreat to the known as Hinduism from AD 100-300, The forests in search of truth. This retirement hymns of the first of the Vedas contain none from society and the search for truth was of the sweetness of expression in addressing later recorded and compiled in religious the deity nor the emphasis on fertility which texts known as the around are features of later Hinduism. The Sama 700 BC. This latter movement gathered Veda, the third Veda is made up of momentum and attracted more followers transposed sections of the Rg Veda, while who engaged in ascetic practices. It has the Yajur Veda is concerned with correct been suggested that the four stages of man sacrificial practice. The last of these Vedas, were developed in later Hinduism as an the Atharva Veda, which was composed attempt to check the early rejection of around 900 BC, is more magical in tone and family responsibilities by young men and to already displays pre- elements. It continue this to the end of their lives. comprises a collection of magical spells and Reference to an earlier practice of ascetism incantations and refers to holy men (vratyas) is seen in the Rg Veda in the presence of in the community who were patronized by munis or shamans. By the fifth century BC the masses alongside orthodox priests. At the vratya (a wandering holy man) was around the time of the composition of the commonly found in the region of Magadha. Atharva Veda several priestly schools began These vratyas (literally vow takers) were to record and preserve their expositions or approachable, travelled from village to commentaries on the Vedas. These are village and provided for the people's known as the , compiled about everyday needs with a profusion of magic 900 BC, each attached to one of the Vedas. spells and ancient folk customs. These These were followed by the or unorthodox holy men were said to have the 'forest books'. been revered, to have supplied spells and The Aryans gradually spread across performed acts of power and . Northern India, and were said to have In the Upanishads one finds repeated begun by around 700-600 BC to settle in reference to reincarnation. This became a kingdoms and republics in the plain. key concept in the development of From 700-500 BC there was a period of Hinduism. Reincarnation was defined as the material progress, and a rapid increase of rebirth of men and women in the form of far-reaching international contacts through other human beings, animals, snakes or trade. This trading relationship gave rise to insects. The Upanishads also refer to the contact with Achaemenian Persia. Trade concept karma (actions), a related judge- also brought new ideas and led to an ment, the measure of which determined imitation of the central Achaemenian rebirth. preoccupation with a complex system of It is in this atmosphere of religious kingship. The centre of the region was enquiry that one must understand the

5 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

and spiritual freedom. This resulted in their following the contemporary teachings of Buddha and . discouraged sacrifice and taught the doctrine of freedom from suffering and worldly existence by ascetic and meditative practices. From about 600 BC written texts ( appear, which codify instructions for lesser and domestic rituals. Each level of society had its own related dharma or norms of conduct. The philosophical texts are regarded as smrti (remembered commentaries) or sruti (revealed truth). Unorthodox Buddhist and Jain sects them- selves began to make written records. These records describe the religious life of the orthodox Brahmanic majority which was said to feature the worship of Brahma and Indra with a widespread belief in the doctrine of rebirth. They also described the popularity of village cults, where there was continued practice of the worship of yaksha and yakshi (tree spirits), naga (snake spirits) and sacred (groves), while retaining the Indo-European ancestor cult. Apart from terracotta figurines, there was apparently little religious imagery. The expansion of centralized authority in the period before Christ culminated in the establishment of the first great empire Figure 1.1 Cauri bearer, commonly known as the Didarganj yakshi, third-second century BC. of India known as the Mauryan dynasty. Madhuvanti Chose. The most famous of the rulers was Asoka, who ruled from 265-238 BC. Asoka, himsel appearance of Siddhartha Gautama, com- a professed Buddhist, established this monly known as the Buddha (the en- teaching as a national faith through lightened one), from the Sakya clan, and edicts, the construction of and the Nattaputta Vardhamana, called Mahavira building of columns. Asoka's patronage of (Great Hero), both born into the Ksatriya Buddhism, declaration of non-violence varna. Class discrimination, which pre- (ahimsa) and vegetarianism did much to vented the lower classes from participating undermine the previous power and control in the Brahmanic ritual, encouraged these of the Brahman priests. The Brahmanic individuals to search for alternative social religion also began to undergo a change,

6 Introduction developing a shift in focus from the worship and parts of western India by a succession of Vedic gods to that of Vishnu and Siva. of invaders. Art and architecture began to Inscriptions reveal the worship of the god reveal the effect of this new influence, who was apparently worshipped particularly through contact with Greek in West India and later became identified culture and the . The cult of with the god Vishnu. From this period date Vishnu, and that of who developed the earliest Hindu stone images, appearing into the god Siva, and the worship of the not in the form of any gods but of monu- Goddess, were the three most important cults. mental of the male and female tree Many of the principal spirits, yaksha and yakshi (Figure 1.1). appear for the first time in the art of the These images were probably erected in Kusana rulers of Northern India from sacred enclosures, while simple snake 100 BC to AD 300. Shrines, temples and shrines also coexisted with the yaksha religious icons became common. A growing images. The Gudimallam linga (Figure 2.6a) pantheon of deities including Lakshmi attributed to the second to first century Be developed from the first to third testifies to the practice of image worship at AD while Siva's son Ganesa, the - sacred shrines. Rare examples of the image headed god, did not become apparent until of Siva in the form of the phallus are found around AD 500. Surya, the sun-god, had on coins of this period. many temples constructed in his honour Following the decline of the Mauryas, from the sixth to twelfth centuries AD, Buddhism continued to flourish under the following which he experienced a rapid first-century BC Sunga rulers of central India decline in popularity. The earliest written and the AD first- to third-century Kusana prescriptive text, the Dharma Sastra, is rulers of and , but there contemporaneous with the Epics. This text was a Brahmanic revival. The older ortho- illustrates doctrinal points with little or only dox form changed its focus from actual to brief narrative. In the period from the fourth symbolic sacrifice and developed theistic to eighth centuries AD stories, later called tendencies centred around the gods Vishnu the , were compiled to educate, and Siva. The great Hindu epic, the entertain and glorify the gods. The Puranas popular from AD 300, in which literally 'ancient texts', are compendia of appears the (Song of the , ritual, philosophy, history and Lord) underlines this shift in the description dharma.4 The great narrative Epics and of the pivotal role of Vishnu's Puranas tell longer stories. These were as the god Krishna and his direct dialogue usually acted or recited in villages, with the charioteer . The text also sometimes with accompanying story boards. attempts to restrain the influence of the The Hindus regard the Epics as great poems ascetics by stressing that obedience to and textbooks. According to O'Flaherty, dharma, selfless action, was more effective while we think of them as being about the than sacrifice or mortification of the flesh. war of the and the battle between The period from the second century BC to and , the Hindus believe they the rise of the in the fourth are about dharma. century AD was one of great change, with The Gupta period was one of great the conquest of most of the area of Pakistan prosperity and calm, Buddhist pilgrims

7 Hinduism and the Religious Arts reporting on the high degree of prosperity meditative devices such as ritual diagrams and moral standing of the lords of India. () and prayers (mantras). Despite the The kings, encouraged to acquire by fact that some of their actions oppose caste religious donation, began to patronize the rules and some customs shock and create Brahman caste again. The relationship fear in more orthodox society, Tantric between the religious texts and family law philosophy has from the medieval period became more defined and rigid. Marriage had an impact on the use of images and on was solemnized by lengthy sacred rites, in wider aspects of . which the Brahmans held the key role. In Tantrism had a prevailing influence on the Gupta period the rise of patronage courtly society during the Chandella period brought an increase in the development of in Central India in the tenth century. free-standing temple architecture. From the Tantrism, associated with the worship of seventh century AD the temple became the goddess Sakti, also increased in increasingly significant in the functioning popularity at this time.5 There was also a and forms of the religious and secular order. predominance of the cult followings of A proliferation of temple building occurred Vishnu, Siva and the goddess, coexistent in , and Rajasthan with some local cult deities. under Hindu and Jain patronage. The great From the eighth century, following the temples became the repositories of immense decline of the Gupta empire, there was wealth through taxes, donations and fees. a period of fragmentation. The arrival of The running, administration and worship the Muslims in in the twelfth of the temples became the responsibility of century discouraged the continued the hereditary priests and temple servants. patronage of temple architecture. Despite Sastras, or prescriptive textbooks, listing Muslim hostility Hindu society continued the rules governing the creation of many to thrive, integrally linked with the priestly art-forms, were compiled at this time. The requirements of domestic ritual and design of the temple, as this book will later personal sacraments. In South India explain, was strictly codified by Silpasastras temples continued to be built, and retained (craft textbooks), where every measurement their religious and political prominence. and decoration was meaningful and The southern temples reached their apogee efficacious. Elaborate Indian sculpture was in the great Rajarajesvara temple of Tanjore also incorporated into the temple which (Tanjavur). In South India the orthodox served to express the numerous aspects and cults had been aristocratic in character, with manifestations of the spirit world. a strong patronage of kings and chiefs who From the seventh century AD there was in turn acquired prestige by their patronage a rise of a much earlier esoteric tradition of Brahmans and by adopting Aryan ways. which dealt with the purification of the body There continued to be worship of the local and attempts at self-mastery. This involved deity Murukan, who became identified with certain mental and physical processes in the , as was his mother the fierce war transformation of energies and ultimately goddess Korravai with Durga. Mayon, a the devotee himself. This group of practices South Indian rural cult deity described in is known as Tantric'. Tantric devotees (or contemporary literature as having a black tantrikas) worship the goddess, and use colour, was absorbed into the Hindu

8 Introduction pantheon, subsumed into the legend of the fear of spirits seen in spirit possession god Krishna, also portrayed as dark blue or rituals and the propitiation of ghosts black in colour. (bhutas). Further tribal characteristics may This brief account of the historical be seen in the concepts of transmigration, development of Hinduism from as early as the absorption of , localized 2500 BC demonstrates the extent to which cult deities and the later ecstatic devotional many extraneous sources are responsible character of modern Hinduism. The tribal for the ever-changing character of the and village peoples of India coexisted with eclectic form of current devotional the more sophisticated culture of the Indus Hinduism. The Vedic texts themselves refer valley and themselves worshipped sacred to the fact that even contemporary Aryan animals, trees and terracotta figurines. society engaged in a practice which, as early Vedic texts refer to earlier cult practices. as 1200 BC, revealed a variety of different Artefacts from the Indus valley testify to the sources. These sources derive not only from use of common symbols and images, such the Aryans, who share a common ancestry as the snake, the tree, the earth goddess with Indo-European tribes, but also Iranians and an object believed to be a phallus. and indigenous Indian elements. Examples These reappear as Buddhist decoration of these were practices such as the ancient from the second century BC and devotional Indo-European custom of the circum- Hindu sculpture and village art from the ambulation of fire which became absorbed third century AD. It has been suggested that into ceremonies, the crema- a synthesis took place between pre-Vedic tion and ancestor cults, and the earlier Indo- fertility rituals and Vedic sacrifice. The European male sky gods. The Indo-Iranian earlier cult offerings to tree and snake elements are to be seen chiefly in the shrines became absorbed into the ritual initiatory ceremony , the tying reverence which previously took the form of a sacred cord performed on boys when of sacrificial offerings and a more abstract they have reached a certain age, and the and descriptive hymnal evocation of the Vedic god Varuna. Varuna shares many gods. Several passages of the Rg Veda give common features with the Zoroastrian poetic description of the gods, and how Ahura Mazda, while the narcotic drink these acquired visual form is described in corresponds to the Zoroastrian drink Chapter 2. These were at this early stage to haoma. be propitiated but not revered, unlike the The indigenous elements of the Indian medieval rise in devotional spirit of the subcontinent itself, perhaps deriving from evolution of Hindu practice. the earlier Indus valley civilization, may be seen in, first, the emphasis on fertility and Textual Limitations to the by association water, and second, a concern Understanding of Hinduism with cleanliness which may well be the source of the concepts of ritual purity and Historically, the study of Hinduism by taboo. Other features were the worship of Western scholars has been largely based on the snake, trees, the mother goddess and translations from of the sacred the phallus. Another element was the tribal texts of the Indo-Aryans, the society and preoccupation with ancestor worship, and religious group from which much of Hindu

9 Hinduism and the Religious Arts social conventions was said to be derived. have any direct contact with this literature. These texts, written in Sanskrit, are known The Hindu majority would have touched on as the Vedas, or the later commentaries the its content only by hearing the Sanskrit Puranas. Nineteenth-century scholarship in prayers during the priestly ceremonies; or the study of Hinduism was largely based on in the mythical tales performed by village these scriptures and the theological writings story-tellers carrying visual accompaniments of the most famous Hindu philosophers such as painted story boards. such as Sankara (c. 788-820), Fuller so clearly observed: (eleventh century) or (1479-1531). Themes central in the scriptures are not always Any translation has the potential for central in ordinary people's beliefs and practices, misinterpretation. The earliest Vedic text, and textual scholars' conclusions do not the Rg Veda, had the character of a lengthy necessarily provide good guides to the workings recipe book full of ritual prescriptions of popular religion. For the anthropologist of comparable to the Christian hymnals, with popular Hinduism, ethnography - not scripture little religious theory or principles of - is both the major source of evidence and the doctrine. In the twentieth century, religious touchstone of interpretation.7 scholars widened their selection of liter- ature to include folklore, mythology, The third justification for this approach is and philosophical writings, and ethno- that the artisans, whose role it was to graphic studies have also provided valuable provide religious images to a wider interpretations of Hinduism by exploring audience, were themselves prevented on its interrelationship with art or myth. the grounds of illiteracy and caste exclusion Clearly there is a role for the study of both from direct access to the texts, though they written texts and art and a need for their received priestly supervision. These interaction to enable a comprehensive craftsmen were subject as much to a pre- understanding of Hinduism on both the Vedic cult or folk background as to Brahmanic and the popular level. Brahmanical prescriptions. Evidence from There are a number of reasons why Vedic Indian sculpture from as early as the second literature provides an inadequate picture century BC reveals the inclusion of pre-Vedic of Hinduism, the first being that in Vedic cult images. Popular local cults attracted society the oral tradition, sruti or revealed considerable followings which may have truth, believed to be derived from the gods, included artisans from conservative held pre-eminence over smrti, the remem- hereditary groups such as craft associations, bered literature.6 Written texts were not which preserved techniques and a common compiled until Brahmanism became visual vocabulary. Many Hindu devotees, threatened by the growth of Buddhism in while partaking of Brahman ceremonials the fifth century BC. for life's major initiations of birth, death The second reason for this argument is and marriage, continued a complex pre- the fact that these texts, like the oral Vedic practice involving ritualized reverence tradition, were preserved for an initiated and focused offerings. Dana, or for minority. The masses were non-literate and, wish fulfilment, continued in ancient form with the exception of the Brahman and involved offerings to deities in the form or wealthy , would have failed to of stones, animals, snakes, water and trees,

10 Introduction and by association contributed to the obedience to social pressures and certain development of symbols and images. traditional rituals relating to his caste, The origin of Hindu reverence for such family and profession. The factors that natural forms from pre-Vedic local cults and determine these rituals are believed to their place in Hindu ritual is clearly revealed relate to his individual dharma, the results by the study of sacred images, while analysis of his actions (or karma). In practice the of Hindu ritual reveals the coexistence of daily religious life of the average Hindu Vedic and pre-Vedic cult practice. The requires assistance from the mediation of fourth reason why Vedic literature is an priests and images, the former believed to inadequate source for the understanding possess authority, the latter potency. of Hinduism is the extent to which Hindu Hindu art remains an integral part of ritual plays an essential part in defining a ritual custom in the daily lives of devotees. Hindu. Art, in the form of images, is an Domestic details of family life mirror the integral part of this ritual and therefore of grander dimension of the individual's particular significance. According to Wendy relationship with the divine. This is most O'Flaherty: 'Hinduism as a whole has been simply expressed in the customary Hindu well characterised as orthoprax rather than greeting 'namaskara' which is also a gesture orthodox. Hindus define themselves by of respect: 'The gesture symbolizes in a what they do rather than by what they condensed form the principle of hierarchical think.'8 inequality that is so fundamental in Hindu A Hindu's characteristic lack of dogma religion and society. Thus a human contributes to the argument that a Hindu worshipper, like a lower deity, gestures in may be defined more by what he practises respect to a superior deity.'9 than by what he preaches and his religious This can be observed in the relationship practice is inextricably intermingled with between the priest and the he tends, so-called art. similar in Indian society to the love and care Fifth, the fixed nature of the ancient of a mother for her child, the ideal wife for source books limits their contribution to an her husband and the widespread respect understanding of evolving Hinduism. In for the elderly. There is an inherent practice, the of contemporary reverence, a worship which manifests in an artists, corresponding more closely to the almost maternal, practical devotion to the changing requirements of society, provides deity. This behaviour is as much a part of a more faithful record of popular religion Hinduism as the profound but intangible than the textual equivalent There are many philosophy expressed in sacred literature examples of this but it can be particularly and mythology. seen in the development of devotional Hindu religious practice involves not only bhakti imagery. an emotional and/or intellectual response Finally, devotional Hinduism reveals but also contains a sensory dimension. It physical and psychological practice which involves touch in the rubbing of oil or is scarcely addressed in the written texts powder on the idol; smell in the offering of but which is directly related to art. The ; hearing and chanting in the ordinary Hindu has a practical approach to participation of , and sight and being his faith which is characterized by seen through darsan and the offering of the

11 Hinduism and the Religious Arts sacred flame in the darkness of the interior Notes shrine. Sexual sensuality in both denial and sexual fulfilment are also given a 1 This is, however, to view with hindsight the development of two levels of ritual as though philosophical place within Hinduism. This they were separate and to assume Hinduism to sensory impact is an essential part in be mainstream and orthodox, which it eventually understanding ritual practice and it is proved to be. As a means of communicating with expressed through relationships with art divine forces, the evident satisfaction given to a large part of the population by magic practices, images. The Ramacandragani, in his some of which continue to be used to this day, poem known as the Hundred Verses on suggests that it is wrong to marginalize magic in King Kumarapala's Temple which was this fashion. dedicated to the king on his conversion 2 See Crooke 1894; Goudriaan 1978; Stutley 1980. from Saivism to Jainism, expressed this as 3 Biardeau 1981, p. 77. follows. 4 According to O'Flaherty (1975, p. 17; 1988, There in that temple, people experience a p. 5) the approximate dates for the texts are as follows: Rg Veda: 1200 BC; Atharva Veda: 900 BC; strange desire to renounce further pleasures of Brahmanas: 900-700 BC; Upanishads: 700 BC; the senses; their ears were filled with the Mahabharata: 300 BC-AD 300; : 200 singing; their eyes were intent upon the BC-AD 200. The Puranas are just as difficult to date, but marvellous dancing, and all they could smell she gives them this rough chronology: : was the fragrant water that was being used to AD 850; : AD 950; Bhavishya: bathe the main image. So satiated, they no AD 500-1200; Brahma: AD 900-1350, Brahmanda: 350-950; Brahmavaivarta: longer yearned for any other objects of the 750-1550; Brhaddharma: 1250; Brhannaradiya: 111 senses. 750-900; : 550-650; Devibhagavata: 850-1350; : 900; : 450; Kalika: Experience through bodily sensation is a 1350; : 1500-1700; : 550-850; part of Hindu religious understanding, the Linga: 600-1000; Mahabhagavata: 1100; body being itself a temple and, like the : 250; : 250-500; Narasimha: 400-500; Padma: 750; Sambha: 500-800; : temple, a repository of the divine. The 950-1150; Siva: 750-1350; Skanda: 700-1150; architectural elements of the temple are : 450-900; Varaha: 750; Vayir. 350; based on and named after the human body, Vishnu: 450. and it is the human body that is the ground 5 The chief centre was modern , Bihar and . for and transformation. 6 O'Flaherty 1988, p. 1. In short, the religious arts of Hinduism 7 Fuller 1992, p. 6. have played an essential role as an integral 8 O'Flaherty 1988, p. xi. part of ritual over the centuries. They 9 Fuller 1992, p. 4. provide a neglected but distinct devotional 10 See Granoff, in Mason 1993, p. 90. text of their own. Examination of Hinduism through the images that it uses to reveal itself gives us fresh insights into the ritual practices of devotees and details of behaviour and a deeper understanding of the nature of Hinduism.

12 CHAPTER S Sacred Imagery

In this chapter we will examine the meaning of soma, an intoxicant drunk during Vedic and significance of the Hindu sacred image, ceremonies. Some considerable time later its origin, how it was made and its various this early oral tradition was written down forms. We must however be aware that this in the ancient Vedic text, the Bhagavad Gita, focus solely on Hindu imagery, ignoring which was compiled between 300 BC and other , is a Western and AD 300. inappropriate approach. The distinction For I am the sacrifice and the offering, the between Hindu, Jain and is sacred and the sacred plant. I am the holy largely one of iconography and this division words, the holy food, the holy fire, and the holds little meaning for non-Western offering that is made in the fire. I am the Father devotees. Indians are not concerned with of this universe, and even the Source of the exclusive gods or primarily with the Father. 1 am the Mother of this universe, and of sacred images, nor do the the Creator of all. I am the highest to be known, majority of practising Hindus contemplate the Path of purification, the holy , the Three philosophical questions. Their devotion Vedas. I am the Way, and the Master who centres on a close relationship with a god watches in silence; thy friend and thy shelter or goddess chosen from a range of and thy abode of peace. I am the beginning and distinctive deities whose characters and the middle and the end of all things: their seed visual characteristics are well known and of Eternity, their Treasure supreme.... I am life comprise in effect an extended family. To immortal and death; I am what is and I am what this day the Hindu concept of a single is not.2 supreme deity (the transcendental Bhagvan or Isvara) is too remote and impersonal and It is not known for certain when the is not represented visually. The difficulties intellectual struggle was determined to of expressing such a complex concept relate the nature of God, which is formless visually are obvious. From the early Vedic and infinite, to a finite, tangible form, which texts compiled from about 1200 BC, it seems can be comprehended by the layman. The that the deity was not represented by the search for an appropriate means of Vedic priests in sculptural form.1 Divine reflecting the unfathomable, unknowable power was instead expressed in colourful nature of the divine presumably continued and detailed mental images obtained by in Hinduism, for centuries. In some revelation or perhaps induced by the effects instances in later Hinduism, the deity can

13 Hinduism and the Religious Arts be described by what the deity is not.3 A the gods in the cosmic order became word that is used in the Bhagavad Gita and recognized by man, they also acquired the the Upanishads, whose meaning at that time iconographic emblems of their powers is uncertain but which is subsequently which on a mundane level served to instruct known to indicate shape and form, is . and identify. Brahmanic Hindu worshippers, The word 'murti' came to mean not only a villagers and tribal communities to this day likeness of the deity but the deity itself in continue to worship images and to maintain concrete form. By this means, the worship- the ritual of votive offerings for wish per was able to make eye contact on a fulfilment. Fertility images and a concrete personal level with the divine. This presence locus for offerings almost certainly existed may on one level be perceived as formless, throughout the on a village or from which issues a hierarchical complex tribal level in a manner entirely different of powerful deities.4 from the sacrificial ceremonies of the Vedic Religious ritual in Hinduism revolves priests. around the devotion and ultimate identi- Hindus believe gods and spirits are fication of the worshipper with God. peripatetic and have a potential for varied Hindu art is created to assist this process manifestations. Chief deities appear in a and combines imagery and allegorical wide variety of forms, expressing their symbolism to represent the deity, to make multiple roles and moods. These forms can visible the invisible. This finds expression be iconic, that is, with a resemblance to in a large range of styles, all of which may human form; or aniconic, in other words, in Western terms properly be considered as in an abstract symbolic form such as a pile art. Simple geometry such as the square of stones or a linga. Organic and inorganic and circle, inorganic, organic forms and the matter is perceived as a potential residence human figure have been used as symbols for a deity or spirit, particularly the sacred of the divine. images produced for veneration in a temple Why the need for the image, the need for or domestic shrine. The image is generally God and what is dedicated to Him - in other required to be beautiful to encourage the words, the sacred? A sense of mystery and deity to enter it, and the material from belief in the existence of a spirit world and which it was made must be unblemished. fear of the unknown have always driven Divine energy is believed to be infused by man's search for a means of participating ritual, and the final task of the ceremony is in the cosmic order. With order comes to open the eyes of the image by means of certainty and preservation. Irregularity in a specific chanted (spoken or sung the seasons, for example, can mean religious formula) and the completion by starvation or death in an agricultural the artist of this part of his work.6 To be society. The world of religious or magical ritually effective and sacred an image must powers is an expression of the age-old be given the correct preparation and human desire to understand and coerce a invocation, after which it is perceived not generally symbiotic relationship with only as an icon or symbol but is also nature.5 The desire to propitiate and protect believed to hold a numinous presence. The are crucial factors in the formation of Indian image is also said to emanate a particle of religious practice. As the separate roles of the divine whole, the divine perceived not

14 Sacred Imagery in man's image as a separate entity but as suggested by Humphrey and Laidlaw to be a formless, indescribable omnipresent like objects, describing worship () as a whole. The image allows the worshipper to pattern of action: catch a reflection of the deity whose The patterns rituals take, beyond our purposes, effulgence transcends what the physical eye beliefs, or intentions, propose their own time, can see. This divine effulgence is beheld in 7 and to step into this, to enact it ourselves, is man's inner vision. An image is a murti not 9 because it resembles the deity it represents perhaps to defy our transience and death. but because it conforms to prescribed The visual equivalent of vocalized mantras, such measurements and symbolic conventions. images - I think to an extent all Hindu images - It is subsequently consecrated and offered act as mechanisms (yantras) to support and devotion by the initiated artist (sthapati), sustain the effort of man to transcend.10 priest () and devotee (bhakta). The requirements for the materials, These sacred images (, icons or measurements, proportion, decoration and sculptures) are meditative supports and are used in conjunction with other devices such symbolism of the murti are provided in 11 technical manuals known as Silpasastras. as yantras (abstract maps of energies Explanation of the metaphysical signific- likened to geometrical diagrams) and 12 ance of each stage of manufacture and the mantras (verbal formulae or incantations). prescription of specific mantras to sanctify These visual references give form to the the process and evoke and invoke the formless and make visible the invisible. power of the deity in the image are found The devices referred to above act like a in the liturgical handbooks (the Agamas language of pun and allegory echoing in and ). The process is modelled on the multiple facets, reflections of the the instructions for building fire essential transcendent unity of form. The found in the Brahmanas.8 images cannot be taken separately from Hindu images seek to express essential sound, since the vibrations of sound give truths concerning divine forces. An icono- them vitality. graphy developed which was based on a Staal points out that the ritual function code of symbols that assumed an inter- of mantras does not lie in their language or relationship of forms and ideas. In a world even their metrical structure but in their where the phenomenal is believed to be sounds, with their themes and variations, illusory and the senses subjective, words repetitions and inversions, all of which are 13 and images are held to be an approximation executed in accordance with fixed rules. of truth. They make visible the invisible, the Staal's interpretation is that this essential essential transcendent and immanent unity musicality shows mantras to be a form of of God. They are analogous of and act as ritual expression which preceded language. reference to the existence of forces which He describes them as units of sound, can only be understood directly at a certain patterns or sections, which allow the level of consciousness. They reinforce devotees to be relatively fluid in the time that which can be dimly sensed through taken and the number of mantras recited. myths and parables. The rituals associated Even in the Minakshi temple at the with images in a Jain context have been ritual model leaves out one part and

15 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

concentrates on the central section: imagination and translated into form? Or 'Although the "full" worship in the Minakshi was it the result of intoxication induced by temple comprises only four rituals, which the ceremonial drink soma? The early text leaves out at least eight of the sixeen textual the Vishnudharmottara Purana17 refers to upacars, it is common practice merely to the origin of sculpture. It says that in the offer food and wave the lamps.'14 , Treta and Dvapara ages () It is also suggested that: people could see the gods with their eyes, but in the Kali they lost that power. The identity of ritual acts depends on a priori To help them in the worship and prescription, and not on intentional under- of the Supreme Being who is formless, standing, the elements can be arranged in purely images were made as intermediaries. formal structures which have no relation to the intentions and purposes for which the ritual as Out of these generations of seers () has a whole is undertaken.13 grown the communal understanding of all life, its balance: through them is glimpsed, beyond Despite this however, an understanding of the self-perpetuating fabric (prakriti), beyond the meaning of the mantra may enhance its the semblance of reality (), the one Being efficacy. through Whom all live (), Who is sacred (brahman), and to Whose myriad appearances The Origin of Hindu Imagery and manifestations is returned His share in the ritual of the sacrifice. For the balance (rita) is Hindu images have a very distinct always to be renewed, restored, confirmed.18 appearance. The deities possess human or animal characteristics but represent Despite the lack of evidence of sculptures superhuman beings. They are portrayed or icons, the Vedic poets portrayed their sometimes with many upper limbs, some- deities in colourful imagery expressed in times with more than one head. They verse and hymns sung at ritual ceremonies. express mood and movement in their Intensified vision through heightened posture and gesture; they hold emblems and consciousness or the effects of soma may can be placed in dynamic relation to other have contributed to the Hindu gods being figures or symbolic animals. They inhabit portrayed with multiple heads and arms realms beyond our normal existence. This (multi-headed images have been discovered mythical world and the gods who inhabit it even among the remains of the Indus valley express the Hindu belief that 'the universe culture). Agni is described in the Vedas as is boundlessly various, that everything having seven red tongues, seven faces and occurs simultaneously and that all gleaming hair, while Indra is characterized possibilities are not mutually exclusive'.16 as carrying a thunderbolt Certain colours The origin of the formulae and subsequently acquired individual symbolic components of religious imagery in meaning. According to the Vedic priests, all Hinduism is shrouded in mystery. Were phenomena in the world were interrelated, the forms of deities profound visions of with no fundamental distinction between real beings or did they arise from deep powers and processes, symbols and the meditation, from an interior silence symbolized and so forth. Reality was and formlessness, becoming clothed in perceived as a network of affinities or

16 Sacred Imagery connections (nidana) which can be detected, According to Bhattacharya,22 anthropo- evoked and activated by man.19 The key to morphic descriptions of gods are not found the hidden reality was the realm of sound in the early Vedas, and the iconographic or vibrations. texts originated after image worship had The focus of Vedic ritual was not the become customary in the later Vedic image of the gods but the re-enactment of period.23 In the Upanishadic era images creation in the rite of sacrifice. According were referred to which could be summoned to Baumer, another possible origin of the by meditation. This was an interior (subtle/ anthropomorphic image was the golden suksma) worship as opposed to an exterior figure of the purusa, which was built into worship of a material image (gross/sthula). the Vedic fire . She relates this to the In the Epics, image worship is mentioned containing relics of the Buddha and and accepted, but it is given only marginal to the simple stylized shape of the purusa and fleeting notice, while the major interest drawn even today on earthern pots which is centred on fire sacrifice. 20 comes close to the shape of a . Supporting the idea of the mind as the The emphasis moved from the worship of source of creation are texts which instruct the deities themselves (part of the ancient the Hindu craftsmen in the need for pre-Zoroastrian Indo-European culture) to visualization and devotion as prerequisites a concentration on the sacrificial rite itself. for artistic production.24 There is a direct The ritual prescriptions were laid down in link between the images of the mind the Brahmanas. Here the offering was the described in the Upanishadic period and symbol of the 'purusha', the god itself. This later Hindu guidelines for sculptors, as the action, together with the sacrificial fire and following text from the the soma, ascended with the smoke to the demonstrates. gods and thus maintained the right cosmic order. I will describe to you the perceptible form of The ritual elements contained in the (Vishnu), which no mental retention will sacrifices were the soma, the offering itself, manifest, except in a mind that is fit to become sacred sound (mantras), the fire and the the receptacle of the idea. The meditating sacrificial altar, and the yupa, otherwise Vishnu, as having a pleased and lovely known as the sacrificial post21 The Vedic countenance with eyes like the leaf of the lotus, sacrifice later provided Hinduism with a smooth cheeks, and a broad and brilliant kind of standard of worth by which non- forehead; ears of equal size, the lobes of which Vedic religious practices may be gauged. are decorated with splendid pendants; a painted New and relatively simple Hindu practices neck; and a broad chest, on which shines the are said to contain the power of the most Srivasta mark; a belly falling in graceful folds, complex Vedic sacrifices. The shrouding of with a deepseated navel; eight long arms, or else new Hindu practices in sacrificial clothing four; and firm and well knit thighs and legs, with is not to present the new as the old. One well-formed feet and toes. Let him, with might describe sacrifice to have functioned unremitting attention, Hari, as clad in a yellow throughout Indian history as a marker for robe, wearing a (rich diadem on his head), and traditionalism and as a means for acceptable brilliant armlets and bracelets (on his arms) and innovation. bearing (in his hands) the bow, the shell, the

17 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

mace, the sword, the discus, the rosary, the from 2500 BC is perhaps a further variation lotus, and the arrow.25 of the use of aniconic imagery (Figure 2.1). The vulva, circle or ringstone, the aniconic A Hindu craftsman was obliged to go form of the mother goddess, may also through a process of prayer and self- represent continuity from a matriarchal purification before he created a religious fertility cult of the pre-Vedic period.28 The image. The image was expected to become potent and to suggest imminent movement. Vedi (Vedic altar), perceived as the symbol Its potency and dynamic emanations or of the goddess, may also be seen as a forcefield were maintained by the possible early aniconic symbol. cumulative effect of the chanting of Remnants of pre-Vedic cults, in their mantras. worship of aniconic natural symbols such as stones, earthen mounds termite mounds Thus the stone or bronze image of a deity in a (Figure 6.3, p. 195), pillars, trees, snakes temple or shrine is believed to almost pulsate and rivers are still seen in present day tribal with life, containing the combined presence of and village India. These sacred natural the deity who invests it and the accumulated forms were held to be signs of the deities' force-field of years of devotion. Conversely an presence before the existence of Hindu object that is abused and desecrated, or that is icons, and are revered to the present day. in close proximity to expressions of hostility, Tribal religion in India vengeance, is likely to absorb negative energy, or to be polluted by its treatment or surround- is characterized by aniconical symbols as the ings. The purpose of many Hindu ritual acts is seats of deities, by irregular worship and the to rid objects or places of their negativity, to carrying out of blood sacrifices, by tribal priests remove the contagion of evil spirits.26 as being in charge, and by priests and worshippers being possessed in front of the According to current research, the Jain faith deities. Hindu religion, by contrast, is marked held images as an important part of the by the existence of anthropomorphic murtis as transmission and focus of their teaching. the seats of the deities, by the conduct of regular This may have had an impact on the puja-services under the control of Brahman acceptance of a concrete form of image priests, and by the deities' vegetarianism.29 making from the third century BC.27 The most sophisticated form of aniconic imagery is the yantra or geometric diagram, Aniconic Symbols expressed as a formula, which attempts to Hindu aniconic and iconic symbols seek to describe and contain the dynamic force of represent forces and energies - aspects of the cosmos (Figure 2.2). Yantras often act a single supreme undifferentiated Isvara as substitutes for the image of the deity. which is unmanifest and in real terms They are also used as ground plans for the unrepresentable. conceptual foundation of the . The swastika and the ringstone are two Yantras are also placed in the foundation early aniconic sun symbols in use in the of temple sanctums and were used as Indus valley culture. The image resembling compositional diagrams in the execution of a phallus found at Mohenjo Daro dating sculptural images adorning temple walls.

18 Sacred Imagery

Many elements in Hindu worship echo the pre-iconic past:

The hallowed pit or cave, the breast stone or well, the bloodlike splash of vermilion, the circle- glyph or fullness, the female triangle of fertility, they signal with startling vividness and immediacy and are as natural to the Indian landscape as the land itself.30

Iconic Hindu Deities

According to Coomaraswamy, the Hindu Isvara is not a jealous god, because all gods are aspects of him imagined by his worshippers. In the words of the god Krishna, an incarnation of Vishnu:

When any devotee seeks to worship any aspect with faith, it is none other than Myself that grants his prayers. Howsoever men approach me, so do I welcome them, for the path men take 31 from every side is mine. Figure 2.1 A stone linga, Indus Valley. Harappan period, c. 2300-1750 BC. The Below Isvara in the hierarchy of the Hindu whereabouts of the original is unknown. pantheon are the most well-known Hindu Drawing by Christopher Glanville RWA. deities, Vishnu, Siva and Brahma, who form a triumvirate, together with the goddess previous existence of idol worshippers. The Devi, who is worshipped in many forms, in earliest unambiguous reference to the some of which she is the consort of Vishnu, worship of images is found in the writings Siva or Brahma. A detailed account of the of Panini in the fifth century BC. This text gods themselves will not concern us here, refers to the worship of the images of the except to note that some of these deities are yaksha and yakshi, male and female tree derived from gods referred to in the sacred spirits, associated with the ancient cult of book of the Aryans - the Vedas. The Hindu tree worship and nagas (snake deities) and gods Agni, Indra (god of the storm), Rudra, not Vedic deities. Offerings to monumental god of destruction, the god cognate yaksha and images and to sacred with (god of heaven) and Varuna, the trees for wish fulfilment are still a vital part wind god, come from the Vedic pantheon. of some village rituals. It is interesting to The earliest ancient Vedic text the Rg Veda note that some elements associated with itself, refers derisively to the pre-Vedic Indus tree worship, such as flags, the offerings of peoples as Sishnadevas and Muradevas, flowers, incense and fruit have become part literally meaning the worshippers of the of later Hindu ritual.32 The popularity and phallus and of the fetish, implying the mention of images in the Jain tradition

19 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

spirits and their propitiation coexisted with the worship of the powerful trinity of gods and their consorts. Other lesser deities existed such as local ancient folk heroes and regional beings, some of which were animal or inorganic in form, and exist on a level between the primary Hindu gods and man. These were all subsumed in Hinduism into a pantheon of deities and spirits. There is no sharp division between the gods and man, as is found, for example, in the Judaeo- Christian tradition.

History of the Development of Images Figure 2.2 Yantra. Drawing by Christopher Glanville RWA. As mentioned above, archaeological excavations in the areas of Mohenjo Daro which has largely been ignored may be a and revealed numerous crudely further factor in our understanding of this made terracotta images of animals and development. female figures. Also found were a few The earliest sculptural evidence for skilfully carved and lifelike stone sculptures specifically Hindu gods dates from the first of humans, and steatite seals (Figure 2.3) century BC.33 Several factors are believed to attributed to the Indus valley civilization of have contributed to the form of these 2500 BC. However, the subsequent Indo- deities. Besides the inspiration of Vedic Aryan culture from 2000-300 BC has so far gods was the existence of pre-Vedic gods, failed to provide any significant material such as a possible proto-Siva deity (bull- evidence of any fine-carved stone image masked), revealed in the cross-legged figure making. Despite the absence of surviving on an Indus valley seal (Figure 2.3);34 or artefacts from the period following the tribal sacred animals such as the boar or Indus valley culture it is difficult to imagine the lion subsequently seen as the that this form of craftsmanship completely of Vishnu, Varaha and Narasimha. disappeared. Initially, as has already been Of supreme importance in the religious mentioned, the Aryan deities referred to is the worship of the mother in the sacrificial hymns were not given goddess, together with the associated ideas sculptural form and were only described of the desire for children. The female in her verbally. In the later Upanishadic tradition encapsulation of the mysterious power of the personalized deity was to be summoned reproduction and fertility was both feared through meditation. The probability that and revered. The mother goddess and image worship continued in the Vedic fertility ritual has been an element of period in the lower levels of society is continuity in Hindu worship on a widely accepted.36 Archaeological evidence monumental and village level to the present suggests continuity in the making and use day.35 A belief in spirits, ghosts and tree of crude terracotta animal and human

20 Sacred Imagery

Figure 2.3 Seal showing a horned cross-legged figure, Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan. Harappan period, c. 2300-1750 BC. Drawing by Christopher Glanville RWA. images. The practice of such votive offerings stupa cult, where signs of the Buddha were still persists in village and tribal India honoured. Magnificent buildings produced today.37 by the neighbouring Achaemenid empire Stone monuments and edicts produced inspired a new of Indian architecture under the patronage of the great emperor in stone to meet Asoka's requirements for Asoka survive from the Mauryan period monumental stupas and stone pillars. The which dates from the third century BC, but first century AD stupa has an most other materials proved less durable inscription which refers to the work of and have perished. Asoka supplanted the carvers, and further evidence of this work 'revealed' Vedic sacrifice with a form of is provided in the early Sastric texts but Buddhist ceremonial. This practice became nothing has survived. These textual the central cult of his empire and involved prescriptions actually favoured images in gift giving to Buddhist alongside a impermanent materials such as clay and

21 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

known as the Vishnudharrnottara Purana devotes a whole chapter to the details of procuring wood for temple building and image making. This text also suggests that stone was used less frequently than wood. It is possible that wood as a material for sculpted images was selected for spiritual reasons as much as for ease of working and availability. Certainly the relative ease of carving a detailed figure affected the development of the free-standing image.39 Perhaps the yaksha image, when carved in wood, was thought to be a suitable home for the vital pulse of the tree spirit, being of the same material substance. The Brhatsamhita gives the words of a mantra to be uttered by a craftsman about to cut down a tree in order to make an image:

Oh though tree, salutation to thee, though art selected for (being fashioned into) the icon of the deity; please accept this offering according to rules. May all the spirits which reside in this tree transfer their habitation elsewhere after accepting the offerings made according to rules; may they pardon me today (for disturbing them) salutation to them.4" From this exhortation it is evident that society believed to be capable of transmigration and this may have contributed to the Hindu belief in the peripatetic nature of spirits generally;41 it may also have contributed to the idea that Figure 2.4 Male figure (possibly a yaksha) from Parkham, Uttar Pradesh. Sunga, second-first a sculpture as well as a person may be century BC. Mathura Museum, Mathura. possessed by the deity. It cannot be proved that pre-Vedic tree worship influenced the wood rather than stone, and state that these development of Buddhist, Jain and Hindu images will bring the worshippers long life, icons or images, though a very early Jain fortune, strength and victory.38 text refers to a of the yaksha The role of wooden architecture and its Moggarapani in a shrine outside the city of influence on the design of early Buddhist Rajagraha.42 The transfer of beliefs from rock-cut and Hindu free-standing - one era to another and from one philosophy tecture is well known. The ancient text to another can be seen in the continuous

22 Sacred Imagery use of sacred sites by successive religious which separated heaven and earth during groups. These sites acquired sanctity by the creation of the universe. According to identification with a former sacred presence, Irwin, the earliest record of this belief occurs an idea which is part of the spiritual in the Rg Veda*6 where a tree was the mythology of India.43 sacrificial post (yupa or ) which The earliest examples of free-standing represented the axis of the universe. anthropomorphic figures are of yakshas and Indra himself is said to be the stambha which from the third to second century holds apart the worlds. The gods live at the top BC (Figure 1.1). Whether the early yaksha of the pillar, while man and the ancestors abide and yakshini sculpture attributable to at the lower regions. Communication takes place Maurya and Sunga patronage had ritual or along this post or tree, for the sacrificial offering royal significance is uncertain. However, it is tied to a pillar and thereby delivered upward is interesting to note that an early sculpture to the gods, while the yupa acts as a fecundator of a yaksha found near the ancient city of bringing the celestial waters to the earth.47 (Figure 2.4) was still being actively worshipped as 'Jakheiya' by the local According to Irwin, evidence of a pre- community at the time of its discovery Mauryan date for the earliest known stone earlier this century. Coomaraswamy refers pillars is given by their varied methods of to aspects of the tree worship cult and construction. Furthermore, he suggests that offerings to trees which in many ways are wooden pillars may well have been common similar to the kind of offerings made to earlier.48 Asokan pillars proclaimed written Hindu gods or village deities today. The full edicts and used images of the lion and the frontal and monumental form of the earliest bull to assert their royal authority. Even free-standing yaksha images echo the today in South India in many temples, a flag solidity and verticality of the pillar. These on a tall pole is placed in the centre before monumental yaksha images influenced the the principal shrine. The devotees must first form of the early images of the Buddha and offer worship to this post or flag. The Jain icons.44 meaning of this flag is unclear nowadays Associated with the idea of tree worship and has become merely a ritual observance. is another vertical form, the sacred pillar. It is possible however that this is an ancient There is an acceptance in many cultures of remnant of the pillar and tree concept the association of a sacred pillar with the which is still incorporated into Hindu ritual world axis. The tree and the pillar are practice. It is also true that even the symbols which may have links in pre-Vedic simplest wayside shrine is declared sacred and Vedic iconography. Even today the by the presence of the flag. The flag may Gonds worship their tribal deity, Aki also suggest the element of wind. Pen, in the form of a wooden pillar.45 The As already mentioned, the earliest known importance of the tree can also be seen by images of Hindu deities date from the first its continued worship in villages (Figure century BC and were found with free- 2.5) and in the courtyards of several standing Jain and Buddhist images in the temples in India, one example being the region of Mathura. Whether these were Tiruvannamalai temple in Tamil Nadu. Vedic inspired by Graeco-Roman examples or in texts describe the pillar as the instrument emulation of free-standing monumental

23 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

Figure 2.5 Sacred tree hung with cradles. Tamil Nadu. Stephen Huyler. yaksha sculptures remains controversial.49 the second century BC can be seen in The ritual practice relating to this early female image found on the Buddhist stupa monumental stone sculpture is unknown, at . This image is in the character- but it probably echoed earlier folk traditions istic form associated with Lakshmi - a of the worship of the tree spirits and snake female, supported by a lotus, flanked by and deities. A distinction must be made in the lustrated by two . An early image Sunga period (first century BC) between free- referring to a Vaishnavite deity is seen on standing images and the decorative and a large first-century BC stone pillar. Thi illustrative carvings which adorned the pillar bears an inscription which states that railings and great of the Buddhist this 'standard' was set up in honour of the stupas of pre-Hindu India. These reliefs not deity Vasudeva, by a man from only tell a story but may also have attempted named Heliodorus, the ambassador of a portrayals of actual places and events. Graeco-Bactrian king to King Bhagabhadra A precursor of the Hindu goddess in 120-100 BC. This pillar bearing one o Lakshmi dating from the Sunga period of the most popular names for Vishnu was

24 Sacred Imagery probably surmounted by the bird Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu. One of the most important examples of early Saivism in is the linga presently enshrined in a temple of a later period in the village of Gudimallam. The figure of Siva carved on the linga resembles that of a yaksha and is in an early Sunga style suggestive of first-century BC origin. The figure of Siva has only two arms and holds a ram, or possibly an antelope, and a water pot. An axe rests on his shoulder, and he stands on a . Some of these attributes become standard elements of his later iconography (Figure 2.6). Also in South India, evidence of shrines from the Ishvaku period suggest the early covering of images. Despite these references to Hindu images, the surviving sculpture produced during the Sunga and Satavahana periods Figure 2.6 Linga from Gudimallam, Andhra from the first century BC to the first century Pradesh, c. First century BC. Madhuvanti Ghose. AD is predominantly Buddhist or Jain, and Hindu sculpture is rare. The decoration of Lakshmi image of the first century BC on these Buddhist monuments reveals many the stupa at Bharhut and the reliefs of Indra examples of pre-Buddhist, non-Vedic and Surya at Bhaja on the iconography. The frequent appearance of south of Bombay do not appear to have inscribed yaksha and yakshini,50 naga and been worshipped. An architectural fragment nagini images, the solar symbols and the of a Sivalinga from Mathura is also evidence lustrated female on a lotus demonstrate the of linga worship. The strength of this coexistence of these cults with Vedic is demonstrated by the appearance of Siva Brahmanism. on Kusana coins and the existence of the The region of Mathura, from the first Gudimallam linga shrine which proves that century AD under Kusana patronage, is the linga was used as a cult icon at this time. responsible for many of the earliest From the fourth century AD, Vidisha and examples of Hindu sculpture. The apparent nearby Udaygiri in Central India were increase in the making of stone images is important sites developed under the generally attributed to familiarity with patronage of the Kusana dynasty. The Greek sculpture, a result of increased trade earliest intact body of Hindu art in India is with the Graeco-Bactrian community in seen in Udaygiri, in twenty rock-cut North-west India. Some of the earliest chambers. These caves contain carvings Hindu images known to us are seen in the which are vital for the study of the creation image of found in of . An inscription and an image of Surya at Mathura.51 The securely dates the cave complex to AD 401

25 Hinduism and the Religious Arts and mentions the patron Candragupta II. The of manifestation and protection underlined sculptures in these caves demonstrate that the important relationship between temples by the early fifth century much of the Hindu and images.55 iconographic formula was well established. Surviving wall panels from these Gupta This multilayered language of form was temples show a growing complexity in mirrored in the love of verbal pun and iconography including such images as the allegory found in contemporary Sanskrit man-lion (Narasimha), the dwarf incarnation literature.52 A pantheon of deities was now (Vamana), Vishnu lying on Sesa (snake), represented with clearly formed iconography. Vishnu as Nara and and the Gods such as the elephant god, Vishnu, sculpture of Gajendramoksa. Some temples the , Durga in the form of used specific complex imagery in an attempt Mahisamardini and the river goddesses to convey a message to the devotees. appear in the caves of Udaygiri. Other A common theme was Anantasayana representatives of the Hindu pantheon may representing the beginning, Nara and also be seen on the fifth-century Durga Narayana denoting the means through temple at near and the fifth- which moksa can be achieved, with century Vishnu temple at Deogarh. Sculpture Gajendramoksa being the final result. was now involved not only in the making of Parallel to stone sculpting in the Gupta the central cult icon but also in a highly period there existed a well-developed complex arrangement of stone carving on terracotta tradition. The sculptures from the temple, predominantly around the such sites as Ahicchattra demonstrate the outside with a smaller amount inside.53 high standard of craftsmanship, while the One of the most important images at brick temple of Bhitargaon is one of the best Udaygiri is that of the boar incarnation of preserved of its type. On stylistic grounds Vishnu known as Varaha, which appears in the first half of the fifth century has been cave 5. He is depicted as half-man, half-boar, suggested as the date of this building. with his left foot on a submissive naga. The sophistication and allegorical nature Isolated sculptures from the Gupta period of the surviving Hindu sculpture leads one at a number of other sites reveal that many to conclude, despite the lack of material of the Hindu deities known today were evidence of a formative phase, that Hindu already widespread by the fifth century. The sculpture from the first century BC to sophisticated symbolism present in this the fifth century AD represents not the early corpus of Hindu art suggests a lengthy formation of Hindu iconography but the formative period, while the complete crystallization of a long period of absence of any examples from this earlier development. Over the next few centuries phase suggests the use of perishable the trend was towards an increased materials.54 With the growth in popularity elaboration in the depiction of Hindu relief of Hinduism, temples dedicated to various sculpture. Examples of this may be seen in Hindu deities were constructed throughout the panels decorating the cave temple of North and Central India. The image was not Elephanta assigned to the patronage of the only protected by ritual and architecture in the mid-sixth century.56 but served with the temple to protect the Sculpture from the first century BC surrounding community. This dual function generally comprises single figures or

26 Sacred Imagery shallow narrative friezes. Gradually in the The Purpose of Images sixth century, free-standing figurative sculpture began to appear on the outside For the Hindu the image is an instrument of the temples and became an increasingly of purpose, significant only in its role as a important component of the architectural vessel fit to contain the deity with little design. The naturalistic portraits of the consideration as to its intrinsic value. Images human figure, accurate in details of dress are discarded once they have served their and physiognomy, became less important spiritual purpose. The purpose of the image, over the next two centuries, to be replaced as has been already described, is to represent from about the eighth century by figures some fundamental aspect of the universe intended to enhance and promote a unified which is not perceptible to our senses, and architectural design rather than realism. to act as a metaphor to enable the religious devotee to more easily recognize that truth. The loss of anatomical credibility, exaggeration Essentially the image is intended to reveal of movement, simplification of the body, divinity to man and to help manifest divinity hardening of carving, bold elaboration of details in man, in other words, to represent and and reduction and multiplication of single participate in this process. The image is also images that occurred between the sixth and intended to assist the concentration of the fourteenth centuries can thus be seen for what worshipper by providing a focus for his they were - not a deterioration in but a devotions. According to the change in intention.57 historian Meister: The relief sculpture resembles Buddhist Images that designate divinity, clothe the wall painting at Ajanta in that it portrays absolute, specify a path for meditation, give form figures which, like the actors in Sanskrit to devotion, even specify a sociology for drama, appear in a series of apparently kingship or society; they contain divinity called unconnected vignettes. These were seen by down by human ritual, embody the potency of an audience able to absorb simultaneously patronage, the of their craftsman's inner many elements of the whole sequential vision, the that is real form. This is story. These wall panels and the ever- their function and their history.38 increasing complexity of plot foreshadow the exuberant carvings on temple walls in If these images have received the appropri- subsequent centuries when sculpture ate ritual invocation they are believed to played an even greater role in carrying out hold a numinous presence and to radiate the programme of the temple than it did in some particles of divine energy. In the the Gupta and immediately post-Gupta innermost shrine many icons are blackened monuments. The cult icon retained identifi- with smoke and, when seen by devotees, so able attributes seen in the earliest period heavily draped in cloth that details of their of Hindu sculpture. Emblems and vehicles form are not as important as the splendour had become firmly established as part of of their adornment. Many writers have the code of effective identification and observed that the services and offerings aesthetics, reinforcing the essential spiritual constituting worship are expressions of message of Hinduism in a manner that was homage or respect for the honoured guest, readily understood by the people. seen as represented by the image as the

27 Hinduism and the Religious Arts deity. While this is one aspect of the ritual, varied multilayered concepts and aims held some of the elements - for example, the by individual Hindus. Despite these lamps - are rarely used for an honoured differences improvisation takes place within guest. The final objective of worship in a carefully prescribed form. Hinduism is to overcome the differences Ritualized acts in liturgical traditions are socially between gods and men which lie at the root prescribed and present themselves to individual of the problem of their dialogue and to actors as 'given' and external to themselves. encourage a progressive identification of Because ritualized acts are stipulated in this the worshipper and god. The ultimate aim way, a new situation arises: instead of, as is for them either before the personal shrine normally the case in everyday life, a person's at home or in the temple is to become one act being given meaning by his or her intentions, by the devotee identifying both inwardly with ritual action the act itself appears as already and outwardly with the deity. The potential formed, almost like an object, something from for the interchangeability of nara and which the actor might 'receive'. In this narayana - man and god - is fundamental transformed situation the intentions and to Hindu . The strongest ex- thoughts of the actor make no difference to the pression of this idea may be the ritual's use identity of the act performed.62 of a flame, with its strong smell and brilliance which acts directly on the senses, Darsana (literally viewing), an act of positive and yet expresses the insubstantial yet visual and mental engagement with the god transforming spiritual power of the deity.59 or the seeing of or being in the presence of The rapid extinguishing of the flame also an image; and funding, or the making of a symbolizes the transience of imperfect , are believed to lead to the man's communication with the deities and acquisition of spiritual merit, both for the his need to repeat it continually. donor and, by association, the craftsman. The craftsmen making these images were In other words, while it seeks to produce (or concerned with more than mere aesthetic restore) an identity of god and man, worship achievement. simultaneously emphasises their differences, because the identity cannot be sustained. He [the craftsman] also makes them [the image] Moreover as only gods know how ritual should act effectively by means of their aesthetic presence properly be performed, worship must always whose magic literally secures for the donor a remain the inadequate work of humans.6" place in heaven while on earth, and whose virtue acts for the well-being of those who are in the The study by Humphrey and Laidlaw of the orbit of power or connected with the patron.63 variety of individual aims in the ritual practice of Jain puja, however, revealed a The artist's work becomes 'concretely real, wide variety of individual motives, some of subtly effective and transcendentally which reflect a habitual approach to its existent', as indicated in the sacred text the practice as a dutiful part of the customary Vishnusamhita.64 The physical presence of round of their everyday life.61 Throughout the was felt to have beneficial this study one must acknowledge the influence, primarily on the patron but also discrepancy between the theological or on all who saw or worshipped it. Statues philosophical claims of Hinduism and the were said to weep, to shake and to address

28 Sacred Imagery the spectator, as did the royal portrait suitable material for making these sacred statues in the drama Pratimanataka.65 The images. Essentially, these texts attempted effect of the image on the worshipper to guide the transformation of the ideal or involves a charged atmosphere of ex- numenal into the real or phenomenal pectation, smoke from the incense and world. flames, and a darkened mystery of the inner The Sastras specify that before beginning shrine. Hindu preoccupation with the any new work the craftsman (silpin) should universal rather than the individual, and undergo and conduct therefore with form rather than strict rites which include paying respect to the portraiture, contributed to the need for stone and paint he is to use and to his tools general attributes in the depiction of the before beginning any task. Even today, figures rather than specifics. The Hindu craftsmen may still enter into a state of artist became adept at conveying bhava concentration or heightened consciousness (mood) with a subtle portrayal of feelings, by means of or meditation before without it degenerating into sentimentality. commencing a new project. The texts stress Associated with the image is the devotion the need for the artist to be guided by inner itself, which is an aspect of ritual practice vision and revelation, conceptualizing the that is difficult to quantify or qualify. appearance of the work during this mental Devotional cults grew in popularity in Tamil state of openness and receptivity. The vision Nadu from AD 300 and gave rise to the of the silpi yogins (sculptors) who follow bhakti cults which soon permeated the this discipline represents a supreme form whole of India. The exchange of devotion of concentration. Their art aims at the for God's grace is the fundamental purpose discovery and depiction of the true nature of temple worship. of reality. Sculptors do not see themselves as creators or innovators but as attempting to express an order that already exists The Making of Images (savam) of which they are a part and to Among Hindus the act of sculpting or represent it to the world. painting an image of the deity is sacred. Starting in the immediate and perceptible, ritual Centuries of oral instructions regarding the brings forth the vision of the ishta the desired making of images were later compiled in object, and piece by piece the picture is texts called the Sastras. In general, the completed until at last a moment comes when Sastras were written by Brahmans to give the vision is totally changed and subject and guidelines for the correct performance of object, Siva and Sakti, become one. In the words a range of activities from music, warfare of the famous Bengal boatman's song 'In search and cooking to making love. The texts of thee 1 found myself'.66 dealing specifically with sculpture are called the Silpasastras and those concerned In order that the form of an image may be with architecture the Vastusastras. The brought fully and clearly before the mind, the Silpasastras give precise instructions as to imager should meditate; and his success will be proportions, postures and the required proportionate to his meditation. No other way - number of arms and heads of the Hindu not indeed seeing the object itself - will achieve gods. The texts also suggest the most his purpose.67

29 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

In the creation of free-standing icons and artist or to the devotee to whom God had relief sculptures, correct proportions were revealed himself). Only then will the god imperative. Five different sets of proportions enter the image and shower the worshipper were devised for the male and female figure. with dharma, , and moksha. The The Indians, like the Greeks, held the view essential features of sculpture and painting that beauty consisted not in the elements are also referred to in the six limbs but in the harmonious proportion of the (shadanga) of Chitra described by Yasodhara parts. Different regional schools of in his commentary on the Kama of sculpture held different theories of Vatsyayana. proportion. The Chitrasutra states: 'For the The proportional system referred to in rest of the princely figures, the measure- the Silpasastras is both varied and complex. ments have to be provided by an intelligent The Vishnudharmottara Parana describes understanding on the lines indicated and three basic units of measurement based on from one's own experience.'68 Here, the the human body: angulas, talas and artist is specifically told to study the mukhas. The angula is based on a measure- differences in features, complexions, orna- ment of the forefinger, the distance from ments and dress from one region to another the first to the second joint of the forefinger and where necessary to create proportions when bent, and the tala is made up of twelve by his own genius. angulas from which the calculation of the An image should be seen from the front measurement of the human face or mukha and should not be crooked;69 it should be is arrived at. The face is measured from the given a beautiful countenance, the cheeks base of the chin to the hairline. There are well formed; the face should have a pleasant nine mukhas in the overall height of a expression, the torso good arms, hands and figure. Variations of this scale can be seen a full chest. The limbs should be heavily in the texts, depending on where they were decorated and the statue complete with its written and their date. The proportions also implements and vehicles (); it must vary depending on whether the statue is of possess bhava (literally mood) and action, a human being or a deity. Most religious and look lifelike.70 The technical process of sculptures in India were part of an making the image brilliant was to rub it with architectural context, the sculptor varying oil, hair and diamonds and then to smear it his work to suit the location. To achieve the with vermilion.71 The majority of Sanskrit optimum effect, sculpture when viewed texts agree that sculpture and painting from below required deliberate distortion should be as beautiful and durable as by the craftsman. possible and that this will be propitious both Pupils learn their craft by memorizing to the artist and owner. In order to repetitive exercises from a teacher, first in encourage the gods to enter an image the isolation and then in combination.72 A manuals specify that it should be portrayed craftsman is expected to remember all the in a beautiful manner. They generally state necessary calculations of proportions for that all figures in painting and in sculpture the structure and composition of an image. must be sundara (beautiful), sivam There was a certain degree of artistic licence (auspicious), and also satya (real; that is, and interpretive freedom. According to the conforming to the form as known to the art historian Adalbert Gail, while the rules

30 Sacred Imagery or guidelines reflect Brahmanic religious shows how this method results in the requirements there is a gap between theory connection between the act of drawing and and practice: carving and the image being quite literally drawn into the third dimension.75 One will not find a single case of full coincidence The formula used for early North Indian between textual injunction and the work of art sculpture seems not to have been based on in question. When I studied the tradition of a measurement from a living body but was varaha-murtis (boar of Vishnu) ten calculated, as it still is, by subdividing the years ago I found not a single correspondence surface of the raw material to be used for between image and shastric text.73 the image into a prescribed number of equal Another recent study of the rules governing parts.76 The key to memorizing style was, proportion by the art historian Hosteller according to Mosteller, through an under- has also questioned the extent to which standing of the essential pattern or form Hindu sculptors obeyed the formulae and this skill was transmitted within a described in the Sastras. Mosteller suggests hereditary group of artists who preserved that the manuals on which Western its secrets. scholarship has depended for its unders- Other details were referred to in the texts tanding about the proportions and methods with a strict iconography. For example, the of image making are unreliable. He suggests gods were given colours according to their that these texts were not manuals in a status in the divine hierarchy (gunas);77 the Western sense, but are disjointed and posture chosen for the statue was fragmentary versions of a largely orally dependent on the intended mood or .78 transmitted code of rules which do not The reason behind this rigidity lay in the accurately reflect the discipline. He concern for the ritual efficacy of an object. therefore argues that the texts cannot be According to the Vishnudharmatorra: relied upon as a guide to the practical and A rough image is said to cause death and an theoretical foundation of Indian art.74 angry one destroys beauty. Even when (duly) Mosteller analyses the images themselves invoked by the best of Brahmans, the gods never and has interviewed contemporary Indian enter images short of (sastric) measurements sculptors working in the traditional style. and devoid of the marks (laksanas) (of divine He suggests that in South India there was form); (but) , ghosts and - a correspondence between the width of the always enter into them, and so great care must middle segment of the middle finger of the be taken to avoid shortness of measurements.79 patron of the image and the image itself which bound the patron inextricably to the The restoration of old and dilapidated image. He argues that this confirmed the shrines and the replacement of broken, patron's acquisition of merit. Mosteller also decaying and sometimes defiled images or suggests that the tala or palm of the hand, other cult objects by new ones has long the next unit of measurement, was been regarded as a great act of religious associated with the hand span of the patron. merit in India. In some texts such actions Mosteller also refers to a carving of the are even described as more meritorious stone which is based on the removal of a than the establishment of new shrines and line which has to be constantly redrawn. He the construction of new images.

31 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

definition of the power of the specific deity. Ritual Performance and Consecration of the Image When the deity is complete the eyes are opened (chaksunmilan). Consecration of the More important than the rules governing image often takes place in a specially proportions of images is the correct consecrated booth outside the temple. procedure in their ritual preparation. There is an altar in the booth which is first The process of imbuing the statue with sprinkled with sand and then covered with religious presence involved various rites of kusa grass. The image is purified with a consecration to be performed by the variety of ritually pure substances, such as reciting of prescribed Sanskrit mantras. darbha grass, honey and . When the This ancient practice is still meticulously image is bathed its head should face observed today. Texts specify the correct towards the East and an instrument similar performance of this consecration and to a trumpet should be sounded. Then, worship of images. Yet a recent study by through a rite called nyasa (literally Fuller of priests in Madurai revealed that, touching), various deities are established despite Madurai being one of the most in different parts of the image: Brahma in traditional Hindu temples and the priests the chest, Indra in the hand, Surya in the being full-time ritual specialists, their eyes, the directional guardians in the ears regular rites are not closely guided by the and so on. This is followed by the mantras texts. Fuller's informants agreed that the of Pratishtha and those of the Adhivasana religious texts, the agamas, are the and Pranapratishtha which are responsible authoritative source on ritual performance, for the infusing of life in the image. Once yet Fuller writes: this process has been completed the image Probably the most important sociological and should be laid down to sleep for the night historical fact about the Agamic literature ... is and then roused at sunrise and worshipped that it is nowadays largely unknown.... Neither with flowers, garments and sandal paste the Agamas nor the ritual manuals actually and the sounding of a shell. It contain the kind of explicit liturgical instruction should then be carefully taken inside the that priests and others commonly suppose them temple sanctum. A piece of gold should be to contain.8" placed in the base of the image before it is On the education of the priests who perform fixed. The installation of an image is the rituals, he says, particularly recommended in the bright fortnight during the period of the summer The pupils mainly learn by memorising exactly .82 the passages recited to them by their teachers. The function of mantras or prayers is It is considered vital that these passages' words, crucial in the consecration of an image or pronunciation and scansion are all memorized a king. The chanting metaphorically anoints absolutely accurately, and this cannot be done 81 the king or image like the sprinkling of by reading books. sacred water. It is said that the sound of the Before an image is constructed, the chant is the god . The verses addressed Dhyana mantra is chanted which contains to different deities evoke their presence and the iconographic descriptions and the activate them.

32 Sacred Imagery

Rasa or the Experience of Feeling

It is considered important when creating an image to give it rasa; in other words, the or flavour received by the viewer. The Sanskrit word 'rasa' has a variety of meanings, its essence best conveyed as the sap or juice of organic life.83 The differ- entiation of eight sentiments in the trans- mission of rasas was expressed partly by the use of distinct colours and partly by gesture, posture and hand positions.84 A concern with the representation of hidden and the evocation and expression of the flow of rasa is behind the most successful Hindu sacred imagery. This rasa or the expression and communication of mood bhava and taste are fundamental to many forms of art. Its manifestation can be seen in many examples of religious painting, sculpture, drama, dance, music, poetry and literature. An example of this can be seen in the sacred dance performed by the Devidasis (female temple dancers) which still takes place in a few Hindu temples in India. Marglin in her study of these dancers points out that the highly stylized dance, with its large number of gestures (Figure Figure 2.7 Hand gestures: the mukula mudra 2.7), eye positions, rigid facial expressions (closed lotus), padmakosha mudra and the and foot movements, distances the dancer alapadma mudra (open lotus). Drawing by from her own subjective states of mind. A Christopher Glanvilie RWA. total postural and gestural state accompanies an emotional-cum-mental going on here is that the worshipper intends state, aimed at arousing in the audience an to represent an idea by means of a ritualized erotic sensation which is, according to action, an action which could perfectly well Humphrey and Laidlaw, transformed by the represent other ideas.'85 ritual to a spiritual-cosmic plane such that the spectators can participate in the 'divine Images in an Architectural Context play' of the gods. Humphrey and Laidlaw question whether the dance is more Within the decorative framework of the concerned with the representation of an Hindu temple, sculptures assumed different idea or ritual action than with the actual emphases during the years AD 500-1000. communication of a message: 'What is Sculptures lost their individuality and

33 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

The characteristic small, free-standing temple shrine of the Gupta period was to a large extent replaced in the medieval period by the larger temple complex with an increasing ritual function. The most important and potent image in the temple was the icon enshrined in the sanctum known as the garbhagrha, or sanctum. This icon represents the locus of the deity from which the divine emanations are believed to proceed. All the other sculptures in the building relate to this image, being incarnations or variations of the same deity. The entrance to the garbhagrha with its protective door keepers became highly decorated. The door was perceived as the passage between the manifest and the unmanifest. The door sill (udumbara) with its attendant and auspicious figures was used to mark the liminal zone between the worshipper and the divine. The upper corners of the doorways bore the Figure 2,8 Nageswara temple, Tamil Nadu. female yakshinis, although by the sixth Kumbhakonam, 886. Robert Elgood. century these were being increasingly replaced by images of the river goddess on became valued less for their inherent vitality the lower jambs of the door. The standard and realism than for their part in the iconography from the Gupta period, cohesive dynamic of the structure of the such as an overall rythmical pattern of whole as fragments from a divine cosmo- vegetation, aquatic and protective motifs, logy.86 Imagery began to fulfil a protective and celestial images on the lintel and above function as well as heightening the continued, but became more diverse and auspiciousness and beauty of the whole. elaborate.88 According to Joanna Williams: The first free-standing temples possessed Architecture became more complex and few external images, and sculptures coherent as a religious experience, and appeared in only those that had exterior sculpture was integrated into that larger niches. Subsequently, secondary images purpose. This new role led to the patterning of began to appear on the corners (karnas) of detail, linking different parts of the temple's shrines and then on the intermediary offsets decor. It also led to the depiction of less credible (pratirathas). Throughout the eighth century human anatomy, the creation of less self- eight guardians of the directions of space sufficient sculptural compositions and the were placed protectively at each corner of organization of imagery in more inclusive the temple. These were originally elemental iconographic programs.87 deities of the Vedic pantheon, who in later

34 Sacred Imagery

Hinduism became subsidiary to such major In its formal multiplicity ... the temple tower gods as Vishnu and Siva. These elemental evokes the celestial realm of at the deities helped to support the structure and world's center and is crowned by the seed form to protect it from external . capital of the cosmic pillar. Each temple thus They also helped the deity to com- both centers and reveals the world while municate with and manifest itself in the offering the worshipper a path by which to world of man. They are the most important transcend it.93 images on the wall and are placed on an The North Indian temple is a cosmos axis with the centre of the shrine. The secondary images provide more intimate, translated into stone. On the temple surface individualized forms for personal worship.89 is a hierarchy of images taken from plants The figure on the back wall of a temple and insects, animals and humans, celestial opposite the door is axially and spiritually beings and divinities, representing the the most closely related image to that of the multifarious forms of the phenomenal inner sanctum. When the sanctum image is world. Fire and flames are depicted on the absent the identity of this image gives an walls by spiralling carved stone vines that indication of the temple's dedication. With encircle the temple to represent ritual. the greater elaboration of figures on the The temple surface represents the atomic external temple walls, a certain order in the particles of creation; its base, superstructure, arrangement of deities usually prevailed and upper altar the three levels of cosmic reality; 90 (Figure 2.8). and the multitude of deities enshrined by niches By the ninth century images were left the particulate nature of divine manifestation.94 unframed. A mythical beast called Vyala frequently appeared on the vertical recesses 91 of the temple walls (Figure 2.9). Within Ritual Worship an increasingly complex architectural form lesser beings were placed in the side offsets, The three symbolic devices, mantras, vertical recesses which flanked the wider yantras and murtis (icons or images), have walls. In the ninth century female a dynamic relation with one another. The attendants became the usual occupants of chosen deity acts as the intermediary on the these intermediary offsets, and mithuna path to the worshipper's final objective. The (erotic couples), were sometimes placed in image is a support for meditation. The specific points of architectural weakness or mental discipline of the repetition of prayers juncture for protective purposes.92 In (or mantras) and the focus on an image Western India in the eleventh century helps to prevent fragmentation of attention sculptures of ascetics (munis) replaced the and distraction from the state of silent Vyalas in these recesses. These figures at awareness. Initially the image is outside the times leer at the , linking the inden- worshipper's attention but gradually it fills tations and projections of the temple the mind of the devotee. The ultimate aim building into a playful narrative. is for the identification with and openness Few images are placed above in the tower to the experience of silence, beyond sound (sikhara) which is situated above the and image, where the worshipper and sanctum. worshipped are one and an experience is

35 Hinduism and the Religious Arts reached of a consciousness beyond the anointed with yellow and red boundaries of time and space. The integra- powder, and honoured with flames, incense tion or unity of all things is frequently and song according to the season. On an referred to as one of the fundamental ordinary day there are traditionally four, or characteristics of the highest state of sometimes six ritual celebrations which take mystical experience. place at sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight As the Vishnusamhita, a ritual Agama Once this ritual has been performed the text, puts it: curtain is pulled back (where it exists) to reveal the deity to the worshippers. Without a form, how can God be meditated Irrespective of the deity's needs, worship is upon? If (He is) without any form, where will carried out in order to please and for the the mind fix itself? When there is nothing for hope on the part of the devotee for favour the mind to attach itself to, it will slip away from and protection. The image does not stand meditation or will glide into a state of slumber. between the worshipper and the object of Therefore the wise will meditate on some form, his devotions but acts as a vessel or form remembering, however, that the form is a which facilitates the close relationship and superimposition and not a reality.95 provides the medium for the outpourings The intimates that the of reverence. image is only the support for the beginner: The cycle of service to the deity forms the 'Yogins see Siva in the soul and not in programme for temple activity. The range of images. Images are meant for the imagina- ordinary domestic tasks in the service of the tion of the ignorant'96 divine make sacred the simple acts of duty This theological or philosophical category and affection. There is usually no formal of the self and the ritual act should however congregational worship, though the be distinguished from the actual varied moments when the deity is revealed to the concepts that people hold or claim to hold. audience of worshippers is close to this. The A study of Jain ritual by Humphrey and religious attitude shown towards the image Laidlaw sees the act of intention and or icon is one of reverence and humility. The practice of ritual as independent and, by general term for this worship is puja. This recording religious contemporary attitudes, includes the offering of flowers, water, suggests, as does Fuller in his study of receiving the darsan, or sight of the deity, Brahmans in Madurai, a gap between textual and prasad (sanctified food offerings). Puja prescriptions, theory and actual thought, or worship involves gestures such as bowing, meaning and practice. Humphrey and kneeling, , touching the feet and Laidlaw, for example, in contradistinction placing the hands together in greeting, each to the ideals inferred in the above paragraph, of which is the individual choice of the see ritual acts as giving the devotees devotee. Worship is performed not only in opportunities to allow the mind to wander the home but also in the temple by special by the repetition of the .97 priests called . These priests offer As is described below, in the temple, the upacaras to the deity. The number of these image, like a revered monarch is woken, offerings in the temple varies, but they washed with water, milk or rice water, fed, include food, water, fresh leaves, sandalwood dressed with cloths and of flowers perfume, incense, betel nuts and cloth.98

36 Sacred Imagery

Other ritual actions such as waving a flywhisk" and the rite of circumambulation are considered as pleasing to the deity. Another important act is the honouring of the deity with light, during which the priest or slowly circles a five-wicked oil or lamp before the deity, often to the accompaniment of the ringing of handbells and the singing of hymns.100 This rite is called arati and is central to Hindu worship, and in some cases has become the general name for the daily rites replacing the term puja. In a temple there will be several aratis during the day, continuing into the evening.101 Associated with puja is the idea of bhakti (literally to share). According to Eck, bhakti is the love which is shared by God and the devotee.102 Puja expresses not the deity's requirements but the most eloquent gestures of human devotion. Reverential humility expresses the feelings, while the incense, flowers, lights and food offerings delight the senses of the worshipper. The vision is not only sharpened by darsan but the heart and senses become tuned harmoniously in the final offering of the self. Sometimes there are temples with several Figure 2.9 Vyala. Drawing by Christopher deities which are accorded worship. In one Glanville RWA. example, cited by Eck, the worship is called '' (the five-altar puja) in and visarjana (dismissal) are revealing. Siva which five deities (Vishnu, Siva, Surya, Devi may be summoned by the words '0 Lord, and Ganesa) are honoured in a single who protects the world, graciously be geometric diagram, with four images present in this linga until the end of the situated in four directions and one in the worship'.104 When puja is over the deity may centre. This formula of the five shrines is be dismissed with the words '0 excellent the standard layout of the medieval North gods, 0 Supreme Siva, return now to your Indian temple. The worship of five deities own abode so that you may come again for simultaneously serves to remind the the benefit of the worshipper'.105 These worshipper that the presence of God prayers acknowledge the Hindu belief in transcends any one single form.103 the transience of the deity's concentrated Worship is begun and concluded with presence in any one form. Several images certain rites. The rites of avahana (bidding) made for specific festivals underline this

37 Hinduism and the Religious Arts peripatetic nature of the deity. Durga is appearance or authorship. In general, invited to depart and the image disposed of however, it is considered that the older a at the conclusion of a Durga festival. Even particular ritual object the more potent it more temporary is the example of the is likely to be. linga, where a worshipper offers The power of the image is also his or her prayers with a moulded lump of demonstrated in the role of orthodox Hindu clay along with perhaps a flower and some and tribal images in establishing the water, when Siva is given leave to go and legitimacy of aspiring kings in 'little the image destroyed. kingdoms'. Tribal goddesses and partially Despite the philosophical interpretation Hinduized goddesses possess a strong local of the aims of the individual in worship one rootedness, while the power of moveable should not ignore the very material qualities goddesses was linked to their royal patrons. of this practice. The scholar Tachikawa, in These moveable images thus provided his study of in Vedic ritual, argues: greater mobility for the kings, and gave them a wider potential range of authority. Everything that is used during the ritual, be it It has been suggested that at certain periods offerings or utensils, must be transformed from in history, kings deliberately did not inscribe a mundane state into a Vaidic state, and in fact temples, which was believed would limit approximately half of the ritual is devoted to their power and area of influence.108 effecting this transformation.1"6 Tachikawa suggests that the material Conclusion qualities with which the priests conducting the ritual are concerned are not visible but As we have seen, the origin of Hindu involve the transformation of physical imagery is obscure. Images emerged from properties by an almost spiritual alchemy. a pre-Vedic or coexistent tradition of terracotta votive offerings, an associated belief in burial grounds, spirit possession The Power of the Image and the propitiation of spirits often These ritual acts have in common a belief, associated with trees. This complex of ritual even if only temporarily, of the potential for practice was combined with an oral an image, however simple, to emanate and immigrant mythology. Metaphor and verse contain a powerful sacred presence in described elemental gods and was certain circumstances. incorporated into sacred formulae. The The relationship between the object and continuity of imagery over 3000 years is worshipper is one of continual recharging found less in stone than in terracotta. Wood and renewal. The sacred object is believed may well have been a precedent not only to draw power from the energy of the for stone architecture but also for sculpture. reverence it receives.107 It is popularly Al-Biruni109 refers to the image of the sun- believed that the deeper the sense of god at Multan being made of wood and reverence an object receives, the greater covered with red cordova leather; and also will be its spiritual power. For example, an to the wooden idol of Sarada in . icon or shrine's powerful reputation may Throughout this chapter the sacred be unrelated to its antiquity, physical images should be seen in context They can

38 Sacred Imagery be inside a domestic household, in a forest plastic. Poet and dramatist also resorted to the shrine or at the edge of a village. The space image of the creeper for the same purposes as where a Hindu image or icon is enshrined the sculptor.111 is not necessarily large or ritually complex. Religious icons or shrines are not the only No congregational space is required, objects to receive regular worship. Practical though space may be needed for certain items of equipment are also shown rituals. Theoretically ritual worship or puja reverence by their users with ritual is an echo of the Vedic rite of sacrifice in ceremonial. its re-enactment of creation and contact Perhaps in tantric ritual we are closest with the divine and is faithful to precise to a more conscious awareness of the aims ritual requirements. In modern Hinduism expressed here for ultimate release with the in the majority of cases, the sacrificial assistance of imagery. Much of this theory element is merely symbolic, echoed in the depends for its realization on the subjective offering of a or the presence of a 110 aims and experiences of the individual. The sacred flame. Worship is made up of offerings to the god, including incense, light ultimate goal of release from the cycle of and prayers with darsan the ritual's rebirth for each individual may be realized culmination. in one of several million lifetimes. This It is said that in his making of the image objective is profoundly connected with the the sculptor has not attempted to absorb aims of meditation in the search to ascend or express something external to himself and transcend time and space. but to release something universal that he has experienced inwardly. His concern rests Notes not only with form but with the forces that 1 For a clear account of these early texts and give rise to form. He is involved in a their approximate dates and chronology see continuous process of discovery, not of OTlaherty 1975, pp. 16-18. himself but of the roots of the universe 2 Mascaro 1962, p. 81. which he has been able to discover within 3 See Blurton 1992. himself. The characteristic product of the 4 See Eck 1981. Hindu craftsmen may be seen in a sensual 5 Discriminating between magic and religion is fluid form in sculpture and dance, the difficult. In the Vedic period this may be discerned where important mantras were applied continuous narrative of fresco painting, the outside their original context for mundane structure of Indian music and the cyclical objectives. In post-Vedic Hinduism there is a structure of Sanskrit drama. greater distinction between magic and religion, where magic is both socially approved and According to Lannoy: condemned. The contains a rich collection of spells and magical rites (see One often sees the trunk of some huge tree Goudriaan 1978; Stutley 1980; Crooke 1894). locked in the embrace of a creeper, or one trunk Euro-centred cultures attempt through science coiled around another in a marriage as sensuous and technology to control nature, while other as the couplings () of the Indian deities. non-European cultures such as North American, pre-Columbian and Hindu cultures suggest a The union of figure with matrix adorer with symbiosis, rather than dominance. adored, subject with object, functions on the 6 Humphrey and Laidlaw (1994, p. 230) refer to same analogy at all levels both abstract and the essential consecration of the Jain image with

39 Hinduism and the Religious Arts the fixing on of the eyes: 'Without this ritual, towards the four cardinal points. The centrifugal people say, the statue is mere stone.' yantras are conceived as a sacred dwelling in 7 The English word 'image' comes from the which the presiding deity and its retinue take up Latin word imago, meaning likeness. This residence. The seat of the principal deity is in the concept of likeness is underlined by a custom in centre while those of its emanations are Bengal during the annual autumnal worship of arranged concentrically. They are known as the goddess Durga. A bowl of water is placed in avaranas (veils), so called because they conceal front of the clay image of the goddess in such a the luminous splendour of the deity in the manner that it reflects the goddess like a mirror. centre. The yantra is a dynamic cosmic symbol The goddess is worshipped by being bathed and and is always used in conjunction with mantras, the water used is then ritually poured on to the or mystical sound units that correspond to the reflection, signifying that the reflection and the deity's subtle form. A yantra without its seed icon are equally divine. This use of a mirror mantra is lifeless. See Khanna 1987, pp. 500-1. image is also seen in Jain ritual - see Humphrey 12 All the objects we see and feel in this and Laidlaw 1994, p. 245 fn. 6. A quasi- universe from abstract thought to matter are narcissistic engagement may be seen in the considered in Hinduism to be sounds of worship of the idol of what is ideally perfect in particular concentration. A mantra is primarily oneself. This is heightened by the use of real mental sound and regarded as fundamental in pocket mirrors in ritual which may reflect the both the creation and dissolution of all form. It idol and oneself, by the building of some Jain is believed to have the capacity to activate the temples in mirror-glass and the of the divine forms invoked. A mantra exerts its power self before a mirror at the beginning of puja. The not so much through its meaning, but more idol is not a portrait of the Jina but an deeply through its sound vibrations. Seers of assemblage of qualities. Those who experience ancient times who knew the secrets of the power the identity with the Jina may undergo a cosmic of sound composed the mantras by joining resituating of the self, a feeling of being at the together symbolic syllables in accordance with centre of the world as the Jina is represented in laws laid down in tantric texts. Mantras are the temple. People would sometimes perform believed to have corresponding colours and puja, dabbing sandalwood paste not on the idol forms and Hinduism claims that each mantra itself but on a small pocket mirror. Words relates to a particular power or deity (). meaning an image may be found in the Vedas. Few initiates were given the of this The word '' is found in early Sanskrit science and great care was taken to guard its texts such as the Crihya Sutras and the secrets. Modern physics in the study of Arthasastra. All its synonyms - pratika, pratikriti, harmonics continues to reveal the ever-present pratibimba, bimba - had the dual meaning of vibrations that are a component of matter, and reflection, or a representative figure or symbol. the study of ultrasound is in its infancy. See Secular images which, according to Banerji Mookerjee 1968, pp. 57-8. (1941, p. 41), were not objects of worship were 13 Staal 1984. also mentioned in the Vedic texts. The sandstone 14 Fuller 1992, p. 68. statue of Kanishka at Mathura dating from the first century AD is an obvious example of this. 15 Humphrey and Laidlaw 1994, p. 104. 8 Vedic mantras are not only verses from the 16 O'Flaherty 1975, p. 11. Vedic texts but also sections from the Vedas, 17 Chapter 1 and Chapter 46, part III. used ritually. 18 Vatsyayan 1982, p. 94. 9 Humphrey and Laidlaw 1994, p. 267. 19 For example, clear water not only purifies 10 Meister 1984, p. xix. the body but also serves to wash off the impurity caused by untruth (Satapatha ). See 11 The deity can be given shape by the yantra, in which its presence during worship is laid out Goudriaan 1987, p. 109. in a precise linear diagram within a polygon. It 20 See Baumer Vol. 2,1988, p. 38. usually has around its centre several concentric 21 According to Baumer (ibid., p. 38), some primal shapes, such as triangles, hexagons, Silpasastras derive the anthropomorphic form circles, octagons, and rings of lotus petals. The from the yupa with which it shares its verticality yantra's periphery is generally a square and the round head. See also B. Baumer, enclosure with four sacred doors opening 'Purusa and the origin of form', in Rupa

40 Sacred Imagery

Pratirupa, Alice Boner, Commemoration technical literature on sculpture and painting Volume, New , 1982, pp. 27-34. before the third to sixth centuries AD. 22 Bhattacharya 1947. 25 Wilson 1870, Vol. 5, p. 234. 23 See Banerji 1941, p. 575. The Satarudriya 26 Huyler 1992, p. 6. section of the Maitrayani , while 27 I am grateful to Madhu Chose for her referring to the names of several gods and suggestion. goddesses, also describes their iconographic 28 For discussion of this see ch. 3, p. 67. features. Only with the emergence of sectarian Agamic and Puranic literature from the fourth 29 See Schnepel 1995, p. 157; Eschmann eta/. century AD did the notion of murti and its use in 1978, pp. 80-5. puja become systematically formulated. For 30 See Mookerjee 1985. further reference see Bhattacharya, 1947, 31 See Coomaraswamy 1992, pp. 132,133. pp. 324-418. The Mahanarayana Upanishad 32 See Coomaraswamy 1971. (Vol. IV, pp. 1-18) elaborates the ethnography of some of these gods which were mostly folk gods 33 See Huntington 1985; Harle 1986. absorbed into Vedic society. It has been 34 For discussion of the proto-Siva image and suggested that the iconographic traits of the folk its implications see Srinivasan (1984). gods such as the yakshas arose before those of 35 See Irwin (1973) for a discussion of the the higher cult gods and goddesses and may be worship of the female in her manifestation as the traced to the pre-Buddhist period. queen, with particular reference to the queen 24 The earliest iconographic canons, according termite and her many eggs in the termite to Bhattacharya, 1947, pp. 326-7, are to be mound. The termite mound was considered found in the Parisistas (appendix) of the sacred in ancient India. Grihyasutras of which only one survives. Though 36 See Banerji 1941. the exact age of this Parisista is not known it 37 The Sutras refer to the existence of images. may be placed in the latest part of the Sutra The Jataka stories refer to statues of Indra period and may be regarded as the earliest (Sakka) and the Arthasastra have clear known iconographic text of India (1947, Table references to images of gods. The Grammar of XI). Although a few texts relating to Hindu Panini also contains references to images. sculpture and painting may be placed in the third or fourth century AD their authors refer to 38 See Banerji 1941 p. 222. Banerji refers to the existence of innumerable earlier texts on Chapter 58 of Varamihara's Brhatsamhita where which they had based their writings. The details are given concerning the making of Natyasastra of Bharatamuni (JBORS (Journal, images. Bihar and Orissa Research Society) 1923, Part I, 39 See Michell 1992. pp. 60-2) was composed between the third and 40 Banerji 1941, p. 223. sixth centuries AD. recommends wall 41 Coomaraswamy 1971. (Ch. 2, p. 83ff.) for stage scenery and shows his familiarity with colours and their 42 The Jain text is the Antagada Dasasp, variations of strength. The relations of various Chapter 6. Other references to wooden sculpture rasas with different colours are also described. are to be seen in a wooden pillar bearing figure Bhattacharya, (1947, p. 330) refers to sculptures sculptures and motifs discovered at Arial near known as pustas (dolls) mentioned in the Dacca. See Banerji 1941. Silpasastras and in the Natyasastra. These are 43 Note the similarity between this and the placed at the back of the stage and are made of concept of ley lines. The localization of the matting, cloth or skin. In front of this appeared sacred was an idea common in Tamil Nadu. multi-faced, grotesque or ugly beings. The 44 See Huntington 1S85. Natyasastra also recommends that kings and 45 See Haimendorf 1979. princes should be bearded. The bearded image of Brahma of the third and fourth centuries AD 46 See Irwin 1973, p. 115. The Rg Veda reveals in the Mathura Museum supports this reference. that the god Indra slew a , thus releasing No early Silpa texts describe him as bearded but the cosmic ocean and causing the separation of this detail may have originated from texts heaven and earth by pushing them asunder and available to Bharata now lost to us. The propping the sky with a pillar. Natyasastra may thus prove the existence of 47 Sutherland 1991, p. 25.

41 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

48 See Irwin 1973, pp. 115-18. 70 Ibid., p. 394. See the regulations in the 49 See Huntington 1985, pp. 151-2: Vishnudharmatorra (Chapter 35) which are equally applicable to sculpture and paintings. 50 An interesting possible association can be The eyes of the figures, their expressions, limbs seen in the carrying of the camar or flywhisk (a and hands have to be treated as in dance 'The royal symbol and mark of respect). Humphrey Gods should be like youths of sixteen. Even and Laidlaw (1994, p. 228), refer to the waving when invoked by the best of Brahmans, gods of the flywhisk before the idol in Jain puja which never enters images short of enjoined can be accompanied by circular movements and measurements and devoid of marks.' a twirling dance which can lead to states of 71 Ibid., p. 395. trance. The spirit possession associated with tree worship is well known. 72 See Dehejia 1988. 51 The iconography of Surya is known in 73 Gail 1989, p. 109. literature and occurs in pre-Kusana art. The 74 Mosteller 1990, p. 389. moustache, garment, boots and representation 75 See also Bhattacharya 1947, p. 390. of the fire altar carved in low relief betray the 76 Ibid., p. 393; Mosteller 1990, p. 393. Iranian source. 77 The gunas of the sculptures were the 52 See Desai 1992. following: , and . These three 53 Ibid. gunas were possessed by men as well as gods. 54 Other examples of deities represented from They vary in attributes and also in colours. The this period are Hari Hara (the union of Siva and white colour is Sattvika, red indicates the Vishnu) and Krishna as bearer of Mount Rajasa, and black is the Tamasika class, images Govardhan (Krishna's name meaning 'the black of gods in sculptural form or in paintings were one', has been suggested to be due to his tribal thus to be coloured according to the guna origin). His role of cowherd and links with the possessed by each. South Indian texts lay down pastoral community also reinforce this relation- rules for colouring the images. North Indian ship with a cow worshipping pre-Vedic society. texts on iconography also refer to the colour of the gods and their images. 55 One such example is the Vishnu temple of Deogarh, dating back to the sixth century AD. 78 Thirteen positions are mentioned in the The original five shrines of the temple are now Vishnudharmatorra that indicate the act in empty but would probably have held five images. which the painted or sculpted figure is engaged; and also the bhava (mood) and rasa which are 56 See Huntington 1985, pp. 280-2, figures expressed on its face. According to the 13.5-8. Samarangana (Chapter 82), 'By indicating the 57 See Mason 1993, p. 122. meaning (artha) with the hands and explaining 58 Meister 1984, p. xxiii. or proving (pratipadayan) it by its looks, a figure 59 See Fuller 1984, p. 15; Logan 1980, p. 24. appears to be alive (sajiva) for thus it exhibits all actions.' (Bhattacharya 1947, p. 408). 60 Fuller 1984, p. 15. 79 Kramrisch 1924, p. 25. 61 See Humphrey and Laidlaw, 1994, p. 169. 80 Fuller 1984, pp. 136,139-40. 62 Ibid., p. 5. 81 Ibid., p. 143. Fuller also points out that there 63 See Kramrisch 1983, p. 56. are a whole range of ritual rules which all 64 Kramrisch (1983) cites Vishnusamhita participants believe to be of the first importance (c. twelfth century, 0 TSS 85 Trivandrum 1925, and to be laid down in the agamas. For the most Chapter xiii). part they are not. This importance of oral rather 65 Kramrisch 1983, p. 53. See also the Bhuta than textual instruction is an important feature figure and other images in the Tamil epic of all aspects of the historical continuity of Hindu Cilappadikaram. precepts - it is a measure of the mechanics of the didactic elements and the quality of memory that 66 See Mookerjee 1985, p. 21. it has survived at all and so faithfully. 67 Coomaraswamy 1956b, p. 153. 82 Banerji 1941, pp. 373-5. 68 Pal 1986, p. 47. 83 For many years rasa has been associated 69 Bhattacharya 1947, p. 393. with the appreciation of the audience or

42 Sacred Imagery spectator - meaning liquid, juice or flavour. This 95 Eck 1981, p. 45. meaning was originally ascribed to Bharata, 96 Ibid. author of the Natyasastra. However, according to the modern scholar S.S. Barlingay (pp. 11-24) 97 Humphrey and Laidlaw 1994, p. 181. Bharata was referring to a concept of rasa as 98 According to Coomaraswamy (1971), several solely describing some essential element of of these were given as offerings () by the tree theatre. The idea that rasa meant spiritual joy or worship cult. some kind of indescribable spiritual experience 99 The flywhisk has ancient royal associations was not what Bharata intended and is seen in the depiction of the tree spirit and the represented by him using instead the word yaksha. . Later commentaries such as 100 Fuller (1992) convincingly argues that the Bhattanayaka and , according to camphor flame is the quintessential experience Barlingay, have disguised Bharata's real theory and key to Hindu ritual worship. He echoes by interpreting rasa solely from the perspective Logan (1980, p. 123) in suggesting that the flame of aesthetic appreciation. However, the general has symbolic properties, due to the fact that it use of the word rasa today is wider than burns with a strong light and fragrance. He Barlingay's interpretation. suggests that the flame symbolizes both the 84 The Natyasastra refers to eight rasas, and to deity's embodiment during puja, by appealing to 108 kinds of hand poses used in dancing. All the physical senses, as well as the transcendence these were not used in works of art however. of its embodied form, with the camphor leaving The rasa is itself divided in the Natyasastra into no sooty residue and providing an intense sentiments or tastes: eight erotic (srngara), incandescent light and fragrance. Fuller also de- comic (hasya), pathetic (karuna) furious (raudra), scribes how the embodied deity is partly dissolved heroic (vira), terrible (bhayanaka), odious in the flame and how both deity and worshipper (bibhatsa) and marvellous (adbhuta). , together may transcend through the reflection of for example, is associated with the odious each in the flame: 'the divine and human sentiment, the colour blue, and is intended to participants are most fully identified in their evoke the sentiment of , while Vishnu is common vision of the flame and hence in their associated with the erotic, and is bluish black, mutual vision of each other' (Fuller 1992, p. 73). intending to evoke delight. 101 For further discussion on the temple ritual 85 Humphrey and Laidlaw 1994, pp. 78. see Chapter 4. 86 Meister, in Mason 1993. 102 Eck 1981, p. 48. 87 Williams 1982, p. 175. 103 Ibid., p. 49, fn. 71. 88 Also discussed in Chapter 4. 104 Ibid., p. 49, fn. 72. 89 Meister, in Mason 1993, p. 102. 105 Ibid., p. 50, fn. 73. 90 For example, in the Siva temple the images are arranged clockwise, beginning with Canesa 106 M. Tachikawa in Senri Ethnological on the south wall of the ardhamandapa and Studies, No. 36, ed. Y. Nagano and Y. Ikari proceeding with Dakshinamurti on the south (1993, p. 263). wall, Lingodbharamurti on the west of the 107 See Mookerjee 1985, p. 18. , Brahma on the north of the vimana and 108 See Willis 1993. Durga on the north wall. 109 Al-Biruni 1910, Part 1, p. 116. 91 The Vyala image is found in this form in a 110 Symbolic sacrifice has not always been the number of temples and may have previously acted rule. Travellers in India in the sixteenth century, as a bracket on the sides of the bhadra's niche. for example, report ritual suicides during temple 92 Desai 1985. services and human sacrifice is still reported in 93 Meister, in Mason 1993, pp. 103-9. Assam today. 94 Ibid. 111 Lannoy 1975, p. 24.

43 CHAPTER 3 Hindu Deities

Hindu images serve to represent the deity and telescoping of time sequence, in an and are believed to act as vessels containing oneiric sense, which can be found in Hindu the spiritual essence of the God defined. paintings and sculpture reveals that the These images intentionally illustrate rich essential elements of time and space do not mythology and attempt to express hidden apply to these beings in a worldly sense. powers through visual allegory. Hindu The worshipper is invited to approach worshippers seek release (moksha) from the reality through Maya, the dreaming circle of worldly existence attained through phenomenal world. union with the Deity. This is achieved using Hindus believe in a supreme god who is a number of means (referred to in an earlier formless, whose most popular manifesta- chapter) which bring about refinement of tions are as Siva, Vishnu and the goddess, consciousness and inner transformation each of whom represents aspects of the and thus makes possible the merging of the supreme God. worshipper with that which is worshipped. The image in its many forms is therefore of Siva crucial importance in the practice of Hinduism. The god Siva can have an iconic or aniconic The earliest appearance of the gods with form. Siva, like a complex personality, has multiple limbs dates from the Kusan period multiple forms and a paradoxical character. of the first century AD. Many Hindu deities He is a deity who often inhabits the have fantastic forms with multiple heads extremes of human behaviour. Siva is and arms, sometimes with part animal sometimes perceived as supine, awakened bodies, in blue, black, white, green or through his union with Sakti which is both vermilion colouring. These strange features female energy and a goddess who serve to indicate the various functions and personifies this active force. cosmic nature of the gods and to set them Conversely he is also seen as the des- apart from man. They stretch the human troyer. His dance is sometimes destructive imagination towards the divine by as seen in the destruction of , but juxtaposing earthly realities in an unearthly his more common manifestation as way. Even to the dullest observer they depicts him performing the dance of bliss in illustrate the distinction between the human a circle of flames, symbolizing creation and and the divine being. The collage of imagery the perpetuation of the cosmos, while

44 Hindu Deities destroying ignorance in crushing the dwarf Iconic Form of Siva . As an energy or force Siva is believed to have not only destructive and History regenerative capabilities but also the capacity to transform man's inner consciousness. A Siva's first appearance is in his aniconic paradoxical relationship of sexuality and form as the linga attributed to the second in which the energy of sexuality to first century BC from Gudimallam in is intensified by its denial, seen particularly South India, while the earliest examples of in the retention of semen, is frequently Siva's iconic form come from simple relief associated with the character of Siva.1 As an carvings from the Gandhara region of ascetic he is also perceived as mystic and the first century AD. Features such as an teacher, the possessor of the secret doctrine erect phallus and a trident suggest the and the achiever of enlightenment. identification of the figure as Siva but in other respects it may be a subsidiary figure In many myths Siva is merely erotic or merely in an otherwise Buddhist composition. A ascetic, as a momentary view of one phase or number of Kusana coins of the second another. But in the great myths, transcending century AD which bear the figure captioned the limits of mundane causality, he participates Okhsho also come from North-west India. in cycles of cosmic dimensions which melt into The figure on the coins has multiple heads, a single image as they become ever more an erect phallus and a bull mount, all frequent, making an almost subliminal common attributes of Siva's iconography. impression in their brief symbolic appearances, If this is not actually Siva it is a deity who creating an infinitely complex .2 may well have contributed to the overall The visual origin of Siva is vague. Certain iconographic character of Siva. of his attributes suggest that he arose from the combining of several cult deities. The Attributes pre-Aryan fertility god and the fierce Rudra, a minor deity of the Vedas, may have In temple shrines Siva is most usually contributed to his ultimate form. Artefacts portrayed in the aniconic form of the linga believed to be stone-carved phallic symbols (Figure 3.1) while his iconic form is more revealed by archaeology from the Indus common in private worship, in processional valley culture of 2000 BC, for example, may images, in frieze sculpture on the outer be precursors to the characteristic features walls of the temple and in its subsidiary of the Saivite cult. No images exist from shrines (Plate 1). Siva's iconic form is a the period between the worship of the wild complex combination of elegant proportions god Rudra whose description we know from and allegorical forms and emblems. Siva is the Vedic period and the first images of Siva described and portrayed as beautiful, with in the first century BC. The paradoxical a in the centre of his forehead and nature of Siva may well be due to the a crescent moon on his brow. He is crowned multitude of diverse religious cults which with matted hair, within which is depicted are believed to have spawned him, and a flowing river symbolizing the Ganges which have become absorbed into the which is sometimes depicted as a goddess. character of the deity. This goddess is said to have landed on

45 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

Siva's hair when she fell from heaven to earth. Siva is often shown smeared with ashes and adorned with shining armlets, A of beads, snakes and sometimes skulls surrounds his neck, Siva often wears or sits on a skin, and two of the hands of his four arms hold a trident and an axe. The other two hands are said to grant favours and remove fear. When he dances he dances on a demon called Apasmara.

Linga

The most common symbol of Siva is the phallus (). According to Brahmanical literature, linga is the sign of the transcend- ental, unseen Siva and symbolizes Siva's capacity to produce life itself.3 The Sanskrit word 'linga' literally means 'mark' or 'sign' and is the Hindu's most abstract expression of the creative energy of God. The linga as it is worshipped in India today is an aniconic image, sometimes referred to in the Saivite myths as a fiery column of light, rather than a phallic symbol. It can also be seen as symbolizing the axis mundi - the bridge between the earthly and heavenly energies. Siva in all his forms including the linga is regarded as expressing the whole universe as time and space being identified with life creation. The lingas in many of Siva's grandest temples are believed to have emerged naturally out of the ground, 'self- existent' and already full of divine power.4 Belief that Siva has a pre-Vedic origin is supported by his association with the linga. Archaeologists working on the Indus valley culture discovered several objects believed to represent the phallus at Mohenjo Daro and Harappa.5 The Rg Veda also refers to Figure 3.1 Siva Lingodbhava, South India. Cola, people from the Indus valley as worshippers 900. British Museum, mus. no. 1955,10-18,1. of the phallus (shishnevedevas). An ancient

46 Hindu Deities cult which has its roots in prehistory is said early portrait of Siva are the water pot in to have worshipped naturally occurring his hand and the crouching figure at his stones called Svayambhu lingas. These are feet These are clearly added by the sculptor still brought out of the river Narmada for as iconographic clues in order to identify worship and are set upright on stone or the god and point to his powers. The yaksha brass pedestals and honoured as the god was worshipped throughout India prior to Siva himself. The natural coloured markings the appearance of Siva as we know him in on the stones are said to represent active this form, and his inclusion here at Siva's female energy. Ammonites, found as feet is no doubt intended to mark the pebbles in the Kala Gandali river in , supremacy of Siva, shown absorbing the are viewed in the same way. strength of the supporting figure. This From the second or first century BC, figure was in later Hindu iconography the linga was sculpted in stone, supported reduced to the dwarf Apasmara, representat- on octagonal and square sections embedded ive of man's ignorance, on which Siva in the earth, at first in stone-railed open-air dances in the Siva Nataraja sculpture. The shrines beneath sacred trees. The earliest root of this lies in the defeat by Siva of the surviving carved linga is in South India worship of the earlier non-Vedic God. at Gudimallam. Lacking any inscription, The Gudimallam sculpture shows the it has been dated between the second cen- yaksha with fish-shaped feet and conch- tury BC and the first century AD. Gritli V. shaped ears. Both these features link the Mitterwallner places the Gudimallam linga yaksha, and by association Siva, with water after the sculpture of Bharhut and just pre- (as does the water pot in Siva's hand). The dating the sculptures of Bodhgaya, in the yakshas were seen as guardians of the latter half of the first century AD.6 The vegetative source of life and therefore Gudimallam linga is naturalistic in form closely connected with water and in turn with the figure of Siva standing in front of with prosperity and abundance. The the shaft of the linga (Figure 2.6). Siva is association of Siva with symbols such as shown with full lips and thick curly hair, the yaksha, the tree and the lotus reinforces anticipating the matted locks associated the idea that early lingas were not just with his iconography, and two arms carved phallic emblems but symbols of vegetation in high relief. He stands astride the and thus prosperity and fecundity. Coins of shoulders of a crouching dwarf-like figure - the Kusana kings depict Siva pouring water perhaps a yaksha or a . In his right on the ground from a vase. The early text hand Siva holds a small horned animal and the Vishnu Purana states that he who in his left hand a battle axe and water pot adores the linga continually enjoys great Several features of this sculpture are prosperity. revealing about the early perception of Siva. The linga at Gudimallam was placed The horned animal relates to the deer seen within a rectangular enclosure, a common in the early proto-Siva seal from the Indus practice at tree shrines and other early valley. This is an animal associated with sanctuaries. A few centuries later the linga sacrifice and death, the victim of the hunt. was installed in the dark sanctums The axe reinforces this idea of sacrifice. () of rock-cut or free-standing Perhaps the most significant features of this temples dedicated to Siva. Buried in the

47 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

there was a growing abstraction from 50 BC to the 11th century in the form of the linga. Usually the linga was carved as a simple shaped pillar, usually out of stone, but they can be hewn from any material. The worship of the phallus is perceived as non-Vedic, but there is nothing non-Vedic in using the phallus as a metaphor. The linga, as has already been said, was a symbol in the early period for prosperity and fecundity as well as sexuality. These three conditions were directly linked by the need to produce offspring to support the parents in later life, a factor that still obtains in India today. Early phallic worship may relate to the ancient and persistent worship of the tree, subsequently symbolized as a vertical wooden post, both of which represented the axis mundi. Despite its phallic form the linga was sometimes placed in the open air and enclosed by a protective railing like a sacred tree (Figure 3.2). The trident pillar form is seen here as a symbol of Siva, placed in a secondary courtyard near a sacred tree in the temple of Tiruvannamalai. Certain locations in India were regarded as sacred Figure 3.2 Trident in a secondary shrine, in a temple at Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. sites and remained so across the centuries Robert Eigood. with only the object worshipped changing to reflect the evolving nature of belief. Later ground, the lowest part is cubic (like the tantric reference to the transmutation of sanctum) and supports a horizontal, circular energy by the retention of seminal fluid base, shaped like the female vulva and suggests that the erect phallus may be an known as the . Rising from the centre expression of restraint and transformation of this is the linga. The channel formed by rather than sexuality and emission. Richard the yoni round the base of the linga served Blurton suggests that the 'linga rises up as a drain and carried away the liquid from the yoni rather than penetrates down poured as a over the linga.7 into it as one would expect if the imagery Other forms of linga developed after the was primarily sexual'.8 That is certainly the Gudimallam linga. Lingas were sometimes visual impression. However, another shown in later examples with just a face or interpretation is possible which is closer to sometimes with as many as five faces on the the needs and intentions of the early sides of the shaft of the phallus. It has been worshippers. In the sexual act the phallus observed by Gritli V. Mitterwallner that passes through the yoni to achieve

48 Hindu Deities conception. The symbolic womb chamber flaming disc, symbolic of the sun, which is the place where this occurs and where surrounds the dancing figure; and water is the prayers for fecundity are offered. The expressed by the river Ganges which flows linga and yoni may represent the congress through his matted hair. Space is seen in between Siva and Mother Earth for the the areas in the sculpture between, defined benefit of all life. by the intersection of the circle with the limbs and sometimes the sash of the dancing Siva. The earliest gods represented Siva Nataraja the primordial elements and in this One of the most popular manifestations of sculpture of Siva these elements are Siva, Siva Nataraja, depicts Siva dancing brought together. The paradox of the in a ring of fire. A paradoxical range of interplay of the microcosmic and the mood from wild to a controlled macrocosmic scales of life, the profound detached movement is expressed in this and the banal are expressed by the image well-known image. Despite the violence of of Siva where, as O'Flaherty describes: 'he the dance his expression is detached, serene uses his magic eye to bring about the final and uninvolved. Siva dances, surrounded conflagration of the universe and is then by a fire which destroys ignorance while berated by his wife for using it to cheat at evoking creation with the sound of his dice.'9 double-sided drum. He crushes underfoot The subtlety of this interplay of the gods the dwarf demon Apasmara, the symbol of whereby they are capable of inspiring awe ignorance, while simultaneously showing and then becoming insignificantly trivial is mercy by raising his palm, a calming exemplified by such mythological tales. The gesture, and pointing with his foot to incident when Indra, filled with pride, is indicate where the worshipper may take made to see himself as one of a number of . This image reminds the devotee of likened to a swarm of ants is, the circle of life and death and the according to O'Flaherty, another such reconciliation through Siva of these example. opposites. Several examples of this image were popular in South India during the Dakshinamurti early medieval period. The famous form of Siva Nataraj, known as Anandatandava, is Siva is the patron of ascetics. In the guise worshipped pre-eminently at of a Siva is seen as the wise and in Tamil Nadu (Figure 3.3). Siva as benevolent teacher Dakshinamurti (Figure representative and centre of the universe 3.4). This Sanskrit term has two com- is seen in this bronze sculpture of Nataraj. ponents: 'dakshina' meaning south, and It expresses not just the movement of 'murti' meaning image. Blurton suggests the dance but reveals the five elements: this may refer to Siva as a teacher facing earth (kanchi), wind (kalahasti), fire south towards his disciples from his (tiruvannamalai), water (tiruvanaikha) and mountain home in the . In space (). The lotus is a symbol of comparison to the wild-eyed yogi or the water and of earth; the wind catches Siva's dancing image, this is Siva as the young sash and hair; fire is expressed by the ascetic with long matted hair. Across his

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Figure 3.3 Siva Nataraj, Tamil Nadu. Chola, 1100. British Museum, mus. no. 1987,3-14. forehead are sometimes displayed three tradition in India, both as a practical means stripes of ash which are the hallmark of the of obtaining shade and as a means of Saivite devotee. His hands are in the relating the teacher to the spirit of the teaching position, and he is often portrayed sacred tree. A well-known example of this sitting in front of a tree. The practice of can be seen in Buddha's enlightenment and preaching under a tree is an ancient his first sermon at , both of which

50 Hindu Deities

Figure 3.4 Dakshinamurti Siva from Kailasanatha temple. Kanchipuram, early eighth century. Robert Elgood.

51 Hinduism and the Religious Arts took place under a tree. There may also be worshipped in a variety of local forms. In a link with the ancient custom of question- Himachal Pradesh, for example, ing a medium in ritual spirit possession and his consort are worshipped in the beside the sacred tree who was believed to form of bronze masks which are carried in be possessed by the yaksha or spirit of the processions round the town. During these tree. In time this wisdom was transferred festivals men and women fall into trances to the wish fulfilment tree, which itself and utter strange words believed to be answered questions. induced by their being possessed by the gods. and Virabhadra Interpretations Other forms of Siva exist such as Bhairava and Virabhadra. Siva in the form of The mythology and iconography of Siva still Bhairava can be recognized as an ascetic, continue to develop in modern India. The with wild hair, a staff and an erect penis. A understanding of Siva's personality and the skull is fixed to his hand and he wears a interpretation of his attributes is contro- garland of skulls. He is often accompanied versial. Many of his characteristics, such as by a dog. Bhairava is notorious for his the matted hair and garments made of tiger beheading of a Brahman. As penance for skin are associated with ascetics. The this crime Bhairava was condemned to scholar Danielou11 suggests meanings for wander endlessly, with the fifth head of some of Siva's emblems: the crescent moon Brahma stuck to the palm of his hand. represents the power of procreation; the Despite his dangerous character Bhairava serpent, the cycle of years and dormant is still popular in North India and Nepal sexual energy; the matted hair, Siva's where he is known as Bhairon. The extreme rejection of society; the tiger skin trophy, Saivite sect, the , worship the power of nature; the drum () Bhairava. Their name is derived from the (made of the top part of two human skulls skull () which is their emblem. joined back to back, with a thong and a Another manifestation of Siva which pellet), the power of sound; the trident expresses the wild side of his personality is (trisula), the three qualities of nature, the form Virabhadra. Virabhadra was creation, preservation and destruction; the created in anger by Siva to avenge an insult skulls, the perpetual revolution of death from his father-in-law , the father of and rebirth; the ashes, the burning of the Siva's wife Sati. Daksha refused to invite universe with the power of a glance of his his mendicant son-in-law to a sacrificial third eye. To this list one might add that ceremony. Siva arrived at the occasion Siva's nakedness expresses the rejection of unannounced and beheaded Daksha. Siva the norms of society as does the act of repented this action and returned Daksha rubbing ashes on the body. This also to life, but with a goat's head. Virabhadra indicates sublimated sexuality and the is often seen with a goat-headed man abandonment of family life while fulfilling standing diminutively at his feet. The a practical function in giving protective worship of Siva as Virabhadra is popular in warmth to the body. Siva's cosmic dance the south and in the Deccan.10 He is also on the demon indicates both the destruction

52 Hindu Deities of ignorance and illusion and the words through the experience of bhava and destruction of the world and its rebirth. rasa, through the senses and feelings. Siva is sometimes described as lord of What do the visual forms of Siva tell us the animals. Various animals such as the about Hinduism? Siva's image portrays a bull, buffalo, snake and antelope are being who is both beneficent as a revered associated with him. The first three are teacher and powerful, violent, terrifying and symbolic of his sexual energy while the destructive. The acceptance and reverence antelope, often a sacrificial victim, reinforces of such a personage expresses a faith which Siva's link with life and death, or renewal. allows within itself non-conformable, For such parallel imagery it is interesting provocative, disruptive and destructive to recall the proto-Siva image from the elements. Siva echoes forces that run Indus valley (Figure 2.3), a masked figure counter to the orthodox structure and thought to represent a bull, below which obligations of society. It is the way of the sit two addorsed antelopes. outsider. Siva's origins lie in the destructive A degree of caution must be sounded in Vedic deity Rudra, and in a combination of the acceptance of the above interpretations. pre-Vedic traditions of fertility, amalgamated Hindu art is composed of visual forms with an esoteric revealed by forest which are multivalent, rather in the manner sages. Hindu wisdom is suggested by the that Sanskrit is a language where words manner in which Siva's character reflects have several meanings. An example of this the power of nature which is both destructive multivalence can be seen in relation to the and creative, the fury of floods and fire as symbol of the moon and by Siva's well as their generative powers. This association with it, his link with the natural expression of Siva's powers is also expressed world of cause and effect. The moon is by O'Flaherty in her suggestion that: suggested by Hindus to have power over The control or transmutation of these forces procreation. The moon is also interpreted may be seen on the cosmic level, where the as the expression of the unconscious instinc- continual interaction of the natural elements tive side of man's psyche. Siva manifests (primarily fire and water) animates the flow of this in his state of withdrawal from the vital forces within the universe.... On the preoccupations of the phenomenal world. symbolic level these are the moments when the This is reinforced by Siva's circlet of snakes forces of fire and water are simultaneously which are themselves creatures associated present but not mutually destructive; on the with hidden and dark places. The bull divine level, these are the undertakings in which vehicle which expresses the power of sexual creative and destructive divinities reinforce one energy also relates to the power of the another; on the human level, these are the uncontrolled sexual forces of man. The episodes in which ascetic and sexual impulses combination and juxtaposition of gestures combine within an individual, each impulse and emblems express Siva's varied nature allowed to develop the full expression of its with all its accompanying ambiguities. In power without impeding the expression of the order to interpret Hindu iconography it is contrasting impulse.12 helpful to use not only intellectual analysis but to experience the visual forms as a This interpretation of Siva admits to Hindu worshipper was expected to, in other subtleties of energies at work in the pattern

53 Hinduism and the Religious Arts of the divine order, and the paradox and Great Goddess, who is known by the more contradiction are seen as part of this fabric. generic name of Devi. is the most The acceptance and need to propitiate Siva conservative, modest and benign of Siva's admits to the power of the uncontrolled and consorts. The goddess is a the fear of the unknown. This is a real terror popular form of Parvati, representative of and one which in our mechanized society plenty and abundance. Annapurna is with its virtual reality we try to suppress. recognized by the carrying of a ladle. Other benign forms of Parvati are Lalita, The worship of Siva can be powerful, dangerous, identifiable by the carrying of a mirror, and beautiful, exciting, mystical, exultant and Gauri, whose name means the fair. Other solitary. It satisfies one substantial sector of consorts of Siva are the goddesses , humanity. Another large group looks for Durga, and Kali. These god- security, certain knowledge and the strength of desses are energetic, vigorous and at times community. In India this second group turns bloodthirsty. The goddess Chamunda was towards the worship of Vishnu.13 created by the goddess Durga. Chamunda's name derived from her victory over the male Consorts of Siva demons .

Scholars have suggested that the worship Siva's offspring of the mother goddess pre-dates the worship of Vishnu and Siva. It has been suggested Siva has two sons, Skanda sometimes that any conflict ensuing from usurping the known as Karttikeya, and Ganesa. Legend primacy of the goddess was resolved by her recounts that Parvati did not give birth to marriage to the male deities. An example of Skanda, despite his being the result of Siva this can be observed in Madurai, where the and Parvati's love-making. The intensity of cult of the goddess Minakshi is of greater the consummation of the union of Siva and antiquity than that of her spouse Siva, Parvati was said to have been so great that known as Sundaresvara. Each year a it caused cosmic unrest and disturbance symbolic divine marriage of Minakshi and and gave rise to Siva's seed falling in the Sundaresvara is celebrated in the temple. river Ganga. Despite the river's associations This no doubt commemorates the in- with Parvati, Ganga is also not considered corporation of Siva into an earlier goddess to be the mother of Skanda. Ganga was said cult. Many pilgrims also visit the temple of to have been unable to bear the heat of the Khajuraho to celebrate the annual re- divine seed and Skanda was apparently enactment of the marriage of Siva and nurtured and born to the six Krittikas (the Parvati. constellation known in the West as the Siva is often portrayed as passive and it Pleiades). This link with this constellation is his consort or Sakti who is said to gives rise to Skanda's alternative name empower or activate him. Siva has several Karttikeya and his depiction with six heads. consorts who express his diverse nature. The earliest known depiction of Skanda Parvati is one of Siva's wives but it is dates from the second to third century AD difficult to discriminate between Parvati, and comes from North-west India. Skanda who has no major cult of her own, and the can be recognized by his carrying of a spear

54 Hindu Deities and sometimes a cockerel banner. His absorption of the earlier snake or Naga vehicle is a peacock. worship which was common throughout Ganesa is one of the most popular deities; India. Fear and reverence of the snake and associated with Siva as the son of Parvati, its powers was and still is a common feature he is immediately recognizable by his throughout India's history. Snakes are often elephant head. Ganesa is evoked to remove found in anthills and since anthills and obstacles at the beginning of each new nagas are both the object of veneration venture and he is the guardian of entrances. these places are natural shrines which are Despite a complex mythology, Ganesa may frequently visited by women who bring demonstrate the absorption of an earlier fertility offerings.14 cult of elephant worship. According to The bull or nandi (Figure 3.14) is Siva's legend, Siva, on seeing a figure in Parvati's vehicle while the more docile cow is doorway, decapitated Ganesa, ignorant of associated with Krishna one of the the fact that he was Parvati's son. Repentant incarnations of Vishnu. It is the strength, once he realized his mistake, Siva swore to virility and power of the bull which is replaced Ganesa's head with the first head expressed in the relationship between Siva he saw, which happened to be that of an and his vehicle. The frequent occurrence elephant. Myth also describes Parvati on seals of bulls or buffaloes or as terracotta making an image out of the dirt from her figures suggests the importance of this legs which brought Ganesa back to life. This animal in Indian culture from as early as may refer to the ancient idea of sympathetic 2500 BC. The existence of a possible buffalo magic where clay and flesh were seen as mask on the proto-Siva image (Figure 2.3) synonymous. Siva made Ganesa the leader may also suggest the existence of a bull or of the dwarfs, or . Siva also made buffalo cult which has been absorbed into Ganesa the guardian of doorways as a the cult of Siva. Traditionally the bull is tribute to his guarding his mother. As always placed in the temple facing the remover of obstacles he is known as 'the enshrined icon of Siva or the Siva linga. Lord of the Beginnings'. Some scholars link The antelope is also linked to Siva. As the corpulent Ganesa to Yaksha, has been mentioned earlier, the antelope king of the Yakshas. His attributes are an was frequently hunted or used as a , a noose and a bowl of sacrificial victim. It is therefore seen as a sweetmeats. His vehicle is the mouse which symbol of Siva's power over death and perhaps signifies the proximity of mice to rebirth. food offerings, or the paradox of the relative size of the mouse to the elephant. Vishnu

Vishnu, like Siva, has an iconic and aniconic Animals associated with Siva form. Despite his varied manifestations he Certain animals are associated with is consistently seen as the preserver of Siva who is depicted with a snake en- and the maintainer of order and twined around his neck. The linga is also tradition. The name Vishnu is derived from sometimes carved with a protecting cobra. the Sanskrit 'vish' literally meaning to Association with Siva may well express the 'work'. He is indeed regarded as the

55 Hinduism and the Religious Arts all-doing presence. Vishnu is the deity of selfless phenomenon. Despite the erotic moderation, prosperity, and obedience to element in the Krishna legend, in the the traditional values of society. He majority of cults the love referred to is represents the good householder and the asexual. values of family and community. As Siva stands at the extremities, Vishnu supports The early history the accepted social values of behaviour. Devotees believe that Vishnu comes to Vishnu is mentioned in the Rg Veda, but was earth in various forms to assist them at not an important deity in the Vedic period. times of spiritual and political crisis. By the time of the appearance of the An example of this is the growth of the Mahabharata and the Puranas he had popularity of Vishnu during the expansion acquired his supremacy. The deity referred of Muslim power from the sixteenth to the to in the Rg Veda, the dwarf who strode seventeenth centuries. These partly animal across the cosmos, may well have been avatars, or incarnations of Vishnu, can be amalgamated with the Aryan god Varuna, interpreted as the absorption by Hinduism the guardian of cosmic order. It is suggested of earlier pre-Hindu cult deities. Vishnu as that he absorbed some of the attributes of the saviour materializes in forms which the Adityas, which were Vedic solar powers, are a blend of and cult of which Varuna was the chief deity. images. It is generally accepted that there According to Gonda15 this demonstrated the are ten avatars or incarnations of Vishnu; absorption of Vishnu, a God of rising power, five are in animal and five in human form who was in turn absorbed into the group of and some minor ones such as the Adityas. He later became loosely and . Accounts of these associated with the sun, demonstrated by incarnations were woven into expansive his holding emblems which are solar colourful legends. This mythology ex- symbols such as the discus (), and by pressed social, political and religious ideals his vehicle the kite (garuda). Vishnu is not and values which contributed to an however the sole representative of the sun increased popularity of Vishnu. Some of and is distinct from the Surya. In the characteristics of Vishnu's personality the later Vedic period Vishnu became may also have their source in the bene- associated with the human heroes Vasudeva- volent manifestations of the Buddhist Krishna, Narayana and Krishna-Gopala. . Vasudeva-Krishna was a warrior Vishnu is perceived in the Krishna who fought at and challenged as the god of love and emotion. Krishna's the Brahmanic Vedic rituals. Astadhyayi, love for man was first expressed in the Panini's grammar of 400 BC, refers to Bhagavad Gita, a section within the great Vasudeva-Krishna, who became the centre epic the Mahabharata. 'Bhakta' or love is of a cult.16 Evidence of the importance of sometimes expressed by the Vaishnava this religious figure is seen by the column devotee in '', literally devotional erected in honour of Vasudeva. The first songs. This 'bhakti' cult arose and dated monument linked with Vishnu is this developed in South India. This love is not second-century BC shaft of the Heliodorus wild ecstasy but is described as a steady, column in Besnagar, where the inscription

56 Hindu Deities refers to the erection of a garuda column in greater power and strength of char- honour of Vasudeva. His first appearance in acter than appears in later carvings. the later characteristic form is on a coin from Among the earliest sculptures representing the Graeco-Bactrian king Agathocles Narasimha is the fourth-century AD relief (c. 180-165 BC) found at a site on the Oxus panel from Kondamotu in south-eastern which was destroyed some time later in the Deccan. second century BC. On one side Vishnu is shown with the chakra, conch shell and Attributes mace and on the reverse is with his plough and pestle. A later coin from the Vishnu (as distinct from his avatars) is first century BC represents Vishnu as a four- generally represented as a tall, handsome armed figure grasping two poles, one youth with dark blue skin and the attire of surmounted by a discus, the other by what an ancient king (Figure 3.5). He is carved looks like a trident On a Kusana seal-matrix or painted with long earrings, large from King the god is more decorative armlets, a high royal crown, four recognizable as a four-armed figure with a arms, and on his chest the distinctive curl wheel and a mace. and the jewel . His four arms The earliest surviving statues of Vishnu hold characteristic emblems such as the are found in Kusana sculpture from conch, discus, lotus and mace (Figure 3.6). Gandhara and Mathura of the first century Occasionally one attribute is absent, and AD, where there was a simultaneous instead one of Vishnu's hands grants a boon production of Buddhist, Jain and Hindu or favour. His vehicle () is the bird images. The extent to which Graeco-Roman known as the garuda which is sometimes sculpture inspired the style or character of described as an eagle, falcon, or more these early figures of Vishnu is still a matter accurately a Brahmany kite. Garuda has of conjecture. Vishnu first appears in regal wings and a birdlike human head with a form with a royal head-dress (kiritamukuta) curved beak. Due to his flight across the which was to become a regular feature of heavens, the kite and by association, the god. His physical appearance was that garuda, can be seen as a solar symbol and of a normal human being, a form which as in the wild, as the kite is the enemy of continues up to modern times, while a serpents. The discus and the dwarf Avatar parallel form subsequently developed into are also associated with solar imagery. a multi-armed and multi-headed supreme deity known as Visvarupa. One temple in Aniconic forms of Vishnu Nagarjunakonda of AD 278 shows Vishnu in his eight-armed form. The depiction of The simplest aniconic forms of Vishnu are Vishnu in the avatar of the boar Varaha and saligramas. These are round black stones Krishna began to appear for the first time which sometimes contain fossilized as early as the first century AD. Examples of ammonites and are fbund in the gorge of the early forms of Vishnu (such as Varaha the Kali-Gandaki river in Nepal. Naturally from Udaygiri and the Mathura image of occurring concentric rings on some of the Krishna now in the museum of Bharat Kala saligramas resemble the spiral and discus, Bhavan) show a statuesque being with Vishnu's emblems. These circular forms are

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Figure 3.5 Vishnu, Kanauj, Central India. Late tenth century. British Museum, mus.no. 1872,7-1,41.

58 Hindu Deities all seen as solar symbols which reinforce created links with Varuna, the Aryan god Vishnu's association with the sun. Pilgrims of the waters.17 The probability that these decorate themselves with stamps bearing incarnations were the means by which local the discus and the conch shell or wear cults were absorbed into mainstream block-printed clothes in the same pattern. Hinduism is shown by the fact that the tribal The body stamps may also display other group the Gonds still worship the tortoise symbols connected with Vishnu, such as as their cult totem. representations of his feet or written epithets. The boar

In his third appearance on earth, Vishnu Creation adopted the guise of a boar to kill a demon Creation is visualized as Vishnu asleep, who had cast the world into the depths of lying on the snake Sesha. Vishnu is here the ocean. Vishnu succeeded in killing this perceived as the source of the universe. demon and raising the earth (personified Legend recounts Vishnu's awakening and as the goddess Bhu) on his tusks. In this the emergence of the flowering lotus from story Vishnu released the imprisoned earth Vishnu's navel. The earth emerges from the from the bottom of the ocean and restored petals of this lotus. Vishnu in his incarna- her to her rightful place, thus reinforcing tion as guide and saviour first appears in and maintaining the status quo. the world in a form which is linked with The worship of Vishnu in this form was creation myths. particularly popular in the Gupta period (fourth to sixth centuries AD). Several remarkable depictions of Varaha survive Avatars from the sites of Udaygiri and , dated The worship of Vishnu in the form of one to the fifth century AD, and also at the seventh- or other of his avatars is popular with his to eighth-century site of Mamallapuram, devotees. Particular favourites are the later south of Madras. Varaha was also adopted incarnations of Rama and Krishna. The as the royal emblem by the Chola and early legends are now reduced to stories dynasties of South India. Today with a few episodes, while those of Rama Vishnu in the form of the boar attracts fewer and Krishna are expressed in a complex web devotees than do other incarnations. of mythology. Narasimha The fish and turtle The fourth Avatar Narasimha is depicted as Of the ten avataras attributed to Vishnu the half-man, half-lion (Plate 2). This form of first four are partly animal in form. The fish Vishnu is mentioned in the Mahabharata. (matsya) and the turtle (kurma) are no Vishnu takes the form of Narasimha to longer important deities. The fish, reputed overcome a foe who was insuperable by day to have saved the world from the great flood or night, man or beast. Vishnu's foe was a and the Vedas, and the turtle, revealing the proud royal devotee of Siva called divine nectar by churning the ocean, Hiranyakasipu, who received a boon as

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to blood sacrifices is revealed by the lion ripping open the stomach of the king in an expression of a ritual blood-letting, behavi- our which would be unacceptable to the orthodox Vaishnavite devotees. Evidence of this is given by Blurton, who refers to a long tradition of the worship of a lion deity in the Deccan and Orissa. He refers to one of the earliest known depictions of Narasimha, which is found in an area of south-eastern Deccan in a fourth-century relief panel from Kondamotu. In local and tribal cults, the lion deity required sacrificial offerings. Even today in the temple town of in southern , blood offerings of goats and rams are made to Narasimha at specified times of the week.18

The dwarf incarnation Vishnu's fifth incarnation on earth was in the form of a dwarf, who holds a water pot in one hand and a parasol in the other. Legend recounts that a powerful king, , who threatened world order, Figure 3.6 Vishnu holding his key attributes. granted a wish to the dwarf. The dwarf Drawing by Christopher Glanville RWA. requested ownership of whatever land he could cover with three strides. On securing the result of ritual penances to Siva. the king's agreement the dwarf rapidly Hiranyakasipu could neither be defeated became an enormous giant and with three on the ground nor in the air, nor in his strides encompassed the earth and the palace nor outside it. Narasimha appeared nether regions. Vishnu granted the king at sunset as half-man, half-lion, held the king control of the underworld. This granting of Hiranyakasipu on his lap and sealed himself a consolation prize is an example of the in the palace doorway, thus evading Siva's Hindu tradition of reconciliation and boon to the king; he thus succeeded in reverence by the victor for the vanquished slaying and humbling the king. An inherent enemy. Despite the king's acquisition of conflict between Saivite and Vaishnavite power through the performing of ritual sects is revealed in the reference to Vishnu's penance, Vishnu's action serves to remind victory over the king, who had acquired one of his supremacy and the underpinning power through penances to Siva. of all human and divine activity by the laws Narasimha's tribal source and the reference of karma.

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Rama with an axe tionship between Ravana and is an interesting expression of the tensions The next avatar with a human form is Rama between tribal, licentious, indigenous India with the axe. Although bearing the same and the orthodox Indo-Aryan society. The name as the seventh avatar, there is no clear relationship of Rama and may connection between the incarnations. When also be another instance of a former sacred the warrior caste or Kshatriyas attempted animal becoming adopted and absorbed to overthrow caste hierarchy and to rule into Hindu mythology. without Brahmanic sanction Rama restored the previous order. He thus defends the Balarama divinely sanctioned structure of society. His worship occurs in , and also in The brothers Krishna and Balarama were . incarnations of Vishnu and are therefore sometimes regarded as joint incarnations. According to the Vishnu Purana, Vishnu Rama took two of his hairs, one black and one The second heroic figure of Rama is the white, and implanted them in 's main protagonist of the Ramayana. womb. Shortly before they were born the According to Sanskrit legend the acts of resulting infants were transferred to Rama were told by the sage . The 's womb in order to prevent them stories of Rama, one of the most popular from being murdered at birth by the tyrant incarnations of the god Vishnu, are often king . Krishna was born with a dark acted out in community theatre and puppet complexion and Balarama was white. shows and are well known to audiences. Balarama shared many exploits with Rama may represent an actual historical Krishna but is not regarded as very saintly. personage who participated in the Indo- His attributes are the club () and the Aryan advance through India south of the plough. Ganges plain in the late centuries BC, while Ravana, his antagonist in the Ramayana, Krishna may represent the indigenous population. Rama is even today viewed as the ideal king Krishna is the most popular of all Vishnu's and husband. According to mythology avatars. He has a blue skin colour and is Rama was the king of and often depicted playing a flute. Krishna is a established a of justice, helped god associated with romantic love. and revered by the monkey god Hanuman. Krishna's concern and love for humanity is The story of Rama revolves around his first expressed in a famous text the consort Sita. In one version of the story she Bhagavad Gita, literally meaning 'Song of returns to rule with Rama; in another she the Lord'. In this text Krishna is consulted once more goes into exile. Her. exile resulted by the hero Arjuna, who hesitates before from suspicion concerning her integrity and launching a great battle against members honour which was thought to have been of his own tribe. The most romantic and compromised by the unsolicited advances selfless expression of Krishna's devotees is of Ravana. Rama's suspicion of a rela- seen in the performance of devotional

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Figure 3.7 A modern painting of the baby Krishna. Pat Barylski. songs, music, dance, lyrical poetry and stories is the one concerning his paintings. Celebration, joy and play are relationship with , a married woman. associated with the worship of Krishna. His This has been one of the frequently mythology is retained, with wide regional illustrated sequences of the Krishna legend, variations. The earliest stories of the life of a particular favourite of the royal patrons Krishna are found in the , and courtly ladies. It has been suggested and later in the Gita which was that this tolerance and the acceptance of written by the twelfth-century Bengali poet codes of behaviour outside the norms of Jayadeva. A prolific number of sculptures Hindu society may suggest the absorption and paintings, in particular illustrated of a more liberated tribal pastoral deity. The manuscripts from the sixteenth century, playing of bamboo flutes by the Bhil testify to the popularity of Krishna and tribesmen of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Rama. These images suggest different Madhya Pradesh are evidence of the tribal strands of the rich personality of Krishna, origin of the dark-skinned pipe-playing while story scrolls from Bengal and Krishna. This emphasis on the erotic may Maharashtran Paithan paintings retell the also derive from fertility or tantric rites or narrative of Rama. may be seen as a symbolic analogy for the Krishna legends refer to the child pining of the soul for the divine. The Krishna playing tricks and stealing butter, expression of freedom seen in the relations with an early life associated with Vrindaban between Krishna and the milkmaids ma on the river Jumna (Figure 3.7). The adult well reflect the ease of contact between men Krishna is seen as a cowherd renowned for and women which is found even today in his erotic play with the milkmaids. The most tribal groups. A study of the Bhils19 reveals romantic and surprising of the Krishna this greater sexual licence and a sense of

62 Hindu Deities female emancipation and gaiety. There is necklace, lifting up the mountain to protect promiscuity among young men and girls, his devotees. Another scene which is often which is discreetly practised out of sight in illustrated and associated with Krishna is the jungles.20 Extra-marital relations are the overcoming of the snake deity. Krishna also common in Bhil society and may lie at is described as defeating and dancing on the root of Krishna's affair with Radha. the snake demon, who in turn Further evidence for Krishna's tribal him. The vitality of the new faith over the origins is expressed in the almost abstract old is suggested in this victory over Indra image of Krishna from Orissa in the and the snake demon . Plate 3 shows temple in . This sacred Krishna being fed milk by one of the object was originally worshipped by the cowherdesses. jungle tribes in the interior of Orissa. One In devotion to Krishna, man expresses of the distinctions between tribal and his most romantic and colourful feelings orthodox Hindu worship was that the through music, dance and celebration. Ideas former worship the divine in the form of a of play or 'lila' are connected to this heap of stones or a wooden post and the devotion to Krishna. latter a representational icon. The seizing of a tribal deity by a powerful monarch is Buddha common practice and one that transfers authority to the king, who has earned the Buddha, the great prophet and teacher, right of power over the tribal region by his became absorbed into the pantheon of courage and possession of the icon. The Hinduism as an Avatar of Vishnu. Buddha occasional renewal of the image associated as an Avatar has no substantial cult. Bodh with tribal practice, a practice carried out Gaya itself was a Saivite rather than a at the Jagannath temple, is perhaps another Vaishnavite place of worship. Between the reference to this tribal heritage. Another tenth and twelfth centuries the interaction Vaishnava temple, which periodically between the two religions became very renews its images associated with the close, with similar practices and doctrines worship of Krishna, is the temple in such as the tantras. Both the Buddha and Rajasthan dedicated to Sri Nathji. Vishnu are seen as divine saviour figures. Elaborate rituals have developed around the worship of the icon Sri Nathji, and Kalki different paintings or hangings portraying the god are produced at various festivals. The last of the avatars of Vishnu and the It is interesting to note that this image was one that is yet to come is called Kalki. He regarded as a Naga deity, which was is depicted as a human figure with a horse's formerly worshipped by the shepherds of head or as an actual horse. The texts say Mount Govardhan near Vrindaban, who that his appearance in the world will come made offerings of milk to it in the open air. at the time of dissolution or at the end of One of the earliest examples of the the present time cycle. The choice of the depiction of Krishna is from the sixth horse for this future saviour of the world century in Benaras.21 This shows him as a may well express India's attitude to the powerful youth wearing a tiger claw horse as an animal that was not indigenous

63 Hinduism and the Religious Arts and was identified with the powerful Aryan Chakravartin. As such, he becomes an invaders whose arrival astride these analogue of the earthly king who is fearsome animals must have seemed like 'wedded' to his territory in the manner in the end of the world. The horse was a feared which Vishnu is wedded to his second and valued animal. In South India offerings consort, the earth, or Bhudevi. Kings today, of terracotta horses are made to propitiate such as the king of Nepal and the former the spirit Aiyanar and for protection against Maharajas of Travancore, are regarded as any other ghosts or spirits believed to Vishnu's representation on earth. inhabit the forest As in the case of Siva, the interpretation of Vishnu's attributes cannot be precise. Understanding has to be associated with Vishnu's consort vision or enlightenment, which comes as The usual name of Vishnu's wife is Lakshmi much from unconscious perception as from (Figure 3.8). She represents prosperity and a conscious reading of symbols. The bounty. She is worshipped so as to ensure characteristic elements and emblems of and affluence to her devotees. Vishnu have been analysed in the following Lakshmi is often depicted seated in the lap way. The four arms may represent the four of Vishnu and in this form the couple are stages of human life, the four hands the known as Lakshmi-Narayan. As the goddess dominion over the four directions of space of good luck she has a long history reaching and thus Vishnu's absolute power. The back to the late centuries BC. She is first seen conch may represent the creative spiral, or sitting on a lotus flower and is lustrated with its sound 'om' held to be the origin of water from two elephants. The lotus is existence. The discus, the weapon which associated with Lakshmi and Vishnu. The cuts off demons' heads, may symbolize the lotus and the water are associated with power of the mind which destroys prosperity and life. Lakshmi's other name ignorance. The lotus may represent the is Sri. The other consort of Vishnu is Bhu. universe, the rising of beauty of form from Bhu was the earth goddess who was rescued the formless, or literally the swampy depths from the depths of the ocean by the Varaha of the pond. The lotus may also symbolize incarnation of Vishnu. the egg of nescience, or the seed of endless millions within the universe. The mace is said to symbolize the power of knowledge Interpretation of Vishnu and of time, which destroys all who oppose What does the worship of Vishnu tell us it. The jewel on his chest is supposed to about Hinduism? It tells of a society at represent consciousness, which manifests pains to maintain the continuity of its itself in the sun, moon, fire and speech. The traditions. It expresses a belief in 'bhakti', lock of hair on the chest represents the literally a shared relationship with God on source of the natural world.22 a personal level and an expectation of love The first two avatars, the fish and the and fair dealings. Vishnu as a deity is seen tortoise, are strongly linked to water as the deliverer. Vishnu is known as the symbolism. Mythology recounts the tale of source and preserver of the world and for the fish who saved the world from the great this reason is often shown as the king, or flood and the tortoise who churned up the

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Figure 3.8 A modern painting of the goddess Lakshmi. Robert Elgood.

65 Hinduism and the Religious Arts ocean and revealed the divine nectar. The Brahma boar and the half-man half-lion incarnations represent the absorption of local cult deities Brahma as a deity is not actively into the orthodox pantheon of Hinduism. worshipped. Brahma never presents himself Boar worship had been recorded in as a great yogin. The only temples dedicated and the half-lion beast has a long tradition to Brahma are at Ajmer, and near of worship in the Deccan and Orissa. The Kumbhakonam in Tamil Nadu. Brahma is four next avatars, the dwarf, Rama in two the source or seed of all that is; he is the incarnations and Krishna, are more place wherein the union of Siva or Vishnu frequently represented in epic narrative. may occur. He is the point of balance Rama and his wife Sita described in the between the poles of concentration and Ramayana still today represent the perfect dispersion. ideal marriage. Krishna on the other hand Brahma is represented with four heads, expresses the joyful celebration of divine originally five (the fifth was burned by the love and play. The acceptance of Krishna's fire of Siva's third eye). His colour is red or love for Radha, a married woman, is pink and in his four arms he holds either revealing. Perhaps this unorthodox relation- the four Vedas or a sceptre, ladle, string of ship is on one level symbolic of human beads, bowl or water jug. His vehicle is a passion for the divine but on another or goose, the symbol of knowledge. releases emotions which are of necessity His consort is Sarasvati, the goddess of restrained in marriage rules and obligations. knowledge or speech. Marriage decisions are usually governed by an overriding sense of duty and obligation, The Goddess not love or passion. A common thread in all the manifestations and forms of Vishnu A sixth-century Hindu text recounts the is the link with local heroes and animals deeds of the Goddess and suggests a single sanctified in tribal and local myth. As has powerful female deity. The Goddess been already suggested, the absorption of 'Mahadevi' may be regarded as personifying the Krishna legend into Vaishnava the thousands of local as well as the mythology may represent the acceptance of pan-Indian goddesses of orthodox Hindu a more lax and yet joyful message from tradition. The assimilation of the Goddess tribal society into the more rigid orthodox into the Hindu pantheon may be code. The worship of Vishnu as Krishna represented by two distinct phases: the first conveys in particular a sense of play, joy when the Indo-Aryan Gods were given and lightness of spirit. consorts and the second under the The final two avatars Buddha and Kalki influence of tantric movements in the demonstrate Hindu absorption of later medieval period, when the female goddess religious movements. The consorts of emerged with supreme independent power. Vishnu - Lakshmi, Sri and Bhu - echo the Despite the fact that the goddess retains prosperity and fruitfulness expressed in the many names and distinct personas,23 the form of Vishnu. The relationship between subsuming of all female deities into one Vishnu and Lakshmi is the more normal great goddess has however continued to orthodox relationship. the present day.24 In the medieval period

66 Hindu Deities the Goddess, and the female energy which the Goddess of damaged or sick parts of the she represents, became known as Sakti. body made of clay. Women desiring Today she is commonly called Mata or Ma pregnancy or the safe delivery of a child in North India and Amman in the south. have for many generations moulded and placed clay images of mother and child before the Goddess. These practices depend History of the Earth Goddess on a belief in magic and a miraculous The Earth or Mother Goddess pre-dates the interdependence of earth and flesh. Hindu period. Worship of the Goddess is directly concerned with fertility, procreation History of female tree spirits and river and abundant harvest that is valid even goddesses today, with a large percentage of India's population still depending on Despite the continuing devotion to the for its livelihood and survival. Archaeology Earth Goddess in pre- Vedic and post-Vedic has revealed continuous production of rural India, it is apparent that in the terracotta female images with pronounced orthodox Brahmanic texts the pantheon is breasts, hips and stylized features dominated by powerful male gods. The throughout the history of India. The earliest goddesses, (the ), sometimes female images, presumably of a goddess, likened to a cow and associated with light come from sites in West India such as and (the earth), are briefly referred and Sheri Khan Tarakai during to, but there is no mention of bloodthirsty the sixth and fifth millennium BC. Although female deities or tree spirits. Despite this we have no evidence of their ritual function, lack of literary reference, lifelike female the exaggerated generative organs strongly images representing tree spirits (yakshinis) suggest associations with fertility and the decorate Buddhist stone monuments from Mother Goddess. Terracotta images as early as the second to first century AD. discovered in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa At Bharhut, a second-century stone carving from the second and first millennium BC shows yakshinis' in supplication to the show less exaggerated female forms. Buddha; and at Amaravati, the second- to What was the actual purpose of these third-century site, a male yaksha is depicted terracottas? The answer may be found by appearing from a stone altar under a tree examining the form and purpose of similar to greet and worship the infant Buddha. more recent clay images. Even today, votive The nubile yakshinis and other sensual offerings are left in rural and tribal shrines. female deities are shown entwined with These tokens, usually but not exclusively lotuses and branches of trees. The inclusion made of clay, symbolically represent the of these spirits in early Buddhist art marks ancient sacrificial victim, or perhaps can be the new faith's absorption of earlier beliefs seen as offerings that become real in the and the use of sculptors practised in an spirit world. These were sometimes offered earlier artistic tradition. It is unknown what in thanks for the fulfilment of requests. values early Buddhism attributed to these Another purpose of clay votive figures was ancient deities and spirits, but they arrived the ancient belief in healing through in time to have an auspicious function, sympathetic magic, seen in the offering to ensuring the spiritual potency of sacred

67 Hinduism and the Religious Arts sites. This no doubt derived from the can be guardian deities known as ancient practice associated with tree gramadevata. The gramadevata is a generic worship, where the breaking of the branch term for the deity or goddess identified with of a tree by a beautiful young virgin was the village and towards whom the villagers believed to bring about the arousal of the have a special affection. The goddess can tree spirit and the tree's fruitfulness.25 both terrify and protect with gentle The earliest post-Harappan free-standing benevolence. Many goddesses of this type stone sculpture is believed by some to be a are associated with agriculture, plentiful sculpture referred to as the 'Didarganj rain and good harvests. These goddesses Yakshi or Chauri-bearer'. Similar female embody fertility and are without male images with increasingly sensual overtones consorts. According to Kinsley, the are frequently to be found on Buddhist mythological origin of the village goddess monuments from AD 200-400. From the of South India expresses injustices done to fourth century AD however the yakshi was women by men.26 It explains their often supplanted by the river goddess. The ambivalence and their independence from river goddess and the tree spirit both the male consort, and the required sacrifice suggest water symbolism in their of a male animal to be offered to the association with the flowing water and goddess. In order to protect the village's rising sap. They appear to be initially interests she needed a fierce countenance. interchangeable, until the river goddess Examples of regional goddesses are surpassed the yakshi image in popularity. Mariyamman in South India and Manasa in Garlands were thrown on to the surface of North India. When they receive blood rivers to honour the goddess, in the same offerings it is often a male animal whose life way that devotees had respectfully adorned blood is offered and they are often sacred trees with garlands. worshipped by men. Many village deities require offerings of blood or alcohol, the Present day village deities former in the guise of chickens, goats or occasionally buffaloes. Symbolic associ- The worship of the earth goddess and tree ations can be made between the natural spirits continues in village and tribal India cycle of seasons and the menstrual cycle of to the present day. Throughout village India the goddess. Blood, alcohol and fertility are in rural areas, shrines to a variety of all hallmarks of the goddess. goddesses are common. The village mother The seats (pithas) of these village god- deity of the Gonds, for example, is desses are frequently found in the open, represented by a sanctuary where round sometimes in fields (Figure 3.9). A shrine stones and a number of small clay animals with buildings dedicated to the goddess is are presented to the goddess as votive less usual. Instead of an image there is often offerings. The extent to which they are merely a pile of stones marked by a flag or separate or part of the cult of some greater pole. Some shrines are maintained and female deity is impossible to determine. honoured by a priest while others are tended Sometimes the names are the same, but the by a temple keeper, who is paid no goddesses possess different characteristics. renumeration and acccorded no special These goddesses may be tribal in origin and status. All tribal groups have a priest or a

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Figure 3.9 Village shrine in Tamil Nadu. Robert Elgood. group of sacred specialists generally limited cereals like maize, paddy and country to two or three in number. Its membership liquors are offered to the god. Ritual worship is confined to the priest's family or those of commences with offerings, followed by a his assistants. Different tribes call them noisy summoning of the goddess and the different names. For example, the Hos of belief in her arrival. Spirit possession is a Bihar call them Pahan, the Gonds of Madhya frequent occurrence in village worship27 and Pradesh call them Baiga Kanikkars and the a common characteristic is the medium's Uralies of Kerala call them Plathies. The loss of bodily control. The village goddess Kuvi Kandhas of Orissa have female priests or devi, like the tree spirits, is believed to be assisted by a number of female assistants to a quixotic bearer of both bounty and propitiate the deities. The duty of these catastrophe so that spirits need to be priests is to propitiate the village deities and propitiated to avert any evil consequence of to ward off disease and misfortune. The their presence. At the end of the worship Bhils call their priest Badava, who may the tribal people enjoy a feast where combine in himself the roles of a medium, drinking and dancing takes place. Many diviner, worshipper and healer. The villagers believe that the outbreak of some ceremony is essentially that of sacrifice. The diseases such as smallpox represents the offerings range from eggs to buffaloes. New anger of the goddess. Other goddesses

69 Hinduism and the Religious Arts inhabit cremation grounds, and are ways helps us to digest the of our placated with blood or flesh offerings. daily lives. The goddess Chinnamasta is frequently depicted drinking her own blood while Aniconic form of the devi striding over a copulating couple. Many aspects of the ceremonies and practices of Whereas Siva's symbol is the phallus, called the tribal groups of North and South India in Sanskrit the linga, or standing pillar, the show common features even today which goddess is sometimes depicted in the form may reveal a faithfulness to ancient ritual of a stylized representation of the female practices. A practice which may represent a genitals, which in Sanskrit is known as the continuation of the ancient ceremony of tree yoni. The two organs often appear together, worship is seen in the spring annual festival with the linga seeming to pass through the of the tribal group the Oraons. This festival yoni and to rise above it. The yoni without is held in a sacred grove where blossoms of the associated linga is worshipped as the sal tree form an essential element and in Kamgirim near Gauhati in the ceremony is known as Sarhul. Features Assam. This is the place where, according such as blood sacrifices, shamans and simple to tradition, the yoni of Sati was thrown by natural shrines of trees or stones represent a distraught Siva. Another place containing some of these aspects, underlying which is this solitary symbol of the goddess is the an apparent belief in a deity or spirit form. temple site of Alampur. This impersonal force is given the title A more abstract image of the goddess is Bonga by the Indian Ho tribe. Other tribes depicted in the symbolic form of the yantra conceive of a similar presence or force, or geometric diagram. This is primarily which forms a substratum of primitive associated with the goddess although not religion. Any stone marked with vermilion exclusively so. Different names are given to and unidentifiable as any particular deity the yantras in the worship of different will be explained by the Birhors as some sort goddesses. The geometric form is based on of bheru which acts as boga or mana power. a combination of triangles and circles. It is The tribes also consider the sun, moon and suggested that the triangle represents the earth as supreme powers, while ancestor approximate shape of the vulva. Sometimes worship plays a decisive role in tribal life in the triangles are superimposed to form a star, general, and in religious life in particular. which stands for the union of the male and The mystery of the goddess cannot be female principles. This form is placed within understood rationally. The unpredictabilty a circular diagram, representing the lotus of the goddess enables people to come to flower in all its subtle varieties of meaning. terms with fate and to attempt to manage Sometimes the lotus flowers are raised in the the uncontrollable. The view of reality where form of a small mountain culminating in the tragedy and success are ever present is more star, in the centre of which is said to be the real than the single view of life where bad absolute point of the godhead reached from times are repressed. The goddess reminds the union of the active female and the passive us that life must contain her and thus male energies. The history and use of yantras prepare us for the truth of the fragility and is linked to other sacred diagrams used as uncertainty of our hold on it. This in some aids to meditation.

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As well as the wilder forms of the pre- Durga Vedic goddess, the female deity became absorbed into the orthodox pantheon of Durga's primary purpose is to combat Hindu gods and goddesses, in which the demons who threaten the stability of wives of the gods reflect subtle aspects of the cosmos. Durga is depicted as a queen the nature of their husbands. One of the armed for battle. Her most common most revered of the Hindu goddesses is manifestation is as Mahisa Mardini, slayer Siva's wife Parvati. Siva's consorts express of the buffalo demon. At a certain point benevolence in the form of Parvati and in history she became associated with Siva power and possible destruction in the as his wife. persons of Durga and Kali. Perhaps one of the most popular cults is that of the goddess Durga who is described in the as a powerful Parvati goddess created from the combined anger As already mentioned, unlike Lakshmi, of several gods. Durga is armed with the Parvati has barely any independent history principal weapons of the major gods, the of her own. Her nature is defined by her javelin of Agni, the trident of Siva and the relationship with her divine husband. Parvati discus of Vishnu (Plate 4). She rides a lion has already been identified as a reincarnation and confronts a buffalo which has been of the goddess Sati. Not until the Puranas possessed by a demon. The buffalo (perhaps or the plays of of the fifth and sixth symbolic of indigenous nonconformist cults) centuries do we find the central myths of is said to threaten the stability of the gods Sati and Parvati told in detail. Legend themselves. Durga's victory over the buffalo describes Parvati as the child of the sacred demon is frequently depicted and shows mountains, the Himalayas. Mythology relates Durga placing a foot on the decapitated Parvati's determination to win Siva. She was buffalo while spearing the demon who said to have been undeterred by Siva's possessed and now emerges from the dying worldly detachment and preoccupation with animal. The example of the buffalo warns asceticism and to have become an ascetic devotees of the danger of possession by the herself to earn his respect and attention. She spirit world, and is a reference to the is often depicted on Siva's lap, demure and ancient tradition of buffalo worship which beautiful, and looking at him tenderly. The continues to be practised in tribal commun- sons of Siva and Parvati are known as ities such as the Bhils. Skanda (Karttikeya) and the elephant-headed The cult of Durga is ancient. Yet no Ganesa. goddesses are cast in the role of demon The theme of the Parvati cycle of myths slayers in Vedic literature. Although the is to represent the tension between the name Durga is mentioned in Vedic householder and the ascetic. Parvati, literature, no figure resembling a warlike representing the householder, tries to lure goddess appears in the early texts. An Siva from his ascetic preoccupations. indigenous non-Aryan origin for Durga is Another important element of Parvati's reinforced by her association with areas character is a role model for the perfect such as the Vindhya mountains, and tribal devotee or disciple. peoples such as the Sabaras, who drink

71 Hinduism and the Religious Arts liquor and eat meat.28 In many respects by the return of married daughters to their Durga stands for qualities diametrically maternal home for one day to be looked opposed to the general ideal for the Hindu after and cosseted. Special icons of the woman. Unlike the normal female she does goddess vanquishing the demon are made not provide her consort with her power or for the festival in clay by a specific subcaste sakti but takes power from the male gods of artisans. These images are often large in order to succeed in battle. In doing this and are housed in temporary shrines. At the the gods surrender their potency to her. end of the festival the images are immersed Aside from possible links with proto- in the river, returning to the elements from Durga Sunga terracotta figurines, earliest whence they came. known examples of the image are from the A fundamental difference between South first century AD in the vicinity of Mathura. and North India is seen in the perception of From the fourth century AD, images of the relationship between Durga and the Durga slaying the buffalo become common. buffalo demon. In the south the implied Durga's image is also found in the rock-cut sexual tension between Durga and the temples at Ellora which date from the buffalo demon is heightened. Durga is seen seventh and eighth centuries AD, and in the to be dangerous and violent and world safety south on rock-cut temples, where there is is secured by taming the sexuality of the more than one depiction of her at goddess by marriage. In the north on the Mahabalipuram. Throughout North and other hand, Durga-puja stresses the aspect South India it is a common theme sculpted of the gentle young wife and daughter. on Hindu temples. Today, Durga is still a popular form of the Annapuma goddess. Durga-puja in the autumn is an important festival, known as Dasara. The While Durga is the fierce goddess of the festival takes place over nine days and is battlefield, Annapurna represents the often called the Navaratra festival. In many goddess of plenty. She is calm, fruitful and parts of India this was an occasion in which fertile. Her symbols are the overflowing pot the rulers would celebrate military might and of rice and the brimming vessel of milk. In royal power and petition for military success aniconic form she is worshipped as a full in the coming year. Worship of weapons was pot. In Central India she is depicted seated a part of the festival in many cases. with a ladle across her lap. Unlike most In Bengal she is given a particular place goddesses, Annapurna carries no weapons. of importance and the story of Parvati's Her most famous shrine is in Benaras, the return to her family after the bleak sojourn city sacred to Siva. In Bengal during March with Siva in the mountain is re-enacted and April there is a tradition of producing annually. At the festival of Durga-puja she clay images of the goddess ladling out is shown surrounded by four deities, food to Siva, who is shown as a begging Karttikeya, Ganesa, Sarasvati and Lakshmi. mendicant. At the of She is also associated with plants and Annakuta, the 'mountain of food', which receives blood offerings at the festival, takes place in the autumn, Annapurna's perhaps suggesting the renourishment of Benaras temple becomes the focus of her powers of fertility. The legend is echoed elaborate activity. This festival is usually

72 Hindu Deities associated with Krishna but in Benaras it historically occupied by the untouchables is Annapurna whose temple is filled with and tribal people. Kali is seen with sagging food by her devotees, to be given away to breasts, a necklace of skulls, a skirt made the needy as prasad, food sanctified by of severed arms and a large red lolling contact or association with the deity. tongue, sometimes dripping with the blood of sacrificial victims (Figure 3.10). Some Kali devotees describe Kali's act of biting her large protruding tongue as an expression Kali is the most terrifying manifestation of of the control of the senses. The skulls the Goddess, sometimes indistinguishable around Kali's neck stand for the cycle of from the goddess Chamunda (Chamunda is life and death. Whereas Parvati receives usually depicted as an older, more withered devotion and symbolic offerings as the hag). Although she is portrayed as a wild, bounteous and fecund goddess, Kali, like violent and sometimes hideous being, she is Durga, requires mollifying sacrificial often the object of intense devotion. She is offerings in human or animal form. also depicted as black or dark, usually naked Kali is particularly popular in Bengal, with long, dishevelled hair, severed arms as although she is worshipped and known a girdle, and severed heads as a necklace. throughout India. She is also worshipped by She is seen with a lolling tongue bitten by many who see her as their mother. It is long teeth and with clawlike hands. Although remarkable that despite her gruesome she is sometimes regarded as an independent appearance Kali holds such a key position in deity she can be associated with Siva. Hindu religious devotion. She is of central The name Kali (literally 'the black importance in tantrism. Kali dominates (female) one") may suggest the deity's tribal tantric iconography, texts and rituals, or southern origin. References to the especially in left-handed . The approach indigenous population as dark-skinned of the devotee to Kali differs from the appear in the ancient text the Rg Veda, approach of the tantric sadhaka. The former notably in hymns to Indra as 'subduer of becomes a child returning to the fierce the dark (dasa) colour'.29 The earliest mother for protection, while the latter references to Kali in the Hindu tradition approaches her in a heroic and fearless way. date to the early medieval period around In both approaches the devotees or the AD 600 and locate Kali on the battlefield or tantric heroes accept or confront the truth on the edge of Hindu society. She is of life and death and through their accept- mentioned in the Agni and , ance or confrontation become liberated. and in the Bhagavata Purana as the patron One of the most famous temples dedic- deity of a band of thieves. Her most famous ated to Kali is located on the steps (ghats) appearances in battle contexts are found in of the river Hooghly in Calcutta, an area the Devi-mahatmya. known as This temple has been Kali's association with the cremation the major source for painted icons of the ground which is always on the outskirts of goddess Kali. Kumartully, also in Calcutta, any settlement reinforces her status as a is the centre for the production of the clay terrifying outsider. Kali, like Siva, inhabits images already referred to in connection the regions on the edge of society, a place with Durga-puja, where in the same

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Figure 3.10 A modern painting of Kali. Pat Barylski.

74 Hindu Deities workshops similar life-sized images of Kali associated with this power and loss of are produced. ordinary control. The power in the domestic Kali is the predominant goddess in tantric sphere and respect for the paternal painting, which emphasizes the active grandmother may also be associated with female, passive male roles by depicting Kali the respect for old women, despite their loss striding over or dancing upon either a of status due to infertility. Chamunda supine Siva, or Siva in sexual union with embodies the contradictions between these the goddess Parvati, with the latter taking positions representing fear, rejection and the dominant role. Kali is portrayed with a respect. In Chamunda there is also an necklace of skulls suggesting her devouring element of deliberate self-emaciation and nature. For the Western mind accustomed ageing in order to repel mortal suitors as to the portrayal of the Virgin Mary as gentle, distinct from Lord Siva. modest and nurturing, the concept of a Essentially, Kali is remarkable in her terrifying death-dealing goddess who at the association with blood and death, both held same time attracts intense devotion is as pollutants by the purity-conscious Hindu difficult to grasp. Philosophically, the society. sacrificial offerings required by Kali express Kali puts the order of dharma in perspective, the paradox that life requires death for perhaps puts it in its place, by reminding Hindus sustenance and that without this replenish- that certain aspects of reality are untamable, ment there can be no renewal. The result unpurifiable, unpredictable, and always a threat of this belief was the formerly widespread to society's feeble attempts to order what is practice of self-sacrifice to Kali on the essentially disorderly: life itself.30 assumption that human beings have the potential to be transformed by allowing themselves to be devoured by the goddess, Lakshmi and thereby achieve ultimate absorption into the state of formless bliss. As has been already mentioned, Lakshmi is The goddess is sometimes depicted as the the consort of the god Vishnu. She is one old hag Chamunda, expressing Indian of the most approachable and benign forms societies' ancient fear of post-menopausal of the goddess, and has her own cult old women. (The demonizing of old women independent of her role as Vishnu's wife. has historically been widespread in many Lakshmi embodies auspiciousness, prosper- societies.) From a female point of view the ity and abundance. Lakshmi in the form associated fear of ending the useful fertile of Sri does occur in the earliest Vedic years when sons might be produced on a literature.31 Associated with Lakshmi, Sri is regular basis and the physical rejection that one of the first to be mentioned in the might ensue was in itself terrifying, as was ancient Sanskrit texts. The term is used to the state of widowhood. Chamunda also suggest beauty, lustre and glory, and is used reflects an ancient belief in the in later Vedic literature to refer to ruling empowerment of old women in a ritual, power. Kinsley refers to it as a kind of magical sense associated with witchcraft. disembodied power that is acquired by The change in hormone levels and the kings in various ways, one of which is ritual subsequent madness of menopause may be lustration. Sri also refers to riches and

75 Hinduism and the Religious Arts abundance and is associated with fertility are opened. Special pujas are conducted or the potency of the earth. An example of and reverence is paid to articles such as this in modern Hinduism is given by the pens, ink and paper. This aspect of her women worshipping Sri in the form of cow character is celebrated at the festival of dung. Sri-Lakshmi is depicted visually in an Divali in the autumn, when lamps are lit in image as early as the second century BC at all the houses so that by her presence the stupa of Bharhut, which may be misfortune will be dispelled. interpreted as Lakshmi. This shows her As Sri-Lakshmi is regarded as the consort seated cross-legged on a lotus being lus- of Vishnu she is also considered to be the trated by two elephants. Both the lotus and model Hindu wife, loyal and submissive to the elephant are associated with Lakshmi. her husband. The lotus refers to life and growth, while the elephants are associated with clouds in Sarasvati ancient Indian traditions and royal authority. This lustration of Sri echoes the The consort of Brahma is the goddess ancient royal consecration where the head Sarasvati, sometimes depicted together with of the Indian monarch was anointed with the same vahana, the swan or goose. water. A similar image of Lakshmi with four Reference to her appears in the Vedas and arms sitting on a lotus appears on certain she is honoured by Hindus and Jains. She Gupta coins. As Vishnu's consort, she is is one of the few goddesses from the Vedas defined by the perfection and beauty of the who remains significant in modern lotus and associated with the . Hinduism. In the early Vedas she is clearly Her frequent depiction with elephants associated with the river, praised for her suggests her royal status as consort to the cleansing and fertilizing power. One could regal form of Vishnu. say that Sarasvati was a prototype of the Some traditions associate Sri-Lakshmi important later river Goddesses the Ganga with the god Kubera, the lord of the and the Jumna. While Sarasvati was once Yakshas. Sri's relationship with Kubera is worshipped as an actual river which has especially revealing, as both are associated now largely dried up, she also represents a with wealth and prosperity. Lakshmi is mighty yet far from ordinary river, an ever- extremely popular throughout India and is flowing grace from the heavens which worshipped each year in a variety of purifies and fertilizes the earth. Vedic festivals, the most important being the sacrifices on its banks were made. festival of Divali held in late autumn. Even According to Blurton, the deification of this temples not dedicated to Vishnu will contain river was a precedent for the later worship an image of Lakshmi. Her image is often of the Ganges. carved on the door lintels of Vaishnava Today, Sarasvati's old association with temples and by her presence at the entrance the river is seen only by her depiction as she guarantees the auspiciousness of the seated on a lotus. She is described as white shrine. Associated with prosperity, Lakshmi like snow, and this transcendent nature is is particularly popular with the business suggested by her vehicle the swan. Later community of India; she is worshipped at Vedic literature such as the Brahmanas New Year when new ledgers and accounts associate Sarasvati with the spoken word

76 Hindu Deities and she becomes known as the goddess of speech. In time she came to represent poetry, music and all intellectual pursuits and is depicted holding a musical instru- ment (vina). Sarasvati's connection with literature and knowledge is the reason for her popularity in Jain temples. The Jains are renowned for their ritual recitation of texts and their interest and investment in manuscripts and literature. Special puja to Sarasvati is conducted in the spring when images of the goddess are established in schools and universities; this is not the goddess of the domestic world but one who involves the worship of books, pens and musical instruments.

Sita

In the Vedas Sita meant 'furrow' and was the name of a goddess associated with ploughed fields in Vedic literature. She was however not a very significant deity prior to the Ramayana of Valmiki. As Rama's wife in the Ramayana, by her self-effacing nature and her steadfast loyalty, Sita is seen as the ideal Hindu wife. Figure 3.11 Terracotta female figurine, Indus Valley. 2600-1500 BC. National Museum, Delhi. Matrkas A group of goddesses is known as the and threatening to new-born children. '' or simply the mothers. Early Finally they appeal to Karttikeya to adopt references to this group of goddesses date them as his mothers; he agrees on condition to around the first century AD, rarely that they protect rather than harm children. mentioning their number and stating only Behind this concept of child-threatening that they are innumerable.32 The earli- goddesses is possibly the belief that women est clear descriptions appear in the who die childless or in childbirth linger as Mahabharata. In the medieval period they jealous spirits ready to steal or harm other become known as the seven matrkas. They children, and need to be propitiated to take on names and characteristics which forestall danger to offspring. In the associate them with important male gods Mahabharata it is clear that the matrikas in the Hindu pantheon. The matrikas were were associated with non-Aryan traditions. initially described as dangerous, fearsome They may well have represented the many

77 Hinduism and the Religious Arts village goddesses who needed appeasement (nityasumangali). Their role was to From the fourth century AD the number of stimulate and bring about the forces of aus- mothers became standardized to seven, and piciousness and fertility without involve- are patterned on male deities of the Hindu ment through emotional attachment or pantheon, yet rather than be regarded as their own pregnancy. saktis of the male deities they are seen as The wife and the vesya have split between them extensions of the Devi, and as fierce, the roles of fertility and ; but we are effective warriors who protect the world then left with the paradox that a symbol of and combat demons. barren eroticism (the courtesan) is needed to bring about the longed for state of non-erotic Interpretation of the goddess fertility in the home .... The king lives a life of eroticism marked by a certain prescribed A hierarchy of female deities, tree and river recklessness, and by excess; he is himself goddesses, bhutas (ghosts), heavenly seductive, energized, and open to the emotional courtesans and spirits existed in female form labyrinth of love; he symbolizes and focuses the in the Indian imagination. Over centuries a fertile and auspicious forces necessary for the composite goddess evolved which was a kingdom's growth.33 compilation of various elements such as the non-Vedic village goddesses or grama- The development of more sensual and erotic and the earth goddess. This compos- female images is first seen on Buddhist ite goddess was absorbed into the Hindu monuments and later proliferate on the pantheon by marriage with the chief Hindu outer walls of Hindu temples. A growing male deities which gave her a place in the sensuality is shown in the stone carvings of religious hierarchy, though she also retained these secondary images from as early as the an independent status. In some cases the first century AD. These sensual courtesan goddess is seen as a source of vital powers. also serve to tempt and test the detachment The Nayak rulers of Madurai received their of the king and devotees.34 sceptres, symbols of temporal authority, The development of the Hindu cult of the from the hands of Minakshi, at the temple goddess, more usually referred to as sakti of Madurai in South India. Other lesser worship,35 was contemporary with that of female spirits existed such as tree and river Siva. The change in the nature of sakti was spirits, apsaras, heavenly courtesans and based on the elaboration of texts known Devadasis. collectively as tantras. These texts describe Reference to two female roles exists in a terrifying, bloodthirsty and energetic : the fecund Mother goddess who was the centre of all power goddess and that of the vesya (courtesan). (sakti). Adepts believe that the power of the Ancient pre-Vedic terracottas and the goddess could only be experienced through earliest known free-standing female images invoking her by a combination of ritual (Figure 3.11) depict the Mother or Earth actions and the recitation of texts. The Goddess. The vesyas, like their prototype actions required by these rites were often the apsaras, are associated with fertility and unorthodox in terms of Hindu religious rainfall. Unmarried and therefore incapable practice and included ritual sexual inter- of widowhood, the vesyas are auspicious course, sometimes group sexual intercourse

78 Hindu Deities on cremation grounds, and the ritual eating descending male energy. The historical of meat and consumption of intoxicating origins of tantrism are unknown but are liquors. presumed to date from a period preceding Despite the numerous names and the Vedic period in India. The tantric manifestations of the goddess, her identities tradition that power passes through the share many common features. One of these female suggests it dates from the time when is the idea of the goddess as the creative India was a matriarchal society. Further- energy or power (sakti) of the male god who more, the secret nature of the sect and its is her consort. According to Fuller, one of initiates has resulted in no written records the factors which accounts for the fact that from its early period. From the earliest single goddesses are more violent than period of the formation of Hindu art for married goddesses is revealed by the spiritual purposes the influence of the concept of ritual temperature. Great heat is female principle has been a dominant force. attributed to the unmarried goddess, her The concept of sakti is regarded by power equated with heightened sexual historians as a later development, primarily energy and a capacity for angry violence. because there is no academically historically The concept of intense heat embodied by acceptable evidence for it, but it un- the goddess is clearly associated with the doubtedly reflects the undocumented cults goddess of smallpox, a disease causing of an earlier period. The best evidence of raised temperature or feverishness. This the early themes that came to be called heat is also symbolized by the red forehead tantrism can be seen in the preoccupations marks which are prominent on these of early Hindu art. goddesses.36 The cult of the terrifying and In conclusion, certain core features of powerful goddess is associated with the the goddess must be stressed: first, the male idea of the potency and sexual appetite existence of a generic form of goddess of the unfettered and uncontrolled female37 which manifests in benign and terrifying and that only when ritually shackled to a forms: second, a belief in a goddess who is male can female sexuality be safely propitiated with sacrificial offerings, and channelled and restrained. Tantrics believe third, a belief in the transmigration of that men and women contain both male and spirits, manifest in spirit possession, where female energy and that the union of these in a trance state man's conscious mind is two forces by ritual means brings en- suspended to allow the entry and presence lightenment and liberation. Female energy of the goddess. The generic goddess is part (sakti) is visualized as , a curled of a female spirit hierarchy including tree serpent residing at the base of the spine and river spirits, vesyas and celestial which, when aroused, rises up the spinal maidens and the earth mother. The vesyas column. In contrast, male energy, which reflect women's sexuality which in Indian takes its power from the sun, resides above society is considered to be stimulating and the cranium and is believed under certain powerful, desirable and uncontrolled, conditions to pass through the foramen of tempting and terrifying. By contrast, the the skull. Tantric followers desire liberation fecund earth mother goddess reflects non- which they believe will be achieved through sexual, fertile and controlled womanhood the union of female energy with the which relates to the theme expressed in

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Chapter 1 of early religion being an attempt coexisted with and was absorbed into a to control nature for the benefit of society coagulating deity drawn from Aryan and as a whole. The active, creative role of the non-Vedic beliefs and practices. From the goddess and the matriarchal tradition is also beginning of the first century AD the reflected in the predominance of women in and the Kusans, North Indian dynasties religious rituals in Indian village life. The whose origins were within the sphere of continuing importance of the goddess in Persian cultural and religious influence, India demonstrates India's acknow- encouraged the cult of Mithra, which was ledgement of woman's potential power and associated with the worship of the sun. her significant conservative role in the Their impact contributed to the growth in continuity of the social order. popularity of the sun cult from the fifth century in specific areas of North and Eastern India. A revival of sun worship in Elemental and Lesser Gods the eighth century was caused by the arrival Several of the Vedic gods have continued in Western India of the Parsees, who were to receive devotion during the Hindu renowned for their ritual solar practices. period. Some of the more important deities Around the ninth century the Scythian of the Vedas such as Agni (fire), Indra tribes in Western India were also respons- (warrior god), Vayu (god of the wind), ible for building a series of temples Varuna (guardian of cosmic order and chief dedicated to Surya. His popularity was of the six celestial deities known as the shortlived however and his pre-eminence adityas) and Surya (god of the sun) persist in this area was not sustained. in Hinduism and form a background to later According to Srivastava, the earliest complex legends and mythology. Hymns known image of the sun-god in human form from the Vedic period described the god appears on a terracotta plaque from Agni as beautiful, glowing and quixotic; that has been dated from the fourth to third Indra as a powerful soldier attractive to century BC.38 The sun started to appear in women, and Soma half-male, half-female iconic form on certain coins issued by the associated with the moon. These were a Indo-Greeks and the Kusans. One of the powerful triumvirate. From the third earliest sculptures of Surya depicts a figure century BC the worship of the god Soma riding a chariot on a first-century BC railing ceased while many of the other Vedic Gods on the stupa. A figure of Surya became a part of the Hindu pantheon. Of is also seen on a wall near the entrance of these Surya had pre-eminence. a cave at Bhaja from the Sunga period of the second century BC. Following the Kusan period images of Surya develop Hellenistic Surya features. Sun worship had its origin as early as the Surya was and still is the sun-god and as neolithic period in India. While the sun was such was considered as the source of light, an important part of Vedic ritual its status warmth and life itself. In ancient legend the was strengthened by contacts with sun's daily progress across the sky was Achaemenid Persia from the fifth century described as an eagle, flying bird or horse. BC onwards. Achaemenian sun worship Legend describes Surya's consort as a

80 Hindu Deities , who, overpowered by her husband's Animals radiance, fled to the shade of a forest. While in the forest the sun-god was reputed to As well as the worship of sacred beings in have come to her as a stallion while she idealized human form, the divine is studied meditation. Later legend describes acknowledged in all living beings. Certain how Visvakarma, the father of Surya's wife, animals are shown particular reverence. reduced Surya's brilliant rays by cutting Some of these were earlier cult deities away one-eighth of his substance. Parts of which were later absorbed into the Hindu the sun were believed to have fallen to pantheon. Reverence for the boar in Malwa, earth as the disc of Vishnu and the trident the monkey in Sri and the snake of Siva. throughout India are examples of this Surya is portrayed with only one head practice. Hindu story-tellers created legends and two or four arms and in each hand he around such creatures so that mythology holds a lotus. His emblems, such as the and history are interwoven. Hindus cakra, wheel, discus and lotus, incorporate understand them as a part of the illusion of earlier pre-Vedic aniconic symbols of the the phenomenal world or 'maya'. sun such as the swastika and the ringstone. Hanuman, the monkey god, is given his Evidence of Surya's Western non-Indian chief role in the Ramayana where he is origins is shown by his wearing Northern acknowledged to have assisted Rama in his dress, a fashion among the and Kusan victory over the demon Ravana, helped by rulers, consisting of a long, heavy cloak his allies the bear and the vulture and high boots. Surya's horse-drawn . Hanuman, although now popular chariot does however go back to the Rg throughout India, was held in particular Veda. He wears jewellery and his head is reverence in and Bali. His crowned with the same Kiritamukuta as mantras are used with care, as he is seen as Vishnu and is encircled by a halo. In South the trickster deity. India he is shown in contemporary local The boar, the lion (Narasimha), the fish, dress with bare legs and feet while his the dwarf and the tortoise were associated charioteer Arjuna may occasionally be with and absorbed into Vaishnavite present as part of the image. The god Surya iconography as avatars. In the first is often flanked by two female figures, who millennium AD the boar was honoured and are shown shooting arrows. These are admired as a symbol of potency, and was known as the dawn goddesses Ushas and adopted as the royal mark by the South Pratyusha. Indian kings of the Chola and Vijayanagara The sun is still an important element of dynasties. In relation to the lion avatar worship in Hindu ritual life and each Narasimha, we see a long history of the morning the mantra which invokes the sun tribal worship of a beast in the form of a is chanted by priests. A particular verse lion in the Deccan and Orissa. Blurton dedicated to Savitar (one of the sun's names suggests that Narasimha's tearing of the in its manifestation as the procreator, the demon king's stomach may refer to tribal principle of creation) referred to in the Rg ritual sacrifices.39 Veda is still uttered three times a day by There is a long history of the association Brahmans and is called the mantra. of nagas (snakes) with ritual worship in India.

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Figure 3.12 A seal from Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan. Harappan period, 2300-1750 BC. Drawing by Christopher Glanville RWA.

Evidence of this is given by an Indus valley considered auspicious and believed to seal which shows snakes protecting two produce fertility, abundance and para- worshipping figures who flank a seated cross- doxically protection from snakes. Belief in legged figure (Figure 3.12). The nagas as cult their powers of protection can be seen in figures, the serpent rulers of the underworld, the legendary account of the cobra who were represented as early as the second shielded the head of the meditating Buddha century BC. The usual portrayal of the naga from the storm. The snake is also con- had a human head and torso with a serpent- sidered to be a phallic symbol and is like form below the waist and a canopy of associated with prolific offspring and the either five or seven cobra heads. In early fertility of the earth. Women desiring Buddhist art the nagas appeared in human children set up snake stones (naga kals). form submerged up to the waist in a river or Stones carved with entwined snakes are lake with a group of snakes rearing above erected beneath sacred trees. These are their heads. The replacement of the legs with particularly common in South India. When a serpent-like tail was a later development. the snake stone has been carved it is usual Snakes who emerge in the rainy season have to place it in a well for six months to imbue always had a close relationship with water. it with life. It is then invested with prayers Greek writers from the time of Alexander's and ceremonial and set up under a pipal or invasion refer to India as the bane of snakes. nim tree. Naga kals (Figure 3.13) vary, as The writer Aelian refers to a snake which was some show a pair of cobras entwined and kept in a cave and worshipped; this provides some show snakes with as many as seven literary evidence of the existence of actual heads. The most important serpent temples serpent worship from as early as the fourth are in the south Kanara district on one of century BC.40 the highest mountains of the western Ghats, The nagas were frequently incorporated named Subrahmanya. The sanctuary into temple iconography. Their presence is contains an idol of Subrahmanya but

82 Hindu Deities

Figure 3.13 Naga Kal shrine, Tamil Nadu. Robert Elgood. numerous serpents live in the sanctuary incense is offered to the snakes. In the walls. An annual festival is performed from afternoon people visit the anthills and snake November to December, where people are charmers are seen with live serpents to brought to be cured of ailments, or for which offerings are made. The worship of fertility purposes. Numerous devotees coil these snakes is largely performed by and wriggle like snakes around the temple, women, who gather together to tell the and some will even slither up the mountain. story of the festival of the nagas on the day One of the devotees will become possessed of Nagapanchami. During the hearing of by the spirit of the serpent and will dance the story the women take a few grains of and answer questions from the audience, rice and on the conclusion of the story the as he will be believed to have the power to rice is exchanged and placed on their foretell the future. The body rolling for foreheads. Different rituals make up a penance and for the fulfilment of vows is varied practice of the Nagapanchami also seen in Tamil Nadu. One of the great festival which is popular in Bengal, Bihar, festivals in honour of the snakes is called UP, Garhwal and Nepal. the Nagapanchami which is held during the The sight of entwined snakes is con- first month of the rainy season early in sidered auspicious even today. The snake's August. Snake shapes are drawn with cow characteristic shedding of its skin led to its dung on both sides of the doorway, and being seen to possess the power of flowers, sandalwood, , rice, beans liberation. Its venom became associated and sorghum are offered to the painted with soma, the sacred liquid drunk during serpents. Lamps are lit and waved and ritual Vedic sacrifice.

83 Hindutsm and the religious arts

Naga displays the power of transmutation by Snake-worshippers search for the holes where turning fluids (the underground waters and in they (the snakes) are likely to be found, and some cases milk) into poison and by trans- which more often than not are in the little forming poison into the sacred knowledge that mounds raised by the Kanats, or white ants. is an antidote for deprivation and ignorance (as When they have found one they visit it from snake venom in small doses is an antidote for a time to time, placing before it milk, bananas and 42 snake bite).41 other food which the snake is likely to fancy. Snakes are feared and revered even today; An early example of a naga image is from South and West India are particularly noted Mathura, inscribed the fortieth year of for the worship of snakes. This is most Kusana reign of Kanishka. Further common with women who desire children, examples are from the Jataka of the naga as snakes are believed to impart fecundity Champeka from Amaravati and a Gupta and to cure infertility. The most revered image of the naga and nagini at Ajanta. The snake is the cobra. The image of the naga is naga is shown depicted in three principal represented either in purely animal or in a forms, the first being human, the second in semi-human shape, and is always character- its natural serpent form, the third as half- man half-snake. ized by a snake hood. Shrines dedicated to Gods are frequently shown in art being the snake were often worshipped alongside carried or supported by a vehicle in animal sacred trees. There is a long association or bird form. The animal forms on some of between the sacred tree and the snake with the seals of Mohenjo Daro may have the belief that beneath the tangled roots of inspired the vahana or vehicle of the gods trees lie the subterranean waters, the haunt or yaksha. Supporting dwarfs or animals of serpents. The creation myth describes this are also seen in association with yaksha and formless darkness associated with the cobra yakshini on the columns of the Buddhist from which life arises, as seen in the form of site Bharhut of the second century BC. I the waking Vishnu. The snake is believed to the Gupta period the yakshinis were inhabit both this dark and formless world supplanted by river deities who continued and the colourful human world. The snake to be identified by their vehicles, the is also associated with the idea of Kundalini goddess Jumna on the turtle and the or sexual energy (mentioned above). The goddess Ganga on the makara or crocodile. favourite haunt of the cobra is the anthill; Reference to the gods and their particular this has become associated in myth not only vehicles is given in several texts. The vehicle with the snake but with guarded treasure. of the God Siva is the bull, while his consort This connection provides an explanation for Durga's is the lion. Parvati's son Ganesa is the worship of the anthill which is seen not carried by the rat and the son of Siva and only as the abode of the snake but as the Parvati, Karttikeya, by the peacock. Vishnu entrance to an underworld. According to is associated with the bird, garuda, and Vogel, a further connection can also be made Sarasvati the goose. An analysis of these between the anthill and the rainbow, which associated deities and animals suggests a is seen as Indra's bow or the exhalations of reflection or reinforcement of some of the serpents. Abbe Dubois described how qualities perceived in or expected of the

84 Hindu Deities deity. For example, both the makara and as a deer. The horse was not indigenous to the turtle are strongly linked to water India and had a long historical association symbolism, while the bull has strong with victorious foreign invaders. The horse connections with sexual energies or man's was revered and respected, representing wild, uncontrollable nature. mastery, proficiency and success in battle. According to the text the Asvalayana Horses were highly prized and horse Crhya Parisista, the buffalo is the vahana sacrifice became associated with kingship. of , and Vaivasvati the daugh- Fantastic creatures also make up some ters of the sun-god. The goat or ram (a of the complex imagery on Hindu temples. common sacrificial offering) is the vahana Composite beasts comprising sea- or river- of Agni (fire deity) and the ram is the vahana dwelling reptiles (makara) were combined of Kuvera (Agni Purana), while the rat is with land animals, such as the tiger. Tiger- the well-known vehicle of Ganesa. Vishnu's or lion-like forms, frequently appearing on vehicle, the bird garuda, according to the outer walls of temples as part of the Banerji, literally means 'garutman', a iconography, are called vyala (meaning name of the sun-god in the Vedas. The swan vicious). These rearing beasts overshadow or goose was the vehicle of Brahma. The a small human figure which cowers beneath earliest representation of the swan them and are said to represent man's associated with certain gods is seen on uncontrolled passions and appetites. The some of the Asokan pillars. Four parrots crouching figure is believed to symbolize were also associated with Agni. man's powerlessness in the face of them, The frequent appearance of the bull on his depiction aiming to remind man of the Harappan seals from as early as 2500 BC need to transform and master these forces. suggests its significance, and the bull is still Other creatures of the water, the apsaras revered as the vehicle of Siva (Figure 3.14). or of the air, suparnas, must not be for- The buffalo, on the other hand, continues gotten. Suparna, meaning fair-winged, was to be a valued sacrificial animal and is originally a term used in the Rg Veda to perceived as a demon with mythological describe garuda, the giant kite of the sun, associations with the goddess Durga. Other the vehicle of Vishnu. The suparna later warm-blooded animals were revered. From became a class of beings who were depicted Harappan times the domesticated cow has with human torsos bearing offerings to the held pre-eminence. As early as 2500 BC the Buddha. In Hindu sculpted friezes the people of the Indus valley culture measured apsaras form part of the panoply around their wealth in the numbers of their . the heads of the major deities. Anything the cow produced, from its milk to its dung, was prized and sacred. Even Maithuna figures today, Hinduism forbids the killing or eating of the cow, and makes domestic and ritual Maithuna (couples engaged in love-making) use of its products (Figure 3.15). are a recurrent theme in temple sculpture.43 The deer hunted by most predatory The union of male and female was under- animals was called mriga, literally meaning stood to be sacred and creative in the 'rover'(or forest animal). Brahma was broadest sense by the ancient peoples of known in Indian tradition to have been bom India. The eroticism and sensuality of the

85 Hinduism and theReligiousArts

Figure 3.14 Nandi, temple in Tamil Nadu. Robert Elgood.

86 Hindu Deities courtesan figure in Indian art was intended the Vedic period a sula (horns) ritual called to arouse, while the portrayal of couples 'Sulagava' sacrifice was performed in performing the sexual act was intended to honour of a deity. depict the union of male and female As well as animals and birds, also energies, abundance and fertility, and thus had symbolic significance. Symbolic inter- prosperity and auspiciousness. Maithuna pretations, while inaccurate and subjective, couples were therefore deliberately placed contribute to our understanding of the on temples for specific protective purposes. gods. Prescriptive texts such as the According to Devangana Desai, these Silpasastras by their injunctions added a maithuna images are found at points of further allegorical dimension to the images, transition or thresholds and are believed to and tried to give form to the ideal world. strengthen these structurally weak archi- Various kinds of objects are shown placed tectural junctures.44 Desai sees complex in the hands of Hindu images or deities. yogic/sexual positions as a symbolic dia- Objects are classified under several headings, gram of forces. Most of these sculptures are such as weapons, implements, musical integrated in friezes which run around the instruments, animals and birds. There was temple on three sides. a wide range of weapons such as the cakra (wheel), gada (mace), danda (cudgel), Emblems held by the Gods khetaka (a shield either round or oblong in shape made of wood, metal or skin), dhanus The sastric texts give detailed accounts of and sara (a bow and arrow: the bow of the required form of the major Hindu Siva is called and that of Vishnu is gods and goddesses. As part of these called sarnga), ankusa (elephant-goad), pasa prescriptions there are references to their (noose or lassoo), khadga (sword), individual implements, ornaments, and their (thunderbolt), and agni (fire).45 An object vehicles (vahanas). In some texts these such as the sankha, a conch shell, was matters are dealt with in separate chapters, sounded on the battlefield in ancient times while others list them alongside the to inspire fear. The tanka is a stonemason's descriptions of the deities. The various chisel, while hala is a ploughshare. implements may well suggest or reinforce Various kinds of musical instruments are the deities' qualities and attributes. The represented in early and late iconography.46 origin of these emblems associated with the Other objects in the hands of the divinities deities is, according to Bhattacharya, included water pots (), lotus traceable to the Indus valley civilization and flowers, rosary beads or mirrors. A char- the Rg Veda. The symbolic interpretations acteristic vessel, an emblem of Siva and of many of these implements are explained Parvati, is the cup made out of a skull. in the Vishnudharmottara Purana. Evidence Despite the fact that animals are rarely for this may be seen in some images, such portrayed carried in the hand, the figure of as the seal depicting a figure known as the Siva in the Gudimallam Linga carries a goat proto-siva. Despite uncertainties as to the or a ram. It is interesting to recall this image identity of this bull-headed image this figure of Siva standing on a yaksha and the does possess what appears to be a horned association of the ram with the yaksha. The bull mask. It is interesting to note that in multivalence, the diverse origins and

87 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

Figure 3.15 Cow carving in a cave temple, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu. AD 700-800. Robert Elgood. compositions of these deities is sometimes such as Divali give rise to the manufacture expressed by these emblems. An example of small figures of Lakshmi for individual of this can be seen in the depiction of worship. For some festival occasions, Balarama with a ploughshare, pestle and particularly Dasara, sometimes known as drinking vessel.47 These symbols are Durga-puja, large, brightly coloured images reminiscent of his earlier form as a harvest are made, composed of straw, twine and and bucolic deity. The god Vishnu's clay on a wooden frame. The whole exercise association with the sun is supported by his is paid for by a civic or religious instituion. link with the vedic Adityas, Vasudeva and Bengal is famous for the images of Durga Narayana and his vehicle Garuda and which are made for the autumn festival of Vishnu's emblem the chakra. or Dasara, during which the goddess is worshipped in her many forms. On the final night the image is taken in Festival Images procession to the river and sunk. The festivals of the are In many festivals, images in procession accompanied by special images. These may are paraded before the people in the streets. be freshly painted on the walls of one's In Orissa, the Jagannath deities are pulled home,48 or clay images bought in the bazaar in chariots down the wide street of Puri. or made for the community to which one While this Rathyatra festival at Puri is has made a donation. Many of these images famous, there are many such local proces- are taken in procession through the sions. Sometimes the actual images from community during these festivals. Festivals the temple sanctum remain in place and

88 Hindu Deities duplicate images are used in processions. Brahman should go to Visvakarma to learn Madurai demonstrates this practice, where the rules of painting'. special festival images of the goddess The second tradition is found in the Minakshi and her divine consort Siva Vishnudharmottaram (Part I, Chapter 129 Sundaresvara are carried through the and Part III, Chapter 35). Here it is said that streets in a royal palanquin. when Nara and Narayana were engaged in In the context of the village, folk tradition meditation, in order to prevent distraction plays an important role. During festival from several persistent apsaras, Narayana seasons village people sometimes decorate drew a picture of a beautiful damsel with the outside and sometimes the inside of the juice of a mango tree. The apsaras, on their homes. For example, in the Madhubani finding the beauty of that picture surpassing district in North Bihar the women paint theirs, fled. From this picture arose Urvasi, elaborate and intricate artwork on the clay the most beautiful of heavenly women. The walls of their homes, themes determined by great sage Narayana thus created the art of the festival season or the domestic citra and taught it to Visvakarma. occasions requiring ritual. In the case of Bhattacharya suggests that the first weddings they paint auspicious designs on legend, with its reference to sacrificial altars, the walls of the new couple's bedroom or ascribes a religious motive to the origin of for festivals they create intricate geometric painting. The conveying of likeness in to designate sacred space in front portraiture through the use of tree juices, of the doorway or the altar of the home. and colours to drive away sorrow and other evils, are some of the other objectives in the execution of paintings. Painted Images According to the Vishnudharmottara As well as images carried in procession at Purana (Part III, Chapter 43): festivals, two-dimensional painting is also A proper painting brings on prosperity, removes produced in a secular and religious context adversity, cleanses and curbs anxiety, augments Two ancient literary texts exist which future good, causes unequalled and pure describe the origin of painting in India. delight, kills evils of bad dreams and pleases the According to the Chitralakshana of Nagnajit, - rules of painting should also on the premature death of a Brahman's son be applied to carvings in iron, stone, wood or a struggle ensued between the god of death clay modelling. and the Brahman. This struggle was finally resolved by Brahma, who instructed the According to the Silpasastras, painting Brahman to draw a picture of the boy, into embellished homes and palaces. This which he breathed life. On requesting more literature also refers to citrasalas (picture accurate instructions as to the correct galleries) which were a part of city life.49 method of drawing, Brahma said it was Evidence for the existence of drawings is necessary before Vedic sacrifices to draw a provided by the fact that Buddha was picture of the altar (as the drawing was to reputed to have prohibited his disciples be done in colour, the drawing should be from possessing imaginative drawings of known as 'chitra', a pun on the word 'chit' men and women.50 Figures of women, as in 'Chaitya' and 'chitya') 'and that the widows and prostitutes, dwarfs, generals,

89 Hinduism and the Religious Arts foot-soldiers, archers and wrestlers are some on the walls of residential houses. Some of the images proscribed, and natural might be placed in the assembly halls of objects such as mountains, seas, forests, kings, but not in their residences. Almost water, cities and villages, markets, drinking anything could be drawn on temples. places, battlefields, burning ground, roads, Several kinds of figures expressing dawn, moonlight, falling rain, etc. were particular rasas were prohibited in some of the subjects of paintings enumer- residential quarters. Images of gods with ated by the Vishnudharmottara Purana and terrifying appearances were forbidden in the Samr Sutra. houses. They could be worshipped in towns, The paintings referred to in Buddhist villages and some even in forests. Images literature were made on cloth, canvas, or paintings which had some defect were boards, mats, fans, boxes and walls of believed to bring disaster. Hence all texts houses.51 Paintings on canvas in the form refer to these defects. of scrolls were known as patas, a variety of According to Bhattacharya, quoting from which was the Charana chitra or Nakhachitra. the Vishnudharmottara Purana, From the Buddhist period up until the Improper juxtaposition of colours, figures which eighth century and even later, these Charana are inexpressive, or have not proper positions chitras have been mentioned in religious (poses), are devoid of any Rasa, empty to look and literary texts. Even today, pata is known at, devoid of life movement and having defective in Bengal (especially Kalighat). The Charana limbs are unfit for a chitra....Proper position, (literally conduct) chitra consisted of pictures proportion and spacing, gracefulness and of happy and unhappy destinies of men after resemblance are good qualities of a chitra. One death according to their actions in this life. that seems as if dancing by its posture, or They show the pious enjoying heaven or the appears to look frightened, laughing or graceful, sinners undergoing various punishments thereby appears as if endowed with life, as if in in the presence of Yamaraja. breathing - these are the figures of the Appropriate labels were attached to each auspicious type.32 picture. They were shown to the people in the form of portable galleries, along with The Vishnudharmottara Purana also lays songs. In the Siamese Buddhist text (Saratha down rules regarding the representation of Pakasini) these citras are said to have the back view of figures, colours, brushes, been shown to the people by wandering and methods of producing light and shade. Brahmans. Known as 'nakhas', such patas The qualities of paintings were seen as were commonly shown along with sweetness, variety, a well-prepared back- explanatory songs at East Bengal fairs at ground (Bhulamba), proportion, similarity the beginning or end of the year. to what is seen (Sadrisya) and minute Several rules existed in relation to the execution. A good painting is one which can practice of painting. According to be appreciated by every class of people. Bhattacharya, one should not keep in one's In many Vaishnava shrines in Bengal, own house the paintings drawn by one's there is a custom of illustrating the stories own hand. Several kinds of figures, in connected with the early life of Vasudeva- sculptural form or in painting, were Krishna through the medium of different prohibited from being displayed in or drawn colours of rice powder. A section of the

90 Hindu Deities shrine is set aside for this purpose on a This is most clearly visible in temples in raised platform where, these scenes are South India even today. Paintings in the painted with extreme care, using the outer niches of temples such as the coloured powder. Such pictorial depiction Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram are is probably referred to in the Silparatna as still visible. As in so many of the Indian dhulichitra.53 religious arts, painting and sculpture are The portrayal of the most abstract and yet not isolated phenomena. precisely measured images is seen in the drawing and painting of the yantra (Figure Conclusion 2.2). This is not an arbitrary invention but a revealed image of an aspect of cosmic The interrelationship between the pre-Vedic structure. The linear yantras are composed and the Vedic ritual requirements and belief of simple geometrical figures (line triangle, in the sacred have gradually brought about rectangle, circle, etc.). Rekha is the actual these fantastic and yet life-expressive process of drawing the yantra. As a process images. Abstract aniconic or lifelike human it evokes in sequence the forces which forms aim to contain and emanate a force compose the network of the yantra. which has the power of manifestation at will According to Mookerjee it is a key to the in different forms and moods. Despite and unfolding of the visionary images and the perhaps on account of this immense guiding principle for all ritual achievements. flexibility and fluidity, the search and aim It underlies the formal disciplines of of the devout Hindu is to escape from this geometry, astronomy, temple architecture phenomenal world of man and spirits and and even ritual dance and music. to reach union with Visvarupa, the absolute Painting in later Hinduism, inspired by and single deity without shape, form, place the illustration of Buddhist, Jain and Islamic or time. Each Hindu deity is however part manuscripts, began to depict the most of a complex of deities; the absolute is both popular stories of the gods. The most the fabric and interconnection of this prolifically illustrated and the most popular network of relationships and hierarchies. of these was the , the love story Belief in the potential of rebirth governs of Vishnu's avatar Krishna and his lover and inspires the need to follow the dharma Radha. The potency of these images was or law of appropriate behaviour. found not in vital imagery or precisely For the average Hindu whose life require- drawn forms but in the effect of strong, ments are not governed by philosophical dramatic and symbolic use of colour. The debate, the contractual relationship between stories of Krishna were successfully told devotee and deity is cemented by the image. with poetical lyricism and linked with The deity, who is believed to reside in the drama, dance and music. They had a image, is propitiated by gifts and in return didactic function in keeping alive in the will provide favours and answer prayers. minds of the devotees and their children Popular Hinduism thus becomes essentially some of the fundamental principles of the material and practical and images are in turn Hindu faith. fundamentally utilitarian. The depiction of Sculpture ornamenting the temples was the sacred in male and female images also not free from painted embellishment. operates both within orthodox Hinduism

91 Hinduism and the Religious Arts and in a tribal and a village context. 25 see Coomaraswamy 1971. Religious objects can be housed in elaborate 26 See Kinsley 1986, pp. 200-1. monumental temples or simply placed in the 27 Seth 1992, p. 53. open air. Not only images but forest groves, 28 I am grateful to Naman Ahuja drawing my rivers, caves and mountains in India are attention to the early Sunga terracotta female figurines who have five weapons in their hair. invested with sanctity. India itself, 'Mother 29 Rg Veda, Vol. 1, 32, Vol. II, 12, etc. India', is the Goddess. 30 Kinsley 1986, p. 129. 31 Ibid., p. 19. Notes 32 Ibid., p. 151. 1 This belief is also followed in many other 33 Shulman 1985, pp. 307 and 339. religious movements, notably the Buddhist and 34 Ibid., p. 339. Christian celibate orders. 35 For further information on tantra see 2 OTlahertyl973,p.318. Mookerjee 1985 and Khanna 1979. 3 Meister 1984, p. 41. 36 See Fuller 1992, p. 45. 4 The same power is believed to exist in the 37 In Tamil known as 'ananku'. berry of the Elaeocarpus ganitrus known as 38 Srivastava 1972, pp. 152-4, 258. the rudraksa - which is sacred to Siva (Fuller 1992, p. 58). 39 See Blurton 1992, pp. 123-5. 5 Blurton 1992, pp. 20-1. 40 See Vogel 1926, pp. 1 and 2. 6 Gritli 1984, pp. 12-18. 41 Sutherland 1991, p. 40. 7 See Maxwell 1982, p. 214. 42 See Dubois 1928, p. 648. 8 See Blurton 1992, p. 84. 43 For further information on mithuna see 9 O'Flaherty 1973, p. 316. Chapter 4. 10 See Blurton 1992, p. 91. 44 Desai 1988. 11 Danielou 1964. 45 See Banerji 1941, pp. 329 and 330. 12 O'Flaherty 1973, p. 317. 46 Ibid., pp. 331-2. 13 Blurton 1992, p. 110. 47 Ibid., p. 335. 14 For further information on the snake see 48 For example, the serpent image painted on 1978. each side of the doorway for the monsoon 15 Gonda 1993. festival of Nag Panchami. 16 Panini, 1V.3.98. 49 See Vishnudharmatorra Parana, Vol. Ill, 17 For more information on these stories see p. 43. Blurton 1992, pp. 118-23. For Hindu myths see 50 Cullavagga VI 3 Zimmer 1946 or O'Flaherty 1975. 51 According to Bhattacharya (1947), the chitra 18 See Blurton 1992, p. 125. is divided into the Bhaumika, Kudyaka and 19 See Doshi 1971, pp. 125-6. Urddhvaka with reference to their position in 20 Carstairs, The Eastern Anthropologist, nos 3 the house. The Bhaumika chitra meant and 4, p. 180. decorations on the floors which might be 21 Blurton 1992, pp. 115 and 134. painted using powdered or tinctured colours, 22 See Danielou 1964. inlaid with coloured stones and gems. The decorations on the walls were called Kudyaka, 23 See Shah 1985. and those on top of pillars, beams and ceilings as 24 A recent study by Kinsley (1986) however Urddhvaka chitra. These classifications could be suggests that the goddesses in local forms applied to painting as well as sculpture. should still be seen as individual entities and that one should resist the earlier tendency to 52 Bhattacharya 1947, p. 394. treat them as one overarching Goddess. 53 According to Banerji 1941.

92 CHAPTER 4 Hindu Sacred Architecture

The Oxford Dictionary defines the term a necessary condition for the transforma- sacred as that space set apart for, or tion which is wrought in the devotee. The dedicated to, some religious purpose. The devotee is one who visits the temple, English word temple in this instance participates with inner vision and is not a designates the Hindu sacred area. The mere spectator. It is this interplay between word temple derives from the Roman the potential divinity within man and the 'templum' which referred to a square area divinity within the architectural form which fenced off for augury. In Sanskrit the creates the purpose and the dialogue temple is referred to by several names, one between the two. The science of the of which is 'vimana', literally meaning architecture of the temple is designed very 'measuring out, traversing ... or chariot of precisely to create the conditions in which the gods'. The temple itself was perceived this synthesis is most likely to occur. as god's chariot, which is implicit in the This chapter will explore the origins of name vimana.1 The Hindu temple needed the Hindu temple, examining early sacred to conform to accurate prescribed sites and shrines associated with groves and measurements in order to be spiritually trees in Indian tribal and village areas. It efficacious. It is a visual manifestation of will analyse temple design and study the the cosmos which reflects the Hindu meaning and symbolism of its component philosophy of the universe as a macrocosm parts. This will be followed by a study of and man as the microcosm. The temple the ancient sastraic prescriptions, the equi- building is an analogy of both the universe valent of building manuals. The relationship and the human body. The temple is not between sculpture and architecture will solely an area for religious ritual but the be considered both as regards the central very fabric is believed to represent and to icon and its potency and the function of be capable of becoming the divinity itself. the decoration of the interior and exterior Hindus believe it to be a transmitter and walls of the temple. An analysis of the focus of divine energies wherein in the differences between northern and southern central darkness of the temple which is, temples will be undertaken. Finally, ritual from earliest times, consistently referred practice associated with the temple will be to as the womb chamber (garbhagrha), the explored. regeneration or rebirth of the individual The principal reason for the construction may occur. This darkness is believed to be of a temple is to house the deity. The

93 Hinduism and the Religious Arts presence and blessing of the divinity was even the shade under trees. The gods of considered essential for the well-being of Hinduism are said to be always attracted to the local population and the construction mountains and caves and these natural of a temple was a statement of the good forms are important in understanding the order of society. A major factor determining form which developed in the medieval temple construction was the ruler's need Hindu temple. The fact that the terms Meru for legitimacy.2 The rulers acquired the and Kailasa (the names of mountains in the respect and recognition of the Brahmans, Hindu epics) are synonymous with the on which their legitimacy depended, by the temple demonstrates this connection, as construction of temples. A ruler's dharma, does the actual superstructure, which literally meaning 'duty', included the resembles the mountain peak (and in South unwritten contractual obligation to build India the royal crown) and is called 'crest' temples. By this means rulers acquired or sikhara. The tiered effect and the curved merit for themselves and prosperity for their shape of the tower of the Hindu temple subjects. enhances the effect of a mountain peak. The Hindu temple was sometimes an This analogy became more complex in the institution with a legal identity of its own, multiplication of towers which suggested a representing the titular deity who acquired mountain range seen in the development a status similar to a property owner. of the North Indian temple. The use of caves for sanctuaries and as places of religious It could house a deity who on occasion would focus pre-dates the free-standing temples as be regarded as the suzerain overlord by the places of worship. It is interesting to reigning king and thus acted as a further source observe that the most sacred part of the of legitimacy. Temple ritual imitated the daily temple is the central shrine or garbhagrha, routine of the household and the deity was which in its unadorned form resembles the treated at least as a feudal chief if not the darkness of the cave or in human terms the overlord.3 womb. Specific places in India became invested Origin of the Temple with sanctity and legend. For example, numerous myths recount how fragments of Sacred places the dismembered body of Sati, Siva's first wife, fell to earth on to the soil of India. At Hindus revere many forms and elements of these legendary places shrines, called pitha, the natural world. Rivers, the earth itself, which literally means where the goddess trees, sacred groves, mountains and caves has taken her seat, were established to the all constitute special places in the Hindu goddess. They are often associated with mind. Associated with these forms are the places of outstanding natural beauty, at the key elements of water, air, earth, fire and junction of two rivers, near a cave or deep space. Rivers are associated with the in a forest. The idea of a localization of the goddess and water with fertility. Hindus sacred in a particular place was also identify the earth with the body of the prevalent in Tamil Nadu, a concept which goddess. They revere not only trees, which gradually contributed to the growth of are sanctified and protected by railings, but sacred sites in other parts of India.

94 Hindu Sacred Architecture

Sacred sites and a pattern of underground, blind streams and geodetic lines.6 It is customary for Hindus to make regular pilgrimages to sacred sites. In Hinduism Tribal Beliefs in Holy Shrines and Places human life is likened to a long journey of many stages, frequently visualized as a It is a widespread presumption among progression upwards through various historians that the indigenous, pre-Aryan stages of consciousness. These pilgrimage population of India contributed to the sites are referred to as tirthas, literally fords creation of what is now known as Hinduism. or crossing places, and are believed to act A continuity of images and ritual custom as places of inner spiritual transformation. has been suggested by the possible link The sacred sites are seen as places of transit, between the proto-Siva masked figure not ends to the human journey, but inter- (Figure 2.3) from the Indus valley culture vals on the road which offer joy, release and of 2000 BC, and the buffalo-horned masked renewal. Hindus anticipate that pilgrimage dancers from the contemporary Maria Gond to these sites will punctuate life's path with tribals from the Bastar district. The 'devotion', bhakti, and 'release', moksha. continuation of ritual beliefs and practices The Mahabharata speaks of hundreds of may also be seen in animistic beliefs such as the worship of trees and stones which pilgrimage sites. remain a part of tribal and village custom. Originally these tirthas or pilgrimage Underlying this mythology is the belief in a places were on the banks of rivers, lakes host of spirits which inhabit rocks and or sea-shores. Water tanks found as early mountains, haunt trees or are associated as 2500 BC in the cities of Mohenjo Daro with rivers, waterfalls, etc. Shrines to which and Harappa are believed to have had a offerings are brought are often constructed ritual purpose. Water is indeed a pre- at these places. For all the tribes, whether requisite in the selection of sites for the later major, like the Santal, Munda or Oraon or free-standing Hindu temples: The gods minor like the Birhor, Chenchu or the forest- always play where groves are near, rivers, hunting tribes of South India, the whole mountains and springs and in towns with 4 world is held to be full of spirits. Benevolent pleasure-gardens.' spirits are found everywhere, while If water is not available naturally or malevolent spirits are believed to inhabit artificially it should be present symbolically. lonely places and graveyards. Because of Three jars of water should be placed in the this prevalence of spirits certain tribal centre of the sacred site. Rivers and lakes, groups house protective deities or associate identified with the lotus, the symbol of them with certain images or shrines, to renewal and enlightenment, are also which they bring offerings or hold ritual celebrated for their healing powers. The ceremonies. Some tribes, for example, the antiquities scholar, the late Reginald Smith Nagas and the Malayarayans in Kerala, also indicated a link between underground regard stones as symbols of the deities. The streams and the location of Stone Age sites.5 wooden post associated with the Gond's Further work on this subject has suggested tribal deity, known as Aki pen, is a square a significant link between sites worldwide pointed post (munda) which is carved from

95 Hinduism and the Religious Arts teakwood and usually bears the symbols of India, such as temple number 17 at Sanci, the sun and moon. In India the tribal image the Vishnu temple at Eran, the Kankali Devi generally consists of a simple pointed or temple at , may well derive from vermilion marked stone or a set of a few the tribal shrine or dolmen. Despite the wooden poles. Some terracotta pots on an evidence of the absorption of early ritual earthern altar plastered with cow dung may worship in chaitya shrines and sacred also represent the tribal deity. groves in present-day tribal and Hindu The shrines housing tribal images are practice, Hinduism's principal root is in usually of very simple construction, often Vedic practice. associated with a large tree, a small plant or a pole, rock or water source near a tribal Vedic Altars and Sheds or village settlement In some Santal villages the majhi-than (shrine) is a raised mud During the Vedic period from 1500 to 600 platform over which there is a well-kept BC, ritual revolved around human and thatched roof supported by four corner animal sacrifice. Vedic priests were less posts and a central post about five feet in concerned with beliefs and ideas than with height, but in other villages only the mud precision in the performance and correct platforms and posts are permanent and the incantation of Vedic prayers. Responsibility roof is covered with grass only at the time for the ceremonial lay in the hands of a of the ceremony.7 As in the sacred grove, hierarchy of priests. The conceptual basis clay figures of elephants and horses are for Vedic sacrifice was that the human body kept in the shrine. As well as the sacred post was the symbol of the primordial man or and the round stones worshipped by several purusa and in the enactment of his immol- tribal groups,8 the miniature dolmens of the ation the creation of the world was re- Gonds may be an example of a possible enacted. This burnt offering was conveyed continuity with much earlier pre-Hindu to the gods, with the smoke of the fire (agni) traditions of image worship. The dolmen thus functioning as a celebrant. This resembles the megalithic village and way- sacrifice required an encircled but open side shrines and usually consists of three shrine. The sacrifice was conducted on or four standing stones supporting a open-air altars, which were constructed out capstone.9 Memorials to the dead in the of perforated bricks and conformed in shape form of small dolmens are common to tribal and scale to a requisite formula. Despite the India. Dolmens are still being constructed fact that the Hindu temple is covered and by the Khasi, Munda, Oraon, Bhil, Kurumba permanent, one may see links between the and Malayarayan tribes.10 These dolmens cosmic associations of the open-air sacrifice, are not only memorials to the dead but the symbolic inner devotions in the commemorate the importance of the site presence of the flame and the symbolic which is marked by them. They may be said sacrifice seen in the coconut or blood to serve a similar function as the Hindu offerings in shrines or temples. temple insofar as they are believed to hold It is interesting to note that the summit or restrain the presence of the invoked of the temple tower is given the name vedi, divinity.11 It has been suggested that simple the Sanskrit word for altar. A further link flat-roofed early Hindu shrines found in is seen by some of the names given to the

96 Hindu Sacred Architecture temple, such as prasada, sadma and worship of deities presupposes the existence sadanam, which denote the act of sitting.12 of shrines. He supports this view by citing The method of corbelling and the trabeate Kautilya's Arthasastra which was compiled arch used in the process of temple in the third century AD, and referred to the construction are also, according to placing of images within a fortified city of Kramrisch, derivatives of the process of temples dedicated to the god Siva and piling bricks on the altar. prescribed that images of Durga, Vishnu, Coexistent with Vedic open-air altars Kumara and Indra should be set in niches. were the oldest known Indian sacred Early Buddhist relief carvings of secular buildings which were both enclosed and religious building from Bharhut, and roofed and are known to historians Sanchi, Bodh Gaya, Mathura and Amaravati as sacrificial sheds. In Sanskrit these show the frequent use of the vedika railings are called sadas meaning 'seat', the which surround trees and mounds. This sacrificial operation being itself a sattra railing was originally constructed of 'session'.13 The sheds were constructed of bamboo or timber but was subsequently wood and covered on all sides with built of brick or stone. These mats, with a ridged roof and an easterly carvings suggest that shrines were modelled orientation.14 These are thought to have on prevailing domestic structures and were been temporary enclosures and places for commonly used in the worship of yakshas, ritual initiation. Coomaraswamy suggests nagas and other divinities as well as serving that man emerged from these enclosures a Buddhist purpose. An early text describes following ritual initiation like an embryo Buddha relaxing on a dais, which consisted from a womb.15 The easterly orientation and of a stone slab resting on four other stones, the darkened enclosures of the sacrificial a most basic form of shrine. This simple dais sheds are elements found in the evolved (similar to the form of the Vedic altar) was Hindu temple. often placed under trees and enclosed by railings. The Buddhist carvings show that Shrines despite some roofless shrines, others had large compounds, pillared pavilions and two Several ancient Indian texts suggest the or more storeys under a thatched roof.17 worship and housing of deities from as early These pavilions, apparently constructed of as the fourth century BC. According to timber, were sometimes built around a Meister, in the text the Astadhyayi, Panini tree.18 mentions a number of revered deities who Evidence for the use of such structures received active worship and oblations. for Hindu deities can be seen by excavation These included a number of Vedic deities at the Gudimallam shrine (Figure 2.6) which (Agni, Indra, Varuna, Bhava, Sarv, Rudra reveals similar Vedic-type railings. Early Surya, Soma) and female deities, and point Buddhist and as well as to a rise in bhakti worship with specific Kautilya's Arthasastra also refer to various reference to Vasudeva and Arjuna.16 types of structures and their embellish- Ritual worship was also said to have ments prevailing in the early centuries BC extended to the and Yakshas. and in the Saka, Kusana and transitional Meister suggests that reference to this ritual periods. According to Meister:

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Such evidence can conjure up a picture of a A further example may be found at contemporary Indian city, with moat (parikha), the ancient site of Vidisha where an rampart (prakara), bastioned and turreted gate inscription from the shaft of a column houses, corner bastions, ornamental gates, and states: 'this Garuda column of the excellent busy streets lined with private and public temple of the Bhagvat was erected by 22 buildings, such as the royal palace shops and Gautamiputra.' Remains of an elliptical emporia.19 structure near this column may well have been the temple in front of which this Jain texts of this period such as the column was erected. The elliptical building, Rayapaseniya detail the Kusana art of if it was a temple, is a rare form, but Mathura. The text discusses city gates, perfectly illustrates at a very early date the defences and quarters teeming with , philosophical belief that the form of the stupas, theatres, lakes, lotus ponds, gardens temple reflects the cosmos, since Hindu and islands. It enumerates decorative orna- cosmology the universe to be ovoid. ments, such as -, Despite the fragmentary remains of the ceilings painted with vegetal and figural shrines to which these inscriptions refer, patterns, pillar brackets bearing there is increasing architectural evidence and vidyadharamithunas, flags, umbrellas, of the form of these early shrines from the festoons and arches embellished with time of Asoka Maurya to the early Kusana 20 garlands and bells. It is interesting to note period. Rock-cut shrines and foundations that all the designs mentioned in such Jain of other constructed shrines suggest that texts are present on Kusana sculpture and temples existed in circular (vratta), elliptical reliefs from Mathura. (vrttayata) and apsidal (capakara) forms. Epigraphic evidence also supports this The Ajvika caves at Barabar, for example, suggestion of the existence of small shrines from the Gaya district of Bihar, contain dedicated to the worship of images as early inscriptions referring to the rule of Asoka as the fourth to first century BC. Meister and his grandson and preserve both circular refers to the discovery of significant inscrip- and elliptical hut-forms with domed or tions, one example being from 131 BC which vaulted roofs. revealed that a pillar was constructed to By the third or fourth century AD, we see honour the supreme god Vasudeva. Other at Nagarjunakonda a rectilinear shrine with inscriptions refer to the installation of images square cells, a type that ultimately virtually in stone shrines. An inscription from Nandsa, eclipsed all other forms.23 The decorative Udaipur district, records the performance of elements found on these cave temples Vedic sacrifices following construction of reveal the use of such elements as ribbed shrines to Brahma, Indra, and and vaulted ceilings which suggest a Vishnu. An inscription recovered from the knowledge of wood construction. These wall of a well at Ghosundi in Rajasthan features persist and develop throughout the records a royal donation for the construction history of rock-cut architecture, finding of a shrine. It mentions an enclosing wall their apotheosis in the rock-cut temple of built around stone objects of worship 'for Ellura. the divinities Sankarshana-Vasudeva who The ancient text the Visnudharmo- are unconquered and are lords of all'.21 ttapurana, which pre-dates the tenth

98 Hindu Sacred Architecture century AD, contains references to temples Objectives dedicated to the major deities, but also refers to yaksha temples and to shrines to Let him who wishes to enter the worlds that are Kama, god of love. The absence of any reached by sacrificial offerings and the surviving evidence of these lesser shrines performance of religious obligations (istapurta) and temples may indicate that they were build a temple to the gods, by doing which he made of perishable materials since it is likely attains both the results of sacrifice and the that they continued to be used for active performance of religious obligations.24 worship alongside the great monumental temples. This ancient text implies that the ritual From the available evidence it is possible religious and sacrificial objectives of entry to suggest that the evolution of the form of to the heavenly realms () are achieved the free-standing temple arose from a by the building of temples. The temple synthesis of pre-Vedic and Vedic practice. provides more than just a meeting place The pre-Vedic elements are characterized and an area for the prayers of the faithful. by a belief in the spirit world, exemplified Kramrisch suggests that, unlike the by ancestor worship at the commemoratory building of the Vedic altar, the Hindu tribal stones or dolmens and by the belief temple has to be seen by the devotee. It is also itself an offering and a threshold or in the spirit-dwelling sacred enclosed pillar crossing place in life's journey. The Hindu and the tree shrine. These elements are temple aims to be a representation of the echoed in the Hindu free-standing stone perfect universe and to be identifiable as linga and in the belief that the numinous such, as well as to contain and house the and transient spirit may dwell in such an deity. The establishment of icon, and the rites and practices associated worship in temples in the early medieval with fertility and regeneration. The Vedic period entailed the abandonment of the old elements may be seen in the dark womb- Vedic ceremonial as a separate ritual like structure of the inner sanctum of the performance. Hindu temple which echoes the intimate darkness of the Vedic sacrificial sheds; and the piling of stones (similar to bricks) in the Temple Elements monumental form of the Hindu temple. The While having variations in external form, sacred fire which was believed to purify and Hindu temples share certain common ignite the Vedic sacrifice on the open-air components (Figure 4.1). The three main altar is reflected in the symbolic fire in the vertical components of every Hindu temple Hindu temple, while the vedic sacrificial are the base, the covered sanctum victim is echoed in the offering of the flame, (garbhagrha) and its tower or super- the coconut and the devotees' symbolic structure. The base of the temple is inner sacrifice to the Hindu deity. The sometimes constructed on a raised plinth establishment of the Buddhist stupa and and often next to a water tank. The enclosed as a central institution was in sanctuary or garbhagrha has usually three, turn responsible for the growth of religious but sometimes four entrances and a central building. icon. While the temple interior may possess

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Figure 4.1 The elements of a temple. Drawing by Christopher Glanville RWA. a limited range of carvings, the exterior is centre of an entire temple town with walls usually covered with a numerous and and gate towers, as, for example, at complex range of symbolic sculptured Srirangam, in Tamil Nadu. reliefs. The superstructure, while the norm, In the expansion of does not appear to have been indispensable. form is an overriding principle. Remnants Flat roofs illustrated in the reliefs of of the temple's monolithic qualities have Bharhut show alternative forms such as an involved this outward movement and open pillared hall, rectangular or round, achieved a visual balance between action with a second storey. The tower however and repose, dynamic and static forms.25 became the accepted form for the covering of the shrine or sanctum. It is built with a Temple Symbolism gentle curve in the north and a pyramidal form in the south. The tower became The temple's most simple function was to increasingly complex in the medieval period protect the deity manifest in the sacred icon. when various aedicules and miniature The covered shrine developed gradually sikharas were added to its composition. from the open tree shrines, naga shrines In addition to the simple covered and and shrines to deities such as Vasudeva enclosed shrine, a temple may consist of from as early as the first century BC. additional carved and pillared halls sur- As well as being a symbolic palace, the rounded by subsidiary shrines and temple design was based on a mandala or buildings. The temple often stood in the geometric diagram of the universe. The centre of a broad, rectangular platform, on Hindu temple was a three-dimensional form the corners of which were secondary of this cosmic two-dimensional chart. The shrines. These secondary shrines intro- mandala is an attempt to express and duced the presence of the other gods of the contain the cosmic dynamic and the temple Hindu pantheon within the world symbol- is similarly said to be a powerhouse of ized by the temple. The temple itself was energies obtained with absolute certainty sometimes so large that it became the from the precise mathematical and

100 Hindu Sacred Architecture geometrical formulae by which it is built. involves darsan in both seeing and being In more prosaic terms, the mandala with its seen. central deity is paralleled by the central The sacrifice is essentially a mental operation location of the icon in the sanctuary. This both outwardly and inwardly, or in any case is also visualized as a king in his palace inwardly. It is prepared by the sacrificer's 'whole surrounded by his retinue. Subsidiary gods mind and whole self. The Sacrificer is, as it such as , planetary and local folk were, emptied out of himself, and is himself the deities associated with Hinduism stand real victim. The true end of the cult is one of guard over the eight directions of space. In reintegration and resurrection, attainable not the centre of the universe by a merely mechanical performance of the is conceived of as the symbolic mountain service, but by a full realization of its of Meru and it therefore follows logically significance, or even by this comprehension that the tower which surmounts the icon in alone. The , or burnt offering, may be the womb chamber resembles a mountain. ... an interior self-sacrifice, in which the heart is It has been suggested that another aspect the altar, the outer man the offering, and the of the architectural form of the Hindu flame the dompted self.26 temple incorporates the embodiment of time. In the more complex temples a Coomaraswamy goes on to describe the multiplication and an 'expanding repetition' symbolic ascent of the worshipper (follow- of shrines and aedicules echo ideas such as ing his immolation) from the sanctum the cycles of growth and disintegration in through the tower and the finial at its apex. Hindu thought The cycle of life, birth, death The resemblance of tower to mountain and and renewal is so central to Hindu sanctum to cave reinforce this powerful philosophy that it permeates all aspects of symbolic movement and aspiration. This Hindu art. The square is the fundamental powerful vertical axis of sanctum to finial form of Indian architecture but it must not is also perceived as forces of energy which be forgotten that the square presupposes radiate in ascending, descending and the circle and results from it Life, growth horizontal directions. The upward aspira- and movement are visualized in a circle, tion has parallels in Hindu goals of while the square is perceived as a mark of enlightenment and in the recurrent visual order, finality, and of perfection beyond life depiction of the path, aspiration and pattern and death. of the universe resembling a tree supporting A further symbolic aspect of the temple the universe in its ample branches. and its functions is linked to the deliberate The temple is not only likened to the darkness of its interior and the ritual universe or macrocosm but also to the practices associated with it. As has been cross-legged figure of man and to the body mentioned above, the darkness of the inner of the primordial man (purusha). The sanctum and the symbolic sacrifice of the purusha's bodily frame is suggested by the worshipper and his offerings provides an temple's square plan; the womb, the environment for his transformation. garbhagrha; the door of the sanctum the Coomaraswamy suggests that the worship- mouth, while the outer walls express the per, consciously or unconsciously, re-enacts many facets of personality. Man's spinal a ritual of symbolic self-sacrifice. This also column, which in Hindu thought is

101 Hinduism and the Religious Arts the pathway for energy in its ascent to corners. Celestial maidens, composite higher levels of consciousness or , animals and musicians emerge from the is paralleled by the temple tower. secondary offsets in the walls. The Coomaraswamy likened this theoretical exit transitional cornice mouldings above the or ladder from chamber to finial to the frieze sometimes carry narrative reliefs cranial foramen in man. Man's foramen which depict scenes from the epics corresponds to the circular aperture at the (Mahabharata and Ramayana) or the apex of the temple tower which is signific- Puranas. antly closed by the solar form of the amalaka. It is customary among Hindus for The door the foramen, which is naturally open at birth and gradually closes, to be opened Temple doors can be interpreted as the again at death when the skull is ritually thresholds between the secular and spiritual broken prior to cremation. The gavaksha, worlds and passages through which people the symbolic openings in the tower, refer may be transformed or regenerated. to the deity's eyes or the pathways for the Carvings, which include sculptured deities deity's emanations. The active man- around, below and on the door lintels and ifestations of the deity which may be termed jambs promote and reinforce this potential his arms are represented by the subsidiary passage. The door to the sanctum has also deities placed at specific axes to the main been described as God itself. One is image. reminded of the reference in The Bible (John X:9) when Christ said of himself, 'I am the door'. The deity to which the temple Characteristic Elements is dedicated often appears in the lintel and The temples are characterized by certain presides over the or door common elements in their ornamentation keepers. and construction. By and large these Protective tree spirits were carved on temples have plinths, chambers and super- thresholds and doors in early Buddhist and structures which have a hierarchy of Hindu caves and free-standing Hindu mouldings, friezes and niches. The lowest temples. By the sixth to eighth centuries AD mouldings begin with petals of the lotus these had been largely replaced by river flower just above floor level and are said to goddesses. This may well have been be binding. They include elephant courses, intended to express a growing belief in which suggest rain clouds and a sprouting lustration with water from sacred rivers, waterpot moulding. Niches placed in these which was thought to transpose the divine mouldings contain images of subsidiary essence to the image. The empowering of incarnations such as the Saptamatrkas, the image would therefore have been Vishnu's avatars or sometimes narrative maintained by this symbolic ritual bathing. texts. Even today the sanctity or divine presence Above this level there is usually a frieze is reinforced by the ceremony abhiseka, which emphasizes the central deity with during which a liquid is poured through attending deities on either side and a hole in the roof of the shrine on to guardians of the eight directions on the the image.27 These river spirits were

102 Hindu Sacred Architecture occasionally accompanied by celestial this is shown explicitly in the form of a lion maidens, vegetal motifs, lotuses and dwarfs surmounting the gavaksha which is a solar or Gana figures. According to Kramrisch, animal. From the tenth century onwards, the images associated with the river at the the Kirtimukha mask surmounts the temple entrance effect a ritual bath: symbolic aperture of the sikhara or temple tower. The energy of the waters is so great that the bath itself confers Diksa, initiation: Ablution, transmutation, and initiation are effected at the Kakshasanas entrance.... There inception of a new life is beset Kakshasanas, stone benches, have angled with dangers. The guardians of the threshold backrests and appear in temples in thus are the most enduring images of the door projecting porches of open mandapas and where perils must be warded off and along ambulatory paths. The presence of contamination with the impurities of the world these seats in the majority of northern prevented.28 shrines support texts, which suggests that Symbolic doors also appear in the form of the halls were intended not only as places niches which hold aspects of the main of prayer for the approaching devotees but enshrined divinity. In some temples the as stages for dance, music, drama and even niches are sunk into the wall while in others as resting places for weary pilgrims. they project like balconies. Kirtimukha Windows orgavakshas Temple doors, walls, niches and windows The temple possesses solid but symbolic are enhanced by symbolic adornments. Pre- window-shaped forms which are called eminent among these symbols, often as a gavakshas. The term gavaksha means repetitive motif, is an image known as the literally 'go' (cow), 'aksha' (eye). These kirtimukha, (Figure 4.2). It appears on architectural features are said to derive cornices and temple walls and at the socle from the curves of light, flexible wood, such or bases of temples. The kirtimukha is as bamboo or tree branches.29 Visibly solid described as a fusion of man and beast, and without the slightest opacity, the while its appearance shows a creature gavakshas function not as apertures for the bulging with power, inflated with breath illumination of the temple's dark interior and modelled on a death-like skull. This but to facilitate transmissions radiating face, or death-mask, is known as the from its central icon: 'God is the light as devourer and symbolizes the passing of he is the door. He sends forth his splendour time, while its inflated breath suggests the in the darkness of the Garbhagrha vitality and power of the lion. In the guise and upwards across the innumerable of the lion it is known as Simha-mukha. In 'raywheels'.'30 West and East India the masked face is The gavakshas are also described as known respectively as Grassamukha and windows through which the deity looks Rahur-mukha, both of which refer to a out. In some cases, for example, in the devourer. The lack of the depiction of a Parasuramesvar temple at Bhubanesvar, lower jaw in the majority of kirtimukhas is

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Figure 4.2 Drawing of Kirtimukha. Drawing by Christopher Glanville RWA. said to express the lack of the finality of vyala or rearing lion frequently appears in death and the maintenance and cyclical medieval temple bhadra offsets. This progression of life. The motif becomes mythical, sometimes composite, creature common from the early part of the fourth possesses a lion's body, while its head century AD and it has been suggested that sometimes resembles the horned lion or the origin of the kirtimukha may be found kirtimukha. It may also have the trunk of in the Chinese T'ao Tien, the 'devourer' an elephant, a parrot's beak, a goat's or and in the lion masks from classical times. even a human face. The vyala's first appear- We may also see its echo in the gargoyle, a ance was as an image carved on a bracket common feature of medieval Christian which supported an overhanging cornice. architecture.31 The characteristic image of In the South Indian tradition it retained this the kirtimukha faces linked by pearl location, while in the North the motif garlands became extremely popular became integrated into the body of the thoroughout North India from the tenth temple and appeared in a limited number century onwards. of locations. In the tenth century vyalas of equal stature with exterior niche images Vyala came to inhabit the vertical indentations that separate the offsets of the temple wall. Another motif which became popular in Unlike the , the vyala is never placed temples from the ninth century AD is that on any projecting offset. of a man riding a beast or lion (Figure 2.9). The interpretation of the vyala is based This beast is known as sardula or vyala and on an understanding of the potential power is said to represent the wild, uncontrollable and significance of the lion. Its form derived energy of nature. This bestial form of the from Achaemenid Persia, where it was

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Figure 4.3 Maithuna, Visvanatha temple, Khajuraho. Chandella dynasty, eleventh century. Don Stadtner. associated with royalty. It is invariably Maithuna shown on the walls of North Indian temples with two male human figures, one riding An increasingly prevalent motif in temple and the other crouching below the animal's iconography from the first century AD was upraised paw. One or both figures bear the erotic or loving couple known as the swords or shields. The man who attempts maithuna image (Figure 4.3).33 These to ride or to tame the vyala can be seen as appeared on monuments such as the Sanci a ksatriya warrior or royal knight. These stupa and the door frames of Deogarh. They images of man's attempt to subdue a lion also appeared at Ajanta, Ellora, Karle, with the sword may be interpreted as the Aurangabad, Bhubaneswar, Mukhalingam, mind's attempt to master or control his Rajm, Sirpur, Lalitagiri, Udaygiri and wilder physical, instinctive and emotional Baijanatha. Mithuna couples were most nature.32 It represents both royal and meta- commonly found on thresholds and weak physical force. In the Chandella temples of architectural junctures. This, together with the tenth century the man riding Sardula evidence of ancient texts, supports the is interspersed with images of the apsaras suggestion that they fulfilled a magico- and other goddesses. By the eleventh protective function and were remnants of century, in North India, it became ancient non-Vedic fertility rituals.34 fashionable to replace these vyala forms The Silpasastras, Puranas and other with images of ascetics. authoritative texts implicitly recognized the

105 Hinduism and the Religious Arts auspicious () and protective- , Ellora and so on.38 Maithuna defensive (raksartham-varanartha) aspects figures are seen on the Jain Parsvanatha of erotic depictions. Texts such as the temple of Khajuraho and the Buddhist Agni Purana and the Brhat Samhita also temple No. 45 at Sanchi as well as Hindu suggest that doors of the inner sanctum, or temples belonging to the Saiva, Vaishnava garbhagrha, should be protected by such and Sakta sects. Different regions of India imagery. Despite ritual offerings to the display varied treatment in the placing and goddess to promote childbirth on an emphasis of the mithuna or maithuna individual basis, texts which allow erotic figures. For example, the Sun temple in images on sacred temples while discouraging Modhera shows erotic figures on the plinth, their appearance on the walls of domestic shafts of pillars, lintels and kaksanas in a houses provide evidence of the Hindu crude manner, while in Bhubanesvar and attitude towards the depiction of sexual Khajuraho they are more bold and coupling as generative of moksha (spiritual prominent. From the tenth century on in liberation), rather than fertility or pleasure. Central India, the carefully considered The early depictions of maithuna couples arrangement and handling of these figures were small, discreet and held to be purely on temples from Khajuraho represents a magico-religious in function. An example of fully realized aesthetic in contrast to the these types of images can be seen at Ellura earlier more archaic and inconsistent in the interior of the Kailasa temple from handling of the maithuna figures at the the sixth to seventh centuries. These images Kailasa temple in Ellura. are suggestive of folk cults rather than The presence of erotic motifs at orthodox Brahmanic Hinduism due to their Khajuraho was not an isolated phenom- unsophisticated graceless appearance.35 The enon. Yet in certain temples at Khajuraho form of these images pointed to the such as the Lakshmana, the architect seems continuity of primitive and popular cultural to have been the first to conceive of the idea elements or an 'other Hinduism' in Indian of putting erotic figures on an architectural society.36 The more dramatic and overt juncture. The temple is dedicated to appearance of large and aristocratic -Vishnu and an inscription states couples, found in such sites as Aihole, that Vaikuntha assumed this conjoint form Badami and Pattadakal, have been ex- in order to kill the three demons 'who plained by the growing power and possessed one body' and were therefore involvement of the aristocracy in patronage. difficult to destroy. This verse implies a This is also observed in the works of belief in the greater power inherent in Sanskrit poets like Kalidasa, Subandhu, conjoined figures. The temples of Kandariya Bana, Harsa and others.37 Gradually from Mahadeo and Visvanatha also have complex AD 900, there was a profusion of a more sexual-yogic images at the wall junctures of consistent, blatant and sophisticated the sanctum and the mahamandapa. To treatment of sexual depictions of the understand these images it is necessary to maithuna couple. By AD 950 maithuna was read beyond the outward superficial already represented in sculptural decor- appearance of form. ations of the temples of the western Deccan On the Lakshmana, the Visvanatha and such as Mahakut, Aihole, Badami cave I, the Kandariya temples erotic figures are

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Figure 4.4 Maithuna, Lakshmana Temple, Khajuraho, mid-tenth century. Don Stadtner. placed by the architect on the wall to express deeper, more abstract philo- junctures which join the garbhagrha and sophical ideas. the mahamandapa.39 Similar temples in One example of the continuity of these West and Central India have no maithuna primitive beliefs is the association of hair- on juncture walls, although Meister has cutting and sexual intercourse depicted on recently referred to the placing of conjoint temples such as Bhubaneswar, Konarak and figures of deities on the junctures of the Ratnagiri in Orissa and Bagali in . Kumbhasyana temple at Chittorgarh dating The offering of hair was a widespread from the eighth century. practice associated with the Vedic royal Several scholars of Indian art have consecration ceremony and was linked to attempted to interpret the significance of the offering of heads and purification the growing proliferation of these maithuna enjoined by medieval puranic literature. images. Scholars have noted the persistence Desai suggests that even obscenity served of primitive pre-Aryan cults and practices a function as a device for stimulating gener- with the ancient associations of the magico- ative powers (aslila) (Figure 4.4). Obscenity protective function of sexuality and the was however confined to the lower arch- influence of ideas of tantrism on pleasure- itectural stratas of the Lakshmana and the loving aristocrats. They also note the Visvanatha temple, while the walls of the concept of the stimulation of generative superstructure reveal exquisite refinements powers expressed in the king/concubine in gestures and sexual relationships. An relationship40 and the use of punning or example of both the depiction of generative tantric sandhyabhasa (intentional language) powers and punning is given by imagery on

107 Hinduism and the Religious Arts the Lakshmana temple at Khajuraho, where According to Desai, it was common practice on the outer walls of the platform there is for tantrikas to use sandhyabhasa with a scene which shows a king and some double or triple meanings in order to soldiers indulging in various bestial and conceal their doctrines from the non-initiate. unconventional sexual acts. This frieze may As Mircea Eliade says: reflect narrative and contemporary liter- In this 'intentional language' any erotic ature, which caricatured a of phenomenon can express a Hatha-yogic exercise orgiastic sex as a commentary on certain or a stage of meditation, just as any symbol, any tantric sects. Desai suggests in her authoritative work state of holiness, can be given an erotic meaning. on erotic imagery that this was a result of We arrive at the result that a tantric text can be a pervasive influence of tantrism which had read with a number of keys: liturgical, yogic, begun to penetrate and inspire Hinduism tantric, etc. The commentaries especially stress more pronouncedly from the eighth century the two last. To read a text with the 'yogic key' AD.41 This, she suggested in her recent work is to decipher the various stages of meditation on Khajuraho, was seen at different levels to which it refers. The tantric meaning is usually of tantrism associated with medieval sects.42 erotic, but it is difficult to decide whether the She suggested that this influence was reference is to a concrete act or to a sexual 43 reinforced by the association of tantrikas symbolism. with pleasure-loving aristocrats, while not At particular points of juncture, complex being designed specifically for tantrikas. sexual, almost yogic positions are shown. She suggested that courtly society was pre- In later works Desai suggested that these occupied with the glorification of pleasure specific sexual acts may hide geometry that (bhoga), far from the ascetic ideals of the depicts a yantra diagram which itself Upanishadic era of asceticism. Medieval expresses a profound cosmic union (Figure courtly drama and literature such as the 4.3).44 The west frieze on the south side of support this view of a more the Kandariya Mahadeo temple, for permissive group in society, yet this more example, shows the interlocking figures 'secular' drama and text does not reflect the with the man standing on his head. This, questions of mysticism and sacred power Desai concludes, may be a figural reference envisaged by 'tantrism', which are revealed to an underlying yantra, with a in such imagery in the temples at compositional diagram of the meeting of Khajuraho. two equilateral triangles. Punning or hidden meaning may also be used to camouflage messages to the Some yantra-like geometry seems to underlie initiated or more intelligent. An example of the head-down poses of the Visvanatha and the this is the pun on the word scorpion at Kandariya Mahadeva, as the lines of their Khajuraho, where beautiful ladies remove compositions would suggest. This reminds us scorpions from their legs. This expresses of the Kamakala yantra given in the Orissan text both the rain-making power of nudity and Silpa Prakasa, assigned to the period between the scorpion. The Sanskrit Khajura was the ninth and twelfth centuries. The text points synonymous with both the scorpion and the to the magico-protective and propitiatory aspects town where the temples were built. of sexual symbolism underlying this yantra....

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The evil spirits will flee far away at mere sight (prajnatmana) spirit know nothing more of a of the yantra....ln the best temples dedicated to without or a within. This is his true form in Sakti and to Rudra, this yantra must certainly which his desire is satisfied, the Spirit and the be placed. Then the monument will stand whole of his desire. He has no desire any more, unmoved forever... This yantra is utterly secret, nor any pain.47 it should not be shown to everyone. For this Shobhita Punja in her analysis of the reason, a love scene (mithuna-murti) had to be temples at Khajuraho claims that the key carved on the lines of this yantra ....The erotic junction images represent the kamabandha is placed there to give delight to consummation of the marriage of Siva and people.45 Parvati but refutes the idea of tantric Thus, says Desai, the sexual poses carved influence.48 She claims that the place where on the monuments were, according to the the two parts or rooms of the building meet tantric Silpasastras, for the enjoyment of is called ganthiala, a term used when the people from whom the symbolism of the ends of the garments of the bride and yantra was hidden. This concealed diagram groom are knotted together to signify the may well have been intended to function on wedding bond. Punja concludes that these several levels which would include erotic sculptures are not suggestive of protection and auspiciousness. It is possible human but of divine beings and more that the imagery on the junctions of walls specifically the union of Siva and his divine had double or even triple meanings. Desai consort.49 She claims that the art of considers whether the three-women-man Khajuraho derives from the concept of conjunction suggest the symbolic union of non-duality of Vedantic philosophy. Siva with Sakti in her threefold aspects, This she says is reinforced by the namely iccha (will), kriya (action) and evidence of a contemporary play 'the (knowledge), and therefore whether the Prabodhachandrodaya of Krishna Misra' temple expresses the phenomenal and written during the thirteenth century for transcendental worlds, on the junction of the Chandella king, where the play ridicules which the two opposite energies of two the sankhya, and tantric cults architectural yantras meet by the depiction which had previously been said to have of 'a scene of physical union to project the influenced the art of Khajuraho. noncommunicable experience of the To sum up, from 900-1400 AD each region nondual state through the homologies and 46 in India interpreted the erotic motif equivalents of sandhyabhasa'. according to its own cultural beliefs and This appears to support Kramrisch's patterns. Gujarat, and Mysore earlier claim that the mithuna image echoed did not glorify the motifs but relegated them the Upanishadic texts which used the to insignificant places while admitting their metaphor of the loving embrace of man and magical uses. The Chandellan and Orissan woman to symbolize union or moksha. schools, on the other hand, adopted a more Just as a man closely embraced by a beloved sophisticated and frank approach to the woman knows nothing more of a without or a expression of these sexual motifs. In South within, so also does the Person (the spiritual India it was believed that erotic figures person of man) embraced by the 'prognostic' would protect the buildings from the evil

109 Hinduism and the Religious Arts eye, while the priests of the Jagannatha canons suggest that the purpose of the temple at Puri believed that erotic erotic image was to give delight. Finally, in sculptures scared away the demons of the expression of this union in a specific lightning. The Jains also used erotic images temple the Kandariya Mahadeo may well for protective purposes.50 The mithuna represent not only male/female union but image has provoked varied scholastic also, according to Desai, may embody speculation as to its meaning and sandhya- (literally time between day and significance over the last 100 years. Desai night) bhasha. In yogic terms this expresses has given several interpretations as her the union of two breaths, and apana. study of the subject has deepened over Sandhya-bhasha is also an expression of how 20 years. As Desai says, only the mudhas a yogi can transcend the human condition (those to whom the tantric texts refer as and go beyond the phenomenal world in dull) would interpret them in a literal rather order to pass into the non-conditioned and than a metaphoric sense.51 Many of her timeless state in which there is neither day suggestions are not exclusive and, in nor night.52 accordance with the characteristics of To understand the significance and Hindu imagery, may coexist or operate on meaning of the mithuna images requires an several levels of meaning, and be subject to openness to double meaning and an varying subjective interpretation. The acceptance of the juxtaposition of the custom for medieval Sanskrit literature to obscene and the from a Western use double meanings and puns supports audience. One must disassociate from this interpretation, as does the tantrikas' sexuality and see rather that bhoga - use of intentional language to obscure the enjoyment - is a form of yoga - union. One truth from the non-initiate. must experience a timelessness, a place The proliferation of the mithuna image which is silent and clear, an inner world, which reached its height in the tenth to still yet vibrating with pulse, heat, intensity eleventh centuries, seems to be a result of and the light of the inner union of energies. the following factors. First, the continuity of primitive magico-protective beliefs and Surasundari figures and the customs; second, the growing influence of concept of tantrism on the aristocratic pleasure-loving court, images inspired by but not necessarily Coexistent with the rich fabric of gods, addressed to tantrikas; third, the relationship goddesses, mythical beasts and vegetal between frieze narratives and sophisticated patterns, human figures appear in many dramatic art which involved the use of guises on temple walls. To retain the punning and double meaning; fourth, the complex imagery while heightening the use of obscenities, courtesans and mithuna symbolic importance of the central figure couples for their generative potential (which on the offset (bhadra) of the back wall of included ancient ideas of magico-protective the temple, lesser beings appeared on the ritual); fifth, the concealment of a yantra side niches and offsets. In Western India which expressed the deep universal meaning from the ninth century a narrow inner of union, and sixth, for the purpose of section of the corner vertical recesses, and ornamentation (alankara), even the Silpa intermediary offsets became an ingredient

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Figure 4.5 Surasundari figures, Lakshmana temple, Khajuraho. Chandella dynasty, mid-tenth century. Don Stadtner. in all styles of North Indian temple surasundaris (literally meaning celestial architecture. In the ninth century AD, beauty) ornamenting (alankara) the body sculptures of female attendants bearing of the temple were seen as empowering and flowers, flywhisks or dancing in celebration auspicious (Figure 4.5). of the deity occupied these offsets of Surasundari is synonymous with sakti, temple walls. These female attendants or literally meaning 'be able'. One may

111 Hinduism and the Religious Arts therefore interpret these beautiful damsels These celestial beings can also manifest as playing a part not just to allure or entice as apsaras, or natikas. In the Vedic period but to activate and bring about or to the apsaras were linked with water but were manifest. The interpretations of these later associated with the heavens and female images are varied. On a more secular became known as celestial beings. Their level they represent scenes of courtly life, male counterparts the gandharvas also the king's prosperity and good fortune, survived from Vedic times as servants of while on a more spiritual level they may be Indra and heavenly musicians. The kinnaras, perceived as celestial courtesans. Sanskrit who had human heads and horses' bodies, drama portrays these maidens arousing the were also heavenly musicians, and king while remaining detached and unin- associated with these gandharvas. They volved in their play (lila) and seduction. carried a variety of items such as robes, Such drama suggests that these courtesans mirrors and various kinds of vessels. were intended to seduce, flatter and Along with the surasundaris and stimulate without themselves becoming dikpalas, mithuna couples guard the shrine impregnated and subject to the natural against negative forces. Thresholds used cycle of fecundity and old age. Some of several protective devices. Tree spirits or these courtesans look in mirrors, a female yakshis were believed to offer good metaphor of God's reflection or purity of protection and to be auspicious and were knowledge, and one of the attributes of the used for this purpose from the second to goddess Parvati. These ladies can also be fifth centuries AD. From the fifth to sixt portrayed as maids (paricarika), while centuries these tree maidens were replaced others are messengers (duti) of the powerful by river goddesses who, with other aquatic Mahasakti. and protective motifs flanking the entrance, The surasundaris or beautiful damsels were themselves moved from the upper activate man's energies in his search for corners of the door jamb to the lower part moksa, but on account of their physical of the door in the seventh century AD. Fro beauty they represent a challenge to his the Gupta period onwards the forms of door detachment. Ladies holding water pots, decoration become more diverse and trees or lotuses also symbolically express elaborate. fertility in their link to water and vegetation. As has already been mentioned, the The connection with the moon is also seen placing of erotic images had a special in their ideal moon-shaped breasts. An significance. It was believed that sexual example of this is the lady holding a mirror, motifs were endowed with magical powers which may be interpreted as the moon for prosperity, luck and auspiciousness and which reflects the rays of the sun at the to protect from and ward off evil spirits and same time as it expresses the purity of calamities. Sexual images had greater divine light. In the tenth century these efficacy than other in serving this female images began to compete for space functions because of 'the deep-rooted belief on the offsets with vyalas, a fantastic, in the magical power of sex manifest in rearing, lion-like creature, while in the Indian culture in its religious rituals and eleventh century the vyala was replaced by myths, agricultural and vegetation festivals, ascetics.53 the devidasi institution etc.'54

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To summarize: Images are used to protect and reinforce the devotee's passage towards and around the central image and to reinforce his communication with the divine presence through darsan, with the divine image emanating rays which also bathe the devotee by deflection via secondary images. Images are used to protect the enshrined divinity, the actual architectural structure and to generate prosperity and auspiciousness both in the temple and in the surrounding community. Narrative and deliberate figure groups also serve a didactic capacity in warning devotees and offer sectarian commentaries Figure 4.6 Radial plan of images. Drawing by of disapproval or . From the Christopher Glanville RWA. medieval period not only Brahmanic prescriptions influenced the appearance of geography of the Hindus endows the earth the temple but ancient rituals symbolized with seven great insular continents, seven in the role of the devadasis, the oceans, beyond which at each of the eight surasundaris and erotic imagery actively cardinal points are eight regents or contributed to the generation of this divine protectors: Agni, Yama, Nairita, Varuna, energy and achieved these protective and Vayu, Soma, and Indra. These are reinforcing objectives. accompanied by the following vehicles: ram, buffalo, sword, makara, antelope, horse, bull and elephant. These guardian deities or Deities astadhikpalas are for the most part Vedic Sculptures of the numerous chief and minor deities who devolved through the centuries deities appear on the walls of Hindu temples into subsidiary protective identities. (Figure 4.6). These are placed in radial Dancing figures and accompanying positions from the central deity, whose musicians, together with the bell and chain images are also carved on the central offset motif, symbolic of the ringing of the bell to of the outer wall of the sanctum.55 Deities evoke and awaken the deity, are also part such as Ganesa are usually placed near the of the temple repertoire. entrance to the temple as the remover of obstacles. The placing of these deities also Demigods and spirits corresponds to the devotees' circum- ambulation of the temple which usually Hindu cosmology conceives a universe takes a clockwise direction. which abounds with spirits and demigods Planetary deities, guardians of space and (devatas). The temple therefore reflects this other astronomical deities are also vision, and several secondary figures such deliberately placed around the outer and as the gandharvas, literally fragrances, are inner walls of the temple. The cosmic to be seen in this category. They are often

113 Hinduism and the Religious Arts shown playing music on the vina, singing who is Vishnu's Sakti wanted to worship Siva. the praises of heroes or recounting ancient Deeply touched, their eyes welled over with tears tales. They are essentially celestial beings, of joy. Where tears fell to the ground, Amalaka while the ganas are dwarf-like creatures trees grew up, 'since they were born from tears whose role is to protect the temple. These and all the gods and sages saw Brahma, Vishnu creatures are part of Siva's retinue. Ganesa, and Siva in the Amalaka tree'.56 who is their leader, is also known as As well as the shape of the fruit of the Kubera, lord of the ganas. Other spirits such myrobalan tree the amalaka resembles both as naga deities are shown as part of the the ring stone and the ribbed wheel. In the temple pantheon; they are half-snake, half- Vastu-sastra the amalaka is also called anda, human and act as defenders of the the egg, which is itself identified with the underworld. Other temple guardians are sun. It is the crown of the summit, while known as yalis, which are a combination of also functioning as the sheath or ring creatures such as dragons, elephants, around the pillar or tower of the super- and horses, and are depicted with roaring structure of the temple. The amalaka also open mouths and bulging eyes. signifies the celestial world: 'It is the architectural symbol of the celestial world; Amalaka viewed as sculpture, it is a three dimen- sional shape of the filaments of the lotus or The amalaka is the crown and summit of of a halo with its rays.'57 the North Indian temple, surmounted by On some sikharas, for example, in the the finial (stupika), with the vase (kalasa) temple complex in Baroli in Rajasthan, the as its most conspicuous part. It is a chara- small figure of a man is portrayed climbing cteristic feature of North Indian Hindu the sikhara towards the amalaka. It is the temple architecture. figure of a warrior, a ksatriya, or the king, Etymologically, the amalaka is perhaps who gains a footing high on the super- derived from the root 'maF meaning 'hold structure ascending to heaven. In South or gather', perhaps suggestive of its ring- Indian temples the shape of the amalaka is like form which surrounds the upper part replaced by the domical cap stone to form of the temple. According to Coomaraswamy, a little palace or prasada. it is also analogous to man's cranium. If As well as the solar symbol, the moon written with a short a it literally means often appears at the threshold to the temple purity or stainless. If written with a long a entrance. it is Sanskrit for the fruit of the emblic myrobalan, phyllanthes emlica, whose shape it recalls. The following myth associated Makara with the myrobalan tree reinforces the fact A mythical creature called the makara is that it is sacred not to one god but to all frequently carved on brackets and in friezes. three, Vishnu, Brahma and Siva: The makara is an aquatic beast which Once when all the gods and sages (rsi) had resembles a crocodile and is associated with assembled at the of Prabhasa, Devi, Siva's rivers. It is shown with large teeth and is Sakti, wanted to worship Vishnu and Lakshmi often portrayed with no lower body as

114 Hindu Sacred Architecture though emerging from water (Figure 4.7). In the Hoysala period it was portrayed in varying combinations with the peacock, pig, lion, crocodile or fish. The makara acts as the vehicle to the goddess Ganga and is a symbol of time the devourer.

Animal and vegetal friezes

Friezes of animals, such as the elephant, lion or horse, birds such as the goose, and vegetation, abound in the evolving forms of the Hindu temple. Vegetation such as the vine scroll and lotus and the stylized flame weave over the surface of the temple. Innumerable variations of the vine scroll or patralata are to be seen. The lotus mouldings, the water pot friezes and the vine scroll all serve to bind the base of the temple and to link it with water symbolism, thus rendering the ground fertile and the building potent. Lotuses, with or without sprouting foliage, abound in various forms in all the temples. Lotuses can also be shown as growing Figure 4.7 Drawing of Makara. foliage, or, in a more abstract form, in a Drawing by Christopher Glanville RWA. diamond and circle pattern. Small lotus ceilings also appear in temple halls. A Royal and secular scenes common pattern is the circle and diamond The temple decoration shows a variety of frieze, the diamond sometimes being flower- royal, courtly and secular scenes. Scenes like. Elephant friezes may be interpreted as which depict royal celebration, entertain- Indra's rain clouds, but elephants are also ment or war are often depicted on the lower known as the treasure keepers of darkness mouldings. (the symbol of ignorance). Friezes of free- standing lions are sometimes joined by a Mythological friezes necklace of pearls. This may refer to the legend where lions break into a storehouse Friezes of narratives are part of the fabric protected by elephants and scatter the of sculptural decoration in the Hindu hidden pearls of wisdom. This legend temple. These narratives relate the implies that the lion may be both guardian mythology and dance themes of the great and assistant in the process of divine Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Bhagavata illumination. Parana.

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Prasada the outer breath, and Sa, the inward breath. The goose is carved on the base of the As has already been mentioned, an ancient prasada or on the ceiling of the mandapa. text refers to the temple which is usually The goose symbolizes the bird, which is said called the prasada (seat or palace) as the to fly from earth to heaven, linking the purusha (perfect man): The Prasada should realms of the deities with that of heaven. be worshipped as Purusha. It is both, His The is also the vahana of the god house and representation.'58 Brahma, symbolizing knowledge, a means Ancient texts or manuals called Sastras to the end. draw and describe the structure of the Hindu temple and cosmology in the Purna-kumbha form of a square diagram called the 'vastupurushamandala', which literally The idea of fullness, expressed in Vedic means vastu (building); purusha (man); hymns: a full pot expresses this concept. It mandala (diagram). Meister describes this is such a central element and symbol of diagram as a man offered for sacrifice who Hindu art that no ceremony can be is: 'pinned as sacrifice to the earth by a performed without the installation of an series of divine entities distributed within auspicious vessel. The vase of plenty is a grid of usually sixty-four or eighty-one placed both on the top of the temple as the squares•. CQ kalasa and frequently appears in the According to Meister, this was based on decorative scheme both outside and as an the earlier Vedic construction of open-air integral part of the inner columns (Figure brick altars, which were constructed on this 4.8). This pot is often decorated and precise division. As mentioned above, the overflowing with bunches of lotus buds and temple is believed to be a symbolic repres- flowers. Before construction a pot is also entation of the primordial man. The square buried as the ritual foundation of the plan and the partitions may be an analogy temple. for the man's frame; the tower, his spine; the door, his mouth; the amalak his head, Text and Theory of Temple Design pierced like the foramen at death to receive the finial from above. The image is Sastras visualized as the life of the soul, concealed in the darkness of the cave or womb. The The earliest evidence for Hindu archi- outside with its many images, is seen as the tectural theory lies in the sastric texts. manifestation of purusha and is believed to These oral traditions which represented radiate through closed doors and windows. theoretical suggestions rather than exact prescriptions were collated and compiled from the first century BC and outlined many Hamsa or goose ritual practices. The sastras described the The rythmic pattern of breathing in and out correct and most auspicious way to perform and which is another expression of life is a large range of activities such as warfare, given tangible expression in the shape of cooking, making love (the most famous the goose whose name is the mantra Ha, being the Kama Sutra), playing music,

116 Hindu Sacred Architecture sculpture, painting, poetry, drama and architecture. Their purpose was, rather, to preserve former traditions and to discuss certain aesthetic issues. The manual relating to sculpture was called the Silpasastra, while the text dedicated to architecture was called the Vastusastra. The Vastusastra attempted to indicate the ideal form of the Hindu temple. While it provided a traditional framework, its terminology was obscure and fragmentary. The earliest specific reference to architectural theory or the science of building is said to date from the fourth century AD. One of these early references can be found in the Brhatsamhita, an astronomical sixth-century text. The astro- nomical concerns of this text link issues of time, astronomy and astrology with Figure 4.8 Purna Kumbha - a pot overflowing architecture. Other references to building with flowers and plants. Drawing by Christopher appear as parts of the larger Epics and Glanville RWA. Puranas. These texts were the work of learned Brahmans, who were more the cardinal directions, the temple usually concerned with symbolic meaning and ritual being on an east-west axis aligned with the function than with practical structure. rising and setting of the sun.60 The location Brahmans were, however, consulted by the of the sanctum corresponded to the sinking architect during the construction of the sun in the west so that the darkness of the building and were responsible for the final womb chamber was mirrored by the ritual sanctification of the building at the darkness outside. The sastras stressed end of construction. the importance of exact measurement indicating that the harmonious and correctly proportioned temple had a direct Science of building bearing on the welfare of the community Temple inscriptions indicate that temples and the individual. These texts also provided were frequently royal donations. They were schemes which mathematically coordinated dedicated at times in the calendar year sections of the building based on the which were traditionally associated with dimensions of the inner sanctum or its ritual activities such as temple , enshrined image. They indicated that only equinoxes and eclipses of the sun and if these measurements are in the correct moon. Astronomical and astrological correlation can the temple be expected to calculations predicted the timing of a accord with the mathematical basis of the temples' construction and its orientation. universe. The unit of measurement used in Temple planning involved consideration of architecture, which was the same as that

117 Hinduism and the Religious Arts used in sculpture, was the angula - based Arranged around this central square are the on a joint of a human finger. planetary deities and the guardians of the The temple was not only constructed eight directions of space. These symbolize according to precise measurements but also the pinning divinities (padadevatas) who according to geometric diagrams or were said to have held down the flayed skin which were believed to represent of the demon who, threatening creation, had the pattern of the universe. These were first been the first sacrificial victim, and sub- written down in the Brhatsamhita, which sequently thus became the guardian spirit dates approximately from the sixth century of all future creation. This mandala connects AD. In this text the temple is described as the world of gods with man's own creation the vastupurushamandala, which possesses of the temple on earth and is sometimes a centre occupied by Brahman, the all- overlaid with the figure of Mahapurusha, the cosmic man who displays all of universal pervading formless divine principle creation on his outstretched body. concerned with creation. The most sacred part of the mandala is Indian cosmology envisages the universe the centre. It is here that the worshipper as ovoid in shape, divided into zones or may experience transformation and regions, or as a mandala. The mandala is corresponds to the part of the temple that drawn as a concentric configuration, with will contain the icon. a square divided into a number of smaller According to George Michell: squares by an intersecting grid of lines like a minute map or ground plan of the The mandala also serves as a symbolic pantheon universe. The principal icon of the deity of the gods, with each of the smaller squares occupies the central square, while other acting as the seat of a particular deity. The selected deities are placed on the smaller central square, which is usually enlarged, is squares. The calculations of the mandala occupied by a prominent divinity. Arranged all are extremely complex, and incorporate the around are the planetary divinities and the guardians of the eight directions of space. The proposed variable dimensions of the courses and recurring time sequences of the building and the auspicious date and time heavenly bodies are thus incorporated into the of the foundation of the building in an building mandala. The mandala is sometimes integrated series of fractions. overlaid with the figure of Mahapurusha, the According to Christopher Tadgell: Cosmic man who displays all of universal These are likely to produce imperfect numbers. creation on his outstretched body. In a further As imperfect number reflects the imperfections extension of this biological notion of universal of the world, the dimensions must be varied - order, the cosmic man is transformed into the even a new auspicious date and time chosen - trunk of a gigantic tree, supporting the cosmos 62 until in accordance with set formulae, the product in its ample branches. equates with the numbers from the series 0 to 7, The fundamental preoccupation of Hindu representing the eight directions of space, thought is with man's release (moksha) appropriate for the residence of the caste of the from an illusory world into which he is founder and for the orientation of the work - 4 recurringly born. The architecture of the for the west or, ideally, 0 for the east.61 Hindu temple aims to support this quest by

118 Hindu Sacred Architecture identifying the fabric of the temple itself Astronomy and astrology were with the deity and setting out to dissolve determining factors in the temple's con- the boundaries between man and the divine. struction. The plan of the temple is strictly This is achieved by the Hindu philosophical orientated to the cardinal directions, usually belief that the temple, man's body and the on an east-west axis. The architect first sacred mountain and cave represent aspects draws the ground plan or diagram which of the same divine symmetry. The prior forms the spiritual and actual foundation insemination of the site and the diagram of the subsequent process of construction. drawn on the ground which consists of As mentioned above, correct measurements precise measurements permitting the and knowledge of the correct drawing of realization of the underlying cosmic ideas the vastupurushamandala based on a are believed to contain and control a square forms the first part of the science of forcefield of energy. Literature refers to the Hindu architecture. temple as prasada, meaning the platform of Engineering principles are simple, the God, or devagriham, the house of God. This most common architectural form of temple expresses Hinduism's belief in God's construction being the combination of willingness to manifest among man. The vertical columns and horizontal cross-beams reference to the inner sanctum as the which, it is suggested, originated from an garbhagrha or womb chamber also earlier form of wooden construction. The expresses the birth and essence of the stability of the building's elevation was divine presence. The relationship that achieved largely by the sheer mass of develops between forms and their meanings columns and the weight of the cross-beams, within the Hindu temple is essentially the and the additional supporting brackets and link between earth and heaven. iron clamps. Doorways are usually spanned by a lintel, while ceilings are constructed of stone slabs. Roofs are built with overlapping Practical Building Methods stone courses. The arched niches are a Before the construction of a temple, result of carving rather than complex con- ancient ritual required the ploughing, struction. By the fifth century AD, free- sowing and watering of grain seed to test standing temples were usually made of the fertility of the ground to see if the site stone, occasionally of brick, with the stone was suitable. After the third, fifth and blocks sometimes transported over large seventh nights the germination of the distances. Elephants, rollers and sleds, seeds was examined. When the ritual was barges and manpower were the means used. completed the ground was again ploughed. When the stone arrived at the site the The preparation of the chosen site also blocks, roughly hewn, were placed in included rites of consecration, the placing position by rope pulleys on scaffolding. of a foundation deposit, such as a pot, Earthern or timber ramps were used to through to rites for the placement of the place the heaviest blocks.64 Whether an final anchoring stone crown or sikhara.63 Indian temple is built of wood, brick or The ritual for the insemination of the stone, the work is done with precision. temple site has remained unchanged to the Bricks and stone are carefully laid and present day. joined. Frequently they are kept in position

119 Hinduism and the Religious Arts without any cement The stone is sometimes capable of damage and destruction,and bonded with bronze dowels or copper means are employed to protect the devotees cramps. Plaster and cement mixed with and the community at large from their other substances such as conch shell influences. Ritual consecration in the form powder (the conch being the emblem of of mantras, specific images and building Vishnu) or white earth (kaolin) is sometimes procedure offered protection against any used. The earliest occurrence of lime mortar weaknesses. As in many of the ceremonies was in the brick foundation of the Vishnu on a village level, rituals were undertaken temple of Besnagar.65 to improve security, to acquire prosperity Before the craftsmen begin work they or for the good health of the worshipper. perform certain traditional rituals during The temple itself is largely closed, but the which they revere and make offerings to doorways or thresholds are considered to their tools. Objects of daily use such as the be particularly vulnerable and in need of axe, the line and the hammers are wor- support. The gavakshas are closed and act shipped with offerings of incense, flowers as symbolic windows, while secondary and unhusked rice.66 During the carving openings or windows are echoed in the some artisans would wear to ward symbolic niches, which display aspects of off accidents. Indian craftsmen even today the divinity of the temple. Certain images consecrate their tools at the autumn festival such as the mithuna or erotic images, seen of Dasara, on the day which is sacred to to encompass life and renewal, are carved Visvakarman, their .67 at weak junctures, such as between the According to Biardeau: central sanctum and the adjoining mandapa, and are regarded as protective Whether one installs the divinity upon a diagram and potent. drawn on the ground with coloured powders or Not only is the temple protected from whether one invokes it in an imaginary setting, harmful influences by deliberately placed one always begins with the invocation of God sculpture, but it is also believed to be within.... [In temple ritual] especially in those capable of transmitting beneficial divine regions where tantrism is most vital...every forces. These forces are believed to radiate gesture, every ingredient, every formula, every from the central icon and to be transmitted movement through space bears a symbolic through the intermediary of carefully meaning which the initiate alone is capable of chosen related deities. This forcefield is perceiving.68 believed to act on the community and to create harmony in the immediate vicinity Positive and Negative Forces of the temple. Hinduism perceives that the universe Placing of Images contains forces of energy which can be both creative and destructive. The spirit world is As has been mentioned above, the position visualized as a hierarchy of demons, spirits of each image is significant The outer walls of the underworld and an ascending range of the Hindu temple are covered with of halflings, spirits, female, male and animal multiple and repeated images. This deities. The daemonic is believed to be ornamental imagery will be shown to

120 Hindu Sacred Architecture have general and specific purposes. the back wall of the temple opposite the Ornamentation (alankara) on the temple is door is an aspect of the principal icon. If believed to be auspicious and to promote the central icon is missing this figure often prosperity.69 Desai cites Gonda, who studied reveals the temple's dedication. Deities in the semantic development of words and this position are frequently shown in a demonstrated that the words alankrita and frontal and symmetrical manner. alankara not only denote the idea of As has been mentioned above, in the first adornment but that of preparation. Desai free-standing temples of the Gupta period suggests that alankara, as well as fulfilling images initially appeared only on the central an aesthetic function, holds magical niches of the exterior walls. From the early properties.70 She suggests that adornment, eighth century they began to appear first in the form of collyrium for eyes, jewellery on the corners (karnas) of shrines and then and elaborate costume, can be perceived on the intermediary offsets (pratirathas). not just as decorative and beauty-enhancing From the mid-eighth century a set of eight but as protective. In a similar way the guardians of the directions of space Silpasastras and Puranas emphasize that appeared in a standard order, orientation ornamentation or alankara on the houses and placement on the karnas of the of gods and men brings good fortune. sanctum exterior. These guardians were The actual sculpture on the temple walls originally elemental deities of the Vedic is either applied directly or carved on pantheon who became subsidiary to the separate slabs, which are set in place after major gods such as Vishnu and Siva and construction. Darielle Mason in her study performed a protective function. Mason on the significance of the placing of suggested that in the early eighth century sculpture on sacred Indian architecture they were a mixture of Vedic gods and other concluded that architects and patrons of deities. In about AD 725, they were placed seventh- to thirteenth-century temples at each corner of the temple. She suggested showed a concern not only with dynastic that these images acted, as in a pre-ordained glorification and human pleasure but also sequence within a set, as guardians of the with the 'balance and grace necessary for corners and to give direction in space properly housing the divinity'.71 (compass direction). She concluded, The pre-eminent function of the temple however, that while narrative order could was and still is the housing of the principal sometimes play a part in the placing of image. The representations on the walls of deities, greater importance was given to the the central shrine or garbhagrha derive axial connection with the deity in the from this central enshrined image and are interior. reflections of the active manifestations of this deity, close family divinities or the deity Artisans repeated in iconic form. These secondary images become direct links or channels of For the building of the great temples, the radiation from the central image and paths carving of the sculptural decorations, the for communication with and manifestation making of religious icons and religious of the deity with the world of man. The painting, varied caste groups were involved. central figure on the bhadra or offset on Early supply us with a

121 Hinduism and the Religious Arts considerable amount of information organization of the architect and his regarding the social position of the crafts- workforce. This was similar to the European men in early Buddhist times. The most guild system and may be typical of the striking features are the hereditary nature organization of the construction of other of the craft and the importance of the elder temples throughout India. The Orissan or master craftsmen. In early Buddhist manuscript lists the workmen, their salaries times caste was less crystallized and not so and rules of conduct and provides an rigidly tied to craft. The Jataka Alinachitta account of the various building operations, refers to an entire village of carpenters. In though oral transmission was more usual the Mauryan period craftsmen were said to in order to preserve the guild's trade have been valued, and the emperor Asoka secrets. The manuscript records such details initiated the employment of stone workers as the early vocational training of children to shape and erect monumental stupas and and describes the guilds as extended family columns. In the Gupta period blacksmiths, units, which went so far as to ordain who goldsmiths and carpenters enjoyed higher could be married to whom and who could status, with goldsmiths settling in the rich even act as guardians of widows and areas of the city. orphans. Sometimes, individual members Architects, artisans and workmen were or whole villages would seek work with engaged in groups or guilds. These guilds distant patrons, thus giving rise to the preserved their tradition orally, and were transmission of architectural and sculptural by and large extensions of family units, style. It was not unknown for wealthy guilds where techniques were handed down from themselves to make charitable donations to one generation to the next. Traditions and temples. Evidence from this inscription also techniques were jealously guarded, while reveals that craftsmen were recruited from the guilds united both the family and the villages and small towns in Orissa, and gives individual craftsmen into a single corporate a detailed description of a group of masons body. These guilds served the great temple from Madurai in Tamil Nadu, from where sites, fixing rules of work and wages and they had been brought by the local ruler. setting standard prices for work completed, The guilds also had the potential to become their regulations having the force of law. wealthy in their own right and inscriptions The guilds had judicial rights and could exist which record their charitable expel a rebellious member. The headman donations. An example of this is silk of the guilds was sometimes appointed by weavers from Lata (Gujarat) who built a the king. Owing to the irregularity of splendid temple of the sun at Mandasalur, patronage in a certain area, guild members or ivory carvers from Bhilsa who donated frequently travelled from one region to part of the railings and gateways of the another in order to work on different great stupa at Sanchi. Sometimes whole projects and this in turn gave rise to the villages and small towns were engaged spread of architectural and artistic predominantly in one type of activity. traditions. A thirteenth-century palm leaf Hindu craftsmen were also known to manuscript detailing building operations of work for patrons of different religious the contemporary Surya temple at Konarak persuasions. This suggestion is supported in Orissa provides evidence of the by evidence from several Jain temples which

122 Hindu Sacred Architecture include Hindu iconography in the sculptural compendia of myths etc. painting and all the decoration. A strong Hindu flavour and countries; he should be joyous, truth speaking detail can also be seen in Indo-Islamic with senses under control, concentrated in mind, architecture. No religious restrictions were free from greed, carelessness, disease and the imposed on the guild members in the seven vices famous having firm friends and professional sphere of their work. Accord- having crossed the ocean of the science of ing to , guilds of Hindu artisans Vastu.73 of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Malwa who were employed on the construction of the The assignation of work to the artisans was could conduct the same pre- on the basis of paid contracts. The four paratory ritual in their worship of Vastu classes of craftsmen were the architect Purusha at the time of laying the founda- (sthapathi) who was assisted by the tions of the as they would if they surveyor (sutragrahin), sculptor (taksaka) were constructing a Hindu temple. This and builder-plasterer-painter (vardhakin) clearly showed independence from the There were fine divisions of labour, such as wishes or control of their patron.72 stonemasons who cut stone and sculptors Brahmans are involved not only in laying who were responsible for the fine chisel down and transmitting theoretical guide- work. Specialists carried out particular jobs lines but also in the practical task of such as: performing the ceremonies for the removal laying out the axes of the building, marking out of obstacles, the consecration and purifica- the plumb and square lines which regulated the tion of the site, the tracing of the initial carving, grinding the polishing materials, ground plan, the setting of the crowning carving the bands of friezes and mixing the finial of the superstructure and the coloured pigments for paintwork. Leading installation of the image or symbol of the deity in the shrine. They are also re- master-craftsmen worked on the principal 74 sponsible for the preservation of the sanctity images of the sanctuary and its outer walls. of the site. The work of the architect, artists The leading master craftsmen worked on and sculptors in the construction of these the principal images of the sanctuary and large projects requires a close relationship outer walls and the design and composition between priest and project. of panels in the great temple, may well have A hierarchy existed in the group of been inspired by a single artist The majority artisans constructing a great temple. The of remaining craftsmen and builders would most important individual in the erection of be responsible for the execution of the a temple was the chief architect (sutradhara) building. The work was assigned by and the superintendent of works. contract, each of which had a different The Sthapati should be fit to direct (sthapan) leader, with payments relating to the the construction and should be well-versed in contracts. The heads, of the whole project all Sastras, the traditional sciences, perfect in did not have individual contracts but were body, righteous, kind, free from malice and responsible for coordinating the various jealousy, a Tantrik and well-born; he should stages of the entire project. The sculptors know mathematics and the Puranas, the ancient were engaged in small sections of the

123 Hinduism and the Religious Arts building and women were employed for sites in the Deccan show a similar juxta- cleaning and polishing stones. position of the two styles. Workmen settled in camps around the Evidence of early timber architecture building site, and the domestic arrange- from Buddhist rock reliefs from the second ments for the cooking and distribution of century BC reveals that the coalescence o food were highly organized. Even the architectural features into distinct 'north- maintenance of law and order was provided ern' and 'southern' styles had not occurred by officials who would settle disputes. Fines in the centuries immediately preceding the were imposed as punishment for delays in Christian era. The earliest extant free- delivering materials or completing the work. standing structures show no transitiona Doctors were also present to look after the architecture and the preserved brick and sick alongside barbers, and oilmen were stone temples clearly display features of the employed to prepare torches and lamps. two broad styles. In the ancient texts or Work ceased during the rainy season and sastras such as the Brhatsamhita, the holidays were granted if a royal patron temple is known as prasada and the visited, had a son, or once an important part northern style of architecture as nagara, of the building was completed.75 while in the south it is known as vimana The relationship between artists/ and the southern style as dravida. The craftsmen and the Brahman priests was former is characterized by the frequent crucial. The priests advised and gave appearance of the amalaka, and the stone guidance to the workmen, performed slabs or pidaha which surmount the roofs ceremonies for the removal of obstacles or of the early stone shrines. The southern when some accident required atonement. temples, on the other hand, visually They also conducted important con- resemble the secular palace or prasada, the secrations, purifications of the site, the seat of the enthroned king or deity, with a initial tracing of the ground plan, the setting pyramidal tower and more dramatic of the crowning finial of the superstructure gopuras or gateways. Despite some and the installation of the principal image common terms, each temple style has its or symbol of the divinity in the sanctuary. own distinct technical language. Despite frequent invasions from outsiders such as the Muslims from the eleventh and Stylistic Variety of the Hindu Temple twelfth centuries AD and the sacking of such The external differences between northern great temples as Somnath, Mathura and and southern styles of temple architecture Benaras, the north reveals several are considerable (Figure 4.9). Certain sites significant examples of early free-standing such as Pattadakal, situated midway temples. A good early example of the between North and South India, juxtapose northern style is the Gupta temple of and combine the characteristics of both Deogarh. The most distinctive feature of the styles of temple building. On the Papanatha North Indian type of temple is the gradual temple, for example, the southern elements convex curve of the mountain-like tower of pilastered wall with eave and surmounting over the square sanctum known as a parapet are combined with northern niche sikhara (Figure 4.10). The link between pediments and superstructure. Certain other sanctum and tower in the use of niches and

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Figure 4.9 The characteristic features of southern (left) and northern (right) temples. Drawing by Christopher Glanville RWA. offsets is also characteristic of the North fourteenth centuries is their scale and a Indian temple. continuation in the colouring of the sculp- South India was not subject to the same tural ornamentation.76 Sacred complexes of degree of architectural devastation and the Nayaka period with their enclosure demonstrates a continuous development of walls, one within the other, and their building over the period from the sixth to towering and coloured gopuras are urban sixteenth century AD. The pyrimidal towers, units in their own right. Such temples crowned cap stone and barrel-shaped roofs employ immense numbers of staff and bring are characteristic of the southern style large quantities of money into the local (Figure 4.11). The gateways of the South economy. and North Indian temples are also The distinct differences in stylistic substantially different, with the enlarged architectural and decorative features gateway being the most pronounced feature exhibited in different dynastic and in later South Indian temples (Figure 4.9). geographic groups are due to several This southern gateway had a tower-like factors, including the availability of raw superstructure capped with a barrel-vaulted materials and the influence of climate. Hard element A more recent development in the and crystalline rocks, for example, southern temples from the thirteenth and prevented detailed carving, whereas soft

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Figure 4.10 Kandariya Mahadeo temple, Khajuraho. Eleventh century. Pat Barylski. and sedimentary stone permitted great flatter the roof; open porches provide precision. Friable and schist-like stones, shaded seating, and pierced stone screens such as those employed by the Hoysala are utilized to filter the light.'77 architects in the twelfth and thirteenth A further factor in the growth of style centuries, gave rise to the carving of and the choice of architectural forms is the mouldings created by sharp and angled innate conservatism of the architects and incisions. Brick-building traditions survived: craftsmen, and their faithfulness to textual shows an extensive use of brick even prescriptions. Repetition was another in the vimana towers, for example, in the feature of architectural choice. In the Vitthala temple in a region where stone was northern style of temple: plentiful. Techniques of moulding and carving bricks also doubtless influenced the The rythmic projections of the temple plan style of temples in these areas. Climate also carried into the vertical elevation were created had an impact on the style of building: 'in by multiplications of the original central wall general the hotter and drier the climate, the projection with which early temples were

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Figure 4.11 Muvarkovil temple, Kodumbalore. Early Cola, ninth century. Robert Elgood.

provided. The southern style temples created Patronage of the temples, chiefly inspired their rythmic wall systems by the repetition of by royal devotion, gave rise not only to the projections that framed recesses, pairs of fostering of a dynastic style but also to the pilasters marking each change in the wall transference of style by victorious monarchs plane....Essential to both temple styles was the bringing artisans from one region to principle by which forms were repeated on another. different scales so that shapes which were large In India today the categories of 'northern' and indicative of structural context became Nagari and 'southern' Dravida may still be small and ornamental; these diminutive forms applied to sacred building activity. In South were sometimes combined with the originals India there has been no distinct break in from which they were derived. Such stylistic architectural tradition, and modern temples diminutions were at the root of the complex and are built in a style that is a direct subtle rhythmic proportional schemes by which continuation of that perfected under the elevations of Hindu temples were Vijayanagara and Nayaka patronage. In the organized.78 north, the forms still broadly followed the

127 Hinduism and the Religious Arts temple style seen under the patronage of community at large, do not require a such dynasties as the Chandellas, Kalingas congregation. The welfare of the community and Solankis from the tenth to thirteenth is believed to depend on a ceremony, to centuries AD. The simple village shrines maintain the divine presence and the right perhaps preserve best the tradition of relationship between priest and deity. It is reverence; for example, modest wayside a widely held belief that devotees can shrines sometimes sheltered by no more witness this ritual and with priestly than sticks and leaves. mediation, through prayer and contempla- tion, acquire spiritual merit, inner Ritual Practice in the Temple transformation and ultimate release or moksha. The outward forms of ritual act as The ritual practices of Hindu worship derive an indispensable support for some who are from oral prescriptions which became still on their religious path, but can be codified in ancient texts such as the dispensed with by those who have already Brahmanas or the Agamas. Continuity can reached enlightenment. be observed in the principal Hindu rituals An account of a fifth-century traveller which follow a more or less standard who witnessed certain extreme temple pattern due to the Brahmanic belief that practices supports the suggestion of the only correct ritual action brings efficacious Indian scholar Coomaraswamy that this results. The Brahman priests serve the ritual derives from the Vedic sacrifice and, temples and perform regular devotions like it, seeks to lead the worshipper from (Plate 5). They are regarded as the purest this world to another reality: and highest group within the caste structure of Hindu society, which justifies These idols are sometimes of the height of sixty their direct access to the deity. Strict rules feet. The modes of praying and of sacrificing of intermarriage are observed to preserve among them are various. They enter the temple this genetic purity. Before worship, certain morning and evening, having first washed rites and ritual bathing reinforce this themselves in pure water; and sometimes preoccupation with purity. Devotees and prostrating themselves upon the ground with other individuals who wish to approach the hands and feet held up, repeat their prayers and deity are also first required to purify kiss the ground, at others offer incense to the themselves by bathing. Ritual worship gods by burning spices and the wood of the aloe. involves a series of contractual relationships They also present feasts to their gods, after the by the devotee with the deity, whereby they manner of the ancient heathens, which are make offerings in return for spiritual or afterwards distributed among the poor to be material gain. There is a widespread belief eaten. In the city of Cambaita the priests, that this offering is made more effective by standing before the idols of their gods... urge appearing before the deity at a sacred shrine them how acceptable it is to the gods that they or temple and performing the ceremony should quit this life for their sake. Many present with the priest's mediation and prayers. themselves who have determined upon self- The priests retain an intimate relation- immolation having on their neck a broad ship with the deity in their frequent ritual circular piece of iron, the fore part of which is devotions and, as the representatives of the round and the hinder part extremely sharp. A

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chain attached to the fore part hangs suspended The actions of the priests developed out upon the breast, into which the victims, sitting of domestic rituals. Underlying the care and down with their legs drawn up and their neck correctness of each action is a belief in the bent, insert their feet. Then on the speaker potential for the ritual to transmute in an pronouncing certain words, they suddenly almost alchemical way the elements stretch out their legs, and at the same time involved in the ceremonial. drawing up their neck cut off their own head, The other aim of puja or ritual worship yielding up their lives as a sacrifice to their idols. which is less esoteric and philosophical is These men are regarded as saints.79 the propitiation of the deity. This requires the evocation, reception and Contemporary ritual worship is believed to of the god or goddess as if the divine person- 80 involve a symbolic offering of self. The age was a royal guest. This reflects the philosophically highest aim of Hindu ritual, ancient association of royalty with the divine. as well as the acquisition of spiritual merit, There is also a belief, which has been particu- was liberation from the worldly circle of larly popular outside India, that the ruler's existence. Devout Hindus hold a widespread power is an extension of the divine law. belief that this release is achieved by man's In the temple, entrance to the sanctum inner transformation. Self-sacrifice, literal is restricted to the Brahman officiant who or symbolic, was one of the methods of is responsible for the daily care of the purification. The transformed rarified inner temple. As mentioned above, the lay presence achieved by the worshipper was worshipper can visit the temple and conduct believed under certain conditions (conform- his personal ritual either during or ing to the principle of the blending of like independently of the priestly regular with like) to have the potential to blend with celebrations. While temples vary in their the unknowable and indescribable creative layout, there are certain standard features of worship. The devotee will often stop at source or deity. This interpretation explains a water tank outside the temple for the extreme rituals of self-immolation cleansing before entering the temple. The referred to above. A further contribution to worshipper makes a clockwise walk around this inner transformation was darsan. the principal shrine before approaching the Darsan literally means 'seeing', implying main sanctum. This circumambulation takes vision and understanding. Eyes are seen as in the subsidiary shrines. Before actually thresholds or doorways to the soul, and are approaching the icon in the sanctuary the believed to act as transmitters as well as worshipper should offer prayers to an image receptors of light and energy. Eye contact of the deity which is on the outside wall of between the worshipper and the deity is the sanctum at the furthest point from its believed to open his soul to divine entrance. In front of the sanctum the emanations from the numinous presence in worshipper comes to a vestibule which, the icon. The intimacy of darsan between unlike the mandapa, is walled and often the deity and the individual devotee enables columned. The worshipper may make the communicant to participate at any stage offerings to the vehicle of the god which is during or after the major priestly cere- often placed here. When the devotee passes monies of worship. through this chamber after worship he or

129 Hinduism and the Religious Arts she rings the bell which hangs from the garlanded with flowers, and sandalwood ceiling of the vestibule. At the sanctuary and red paste anoint and cool the deity's threshold in some temples, for example, brow. This process is often performed in the Kandariya Mahadeo temple at behind a curtain. The priest then rings a Khajuraho, there is a further chance to bell and intones prayers to summon the circumambulate the shrine or garbhagrha. deity. Various mantras, sacred syllables In these temples a dark passage leads the known as bijas and or symbolic devotee around the outer walls of the inner hand gestures are also used to draw the sanctuary. This is usually small and dark, power of the deity into the image. Special with a number of images on either side of care is taken on the part of the priests to the inner ambulatory. The inner wall of the follow the correct prescribed prayers, sanctum is bare however, with the exception particularly with regard to their intonation. of the Pallava temples, which have a Incense is lit in front of the deity to purify Somaskanda panel at the back of the shrine. the air. The drawing back of the curtain The interior of the shrine is often lit only reveals to the devotees a darkened smoke- by oil lamps. There is darkness in the filled atmosphere where the priest with a interior shrines, a sense of wonder, sounds circular motion illuminates the image with of chanting, and a trumpet announces the a small flame. Caught in wondrous anticipation of the elephant. At the end of anticipation, the women sometimes pat their a long corridor of columns tiny lights burn cheeks in awe at the moment when the in the distance, luring one along the curtain is drawn back after the image is approach to the central shrine. The secrecy prepared for the ceremonial. The image may and mystery is enhanced by the dark and be blackened and its form indistinct, it may the smoking incense. The length of the glow with rubbed saffron, or shine with the passage from the outer door to the inner overlaying of gold or silver leaf or with sanctum assists the sense of journey, silken cloth and brilliant flowers. The flames marking the spiritual transformation of the which illuminate the image and the dark worshipper. shrine enhance the mystery of the space. The actual rite of puja begins with the The deity is almost invisible, more a priest expressing his intention to worship presence than a clear outline of form. the god. He washes the sacred idol with The devotees stand aside from the direct sanctified water, and anoints it with milk or view of the deity so as not to impede the oils. This both purifies and transfers the vision of the other worshippers further spirit of the to the image. The back. The priest, having reverentially passed deity is then fed by placing food, sometimes a flame clockwise in front of the deity, in the form of cooked rice, ghee, vegetable brings the flame from the inner sanctuary. oils or fruit, on or in front of the idol. Finally The incandescent intensity of the flame fills the idol is again washed and dressed in a the vision of the worshipper. The priest then carefully prescribed manner, often with offers the flame to the devotees who place richly decorated red fabric. their hands over it and then over their eyes, and adornment are part of honouring and in the belief that by so doing they may preparing the deity to see and be seen once symbolically and actually transfer the divine he or she has awoken. The idol is finally essence through the flame to their own

130 Hindu Sacred Architecture eyes. In the flame's reflection both deity and For the lay devotee a variety of motives worshipper are one; the deity becomes the lies behind ritual worship. Desire for a flame, the vision of which enters the mind multitude of everyday needs such as of the devotee. The flame being essentially children, good health, cure from sickness, formless enables the worshipper to make wealth, prosperity or the removal of fear are eye contact with the deity on a personal some of the objectives. A contract is level with something divine as well as essentially made with the deity where essentially formless, while the image gives offerings are exchanged for desired results. the worshipper some sense of a numinous The expression of devotion and reverence, presence. This darsan and the reciprocal known as bhakti, which is nearer the seeing and being seen is the culmination of offering of the self, must also not be ignored worship. The final sight of the deity and the as an impulse in the Hindu's feeling for the absorption of the radiation of the deity's divine. These visits to the temple supplement presence as tangibly sensed contribute to daily prayer at the household shrine. the arrival at the final goal for the Certain occasions are cause for a more worshipper, the identification with the inner congregational approach to worship, such place where the dark unconscious may be as the public performance of sacred song illuminated and the experience of the and dance to glorify the god or the recital ultimate unity of god and man realized. of ancient texts. Other ceremonies occur at After the ceremony the priest may regular intervals and are treated as festivals. present some of the devotional offering as Every important temple has regular festivals prasad to the devotee. The devotee will which consist of processions and the partake of a substance that has itself enactment of popular myths. Khajuraho, become transformed through its ingestion which is not often visited for active worship, by the deity. Finally, the priest will draw becomes alive in Sivatri when it is visited back the curtain (if one exists) and close the by many hundreds to celebrated the door, as the deity is once more considered marriage of Siva and Parvati.82 These to be asleep. This formula is repeated with festivals and ceremonies go on for many minor variations during each temple hours; hundreds bear witness and partake ceremony, both at Saivite and Vaishnavite in the event. temples. Ideally, just as every puja should Processions have a particular significance, be preceded by a preparatory ritual of an event where the image is carried around purification, so it should be completed with the town or village in a mobile temple. a sacrificial fire ritual. This involves kindling Devotees have the opportunity of directly a fire, invoking the deity in the fire and presenting flowers, fruits and other offerings pouring oblations on the flames (a rite to the god or goddess being carried in known as homa) and making offerings to procession. This image is generally not the the temple's guardian deities around the same as that which is housed in the temple fire. This is carried out in conjunction with but is identified with, the representation of acts of worship during certain very that god. These festivals are popular important rituals but otherwise is omitted. and often coincide with the planting The distribution of powder and ash or harvesting of a crop. They provide completes the ritual.81 opportunities for the mingling of mythology

131 Hinduism and the Religious Arts and folklore expressed in performances of the temple and approaching their deity were music, dance and theatre as well as for the seen to be varied, ranging from a desire to manufacture of temporary images of clay or acquire merit, to achieve ultimate release earth for special ceremonies. from life and become one with the deity; to The practical running of the temple takes the making of contractual promises and place in offices which are often situated in offerings for worldly profit, health or good a large temple complex on the inner face of fortune. An essential component in under- the compound wall. This sometimes standing the ritual of worship is seen in the includes accommodation for pilgrims. act of transformation of the animal, vegetal Storehouses exist for precious items, such offering or man's own inner self-sacrifice. as water vessels, lamps, incense burners and It is an essential requirement for this lustration spoons, and the elaborately offering to be made with sincerity of feeling, ornamented clothes of the deity. Instru- a clear mind, and the correct intonation and ments may also be stored there such as the gestures. double reed shawm, nagasvara or shahnai Despite the temple's visual complexity and processional chariots, or . the dark, unadorned, square inner sanctum which houses a numinous sacred icon is the essential and common element. In wealthy Conclusion temples, regular paintings and sculptures This chapter has explored the development continue to be produced together with of the Hindu temple. It explains the temple's recitations, music and dancing. These debt to pre-Vedic beliefs, rites and customs performances act to both glorify and amuse and also to the Vedic ceremony. The chapter the deity, and to educate and entertain the also analyses the temple's symbolism and devotee. The daily worship of the Hindu component elements, and the rules govern- does not require a temple. Coexistent with ing the architectural form. Variations in the the worship at modern-day orthodox outer appearance of the northern and temples, daily offerings at shrines dedicated southern styles of temple building are also to local village or tribal cult deities are still explored. A belief in the temple's efficacy considered valid, and the practice is and the fact that it both represents and widespread. Many homes, however small, could, under certain conditions, become the have a shrine in some part of the house, yet deity itself, is also emphasized. The chapter even in large urban communities in India stresses the importance of the mediation the temple continues to be a religious and and role of the priest in maintaining the economic focus. The temple is a complex temple's power and concludes that the weave of philosophical symbolism and Sanskrit chanting, conducted by the priest, Brahmanic theory, but one must not forget is an essential element in this necessary the behavioural aspect of religious practices dialogue. It has shown that the deity is associated with the temple in the rites and believed to reside in the temple as long as festivals, the institution of the devadasis and this priestly service continues. erotic imagery which reinforce the seminal Devotees, while receiving religious merit, role of sex and fertility, which in turn are not essential to the ceremony of explains many of the mysteries of Hindu worship. The devotees' desires in visiting iconography and ritual.

132 Hindu Sacred Architecture

these have a parallel in a tribal hut in Notes contemporary India. 1 The sun temple at Konarak is a good example 19 Meister 1988, p. 5. of this; it is also implied by the wheels on the 20 Ibid., p. 15. sides of the temples at Darasuram and 21 Banerji 1956, p. 91. Chidambaram. 22 Ibid., p. 92. 2 Seech 5. 23 Meister 1988, p. 13, Plate 8. 3 Thapar 1966, p. 37. 24 Brihat Samhita, Vol. LV, p. 2. 4 Brhat Samhita, Vol. LV, pp.4-8 ; Bhavisya 25 Michell 1977, p. 93. Parana, 1, Vol. CXXX, pp. 11-15. 26 Coomaraswamy 1977, p. 6. 5 The late Reginald Smith, former keeper of the 27 In any replacement of an icon, the sacred Department of British and Roman Antiquities at waters from the lustration of the old image are the British Museum, suggested that ancient collected in vessels, around which a knot is tied, Stone Age sites were located in places which and the liquid used to transfer the divinity to the conformed to a radiating pattern of underground new image. streams (cited in Underwood 1972, p. 14). 28 Kramrisch 1974, Vol. I, pp. 315-16. 6 For further information on 'geodetic lines' and the 'earthforce' see Underwood 1972, 29 For a further detailed description see pp. 18-20. Kramrisch 1974, Vol. 1, p. 319. The gavaksha is also defined according to the 'vacaspatya' as that 7 Vidyarthi and Rai 1976, p. 255. by which the rays of the sun - or the waters - 8 Haimendorf 1979. penetrate and pervade. 9 According to Kramrisch 1946, (Vol. 1, p. 152, 30 Ibid., p. 320. fn. 60) the circular prasada should also not be 31 The gorgoneion, an awful 's grizzly overlooked. These, according to Kramrisch, have head sent up by from is a their prototypes in the circular shape of some of cognate head, with glaring eyes and protruding the Vedic hearths. Stone circles or their wooden tusks ( IX: 633 f.). equivalents are also prototypes of the round 32 A warrior, his sword of knowledge drawn, shape of certain Hindu temples. See also crouches below and seizes the tail of the beast, Underwood 1972, p. 91. or he proffers the shield of dispassion, the 10 See Mookerjee 1987. protective weapon by which nature is held in 11 A similar process is enacted where the check. For an example of this, see Lakshmana orthodox Hindu marks his body with the symbol Temple, Khajuraho bracket of Mandapa pillar. of the deity on his forehead. 33 The Sanskrit term mithuna refers to a pair, 12 Chaitya, ayatana and prasada etymologically while the term 'maithuna' refers more and originally are piled up seats or altars, specifically to copulation, especially in sanctuaries in the open and also within an compound terms such as maithuna bhoga. enclosed space. Ayatana means a resting place 34 I am grateful to Naman Ahuja, who drew my or support and as such a seat, the place of the attention to the large number of Sunga sacred fire, and the abode of the divinity. terracottas which exhibit explicit mithuna 13 See Kramrisch 1946, Vol. 1, p. 40. imagery. 14 Ibid., p. 158, fn. 74. Gabled or pent roofs are 35 Chatham, in Meister 1984, pp. 164-5. also seen in Malabar and gabled temples are 36 This term was used by the Indian scholar found in Kashmir and Nepal. A.L. Basham (1968, p. 82) to describe a 15 Coomaraswamy 1977, p. 4. conglomerate of rites and practices which answered the needs of lower castes and women 16 See Meister 1988, p. 3. who were unable to participate in the exclusive 17 Ibid., p. 6. Brahmanical rituals. It also fulfilled the needs of 18 This double-level hut was engraved on a men and women whose emotional and bronze plaque from Sohgaura inscribed in the instinctive demands were also not met Mauryan showing a form that by intellectual philosophy. continued at Sanci, Bodhgaya and Mathura, and 37 Desai 1985, p. 199.

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38 Desai, in Meister 1984, p. 144. 61 Tadgell 1990, p. 42. 39 Ibid., p. 147. 62 Michell 1977, p. 71. 40 See Shulman 1985. 63 Kramrisch 1946, p. 15; see also Vishnu 41 Desai 1985. Samhita, Vol. XII, pp. 36-42. 42 Desai 1996, p. 52, fn. 12. 64 Michell 1989, pp. 70-1. 43 Eliade 1958, p. 250. 65 See Archaeological Survey of India Annual Report (ASIAR) 1913-14. Brick temples 44 Desai, in Meister 1984, p. 153. frequently have a thin layer of a clay mixture as 45 Ibid. an adherent between the bricks. The brick 46 Ibid. temples of Sirpur were covered by a thin layer of 47 Brhadaranyaka Upanishad, Vol. IV, Part 3, white plaster while the bricks were carved p. 21. (ASIAR 1909-10, p. 11). 48 Punja, 1992. 66 Vishnudharmotarra, Part III, Chapter XC, p. 29. 49 Ibid. 67 Huylerl992. 50 Desai 1985, p. 202. 68 Biardeau 1981, p. 150. 51 Desai, in Meister 1984, p. 147. 69 Desai 1985, p. 110. 52 Desai 1996. 70 Ibid., fn. 200. 53 Seep. 35. 71 Mason 1993, p. 126. 54 Desai 1985, p. 111. 72 Nath, in Dallapiccola 1989, p. 200. 55 See also pp. 120-1 for the placing of images. 73 Samhita, Vol. VII, pp. 47-8. 56 Brhaddharma Purana, Vol. XI1, pp. 1-35, cited in Kramrisch 1946, Vol. 2. 74 Michell 1977, p. 57. 57 Ibid., p. 352. 75 Ibid. 56 Silparatna, Vol. XVI, p. 114. 76 There is evidence from early temples that the colouring of sculpture was common; this can be 59 Meister, in Mason 1993, p. 95. seen in the Kalaisanatha temple at Kanchipuram. 60 It is also suggested by Underwood (1972) 77 Michell, 1977, p. 89. that other fields of energy which he terms 'geodetic lines' (which at present cannot be 78 Ibid., p. 92. proved by science) and underground streams 79 The Travels of Nicolo Conti in the early part may have a bearing on the selection of sacred of the fifteenth century. Hakluyt Soc. 22, 1857, sites. Certainly termites are sensitive to the p. 27. underground water sources in the location of 80 Coomaraswamy 1977. their mounds high above the water table. It is 81 Fuller 1992, p. 66. interesting to note that termites orientate their mounds to the rising sun, and are revered in 82 Punja 1992. certain Indian villages. Lord Siva dwells in an anthill at the temple at Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu. He is called Valmikanatha.

134 CHAPTERS Royal Patronage of the Religious Arts and Its Historical Development and Objectives

Secti&ftl

essential intermediaries in this ritual sacrifice Introduction or . Patronage as part of religious devotion has The king's powers required frequent been a feature of a variety of sects and renewal. Kings in ancient North India were classes in India throughout history. For a essentially dependent on their priests, the thousand years until the third century BC, ritual officiants to whom they gave Aryan kings acquired the divine powers on donations in order to guarantee the desired which their temporal powers rested by outcome of the highly complex and costly means of sacrificial offerings, rather than by prescriptive action. This gift (dana) donated the patronage of temples and images. The by the patron of a sacrifice to the priestly sacrificial ceremony took place in the open officiants was not a fee, but a present air on a simple altar within an enclosure, and guaranteeing the fruition of the sacrifice. therefore did not require the building of The priest's function was also to secure temples or the making of images. From boons and to ward off evil from his client. Brahmanic times royal patronage involved The priest actually accompanied the king the investment in ritual sacrifices to achieve in battle, sharing his chariot with the certain pre-ordained results. It was widely express purpose of affording him spiritual believed that the king was transformed protection. His prayers, literally the uttering from being an ordinary mortal through of his voice, ensured the king's safety, the rajasuya ceremony, during which he victory in battle and timely rainfall, all of was imbued with spiritual power through which contributed to the prosperity of his a symbolic ascent with the smoke from a kingdom. burnt offering on the sacred fire to the One of the most important of the cosmo- abode of the gods. This ceremony gave the regal rites during the Vedic period in which king a mandate and placed him above the priests officiated was the great horse society. The Vedic view assumed a sharing sacrifice or asvamedha. This was believed of cosmic power between gods and men in to strengthen the potency of kingship and a cycle of exchanges, transubstantiation and to enhance welfare and fertility and extend contractual obligations. The priests were the king's claim to the land covered by the

135 Hinduism and the Religious Arts grazing horse. The king was referred to in the major monuments and stupas to have the Rg Veda as the 'protector of the people'. been the result of the collective investment From as early as the Brahmanas, Brahmans of ordinary people. They were inspired by claimed a share in dharma, the source of Buddhist teaching to renounce wealth in the king's authority, and were called the exchange for spiritual merit. Particularly 'protectors of the state'. In South India, susceptible to this idea were monks, nuns, where in the period 200 BC to AD 300 pilgrims and many pious women. The Brahmanic authority was not as powerful, required the laity to sustain the evidence of the king's divine authority them. This Jain and Buddhist monastic was demonstrated by military success. concept was in contrast to the Upanishadic The booty obtained by raiding provided ideal of the solitary holy man begging alms evidence of divine approval,1 while his for himself. Sanchi, for example, dating from generous distribution of the captured the first century BC, was raised throug wealth cemented spiritual and temporal small donations from the residents of allegiances. various towns such as monks, nuns, lay Those people who were not members of worshippers, householders, housewives, the Brahmanic or Ksatriya castes were and members of professions such as excluded from Vedic rituals. They therefore merchants, bankers, surveyors and masons. resorted to other means to fulfil their Each paving stone, crossbar, rail pillar, spiritual and material desires. Their rituals coping-stone or sculpture was inscribed by included the worship of local cult deities individual donors with their names and such as yakshas and nagas. These were occupations. Wandering monks collecting believed to reside in sacred places, simply contributions were believed to have been identified by the placing of a post, railings responsible for the encouragement and around a tree, a pile of stones, or even a growth of this form of patronage. Pilgrim- termite mound. These spirits were propiti- age resulted in the accumulation of ated by offerings of food and liquid and by substantial wealth at religious centres and rituals which included the use of images. on the back of this came increasing trade From 500 BC an imperial administration to serve the needs of the community. under the Mauryan dynasty arose in The rise in settled monastic communities East India, a result of and reaction to led to the construction of more permanent the expansion of the Achaemenid and stone buildings and a concurrent rise in the Alexandrian empires in the West. In the development of guilds and the numbers of third century BC the Mauryan emperor artisans. The stupa was believed to act as a Asoka promoted Buddhism as the imperial centre of power and its construction religion, constructing monumental stupas acknowledged a calling upon the Buddha as spiritual foci and erecting free-standing for protection. In India, the earliest phase stone columns on which were chiselled of permanent stone image making and religious edicts. He revitalized an earlier architectural patronage occurred under burial mound to create a religious focus for Buddhist and Jain patronage. From the first prayer and power. Despite royal interest in century AD, devout Hindus also made use the early stages of Buddhism in India from of architecture and imagery as an integral the third century BC, it was more usual for part of their religious practice. The

136 Royal Patronage emphasis shifted from the performance of 'Mahayajna'. Imperial rulers turned the sacrificial offerings to the building of bestowal of gifts into formal ceremonies religious monuments, which were believed which became a central feature of ritual to bring religious merit This was of primary activities. For their part the Buddhists importance in the rise of community absorbed earlier local cult practices of investment in religious art and architecture. offerings to tree and naga shrines into the It has been suggested that the Jains were worship or honouring of the signs of the among the first to use images for spiritual Buddha. ends during the regular seated gatherings Response to this can be seen in the of lay devotees. Perhaps these religious medieval Hindu sutra literature, where portraits served to remind disciples of the prescriptions of ritual action are given. spiritual virtues of their teachers, known as Slaughter is replaced by the symbolic 2 . offering of vegetal substances into the Comparable collective patronage was also sacred fire. Gift giving to Brahmans became responsible for the construction of the one of the prime duties of the king. The Hinayana Buddhist rock-cut monasteries of earlier rituals of the householder which had West India. The great hall at Karle, for been considered secondary to the cosmo- example, contains 27 donative inscriptions regal sacrifice now became more significant from monks, nuns, traders and a carpenter as the kings abandoned their ancient rites. and perfumer. From a total of several The great revealed or cosmo-regal rites thousand caves in West India, only two which had been performed inside the caves at the site of Nasik were excavated by sacrificial enclosure lost their pre-eminence royalty. However, kings supported these and gave way to those performed outside it. monastic complexes by granting villages for their upkeep. Such widespread community The great gift ceremony of Buddhism became involvement during this period suggests the central ceremony of the imperial kingdoms general economic prosperity. Following his of ancient India, and so long as the Aryan states conversion to Buddhism, the Mauryan were included within it, they were confined to emperor Asoka abandoned the royal cult of the performance of vegetarianised, simplified sacrifice which had been at the core of the domestic forms of Vedic sacrifice.3 king's spiritual existence. He replaced it with the Buddhist tradition of acquiring The old rituals were not forgotten merit through gift giving to monks and however, for after the decline of Buddhism monastic communities, and donations to at the end of the seventh century AD and the the stupa which became a monumental weakening of the imperial centre, the focus for lay aspirations. The essential regional rulers again reverted to horse feature of this practice, known as the sacrifice as they acquired independence. renouncer tradition, involved material From the second century BC there was giving for the acquisition of spiritual aims, gradual revival of Brahmanic authority and and the rejection of worldly possessions. royal interest in the empowering and The Buddhist texts refer to the 'Mahadanas' legitimizing attributes of sacrifice. The Sunga or great gifts and were opposed to the Vedic king in the second century BC sponsored two animal sacrifices which they designated horse sacrifices, and inscriptions attest to

137 Hinduism and the Religious Arts similar Satavahana, and Pallava scholar Dirks, the great gifts in the Pallava Vedic ceremonies. period took the form of large endowments Alongside formulations of the sacrifice in of land and wealth to learned Brahmans and the sutras, texts as early as the Mahabharata temples.4 This new personal relationship began to transform regional Vedic deities with the gods arose in part because of a new whose icons became honoured in a similar belief in divine benevolence towards man manner to the honouring of the symbols of expressed on both sides in terms of human the Buddha. During the Gupta period emotions instead of ritual duties. It also statues were placed in domestic shrines and expressed the new concept of the king's in small temples which were less lavish than descent from the Puranic gods Vishnu or the Buddhist structures, and daily domestic Siva. Early evidence of this changed attitude rituals were conducted by Brahmans. These appears in the Bhagavad Gita. One mani- had their roots in the long established festation of this direct relationship between practices and everyday needs of Vedic the individual and the gods was the appear- society and reinforced the authority of the ance of the emotional bhakti devotional Brahmans as the mediators between the cults, which began in South India and later population and their gods. However, image spread to the north. The Vedic fire rituals worship was still not seen as the core part were subordinated by the central Puranic of devotion. Following Buddhism's banning ritual of image on a central altar. of sacrificial ceremonies and despite the Gradually, however, the need for Vedic prevalence of the renouncer tradition, there ritual to supply and renew the divine power arose a revival of dependence on Brahmans of the warrior king became supplanted by who continued to perform the major the need to secure legitimacy by identi- ceremonies of initiation and wisely acted to fication with the deity and to be empowered absorb the renouncing aspect which had through devotion and ritual bathing. This become perceived to be vital to kingly is most clearly seen from the Ikshvaku, success. Hindu rites replaced Buddhist in Pallava and Rastrakuta periods. The central cults. Kusana kings (first century AD), of foreign The ceremony that came to replace the origin brought the idea of divine descent, Vedic cosmo-regal sacrifice was referred to in a new concept in India and claimed to be the Puranas as the 'great gift' (mahadana). 'the sons of God'. They were occasionally This giving took a number of forms; for depicted in sculptured portrait form in the example, hiranya-garbha, literally meaning shrines. birth from a golden embryo, and tula purusa As part of this changing relationship or the weighing of the king against gold. between men and the gods, the medieval This latter ceremony was first performed by Hindu royal ceremony continued the the Rastrakuta king, in AD 753. Rajasuya Vedic royal consecration cere- From the fifth to seventh centuries Hindu mony. In , the early Tamil kings no longer saw the necessity for the kings were credited with performing this old cycle of exchanges with the elemental ceremony. Ritual lustration became the gods and approached the deity for grace crucial element in the transmission of the rather than with the expectation of divine and served to both purify the king contractual obligations. According to the and also to fertilize the king's symbolic

138 Royal Patronage marriage to the earth. Marriage became an or image, under the right conditions. The antidote to sacrifice; marriage, like sacrifice, creation of tangible visual images as an was an event during which mortals and alternative to the abstract verbal descrip- deities interact, and in the royal con- tions of the elemental gods of Vedism secration symbolically expressed the taming provided dramatic new possibilities for of the goddess (earth) by her marriage to patronage and devotion. the god. The visual association of Lakshmi Section I of this chapter will explore what on a lotus lustrated with elephants is seen were the principal forms of artistic as early as the second century BC portraying patronage and will then examine the this ceremonial and expresses through the relevant historical evidence. Section II will elephant the themes of royal authority and explore the identity of the principal patrons fertility. Certain myths associating Lakshmi and their motivation for patronage. It will with Indra also reinforce the idea of however limit the study of patronage to the Lakshmi and ritual fertility.5 It also monumental stone temples, sculpture and incorporated ancient pre-Vedic ideas painting. The folk tradition, with its regarding ritual bathing and purification patronage of the minor arts including and perhaps also subsumed the divine wayside shrines, terracotta figurines, liquid known as Soma. It is significant that textiles, wall and hand painting and metal in the course of history Sri-Lakshmi has vessels will be explored in Chapter 6. It is herself been associated in some texts with important to note that this division between the god Soma. In attending the god Soma the 'monumental' and the 'folk' traditions she was seen to bestow royal authority; her is an artificial division, the result of an association with Soma is also linked to the attitude in Indian and Western scholarship fact that Soma was lord of the plants and over the last two hundred years. It is vegetative growth. For centuries this sacred becoming increasingly apparent, as this intoxicant had been imbibed by the book also indicates, that there is much more Brahmans during sacrificial ritual and interrelationship than was hitherto believed. was associated with fecundity and pro- Evidence of patronage is mainly to be creation. Soma disappeared with the old found in the form of inscriptions. The ceremonies taking with it its precise climate is not conducive to the preservation ingredients. of manuscript records. Land grants and The essence of Hindu religious evolution eulogistic and commemorative inscriptions from the second century BC to the third on stone tablets or pillars and copper plates century AD may be summed up as follows. do exist however. On some inscriptions the In temple ritual the adoption of ahimsa date, names of the architect, the author of resulted in the practice of symbolic sacrifice the inscription and the engraver may be substantially replacing sacrificial violence. given. The opening invocations are generally Hinduism incorporated the renouncing to a deity such as Siva or Vishnu. The verses tradition and absorbed the 'folk' belief in usually praise the royal patron or record the placatory offerings and the worship of donor and his family before detailing the personal gods. Most importantly, Hinduism nature of the gift which was usually money accepted the folk belief that spirits or devas or agricultural land. This was intended to have the potential to reside in a structure build or sustain the temple. Other sources

139 Hinduism and the Religious Arts of information for patronage include lower worlds; and that or spiritual inscriptions by pilgrims to holy sites, and penance was held to be the highest virtue. memorial inscriptions which refer to By the time of the Puranas, however, departed relatives or warriors who died, and there was a fundamental change of attitude occasionally the self-immolation (sati) of and purtadharma was now held in the widows.6 Michael Willis has written that the highest regard. This took the form of study of religious and royal patronage in housed images, continued payment to North India has been difficult due to the Brahmans and the building of grand standard, repetitive formulae of the temples. These temples housed religious epigraphical inscriptions, and the fact that icons and water tanks and were ornamented many of the temples have been subsequently with decorative sculpture. Other forms of ruined and are therefore unidentifiable. In artistic patronage included religious South India by contrast, from the seventh painting, music and dance, and the offering century AD, many temples bear inscriptions of a range of ritual items such as bells, of a rich and varied kind together with swords, lamps, textiles and jewellery to the prasasti and eulogies. North India suffered temple gods. Other gifts could be in the from sporadic Muslim raids and at the end form of sandal paste or flowers, cash of the twelfth century a permanent Muslim donations, thrones, parasols, crowns and state was established. This resulted in a clothing for the deity, palanquins and sudden decline in the endowment of temples temple chariots. and the making of images in north India. In many temples records exist of exact Despite this however, the Jains continued amounts of money provided for the work to invest in large-scale temple construction on a sculptural panel or for the upkeep of in remote areas such as Gujarat South India the buildings. As temples became larger, remained free from Muslim attack for a more costly and elaborate, public further century and patronage of Hindu subscriptions or additional taxes were temples continued unabated. sometimes introduced to provide a further source of revenue.7 Donations from royal patrons and private individuals towards the Forms of Patronage running of the temple and its upkeep were The nomadic Aryan peoples did not received in the form of money, valuable encourage the building of permanent objects such as jewels, livestock or income secular or sacred buildings nor the from grants of land, including whole villages commissioning of images. They did however and their inhabitants. construct altars (vedi) and erect sacrificial Donations were sometimes given in posts (yupas). From the earliest texts gratitude for the intercession of the gods or however, there are references to the for the fulfilment of a vow. Two other mention of wooden vessels such as buckets important requirements of the temple were and large sacrificial ladles. Referring to the music and dancing. For example, in the making of offerings, the Upanishads state Minaksi temple at Madurai, Vedaparayana that purtadharma, which involved the Brahmans and otuvar were responsible for building of temples, water tanks and such the sacred hymns and the devadasis for works, was meant for fools who go to the music and dance. The devadasis were gifted

140 Royal Patronage to the temple as young girls and were arts from such diverse as Buddhism dedicated to the god. This wealth acquired and . This religious co- by the temple served not merely its con- existence gave rise to an interrelationship struction but also the expenses of in the sculptural styles of Buddhist, Hindu administration, puja, festivals and payment and from Mathura and Gandhara of temple servants. Rulers instituted festivals from the first century AD. The standard and ordered the routes for the progress of iconographic formulae for Jain, Buddhist processions. The cost of the festivals and the and Hindu figurative sculpture was expenses of daily worship six times a day established during Kanishka's reign and were largely borne by the temple from the figure sculpture became commonplace from income of land owned by it. this period. Despite this interest in royal portraiture much of the religious art and architecture was still not a direct result of The Historical Development of royal gift but continued to be dependent on Royal Patronage communal donations. The decline of Kusana dynasty: first to fourth Buddhism in North and East India was century AD marked by a corresponding decline in trade and a decrease in the patronage of Buddhist The Kusanas were a tribe from the north- monasteries. This coincided with a gradual western province of China who established increase in royal patronage. Kusana art an empire in North India from approxim- flourished for approximately two centuries, ately AD 120. They brought the idea of until it was eclipsed by the new style divine descent, a new concept in India, patronized by the Guptas, who seized power claimed to be 'the sons of God' and placed in the north as late as AD 445. their portrait sculpture among the icons in the shrines. The distinct feature of Kusana : first to third art was the emphasis on the divinity of the century AD emperor. Evidence of this is seen both on coinage based on Near Eastern and Greek In South India from the first to third century prototypes, and in surviving shrines, such AD, the Satavahanas were largely responsible as Mat near Mathura and at in for the patronage of Buddhist cave or stupa which were found to include sites. Amaravati, the most famous of the royal portrait sculpture. The term - Satavahana Buddhist sites, was the result putra, 'son of God', was used to refer to the of royal and communal patronage. It was a kings themselves. The inscription on one thriving economic centre which benefited of the statues in the shrine at Mat gives the from international sea trade. ruler the title 'Great king, king of kings, son of God the Kusana scion, the shahi'.8 The Ikshvaku dynasty: third to fourth inclusion of the title 'shahi' betrays the century AD king's Iranian origin. The Kusan ruler Kanishka was a tolerant, perhaps pragmatic The successors to the Satavahanas in the ruler who permitted and apparently south, the , ruled from the encouraged the patronage of the religious second quarter of the third century AD for

141 Hinduism and the Religious Arts about a hundred years. The Ikshvakus who a practice adopted from the fourth century were patrons of both Buddhist and by the neighbouring Cutus, who had Brahmanical faiths were the first to worship a close marriage allegiance with the Karttikeya, whose name is derived from Ikshvakus. Krttika, the Sanskrit name for his birth star, Ehuvala was succeeded by his son otherwise known as Skanda. A local deity, Rudrapurushadatta, who had a memorial Murukan, was specific to Tamil Nadu and raised in honour of his mother. Inscribed is known and worshipped in the villages to memorial pillars were common at the time this day. Murukan was absorbed into and were erected in honour of soldiers who orthodox Hinduism as the warrior god fell in battle. This practice of erecting Karttikeya. Karttikeya incorporated some memorial stones remained popular in India of the Tamilian sangam warrior hero until comparatively recently. tradition and legend described him as the Extensive archaeology in 1956 at brother of Ganesa. The Ikshvakus are Nagarjunakonda, prior to the flooding of important in providing fragmentary evid- the site as part of a hydel system, revealed ence of the beginnings of free-standing a well-planned capital with considerable temple structures. During this period emphasis on bathing establishments in the Hindu nobles appear to have increased form of ornamental water tanks, wells, their patronage and involvement in temple underground drains and paved cisterns. The activities. Princes and queens were cer- baths generally consisted of an oblong tainly involved in the construction of cistern, a well and a soak-pit, sometimes temples for Karttikeya and other gods.9 As even connected with open or underground we will see below the princesses were also drains. Dice were played using game boards supportive of Buddhism. on the casing slabs of the bathing . Chantamula was the founder of the There are the remains of temples, some on dynasty and was a devout Hindu and the banks of the river Krishna. Half a dozen worshipper of Karttikeya. Epigraphic provide inscriptions which indicate their records suggest that Chantamula himself affiliation and date; five of them were was a monarch with indomitable determin- dedicated to Siva and his son Karttikeya or ation who involved himself in the perform- (another name for Karttikeya). ance of Vedic sacrifices. In accordance There was only one dedicated to Vishnu and with Vedic practice he was probably one to the mother goddess. These temples more interested in the traditional ritual are particularly important for the study of ceremonial than in the creation of Hinduism because they are the earliest permanent shrines. remains of Brahmanical temples known in The golden age of this dynasty was the south. Haritiputra Virapurushadatta during the rule of Chantamula's grandson built the Pushpabhadrasvamin temple at Vasishthiputra Ehuvala Chantamula, a Nagarjunakonda on an apsidal plan, near devout Saivite. His son, prince Haritiputra the river and adjacent to the other Siva Virapurushadatta by his queen Kapanasri, temples. These were found to have been claimed himself to be mahasenapati (son apsidal or oblong, the shrines being of Karttikeya). He was also given the title constructed of brick, the mandapa of stone Haritiputra (son of the goddess ), and one even included the use of wood.10

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Square shrines were also evident at this fourth century AD, when the Ikshvakus may time. The excavated Pushpabhadrasvamin well have been reduced to subordinate temple revealed a provision for the flow of vassals. abhiseka water through the pranali which confirms literary evidence on current Gupta dynasty: AD 320-650 practice at that time.11 The importance of lustration may well derive from earlier cults In the Gupta period kings continued to associated with the cult of the goddess as show more interest in the traditional Vedic seen in the early Lakshmi image from ritual than in temple building. Inscriptions the Bharhut stupa of the second century however reveal a concern with self- BC. The generous provision of ceremonial promotion through edicts on pillars or coins baths also points to ideas of purification rather than through identification with and the importance of ritual bathing. This sacred monuments. The idea of great temple may echo ancient practices involving the complexes had not yet been established. large water tank at Mohenjo Daro in the The relationship of interdependency Indus valley culture, though these matters between king and Brahman was reinforced. remain conjectural and the link unproven. Gupta kings were concerned with the The intermarriage of the Ikshvakus with acquisition and maintenance of earthly the Rastrakutas may explain the growing power rather than in giving away wealth by significance of ritual bathing as part of the the patronage of building in order to gain royal initiation of kings during the spiritual merit. This period however was a Rastrakuta period. time of great economic prosperity. The Evidence of the importance of an earlier increased prosperity of the aristocracy gave matriarchal society is revealed in the rise to a flowering of literature and the Ikshvakus period. This can be seen in the . The Gupta monarchs continued continuation of the old matronymic practice the Kusan attempt to depict the king as God (the use of the mother's name) and in the and revived Sanskrit, the hieratic language pre-eminence of female patrons;12 and in the of Brahmanic ritual. Narrative poems, large stone image of the mother goddess dramas, inscriptions and coins portray found in Nagarjunakonda. Further evidence idealized figures of kings who were said to of the strength of the cult of the goddess rival the gods in their physical and spiritual may also be suggested by the discovery of prowess as well as their skill in art. terracotta female figurines and a pot formed Stone was used infrequently for the great in the image of a squatting female, as well Hindu temple complexes before the fifth as the two temples to the goddess.13 A century AD. The earliest North Indian matriarchal culture, a goddess cult, the pre- temples have been assigned to the eminence of noble or female patronage, the patronage of the Gupta kings but this is emphasis on ritual bathing and a prolific uncertain due to their fragmentary number of water tanks and ceremonial baths inscriptions. The two earliest extant temples seem to be characteristic features of the of this period are at Sanchi and Tigawa. patronage of the Ikshvaku dynasty. They are simple flat-roofed sanctuaries with The decline of the Ikshvakus coincided entrance porches. No image is preserved in with the rise of the Pallavas from the mid- these sancturies nor are there dedicatory

143 Hinduism and the Religious Arts inscriptions. Other examples are the fifth- sacred bridge links the earth to those realms century Siva temple at Bhumara which has from which the river Ganga arose. These a fine ekamukha (single-faced) linga, a sixth- water images supplanted earlier Yaksha, century Dasavatara temple at Deogarh, Yakshini or the Panchika, Hariti guardian which has superb friezes depicting scenes figures. The earliest known depiction of the from the Ramayana and Krishna legends, image of Durga also dates from this time and the temple at Nachna which can also and can be seen on the outside of the Gupta be attributed to this period on stylistic cave temples of Udaygiri. It has been grounds, although there are no inscriptions suggested that this signifies the revival of to support this attribution. the cult of the goddess and her defeat of Evidence of one royal patron in this the buffalo demon, the defeat of the male- period is provided by an inscription on an dominated hierarchical religion of the male early fifth-century Jain cave temple at Vedic Gods. During the Gupta period Udaygiri, dedicated to the Gupta ruler Vaishnava worship encouraged patronage Kumaragupta. It is significant that this of monuments dedicated to Puranic deities, temple with its royal inscription is dedicated but these appear to have been inspired by to Jainism which has a tradition of spiritual princes or nobles rather than kings. gain in return for material gift giving. Another inscription dedicated to the Gupta Gurjara-Pratiharas ofKanauj king Buddhagupta can be found on the neck of the great fifth-century boar (Varaha) Few buildings have survived from the sixth image at Eran. However the scarcity of and seventh centuries, a period of political these royal inscriptions suggests a limited disintegration and invasion, in North India. royal interest in the patronage of sacred The death of the local ruler Harsa in AD 647 architecture and images. gave rise to political disintegration, leading Architectural expression in North India to division into states and a variety of styles. during this early period was in the form of The most significant ruler to emerge in this free-standing stone buildings, the con- period was Yasovarman of (AD struction of brick architecture (for example, 720-50). Despite his historical importance in Ahichhatra, Pawaya and Bhitargaon) and little architecture can be assigned to him, rock-cut architecture was also undertaken. although he is reputed to have built a A sculptural panel in a cave in Udaygiri, temple at Harischandranagari (Ayodhya). west of the ancient capital of Vidisha, has His successor is credited with building a as its subject the rescue of the goddess temple to Mahavira at .15 By the Bhudevi by Varaha. This panel has beginning of the eighth century in North sometimes been interpreted as an allegory India the Pratihara dynasty had become the of the unification of North India under the dominant power in the region.16 A column Gupta ruler Chandragupta II.14 found in Maddodara eight kilometres from The personified river goddesses Ganga is believed to mark the Pratihara and feature regularly as the capital. Inscriptions recording the rule of guardians of shrines by this time. They are the Gurjara-Pratiharas have been found in said to represent purification and to act as an extensive area of North India, in the the bridge between heaven and earth. This states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar

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Pradesh, Madya Pradesh, Bihar and West These records contain royal genealogies Bengal and even in Bangladesh, but and references to deities who were the remains of buildings are scarce. object of each monarch's special devotion. Fragmentary inscriptions on buildings Temple style continued in the Gupta during this period leave responsibility for tradition. A Surya temple at Mankheda, temple construction in considerable doubt. without inscription and attributed on Inscriptional evidence suggests that princes stylistic grounds to the late ninth century, continued to take an active interest in the is one of the best preserved monuments of construction of temples and that the kings the Pratihara period. Gwalior possesses the remained detached, not committing them- most ambitious project of the Pratihara era, selves to any overt association with temple the ' Ka Mandir', which despite its patronage. The early text known as the destruction has been carefully restored, but Vishnudharmottara Purana suggests that it too is devoid of any inscription. Temples despite the lack of royal claim to temples at ascribed to the ninth century are found in this time the king's permission needed to Rajim, Mankheda, Jagat and Osian to be sought before construction could name but a few, but all lack dedicatory commence.17 In addition, historical evidence inscriptions. The Pratiharas were subject in the form of new entries in the Puranas to rivalry from the Rastrakuta dynasty, from the sixth century AD onwards, as has which was growing in strength and been already mentioned, suggests that the ultimately eclipsed their position. kings supported ceremonial danas or gift The obstruction of trade in the ninth to giving to the Brahmans. The Puranas also tenth centuries led to an accumulation of emphasized that the purtadharma which surplus wealth by the feudatories, who involved funding the building of temples, invested it in conspicuous consumption and water tanks and works of public utility was the erection of increasingly large temples the most meritorious religious act.18 to proclaim the glory of the patrons. The However, in conformity with past practice temple became increasingly linked to the the Pratihara kings appeared to have been king and to the manifestation of power. more concerned with ensuring Brahman Temple building during this period became support for their authority than with more significant in its legitimizing and identification with specific temples. Records empowering role, so that temples acted as demonstrate that the imperial Pratiharas sacred centres of the dynasty. Buddhism were patrons of Brahmans and notable and the concepts and manifestations of temples but there is no evidence to suggest imperialism separated, and the former that they patronized the actual construction largely disappeared, while the regional of temples or images, though they may sacrificial rites and the honouring and indeed have done so. Such evidence that worship of idols became predominant. The exists shows that they were active in Puranas, compiled from the seventh to providing land grants. Surviving Pratihara eighth centuries AD, contained chapters on copperplate inscriptions record gifts of vastu and silpa and the artisans were villages to Brahmans. In several instances expected to follow strict canons as regards the kings made grants for the religious the choice of site, design and construction merit of their parents, an ancient practice.19 of the shrine. Temple construction therefore

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attracted a greater proportion of royal AD 900 to 1150. Tradition records the revenue and became more complex and existence of 85 temples of which only 25 dramatic. There was a strengthening of the have survived. The shrines built by royalty ties, dependency and identification of king and the aristocracy are situated in the and temple. This period is also richer in western area near the Sibsagar lake (again epigraphic records, which shed considerable this may refer to the importance of water light on post-Pratihara patronage. After the in the Hindu ritual ceremonial), while those decline of the Pratiharas in the tenth erected by the Jain merchants are to the century, Central India was divided by a east of the village of Khajuraho. The number of independent dynasties which Khajuraho monuments are the culmination lasted until Muslim military incursions of central Indian style (Figure 4.10). Long extinguished them. inscriptions attached to some of the An outstanding example of this connect- important temples in Khajuraho give an ion between king and temple is seen in the idea of the patronage in the town. Most of Paramara period of the eleventh century in these inscriptions have been moved from the Udayesvara temple (Nilankanthesvara) their original positions however. dated 1080. An inscription on the eastern The Chandellas sought to glorify their porch proclaims the donor to be the king origins as a means to elevate their previous Udayaditya. In the Malwa region the tribal origin. Connection has been made Paramaras continued to hold power. between the Chandellas and the tribal Gonds and Bhars. The Chandella records equated kings with gods and epic heroes. Chandella dynasty in Central India They depended upon the Brahmans for the Rivalling the Udayesvara temple is the great legitimation of their social status. In order complex of temples built under the to acquire merit and attain popularity, gift patronage of the Chandella dynasty from making and the building of water tanks, the tenth century on. As early as the ninth temples and other charitable works served century the Chandellas had become an important function. prominent in Central India, using The Lakshmana temple at Khajuraho is Khajuraho as their capital. The Chandeilas an early temple symptomatic of the building first appeared as a notable power when activities of the Chandella kings. The Harsadeva supported Mahipala (c. AD inscription in this temple is on a stone slab 912-43) in his bid for the Pratihara throne. in the porch. It gives a detailed description His successor Yasovarman (c. AD 925-54) of how Yasovarman forced the Pratihara took Kalinjar, an important fortress and king Devapala to surrender an ancient and centre of military power. They are perhaps celebrated metal image of Vishnu-Vaikuntha the best known regional dynasty owing to which was set up in the Lakshmana temple, the number of temples which survive in a building expressly constructed for the Khajuraho (ancient Khajuravahaka). This purpose by Yasovarman. This inscription site was adorned with numerous water also records that Yasovarman's conquest tanks, Hindu and Jain temples, lakes and of the fort of Kalanjara marked a step gardens which were created by the towards sovereign power. It was specially Chandellas, their chiefs and merchants from built by the father of Dhanga to enshrine

146 Royal Patronage the Vishnu-Vaikuntha. This temple reveals Dhangadeva, who ruled at Khajuraho a well-planned and integrated scheme. Its between 950 and 1002, built the temple of inscriptions glorify the royal patron and his Visvanatha in the western area of the town family but fail to mention an architect Thus at the end of his reign. It has an inscribed this temple was a symbol of Yasovarman's slab placed in the porch23 which praises the victory and power.20 The inscriptions also Chandella family, the kings Yasovarman vow to protect Brahmanas, cows and to and Dhanga and also the architect support the three Vedas. (sutradhara), Chhichha, who is described The Lakshmana temple was the first at as well versed in the science of architecture. Khajuraho to place carved erotic figures on Praising the temple's entrance way, the poet architectural junctures. There is consider- described it as created by the architect able debate as to the purpose of these Visvakarma himself. The inscription also figures, but a factor which influenced the tells of Dhangadeva's dedication to the form and decoration of some of these temple of two stone lingas, one of which temples was the absorption of tantric ideas was specifically said to have been decorated and the increasing power of tantric sects in with a large emerald.24 The choice of an certain regions of India from the fifth to emerald suggests an awareness of a tenth centuries AD. Architectural junctures statement in the Puranas that an emerald are structurally and esoterically weak, and or jewelled linga was an appropriate the intention was probably to employ tantric donation on the fulfilment of a desire. concepts of sympathetic magic to guard Inscriptions tell of the king's longevity (over these areas. According to Desai, a sect called a hundred years), and it would appear that the Pasupatas were invited by the kings of he constructed the temple towards the end various regions such as Gujarat Dahala in of his life when he had attained political Central India, Mysore, Orissa and Kashmir status and fame. to head temple organizations. The power Chandella inscriptions usually make a of the tantric sects increased because kings passing reference to their Pratihara are thought to have valued their arcane overlord, yet the temple Visvanatha, built knowledge on diverse subjects such as in 1002-3, fails to refer to him, and this alchemy and aphrodisiacs which was placed supports the belief that the Chandellas had at the service of the ruler and his state.21 ceased to be tributaries and became Pun and allegory were highly valued independent. Dhangadeva was known as not only in plays such as the 'the lord of Kalanjara fort'. He conquered Prabodhacandrodaya, written by Krishna Gwalior and his territory extended from Misra, the Chandella court poet, but also in Gwalior to Vidisha and from in the architectural decoration. Knowledge of north to the in the south. He several meanings of words was highly was one of the leading powers of North valued22 and reflects the parallel taste for India and the first independent ruler of the multivalent architectural decoration. An Chandella dynasty to resist the overlordship extreme example is Rajhavapardaviya, of the Pratihara kings of Kanauj.25 which tells through double entendre the Dhangadeva's longevity and the stability stories of the Ramayana and the of his rule was conducive to the flourishing Mahabharata. of the arts. He is described in an inscription

147 Hinduism and the Religious Arts of AD 954 on a temple built by his father engraved, according to legend while Yasovarman, which praises Dhanga meditating on Rudra. The Matangesvara temple is believed to have been erected in as a source of munificence, bravery, discernment his memory. It has a roof of the conical type () of arts and dalliance (kala-vilasa) of that is appropriate for a hall rather than a intelligence, majesty and might, accomplishing shrine and follows the requirements of his purposes, by means of such conduct, all at funerary temples, like the Bhojpur temple, once created in the minds of well-disposed possibly built in memory of King Bhoja. people the belief that the Kali-age had out of The Chandella temples from Khajuraho season come to an end.26 demonstrate the degree to which the During his rule, the Jain merchants of patronage of temples is used to proclaim Khajuraho were active patrons of temples. the power and legitimacy of the rulers. The Parsvanatha temple was built by the The reference to the seizing of an icon Jain merchant Pahita who was, according demonstrates the appropriation and to the temple inscription, respected by the extension of authority through belief in king Dhanga.27 the power of images and also the use of According to Desai, the religious leanings emeralds to signify the fulfilment of desire. of Dhangadeva may have inclined towards Evidence of a temple erected in memory of the Saiva sect, worshipping Siva Dhangadeva provides evidence of a in the form of . Two unique images temple's potential to function in a funerary of Sadasiva Chatushpada (with four legs) capacity. found in Khajuraho support this assertion. A syncretic image combining Siva, Vishnu Gujarat and Brahma placed on the superstructure of the Visvanatha temple is of significance, The earlier temple at dating since such an image was considered to be from the eleventh century was founded by a 'support' for meditation on Sadasiva.28 Vimala and is dedicated to Adinath, the first Inscriptions in Khajuraho also reveal that Jain . The Jain brothers Tejpala Dhanga performed the tulapurushadana and from Gujarat were famous ceremony, weighing himself against gold for their keen patronage of art and and distributing it to the Brahmanas. He architecture. Epigraphy and literature also established dwellings for pious credits them with building numerous monu- Brahmanas well versed in the six acts (shar ments. Tejpala built the temple of karma) and who practised 'ever-enduring (1230) at Mount Abu and the sacrifice', and he donated land, grain, temple of Mallinatha (1231) at , both money and cows to the Brahmanas. The temples being dedicated to Jain Visvanatha temple inscription refers to a tirthankaras. Inscriptions at Mount Abu royal priest Bhatta Yashodhara, who state that the temple was built for the according to a copperplate of Dhanga, was welfare of Tejpala's wife and son at a cost a follower of the Vajasaneyi sakha and of 125,300,000 rupees and their portrait received the gift of a village from the king. sculptures can be seen in the temple. Dhangadeva died before the dedicatory inscription on the Visvanatha temple was

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Orissa Vaishnavites by preference, they were responsible for the Jagannatha temple at From the fifth century AD, parts of East Puri, the Vasudeva temple in India were absorbed into the Gupta empire Bhubanesvara and the magnificent sun and therefore adopted the western Gupta temple at Konarak. The Ananta Vasudeva architectural style. However, while western temple was dedicated in 1278 by Gupta buildings were made of stone, in the Chandradevi. Chandradevi was a daughter eastern part of the empire most of the of Anangabhima III during the rule of building was in brick, the structures being Bhanudeva I of the Ganga dynasty. In form, decorated with plaster and terracotta. The the temple resembles the first stone temples in Orissa appear later but includes Vaishnavite sculptures. and date from the seventh to eighth The sun temple at Konarak possesses no centuries. The earliest known patron of contemporary dedicatory inscription,29 but architecture in Orissa was Sasanka, a a later inscription and important textual devotee of Siva, but little is known about evidence discovered by Alice Boner reveal his patronage. The Sailodbhavas dynasty that Nrsimhadeva I of the Ganga which ruled until the second half of the dynasty initiated construction of the temple eighth century initiated the building at the age of 18 at the suggestion of his tradition which is largely found in mother while he was still a prince.30 His Bhubanesvara. From the rule of Sasanka reason for starting work on such a temple in Orissa until the thirteenth century was said to be his successful campaign as Saivism (especially Pasupatite) was commander-in-chief of his father's army. He favoured. The seventh- or eighth-century apparently used the booty from his Parasuramesvara and Muktesvara temples campaign (perhaps to atone for the violence are fine examples of the formative style of and bloodshed) to construct this monu- the period but do not possess any ment. The eventual enormous cost of the dedicatory inscriptions. temple meant that additional finance from The grandest architectural monument of the royal treasury, and other contributions the period is the Saivite Lingaraja temple, were needed to finish the work. It is yet here too there is apparently no believed that the project took 20 years to dedicatory inscription to link it with complete.31 patronage of a specific king. The enormous It is apparent that the date of con- expense of building these fine temples secration for this temple was carefully points to the probability of royal patronage. chosen because of its auspiciousness, falling However, the absence of donative on the sun-god's birthday.32 Additional inscriptions suggests that the idea of plausible reasons why the prince chose to promoting the aspirations of kingship by build such an extravagant monument to the temple building had not yet taken root in sun on this site have been suggested. The the region. site of the sun temple had already been From the thirteenth century, when the dedicated to the sun-god in an earlier Ganga dynasty replaced the Sailodbhavas, temple. Furthermore, the wife of inscriptions appear which give a clearer Nrsimhavdeva whose name was Sitadevi picture of the intentions of the patrons. was the daughter of a Paramara king of

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Malwa. The popularity of sun worship and wood, bamboo and thatch was extensively sun temples in West India in this period is used. The more durable black chlorite stone well known. Sitadevi is referred to in sculptures have survived. So too have fine inscriptions and in the Baya Cakada text as bronze and silver religious images which a major patron of the Sun temple. The date from the twelfth century and were both queen gave her first-born son by valuable and portable, and therefore Nrsimhadeva the solar name Bhanudeva, escaped the destruction wrought by the which literally means 'light god', the first Muslims. time that a solar name had been used by this dynasty.33 Clearly the influence of the The Deccan and South India queen was a strong factor in the king's decision. In Maharashtra the Vakatakas were succeeded in AD 520 by the Kalachuri dyanasty, who were a major force in the Paid dynasty in North-east India Deccan region until they were superseded The Pala dynasty ruled North-east India in about AD 600 by the western Chalukyas. from the eighth century. Taranatha, the The Kalachuri fostered religious move- Tibetan historian writing in the seventeenth ments, principally Pasupati Saivism. century, claimed that Pala artistic style was Although there are as yet no inscriptions established by and Devapala, or documentary evidence to tie the the second and third Pala kings, and was Kalachuris to monumental architecture, it the creation of two craftsmen, Dhiman and is clear that a number of caves were Bitpalo, father and son, none of whose excavated during this period in the western works were known and whose historicity Deccan. The prime example is the great cave has not been verified. It is suggested by temple on the island of Elephanta off the Huntington that in spite of Taranatha's coast of Bombay. An inscribed stone found emphasis on the Pala king's patronage of on the island might have revealed informa- Buddhism, the art of this period is not tion on the dedication, date and patronage properly a court art produced for the ruling of this site but this was regrettably lost by families. Some inscriptions do however link the Portuguese. Stylistically, the temple can monarchs to patronage of prominent be dated to AD 540-555. Among the monasteries. It is probably correct to say interesting sculpture in the Elephanta that the greater part of production reflects temple is a large Sadasiva sculpture of Siva active Buddhist and Hindu lay communities. with five faces; another depicts Siva with The early Pala art was chiefly Buddhist, flowing hair into which flows the river but during the later Pala and Sena periods Ganga in female form. Hinduism overtook it in popularity. By the The Deccan is an area of India where end of the twelfth century the arrival of early stone architecture is better preserved. Islamic raiders brought destruction to many The capital of the early Chalukyan rulers important Buddhist and Hindu monuments. was at Badami. According to George Michell, Today, many of the religious buildings of stylistic contacts with the Pallavas of this period have simply vanished. Buildings Kanchipuram are suggested by inscriptions were constructed using brick not stone and at the Badami site. A dedicatory inscription

150 Royal Patronage is found in Cave 3 dated AD 578 referring sixteenth-century inscription from the site to its excavation during the reign of the calls them the Nava Brahma temples. early Chalukya ruler Pulakesin I. This is a Perhaps the most beautiful of these nine large rock-cut monument with the most Brahma temples is the Svarga Brahma remarkable sculpture. By the seventh temple. This has an inscription above one century the tradition of free-standing temple of the dvarapalas stating that the monument architecture was firmly established and from was constructed in honour of the king the first quarter of the seventh century the Vinayaditya's queen during the late seventh Chalukyan kings claimed the prerogative century (AD 682-96) by one of her sons. It of building temples. The Meguti temple (AD has been suggested that the use of the North 634), a north-facing , bears a Indian style of building for this temple may dated inscription ascribing it to the early reflect the victorious expansion in the north Chalukyan ruler Pulakesin II. It is signifi- in the way that the southern style of the cant in being one of the earliest dated Virupaksha temple and Mallikarjuna at temples of India showing royal involve- Pattadakal may be related to the success of ment.34 Early Chalukyan buildings at Vikramaditya II in the south.35 Aihole, Badami, Mahakuta and Satyavolu comprise the largest group of Hindu Rastrakutas temples in the Deccan at this time. The town of Aihole contains examples of Hindu and Control of the Deccan was taken by the Jain temples which date from the sixth to Rastrakutas from the western Chalukyas the twelfth centuries AD. around AD 750. Although the Chalukyas In the mid-eighth century two queens of had founded a great kingdom, the the Chalukyan king Vikramaditya II built Rastrakutas under Govinda III (794-814) temples to Siva at Pattadakal to com- exceeded them, reaching as far north as memorate the victory of their husbands Kanauj and the sacred Ganga and bringing over the neighbouring Pallava ruler. It was territory in central and lower western India a site under which there had already been under their control. Under the Rastrakuta construction by the Satavahana dynasty rulers there was a resurgence of rock-cut from as early as the third to fifth architecture. The activities of the dynasty centuries AD. The neighbouring temples were mainly concentrated at Ellora. The to Virupaksha and Mallikarjuna are almost most ambitious monument at Ellora is the identical. Pattadakal served as a site for the great Kailasanatha temple. Regrettably, the coronation ceremonies of the early purpose for the creation of such an Chalukyan rulers. It was situated on the extraordinary monument is unknown, but banks of the Malaprabha river at a point later Jain caves are constructed at Ellora. where the water flows auspiciously north- Most scholars believe that the major portion wards towards the Himalayas, the magic of the building, including the central temple centre of the universe. and Nandi shrine and gateway, belong to Alampur is another important site under the reign of the Rastrakuta King ,. the control of the early western Chalukyas who ruled from AD 757-73. However, during their expansion. While the original according to Huntington, it was planned by name of these temples is unknown, a his predecessor Dantidurga, since the

151 Hinduism and the Religious Arts excavation next to Kailasanatha temple exception of the and Ganesa, Cave 15 bears an inscription.36 Dantidurga rathas have no interior space. was the first to perform the Mahadana Mamallapuram was the port of the ceremony. Pallava rulers of Kanchipuram and was of Inden suggests that the rajasuya great importance in the seventh and eighth ceremony which involved ritual bathing was centuries. With its natural rock formations central to the Rastrakuta ceremonial. and susceptibility to foreign influences Architectural decoration supports the through its important trading port, literary evidence of the significance and Mamallapuram was particularly open to the importance of ritual lustration with large development of new architectural forms. It panels of Sarasvati and Abhiseka-Lakshmi has been suggested that the sudden flanking the garbhagrha in an early style.37 flowering of stone architecture was due to the strength of its rulers and the religious Pallavas prominence of bhakti cults in the region giving impetus to artistic developments. While the Chalukyas were gaining control Most of the monuments here are associated in the Deccan, South India was dominated with two rulers, Mamalla I (AD 630-68) and by the Pallavas who, by the late sixth and Rajasimha (AD 700-28). early seventh centuries, were established The earliest surviving monuments of over an area extending beyond India to the Pallavas belongs to the reign of China and South-east Asia. No architecture (AD 580-630), whose or sculpture survives from before the rule coincided with that of Pulakesin II Pallava period except the first century BC of the neighbouring early western Chalukyas. linga at Gudimallam. Originally a Jain, Mahendravarman was It has been suggested that a tradition converted to Saivism by the , of using stone for the construction of as is clear from the Saivite dedications funerary monuments in the south had on monuments associated with him. given rise to a reluctance to use it for The cave temple at Mandagappattu is linked temple architecture.38 The first monuments to this ruler and is called the temple of known to us are the seventh-century cave Laksita in its dedicatory inscription.39 temples at Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram), Mahendravarman himself, the royal patron Mandagappattu and Tiruchirapalli. These in the epigraph, is referred to as rock-cut and monolithic temples are the vichitrachitta (clear minded). The cave in earliest examples of monumental arch- the inscription is called a brickless, itecture in South India, and are simple timberless, metalless, mortarless mansion, combinations of columned mandapas and implying that former buildings were shrines excavated into granite boulders. An constructed of these materials and that unusual development of Indian architecture Mahendra was the initiator of a new is observed in Mamallapuram in the form architectural tradition. This lends weight to of rathas. These are seventh to eighth Dirk's suggestion that there was a new century monoliths: large boulders carved emphasis in the Pallava period on large like buildings on the exterior but, with the endowments to Brahmans and temples,

152 Royal Patronage which contributed to the growth in temple emphasis to Durga. The shrine also building and the power of the priesthood.40 possesses a raised water tank in front of the The most famous phase of Pallava art cave (Figure 5.2). This is an early example was during the reign of the king of a feature which becomes characteristic who is popularly known of Pallava and subsequently early Chola as Mamalla I. A successful and expansive monuments. ruler, Mamalla I seized Badami from the There is no dedicatory inscription on the Chalukyas in 642. It is to Mamalla that famous rock-carved relief at Mamallapuram credit is largely given for developing the known as Arjuna's penance. Considerable existent seaport which took his title as controversy surrounds the identity of the Mamallapuram. Extant sacred architecture patron of this magnificent monumental from the Pallava patrons of Mamallapuram sculpture but it is generally believed to have range from cave temples to a single shore been executed in the reign of either temple. The earliest cave temple is the Mahendravarman I (AD 600-30) or of his Varaha Mandapa, believed to have been son Mamalla (AD 630-68). A sheer, massive commissioned by Mamalla I. In the Varaha boulder with a vertical central cleft provides cave shrine it has been suggested that the the stage on which a cast of gods, kings, sculptural panels of Hindu deities in the semi-divine beings and animals dramatically caves have a double meaning, referring converge on the cleft which is the focal both to mythology and to the actual achieve- point of the composition and the centre of ments of the king. For example, it is its ritual purpose. The cleft represents the suggested that the images of Varaha (the sacred river Ganga, falling vertically from boar) and Trivikrama (the striding dwarf) the heavens as though out of the serene actually symbolize the Pallava king's defeat blue sky above the rocks summit to the of the Chalukya Pulakesin and the avenging earth below. A tank concealed on the hill of defeats to the Pallavas under his father. above this boulder allowed water to be Dual allusions were popular in the Pallava released down the cleft to complete the period and are known from inscriptions and allegory on sacred occasions.41 In its art. The other reliefs of Gajalakshmi on the passage it lustrated naga and nagini, the left and Durga on the right suggest ideas serpent gods associated with water and of prosperity and victory. In the Durga relief fertility who signify their devotion. On one the seated figure in front of the image of side Arjuna stands in meditation, while Durga is about to cut off his head in a ritual across the stream is the four-armed Siva sacrifice. A further cave temple which bearing the weapons that Arjuna hopes to contains an image of Gajalakshmi is the win. Below them is a Vishnu hermitage Adivaraha temple. This also possesses fine before which saints, deer and a lion inscribed portraits of the royal patron and peacefully coexist, while chelas practise his father. The father is seated on a throne religious austerities close by. The water while the son, in deference to his father from this sacred river originally filled the stands with his two queens modestly by his tank at the bottom which is now dry but side (Figure 5.1). which presumably served this sacred site The Trimurti cave shrine at Mamal- as a place for ritual ablution and possibly lapuram has fine carvings and gives special royal consecration.

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Figure 5.1 Narasimha Mamalla I, patron of the Adivaraha temple, Mamallapuram. , mid- seventh century. Robert Elgood.

As elsewhere in Indian iconography, symbolize the Pallavas seeking victory over the religious theme of the descent of the Chalukyas. the holy river Ganga and Arjuna's Also attributable to the reign of Mamalla penance are believed by some scholars also are the five free-standing rock-cut to have a political symbolism. A later monoliths called rathas (carts), whose inscription drew an overt parallel between purpose is unknown but which resemble the Pallavas and the descent of the Ganga shrines. It has been suggested that these purifying the world; and Arjuna may unique stone monoliths resemble earlier,

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Figure 5.2 Trimurti temple, Mamallapuram. Pallava dynasty, early eighth century. Robert Elgood. but now extant, domestic wooden or indistinguishable from the accompanying thatched architecture. The third-century carvings of deities which decorate the Amaravati stupa has similar architectural building except for some details. His forms carved on decorative stone panels. necklace, dress and the longer arms and A study of these panels suggests that some fuller shoulders which were believed to be of the buildings depicted are secular and kingly qualities are depicted on the others, because of the clear images of monument (Figure 5.3). It is noteworthy devotees, are sacred shrines. All appear to that the figures of other royal portraits of be derived from wooden architecture. It the Pallavas are shown in more relaxed has been suggested that the rathas, as their poses, and it may be that the style reflects name states, may be symbolic temple the fact that the king was dead and had chariots. From the tenth century it became assumed the less lifelike pose of the gods. common to carve wheels on the base of The statue of Narasimha is placed on the temples. south side of the structure, the side which The Dharmaraja ratha at the southern is usually devoted to Yama, the judge of the end of the site possesses inscriptions and dead. The existence of later South Indian a portrait of Narasimha which is regarded Chola inscriptions indicating specific as evidence of the patronage of funerary monuments called Pallippatai Narasimhavarman Mamalla I. Other which were erected for royal personages epigraphs inscribed on this building refer provides some support for the argument to later kings.42 Further royal symbolism that this ratha is indeed a royal funerary can be seen in the panel of Siva and Uma memorial. with Skanda, a popular Pallava image, The at Mamallapuram referring to the Pallava royal family. The is thought to be a result of the patronage portrait shows Narasimha in a stiff pose, of Narasimhavarman II Rajasimha, who

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shrine dedicated to Siva was built by Rajasimha's son, Mahendravarman III. He also called the deity after his own name, inscribing it Mandresvara. The growth of economic power through trade and the redistribution of booty led to greater settlement in towns such as Kanchipuram. At Kanchipuram, the Pallava capital, the Kailasanatha temple portrays Gajalakshmi and extremely fine carvings of Siva and Parvati. The interior walls of the colonnade around the courtyard are covered with carved panels which relate the history of the Pallava kings through coronation scenes and military campaigns, showing elephants, horses, footmen and soldiers. The Pallava king and his son are likened to Siva and his son. Inscriptions on pillars of this temple also reveal that Vikramaditya II, the early western Chalukyan king, was so impressed when he visited this temple that he did not carry off its treasures as spoils of war. Figure 5.3 Portrait of Narasimha Mamalla I, The Pallava kings portrayed themselves on the south side of the Dharmaraja Ratha, through myth and actual naming in order Mamallapuram. Pallava dynasty, early eighth to identify themselves with the gods. This century. Robert Elgood. deification was intensified by ritual ruled from AD 700-28. Similar inscriptions lustration. are found at the Rajasimhesvara The growing importance of temples can be seen (Kailasanatha) temple at Kanchipuram, as a reflection of a stimulus to the elaboration which are known to be from the reign of and consolidation of local communities, making this king. Inscriptions dedicate the Shore their rulers sufficiently honorable (or powerful) temple to Narasimhavarman, who built the to make possible (or necessitate) their in- monument and named the deity in it and corporation into royal relationships in hitherto the temple after himself. He called it unprecedented ways.44 Rajasimha Pallavesvara, a practice that became popular in South India.43 It is This no doubt inspired the building of cave interesting to note that the earliest part of shrines and temples. Temples developed the temple was originally an open shrine from an earlier tradition of stone funerary facing the sea, in which still lies the dark architecture, in contrast to the usual secular image of a sleeping Vishnu. At the eastern and shrine construction using bricks and end of the Shore temple complex a smaller mortar, stucco and wood.

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Cholas

In South India from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries the Pallavas were eclipsed by the Cholas. In this period one finds a continuation and the apogee of the historical development of ritual kingship and temple-centred Hinduism in South India begun under the patronage of the Pallava dynasty. The capital moved from Kanchipuram, which had been the capital of the Pallavas, to Tanjavur and subsequently to Gangaikondacholapuram. Responsibility for the beginning of Chola temple building is credited to the great Vijayalaya Chola who gained control of Tanjavur, seizing it from Muttaraiyar chieftains in the mid-ninth century. A Pandya inscription of 1228 refers to a temple at Narttamalai as the Vijayalaya Cholisvara temple, the name suggesting his patronage, but analysis of the temple structure and style now indicates a monument of Muttaraiyar patronage, constructed during the pre-Chola phase. Early examples of Chola temples can be seen Figure 5.4 Princess on Nagesvara temple, Kumbhakonam. Early Chola, 886. Robert Elgood. in the Nagesvara temple at Kumbhakonam (Figure 5.4) and the three temples at Kodumbalore.45 (Figure 4.11) Another early temple is the Brahma- to the earlier architectural tradition of purisvara temple at Pallamangai. It has been wooden construction and the lack of suggested that this temple was designed available stone. The use of water symbolism with a base carved in an inverted lotus seems to have been a strong South Indian design. feature seen not only in Chola architecture The patronage of grand-scale temple but also in the earlier Ishvaku and Pallava architecture reached its height under the periods. Early Chola temples up to the end Chola kings Rajaraja I (AD 985-1014) and of the reign of Rajaraja I are small in size Rajendra I (AD 1014-44). Approximately but contain fine workmanship. As well as one hundred Chola stone temples survive great temple architecture the Cholas are and inscriptions on these indicate that these famous for the execution of exquisite monuments replaced earlier brick struc- bronzes. It has been suggested that the tures, many of which dated from before and deep cutting of the temple the ninth century AD. The popularity of sculpture echoes the Satavahana and brick as a building material is in part related Ikshvaku style and this naturalism can also

157 Hinduism and the Religious Arts be seen in bronze statues cast in the round 21 of her temples have been identified (Figure 3.3). and these include a small temple at Considerable artistic patronage can be Gangaikondacholapuram, another temple, assigned to the son of Vijayalaya Aditya I Kuttalam, as well as the Agastyesvara who ruled from AD 871-907. Inscriptions temple at Anangur, built by Sembiyan suggest his construction of rows of stone around AD 979. Of particular interest i Siva temples, like the 'banners of his own the temple at Tirunalam in memory of victories' on both banks of the Kauveri her husband. She was moreover a river. One author has referred to more than great patron of the flowering of Chola 40 temples of this period.46 Aditya's son bronzes.48 Parantaka (who ruled from AD 907-55) was The temple of Tanjavur, built during the also responsible for building a number of reign of Rajaraja I (c. 1003-10), expresses temples including the Pallippadai funerary the power of the Chola empire. It is temple in honour of his father.47 The interesting to note that during its time construction of funerary monuments is a it was not only one of the largest buildings natural development of the ancient in South Asia but in the world. This tradition of ancestor worship and relates temple, known as Rajarajesvara (also known also to the hero stones or vira-kals which as the Brihadisvara temple), is named from early times marked the demise of after Rajaraja himself, following the practice warriors seeking heaven through death in of naming 'the linga as the king's protector'. battle. This reinforced Rajaraja's claim to divine A significant contribution to artistic status which had become a major feature patronage inspired by religious devotion of Chola ideology and continued during was made by Sembiyan Mahadevi, queen the rule of Rajaraja's son Rajendra I, of Gangaraditya (949-57). She outlived who proceeded to expand the empire. her husband and it has been suggested that To celebrate his march to the Ganges, her influence on art endured for 60 years, Rajendra erected a Saivite temple at his during which time she founded and new capital Gangaikondacholapuram. His patronized numerous religious establish- captives were made to carry water from ments. She instituted a sacred bath of the the Ganges which was placed in an deity on all days. Inscriptions ablution tank and this gave rise to the testify to her actions from the time of name of the town. The transport of the Parantaka I through the reigns of her son Ganges water over such a distance was Uttama I (c. 969-85) and the first part of considered to be one of the great devotional the reign of the great Rajaraja I (985-1014). acts and marvels of the age and also Under her influence numerous older brick suggests the divine empowering of the temples were rebuilt and replaced by stone king by the sacred feminine river. The constructions. Through her encouragement expedition is mentioned in an inscription sculpture began to take on a more in the temple and in a niche beside one naturalistic appearance, perhaps following of the doorways a relief carving depicts the closer adherence to Shastric textual the god Siva with Parvati, beneath which prescriptions which occurred in North the figure of king Rajendra receives a floral India from the tenth century. Up to garland of victory from the god (Figure 5.5).

158 Royal Patronage

The act of tying a band round the head stone wheels to the exterior of the platform. of the king is significantly the final stage Processing deities in wooden temple carts of the consecration of kings. This image is common in the south and portable images of Siva with his floral garland also were produced to fulfil this processional suggests the honouring of the king as a role, such as at the temple of Chidambaram. hero by the god. With the decline of Chola power the It appears to have been customary for identification of god-kings had undergone the king to have received ceremonial a subtle transformation. The court and ablution at the temple before the ceremonial became more Brahmanical and royal consecration in the palace in a the king became a consecrated devotee of manner similar to the ritual washing the deity, the first among equals, a position of religious icons. The lion tank at he shared with Brahmans and deity. Priests Gangakondacholapuram, so similar in and deity became supreme and the king was structure and design to the tank at more and more dependent on religious Mamallapuram known colloquially today as support for the sustaining of his power. This the tiger tank, may cast some light on the was known as Chaturvedimangalam, which role of the latter which has so far eluded involved lands settled by the Cholas in the scholars (Figure 5.6). On entering the lion eleventh and twelfth centuries on Brahmans tank through the stone mouth of the lion, as 'versed in the four Vedas'.49 steps lead down into a well. Immediately to the right of this unusual edifice there is a Later Deccan conventional ablutions tank and the presence of this does suggest a distinct use In the eleventh century in the Deccan the for the lion tank. The steps were clearly western Ganga dynasty held sway. Historical for use and not just for the collection of information about this dynasty survives in water which could have been taken from numerous commemorative hero stones, a the other tank. It may perhaps have been practice common in the Deccan from early the place where the king took his times. One interesting example is the stone ceremonial bath, receiving the sacred showing the death of king Nitimarga II, powers and being reborn through the dating from about 920.50 In their capital mouth of the lion. The huge 100-pillared Talakad an inscription reveals that in mandapas which became a feature of 982, the minister of king Rajamalla IV, Chola architecture from the tenth to Chamunda Raya, dedicated an impressive eleventh centuries may also have functioned Jain temple at Sravana Belgola, and in the as an audience hall for the king and to following year, a colossal statue of . have given him a locus in the temple This statue of Gommatesvara stands 58 feet structure, where he could also have been high, and is said to be the largest free- the centre of ritual attention. standing sculpture in the world. During the thirteenth century in the later Another example of the patronage of part of Chola rule the practice developed ministers is shown by temples in Maharastra in southern temple architecture of attributed to Hemadra, minister to the last transforming mandapas into cart-like two kings, Mahadeva (1260-71) and images by adding large, non-functional Ramachandra (1271-1311). Hemadra is

159 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

Figure 5.5 Portrait of Rajendra Chola, Brihadishvara temple, Gangakondacholapuram, Tamil Nadu. Mid-eleventh century. Robert Elgood. credited with constructing 300 temples. In Hoysalas contrast to the usual scarcity of dated inscriptional evidence on temples in North In , the and Hoysalas India, in Andhra Pradesh a dynasty called shared control of the Deccan until the the Kakatiyas made the recording of conquests of the Sultans of Delhi in the information in dated inscriptions a regular fourteenth century. The Kesava temple feature. For example, an inscription dated at Belur was erected on the orders of 1135 (AD 1213) on a pillar at Palampet the Hoysala king to commemorate his reveals that the city was founded by Recerla victory over the Cholas at Talakad. The Rudra, a general to the king. The inscription deity honoured was named also mentions the gift of a temple. Narayana (Victorious Narayana) in an

160 Royal Patronage

Figure 5.6 Lion tank, Cangakondacholapuram, Tamil Nadu. Mid-eleventh century. Robert Elgood. apparent play on both the name of the Rayas of Vijayanagara god and Vishnuvardhena's victory over the Cholas. By the thirteenth century Vijayanagara, meaning city of victory, was the Pandyas had superseded the Cholas the largest and most powerful Hindu capital as South India's major power. By the in the Deccan between the fourteenth and fourteenth century the Muslim threat was sixteenth centuries. Within two decades the making itself felt in the Hindu kingdoms; kingdom extended across the Deccan from only under Vijayanagara rule were the sea to sea and at its zenith encompassed an Deccan and the south able to resist the area that included the former territories of foreign invasion and protect their culture dynasties such as the various Chalukyas, from destruction. the and the Pandyas. The

161 Hinduism and the Religious Arts primary objectives of the kings who traditions fostered by the Vijayanagara founded these kingdoms was to resist kings. Four branches of the Nayaks ruled Muslim force and encourage a Hindu at Madurai, Tanjore, Gingee and Ikkeri, thus revival. They sought to do so by investing establishing separate centres throughout in large-scale monumental architecture and the once unified Vijayanagara territories. carved decoration. Religious buildings were Many of the important artistic works of the decorated with sculptures and paintings Nayaks may be attributed to the promotion and refurbished. of Nayak (1623-59). His capital The most important patron of Vijaynagar was Madurai which he supplied with new was Krishnadevaraya (1509-30). He was a temples, expanding and adding to what patron of literature and is credited with was already present. One of the most numerous building projects, including the outstanding creations is the great temple temple Vitthalasvami. Attributed to the reign of Madurai. His contribution was seen in of Krishnadevaraya are monolithic images the construction of many temples in the measuring up to about 6.5 metres in height area of Tamil Nadu such as Tiruvannamalai, A new departure in architecture was the Srirangam and Kumbhakonam. placing of an independent goddess shrine, A temple such as Madurai, which cost so on a smaller scale than the main temple, to much to build, fulfilled an even greater role the north-west of the principal shrine. This, than the smaller, less complex temples Huntington suggests, is a logical culmin- referred to earlier. It was a focus of life and ation of the growing importance of the a major influence in the economic and goddess in the south, where as early as the social lives of the people. It was indeed Pallava period the Trimurti cave shrine at almost a city itself and needed continuous Mamallapuram allowed a separate area for staffing. It was no longer merely an offering devotion to Durga. The most obvious or gift of thanks from the king in his wish characteristics of this period were the to acquire (religious merit) or to enormous Gopuras or gateways, pillared proclaim his authority and wealth, but had mandapas, kalyana mandapas (marriage become an institution in its own right. As halls) and temple chariots. a religious institution it gained greater power in its own right than any individual.51 Nayaks A pillared hall at Madurai bears life-sized statues on the pillars including portraits of Upon the collapse of Vijayanagara after the the Nayaks of Madurai and Tirumalai battle of Talikota in 1565, the Nayak princes himself. Tirumalai is portrayed in a number who had been their viceroys took advantage of statues at the temple which reveal him of the power vacuum and asserted their in a naturalistic way. This tradition of royal political independence. Art under the portraiture has been seen in the south since Nayaks represents a continuation of Pallava times.

162 Royal Patronage

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Analysis of the Patronage of the Hindu which had made such a vital contribution Religious Arts to sacred architecture, led to a growing proliferation of images, rock-cut and free- The confusing and fragmentary historical standing temples. This patronage of evidence provided by surviving art and Buddhist and Hindu shrines can be seen in architecture from the third century BC to the Kusana and Ikshvaku periods from the the seventeenth century AD over the whole first to third centuries AD. The religious art of the subcontinent nevertheless produces of, for example, Bharhut, Sanchi, Karle, certain broad trends in patronage, and this Kanheri, Junnar, Amaravati and gives us considerable information on ritual Nagarjunakonda was patronized by the practice. One may speak with some mercantile and commercial class, artisan confidence of trends because Hinduism and craft guilds as well as the royal families. should be seen as an eclectic and Communal patronage found among lay coagulating faith. Tolerance of diversity is Buddhist and Jain devotees in religious art often a short step from conciliatory from the merchant classes continued, absorption and the lack of dogma and alongside the growing involvement of existence of common elements contributed higher caste princes, nobles and to a lesser to the gradual move to synthesis. extent kings. Under the inspiration of From 1500 BC in Brahmanic times, as has puranic Hinduism the sculpting of images already been established, there was and the building of temples became the new interdependence between kshatriya warriors form of patronage. It is possible that the and Brahman priests. The kings and earliest images were, like the early secular warriors invested in ritual sacrifices palaces, made of wood. conducted by the Brahmans in the belief In the Gupta period in North India, poets that these had the potential to give them such as Kalidasa spent considerable time divine empowering, sanctification and eulogizing the godlike qualities of the Gupta purification. The renouncing of materialism kings, but despite this royal aspiration, and the spiritual aspirations of Buddhism Hindu kings were slow to lay claim to and Jainism led to a change in the nature temples until about the sixth century AD. of patronage. Buddhist and Jain lay Studies of available inscriptional evidence devotees offered alms to monks and suggest that patronage was not generally invested in religious art and architecture. the sole prerogative of kings until the tenth or eleventh centuries. In the Kusana and Gupta periods, princes Who Were the Patrons? and nobles seemed to have invested in Communal patronage shrines while portrait sculpture, resembling religious icons, were placed in temples. This The rise of devotional Hinduism from the practice may well reflect the growing third century AD created a need for popularity for the creation of permanent enshrined images, and this, together with statues. The acquisition of power, however, the renouncing tradition of Buddhism still seemed to be better served by giving to

163 Hinduism and the Religious Arts priests for ceremonials, rather than in by members of the royal family, feudatories, acquiring religious merit by building rich merchants and religious acaryas. shrines, a practice hitherto associated more Among a large number of inscriptions, with Jainism or Buddhism, where sacred surprisingly only a few are associated with monuments were identified with the the kings.53 Yet according to the acquisition of merit. Kings familiar with Vishnudharmottara Parana the king's open-air rituals and impermanent wooden permission was required. secular palaces must surely have associated An image is to be established in the age of strife stone temples and shrines with Buddhism. in an imperial city, built beforehand, by that Inscriptional evidence suggests that king who has defeated kings in battle and no building shrines was an activity of the other. Another may, however, establish one, 0 princes or wealthy merchants in the urban Yadava, after he has obtained permission centres of the Satavahanas and the (anujna) of the king. The establishment of a Ikshvakus in the first to third centuries AD. permanent image (sthira) in a house-hold shrine Following the breakup of the Gupta (grhya) also requires the permission of the empire a period of instability and aspiring king.54 leaders created a need to counter the problems and uncertainties of authority and Kings to reinforce kingly legitimacy. This new dynamic of kingship is expressed in patterns One of the earliest inscribed and dated of royal endowment, not only to Brahmans temples in South India refers to King and poets but also it would seem to Pulakesin, a Chalukyan king who was temples.52 However, lack of material responsible for the construction of the evidence obscures whether or not kings Meguti temple in AD 634. It is significan were actually responsible for commissioning that this early temple was not Hindu but temples in the seventh and eighth centuries. Jain. The Jain belief in the acquisition of The attitude was undoubtedly changing and merit by temple building probably underlies in South India considerable evidence this association and it is likely that the indicates that the royal Pallavas were monarch was himself a Jain. Another Jain responsible for temple building. In North temple in the north, an early example of a India, however, the moment of change is royal Gupta patron of the fifth century, is obscure and there is disagreement due to at Udaygiri, dedicated to the Gupta ruler the fragmentary remains of most temples Kumaragupta, but this is undated. From the as to whether or not the Pratihara kings seventh century there is growing evidence were responsible for their construction. of royal patronage of religious buildings in Inscriptions in Pratihara temples reveal a South India and to a lesser extent in the continuance of the earlier patronage of north. Under the Pallavas in South India people from various sections of society. from the sixth century, kings claimed From AD 650 to the tenth century, religious descent from the Puranic gods and art was supported by feudatories and demonstrated their kingly power by the military chiefs who could own and donate redistribution of their booty to Brahmans, land to religious institutions, and to a lesser temples and lesser chiefs. Royal patronage extent by the kings. They were constructed from North India is particularly evident

164 Royal Patronage from the tenth century, with inscriptions matronymics. This naming system had been compiled by Brahmans which attest to the elaborately developed by the Satavahanas greatness of kings and to their genealogy in the second and third centuries AD. to reinforce their power and legitimacy. The According to the modern scholar Mulk Raj gods were brought down to earth and given Anand, in the third century AD the Ikshvaku a solid platform. These temples acted as the queens of Nagarjunakonda were respons- kings' powerhouses and became the focus ible for the patronage of shrines and of political and economic generation. temples.55 The patron of a memorial pillar Impetus was given to this development to the mother of king Rudrapurushadatta by the Puranas which claimed that which was discovered at Nagarjunakonda purtadharma, was a spiritually worthy is unknown. However, we do know that the activity held in high esteem. The conscious son of the Ikshvaku queen Kapanasri identification of the king as God's patronized the Puspabhadrasvami temple representative on earth reached its apogee which has a very early transitional form. in the mid Chola period during the reigns Evidence of a goddess cult is shown by the of Rajaraja I and Rajendra I. remains of temples to the goddess and by excavation, which revealed several miniature terracotta figures of female Women patrons images and a female squatting image which The historical evidence shows the extent to resembled a purna-kumbha or filled jar which women's religious patronage has had decorated with flowers and foliage.56 an impact on the development and growth The matronymic practice, however, was in the popularity of image making. more or less discontinued from the fourth Considerable evidence exists as to the century AD. importance of female patrons from as early It appears that ritual bathing became as the second century BC. The earliest more significant at this time. Certainly the known seated images are from Kankali Tila facilities for ritual ablutions substantially in the region of Mathura and these are increased. As has often been stated that in inscribed with the names of female Jain India, water has always been associated with devotees. Evidence of women's patronage fertility and, through its identification with is also seen in inscriptions found on early Lakshmi and the river goddesses, regarded Buddhist religious sites and on early Jain as feminine.57 Perhaps as a vestige of the and Buddhist images. Women had an matriarchal system, men, who were ritually important ritual relationship with local cult married to the earth, were seen to require deities, notably in the pre-Vedic worship of the infusion of female procreative power. yaksha and naga shrines; and the terracotta Ritual bathing may well have been votive offerings associated with these perceived as the means by which the shrines may reflect the common female marriage of king and earth could be practice of making offerings for wish rendered fertile and fruitful, fertility and the fulfilment. bringing of rainfall being one of the king's The continuation of an earlier matri- duties. archal order under the Ikshvakus is seen Early Chalukyan kings of the Deccan by the continued use of the convention of claimed descent from the goddess Hariti

165 Hinduism and the Religious Arts and adopted her name, which supplanted neighbouring temples Virupaksha and the earlier use of the matronymic. High Mallikarjuna are almost identical. caste families from the fourth to sixth In Orissa, later inscriptions refer to queen centuries AD refrained from appending their Sitadevi's involvement in the building of mothers' names, but the middle and lower the sun temple of Konarak. Queen strata of southern society did not fully Sembiyan Mahadevi, the Chola queen of abandon the matriarchal system. Hariti, Gandaraditya (949-57), who outlived her from being associated with pestilence, husband, was also an important patron. Her became transformed into a benevolent religious devotion was said to have inspired goddess at the same time as the emergence her patronage of the arts. Inscriptional of Brahmanism in the Deccan and the evidence reveals her to have been an active discontinuation of the matronymic from patron during the reigns of both sons over royal names.58 the period from 969 to the first part of the The Chalukyas constructed an increasing reign of the great Rajaraja I (985-1014). number of small shrines and temples, many Under her influence numerous older brick of which were built by queens. The temples were rebuilt in stone and sculpture Chalukyan queen Mahadevi Khanduvula began to take on a more stereotyped declared in an inscription that her appearance. This possibly reflected North marital happiness and offspring were due Indian style which, due to a more faithful to the grace of the goddess Lajja Gauri. adherence to textual prescription, had Early images of this goddess, who is changed in this manner by the tenth portrayed with legs apart and the head century (Figure 5.4). A sculpture on the side of a lotus, are in Aihole, Badami, Mahakuta, of the early Chola Nageswara temple shows Siddhanakolla, Jalihal, Alampur and a possible portrait of a queen or princess Panchalingala and more than half a dozen alongside other lifelike images. survive at Ter, a site linked to the Chalukyas. Willis refers to the patronage of queens One of the earliest representations of this in North India during the rule of the cult deity was found at Nagarjunakonda, Gurjara-Pratiharas. Inscriptions refer to but there is no evidence of temples being queen Jayavali from Buchkala, daughter of dedicated to this goddess. Jajjuka of the Gurjara Pratiharas, who built As has already been noted, further a temple.60 In Kaman (ancient Kamyaka), evidence of female patronage was the queen Vacchika, the wife of king Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal, perhaps Durgadaman, built a temple. Other temples the most outstanding example of early were built as memorials to queens to western Chalukya temple construction. It increase the fame and religious merit of was built during the reign of Vikramaditya their consorts and sons. The Lacchukesvara II (733-44) by his chief queen Loka Mahadeva temple at Rajor was built by a Mahadevi59 and dedicated to Siva prince, Mathanadeva, in memory of his Loketesvara. In the mid-eighth century mother Lacchuka.61 Loka Mahadevi and another queen built A further factor in women's pre-eminence temples to Siva at Pattadakal to com- in unorthodox village rituals was their ritual memorate the victory of their husband over purity. The domestic is itself perceived as the neighbouring Pallava ruler. The pure and undefiled.62 Women were also

166 Royal Patronage largely responsible for offerings to local cult inscription of unknown provenance records deities, such as the snake and tree shrines. the activities of Yasomati, the wife of a commander in the service of a Guhila prince who built a temple to Vishnu.68 Nobles and officers Inscriptions also suggest the patronage Nobles, officers and the lower castes also of artisans and other members of the lower made significant religious donations in classes who had been forbidden participa- North India. Stelae depicting nobles provide tion in the Brahmanic priestly ritual. Even evidence of their involvement in the from the early Buddhist period the decora- patronage of temples,63 as on occasion do tion of monuments had reflected lower caste memorials recording the deaths of warriors preoccupations with such iconographic and the self-immolation (sati) of their elements as snakes, lustrating elephants, widows. An inscription near Kotah records yakshas and yakshinis, lotuses and trees. the establishment of a temple by a prince In collective gifts were in the ninth century and explains that its sometimes made by social groups or a series purpose was to bring spiritual merit and of individuals. These are recorded in fame to the donor. The inscription also gives complicated inscriptions. How complex the date and the name of the author of the these arrangements might have been is inscription and the temple's architect.64 shown by an inscription from Pehowa. This Evidence of patronage by the officer class records that two horse dealers met at can be seen in two inscriptions on the Prtthudaka and agreed to pay a proportion Chaturbhuj temple at Gwalior which state of their buying and selling price to four that it was established by Alia, the warden temples at Kanauj.69 Endowments common- (kottapala) of in the last quarter ly included villages, fields, houses, shops, of the ninth century.65 Alia was the son of cash and even garlands and oil for the Vaillabhata from Lata, who had served the lamps of the temple. Pratihara king Ramabhadra as a frontier commander during AD 833-6. Alia also Ascetics became frontier commander and was sent to Gwalior by Mihira Bhoja. Alia built the A further factor in the construction of Caturbhuj temple to Vishnu for his own and temples in North India from the tenth to his wife's religious merit The accumulated the eleventh centuries is seen in the evidence suggests that officer patrons made growing role of ascetics. Willis refers to an only brief mention of their sovereigns in the inscription which reveals that a Cahamana dedicatory inscriptions and had consider- clan had a temple constructed by a able autonomy.66 Their wives too on Simharaja who provided the funds, while occasion emulated the example of their the custodians of the shrine were a line of queens and endowed temples. An example Saiva ascetics or who supervised of this can be seen at Gwalior, where an the building of the temple. The ascetics image of Siva and Parvati bears an organized the hiring of craftsmen, and paid inscription which states that it was them with the funds provided by the commissioned by Rjuka, the wife of Sri patrons. Evidence of ascetics involvement Rudra, a Pratihara feudatory.67 Another in temple building and in the life of temples

167 Hinduism and the Religious Arts in general is graphically provided by the of the king and the power of the god reliefs on temple walls, for example, on the became virtually indivisible, manifested walls of the Lakshmana temple in through the temple. The divine empower- Khajuraho (Figure 4.3). With the passage ing of the Brahmanic king had been of time the ascetics became a vital part of necessary to reinforce his pre-eminence over the temple and indirectly benefited from the the other kshatriya warriors and over the revenue offered to the deity. Brahmans on whom in so many respects his office depended. To achieve his initial identification with the god, the king still Temples as patrons depended on the royal consecration Temples acted not only as patrons and ceremony. Gradually during the Kusan employers but also as charitable institu- period however, statues of the king were tions. Some had hospitals for the sick and carved and placed in shrines beside stone some had special feeding houses which gave images of the deity. From the third century free food daily to the poor,70 particularly AD, visual evidence, particularly in the south, during festival time. Temples also acted as shows the importance of ritual bathing in custodians and teachers of knowledge, ceremonials and by the seventh century it adding to the intellectual life of the region. had become an essential part of royal Ancient texts were compiled and copied and consecration. This, together with the sometimes translated into regional acquisition of merit through gift giving, languages. Schools with resident students brought about widespread construction of were founded and maintained. Their dance temple water tanks. performances had a vital and didactic role One of the chief motivations for in the ceremonies and festivals. This process sponsorship of religious art in ancient India is still alive today. For example, the was the fear of death and its consequences. Venkatesvara temple at Tirumalai in South The desire for a favourable rebirth and India, reputed to be the richest religious ultimate escape from the circle of existence institution in the country, has an active inspired the Buddhist and Jain patrons to cultural programme. Funds provided by the acquire punya or religious merit. The temple help to support a local university, patronage of temples by Hindu kings was publishing house and museum. believed to bring political and economic benefit in state matters and also to ensure favourable status in a future birth.71 In Aims and Objectives of Temple Patronage medieval Hindu India the patron also had As has been shown, divinity was a crucial an eye to this world, with visions of the concern of kings. The Vedic concept of the prestige attached to the funding of grand absorption of divine powers and of being architectural monuments which helped his renewed by transformation in the ritual fire acquisition of power and legitimacy. as divine remained the goal in medieval India, but the means changed. The king Merit having become associated with the temple through patronage, in time was identified One early manuscript states: 'Let him who with the god within the building. The power wishes to enter the worlds that are reached

168 Royal Patronage by meritorious deeds of piety and charity ritual to a symbolic offering of self described build a temple to the gods.'72 as bhakti or devotion. Despite the eulogies The later Silpaprakasa manuscript which of praise in the Vedic hymns, the non-verbal contained instructions on the method of visualization and identification with the temple construction stated that such a deity and the intimacy of supplicant and patron 'will always have peace, wealth, grain deity became crucial to the aspirations of and sons'. The acquisition of merit is here the Hindu patron. linked to prosperity in this world, to be The idea of acquiring punya or religious acquired by gift giving. As stone replaced merit rests on the fundamental concept of wood as the fabric for the new religious art and belief in karma (action), reincarnation, that was everywhere appearing by the fifth and ultimately moksha (liberation) from the century AD, so too the ancient ritual texts cycle of existence. This has already been which had been memorized for generations suggested as the single most prominent began to be written down. It also coincided motivation for religious patronage. with the Puranic injunction encouraging purtadharma, the building of temples as the Legitimacy and the acquisition of highest form of religious devotion. Despite spiritual power the initial patronage of nobles, ladies and merchant classes, the growth of ever As has been mentioned above, the grander temple schemes involved an outlay acquisition of temporal and spiritual power of resources largely beyond the scope of was in ancient Vedic India achieved by ordinary people and became increasingly sacrificial rituals. The Mahabharata refers the exclusive preserve of royalty. to the ceremonies of Yudishthira's royal From as early as the fifth century we see consecration (rajasuya) and the horse an inscription in a Jain temple referring to sacrifice (asvamedha). This made the kings a king seeking spiritual merit; and in the dependent on the Brahman priests who Chalukyan period from the early seventh were responsible for such ceremonies. century we again see the investment of The rise of Buddhism and Jainism kings in Jain temples. A number of early prompted a new motivation for religious South Indian kings were Jains, a notable investment, where devotees primarily sought example being the early Pallava king spiritual merit rather than power. This Mahendra. Evidence of this patronage and engaged a variety of patrons in the form of gift giving is shown in an Ajanta Buddhist merchants, queens, princes and nobles in the inscription, where the patron of Cave 17 building of Buddhist stupas and subsequently was recorded as having built the cave for Hindu shrines in North and South India from his parents and for the Buddha. As we will the third century AD. The economy of classical observe, kings from the tenth century kept India supported this, with much of the a jealous guard on the patronage of these resources controlled by the bankers, monuments, due to their association with merchants and other urban dwellers. legitimacy, prestige, spiritual merit and From 200 BC to AD 300 the Brahmans, power in direct relation to investment The although highly respected, experienced a concept of dana or sacrificial offering was temporary lessening of their authority, until ultimately transmuted in Hindu temple they assumed a legitimizing role in the

169 Hinduism and the Religious Arts medieval period. This reduced influence was though subject to northern Brahmanic in part owing to the immigrant dynasties influence sought a broader form of such as the Indo-Greeks, Sakas and Kusanas legitimacy than their predecessors; and from who had less inherent regard for the caste the third century AD the king actively sought hierarchies. Despite this temporary decline Brahmanic support. When the economy of the Brahmans, due to their essential role in ancient India collapsed, the money of the domestic rituals, gradually reinstated their merchant classes reverted to feudal chiefs authority. The priests shifted the emphasis who instead of reinvesting used it in massive from yajna (sacrifice) to devotional worship. temple-building projects. The prevailing A few great kings such as the Satavahanas ethos encouraged them to invest in stone from South India patronized the traditional and spiritual stock following the popular Vedic ceremonies but by and large the practice of the Buddhist and Jain priests were preoccupied with more communities.76 domestic ceremonials. In the south, the Pallavas were the first In North India from the third century AD to promote sovereignty and legitimacy by in the Gupta period, the king's legitimacy claiming descent from the Puranic gods and was enhanced by travelling bards who sang displaying royal power by large gifts of land of the king's military victories and and wealth to Brahmans and temples. In generosity. In exchange for the poems these South India extensive medieval temples poets were given jewels, chariots and expressed obeisance to the ideal god or king, elephants, but rarely land. thus reinforcing the power of the god-king and subsequently the king's legitimacy. The Specifically, legitimization of the king in this southern king was venerated not in the society came from compositions that spoke of transcendent office but in the man himself. his generosity and bravery and it was only later This practice absorbed in turn the Hindu that the brahmanas, who could fabricate divine emphasis on the religious icon and personal genealogies and connect the king to veneration. Those Chola temples which are transcendent ideals, were called upon to revealed by inscription to be funerary authorize the king's power.73 monuments support this view of the cult of In ancient India in the south, sangam the god-king. As in the north, the granting literature paints the chieftain as a glorious of land to temples and Brahmans consolid- hero whose rule is dependent on his own ated the power of the priests. It reached its generosity and bravery in battle.74 This did apogee during the reign of the Cholas. not come from the Brahmans but from the Gradually however, as the fell king's possession of his drum, tutelary tree into decline and with it the power of the and staff which were themselves protected monarchy, the king reverted to being a and sacred objects.75 The king's aim was not consecrated devotee, subservient to the only land ownership but glory. In the Brahman and the temple. medieval period bhakti literature extols the The northern kings were slow to lay claim king like the earlier sangam poetry. From to temples. Until the eighth century in the the first century AD the southern rulers such south and the tenth century in the north, as the Satavahanas, the Ikshvakus, the temples were not seen as the means to Pallavas, the Rastrakutas and the Cholas, acquire power and legitimacy. Willis

170 Royal Patronage suggests that the imperial Pratiharas may was and still is believed to be a crucial link not have sought identification with a fixed between the planets and the spiritual and therefore confining locus of power, but potency or degree of sanctity of the water. rather sought hegemony over wider Written evidence of the significance of dominions. Their aim was to control the this ceremony is given by Rastrakuta nobility of North India who had a history of records. In a study of these documents factionalism and competition.77 Inden refers to several terms used to name From the tenth century in North India, the Rastrakuta king's initiation into kingship petty rivalries and political disintegration by the ritual bath or abhiseka, one being gave rise to an urgent need for legitimacy rajyabhiseka, 'affusion into kingship', which and this was reinforced by the patronage of Inden suggests referred to the ceremonial temples and images. Temples reinforced the bath in which water and other auspicious local authority of the king. Brahmans substances were poured over the king's composed genealogies to help legitimize the head. Coronation ceremonies refer to sea position of any upwardly mobile social group water and water from no less than 500 rivers and in return their temples were the which was brought in jars and used during recipients of generous royal land grants. the abhiseka ritual.78 Inden refers to holy Prior to the reinforcing of royal power by water which was believed to infuse the investment in sacred architecture, the royal divine substance of the king through ritual consecration ceremony was crucial to the bathing. It also suggests the fertilizing of acquiring of divine power. We have noted the king's marriage to the earth: 'The that in Vedic times this had been achieved ceremonial bath was a rite that not only through the sacrificial rajasuya ceremony. purified, it also imbued the king with the From the fifth century AD the number of divine power or energy, or, as I prefer to put kings engaging in the ancient ritual it, with divine will.'79 ceremonies of kingship declined. The The rite was believed to put divine rajasuya ceremony abandoned sacrifice to strength into the king's hair80 and for the focus on ritual ablution as a means of the first year after his coronation he was not absorption of Sri or the divine feminine. The permitted to stand on the earth with bare origin of these beliefs may well be sought feet to prevent his power from 'flowing in the Ikshvaku dynasty, where, as discussed away'.81 It was also believed that the king above, there was strong archaeological would impair the sri conferred on him if evidence for the popularity of ritual bathing. he had his hair cut off. Hair is still believed Huntington also refers to the importance of to hold life today and the ceremonial water association and ritual bathing in offering of hair as an ascetic on renouncing South India. Linked to this ceremony with the world, as a penance or to win merit and water was astronomical and astrological the first cutting of a child's hair are charting. The times of the full moon and continuing examples of this. This form of positions of the planets in relation to one offering can be seen in a carving at the another were seen to be particularly Pallava Varaha cave (Figure 5.7) shrine at important in arriving at an auspicious Mamallapuram. moment and festivals were planned to Every day the king had a ceremonial bath, accord to astronomical configuration. There abhiseka, before holding court. This is

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Figure 5.7 Carving of a figure holding his hair and about to offer his own head, Varaha cave, Mamallapuram. Late seventh century. Robert Elgood. echoed in the daily puja of the idol which Indeed, virtually all of the rites having to do with first receives lustration and feeding before the making or remaking of a Hindu kingdom dressing. Ritual bathing was the means by during the period of the Hindu kingdom's glory, which people in association with the gods the eighth to twelfth century, consisted of a more purified themselves, not only of the dark- or less elaborate bathing ceremony either of the nesses that impeded action, known as tamas, king or of an image of a god.82 but also imbued themselves with the The daily ritual bath was supposed to be 'luminous energy' of Vishnu vaishnava-tejas, taken by every Hindu and also applied to a using as its medium the water into which large variety of objects such as sacred the royal priests had invited it. The priests images, animals, weapons and tools. The while sprinkling water are said to have practice continues today. In the ritual invoked deities, to purify the king of consecration or reconsecration of images, previous and to fortify him for the next the water in which the image was lustrated stage of his life, a ceremony much like which now contains the spiritual essence of Christian baptism, but repeated. the god will be stored in jars wrapped in

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Figure 5.8 Gajalakshmi, Varaha cave, Mamallapuram. Late seventh century. Robert Elgood cotton to contain the precious force. This which was probably meant symbolically sacred water will then be used to lustrate a to portray the act of royal consecration new image, transferring its potency from the (Figure 5.8). In this image the elephants discarded icon.83 An actual example of water imbue Lakshmi with auspicious waters, being inherently divine and containing the representing fertility which she herself essence of Vishnu is demonstrated by the possesses, and she in turn infuses the sixteenth-century Varadarajaswami temple elephants with the same qualities. The at Kanchipuram. Here a wooden Vaishnavite elephants, analogous with clouds and image is ceremonially placed in the temple therefore synonymous with rainfall, stand water tank for twelve years. It is removed at on lotuses and demonstrate their relation- an auspicious time and placed in the temple ship with the pre-eminent Lakshmi. The mandapa for 45 days before once again earliest appearance of the female with being placed back in the tank.84 elephants is seen on the railings of the The Gajalakshmi image is a portrayal of Buddhist stupa of Bharhut (second century the lustration of the goddess by elephants BC). Other symbols associated with water

173 Hinduism and the Religious Arts are found as part of the ornamentation of divine potency of these Gods into the world when temples, for example, the protective river she flows onto the earthly plane. She gives their goddesses Jumna and Ganga, or the amalaka sacred presences to the earth in liquid form.86 and water pot on the top of the temple. Identification with the deity, the infusion The appearance of the river goddesses of divine power through the ritual bathing on the outside of shrines from as early as of both monarch and image enshrined in the sixth century AD suggest a new emphasis the temple and reference to were on the infusion of divinity.85 An early all believed to confer power, legitimacy and historical reference to these images can be fertility. The kings compared themselves seen by an actual recorded event. The with mythological archetypes and re- Chalukyan ruler Vijayaditya acquired enacted noble deeds of the gods. Regional Palidhvaja banners from a northern king princes frequently used imperial titles and on which these goddesses appear. It is competed vigorously with one other in the interesting to note that following this event arts of peace and war. In the absence of a these images appear on southern archi- recognized imperial centre there was no tecture. The transference of sacred power, impetus to return to the detached role once or the bringing of fertility and prosperity to played by the Pratihara monarchs. The king the kingdom, may also be symbolized attempted to harness the power of the deity by bringing water from the sacred rivers. through identification with either Vishnu The river goddesses appear, for example, or Siva. flanking Gupta temple doors in the second The seizure and worship of tribal quarter of the fifth century and sub- aniconic images by Hindu rajas was also an sequently at Ajanta in the latter part of accepted means of extending legitimate the fifth century. They also appear outside authority. The worship of these tribal the Ramesvara cave at Ellora from the mid- images also served to mediate between vana sixth century, in the Gaudargudi temple at and ksetra, Sanskrit terms for the Aihole and in the temple at Pattadakal, wilderness and settled space. One effect of where the linga is shown receiving this was to maintain the acceptability of lustration in the act of worship. Rajendra ancient tribal gods and religious practices Chola successfully waged war in the north alongside orthodox Brahmanical Hinduism. and brought back with him to his capital, In classical Indian ideology, great import- Gangakondacholapuram, water taken from ance is given to the conquest of the wilder- the sacred river Ganges. Despite the river's ness and also the giving up of the norms of feminine character she also absorbs the society and the retreat to the forest during essence of the male deities. the final stage of life. A study of the acquisition of royal authority in Orissa prior Spilling out of heaven from Vishnu's foot, to the British rule has recently been containing Vishnu's liquified essence according conducted, in which Schnepel argues that to some myths, and falling onto Siva's head, where she meanders through his tangled locks, One can find in south Orissa (and in Orissa the mighty Ganges appears in this world after generally) numerous instances where persons having been made more sacred by direct contact striving to become kings, or kings competing with Vishnu and Siva. The river then spreads the for dominance in a given area, fought for access

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to a sacred spot and for a prominent position with the regulation of the meteorological in a local goddess's cult.87 process and other natural forces. Various forms of Vedic sacrificial offerings of Orthodox images of Durga were also sustenance to the gods were believed to brought in from outside the region and contribute to the gods' task of world installed to give additional weight to royal maintenance. These rites are recorded in legitimacy. The image of Sri Nathji at the ancient hymns and ritual prescription as temple of in Rajasthan is one well as in the Sanskrit Epics. One aspect of such example. These images were often ritual was the gift (dakshina or dana) given stolen and then installed in the disputed by the patron of a sacrifice to the priests, territory. The act of stealing an image to guarantee the success of the ritual. Soma, demonstrated the king's courage and, far the god rather than the ritual drink, was from its being considered an act of seen as the king of the Brahmans and was treachery and illegality, was seen to make also identified with fertility and fecundity. him a worthy owner of the image. His In the Hindu context there is also a sense offering of sacrifice to the deity cemented of the spiritual obligations incumbent on the alliance. References to such acts in the the monarch for the sake of auspiciousness, state of Orissa links the worship of the harmony and the subsequent fertility and goddess with the ritual killing of a tribal prosperity of the community, which was a leader and with human sacrifice in general further factor in temple building. The which, according to Schnepel, was an contractual exchange of gifts for fertility important royal ritual practice in a number and abundance is a further aim of temple 88 of south Orissan jungle kingdoms. building. The king's duty was to bring abundance and to protect his community, Fertility and prosperity and this the temple was believed to do. For example, certain ornamentation of the One of the king's main responsibilities was temple was believed to be inspired by the to ensure rainfall. According to Gonda, desire to protect from drought, one of the Prthu, the first archetypal model of a ruler, crucial duties of the king. was invested with dominion and compelled Royal consecration's ritual bathing was, the earth to yield a sufficient supply of food. according to the scholar Marglin, intended Indra seeing that all the ksatriya sovereigns to provide the king with female procreative ruled their kingdoms very virtuously, poured powers. This is interpreted as vanquishing the drying powers of heat by the infusion down vivifying showers of rain at the proper of female procreative powers, believed to time and at the proper place, and thus protected bring rain and prosperity to the king's all creatures.89 subjects.91 This may be likened to that of Liquor, which is forbidden to Brahmans the courtesan or devadasi, who by her (to prevent them from exposing the Veda sexual activity is said by Shulman to to profanation by reciting it out of season), vanquish the drying powers of ascetic heat. was said to help love, and the custom was This interpretation is reinforced by the fact, to sprinkle it on brides to stimulate the as has been already mentioned, that the generative powers.90 Kings were associated rivers are perceived as both female and

175 Hinduism and the Religious Arts divine and that the river waters bring about moon, and therefore with the round of a fruitful marriage of the king and the earth. seasons and time, reinforced his significance The king's marriage to the earth formed a as the fertile provider of regeneration in all part of the coronation ceremony in India its forms. Even the menstrual cycle is given until the sixteenth century. Even today the Sanskrit name rtu, meaning season. The when the priest wishes to sanctify water for link between water and planetary positions ritual purposes he evokes the river god- and astronomy was understandably desses into the water. regarded as very significant. The king had a duty to protect his sub- jects, but also to cause them to increase and Prestige become more fertile and prosperous. There was a requirement that each level of society Another motive for kings to patronize was in proper relationship with one another. grand architectural projects was self- An interesting parallel has been pointed out aggrandizement and the potential for by Marglin, that of the king with his king- demonstrating his wealth. The exercise of dom, and the wife with her domestic realm. royal power was as important as the fulfilment of expectations of his subjects in The king is conceptualized as the increaser and maintaining the reputation of his office. the maintainer of his people. At his coronation Successful kings fought military campaigns he is symbolically infused with female procreative and acquired booty which had to be disposed powers. On him depends the prosperity and well- of. Distributing wealth and booty was an being of his people who are also called his expected part of a king's maintenance of the progeny (praja). Royal power is sakti power. The pillars of his state and consequently of his king is particularly responsible for the fertility power. The Indian kings were under- of the land in the form of good and timely rains, standably concerned to extend their a role parallel to that of the courtesan or the territory. The temple in its sacred geometry devadasi who by her sexual activity vanquishes symbolized the totality of the universe. Only the drying powers of ascetic heat.92 if there is room can the blessings of heaven The king's responsibility for ensuring reach the earth. The kings sought to extend sufficient rainfall may well explain the fairly their boundaries and in their temples frequent occurrence of mithuna imagery on provided their philosophical expression of temples. These erotic images have direct the universe. The elements of kingship, links with ideas of fertility, the vanquishing including his power as a universal king over power against heat, and were also thought the four quarters of the universe and all the to attract the rain/life-giving clouds. The planetary and other deities, were represented Lakshmana temple at Khajuraho, wherein in the temple which reflected the king inscriptions were the result of royal reflecting the temple reflecting the king. patronage, is a good example of the use of The monarch achieved prestige by erotic imagery intended to assist the king contributing to a temple that stood as a and reflect his duties. However, it is mark of his own personality, prowess and important to note that erotic imagery, like artistic imagination, as the inscriptions most Indian iconography, is multivalent. demonstrate. An example of this can be seen The king's association with the sun and from the time of the Gurjara-Pratiharas at

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Pehowa, where an inscription refers to a land endowments and gifts to Brahmans, local Raja of the Tamara family who was temples and lesser chieftains. This had been eulogized by his successors for the an extension from the earlier sacrificial construction of numerous temples in every ritual dues to Brahmans from Vedic times, region.93 The inscription suggests that these combined with the tendency for the temples with their lofty pinnacles look from southern warrior king to demonstrate afar like posts fixed at the horizon in order power by sharing wealth among his to establish the king's fame. The great Chola nobles.95 The practice of gift giving to emperor Aditya, having built several elegant temples and Brahmans spread throughout stone temples at the end of the ninth North and South India. century, would have been pleased to read A further reason for the building of inscriptions describing him as the monarch temples was the commemoration of a victory or the promise of constructing a by whom the row of large temples of Siva, as it temple to the gods to ensure a victorious were banners of his own victorious, lofty and outcome of an impending war. Evidence of unacquainted with defeat (collapse) were built this is seen in an inscription which was of stone on the two banks of the from added to the temple of Konarak where it the Sahya mountains - even to the ocean.94 was claimed that the king built the temple In South India by the end of the Chola on the suggestion of his mother to fulfil a period there developed a rivalry between vow to the god following a great victory. On the patronage of the king and that of the a village level the fulfilment of vows is temple. In this competitive climate kings common practice and demonstrates the sought to demonstrate their power and interrelationship between the folk and economic status through the grandeur of monumental tradition to which reference their temples. The small temples gave way has already been made.96 According to to large and elaborate projects. An example Luschinsky, by AD 500 a new type of of this, in the north, is the patronage of the religious activity and thought based on the mid-tenth century Chandella kings, who Puranas was well established in North India sought to elevate their former tribal origin and largely under the control of women.97 to royal status. Their inscriptions stress their mythic genealogy, royal matrimonial Atonement alliances and make comparison with the heroes of epic literature. One inscription The Hindu concept of ahimsa or non- records that the temple celebrates the violence was sometimes a factor in encour- consolidation of the power of the king, who aging monarchs to atone for a bloody victory had captured a religious image crucial to by using booty for religious ends. Evidence the power politics of this region from his of this is seen by the example of the eighth- former overlord. century ruler Meruvarman who campaigned against his neighbours and then sought atonement by undertaking acts of piety with Wish fulfilment and gift giving the booty brought home from his defeated Under the Pallavas, ritual kingship involved adversaries.98 Another example of this desire royal beneficence which resulted in large for atonement is demonstrated by the

177 Hinduism and the Religious Arts eighth-century Lalitaditya from Kashmir, Mamalla I is placed on the south side of the who was apparently driven by the need for ratha, which is the side associated with conquest and to placate the gods through death. In the tenth century the Siva temple continuous building and religious ascribed to Bhoja and the Matagesvara dedication." temple in Khajuraho appear to be examples A clear example of the need to propitiate of memorial or funerary monuments. powerful deities and to beseech their aid in Literature also provides evidence for the defending territory is shown by the erection existence of funerary temples.103 A text of the temple of Beraghat (c. AD exists which affirms that a memorial temple 1000).10 ° It has been assigned to the should avoid a regular sikara, and instead Kalachuri ruler Yuvaraja II. He is said to use a phamsana roof of receding tiers with have assigned one-third of his state revenue decorations of bells at the corners.104 to maintain monasteries and temples and, The naming of temples after a donor, when the neighbouring Chandellas esteemed person or demon is a long- threatened to invade, built the Yogini established practice known from at least temple to gain the god's assistance. the fifth century, and which still continues today. In North and South India it can be observed in the villages in small shrines Commemorative and funerary which commemorate heroes, ancestors and monuments bhutas. In South India the Tamil classic Temples were sometimes built as funerary Jivaka Cintamani tells the story of how a monuments. This continues a practice that servant named Sutanjanan, a friend of commenced in India with megalithic graves Jivaka, died on the battlefield to secure which were later followed by Buddhist victory for his master.105 Jivaka built a stupas, eight of which were built to contain commemorative temple to the memory of a part of the mortal remains of the Buddha his friend and placed within it a consecrated himself. It has been noted that the stupas gold portrait sculpture of Sutanjanan. were often placed in close proximity to the Jivaka then arranged for daily worship in earlier graves, a prominent example being the temple, a great festival and composed Amaravati. Willis refers to two inscriptions a drama on the life of the dead hero and from North India, one of which notes that arranged for its performance in the temple. the king Baladitya erected a temple of Nagaswamy cites this example to Vishnu to commemorate his deceased wife. demonstrate the custom in South India of The other inscription from Rajor records erecting a temple to a dead hero who is that prince Mathanadeva granted a village deified and worshipped and whose life is to a Siva temple to maintain rituals and enacted through dance as a part of the named the temple after his mother.101 The festival. All over South India and Sri Lanka Chola king Parantaka (AD 907-55) was there are temples and shrines erected for responsible for building the funerary temple the dead heroes Nadukal and Virakkal who Pallippadai over the remains of his father.102 as folk deities are worshipped under It has also been suggested that the Pallava different names, where a ceremony is Dharmaraja ratha may be a commemorative performed known as bhutam attam in which monument because a portrait of king the bhutam is invoked in a living man and

178 Royal Patronage thereby brought to life. According to already been mentioned, the king and son Nagaswamy the aim of the bhutam are portrayed in the Adivaraha temple in ceremony is to bring the hero to life and Mahabalipuram (Figure 5.1). by so doing confer prosperity on the Several examples exist of portrait sculp- community. The invocation of the dead in tures in the Chola period, when the god-king a live person is also seen in the Brahman axis was at its height. King Rajendra, who practice of performing the ritual sraddha erected a temple to Siva at his capital city to the dead parents, except that in the latter Gangakondacholapuram to celebrate a march there is no colouring of the face or wearing to the Ganges, is depicted in a niche beside of bright garments, ornaments, etc. one of the doorways of this temple. It has Monuments which commemorate the dead already been suggested that this may repres- and spirit possession serve a cathartic role, ent king Rajendra receiving a floral garland resolving the tensions and conflicts that of victory from the god Siva (Figure 5.5). arise from the dangerous thresholds of life. On the entrance porch of the temple of Adinath of the tenth century AD, at Mount Abu in Rajasthan there is a rare portrait Portrait sculpture sculpture of the patron Vimala seated on a The earliest portrait sculptures take two horse. Temple architecture in Nepal also forms, both relating to service to the sometimes incorporates commemorative community. There are statues of donors or stone columns, upon which an image of the donor couples from the Buddhist sites from ruler is placed facing the principal entrance the second to first century BC, such as to the temple. Bharhut, Sanci and Karle, as well as hero Further portraiture is seen in the sun stones. The headless portrait of Kanishka temple of Konarak assigned to King resembling the sun-god Surya is an early Nrsimhadeva in 1258. Below the image of example of this practice. Inscriptions in the Surya and his seven horses is a kneeling Kusan period refer to the king as the 'son figure in anjali mudra next to the image's of God'. The Gupta period also has portraits right foot which may well be Nrsimhadeva of Gupta emperors on coinage and images himself. It has been suggested that several of the kings placed in temple shrines. other reliefs may represent king Portrait sculptures of royal patrons are Nrsimhadeva and events in his life. Certain however comparatively rare in India after aspects of the iconographic programme the sixth century AD until the Chola period. seem to be personal to him rather than The Pallava patron, however, Mamalla I, related to the deity. In the Baya Chakda is believed to be represented with an manuscript it is noted that the king, on analogy of himself as the boar and returning from war, ordered an image to trivikrama referring to his victory over the be made showing him 'in the attitude of Chalukyas. This visual allegory is supported a triumphantly returning warrior'.106 by Kasakudi plates which state that the Although this image is not known, others Pallavas resemble partial incarnations of relating to events in his life have been Vishnu. The Dharmaratha also has a identified. One sculpture shows the king portrait sculpture of Mamalla I on the as an archer and is apparently the carving southern side (Figure 5.3) and, as has described in the Baya Chakda. Another

179 Hinduism and the Religious Arts shows the king worshipping a shrine with noble work, 'an even path to beatitude, a an image of Durga Mahisamardini. Several great ship for crossing the ocean of reliefs in the sun temple of Konarak existence, the seed of the tree of spiritual portray the patron. One depicts Rama merit which bears endless fruits and and Sita which may be interpreted as the permanent abode of goddess of symbolically representing the king and prosperity'.107 Sitadevi, his wife. The identification of the Inscriptions at the Chaturbhuj temple at king with the deity is a common occur- Gwalior and another now in Udaipur both rence in royal portraits. refer to temples, which were built as a In medieval Indian art the king is often means of crossing over from this temporal portrayed in a more informal everyday world to the spiritual.108 The concept of manner. For example, in Khajuraho he is crossing is likened to a ford and is therefore seen sitting with his courtiers. In the Belur called a tirtha. The king, as patron, derived temple he is sitting in his court giving dana; particular spiritual benefit from the temple. and in the Sun temple at Konarak he is On entering the temple the monarch had shown practising archery and sitting on a access to the spiritual world and returned swing amidst the women of his harem. with his powers renewed through the However, scenes of royal coronations and powerhouse of energies which the temple personal triumphs form the subject of much represented. An object as well as a place temple art in which rulers attempted to link can be considered a ford, but the principle their lives with the world of the gods. remains the same, namely a means of The later Vijayanagara Rayas and their passing from the temporal to the spiritual successors the Nayaks were also keen on world. portraiture which took the form of full- The temple also gave the ordinary length realistic portraits, usually found in devotee the potential to become temporarily gopuras and mandapas. The kings usually divine by identifying with the deity in his stand in anjali mudra, signifying that they devotions and thereby making the crossing. are devotees of the god and often hold An inscription at Pehowa states that three their swords under their arms; examples of brothers built a temple because 'they were these are the statue of Krishnadevaraya in afraid of the dreadful ocean of mundane the north at Chidambaram, and existence which is difficult to cross by men Tirumalainayaka on the south-west pillar of of little wisdom'.109 the Nardimandapa at Tanjavur. Religious obligation A means of crossing In early Jaina inscriptions found on sculpture Temples are the destination of pilgrims but of the Kusan period at Mathura (first to third it is important to appreciate that arrival is century AD), it was made clear that patronage not the end of the journey. Several of art was part of the code of religious duty inscriptions describe the temple as a 'great (dana-dharma) which included the donation ship for crossing the ocean of existences'. and preservation of images, sacred texts, The construction of a temple according to buildings and monastic institutions. This one inscription was considered a pious and giving is known as deya-dharma or deva-

180 Royal Patronage dharma. This philosophy also appears in Protection Buddhism but in Hinduism cannot be substantiated at such an early date due to The temples provide a climate of devotion the lack of written evidence. However, it has and service to God which was believed to been suggested that royal patronage in the secure God's pleasure, to propitiate him and Buddhist period was generally extended to to bring prosperity to the community and more than one religious sect since at that protection from malevolent forces. Ritual time kingly patronage was not expected to with its familiar continuity gave a sense of be partisan.110 purpose and control to assuage the fears of The medieval Hindu king's obligations men and women. were based on immemorial customs which The title Raja or king was, according to were as sacred as written texts. Aside from Gonda, derived from the Sanskrit root raj, the necessity to make gifts the medieval which expressed the idea of 'stretching out'. Hindu king's duty was to provide a stable The king was seen as someone who environment for the worship of the gods stretched himself out and protected lesser and for the conducting of the key rituals men under his powerful arms. Long arms which governed the life and death of his were considered a prescribed attribute of kingship and were believed to be essential subjects. He had a duty to protect his to a king for the protection of his subjects. subjects and the religious institutions, not The seventh-century AD portrait of Mamalla I just by statecraft but also as principal patron (Figure 5.2) shows such extended arms. of worship. In different centuries in the According to Gonda, in the royal consecra- various parts of the subcontinent the king tion the monarch received ritual lustration was expected to build a temple or to be with raised arms while standing on the closely involved with the maintenance of an throne, and it is suggested that in this existing religious institution. By seeing to position he represented the axis mundi, the the well-being of the Brahmans the king pivot of the universe.111 Indra is associated ensured that rituals in his kingdom were with the pillar and it is clear that the king properly conducted, for any deviation from as chakravartin was seen as heir to the god the prescribed ritual threatened the Indra and to possess extraordinary super- prosperity of his state. The king's human power. The king's power, however, responsibilities were also to uphold artha had to be renewed periodically and therefore and fulfil his dharma. In theory his right to the monarch came to the temple for kingship existed as long as he continued to regeneration and protection. fulfil his secular and religious obligations. The king's relation to his kingdom and the Conclusion Brahman's to his idol have been compared to a woman and her home. There was an Hindu patronage of the religious arts from interlocking relationship in which the the first century AD shows certain key priests offered services to the gods, the gods features. Before the sixth century BC in the preserved the king, the kingdom and his north, the Vedic monarch depended on the subjects, and the king protected the priest for the acquisition of his powers. In temples. the south he claimed warrior status by

181 Hinduism and the Religious Arts successful campaigns and the sharing of devotees' interest and investment in these booty. The Vedic warrior king was believed activities. Until the medieval period kings to make an ascent to heaven through the were not interested in laying claim to smoke of the sacrificial fire and to seize temples, preferring to worship in small power from the gods. Underlying this shrines and finding greater status from mythology was the concept that the Brahmanical support. acquisition of divine power required From as early as the first century AD coercion not grace. During this period the women's patronage whether of Jain icons, open-air ritual did not require permanent Buddhist stupas or Hindu temples was also housing, nor did the king or priest strong. Inscriptions testify to the fact that gain legitimacy from great monuments. not only did queens invest in sacred According to the Upanishads the building architecture, but they encouraged their sons of temples and images was meant for fools to atone for or build temples out of who were destined for the lower worlds,112 gratitude to the goddess, who they believe while the practice of tapas produced merit. was responsible for military victory. As we A belief which had temporarily lapsed, will see in Chapter 6, women are also seen that priestly intercession was essential in to have responsibility for the protection of the ceremonies to divinely empower the home and family which involves them in ruler, was reinstated and gained momentum propitiation and devotional offerings. through North and South India from the Investment in monuments for the acquisi- first century AD. The popularity of tion of merit rapidly grew in popularity from Buddhism which had severely undermined the second century. Renouncing and gift Brahmanic influence gradually declined and giving were common in Buddhist and Jain there was a corresponding reaffirmation of devotion, and may have inspired popular priestly influence. The Kusanas, an Hinduism as it began to emerge in recog- immigrant dynasty, initiated a concept of nizable form. In the south under the the 'god-king', claimed to be the 'sons of Satavahana dynasty, communal patronage God' (devaputra) and commissioned portrait developed strongly and archaeology reveals sculpture of the monarchs. Ecumenical by that under the fourth-century Ikshvaku choice, they also supported Jain and dynasty small permanent covered shrines Buddhist shrines through donations. began to be constructed. This patronage The central Vedic cosmo-regal sacrifice cannot be directly connected with the kings was supplanted by the great gift mahadana, and, as in the Buddhist period, probably which was in turn inspired by the Buddhist reflected the needs and preoccupations of tradition of gift giving for the acquisition society as a whole. The availability of the of merit. This, together with formal resources to finance such development consecration, abhiseka, and crowning (tying reflects the rich trading economy of the time. the fillet) were ways of acquiring divine From the third century AD, kings wer powers and thus consolidating the king's more interested in employing bards to secular authority and power. The domestic eulogize their power and magnificence rituals were continued by Brahmans than in building temples. Sacred monu- however, who began to codify prescriptive ments were not at this time perceived as action and to ensure the king's and powerhouses for kings and it follows

182 Royal Patronage from this that identification with sacred sites transmission of divine power by lustration was not an essential requirement of or abhiseka. Water became a feature of kingship. Gradually the Brahman priests royal initiation and this is given prominence re-established their claim as essential in architectural design and temple intermediaries in the major ceremonies of iconography. Ritual lustration also reflects life, yet the need for temples to reinforce the fertilization of the symbolic marriage of kingly power had not yet become king and earth. Tamil literature with its established. In the Puranic literature, how- emphasis on the warrior hero whose ever, we find the claim that purtadharma immortality lived on through the worship was greater than the performance of Vedic of the may well have contributed sacrifices, a reversal from the earlier to the growth of the concept of the 113 dismissive attitude. Despite this literary individual who was both king and god. The reference kings seemed to be slow to make ruler was strongly identified with the god, inscriptional claims to temples in the north. which reinforced legitimacy in times of Evidence of Gupta and Chalukya patronage political fragmentation and competition. of Jain temples reinforces the idea of giving This is seen particularly in the medieval to acquire merit, as distinct from the period of the tenth century in North and payment to Hindu priests for their ritual South India. The apogee of the god-king services, which continued for some time in identification was reached under the mid- the puranic period. Cholas, following which the king became a It was not until the sixth to seventh consecrated devotee of his deity. centuries that we have evidence of kings By the tenth century there was a laying inscriptional claim to temples. It was proliferation of royal inscriptions on only when god and temple became syn- temples and a clear use of temples to onymous and ritual sacrifice had been consolidate and extend power. The king eclipsed that kings made themselves pre- eminent as temple builders. In the south increased his divine power by his the Pallava kings practised gift giving in the identification with both the temple and the form of large tracts of land to Brahmans deity itself. The deity which was originally and temples, while in the north during the associated with figurative sculpture became Pratihara period there was still a lack of increasingly identified with the temple inscriptional evidence linking kings with building itself. The fragmentation of buildings. Princes, nobles and groups are authority in medieval North India and the more likely patrons of temples in North questionable lineage of some of the India during the Pratihara period, a medieval kings was an added incentive for continuation of an earlier tradition of them to patronize grand temples where patronage by a wide social group, as seen Brahmans created suitable genealogies. in the Buddhist period. These were inscribed on the temples to From the seventh century AD, royal emphasize the king's legitimate right to consecration as in the north depended on rule. This action had not been necessary in priestly intercession but began to focus the days of heroic kingship when the kings on a further important element, the depended on the Veda Srauta ceremony for purification from ritual bathing and the their authority.

183 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

There was a huge change in the god in temple and portrait sculpture, relationship between king and god that took fertility and prosperity, religious obligation, place between the fourth and the seventh atonement, protection, and the creation of centuries AD. It can be seen in the Bhagavad a threshold or place whereby one may cross Gita, where for the first time in an Indian from one world to the next were all factors context God acknowledged his love and in encouraging the monarchs to invest in concern for man. Society no longer only the expensive and time-consuming building confronted and propitiated the gods but of sacred architecture. The building of a came to believe in a benevolent and caring temple became a further extension of the god. The king became the god's divinely king's obligation of service to the deity and infused agent on earth. Water replaced fire to his subjects and the temple became a as a bridge with the heavens. The sacrificial vital element in the ordering of society. The smoke rose up to heaven in contrast to the temple was the pivot of the spiritual and water which came down from heaven. In social life of the community. It was not only religious terms, the active warrior Vedic the focus of worship but also an important king hero was succeeded in typology by a employer, economic generator for the passive devotional ruler. The first took and community and patron of craftsmen, the second received divine power. Both including painters, sculptors, musicians and however maintained responsibility for dancers. The belief that the deity can preserving the prosperity of their com- become temporarily manifest in a structure, munity, perceived as the power to bring which in turn became a powerhouse for rainfall and fertility. kings, was integral to understanding the A further dimension of this is given by changing nature of patronage from ancient Marglin, who suggests a link between to medieval Hindu India. The consistent kingship, female sexuality and time.114 She feature of medieval royal patronage in suggests that the infusion of female North and medieval South India was the procreative powers was necessary for the dependence on Brahmans for intercession. king to fulfil his obligation as provider of This was believed to be essential to evoke prosperity. As a corollary to the passive the deity as a radiating presence from the submission of the kings in relation to the inner sanctum of the temple, from whom deity, we find from the fifth to seventh authority and power devolved. The king's century AD the rise of the martial goddess essential pragmatism in his adoption of the Durga as a manifestation of the goddess Sakti. The goddess became even more patronage of Brahman ritual underlies much popular with the rise of medieval tantrism of the art and a great deal of the political from the eighth to ninth century in North powers that survived into the later period. and South India. This period coincided with the rise of tantrism which had a profound Notes influence on many levels of Indian society. 1 Kennedy 1976, pp. 1-2. It is apparent from the above that 2 I am grateful to Madhuvanti Chose for her spiritual merit, spiritual power, legitimacy, information on this aspect of the development of secular prestige, ancestor worship or Hindu iconography. commemoration, identification of king and 3 Inden 1982, pp. 132-6.

184 Royal Patronage

4 Dirks 1987, pp. 28-9. and their influence on patronage, and the many 5 See Kinsley 1986, pp. 21-2. other elements involved in the selection of a site and an auspicious time for construction. 6 Willis, in Mason, 1993, p. 50. 30 Boner 1972. Some scholars however doubt 7 For further information on the organization the authenticity of the manuscript. of the temple of Madurai see Fuller 1991. 31 See Huntington 1985, p. 435. 8 Luders 1961, p. 135. 32 According to Huntington, religious 9 See Anand 'In praise of Aihole, Badami...' in Margp. 12. dedications occur on auspicious dates. She suggests that 'right-handed' doctrine dedications 10 See Sarkar and Misra 1966, p. 30. are made during the bright half of the month 11 See Anand 'In praise of Aihole, Badami...' in and 'left-handed' tantric dedications are made in Marg, p. 12. the dark half of the month. 12 Ibid., pp. 12-13. 33 For further discussion see Huntington 1985, 13 See Sarkar and Misra 1966, p. 26. Chapter 19, fn. 18. 14 Michell 1989, pp. 192-3. 34 An epigraph reveals that the temple was 15 See Willis, in Mason 1993, p. 52. dedicated in the year Saka 556, equivalent to AD 634. 16 See Huntington 1985, Chapter 20, fn. 3. Inscriptions left by Gurjara-Pratiharas provide 35 See Huntington 1985, Chapter 15, fn. 3. extensive evidence of patronage and building by 36 Ibid., Chapter 16, fn. 2. their rulers and subjects, but remains are not as 37 See Meister 1986, p. 111. plentiful as epigraphic evidence. See also Puri 38 See Srinivasan 1975, pp. 197-8. 1957. 39 For discussion see Huntington 1985, p. 292. 17 See Inden 1985, p. 59. 40 Dirks 1987, pp. 28-9. 18 Agni Purana, Chapter 38. 41 Suggested by Huntington 1985, p. 304. 19 Indian Antiquary 1886, Vol. 15, pp. 105-13 and 138-41. 42 For the inscriptions see E. Hultzch, 'The Pallava Inscriptions of the Seven '. 20 Epigraphica Indica Vol. VII (1) (1889-92), Epigraphica Indica Vol. 10 (1909-10), pp. 5-8. pp. 122-35. The inscription dated vikrama year 1011 AD 954-55 was found among the ruins at 43 See Nagaswamy 1962, pp. 37-8. the base of the temple known as Lakshmanji at 44 Dirks 1987. Khajuraho. 45 See Balasubrahmanyam 1971. 21 See Desai 1974, pp. 12 and 10-17; see also 46 See Balasubrahmanyam 1966, pp. 82-5. Desai 1985, Chapter VII. 47 Ibid., pp. 18-19. 22 See Desai 1986; Meister 1979, pp. 226-8. 48 Srinivasan, PhD thesis, 1996. 23 See Desai 1988, p. 45. 49 See Beteille 1996. 24 The temple was originally known as the Marakateshvara (emerald lord) Pranathanatha 50 For illustration see Huntington 1985, (lord of goblins). Chapter 22, p. 541, Figure 22.1. 25 They had originally been feudatories of the 51 See Fuller 1991. Pratiharas. 52 See Hardy 1983, p. 225; Shulman 1985, 26 Keilhorn 1892, verse 22. Chapter VII; Dirks 1976. 27 Ibid., pp. 135-6. 53 I am grateful for Michael Willis' suggestion that the Pratihara rulers, particularly under the 28 See Desai 1988, p. 45. rule of Harsa, did not want to be usurped by a 29 This later inscription and evidence for the deity, who was seen as a royal personality, or to patrons' involvement with the temple does give limit their power by identifying themselves with rise to doubt the dependence on inscriptions for a specific region. attribution to patrons; it confirms that just 54 See Inden 1985, pp. 53-73. because the temple does not claim royal patronage it does not mean it did not receive it. 55 Anand p. 12. It also demonstrates the importance of women 56 Sarkar and Misra 1966 [1987], p. 26.

185 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

57 The most holy river Ganga which flows 82 Inden 1990, p. 234. through Siva's hair is shown in Hindu 83 I am grateful to John Marr for this iconography as a goddess. information. 58 Anand p. 12. 84 I am grateful to S.R. Balasubrahmanyam for 59 A.V. Nai, 'Inscriptions of the Deccan: An this information. epigraphic survey (c. 300 BC-AD 1300)' Deccan 85 It is, however, suggested that the river college Postgraduate and Research Inst Bulletin goddesses appeared on the banners captured 9 (Poona 1948), insc. 63. The queen and her from the north and were seen for the first time sister were both married to Vikramaditya II. on Chalukyan shrines. 60 See Willis, in Mason 1993, p. 54, n. 27. 86 Kinsley 1986, p. 189. 61 Ibid., p. 53. 87 See Schnepel 1995, p. 150. 62 I am grateful to Profulla Mohanti for this 88 See Schnepel 1992 and 1995. information. 89 See Gonda 1966, p. 7. 63 See Willis, in Mason 1993, p. 54. 90 Ibid., p. 9. This is also found in tree worship 64 Ibid., p. 52. where alcohol is sometimes spat on the tree by 65 Epigraphies Indica, Vol. 1 (1889-92), the worshipper. pp. 154-62. 91 See Marglin 1985, p. 301. 66 See Willis, in Mason 1993, p. 55. 92 Ibid. 67 See R. Salomon and M. Willis (1990), 'A nineteenth-century Umamahesvara Image', 93 See Krishna 1989, p. 35. Artibus Asiae, Vol. 50, pp. 148-55. 94 The Rajarajesvara in Tanjore built by 68 Epigraphica Indica, Vol. 4 (1895-7), Rajaraja Chola. pp. 29-32. 95 Dirks 1987, p. 29. 69 Cited by Willis, in Mason 1993, p. 42. 96 I am grateful to Stephen Huyler for 70 See Michell 1977. information on the terracotta tradition in India. 71 Two donative inscriptions on wooden beams 97 For more information see Chapter 6; see also spanning the vault of Bhaja chaitya. These Luschinsky 1962, p. 377. inscriptions were intended to proclaim the 98 See P. Pal, in Dehejia 1988, pp. 9-10. names of the donors and yet were not visible 99 See R. Fisher, in Dehejia 1988, p. 36. from the ground. The recording of the gift was perhaps all that was necessary for the donor to 100 For discussion of this temple see Dehejia feel secure about receiving his religious merit. 1988, p. 44. 72 From the text the Brhat Samhita. 101 See Willis, in Mason, 1993, p. 53. 73 See Kennedy 1976, p. 3. 102 See p. 158. 74 I am grateful to John Marr for this 103 Dehejia 1993, p. 72. information. 104 Ibid.,fn.8. 75 Kennedy 1976, p. 2. See also Hart 1975, p. 38. 105 Paper entitled The dead and the living in 76 See Kennedy 1976, p. 15, and Desai 1974, dance' given by Professor Nagaswamy at a p. 12. conference at SOAS on the performing arts in June 1996. 77 See Willis, in Mason 1993, p. 59. 78 See Gonda 1966, p. 93. 106 See Boner 1972, p. 118. 79 Inden 1990, p. 236. 107 Cited by Willis, in Mason 1993, p. 55. 80 The concept of strength being in a man's hair 108 Ibid. reminds one of the Hebrew tradition and Samson. 109 Krishna 1989, p. 36. 81 This mirrors one of the distinguishing 110 Stoler Miller, 1992, p. 28. features of gods from mortals which was that the 111 See Gonda 1966, p. 109. gods did not actually stand on the ground. 112 , Vol. 1, Chapter 2, is thus picked out from celestials by pp. 10-1. in her by the fact that he, unlike they, had his feet on the ground, cast a shadow, 113 Agni Purana, Chapter 38. and sweated. 114 See Marglin 1985, p. 301.

186 CHAPTER 6 Village and Tribal Patrons and Their Religious Arts

India has been described as a land of Maharastra and Madya Pradesh); the Gonds villages. Even today, even if they no longer (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra live there, a large percentage (82 per cent) Pradesh and southern Uttar Pradesh); the of the population continue to identify with Mundas, Santhals and Hos (eastern Madhya a rural community or area. In the villages Pradesh, Bihar and ), and the a strong sense of local identity, tradition Nagas (Nagaland and ). Others and caste status remains. The Indian home, mentioned in this chapter are the Todas be it mud hut or palace, is a sanctuary, a (Tamil Nadu) and the Saoras (Orissa). Small place which must preserve ritual purity. The pockets are also found in the Nilgiri hills in home is also seen as the source of life and Tamil Nadu and in the western ghats in regeneration. Women make use of specific Kerala. rituals to fulfil their responsibility for the Despite the fact that there are differences care of the family and spiritual protection between rural and puranic Hinduism, the of the home. These traditional practices importance of rural legends and crafts for acknowledge an inherent understanding of understanding the complex development of and the need for constant Hinduism is now appreciated. Recent field renewal and vigilance and are conducted studies have demonstrated that tribal and on a regular basis. Numerous local deities agrarian culture contain elements which are worshipped in rural India, with an show us the evolution of early Hindu art inherent hierarchy. The form of popular and ritual practice. Jain argues strongly that worship is dependent on the specific regional myths, previously considered as requirements of the individual deity. Sanskrit derivatives, have in fact coexisted The size of the tribal population1 in India alongside the puranic versions for is immeasurable, with estimates ranging centuries.2 With the acknowledgement of from 30 to 60 million people, a large the important contribution of Tamil proportion of whom do not declare tradition and mythology to the development themselves Hindu. These tribal groups are of Hinduism, it is now possible to see these mainly concentrated in the hilly and diverse strands as an important part of the forested areas of central India where they syncretic whole. still live primarily by hunting, fishing and Village or tribal communities have gathering. The largest tribal groups of relatively simple practical and spiritual India are the Bhils (Rajasthan, Gujarat, requirements. Patronage, commission and

187 Hinduism and the Religious Arts exchange of goods is largely achieved individuals or tribal priests for ritual use. through barter (known in as jajmani) Rural religious art is linked to wish rather than cash.3 Agricultural tools, wood- fulfilment, communion with the spirits, gods carvings, basket-making, textiles, jewellery or goddesses and protection. The crucial and are produced locally and these requirement was the propitiation of the combine an aesthetic sense of rhythm and unpredictable deities by gifts. Gift giving colour with functional efficacy. Their still provides one of the chief vehicles for decoration often provides the wearer or the interaction of man and god in rural and user with spiritual power, protection or wish urban areas of Hindu India. Historically it fulfilment. One such motif is the parrot, the took several forms, the most powerful being vehicle of Kamdeva, the god of love, which the sacrificial offering of live victims to be decorates the trousseau and walls of the devoured by the deity. Linked to a belief in marriage chamber. The lotus is another the transformation of the victim through motif frequently employed by women on sacrifice is the offering of terracotta votive textiles, jewellery and in the ritual figurines which are made in vast numbers decoration of their homes. Decorative detail and are commissioned from the potter in can also provide caste and occupational the fulfilment of vows to the deity. identity. An example of this may be seen in Tribal religious art is largely ephemeral, the individual and distinctive designs on made to endure the time of the ceremony hathwara cloth produced in the Rajasthani and only efficacious if combined with ritual village of Pipar near Jodhpur. performance and a religious chant. The Rural India's religious art includes simplification and abstraction of the terracotta votive figurines, wall and floor depiction of animal or humans may enhance painting and the illustration and recounting their magical properties. In tribal society of legend and stories. Like Brahmanic ritual the impulse to adorn, to fulfil protective arts, folk art is dependent for its efficacy on requirements and to provide status is ritual preparation, performance and sound. satisfied by appropriate jewellery, body It does not aim at representational accuracy decoration in the form of painting and or realism but comes from a common tattooing and highly coloured and patterned cultural pool of symbol and metaphor. textiles. For similar reasons tribal houses, These symbols parallel myth and legend, like village houses, are also decorated with occupying the middle ground of human ritual patterns. consciousness between the visible world This chapter will comprise three sections. and that of the imagination and the First, it will examine village Hinduism; unconscious. Some religious art is second, it will focus on the historical and commissioned from craftsmen, who belong contemporary production of terracottas, wall to exclusive endogamous guilds, while more painting, and illustrated story-telling; third, simple images are made by non-professional it will look at the patronage of these arts.

188 Village and Tribal Patrons ^Section: 1

Village Hinduism people from outside the village boundaries, who are excluded, have access to the local Village Hinduism shows local variety and a deity. Another characteristic feature of rural greater emphasis on the worship of the Hinduism in North and South India is the goddess than does orthodox Hinduism. The lack of a clear-cut division between man and religious life of the villagers involves respect spirit seen in a belief in a hierarchy of gods, for the orthodox Brahman priest alongside spirits, animals and man. the worship of the local deities. The division Studies by Luschinsky and other anthro- between village and orthodox Hinduism is pologists have revealed a hierarchical not clear-cut, with much overlap and attitude to deities which is characteristic of coexistence. Many villages possess a temple rural beliefs in North and South India. For dedicated to a Hindu puranic deity, tended example, in one area: by a Brahmanic priest as well as shrines While most men and women place Bhagauti dedicated to local gods and goddesses, who Mai, representing the seven disease sisters, in often receive a more intense loyalty. second place. Then come other Gods and According to the scholar Sekine, 80 per cent goddesses of the Hindu pantheon, godlings of of the faithful of South India are said to be the Senapur area, and finally the host of evil devoteees of 'village gods' and cults centred spirits which wander the earth6 on the great gods of Hinduism outside the village are relatively limited.4 The local Conversations with informed villagers deities have an acknowledged hierarchy, a reveal belief in a pantheon of gods where multitude of different names, and yet exhibit the supreme deity is more an overseer than certain similarities. Gramadevatas or local an active participant in the phenomenal deities are predominantly female. In many world, while his qualities are represented cases it is a local goddess who has pre- by other gods and goddesses. The range of eminence and is believed to be united in deities can be extremely complex, with as marriage with the village.5 Unlike puranic many as five different types such as a deities the local goddesses are unmarried, village, caste, lineage, family and personal although the male village gods do sometimes gods. Religious concerns of devotees in have their own consorts. The goddesses, and rural India reveal both dependence on and the lesser male village deities such as Aiyanar apprehension of local deities whose power in Tamil Nadu, are worshipped in separate may bring prosperity, protection or shrines within the boundaries but often in calamity. Preternatural beings from the different parts of the village. lower echelons of the spirit world are also One major difference between orthodox seen to haunt the village, forest and puranic and rural Hinduism may be seen in collective mind of the community. the ease of individual access to the deity in the latter. The villagers do not require Goddesses priestly intercession for access to or for their devotions to these gods and As mentioned above, examples of regional goddesses. All castes, with the exception of goddesses are Mariyamman in South India

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Figure 6.1 'Seven sisters' at a village shrine in Tamil Nadu. Robert Elgood. and Manasa in North India. All across North devotees. Many goddesses expect severe and South India we also find the recurrence penances such as and abstinence, of the theme of the seven sisters (Figure fire walking, and the goddess Mariyamman 6.1). Other goddesses are known only to a insists on blood sacrifices. On the other small local area and sometimes the deity hand, godlings do not require such severity will share the names or epithets of deities of ritual but often accept live offerings. In from the Sanskrit pantheon. These village South India it is customary to offer liquor and tribal goddesses are without consorts to Maturaiviran, and Murukan7 is pleased and demand blood sacrifices, usually but for his devotees to offer hair, Karuppu the not exclusively a male animal. Different protector appreciates weapons or meat, godlings and goddesses are approached for while Aiyanar prefers clay offerings.8 different requests. For example, in South India Mariyamman of Aruppukkottai would Goddesses and Sacrifice be sought for the relief of smallpox (Plate 6), Mariyamman of Madurai for fertility and During periods of disease or disaster the the male deities Aiyanar and Kuruppan in goddess is honoured and propitiated by the Madurai would be worshipped for celebration of festivals. These involve the protection. Different gods and goddesses participation of the whole village also make varied demands on their community and commonly include spirit

190 Village and Tribal Patrons possession rites. One component of village when the image is immersed in water. festivals in honour of the goddess is her Harman also intimates that sacrifices are ceremonial marriage to the village head- sources of power, beset by unpredictable man. The buffalo in some parts of South dangers involved in their accumulation.15 India is also called the husband or devotee Sekine refers to the South Indian of the goddess.9 Before 1947 (when it was devotee's liberal contact with the sacrificial banned), buffalo sacrifice was widespread blood, regarded as a pollutant in North and is still practised in some rural areas and India. He argues that the goddesses, in their in regions such as Andhra Pradesh. Today, affirmation of blood sacrifice, symbolize the however, the animals most frequently dynamism of death and the regeneration of 10 immolated are male goats, pigs and fowls. life. This idea is also reinforced by the The sacrifice of the buffalo used to be the scholar Yamashita, who makes the climax of village ceremonial in many distinction between the northern concept 11 festivals in North and South India, and is of the link between sacred power and still widespread in Nepal. purity;16 and evidence from Tamil literature of the southern belief in the generative Interpretation of sacrifice qualities and the inherent mystical power in the 'impure', seen most specifically The purpose of the male animal sacrifice has during the practice of sacrifice. various interpretations; for example, it has This release of an inherent sacred power been suggested that it may be the assuaging through sacrifice may be echoed by the of the unleashed power of the female, while ancient Tamil concept referred to by Shulman describes it 'as a means by which Zvelebil as the release of 'ananku'. This, the blood sacrifice of a male victim argues Zvelebil, is 'The most fundamental transforms him into a devotee of the goddess 'prime' of all ancient Tamil, possibly 12 and effects his union with her'. Dravidian, religious concepts, but it is also Beck, on the other hand, does not the most abstract'.17 perceive this sacrifice as creative but as 13 Ananku is described as the sacred force appeasing the goddess's anger. The inherent in certain places, objects and sacrifice has many functions and can most powerful animals and beings, most accurately be interpreted as the climax and particularly in Murukan, which is both the focal point of the entire festival and the creative and destructive. In some humans, means of the creation and activation of according to Zvelebil, release of this force sacred power. The victim may be seen as an may lead to possession and a kind of intermediary or substitute for the self- sickness. He suggests that shamanistic immolation of the offerer.14 The villagers possession attempts to harness this force appreciate the inherent danger in the and render it creative. presence of the ambivalent and un- predictable goddess and, after a period of In these goddess rites there was sought through intense , negotiate her departure the creative paradigm of the 'demon devotee', to reinstate the normal order of daily life. that is to say, through the sacrificial self- The goddess's power remains in the village transformation of what appeared to be a until its dissolution at the end of the festival, demon - in other words, through the 'pollution'

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of his destructive death symbolized by the blood is one of many examples of the sacrifice - the acquisition of the powerful sakti reinterpretation and demonization of non- (sacred force) that is nurtured in the very midst Vedic deities, which were supplanted by the 23 of this process.18 Brahmanic order. The buffalo demon and its relationship with Durga in her Here, Sekine may perhaps also be referring manifestation of Mahisamardini is strong to the power of ananku which Zvelebil throughout India but is distinguished in the himself suggests is contained by powerful south by Durga standing on the decapitated animals such as the buffalo, and, according buffalo's head, rather than the body as in to Hart, by woman during menstruation and 24 19 northern iconography. widowhood. The ritual violence required to invoke Blood is one of the hallmarks of ritual and appease the village goddesses can be offering associated with fertility and seen as forcing the villagers to confront a regeneration in rural Hinduism, a wide- deeper level of psychological experience. spread form of early ritual devotion which Through fear of the goddess and the survives even in the Christian tradition of confrontation with death itself, the sacrifice communion. This liberal blood-letting which reaches to the root of regeneration of involves the deliberate splashing on stones, spiritual power and the heart of personal the shrine or the devotee may also be experience. The loss of personal control interpreted as an attempt for closer through spirit possession leads to personal communion with the goddess. It may chaos and trance, where the goddesses and express the absorption of the released devotees meet in terrifying spiritual union. power of the buffalo victim through blood, This transformation leads to a commonality or contact with the union of the goddess of experience and a temporary liberation with the transformed victim. Associated from caste discrimination. The intensity of with this may be ananku which, according the power released by the worship of the to Zvelebil, assumed the meaning of a goddesses cannot be sustained on an personalized demonic-divine force. everyday basis; nor is it safe for the Whitehead also argued that the buffalo community to prolong the great and sacrifice may be an intimation of an older unpredictable power of the goddesses practice where the aim was communion within their environment25 The male gods with the spirit of the buffalo. He went on to temper this sacred power while maintaining suggest that this would explain the social order. customary practices, such as wearing the entrails of the victim or the voluntary Male Deities splashing of blood which went beyond appeasement and propitiation.20 The buffalo A variety of male deities is worshipped in was a beast of valour and a most valued the rural areas. Well known in the south offering. In the tribal community of the are Murukan, in some senses associated Todas it was and still remains a sacred with Karuppu;26 and Aiyanar, the popular animal.21 This and the reference to the village god of Tamil Nadu. Murukan is a puranic myth of the buffalo demon points particular favourite in South India, where to an ancient reverence for the buffalo.22 It he is worshipped with a greater intensity

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Figure 6.2 A village shrine with tridents and spears, sacred to Murukan, Tamil Nadu. Robert Elgood. than the puranic gods. The most noticeable and for this reason perhaps receives less feature of the Aiyanar shrines are the huge intense devotion than other personal gods clay horses which are left in groves near the and goddesses. The temple to Aiyanar is shrines at the edges of villages for him to always on the outskirts of the village where ride at night to protect the village. Aiyanar it tends to be neglected except on special is a peaceful god who does not require ceremonial occasions.27 In contrast, the violent sacrifice and is therefore presumed temple to the goddess Mariyamman is to have subsumed Brahmanic prohibitions. normally sited within the village. Aiyanar is seen as more detached and The subordinate gods who sometimes responsible for the community as a whole appear with Aiyanar are known as Karuppu, rather than the concerns of the individual, Maturaiviran and Muniyan (Plate 7), and

193 Hinduism and the Religious Arts are sometimes represented by stone images made to certain trees to placate the spirits scored with rough carvings or by bricks who dwelt within them. Crooke32 also or tridents (Figure 6.2). This lack of referred to the existence of a forest tribe consistency in the appearance of these known as the Pavras in Khandesh, who village gods suggests that iconography is sacrificed goats and chickens to local deities of minor importance to the villagers. Yet called Bara and Rani Kajhal who occupied these gods are also represented figuratively adjoining sacred trees at harvest time. in the form of colossal, free-standing, highly coloured statues with a wrathful Ghosts appearance. They are sometimes referred to as 'evil gods' and believed to act Another pervasive preoccupation in village maliciously. Aiyanar's dependence on these and tribal communities is respect for evil or impure beings for his own power ancestors and the related fear of ghosts. rests on the Tamil concept of the power of According to Fuller, the ghost is enshrined the impure.28 The subordinate godlings are and worshipped as a deity so that its worshipped from fear and villagers offer malevolent power may be controlled.33 vows to them. Sekine states that this Minor deities such as ghosts may be apparent contradiction may indeed merged with other deities to become forms of them, such as a deified hero, who might be understood as constituting a dynamic be identified as a form of Bhairava or a continuum, with the former (the villagers' need deified heroine as a form of the village for blood sacrifices) representing the need for goddess. In Karnataka large sculptures are the creation of sacred power by means of carved from jackfruit tree wood sacrificial death and the latter (the need for a representing the spirits of deified heroes, pure god) the need for the stabilization and fierce and evil beings, Hindu deities, the preservation of that power.29 mother goddess, animals and the serpent Rural India worships a range of gods, spirit These figures are for use in the bhuta godlings, ghosts or spirits, tree spirits or (literally ghost or spirit) cult and are snake shrines, for reassurance and propitiated in shrines located near a pipal protection. In rural India, coexisting with or tree. Naga stones are also the worship of local deities is the worship commonly found nearby. These bhutas are of trees and associated male and female tree ambivalently perceived as both demons and spirits, yaksha and yakshini, and the benefactors as long as they are pacified by worship of snake shrines which are worship and offerings. Bhuta worship associated with anthills. Subramaniam involves the usual offerings of water, argued that the notion of the flowers, lighted oil lamps and incense, a of sacred places may have been inspired by periodic propitiation in the form of the Tamil concept of the fixed localization possession rituals amidst the chanting of of the sacred.30 Unlike Vedic sacrifice, which paddanas or Tulu folk narratives describing was mobile, the Tamil spiritual force was individual biographies of the bhutas. bound to a specific place. Mackay, writing During the invocation the spirit is believed in 1931,31 stated that offerings and to enter the bhuta spirit medium or occasionally animal sacrifices were still impersonator rather than the sculpture.34

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The derivation of the word 'yaksha' is to become visible and also implies a ghost or spirit. This association of spirit and tree and by extension wood sculpture reminds us of the beginnings of Hindu iconography. As already mentioned, according to Majumdar, village and tribal religion is inspired by a belief in a universal power, bonga, which is reflected in ritual. Bonga is believed to be the power contained in the natural elements such as the sun, moon, trees and serpents. This is close to ZvelebiPs description of the Tamil belief in a sacred force called ananku which is immanent in certain places, objects and persons and not as the property of well-defined transcend- ental gods. Ananku was held to be a force which was capricious and dangerous, neither solely auspicious nor malevolent.35

Shrines Figure 6.3 Sacred termite mound, Tamil Nadu. The localization of sacred power, called Robert Elgood. 'topographical localization'36 by Zvelebil, began very early in Tamil Nadu. This predominantly female and are not usually concept may have given rise to sacred represented by anthropomorphic images. shrines in Tamil Nadu and their later Each Hindu community, whether large, proliferation throughout South and North urban or rural, has its own local shrines. India. Sacred sites existed ab initio or The shrines may be a pile of stones placed acquired recognition. Some shrines may in the open fields (Figure 3.9), or on the have arisen from marker stones. These may bank of a river or stream in an area of have acquired sanctity by their demarcation natural beauty, or more usually at the of a place where a spirit once appeared, boundary of the village. In West and South subsequently becoming in anticipation the India shrines may also be associated with regular site for sacrifices to that spirit. snake shrines which are placed beside These shrines link the everyday world and termite or anthills and covered with yellow the supernatural and are still the focus of turmeric (Figure 6.3). The shrines are often individual devotion. uncovered, with a mud, stone or cement The shrine to the deity is often placed platform and a low wall on three sides, on the edge of the village, thereby sometimes with a bamboo and palm leaf protecting the village from the dangerous cover.37 outside world while keeping order within The images of the deities in shrines the village boundaries. Village deities are sometimes appear as roughly carved stones

195 Hinduism and the Religious Arts only recognizable by their ornamentation. tribal sanctuaries are situated in remote Decoration is often as simple as a blackened areas, in mountain regions or in dense surface daubed with red, the result of groves, near rivers or waterfalls. All tribal offerings, ablutions and a smearing of groups have a priest or sacred specialist. vermilion, while other images may be The ceremonies of the tribal deities show a adorned with ornamental clothes and remarkable similarity throughout India. The garlanded with flowers. Sometimes the tribes have priests with no special status sacred image is merely a pile of stones such as the Badava in the case of the Bhils marked by a flag or pole or a large and the Baiga Kanikkars in the case of the earthenware vessel. Some shrines in Tamil Gonds. A tribal image can be as simple as Nadu possess a large trident (symbol of a large vermilion marked stone or a few Siva), or a spear (symbol of Murukan), often wooden poles. Tribes do not however topped with limes which act as propitiatory believe that their gods, represented by these offerings to the evil spirits. wooden posts or clay pots, are embodiments As already mentioned in Chapter 3, these of the deities and merely act as a focus for shrines are maintained and served by a local prayer. Some terracotta pots placed on an priest, male or female, often from a family earthen altar plastered with cow dung may and any caste traditionally associated with also represent the deity. In Santal villages the shrine, but rarely from the Brahmana the shrine is a raised mud platform over caste (Figure 6.4). Unlike the Brahman priest which there is a well-kept thatched roof these local priests do not mediate between supported by four corner posts. The roof is devotee and god or goddess but they do covered with grass during ceremonial observe rituals on a daily, seasonal or annual occasions. In sacred groves, under trees or basis depending on the local tradition and in these simple free-standing constructions individual inclination. The upkeep of the many clay figures of elephants and horses shrine is shared by the community either in are left behind after being ritually offered the form of a tax levied by the local council to the deity. In some tribal areas small or by regular patrons, who vow to provide dolmens, standing stones and capstones incense, food and flowers on a regular basis. serve as memorials to the dead. The Gonds, Terracotta votive figurines are given as Khasi, Mund, Oraon, Bhil or Kurumba still offerings to the shrines, many of which use construct these memorials and they are terracotta accessories such as ghatas, kalasas common throughout tribal India. and dipas as offertory vessels. In most villages several shrines exist that Forms of Worship are dedicated to different deities. In some examples in Tamil Nadu, northern shrines In the study of ritual practised in village hold a predominance of female deities who worship, it is difficult to distinguish between require blood sacrifices strongly linked to orthodox Hindu village ritual, remnants of Tamil traditions, while shrines in the south non-Vedic ancient practice, and tribal of the village have a pre-eminence of male custom. These are often combined in deities who do not require live offerings. today's religious devotions and the The tribal peoples also have simple principles of bhakti are found in all three. shrines tended by temple keepers. These As we shall see in the conclusion to this

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Figure 6.4 A priest of Aiyanar shrine, Tamil Nadu. Robert Elgood. chapter there are varied objectives in the Terracottas are offered to the more patronage and practice of the religious arts Brahmanized deities such as Aiyanar, while and customs. Central to these practices is blood offerings are given to the non-Vedic the belief in the power of a hierarchical godlings such as Karuppu or the goddesses spirit world which can be evoked but is such as Manasa or Mariyamman. inherently unpredictable. The community The actual practice of worship is most feels propelled to propitiate the gods or commonly an individual affair which takes goddesses in the ways known to please place at the orthodox Brahmanic temple, at them in order to protect themselves from a variety of local shrines or in the home. At divine malevolence and to secure divine a local shrine or temple it involves the benevolence. As we shall see, this involves individual bringing offerings to the deity in among other ritual practices the offering of the form of food, money, terracotta votive diverse gifts to the gods and goddesses. figurines or live sacrifical offerings. Each

197 Hinduism and the Religious Arts house has its own sacred area, a room, niche Pupul Jayakar suggests that the vrats or a special space given to the worship of were an ancient ritual practice, acquired the gods. Sacred domestic space contains from non-Vedic priest magicians called images in stone, metal, wood or terracotta, Vratyas.39 These she suggests travelled from while posters or paintings of the gods or village to village in a cart, accompanied by goddesses, often purchased from local a woman who served as a prostitute and a temples or places of pilgrimage, decorate musician who sang and danced in ritual the walls. Domestic worship is without performances. She indicates that these priestly mediation involving incense, an oil vratya priests were mentioned in the Atharva lamp, prayers and an offering of food or Veda and that they transmitted an oral money to the deity. Personal reverence is tradition which permeated the culture of given and specific guidance or help is sought village India. According to Huyler, vrats in the everyday relationship with the deity. originated in the early Aryan ceremony of The principal practitioners of these local stoma which was intended to cleanse rituals are women. Women take respons- and purify non-Aryans so that they could ibility for the well-being of their homes and join the Aryan rites of sacrifice and be families and use various methods such as accepted into the new society. vrats to win the protection and assistance References to vrata rites are made in of the goddess Lakshmi or the local deities. puranic literature as well as being linked in Vrat stands for votive observance and votive origin to the spells and hymns of the Atharva rite and was originally derived from the Veda and to the Stri Karmani rituals verbal root vr, 'choose or will', or simply described in the ancient text the Kausika vow, in Sanskrit, literally 'what is willed' or Sutra. Vrats found in the Kausika Sutra 'will'.38 These are domestic rituals practised contained spells and included magic, for mainly by women. The vows are made example, for acquiring a husband, a child, individually to a variety of popular village to destroy a rival, to protect pregnancy or deities who offer protection against disease to capture a truant woman. The Grhya and disaster, or fulfilment of wishes. The Sutras and the Manu Smrti manuals dealing contractual nature of vrats involves with samskara rites and vrata observances, customary practices such as fasting, ritual obligatory for any Hindu householder, wall painting or the offering of gifts when enjoined the drawing of mandalas by women the deity has delivered the required result. in rituals connected with the worship and Vrats are generally cyclical and some are adornment of the earth and home at the performed on certain days of the week as a time of celebrations of pregnancy and birth, regular pattern of reminders to the gods of initiation to adulthood, and marriage. Vrats the devotees' commitments, such as a fast include charms which range from those used on a certain day each week. Sometimes this to increase sexual vigour, rites for procuring is more complex and arduous. There are rain, to the making of a picture or an effigy over 2000 vrats, some of which are integral for benevolent or malevolent purposes. to the great festivals and are common to the The basic aim of vrat or vow is the whole country, while others are particular attainment of divine help which involves the to local areas and are receptacles of ancient devotee in prescribed penance, such as autocthonous rites. fasting. The essence of rural Hinduism is

198 Village and Tribal Patrons expressed in this direct relationship between as curing illness in the family, the desire for the individual and the deity. Vrats do not children by the childless, need for financial require the intercession of a priest and are luck for the poor, or rainfall for a good crop. largely conducted by women. They allow the individual to approach the god directly Festivals through methods which involve commit- ment by the devotee with, on the other In times of disaster the villagers gather for hand, gentle coercion of the deity. They are a festival during which a live sacrifice will passed down from mother to daughter and be made to a deity, usually the village provide society with a more direct access to goddess. The vital presence of the deity is the deity than the hierarchical caste often demonstrated by shamanistic spirit restrictions of Brahmanism. They stand in possession and the whole community direct contrast to the male-dominated interacts in this catharsis. Some festivals are Brahmanism, and have been the principal annual, while others are solely celebrated means by which women achieved their at the outbreak of disease or disaster. These objectives in the maintenance and well-being of their husband and family. Vrats may be latter festivals are believed to arise when the silent or expressed where he, or more goddess loses power due to insufficient usually she, makes a contractual promise to propitiation and withdraws her protection. the deity in return for the fulfilment of a The belief in a malevolent as well as a request. The root of vrata ritual lies in the benevolent power inherent in the nature of belief that desire, when visualized and made the goddess is fundamental in rural India concrete through image and activated and is particularly strong in those villages through spell and ritual gesture, generates where the goddess has pre-eminence, an energy that ensures its own fulfilment. especially in Tamil Nadu. What, then, is the Some vrats are extremely severe and involve significance of the sacrifice of a buffalo? As fasting and the promise of gifts to the usual the interpretation is multivalent. It goddess once the wish is fulfilled. may be interpreted as a propitiatory gift of Aside from fasting most vrats include the blood to please the goddess; or as the drawing of a magical diagram, the repetition subduing and destroying of the troublesome of specific mantras and the recitation of a demon seen as the buffalo; or, as is katha (story or legend) associated with the suggested by Zvelebil, the taming of the particular deity to whom the prayer is power of the goddess Ananku by her directed. They sometimes involve the marriage to the buffalo demon. In all these painting of elaborate patterns on the walls and floors of houses, often during festival cases there is a transfer of power marked by times and in some areas on a regular daily the spilling of blood caused by this basis. They are centred within the house conjunction, a spiritual recharging. A frenzy although the devotee may be required to of devotion takes place during these festivals perform some ceremonies outside the home. when severe penances and vows are fulfilled. Today vrats still exist in innumerable Fire walking, carrying hot coals in pots on variations in urban and rural communities the head and hook swinging are practices involving specific domestic concerns such associated with these occasions.

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Section 11

The Rural Arts that it may sometimes provoke unforeseen consequences. This belief is demonstrated In rural India there can be no sharp division by the example of the offering of terracottas in the vital relationship between ritual where after the ceremonial the figurine is action, customs and art. As early as thought to be empty of spirit and is allowed 4.30 a.m., married women clean and adorn to dissolve back into the earth. This also their homes to honour the goddess, which happens in the case of ritual wall paintings they believe brings prosperity and which dissolve in the rain and floor patterns protection. Art and associated ritual is used which are distorted by the scuffing of feet. to revere the deity with a belief in the The materials used for these arts contribute dynamic relation between spiritual forces to this transience. and the creative potential of the craftsman. Despite the difficulty of tracing any This is seen in the belief in the village development of these rural arts, some potter's ability to bring life to clay in the information is obtainable from literary form of terracotta figurines. It is also sources and archaeological finds, apparent in the belief that drawn lines may particularly in relation to terracottas. contain and control the potentially destruct- ive forces that threaten the home, while Historical Development of Terracottas coincidentally attracting the entry of Lakshmi. Reverence for objects is believed In India, pottery and terracottas have a to bring auspicious returns; for example, magico-religious function and the potters, rough stones splashed with blood become despite their low caste, are believed to have markers for the divine and the subject of the power to bring life into their creations. ritual performance. Despite the fact that they Literary references to terracottas can be are not the result of specific aesthetic rules, seen as early as the seventh century AD, there is a belief that they have, together with when the poet Bana wrote that the emperor terracottas and sacred wall decoration, the Harsa employed artists to make terracotta potential to become spiritually charged. figures of auspicious fruit, trees and aquatic The origin and historical development of creatures for decorative purposes on the the rural arts is difficult to document due occasion of the marriage of his sister.40 to its intentional impermanence and the The earliest terracottas so far discovered lack of inscriptions regarding patron or are those from the north-west regions of the artist. Much of what is produced is destined subcontinent, products of the communities for eventual destruction, and the usefulness of the Zhob and Kulli cultures. Hand- of such objects expires once they have moulded clay images of the earth mothers served their ritual and religious purpose. (Matala), with archaic, mask-like faces and The artist or craftsman expects to renew his schematized bodies have existed in a 6000- art and the community believes that the year unbroken tradition.41 Art historians numinous spirit or deity is transient. The have referred to them as 'mother goddess' continued presence of the goddess or the figurines. There are numerous references spirit is also believed to be undesirable, in to earthenware, especially painted pottery

200 Village and Tribal Patrons and terracotta figures, in the archaeological also strongly infers pregnancy. Huntington findings of the pre-Harappan, Harappan and casts doubt on the divine aspect of these post-Harappan periods. The pre-Harappan figures, suggesting pottery found at the Kalibangan site in that the popularity of the female as a subject in north Rajasthan is characterized by terracotta art from pre-Harappa and Harappa black decoration on a red background.42 times is associated with the ideas of motherhood Numerous terracottas including female and hence fertility, procreation, and the figurines, bulls and other animals have been continuity of life, although the presence of any excavated from the Indus valley culture of divine status is unknown.45 2500 BC (Figure 3.11). Many of the numerous animal figures found in Harappa Evidence from tribal terracottas of recent may have been votive offerings but it centuries may throw light on the original has been suggested that some may have purpose of the innumerable Indus valley been toys, recognizable by their moveable figurines which hitherto had been identified heads and wheel mountings. With the as mother goddess images.46 The scholar disappearance of the Indus valley culture Jayakar suggests that tribal groups such as the use of moulds appears to have ceased the Rani Paraj of describe terracottas and did not reappear until the third as possessing the essence of 'woman' while century BC. not being inherently goddess images.47 Terracotta female images survive from Village women of the local potter the earliest times. A female torso modelled community make these figurines (Figure in clay with applied breasts dating from the 6.6). During the rituals of the Rani Paraj, third millennium BC was excavated in figures of terracotta votive offerings of Baluchistan. Some 500 years later the animals and humans are offered to the creators of the Indus valley female figurines spirits which the tribe believes inhabit are at pains to emphasize elaborate head- certain trees.48 These images are perceived dresses, pinched eyes and elongated breasts, as 'man' and 'woman' and not as any form again modelled to the waist and ending in of deity. A selection of trees49 is worshipped a pedestal base.43 Later forms have thin legs by the Rani Paraj, together with a stone which subsequently grow rounded and cave where no image of a god is ever placed. bulky, with a heavy girdle emphasizing the Clay horses are offered by the Rani Paraj pubic triangle. A further version of the earth to the samar tree in the belief that the 'bhut' mother from the second century AD shows or spirit (inhabiting the tree) will ride it at her with heavy thighs and rounded breasts. night to protect the village community. This Sometimes these images have animal faces rite is believed to be linked with fertility or beaks instead of noses. The feet may also rites at harvest time when images of a horse, point backwards, suggesting that these man, woman and are offered to images are of spirits.44 the samar tree.50 The purpose of these ancient figurines Despite finds of early terracottas in South remains obscure, although the discovery of India in the Nilgiri hills the majority of terracotta female figures holding two images are found in the North. These infants reinforces the suggestion that they terracottas comprise only animal figures, were linked to fertility. A bulging abdomen among which the most predominant are

201 Hinduism and the Religious Arts bulls. The early farmers of this period megalithic burials. The Satavahana terra- (1900-1300 BC) also made some female cottas reveal, however, the skill of figurines and these were applied sometimes professional craftsmen. A new class of to storage jars. This association would plaque depicts a nude female figure, usually underline their connection to ideas of headless, known as Lajja Gauri. This image fertility.51 Excavations at Inamgaon revealed may well be connected with fertility, and is unbaked clay figurines of the late Jorwe supposed to be Graeco-Roman in inspira- people, c. 1200-800 BC. Similar figurines tion.54 A further advance in technological made of wheat flour are still today made by processes can also be seen in this period in the villagers in the surrounding area today that the craftsmen were able to produce and which are invoked for success.52 hollow terracotta figures in the round.55 The Mauryan period (300 BC) initiated a The Kusan period marks the further new era of royal terracotta patronage. The proliferation and development of terracottas primitive types of the preceding ages largely which are found all over the empire but with ceased to be made and an entirely new type two main centres, Mathura in the north and of human figurine appears, outstanding Taxila in the north-west. Secular and because of their size and stylistic traits of religious terracottas are numerous. Stone physiognomy and expression. Several have sculpture however seems to have found come from the city of and its greater favour than terracottas as major environs and others from urban centres in religious icons, but this may merely reflect the Ganga valley. In some Mauryan sculp- stone's greater chance of survival. tures the figures were pressed from moulds, Interesting images of Brahmanical and with finer modelling done by hand.53 in terracotta do exist, In the Sunga period terracottas were inspired perhaps by the bhakti cult or the made throughout North and East India, the cult of the personal god of the time. The style and ornamentation being identical to probable inference to be drawn from this is Sunga stone sculpture. In addition to that terracottas served an indigenous folk modelled figures, plaques became popular tradition and held less appeal for the and these were sometimes displayed on immigrant royal patrons. One of the finest walls. The plaques usually depict secular terracottas is a plaque showing subjects such as young women at their within a flowery border. Around the first toilet, making music or dancing. Their century AD Gandhara was another important nudity and overt display of the generative centre of Kusan terracottas. These show organs may link them with fertility cults, strong Hellenistic influence with many of this probability being reinforced by the the terracotta figurines appearing to portray survival of several Mithuna terracottas. The Greeks or Graeco-Romans. Sunga period reveals terracottas as a From the fourth century AD the rise of popular art and several can definitely be the Gupta empire and the rapid spread of identified as specific gods and goddesses. its culture throughout India led to a By contrast, production of terracottas in the widespread production of terracottas. Brick Deccan and South India was apparently not and stone replaced wood as the prolific. The only early terracottas seem to predominant building material used in the be those of the neolithic settlements and construction of religious structures. The

202 Village and Tribal Patrons increased use of brick was paralleled by the for the deity; and in making pots which have manufacture of terracotta panels not for a symbolic significance in their own right. village use but as an integral part of the The villagers believe that clay figurines come royal temple serving an orthodox religious alive when transported to the spirit world. function. Some fine examples of this work The ritual use of terracottas was based on are found at Brahmanabad (Sindh), Nagari the belief that clay and human and animal and (Rajasthan), Ahicchattra, flesh was interchangeable, and that clay was Bhitargaon (UP) and Majasthan and permeable to malevolent forces. As well as Paharpur (Bengal). In contrast to these the substitution of terracottas for live temple plaques there are also secular offerings, clay can also replicate afflicted plaques depicting the daily life of the higher parts of the body in an enactment of castes of Gupta society. sympathetic magic, where the image is One can only speculate on the expecta- offered to ward off the sickness and to bring tions and aims of the early terracottas and health and wholeness to the devotee. who was responsible for their production, Jayakar affirms the magico-ritual aspect though the quality of the Kusana and Gupta of these images: terracottas suggests royal patronage. After the political decline of the Guptas, royal Fired or left unbaked, depending on the rituals patronage of terracottas also declined for which they were intended, these icons of the though it remained strongest in the lesser Mothers, the holders of the secrets of the earth, courts of Bengal and Bihar in East India, epitomised magical rites of agriculture, fertility, with some production also in Kashmir. The life and death. At the time of the sowing of seed art of terracottas has continued up to the and harvesting and in rituals to the dead, icons present day, but from the ninth to tenth of the virgin mothers were made of clay, centuries it became solely a rural art. installed, worshipped and then cast into the Despite the archaeological evidence the waters, or offered to ancient sites of the history of terracottas can in no way be goddess - to caves, clearings in forests, or to considered comprehensive. Permanence trees - or were abandoned at village boundaries. was neither an expected nor desirable By their very nature impermanent, the earth phenomena in much of it, since clay was Mothers could not be kept under a house- believed to absorb negative energy and holder's roof except for short ritual purposes.56 pollutants. Pots were purified by contact with the water they carried and had a longer Terracottas for ritual purposes fall into life, but terracotta images served their brief two categories. First, votive offerings ritual purpose and were then disposed of commissioned from the potter, which are by immersion and dissolution in water. mostly auspicious animals of varied sizes such as bulls, elephants or horses (Figure 3.13); second, unfired images, crudely made Present-day Terracottas by the devotees themselves, usually women, The potter, as well as producing con- such as elephants, horses or female figurines. ventional cooking and drinking utensils, Accompanied by prescribed vrats, the performs a magico-religious action in unfired female images may be worshipped creating clay spirit vessels as votive offerings as the goddess until their dissolution.

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Figure 6.5 A crudely made terracotta Aiyanar and his two consorts, similar to those handmade by women, rural shrine, Tamil Nadu. Robert Elgood.

These terracotta figurines, made on The crude unfired images are common commission throughout India, have in and usually linked with magic and ritual common the provision of transport to the made privately by women. Jayakar refers spirits, and a belief in their magico-ritual to unfired crude terracotta figurines made quickening with the spirit of the animal by women (Figure 6.5) which are offered simultaneously and instantaneously at the during the Yama Pukura Vrata, a ritual moment of offering. The style of these which is connected with the primordial figures does have local variation; some mix mysteries of the rains and the waters and wheel and hand techniques of production, the quickened energy of life. This invokes some are undecorated, while others are Yama, the lord of death, and is celebrated painted white after firing to reinforce their by virgins. The Yamabudi figurines, though ghostly qualities. Terracottas are not regarded as the goddess, are, according particularly prevalent in Tamil Nadu, to Jayakar, potent with magic. While not culminating in the giant spirit horses and conclusive, the continued use of these the huge multicoloured tableaux associated Bengal figurines today may explain the with the worship of Aiyanar, while Kerala ritual purpose of the similar early terracotta is the only state in India where clay figures figurines from Baluchistan (Zhob and are rare. Kulli).

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Votive terracotta figurines used in life but also special vessels used in weddings devotional Hinduism and in village worship and other ritual images. The potter receives also became customary in tribal society. The commissions to make toys, ordinary tribes do not produce pottery objects but drinking and storage vessels, and to sculpt commission Hindu craftsmen to produce terracottas. The most common votive offerings for votive or funerary purposes. terracottas are horses, which are given to Bhil tribesmen, for example, travel several the various gods and goddesses to protect hundred kilometres to the Rajasthan village the donor from inauspicious omens, to cure of Molela near Nathdwara to purchase illness or to guard the village. terracottas from their favourite potters, the The community's attitude to potters is Maru. The village potters make various curiously ambiguous, regarding them as items according to the needs of the tribes dirty because they work with the unclean such as male and female figurines, horses, clay, but powerful. They are believed to elephants, , bulls, calves and buffaloes possess a kind of magic, are honoured and to offer in adversity; and animal and human are allowed to perform special ritual duties parts such as hands, feet, navels, eyes, ears, within society. Pupul Jayakar refers to one knees, stomachs, breasts, lungs, testicles, such example where the potter, having limbs and insects such as worms to offer if created the terracotta image and ritually there is sickness. evoked Sakti to enter into it, put a nail through the figurine to render the goddess harmless and buried it57 In South Indian Producers rural communities the potter occasionally Pottery today is produced chiefly by acts as a priest or shaman, where he professional potters of the caste of becomes the medium for the messages of Kumhars. Each of the nearly one million the god or goddess to the community. potters working in India today believes that Once the potter has been asked to make he is descended directly from Prajapati, the a specific he assumes the first potter created by the gods. With local ritual responsibility, imbuing the sculpture variations the legend is the same with both the form and potency it requires. throughout India. The potter's livelihood The patron pays the potter when he collects and his tools are perceived as gifts from the the image, sometimes with food, new gods. The majority of potters are Hindu and clothes, money or even a cow or goat. belong to a distinct class or jati, a subgroup Payment severs the potter from the of a larger varna of the caste system. The sculpture and transfers the merit to the potters usually marry from within their own patron. According to Huyler, 'the deity community, a bride from the same or similar breathes life into the image tran- background. They work for varied patrons substantiating its essence into reality in the and fulfil different requirements. The spirit world: A sculpture of mud placed in demand for the potter's wares is seasonal, a shrine becomes a living gift to the gods.'58 the greatest number of commissions being The training of the potter begins from during the planting and harvesting of crops childhood, when children play with the tools and before festivals. Not only do potters and clay of their fathers. According to produce bowls, pots and cups used in daily Huyler, boys begin to use the wheel from

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temperature kilns and fuel which glazing required. Only men work on the wheel, with the exception of the region of Manipur, where women work on the wheel while the men prepare the clay and the kilns. In most areas of India the women, deprived of the wheel, make pots by building lengths of clay in a manner similar to coiling. Terracotta figurine production is predominantly a male occupation although women do make clay images in some communities. Despite the fact that the man has pre-eminence in the crafting of the pot on the wheel it is the woman who is responsible for the decoration of the pot or painting details such as the eyes on the figurines. Women of each family have their own distinct designs, which are adhered to and passed on to the next generation (Figure 6.6). Huyler, in his study of a working potter, describes the extent to which the potter gives Figure 6.6 Women decorating pots, Jhun Jhunu time to preparatory rituals and engages in district, Rajasthan. Stephen Huyler. meditation while working on the clay: Touching his forehead with the fingers of his the age of 8. The girls are trained to clean right hand before he begins his daily work, a and prepare the clay, to slip and paint the potter acknowledges the power of his gods and terracottas and to help with the firing.59 In their gift to him of creativity. The clay he South and East India pots are not usually employs is the embodiment of earth, usually painted before firing. This creates an viewed as a goddess. By honouring his deities, ephemeral design which gradually wears he ensures his right to change soil into sacred off. All terracottas except those from Gujarat form and he maintains his link to his earliest are painted after firing. The potter uses ancestor: Prajapati, Lord of Creativity.60 sticks, roots, bark, straw, animal dung and anything else that will burn to heat kilns At least once a year the family worships its which are often temporary, made in flat tools during a special celebration, usually open spaces or in small pits near the Dasara. potters' homes. Several factors gave rise to the unpopularity of glazing: the taboo on Painting the reuse of drinking vessels; the fact that the local red clay did not readily hold a Parallel to the belief that a tree, shrine or glaze, and the lack of china clay. Finally, terracotta may house a spirit is the concept most potters could not afford the high that ritual drawing or diagrams may contain

206 Village and Tribal Patrons spiritual power. The ritual act of wall cleaned early each morning before sunrise painting is a common and significant practice and applied with a new pattern of coloured in many parts of India, where women employ powder which will almost disappear by mid- it to protect the home from disruptive and morning. Some households use a different maleficent spirits. The apertures of the home pattern for each day of the year. such as the windows and doors are thought to need particular protection. Women make History of Wall Painting the household decisions and undertake the religious tasks to protect the family. These The earliest evidence for the practice of include regular wall and floor decoration, painting can be seen from mesolithic and consisting of a variety of patterns and neolithic times in pictographs scratched in designs which are believed to be auspicious, red and yellow ochre on cave walls. These having special appeal to the goddess: The have been discovered in in Uttar designs applied to the surfaces of a house Pradesh and Bhimbetka in Madhya are not only prophylactic, as protection Pradesh. According to Heinz Mode and against evil, they are also reverential, Subodh Chandra, the most important celebrations of the beneficence of the deities evidence of continuity are the contemporary which protect the home.'61 tribal pictographs of the Saoras and the An essential preparation for any religious ; and the wall and floor paintings of action involves personal purification and the Gond and Kol tribes. These contempor- cleanliness, where there is a direct ary tribal pictographs can be compared with relationship between purity and the sacred. images which appear in the early rock Purification of the individual involves ritual paintings and Hrrappan picture writing on washing and the recital of prayers, while early coins from 2500 BC. Very little has purification of the village home is achieved survived, however. by the regular renewal of the manure The earliest extant post-Harappan wall coating of the walls. The porous qualities painting in India is that found in the of cow dung give rise to a belief in its Buddhist caves of Ajanta. This seems to capacity to absorb malignant energies, and have a permanent narrative and inspira- since these forces are ever present the walls tional intention and was a sophisticated, require periodic renewal. The uric acid in highly skilled art, perhaps executed by the freshly applied manure is believed to monks on behalf of a patron. In South India have purifying properties. The replastering the wall paintings in the Pallava temple at of walls is often followed by wall painting Kanchipuram, or on the Brhadisvara temple which is also believed to spiritually recharge in of 1000 AD, are a continuation and protect the home. of the narrative tradition. The ephemeral nature of painting The Vishnudharmottara Purana, the requires the re-enactment of these rituals ancient Sanskrit treatise on painting, on a regular basis. The walls and floors are mentions the making of dhuli chitras, resurfaced and ornamented with new paintings drawn with powdered colour on designs on many different occasions during the earth, and rasa chitras, outlined in liquid the year. In South India the earth which lies colour. According to Pepul Jayakar, the at the threshold of the house is washed and liquid colour is known as pithar or pithali

207 Hinduism and the Religious Arts and is made by mixing rice or corn starch abstract symbols, such as six-pointed stars, with water. The treatise prescribes the hexagons, lotuses and . worship of the sun-god through an eight- Kramrisch suggests that the purpose of petalled lotus flower drawn on the ground.62 these ancient diagrams was to propitiate Several other puranas speak of the art of the earth as a source of fertility, to awaken drawing the sun on the ground and suggest sakti and to seek protection. She describes that the sun was worshipped in the form of wall painting as acting in conjunction with a circle in earlier times.63 other ritual actions to form a concentration of willpower, describing these symbols Wall Painting as the 'shape of conceptions...intuited and functional diagrams transmitted by Wall and floor decoration is widespread women'.65 throughout India and has different names in different parts of India, though sometimes It is believed that within the confines, within the same word serves for both wall and floor the more or less intricate geometrical lines of painting. It is called alepan (wall) or aripan the diagram an invoked presence finds its (floor) in Bihar, alpona in Bengal, chowka allotted place. Its power is confined and thereby purna and sona rakhna in Uttar Pradesh, held in its place and for the purpose for which mehndi mandana in Rajasthan, sathiya in the diagram was drawn. The magic diagram Gujerat, and in Maharashtra, kolam makes it possible for power to be present, and (and muggu) in South India, and chita in it brings this presence into the power of the 66 Orissa. Only in Orissa does the term used to person who has made the diagram. describe this art indicate painting rather This expresses the belief in the power of the than writing, and indeed, the diagrams are lines to hold or contain power, which in intended to serve as a form of script for turn becomes controllable by the executor communicating with the deities. In West and of the diagram. Huyler describes it in the South India the patterns are strictly following way. geometrical while richer symbolic shapes are used in Bengal, Bihar and elsewhere in Into it the power of the god is invoked. It is North India64 (Plate 8). Paintings illustrating assigned to its enclosure, it is spellbound. It stories from the Bhagavata Purana are cannot escape; it is controlled. It is held in its frequent. These themes are passed down confinement, bound in a plane by the outline of from mother to daughter and the whole the enclosure so that it cannot escape into the community shares in the moods expressed ground where, like lightning, it would be in the well-known stories. Wall and floor rendered impotent.67 paintings vary across India from the painting This description clearly expresses the belief of elephants and riders in Uttar Pradesh in the potency of the circle and the before the Divali festival to a white chalk relationship of this power with the person painting on a red mud background, found who performs the ritual act. in Rajasthan. Each festival and every Mulk Raj Anand describes it as: occasion has its own repertoire of specific designs and symbols, with the most common a woman's art, bom of unconscious and ancient motifs in Rajasthan being geometric and knowledge potent with power and energy, to be

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used by women as the mark of the auspicious which include birth, puberty, betrothal, for the worship and adornment and protection marriage and death. of the earth and home. The making of Aripan For the production of wall painting is referred to as writing, a medium of com- women use their fingers, the sides of their munication and never as painting.68 hands or their palms dipped in the liquid colour. Alternatively, a cotton rag held in One of the most well-known styles of wall the palm is used, soaked in paint which is painting is from the area of allowed to drip down a finger and on to the surrounding the Madhubani district in north wall. Paint is also sometimes thrown at the Bihar. Mithila women of Brahman families wall or brushed on using hair, coconut fibre and upper caste Kayastha women paint the or the chewed ends of sticks. Domestic walls of their homes to celebrate the major utensils may also be used to apply block events of life following the pictorial tradition patterns.70 A modern development is the of the family and caste to which the painter use of stencils that are either cut at home belongs. The nuptial chamber and the or purchased locally. These wall paintings verandah outside it as well as the room of are sometimes made as part of the the family deity are painted with particular performance of a vrat. Exterior lines are care. Many of these paintings narrate myths applied to create a sacred and contained and legends, especially scenes from the space and then the symbols are drawn to Ramayana. The paintings on the bridal room the accompaniment of spells to invoke the floor are intended to break down inhibitions spirit or deity to inhabit the diagram. and to awaken desire between the bride and bridegroom who may be totally unknown to each other. The same symbols appear on Floor Painting both walls and floors. The spell that Floor paintings are made with white rice accompanies the rites is from the Artharva paste but also with coloured powders, or 69 Veda. with white local chalk. Most of the pigments used in wall and floor painting are natural Producers organic substances, although chemical powdered dyes and paints are now The art of wall painting is largely the becoming more popular. White is the most prerogative of women. Its traditions are popular colour for outlines and motifs and handed down from mother to daughter, and in many homes white and red are the only girls from the ages of 5 and 6 begin to learn two colours used. the skills of the craft and become competent Floor designs are usually drawn freehand by their twelfth year. In most parts of India by women trickling rice paste or powder the women replaster their homes during down their middle fingers on to the ground periods of seasonal transition, such as the or they may be daubed or sprayed (Figure beginning of winter, planting, harvest time 6.7). Some of these are drawn freehand but and before summer. Often these seasonal most are created by connecting or drawing changes coincide with festivals like , around a series of dots laid out in rows Sivatri, Dasara and Divali. Wall paintings according to the required pattern. These are also produced during rites of passage patterns are achieved by a delineation from

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Figure 6.7 Kolam, Tamil Nadu. Stephen Huyler. the centre outwards. In most cases dots or in front of their homes with designs to dashes are aligned in the various sacred honour the goddess. Each day the scuffing directions to form auspicious configurations of human and animal feet gently blur the such as the circle, star and the square or designs until their renewal the following mandala. Other symbols used are the naga day. Most of these designs are made with or snake symbol, the crescent moon, rice powder, and women say that in using swastika, conch shell, lotus flower, sword, rice powder they feed the insects and ants, disc or pot. Some are geometric, some flora a duty prescribed in the ancient texts the or fauna compositions, while others are Dharmasastras. The making of the kolam portraits of deities. Designs range from involved pouring rice through the fingers geometrical diagrams to symbols such as with an even flow, almost as if you were footprints, believed to be those of the great pouring "dry water" from the hand.'71 goddess. According to Vijaya Nagarajan, the kolam In South India floor painting is more is painted on the 'front threshold' of the common than wall painting and is known house where the private domestic world as rangavelli, rangoli, kolam or muggu. In encounters the outside world. Nagarajan Tamil the word kolam means beauty, form describes the kolam as a net which can and play. In Tamil Nadu every morning for catch the ill feelings people have when a month before the Festival of Pongal the feeling covetous and jealous of one another. women rise early and decorate the ground With the correct performance this sacred

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Figure 6.8 Brahman celebrating Pongal, making puja inside an elaborate Kolam. Nepattur village, Tamil Nadu. John Marr. drawing is believed to have the potential to Before the Mandala is drawn, the earth or the hold force and protect the threshold from floor of the house is freshly plastered with the inner and outer world and to encourage cowdung and the Mandala drawing executed by the auspicious entry of Lakshmi. The women on the prepared space. The thumb and symbols that stand for Lakshmi include the the first finger of the right hand is used to draw lotus flower, the conch shell and the chariot the alepan diagrams except in the Dvadasa The kolam is usually associated with the aripan...one finger of the left hand is used to fulfilment of vrats or vows to the deity or draw a complete circle in white on the ochre 72 with the fertility or samskara ceremonial. colour of the earth. Some of these designs are drawn in the morning or evening; others are made to Tribal Wall and Floor Decoration coincide with an important life sacrament (samskara) such as the birth of a child, a Tribal communities also paint their houses. boy's investiture with the sacred thread, or In Orissa their homes are adorned with at the time of marriage. Others are drawn broad bands of earth colours: yellow ochre, as acts of devotion when taking a vow reddish brown and white. In Madhya (vrata) to achieve a desired result (Figure Pradesh the designs are executed in low 6.8). The latter are drawn on certain relief and parts accentuated with colour. In significant days of the year in the course of Gujarat entire walls are covered with the sun. designs painted in white, with wide vertical

211 Hinduism and the Religious Arts panels within which are horizontal bands In the Kumaon region of Uttar Pradesh, of geometrical shapes interspersed with no important samskara ceremony or floral and vegetal designs. The tribe propitiating a deity is of Maharashtra produce distinctive and well- complete without the jyonti or painting of known paintings for family marriages, three female deities along with Ganesa, and known as the chowk, the essential element the pattas depicting a particular deity.73 The being a square painted on the mud- Rathva and Bhilala tribes of Chhota plastered inner wall of the room where the Udaipur in Gujarat and the area of Alirajpur wedding is to take place. The tribal goddess in Madhya Pradesh use wall painting to Palaghut with the sun and moon is demarcate special sanctified areas in their contained within the square. This boundary homes for the installation of deities. is drawn in red ochre with four ritual lines While in most tribal areas it is women which represent the clan deities. Once the who paint the walls of the houses, magico- goddess has been represented the area religious wall painting is also produced outside the diagram is embellished with by male priests. This has been noted in scenes of everyday life. When this has been tribal groups such as the Gondhs of ritually installed the painting is covered with Mandla and the Warlis of Maharashtra. In a large cloth and unveiled during marriage areas where the tribe has come into close ceremonies so that the deity may bestow contact with a settled village community, her blessing on the union. This marriage however, both men and women paint. In diagram may only be drawn by married north Gujarat among the Bhil tribes women, but men and women decorate the painting is done by men known as buas, walls of their homes with scenes from the who paint the sacred pithoras, images in forest and daily life. In the last few years red, yellow and black of horses and riders, these paintings have become popular with on the internal mud walls of the Bhil huts. Western collectors and tribesmen are now Like the Warli paintings, a headless figure commissioned to produce these paintings is invariably represented with five sheaves commercially. of sprouting corn emerging from his neck. The tribal Saoras of Orissa paint As part of ancestor worship the Bhil buas pictographs within their homes to serve as make a liquid paste of grain and spray it shrines called ittal which portray the spirit by mouth on to the walls of their huts to world. The present-day Saoras give no make shadow outlines of the palm of the anthropomorphic forms to their gods, hand or a sickle. These symbols are merely outlining an area within a square or believed to protect the huts from rectangle for the habitation of the deity. malevolent forces. These icons are generally commissioned by With growing urbanization there has a family which feels itself to be suffering been a decline in the performance of ritual from the evil influence of a particular spirit painting. The most persistent forms are and the male artist is regarded as a magician vrata diagrams and those floor designs priest. The paintings are also made in times (kolam and rangoli) used on wedding daises of crisis to propitiate deities and ancestors and altars which are integral to these as well as for fertility. rituals.

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punishments. 'He habitually entered the Story-telling and the Transmission of house of his patrons, where he displayed Culture and Education his Yama cloth, and sang songs, presumably 77 Story-tellers of a religious type.' Sana's Harsacharita also mentions the For centuries in India it has been customary Yama-pattikas and explains that they for male story-tellers who belong to a showed pictures and gave sermons on vice specific caste to travel from village to village, and virtue, reward and punishment. telling stories illustrated by colourful According to Jain, the Garoda caste of story- paintings on scrolls, large pieces of cloth or tellers in Gujarat using the vertical painted wooden temple boards.74 The paintings used paper scrolls are the direct descendants of a visual language familiar to the local the Yama-pattika tradition.78 community. These performances did not The emergence of the vernacular have an expressly didactic purpose but were languages - Maithili, Bhasa, Avadhi, expected to propitiate the gods thereby Oriya - led to a revival in story-telling, while bringing rain, fertility and prosperity. This the introduction of paper in the fifteenth tradition, which continues today in many century in India also encouraged the parts of urban and rural India, is very production of these illustrated tales. The ancient. As early as the second century BC practice of painting vertical scrolls has refers to Saubhikas who survived mainly in west Bengal and Bihar, disseminated moral and religious doctrines whereas the large horizontal scroll paintings among the people with the aid of pictures.75 are chiefly found in Rajasthan. In Bengal the Early Buddhist literary sources refer to story-tellers are known as patuas and in charan-chitra or 'mobile paintings' and Bihar as jadupatuas. From the late ninteenth Buddhist stupa panels of the first to fourth century, the patuas of Bengal produced centuries AD may be compared with paintings for sale to pilgrims at the Kali contemporary scroll paintings. temple in Calcutta. The jadu-patuas (literally magic-painters) in contrast are itinerant There are Brahman heretics who, having aboriginal mendicants, 'Hindu' magicians, prepared a canvas booth (pata kotthaka), and brass-workers and painters who paint for the painting (lekhapitva) therein representations of Santal tribe from Singhbhum and Bihar as all kinds of happiness and misery connected well as for the inhabitants of settled villages. with existence in heaven or hell, take this picture The Santals believe that the jadu-patuas and travel about (vicaranthi) pointing out; If you possess magical powers that protect do this you will get this.76 their followers. According to Jain, the Coomaraswamy suggests that charan- Chakshudana-pat or the 'eye bestowal chitra was the Buddhist equivalent of the painting' is one carried by the Jadu-patuas better known term Yama-pata. Jain cites the to the family of a recently deceased Vishakhadatta's Mudrarakshasa where individual with all but the eyes painted, there is a reference to a spy who described which signifies the wandering spirit of the himself as a Yama-pattika (a picture show- dead. It is to free the spirit from this odyssey man of the panel of Yama, the god of death) that the family commissions the eye bestowal and carried with him painted scrolls of hell's ceremony to the picture. The ceremony is

213 Hinduism and the Religious Arts particularly interesting because it links a Mahabharata and the legends of the tribal practice to orthodox Hindu concepts Puranas. These themes are produced on of darsan and the eyes being the seat of the both sides of thick ivory-coloured handmade soul and the inaugeration of statues. paper and serve as visual counterparts to In Rajasthan stories are told by itinerant the stories told and sung by two narrators magician bards from the Bhil tribe called who create a dialogue and reverse the pages bhopas about a hero called Pabuji, a Rathor during their recital. It is suggested by chief. His adventures are painted on large Jayakar that the style of these paintings may horizontal scrolls (phad) of up to 30 feet in be derived from the court art of length, originally painted on cloth though Vijayanagara.80 The oldest paintings seem modern versions are on paper backed by to be from 1830-40. According to Jayakar cloth. The central figures of Pabuji and his and Dallapicchola, there are stylistic black horse are larger than the other figures similarities between these paintings and in the story and the illustrations use flat Karnataka puppets. A functional parallel is washes of red, black, and yellow ochre. also noted in the didactic role of the Story-telling involves singing or 'reading' puppets and the Paithan paintings. the painted phad to the accompaniment of music and dance while a ritual is Production and performance held over the relevant area of the painting in a manner resembling the ritual illumina- Illustrating and telling stories is a male tion of orthodox Hindu icons. It is widely occupation. The professional story-tellers believed that the deity inhabits the painting recite passages from the Mahabharata, and therefore these paintings should never Ramayana or legends of the Puranic gods. be sold and may only be discarded by ritual These sometimes combine folklore and immersion in Lake , the abode of stories of local warriors in performances Lord Brahman. which are rarely one-dimensional and often In the Warangal, Khammam, Adilabad, integrate dance, dialogue, recitation and , Hyderabad and Medak districts epic theatre. The essential role of the bards of Andhra Pradesh the Nakkash caste of is to interpret the pictures to village painters use both horizontal and vertical audiences, while many also practise magic, scrolls of starched cloth nine metres in astrology and palmistry. Other caste length for painting stories on a members are accomplished painters and characteristic orange-red ground. These musicians. paintings depict Puranic legends and are In Rajasthan the scroll painting is hung carried by story-tellers to different patrons, on a bamboo frame revealing the part of such as the weavers who patronize the the story currently being told to the Konnapalli group, and who narrate the audience while the rest of the scroll is rolled Markandeya Purana.79 In Mysore the up. The bard recites the piece while his wife principal figures are ornamented with gold illuminates the relevant scenes with an oil in the manner of temple images. lamp. Performances of the Pabuji ka phad Nineteenth-century paintings from are held at night, with the bhopa and his Paithan, Maharashtra and Central India wife singing and dancing. The story is depict local variations of the Ramayana, the accompanied by mime, song, drumbeat and

214 Village and Tribal Patrons occasional acrobatic feats. A parallel He dances and sings wildly and wrapping the tradition of painted narrative in Rajasthan pachedi cloth of the goddess around his is the custom of adorning the temples with shoulder, he leads a procession to the river side. painted cloths. A well-known example of Virgin girls follow him carrying on their heads this is the Sri Nathji temple at Nathdvara, the earthen pot containing the sprouting corn. where sacred hangings are regularly At the river bank they worship the departing renewed which portray the idol surrounded mothers and the sacral pot is consigned to the by devotees. waters.81 In South India cloths known as vasamalai are painted in Kalahasti, Nagapattam and In sum, despite the fact that story-telling Pallakolu in Andhra. These cloths are used was primarily performed to induce rainfall for hanging on temple walls and as screens and fertility and thus orchestrated to on wooden carts (rathas) that carry the coincide with calendar events and festivals, icons in procession around the town. a consequence was that itinerant story- In Gujarat a cloth which recounts the tellers kept alive the local legends and exploits of the seven mother goddesses, folklore among the urban and rural known as the mother Mata ni Pachedi, is communities. The paintings were also printed by the artisans of the lower castes believed to be sacred and, together with for use during the Navaratra festival. The ritual song and dance, capable of evoking cloths of the mothers are hung around the the deity within the audience. The low caste shrine and form its roof. On the last of the status of story-tellers and the lack of nine nights the bua or magician-priest Brahmanic prescriptions for the painting drinks fermented rice wine and is possessed or literary content reinforce the non-Vedic by the goddess. roots of this bardic practice.

^T-3^?l*iiliii

Who Were the Patrons in Village and women as religious patrons in rural India was well established from the earliest Tribal India? recorded times. Recent studies show a Female patrons decline in the religious and social status of women in relation to orthodox Hinduism As we have seen, apart from male story- over 4000 years though their status in tellers, rural have always village India has remained constant. been largely responsible for creating From about 2500 B.C. to about 500 B.C., girls magico-religious 'art'. They commission and of higher class families were well educated and offer terracottas to the goddess and could provide intellectual companionship for approach a range of local godlings or tree their husband. They participated with their spirits for protection, fertility and the well- husbands in all religious rites and in the making being of their families. Women also create of family decisions. The high status of Brahman, elaborate wall paintings to beautify and Kshattriya, and girls relative to boys of protect the home. The pre-eminence of the same castes could be explained in part by

215 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

the fact that they, like boys, were ceremonially initiated and wore the sacred thread.82

Luschinsky suggests that women enjoyed a high standing in ancient India from 1500 to 800 BC, but during the Classical Period, from 800 BC to 500 AD they experienced a gradual decline in status, demonstrated by the fact that women were no longer permitted to wear the sacred thread or to participate in Brahmanic rites.83 Women were no longer able to participate in sacrificial ceremonies, to study the Vedas or to become wandering ascetics and their religious role was confined to the domestic Figure 6.9 An image of Lajja Gauri. Drawing by rituals which accompanied the marriage Christopher Glanville RWA. ceremony.84 Despite losing ground to the Brahmans in mainstream ritual activity, name persists in secret rites and fertility from AD 500 a new attitude developed which rituals.86 Goddess images such as the fourth- perpetuated the importance of women in century Lajja Gauri fertility image found at 85 domestic religious rituals. It is interesting Nagarjunakonda (Figure 6.9) are further to note that women's diminishing status in evidence of the patronage, social and orthodox rites seems to coincide with an religious responsibility of women and the increasing fear of women's ritual power and worship of the goddess. The inscription the growth in the cult of sakti. The male on the image reveals that it was installed takeover of the women's role was not by the Ikshavaku queen, Mahadevi without trepidation. This is most obviously Khanduvula, described as A-vidhara (whose perceptible in the male attitude to, and husband is alive) and Jivat (all of whose apprehension of, the ambivalent goddess children are alive).87 The inscription by who required propitiation with blood and implication refers to her auspicious status, sacrificial offerings; and visually in the proven by the fact that her husband and changes in sculpted female imagery which offspring were living; their deaths would be became more sensual from the first century taken as evidence of her failure to BC to the third century AD. No longer seen undertake the necessary ritual protection solely as the earth goddess with a critical or of an inherent malevolence.88 role in creation, women were regarded as Within the Indian village women have possessing potentially dangerous sexual never appeared to suffer any inferiority with power if untamed by marriage, exemplified regard to religious status and to have by the power of the goddess in all her retained their ancient ritual responsibilities. manifestations. Despite Aryan patriarchy, remnants of a Hindu women have not been quite as matriarchy can be observed, particularly in subjugated as some texts would have us believe. the south where the use of the mother's Women continue to be versatile experts in ritual

216 Village and Tribal Patrons

matters in a variety of ways. We may conclude requests are fulfilled, however, they usually tell therefore, that the brahmanical attempts to oust friends and neighbours of their good fortune women from ritual involvement have more or and hurry to fulfill their promise.93 less failed. Their failure is probably due to the These religious activities appear to satisfy fact that local practices have a tendency to many of the needs felt by women. These reassert themselves over scriptural models and might include a change from the daily to rework them in their own way.89 routine; emotional catharsis through spirit In the village women have the possession; a sense of sisterhood; and a sense responsibility for most of the calendrical of importance and power. Above all, women's and life cycle rites as well as the votive ritual provides them with the satisfaction of offerings. Luchinsky observed that village making a crucial contribution to the women felt that they contribute to the protection of the family unit which gives welfare of their family and village by their them their purpose and identity in life. 90 religious and magical activities. Women who are distressed or anxious may Most of the magical and religious activities of also turn to shamans and spirit possession Senapur women are based on their desires to to obtain relief. The manifestation of the spirit attain certain ends: to protect themselves and in the medium reinforces the villager's belief 94 their families from harm, to cure illness and in the omnipresence of the spirit world. overcome adversity, to ensure procreation, to Despite the importance of women as maintain spiritual cleanliness, and to ensure patrons and non-professional producers, good crops, among others.91 the professional craftsmen forming the ancient guilds such as potters, goldsmiths, A series of interviews of village women carpenters and wood carvers are without by Mary Mcgee reveals that few women women members. These craftsmen were the performed votive rights (vrat) for their own link between the monumental forms of the health and prosperity. Most were motivated orthodox tradition, the rural gods and the by a desire for children, marital happiness tribal deities of forest and mountain. or for the well-being of their children and husbands together with a concern for this world rather than an afterlife. In this way Tribal patrons they are seen to fulfil their dharma, social 92 Potters from village communities are responsibility and to find liberation. In sometimes commissioned by tribal groups. contrast, it has been found that the men of Terracotta offerings are made either Senapur make vows when they are ill or individually or collectively at large involved in a court case or when they have sanctuaries in special places away from the some personal or family problem. village to fulfil specific vows, but each The making of vows is not an elaborate village has its own small abode of the god procedure. Villagers do not go to the shrine of of the area which is a miniature form of the the god whose help they seek when they make larger sanctuary. 'With these terracottas a vow. They simply make a silent promise to a tribals climb mountains or cross rivers or god when the idea occurs to them. They may or go into thick forests. They walk miles to may not tell others what they have done. If their reach the gods' sanctuary which is always

217 Hinduism and the Religious Arts at a remote place, with a mystical Motivations for Patronage atmosphere.'95 The concept underlying clay offerings is To understand the motivations for rural the link between clay and flesh. The tribals patronage and the practical rationale of the believe in the offering of a whole clay figure rural arts, one cannot turn to ancient sastric to make oneself whole, a clay cow for a cow, texts or inscriptions or cite the reasons that etc. The offering of the greatest merit is that apply to royal patronage. Instead one has of the horse, which has become an animal to rely on the contemporary investigations of great significance and value. Elephants of anthropologists, ethnologists and village are also highly valued and sometimes art historians. The acquisition of prestige, offered in clay. They may be made at legitimacy and spiritual power underlying different stages in the growth of crops; for the patronage of the grand sacred the well-being of an individual or village; to monuments are not factors in the rural arts. protect against ill health or to avert evil for Rural art does however share with the men and animals; during the disease curing decoration of temples, the conceptual link ritual, or when installing the spirits of the between pollution, and regeneration. dead in domestic shrines; for offerings to Concepts of power such as titular legitimacy ancestors; to wish for children or for fertility are not village preoccupations, but prosper- in animals; when cows or buffaloes do not ity, protection, health and purification and give milk; to recover a property if there is fertility are. The rural arts are not bound by a theft or if the village wishes to offer a new Brahmanic prescription nor are they subject 96 Tedhi'. For small offerings, the tribals to priestly intercession in their approach to take their chosen terracotta to the the spirit world or the deity. sanctuary together with chickens, incense, The desire to acquire spiritual merit flags, rice, coins, wine and coconuts. which gave rise to so much imperial For more important occasions, it starts with the patronage is less prevalent in the patronage sending of invitations to friends, relatives and of the rural arts. The average village woman others. People then get together at one place does not show much concern for the next and musical instruments are always played. life but believes that the supreme deity is They sing and dance all the way even while always watching and will punish her if she approaching the god. At the sanctuary, they does wrong. However, her principal concern offer their different gifts first marking them with is the resolution of everyday problems. To dots of orange. Flags are offered and the lamp achieve this, in most cases the individuals is lit. The Bhuva, Priest, goes into a trance and turned to a variety of gods, who ranged offers the rice, wine and chicken, and calls all from the detached supreme Ishvar also the gods there while chanting and singing. known as Bhagvan, to caste deities, village Towards the end, a man climbs a tree or on to gods and, for the most intimate spiritual a higher platform and throws rice over the relationship, personal gods or goddesses. assembled people which each member of the The more aloof Brahman village gods do group tries to catch. They take that rice home not require literal sacrifice but the fickle with them. Finally, a feast and dancing complete village gods or goddesses require bloody the ritual.97 propitiation.

218 Village and Tribal Patrons

Figure 6.10 Terracotta horses offered to Aiyanar. Stephen Huyler.

As has already been noted, most of the begins with the devotee promising his deity rural ritual practices include vrats to the on the fulfilment of a request to honour this gods or goddesses together with devotional by a gift or vrata. Another aspect of this gift offerings or gift giving. These are the chief giving is the belief that removal of bad luck means for fulfilling objectives such as may be achieved by its absorbence into a fertility, prosperity, protection, purification, clay vessel which is then given away or healing and installing a deity. placed outside the community. As has been noted, the offering of terracottas has become a symbolic alternative which accompanies Gift giving and vow fulfilment many acts of worship to Puranic deities, In the Mahabharata told certain village deities such as Aiyanar and Yudhisthira: certain tree and snake shrines. Gifts can be in the form of live animals Indeed I shall tell you, 0 Bharata! how gifts which is required by some local deities such should be made to all orders of men. From as Karuppu in South India and many desire of merit, from desire of profits, from fear, goddesses, but it is expensive and is from free choice, and from pity gifts are made. discouraged by many orthodox Hindus. 0 Bharata! Gifts therefore, should be known to Horses and elephants are the most common be of five kinds98 forms of votive terracottas, although cattle, Gift giving is a common feature of life at camels, tigers, many other animals and all social levels in India. , as we have figures of gods and humans may also be already observed, usually involves the giving found. Both horses and elephants have of an offering alongside some personal been associated with power and prestige. penance, such as fasting and the In South India the large terracotta horses accompaniment of magical verses. The offered to the god Aiyanar have a longer commission of a terracotta is a ritual that life span than most votive terracottas.

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Devotees believe they continue to serve the sculptures, perceived as actual live God as spirit horses and that they cross into sacrifices, provide the devotee with the the spirit world for the god's personal use. equivalent merit of a live offering. The The large terracotta horses are renewed but terracotta image immediately after the often the old horses are preserved (Figure ceremonial offering is like an empty husk, 6.10) and still receive devotion unless they and is therefore meaningless, unusable and get broken or damaged. insignificant and is left to disintegrate. Most Hindus participate in annual As has been noted, many of the tribal festivals which require as part of the ritual peoples in the western part of India give the offering of terracotta sculptures which votive terracottas to their gods. The western represent the gods.- These sculptures are tribes, particularly the Bhils, have adopted usually made by professional potters on some devotional Hindu customs including commission and purchased by devotees. the making of vows and offerings. While a They are not included in jajmani trans- few tribesmen make unfired clay figures, actions and are specially commissioned as most commission Hindu potters to make required and paid for in cash or bartered the required votive images. The favoured with other trade goods. Clay objects are also terracotta image is the horse. These are involved in the custom associated with the used to placate the malevolent spirits of dead and ancestor worship which is linked tribal ancestors who have their own to the worship of the sacred banyan tree. sanctuaries. The Rani Paraj tribals from Surat place a A need for healing is one reason for the clay temple under the tree and put a stone propitiation of the god or goddess who is within it in the name of anyone who dies. brought into the community through spirit From that day they believe the dead person possession and the ceremonial of festivals. dwells there. On festival days several clay An example of this is the initiation of images of horses, cows and buffaloes are festivals to the goddess of smallpox during taken to this sanctuary. Jayakar refers to epidemics. Associated with the ritual of gift similarities between these images and those giving and vow fulfilment is the idea of the figurines found at Harappa (2500 BC), transference of disease into offered animals Sunga terracottas, and also to those made or substitute images. Stutley gives the for the Toda cattle cults of the Nilgiris of example of Siberian shamans transferring South India. disease from a sick man to the body of a Terracotta offerings are believed to be sacrificed reindeer. Among west African capable of holding the spirit which is the Ewe people, for example, sickness is swept essential offering to the deity. This potential away with small brooms after its ritual is perhaps linked to the belief in the transference; and in the Nias Islands dolls permeability of the earth or clay. The small are substituted for the patients and the votive figurines are believed to absorb the diseases transferred to them. In Wales as essence of the animal they represent, which late as the nineteenth century cocks or hens is released once the image is offered to the were taken by sick people to the parish deity. Haku Shah suggests that the terra- church of Llandegla and the well of St Tecla cotta is quickened by sacrificial offering, which was circumambulated three times in the chanting and the trances. The the belief of a cure.

220 Village and Tribal Patrons

Figure 6.11 Women at a tree shrine. Stephen Huyler.

Fertility and prosperity associated with the fertility offerings. Miniature cradles are hung on sacred trees We have noted research showing rural to act in a sympathetic manner and to women's desire for children, prosperity, a ensure the health and protection of an good harvest and for the general protection existing child (Figure 2.5). Wall paintings and purification of the home and are specially made for wedding ceremonies household. This gives rise to some of the of the Mithila tribe in the Madhubani performance of vratas. Women desired a district which are believed to arouse the happy, fruitful marriage and more often young bride and to bring about a fertile performed votive rites for their family than union. for their own health and prosperity. A Ritual story-telling and its illustrated perception of themselves as an integral part performance which is still believed to bring of the collective family is thought to inspire prosperity, rainfall and fertility probably women rather than a sense of their derives from ancient agricultural rites. independent personal self-interest. In contrast, men are seen to make vows when Penance, propitiation and protection they are ill or involved in a court case. Women who desire children often resort These are all fulfilled by the offering of to devotional offering of terracottas to terracottas to the deity. Penance is also certain goddesses and at certain shrines undergone through physical hardship such (Figures 6.11 and 6.3). The snake shrines as fasting, walking on nails or hook or naga kals, often located at the base of hanging, often performed during festivals sacred trees or beside anthills, are also as part of a vow to the goddess. As has been

221 Hinduism and the Religious Arts observed, the deity is propitiated partly by which Brahmanical Hinduism has woven the offering of terracottas, food, money or into its own ritual fabric. other gifts, and by the painting of ritual The patronage of folk art, restricted by diagrams on the walls and floors of the limited resources, is predominantly inspired village houses. The kolam on the threshold by women in the community, who take ritual protects the inner world of the household responsibility for the well-being of their from the outside world. family. Devotional offerings are believed to Protection was also believed to be provide protection from and to propitiate acquired by offerings to the deity or by the spirit world. Women offer figurines, ritual wall painting. Connected to the idea which they believe act as vessels or vehicles of protection is the fear of the . for a transient spirit, eventually transformed Mothers put a preventive dot of lamp black in its contact with the deity. Wall painting on the forehead of each child and a black is a further means used by women to contain cord around the child's neck or arm. Black malevolent forces and evoke the protective pots painted with demon faces are also goddess. Inherent in this art is a belief in placed outside houses and in the fields and the power of the line to demarcate and are believed to be protective. contain force, and the concept that a deity In Senapur according to Luschinsky," may be evoked and temporarily confined the villagers worship three gods: their house within the home or in an area of two- god, the village protector and the god who dimensional space. Stella Kramrisch protects the area of the village, while some suggests that the making of these images villagers worship the village goddess. She invokes and contacts a superhuman suggests that villagers seldom trust one god presence, which is communicated with by to fulfil their requests and therefore enter the drawing of certain shapes.101 Folk art is into obligations with more than one god.100 ephemeral and is aimed to concentrate If their demands are satisfied they worship power on a temporary basis. Yet historical all the gods to whom they made vows. evidence for magical rural customs can be seen in such texts as the Atharva Veda, which records spells and formulae from this Conclusion non-Vedic tradition. This reinforces the Rural religious art provides the means for universality of arts, which often pre-dates individuals to attempt to control an Brahmanic principles and points to a pool unpredictable environment. All those social of ancient rites. groups which are excluded from direct Brahmanic and village Hinduism coexist access to orthodox Hindu deities by the in rural communities and yet are distinct. Brahman monopoly of ritual such as One difference is revealed by the freedom women, non-Brahmans, sudra castes and in the latter for the individual devotee to tribal groups have found an alternative directly approach the local deities without means of communicating with the divine in the need of priestly intercession. Although the rural arts. This expression was free of local priests preside over shrines, women the prescriptive discipline of the through their domestic rituals have direct Brahmanical canons, though these groups access to the deity. Also special to the have absorbed the traditions of bhakti village is the hierarchical array of non-

222 Village and Tribal Patrons

Brahmanic godlings, which coexist with real than the single-minded optimism, or Brahmanic deities and a range of powerful, pessimism, of Western culture. This cannot potentially dangerous goddesses who be understood rationally, though the rural require blood offerings. communities were sufficiently resilient that Connected also to the woman are the they were able to confront the powers of underlying concepts which are intuitively chaos and destruction evoked through the understood and lived in the rural context. goddess and trust in the darkness from One of these is the belief in purity, the need which grew the seeds of regeneration. The for purification in preparation for the arrival community anticipated the whim of the of the deity and the need for regularly re- goddess and recognized the extent to which purifying the home. Diverse practices she could determine life and death. Manasa, relating to domestic purification include the North Indian goddess, typifies this ritual bathing, particularly popular with unpredictability of life, associated as she is women, and the re-plastering of houses with with the snake who suddenly strikes. The cow dung which is said to remove the goddess warns her devotees of the fragility malignant forces absorbed by mud-encased and uncertainty of their hold on life and by walls. The women are themselves perceived so doing helps them digest and prepare as pure, partly due to the high percentage themselves for the fears that haunt them.102 of time they spend in the home. The woman's involvement in the preparation of Notes food and ritual practices also requires a lack of contamination and her assumed state is 1 Although there is little agreement on the an expression of her domestic respons- definition of the word 'tribe', one can say that the tribe is non-industrialized, speaking a ibilities. The woman's potential power is common language with a common ancestry and also manifest in her ritual wall painting. living in a homogenous territory. Here she is believed to be instrumental in 2 Jain 1993, pp. 58-64. concentrating protective forces in the 3 Jajmani is an ancient system dating from the ornamentation of the house and floor. This laws of Manu, whereby services or objects of equivalent value are exchanged or bartered. The is regularly renewed either daily or for term jajmani is derived from the name jajman, ceremonial occasions. which literally forms the nucleus of the exchange. The goddess of disease is known as 4 Harman 1989, p. 98, and Sekine 1993, p. 134. polluting and dangerous and yet this does 5 Brubaker 1978, p. 298. not prevent her from being sacred. The 6 Luschinsky 1962, p. 719. hierarchy of purity and impurity extends to 7 The original Murukan was, according to a range of deities, with at a lower level Zvelebil, the son of Korravai, the goddess of war and victory (see Zvelebil n.d.). It has been ghosts and malingering spirits from which suggested that Murukan was originally a tribal the rural community seeks protection. god, a proto-hunter who underwent a Another aspect of this hierarchy is the lack transformation into the god of the social elite in such later works as Tirumurukarruppatai and of distinction between the spirit and the Paripatal. Two forms of Murukan exist: one is human world in the rural imagination. worshipped by kings, nobles and Brahmanic Perhaps the mystery of the ambivalent priests with six heads and twelve arms; one is worshipped by villagers symbolized by a spear goddess, who represents a reality where adorned by a red cloth and red blossoms carried tragedy and joy are ever present, is more by the folk priest, the shaman and offered a

223 Hinduism and the Religious Arts sacrifice. According to legend, Murukan 16 I am grateful to John Marr for pointing out originally had no father. This concept may the links between blood sacrifices in Rajasthan perhaps express an ancient idea that women and Nepal in the context of Ksatriya rather than bore children without men. Siva was later Brahmanical rituals. included, as his father and he becomes identified 17 Zvelebil, undated, pp. 10-11. with Karttikeya in the Brahmanic cult. 18 Sekine 1993, p. 173. 8 Harman 1989, p. 145. 19 See Hart 1973, pp. 233-51. 9 See Whitehead 1921, p. 62, 'Devaru Potu' 20 Whitehead 1921, p. 146. This blood bond is devoted to the Goddess. a universal phenomenon seen among North 10 See Fuller 1992, p. 84. Smaller animals are American Indians, in Africa and in the Christian offered to male and female deities but buffaloes communion. are reserved for goddesses, although this is now 21 See Emeneau 1971. rare in India, and only jn East India are animals regularly killed at major temples served by 22 Erumai maram or 'Buffalo valour' is one of Brahman priests. Elsewhere, animal sacrifices the poetic themes in the Sangam work are confined to smaller temples and shrines of Purananuru. local deities, which are officiated by non- 23 An example of this is seen by the range of Brahmans. attitudes in the Vedas to the yakshas, from red- 11 See Biardeau 1984, p. 5, fn. 3. Biardeau eyed demons and ghosts to benevolent spirits argues that buffalo sacrifice has been banned sought for prosperity. Biardeau (1984) also refers officially since 1947, so that it is almost non- to the custom whereby the low caste god can existent in towns, but still persists in some become a demon who is transformed or married regions, and is vivid in the memory of old into the orthodox range of deities (p. 108). people. In the north there is a close association 24 See Whitehead 1921, pp. 143-58. It has also with the festival of Navaratri and the been argued by Biardeau (1984, pp. 11-13) that Devimahatmya myth whereas in the south the in the south, particularly in Tamil Nadu, the connection is less strong and the buffalo buffalo sacrifice is strongly linked to the sami sacrifice or Vijayadasami may take place on a tree, and may be less concerned with the different occasion. Biardeau explains that this Brahmanical mythology of Durga. According to difference is due to the absence of Brahmans Biardeau, the sami tree is the fire tree and is also from the sacrificial ritual in the south. In Tamil seen as the feminine - the womb of fire, in which Nadu the ceremony is not linked to the great fire dwells in a state of calm once extinguished. feast of the goddess. The ritual Vijayadasami is The word 'sami' is from the root sam, to calm or simple and has one name, Vanniyasurasamhara, extinguish, or put to death in the causative form. 'the murder - or reabsorption - of the 25 The puranic expression of this concept is Vanni'. At Maduvettimangalam which was one of provided by the story of Narasimha. After slaying the great centres of buffalo sacrifice in Tamil Hiranyakasipu, Narasimha is garlanded in his Nadu (meaning 'blessed site of buffalo sacrifice'), entrails. Narasimha is then so bloody and the ceremony of the great feast of the temple is powerful that Siva is forced to quell him, which performed. In front of the temple is an enormous he does in the form of Sarabha. pipal tree alongside a half-dead sami tree. 26 Shulman (1980, pp. 313 and 421) sees Underneath it are seven stakes to which are Aiyanar as an 'allotrope' of Murukan, which is a attached seven buffaloes which are sacrificed for parallelism also referred to by L'Hernault (1978, the seven villages. It is the sami tree which is pp. 121-2). essential to the ceremony, and the possessed untouchable man must remain beside it during 27 Karuppu sometimes shares the shrine with the ceremony. Both the pipal symbol of the Aiyanar, in which case sacrificial posts are wood of the vertical arani of vedic sacrifice and placed there for blood sacrifices to Karuppu. the sami tree are essential for the ritual. 28 See Hart 1979, pp. 15-17. 12 Shulman 1980, p. 317. 29 Sekine 1993, p. 153. 13 Beck 1991, pp. 113-15. 30 See Zvelebil n.d., p. 4. 14 Fuller 1992, p. 84. 31 Mackay 1931, p. 393. 15 See Harman 1989. 32 Crooke 1912, p. 5.

224 Village and Tribal Patrons

33 Fuller 1992, p. 49. day, offerings and occasionally animal 34 Jain and Aggarwaia 1989, pp. 73-6. sacrifices are made to certain trees to placate the spirits that dwell within them. The cult of 35 Zvelebil n.d., p. 23. the tree was also commom to most ancient 36 See Bolle 1969, p. 129. religions throughout the world. For example 37 See Stutley 1980, p. 6. Anthills are seen as we have the and the Hamadrayad of living entities and ants (upajihvika) are regarded , and Hathor who dwelt in as beneficent insects, with the power to reveal the Sycamore fig-tree of . the presence of healing water. Monier-Williams Crooke refers to the existence of a forest tribe in states in his Sanskrit-English dictionary that Khandesh, the Pavras, who sacrifice goats and one of the three forms of the term for ant, fowls before harvest, and make an offering of namely upajika, may have been the name of a corn to a pair called Bara and Rani Kajhal who water deity. I am grateful to John Marr for occupy adjoining sacred trees (Crooke 1912, informing me that Siva at Tiruvarur is, in one of p. 5). its mulasthanas, worshipped as Valmikanatha, 49 See Jayakar, 1954. Trees worshipped by the 'lord of ants' and his shrine is subterranean. Rani Paraj are the samar, samadi, vad (banyan), 38 Mary McGee, in Leslie 1991, p. 71. the pipal and the mango. 39 Jayakar 1971, p. 290. Vratyas, according to 50 A further ritual is that if there is a theft in the Atharva Veda, were non-sacrificers and the village the aggrieved party takes a vow that worshippers of Eka Vratya (single principle). if the stolen articles are recovered he will offer a Later texts describe them as wandering horse to the samar tree. These horses are hung magicians dressed in black, holding a rod and on the branches of the tree. bow and wearing a magical around their 51 For further reference see Marg, The necks. During the solstitial festival they were Terracotta Art of India', 1954, Vol. VII, said to draw mandalas on their carts which p. 33, Figure 5. served as an altar and to perform sacred rites. See Jayakar 1980, p. 40. 52 They are known as Ganesa (a name given in imitation of the later Ganesa as mangalamurti). 40 Agrawala 1953, p. 71. Similar unbaked clay male figurines have been 41 Jayakar 1980, p. 250. recently found in Shahr-i-Sokhta, a chalcolithic 42 Jain and Aggarwaia 1989, p. 174. settlement in Iranian Sistan. See Marg, 'The 43 Jayakar 1980, p. 252. Terracotta Art of India', Vol. VII, p. 38. 44 Ibid., p. 254. In Gujarat there is a 53 Figures recovered from excavations at superstitious belief that ghosts have feet which Bulandi Bagh show costumes and poses which point backwards. suggest dancing girls. A comparison of these with the present-day Manipuri and Naga dance 45 Huntington 1985, p. 17. poses shows great affinity. For illustration of 46 For further reference to terracotta images of figures see Marg, 'The Terracotta Art of India', the mother goddess see Dasgupta 1961, p. 16. Vol. VII. See also Dasgupta 1936. 54 See Sankalia 1960. 47 Jayakar 1980, p. 254. 55 This is suggested to be the result of a double 48 These terracottas may well represent a mould adopted as a result of contacts with the reference to an earlier custom of sacrifice of Roman world. animals to propitiate the tree spirit. Mackay 56 Jayakar 1980, p. 250. (1931, p. 393) refers to the existence of a clay 57 Iron or steel nails were believed to possess tablet found from the Indus valley which shows magical powers and were commonly used to a row of naked figures under which is a kneeling defeat spirits. In Kerala, for example, it was figure on the left holding a broad-bladed object usual to nail a malevolent spirit to particular in one hand. In front of this figure is a goat; before which is a defaced object resembling a trees. tree, while in the centre of this tree is a human 58 Huyler 1996, p. 78. figure. Mackay suggests that 59 Ibid., p. 31. a priest is about to sacrifice a goat to a tree 60 Ibid., p. 57. spirit. In most parts of India at the present 61 Huyler 1994, p. 174.

225 Hinduism and the Religious Arts

62 Vishnudharmottara Purana, Part 2, 85 See Luschinsky 1962, p. 377. Chapter 169. The text is of the sixth century AD 86 I am grateful to John Marr for informing me but is of earlier sources. of the matrilinear marumakkattayam among the 63 Puranas are encyclopaedias of ancient Nayars in Kerala, and a similar structure among knowledge. the Bants of coastal Karnataka (around 64 See Huyler 1994. and Udipi). 87 See Sonawana 1988, p. 33, and 65 Kramrisch 1983, p. 106. Narasimhaswami 1951-2, pp. 137-9. 66 Ibid. 88 Hart 1973, pp. 233-51. 67 Kramrisch 1968, pp. 65-6. Also note the 89 Menski, in Leslie 1991, p. 50. association of the circle with the Yezidi tribe, some of whom still live in , who are unable 90 Luschinsky 1962, p. 645. to move outside a circle drawn in the dust or in 91 Ibid., p. 646. chalk around any one of them. 92 McGee, in Leslie 1991. 68 Anand 1969. 93 Luschinsky 1962, p. 692. 69 Jayakar 1980, p. 139, Figure 126. 94 For a description of spirit posession see 70 See Huyler 1994. Luschinsky 1962, pp. 702-3. 71 Nagarajan 1993, p. 194. 95 Shah 1985, p. 17. 72 Jayakar 1980, p. 145. 96 Ibid., p. 16. 73 Jain and Aggarwala 1989, p. 103. 97 Ibid., p. 18. 74 Kramrisch 1946, Vol. 1, p. 9. 98 Cited by Huyler 1996, Chapter 3, fn. 3. 75 Coomaraswamy 1929, pp. 182-4. 99 Luschinsky 1962, p. 650. 76 Jain 1980, p. 105, fn. 21, citing the Samyutta 100 Ibid., p. 652. Nikaya 111.15.5. 101 Kramrisch, in Stoler Miller 1983. 77 Quoted in ibid., fn. 23. 102 The death of Diana Princess of Wales and 78 Jain 1980. the devotion shown by the world to her image as a goddess, with offerings of flowers and candles 79 Ibid., p. 105. in reverence, in some senses expresses the 80 Jayakar 1980, p. 158. archetype of devotion on the one hand and the 81 Ibid., p. 169. consciousness of the unpredictability of life on 82 Luschinsky 1962, p. 376. See also Majumdar the other. Diana represented and represents the and Pusalker 1951,1954 and 1955; Altekar paradox of a person who was in life seen for her 1938; Upadhya 1941. on the one hand and her suffering and inadequacies on the other. Her death 83 Menski, in Leslie 1991, p. 49. evoked in England an unprecedented 84 See Leslie 1991, pp. 18 and 43. spontaneous public adulation and reverence.

226 CHAPTER 7 Conclusion

This study has shown the extent to which to play a central role in ritual and are an understanding of the relationship therefore made with faithfulness to between images and ritual is essential in prescription and exacting reverence. This the exposition of the development of the book has a debt to the vital contribution of devotional cults of Vishnu, Siva and the ethnography seen in the inspired works by goddess, popularly known as Hinduism. Fuller, and has also drawn on the profound insights of scholars such as Biardeau, Historians of religions have too long looked only O'Flaherty and Shulman in their work with at words. Religion can exist as much inside a textual sources. durbar hall as in a temple. Clues to the presence From as early as 1500 BC, all the available of a religious culture can be as much embedded evidence suggests that Vedic ritual did not in a decorated elephant as in an ancient require icons, despite the survival of large myth....The word of bureaucratic documents, numbers of terracotta figurines, generally the paraphernalia of the court, the style of dress, believed by scholars to point to a coexistent the colors of a painting - all these 'things' must non-Vedic tradition. From the fourth be added to the words of theologial and mythic century BC, there is more substantial discourse we have learned to read so well.1 evidence of the use of cult images in India. As Waghorne powerfully argues, the These cult images and their shrines were clues to understanding the voices of the adopted by a developing orthodox Puranic past lie as much in the coalescence and Hinduism. Icons of deities grew from a folk impurity of current orthodox ritual as in the belief in the potentiality of divine spirits to lifeless texts of the past. She also argues arise from and inhabit trees and by that popular religion escaped the deadly extension wood, which transferred to a disinfectant of the textual tradition,2 belief in the capacity for stone to become suggesting that the actual remnants of vivified with the correct procedures. They Vedic culture exist now within the Vedic came to form a vital focus for prayer in texts only as 'the scattered and fossilized Brahmanic Hinduism and in the village remnants of a lost and discredited world'.3 traditions. Shrines from the first century This book has proposed an alternative route AD grew to localize and root the sacred in to the lost worlds of Hinduism by tracing areas of sanctity. From this followed the the evolution of Hindu sacred imagery. need for protection of the sanctuary and for Images, intentionally multivalent, continue formal rules about the optimum housing of

227 Hinduism and the Religious Arts the image. As a result of the Buddhist and intervention rather than natural progression. Jain opposition to live offerings to the deity, An example of this practice is found in the yajna, the central cosmo-regal sacrifice, was Tamil story of the god offered in sacrifice to supplanted by domestic rituals, which the goddess, a matriarchal myth which the transmuted and transformed the mundane patriarchal Brahmans altered so that the to the spiritual, the impure to the pure. In god was supplanted by a more acceptable the Puranic period purtadharma (gift surrogate such as a bull, his devotee or a giving) received more acclaim than the demon.6 It is the Brahmans (Figure 7.1) to performance of the central cosmo-regal whom much of the credit must be given for sacrifice. Vegetal offerings were transmuted engineering an extraordinary tapestry of by the sacred fire; prayer, gifts, gesture and adaptation and reworking, of absorbing the feeling were all transformed metaphoric- challenge of Buddhism and through ally by prescriptive action. The ultimate reformulation and adaption, sanitizing the symbolic offering of the self was believed Vedic ritual while preserving their own to enable the worshipper to become one essential role. Even the popular bhakti with God through death's transmutation. movement with its emphasis on individual Many scholars have convincingly demon- worship and emotional intensity came in strated that sacrificial rituals, both actual time to provide an essential arm of the and symbolic, provide the strongest common Brahmans' customary performance while feature and link between popular and preserving in the orthodox temples their orthodox Hinduism. Yet as pointed out by intercessionary function. Biardeau, the ritual prescribed in the texts The alchemy of sacrifice and ritual as governing ritual in the temples of Vishnu agents of transformation are central to and Siva is never described by Hindus understanding the southern Tamil tradition as 'sacrifice', for linguistically and con- and also the northern Brahmanic tradition. ceptually, puja is differentiated from bali In order to gain a true understanding of (blood sacrifice) for inferior deities.4 Despite Hinduism it is important to study religious this distinction every ritual may be seen as practice as well as words and images. an expression of devotion, and self-sacrifice Customary practice is bound up with was the ultimate offering in the cult of images, icons, ornamentation and prayers. bhakti. Madeleine Biardeau argues that The result of man's actions is karma but by popular religion reflects the devotional extension he was also subject to change practice of bhakti which arose during the through action. Ritual may be seen as a Epic and Puranic periods and explains how process of alchemical transformation of the low caste village practice became absorbed participant. An example of this is the into the Brahmanic tradition.5 She speaks transformation of the body, regarded as not of covering up the popular tradition but an unsanctified temple, which becomes of 'englobing', which is a process of ideo- sanctified through yogic practice. A further logical development. Shulman however, example of this transformation is seen in while admitting to the continuity of sacrifice the potent symbol of the camphor flame. and self-sacrifice in Tamil myths, argues that Fuller expresses the quintessentially Hindu much of Tamil tradition was given an idea of a blending of divinity and humanity. orthodox slant engineered by Brahmanic This, Fuller observes, can be seen in the

228 Conclusion

Figure 7.1 Brahmans at Srirangam. Robert Elgood. transcendence of the icon which, dissolved The gap between agamic theory (many in the flame, touches the disembodied self of the agamas prepared in South India) and of the devotee. It is also observed through practice further reinforces the transmission the icon's and devotee's mutual vision of of action rather than theory, despite a love the flame and therefore each other. The of classification. Belief has always been intensity of the flame can also persist in the centred on the pre-eminence of sound and vision of the worshipper once the eyes close words interrelated with ritual action, rather and therefore reinforces the persistent than the importance of ideas and concepts. presence of the deity within the mind of the Rural and urban Hindus do what they devotee. believe should be done, which in turn The transformation of the victim in the becomes common practice and this, sacrifice, or of the terracottas offered in folk faithfully repeated, is what becomes cults, lies in a change of substance from the orthodox. material to the spiritual. The ancient urge The Hindu view makes no clear for union with divine power lives on in the separation between God and the world. The worship of the village goddess, achieved sacred is polished, worked and transmitted through connection with the blood of the through the prescribed ritual acts which sacrificial buffalo. These principles are make the normal supranormal. In this sense reflected in bloodless Brahmanic puja which Hinduism is concerned not merely with a urges union, through symbolic self-sacrifice faithfulness to ideas but the transformation and the offering of gifts to be consumed by of material substances through action and the deity. What links the village and temple the vibrations of sound. Sound linked to worship is the transformation of the breath was believed to empower the word. offering. Thus the unit of sound, or mantra, was

229 Hinduism and the Religious Arts more important than the meaning of the rather than temples, by the eighth century whole; this led to the oral tradition taking temples became powerhouses for kings. The precedence over written texts. apogee of the identification of the god-king Religious language does not express itself was in the Chola period. The king also in words but in a kind of ritualized practice. appeared among his subjects in much the Linked to this sacred action is art, which same way as an icon is carried in a chariot does not obscure or refuse the challenge of around a town. the depiction of the sacred. Hindu art The deities reveal a hierarchical pantheon attempts to bridge matter and the with no sharp separation between the immaterial; existence and non-existence; human and spirit world where humans subject and object, expressing these require protection from maleficent forces. through a subtle use of metaphors and Icons and images serve as effective channels paradigms. Hindu sacred art reveals not for the radiation of divine forces. The Hindu merely the abstract essence or framework image, unlike the still and inwardly focused of things but also the fullness of meditative and enlightened image of the manifestation (prakriti), of abundance Buddha or the Jain tirthankara, provides a (purna) and an encompassing vision of range of moods and physical states. Siva reality. Religious objects are spiritual can be immobile as the teacher or yogi or because they are artificial products of can embody the state of bliss and energy in ritual.7 Ornamentation, far from artifice and action in his dance. In Buddhism pretension, is seen to convey vitality and the aspiration to the non-worldly spiritual power. The figure of the king also receives was embodied in stone and grew to be this adornment for the same reasons. revered. Unlike the simplicity of the outer Hindu kings had certain obligations; first, manifestations of the images of the Buddha to secure ritual power by generous or the Jina, Hindu gods and goddesses endowments to Brahmans, and second, by require ornamentation and a complex array the patronage of temples to strengthen the of attributes, arms and jewellery to enhance deity's presence in his empire to ensure their power and auspicious qualities. The rainfall, fertility and prosperity. Insofar as figures of Buddhism and Jainism are he became God's representative, the divine concerned with experience and the monarch received sacred power through relationship and nature of man, while the lustration with the sacred waters and was Hindu images concern themselves with the dressed like a religious icon with evoking of the gods among men. In extravagant clothing and jewellery. Hinduism the radiation of spiritual essence Ornamentation, far from merely appealing evoked in the icon as a consequence of to his vanity, is believed to strengthen and appropriate ritual commands reverence. empower him. Individual jewels are The Buddhist icon represents the believed to hold special power while pearls enlightened human state which was like the moon reflect the sun. His subjects intended to inspire and evoke in the disciple offer the king the obeisance shown to their a corresponding detachment and cult deity. Although from the third to the enlightenment. By contrast, Hindu icons eighth centuries kings preferred to promote depict gods and goddesses who play here their munificence through courtly bards on earth and beyond and are intended to

230 Conclusion assist in bringing their powers to act in this and temples in the orthodox tradition or in world. The aim of the Hindu devotee was, lines in sacred wall painting, drawing or through inner transformation, to become terracottas presupposes a belief in the qualitatively similar to and therefore interrelationship between the divine and capable of becoming one with the deity. inorganic matter. It suggests a hierarchy The objective of each facet of worship is the of material of varying density or divinity purification and making sacred of the matter which is, under certain conditions, transforming action of the total ritual. permeable to higher forces and can become Essential components are meaning and qualitatively transformed with the order in thoughts; sincerity of feeling is application of certain elements of sound, expressed in a corresponding intonation light or fire. and correct physical action in gesture. The Hindu arts are however in the final experience of the sacred is not merely analysis part of maya, reflections or through the eyes but through all the senses: milestones on the journey to the taste, sound, and the purification of smell individual's direct experience of their micro- through the use of incense. These are parts and macrocosmic identity. They are of the body of action which encourage the spiritually endowed aids to liberation from god's manifestation on earth and make this world of the non-real. possible the communion of god and devotee. Finally the divine presence (sri) is Notes assured by the lustration of sacred water, the purifying and transforming power of 1 Waghorne 1994. the flame, and the vibration of sounds. All 2 Ibid., p. 120. elements and senses are involved in this 3 Heesterman 1985, p. 99. amalgam of space, wind, water, earth and 4 See Fuller 1992, p. 99. sacred fire. 5 Biardeau 1981, p. 238. This book in its structure and emphasis 6 Shulman 1980, p. 132. has attempted to show the extent to which 7 See Clothey 1983. the Hindus' use of and attitude to images

231 Glossary

abhayamudra - Be not afraid. Arati - a temple ritual where the India and Nepal he is known as - the sprinkling of lamp is moved in a clockwise Bhairon. consecrated water over a sacred circular direction in front of the - popular hymns sung by image or the head of a king at deity. pilgrims or devotees at a shrine. his coronation. aripan - see alepan Bhakta - a devotee. Agamas - set of revealed texts Arjuna - the son of Indra, friend of Bhakti - intense devotion to a referred to by tantric sources and Krishna. personal god. Implies a relationship most temple rituals. Artha - wealth, one of the four of exchange between the god and Agni - Vedic god of fire. goals of ancient Hindu life. devotee, the worshipper receiving grace from the deity in return for Agnihotra - the Vedic burnt Asram - a retreat or the dwelling gifts and devotion. offering. place of a mendicant in the forest. Bhopas - story-tellers, who tell Ahimsa - non-violence, a central Asura - inhabitants of lower stories of the hero Pabuji in concept of the Jains. regions. They become evil when Rajasthan. they try to usurp the place of the Akasa - the most subtle of the five gods in heaven or to come to earth Bhuta - ghost or spirit. elements; refers to the material to oppress the Brahmans. Brahma - deity; first of the support for sound known as ether. Asvamedha ~ the Vedic horse Trimurti. Alankara - ornamentation, sacrifice. Brahman - soul or universal spirit. auspicious embellishment. atharvaveda - fourth vedic text (see Brahmana - the priest, the highest alepan - geometric drawings on the veda) of the four Hindu castes. floor or wall. These are drawn on Atman - the name given to the Brahmanas - presciptive texts festival and auspicious occasions. eternal principle which imagines the which refer to sacrificial ritual. Amalaka - the flat circular, ribbed empirical individual. form which is placed as a crown on Avatara - literally 'descent', usually Chaitya - a sacred place. North Indian temple towers. The applied to Vishnu's ten Chakra - wheel or discus weapon of word derives from 'mal' meaning to incarnations. Vishnu. hold or gather. Perhaps its circular Chakravartin - title used by Hindu ribbed form is suggestive of a ring. Bali - an offering, often a blood rulers to indicate a 'universal king'. sacrifice. Amrta - nectar of immortality. Chamunda - goddess created by Ananku - this concept is found in Bhagavad Cita - 'Song of the Lord'; Durga to destroy evil. Tamil. It is described as the sacred a section of the Mahabharata, in Chandra - moon god. force inherent in certain places, which Krishna propounds a Caste system - the division of Aryan objects and powerful animals, philosophy which forms the basis society into four classes: Brahmans particularly noted in Murukan, for much that is central to the later development of Hinduism. or priests, Ksatriyas or warriors, which can be creative or destructive. vaisyas or traders, sudras or Anjalimudra - the hand position of Bhagavata Parana - a popular text labourers. prayer and respect, with the two which tells of the life of Krishna; refers to his childhood, the gopis Chitra - wall painting in Orissa. hands joined. and the rasalila but not to the Annapurna - goddess of plenty, her person Radha. Damaru - hourglass-shaped drum, carried by Siva. symbols are the overflowing pot of Bhairava - Siva in the form of an rice and vessel of milk. ascetic with wild hair, a staff and Dana - the act of giving. Apsaras - beautiful courtesans of erect penis. He is often Darsan - the act of seeing the the gods. accompanied by a dog. In North enshrined deity and being seen; this

232 Glossary can take place in the temple or in Gramadevata - village deity, Kama - 'Desire', especially sensual, front of any sacred image. frequently a goddess. amorous desire. It is described as Deva - god. Guna - term for the three one of the goals of man. Devadasi - temple dancers, also components of the phenomenal Kama Sutra - 'treatise on love' world, i.e. sattva, rajas and tamas. known as temple courtesans. attributed to the Brahman - spiritual teacher. Vatsyayana. Date unknown. Devimahatmya - 'Glorification of Karma - the law of cause and effect. the Goddess'. Part of the Hamsa - goose, the vehicle of The effects of individual karma in Markandeya purana. Brahma. this life are believed to have Dharma - one of the four goals of Hanuman - monkey god, referred to a bearing on the next. Hindu life, the act of living in the Ramayana as an ally of Rama. Kama - corner of shrines in appropriately, fulfilling ones temples. appropriate role and place. - the conjoint figure of Siva and Vishnu. Karuppu - also Karuppan, popular Dikpalas - door guardian. local deity in Madurai, and other Dravida - southern type of temple Indra - Vedic god of war and god of regions of Tamil Nadu, he is style. storms. worshipped with sacrificial live Durga - destroyer of the buffalo Isvara - or Bhagvan, supreme lord, offerings and weapons. He is a demon. the unmanifest, the immeasurable subordinate god to Aiyanar and can and indescribable form of the be malevolent; needs to be dvapura - third of the four yugas. ultimate divinity. More remote and propitiated. impersonal than the puranic deities, Karttikeya - warrior god, referred Cada - the club weapon. such as Siva, Vishnu or the Goddess. to as the other son of Siva, also Gana - mischievous dwarfs who known as Skanda. form part of Siva's retinue. Jainism - this teaching emphasizes - ninth planetary deity, god of ascetic practices alongside a Candharva - a celestial musician. the eclipse of the moon. concern with ahimsa (non-injury to Canesa - the son of Siva and all living , human and animal). Kinnaras - heavenly creatures, with Parvaf/who has an elephant head. Twenty-four teachers are human heads and horses' bodies. He is invoked to remove obstacles at reknowned, of which the last, Kirttimukha - a lion-mask, which any new beginning. Mahavira, a contemporary of often appears at the top of an arch Canga - the river goddess, Buddha, promulgated the faith. or as a frieze on Indian temples. personification of the river Ganga. Jajmani - a village system of barter Kolam - threshold floor design The goddess is associated with Siva or exchange of service for produce. made from rice flour, found in in the iconographical detail in Jatakas - stories of the previous South India. which she flows into Siva's matted lives of the Buddha. hair. Korravai - warrior goddess, some Jati - the caste into which an identify her with Kali or Chamunda. Carbhagrha - 'womb chamber', the individual is born (literally birth). Krishna - the most popular avatar innermost sanctum of the Hindu of Vishnu. In the Mahabharata he temple. Jayadeva - twelfth

233 Glossary prosperity, associated with the Madras - hand gestures; for Prakriti - primeval matter identified lotus, also known as Sri. example, suggest reassurance with the female principle, seen as Lib - literally 'play'. (abhayamudra) or adoration nature, inclusive of energy, vitality, (anjalimudra); gesture in dance. diversity. Linga - the aniconic form of Siva, appears in the form of a phallus, but Murti - form, or image of a deity. Prana - breath, the control of which is also known as a sign or mark Murukan - the son of the war is the aim of yogic practices. of Siva and a symbol of Siva's goddess Korravai, very popular in Prasad - literally 'grace', a gift of cosmic energy. Tamil Nadu. He has been absorbed food given to the worshipper by the Lingodbhava - the image of Siva into the figure Skanda or Karttikeya priests after its sanctification by the emerging from the cosmic linga. and thereby linked to the Puranic deity. deity Siva. Prasada - the platform of God. Mahabharata - Indian epic that tells Naga - serpent or snake spirit, Pratirathas - intermediary offsets of the war between the five around the temple. brothers and the members of the sometimes seen with a partly clan. The story was human form. The cult of snake Prithvi - earth. transmitted orally, established by worship is of great antiquity in India Puja - ritual Hindu worship, which the first century AD, until it was and is king of the naga can be practised either at home or written down sometime around the and naginis. in the temple. fourth century AD. Nagara - northern style of temple. Puranas - religious texts assembled Maithuna - couple depicted in Nagi/nagini - femla naga. during the first eight centuries AD, sexual intercourse. Nandi - bull, the vehicle of Siva. which formed the basis for modern Makara - water beast resembling Hinduism. They present the the crocodile in appearance, Narasimha - man-lion, the fourth substance of treatises of ritual, associated with the river Ganga. incarnation of Vishnu. codes of laws, the description of Narayana - one of the names of holy places, etc., all that a Hindu Manasa - protective goddess of needs to know in order to act snakes. Vishnu. correctly. Mandala - a circular cosmic Nataraja - 'lord of the dance', refers Purnaghata - motif of pot diagram, representing the cosmos. to the god Siva in his form of the overflowing with plants. It formed the ground plan for many cosmic dance of bliss, especially at sacred and secular buildings, Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu. Purtadharma - involves the according to the ancient treatises on Natysastra - 'Treatise of dramatic patronage of buildings. architecture. This diagram also art and dance' attributed to the Purusa - man, one of the names of forms a dynamic part of prayer and mythical sage Bharata. Refers to the the perfect man or absolute. meditation, where it may be referred theory of aesthetics of emotion, to as a yantra. In the centre is known as rasa. Radha - despite being married, she depicted the deity or sacred syllable. - nine planetary deities was Krishna's favoured cowherdess. Mantra - prayer or sacred utterance. including the sun and the moon. - musical mode, melodic Different mantras invoke different formula arranged within an octave. deities. Mantras can be one syllable Padma - lotus. Ragamala - series of paintings or a combination of sounds; the Parvati - one of the names of the intonation is crucial to its efficacy. based on , identified with the benevolent consort of Siva. She is different times of the day and Markandeya purana - One of the the daughter of the Himalaya seasons of the year. They represent puranas, date unknown, see mountains. a variety of emotions, especially love Devimahatmya. Pasu - 'sacrificial victim'. In South and devotion. Matrka - mother goddess; usually India Saivism the term is also Rahu - eighth planetary deity; god seven in number, the saptamatrkas. applied to individual souls, distinct of the eclipse of the sun. Matsya - fish, first avatara of Vishnu. from God who is their master. Rajas - the second of the three Maya - the power of illusion, it is Patuas - story-tellers in Bengal also gunas associated with passion and identified with nature, prakriti. known as jadu-patuas. energy. Mayon - a South Indian black deity. Pitha - the 'seat' or shrine of a Rajasuya - the king-making Krishna subsumes some elements of deity (often a goddess) particularly ceremony, involves anointing the Mayon. those which commemorate the king with holy water, which is Mithuna - male and female couple, dismemberment of Sat/, it can also believed to transfuse divinity to the commonly depicted for magico- act as a pedestal of an image. royal person. protective purposes and to Prabodhacandrodaya - play written Rama - hero of the Ramayana, one engender fertility. Maithuna - by Krishna Misra for the Chandella of the avataras of Vishnu. stands for the couple engaged in court in the tenth century AD. Ramayana - a great epic, the story sexual intercourse. Pradakshina - the clockwise ritual of the ideal king, Rama, attributed Moksha - liberation from rebirth. circumambulation of the sacred to Valmiki, probably composed over Last of the four goals of a Hindu. monument or image. many years.

234 Glossary

Rasa - 'essence, relish, flavour, Sannyasin - a renouncer, a religious of the remains of the taste' received by the audience. holy man, who abandons his family Buddha. The nine rasas are the erotic and community. Sudra - the lowest of the four (sringara), comic (hasya), Saptamatrka - the seven mothers. castes. compassionate (karuna), fearsome (raudra), heroic (vira), frightening Sarasvati - river goddess identified Surya - sun-god; first planetary (bhayanaka), odious (bibhatsa), with knowledge, music and the arts. deity. marvellous (adbhuta) and peaceful Consort of Brahma. Svarga - heavenly realms. (santa). The person who so Sastra - ancient texts which responds is called a rasika. Svayambhu - 'self-manifest', i.e. a prescribe various aspects of human naturally occurring form which Ratha - a processional chariot, behaviour. SUpasastras cover the resembles and is believed to be the made of wood, bamboo and cloth, production of sculpture, linga. used during festivals to carry the Vastusastras deal with architecture. Svastika - an ancient symbol found image of the deity through the Sat; - the perfect wife, faithful to streets of a village or town. in the Indus valley civilization from her husband. The name given to the 2500 BC, linked to the sun, symbol Ravana - ten-headed demon king wife who burns alive with her of luck and auspiciousness; used from Lanka who captured Sita in husband on his funeral pyre. particularly by Jains and Hindus. the Ramayana. sattva - literally 'white', state of Rg Veda - early collection of hymns purity. Tatnas - the third of the three used at Vedic sacrifices. Sikhara - 'mountain peak'. Tower gunas, associated with darkness, Rshi - sage, seer. Mythic seers who, or spire of a Hindu, Buddhist or dullness, ignorance. according to some, transmitted the Jain temple. Tamil Nadu - state in south India. revelation. In the epics and Silpa - the Sanskrit word for art. Tantra - literally to 'expand or Puranas, they are exemplary extend', an esoteric teaching individuals who were half- SUpasastras - prescriptive texts renouncers, half-householders, and which refer to art. involving secret rituals, used by acted as teachers or heroes. Hindu and Buddhist devotees. The Siva - one of the chief gods who teaching centres on the worship of Rudra - 'the terrible' the most receive widespread devotion. He is the goddess, and involves devices common name for Siva in Vedic known as the god of destruction, such as yantras and mantras to literature. associated with the Vedic god support prayer. Rudra, he is also associated with Rudraksha - dried berries which Tantras - texts based on the are made into rosaries worn by the unorthodox forms of renunciation; third of the Trimurti. Agamas and the , in the Saivite devotees. extreme form the Tantras place Skanda - son of Siva and Parvatr, Sakti above the male God. Sadasiva - Siva with five heads. however, myths describe his birth as tantricas - Those who undertake - holy man who is unfettered arising from the seed of Siva but tantric practices. by the norms of society and pursues from a woman's womb. a religious path. Smrti - literally 'memory'. The Tapas - literally 'heat'; austerities Saivism - followers of Siva. tradition as distinct from the and penance. Sakti - the power and energy of the revelation. It includes literature Tejas - radiance, splendour. goddess. such as the great epics the Tilak - a mark ritually applied to a Ramayana, the Mahabharata and person's forehead on an auspicious - girl performing a the Puranas. ritual associated with tree worship, occasion. where she breaks the branch of the Soma - an intoxicant drunk during Tirthankara - 'ford makers', the 24 sal tree and kicks the trunk with the Vedic ritual sacrifice. saints of Jainism. the heel of her foot. Somaskanda - sculpture which treta - second of the four yugas. depicts Siva sitting with Parvati and Salagrama - ammonite fossil sacred Trimurti - the manifestation of the to Vishnu or Siva. Skanda; very common in South India. deity in three aspects to preside samarveda - third of the vedic texts over different states of the cosmos. (see veda). Sraddha - the offering to the ancestors. Tulapurushadana ceremony - the Samhitas - collections of Vedic ceremony where the king weighs hymns. The most ancient texts of sri - honourific, meaning splendour, himself against gold, which is the Vedic corpus. glory. subsequently distributed. Samsara - transmigration, bound in Sruti - literally 'heard'. This refers Tulasi - household tree (basil), the circle of rebirth. to Vedic texts which are believed to sacred to Vishnu, tended by women. Sandhyabhasha - intentional be revealed. language of tantricas often hidden Stambha - the cosmic pillar, linked Uma - one of the auspicious names in symbolism. to the idea of a world axis. of the goddess, wife of Siva. Sankha - conch shell sacred to Stupa - a solid earthen burial Upanishads - philosophical and Vishnu. mound. The early stupas contained mystical texts which refer to the

235 Glossary concept of rebirth and suggest the ritual activity, while the Yaksha (m), Yakshini(f) - literally path to liberation. Atharvaveda includes magic spells 'to become visible', the ancient tree and incantations. spirits, worshipped from the earliest Vahana - vehicle of the deity. Vedi - Vedic altar. periods to the present day. Vaikuntha - Vishnu manifest as a Vesya - a courtesan. Varna - ruler of the dead. combination of the boar and the Yamuna - personification of the man-lion incarnations. Vimana - the pyrimidal tower which crowns the shrine of a South Indian Jumna river: her vahana is the vaisyas - the third group in the temple. turtle. fourfold division of Hindu society. It Vina - South Indian musical Yantra - mystical diagram includes such occupational groups instrument, similar to a long-necked associated with the worship of the as merchants and farmers. lute. goddess. It is used to focus Vajra - double-headed thunderbolt concentration and act as a path Vishnu - one of the chief puranic of the god Indra. gods, associated with creation and guide during meditation. Vamana - dwarf incarnation of preservation. His ten incarnations Yoga - physical and spiritual Vishnir. his fifth incarnation. restore cosmic balance in the exercises, whose goal is to achieve Varaha - boar; third incarnation of universe: second of the Trimurti. experience of liberation in this life. Vishnu. Visvarupa - the cosmic This involves physical exercises to manifestation of Vishnu. control the body and mental Varuna - Vedic god of the waters. exercises to empty the mind of Vastusastras - see sastra. Vrata - literally 'choose or will', associative thought and reach these are domestic rituals, silence and stillness. Vasudeva - name of Krishna. performed mainly by women, Vayu - Vedic god of the air. involving penance and sometimes Yoni - the aniconic form of the the saying of prayers and the goddess, based on the shape of the Veda - literally 'knowledge', making of sacred diagrams. female vulva. through revelation. The sacred texts of the Aryans. These were Vyala - imaginary lion-like beast, Yuga - name for the cosmic ages compilations of hymns and ritual symbolizing animal and natural which come in four consecutive prescriptions which were compulsions. periods: krta, treta, dvapuna, kali. transmitted orally. The four Vedas The periods show a gradual decline are the Rg Veda, , Yajna - the Vedic sacrificial ritual. of standards and quality of life until and the Atharvaveda. The yajurveda - second of the vedic the cycle is destroyed and reborn. first three relate purely to priestly texts (see veda). Yupa - sacrificial post.

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240 Index

Note. References in bold type are to Arjuna's penance 153-4 Bhu 59, 64, 66 illustrations Arthasastra 97 Bhubanesvara 149 Aryan invaders 2, 4-5, 8-9, 64, 140 Bhudevi 64, 144 ablution ritual 143, 159, 165, 168, asceticism 5-7, 35, 45, 49, 52, 71, Bhumara temple 144 171-5, 183 105, 112, 167-8 bhuta cult 194 Aditya, king 158, 177 Asoka 6,21,98, 122, 136-7 bhutam attam 178 Adityas, the (deities) 56, 80, 88 Astadhyayi, the 56, 97 Biardeau, Madeleine 3, 120, 227-8 Adivaraha temple 154, 179 astrology 171,214 Bitpalo 150 Aelian 82 astronomy 171, 176 blood-letting 191-2 Agamas 15, 32, 128, 229 Asvalayana Crhya Parisista 85 Blurton, Richard 48-9, 60, 76, 81 Agastyesvara temple 158 Atharva Veda 2, 5, 198, 209, 222 boar, images and worship of 59, 66, Agni 16, 19, 73, 80, 85, 113 Atman-Brahman doctrine 2 81, 179 AgniPurana 106 atonement 177-8 BodhGaya 63, 80 Agnihotra 101 Bodhisattvas 56 Aihole 26, 151, 174 Bahubali, statue of 159 bodily sensation, experience Aiyanar 64, 189-90, 192-4, 197, Baiga Kanikkars 69 through 12 204, 219 Baladitya 178 Boner, Alice 149 Ajanta 27, 174, 207 Balarama 57,61, 88 bonga 195 AI-Biruni 38 Bali 81 'bongaism' 70 alchemy 147 Banerji, J.N. 85 Brahma 2, 19, 32, 66, 76, 85, 89, Alinachitta 122 bards 170, 182, 214-15, 230 Alia, kottapala of Cwalior 167 Baroli temple complex 114 114, 116, 148 allegory 44, 147, 179 bathing see ablution ritual Brahmanas 5, 15, 17, 76, 128, 136, amalaka 114, 124 Baumer, A. 17 147 Amaravati 67, 84, 141, 178 Baya Chakda 150, 179 Brahmanism 1, 6-7, 10, 14, 25, 61, Anand, Mulk Raj 165, 208 beauty of images 30 67, 106, 113, 123, 128, 132, 137, Anandatandava 49 Beck, A. 191 159, 166, 189, 199, 217,228 ananku 191-2, 195, 199 Belur 160, 180 Brahmans 8, 36, 94, 117, 129, 136, 149 Benaras 63, 72 138-40, 143, 145-6, 152, 159, ancestor worship 6, 69, 99, 158, 194, Besnagar 56, 120 163-5, 168-71, 181-4, 228, 212, 220 Bhagavad Cita 7, 13-14, 56, 61, 138, 229 Andhaka 44 184 Brahminy kite 57; see also garuda angula units 118 13, 218 bird aniconic symbols 18-19 Bhagavata Purana 62, 115, 208 Brhadisvara temple 158, 160, 207 animals Bhairava (or Bhairon) 52 Brhatsamhita 22 reverence for 3, 81-5 bhajans 56 brick, use of 150, 157-8, 166, 203 symbolism of 53 bhakti 4, 11, 29, 37, 56, 64, 95, 97, Brihatsamhita, the 106, 117-18, 124 see also Siva; Vishnu 131, 138, 169-70, 196, 202, bronzes 157-8 Annakuta 72 222, 228 buas 212,215 Annapurna (goddess) 54, 72 Bhanuveda 150 Buddha 6, 50, 63, 66-7, 82, 136, antelope symbols 55, 113 Bharhut 24, 67, 100, 173 178, 230 anthills 55, 83-4, 194-5, 221 Bhar tribe 146 Buddhagupta 144 anthropomorphic images of gods Bhatta Yashodhara 148 Buddhism 6-7, 136-8, 145, 163-5, 16-18, 23,212 Bhattacharya, D.C. 17, 87, 89-90 168-9, 182, 213 Apasmara 45-7, 49 bhava 29-30, 33 Buddhist art 4, 13, 141, 150, 230 aphrodisiacs 147 Bhil tribe 62-3, 71, 187, 196, 212, buffalo apsaras 35, 78, 112 214, 220 images and worship of 71-2, 85, Aranyakas 5 Bhojpur temple 148 95, 113, 144 Arjuna 7,61,81.97 bhopas 214 sacrifice of 191-2, 199, 229

241 Index bull, images and worship of 55, 85, cult images and deities 2, 10, 136-7, emeralds, use of 147-8 86, 113, 202 227 Epics 7, 17, 117, 175 business affairs 76 cult practices 9, 11 Eran 59, 96, 144 cultural activities of temples 168 eroticism 33, 35, 45, 56, 62, 78, 85, Calcutta 73 Cutus 142 106-13 passim, 120, 132, 147, Cambaita 128 176 Camunda Raya 159 Daksha 52 ethnography 10 Candragupta II 26 Dakshinamurti Siva 49, 51 Ewe people 220 caste system 4, 61, 121-2, 128, 166, dana 10, 135, 145, 169, 175, 180: see excluded groups 222 205; see also Brahmans also mahadana; purtadharma Caturvedimangalam 159 dana-dharma 180 fertility symbols and rites 14, 20, 62, cave temples and shrines 25-6, 88, dance in temples 33 67, 76, 78, 99, 105, 112, 139, 94, 98, 153, 156, 162 Danielou, A. 52 174-6, 190, 201-2, 211, Chakravartin 64 Dantidurga 138, 151-2 215-16 Chalukya Pulakesin 153 darsan 28, 36, 39, 101, 113, 129, festivals 72-3, 76, 83, 88-9, 120, Chalukyan dynasty 150-4, 164-6, 131,214 131-2, 141, 190-1, 199, 169 Dasara festival 72, 88, 120 209-10, 215,220-1 Chamunda 54, 73, 75 dawn goddesses 81 fish deities 59, 64, 81 Chandella dynasty 105, 146-8, 177 demigods 113 floor painting 209-12 Chandra, Subodh 207 Deogarh temple 26, 124, 144 flute-playing 62 Chandradevi 149 Desai,D. 107-10, 121, 147 folk art 188, 200,222 Chandragupta 144 devadasis 113, 132, 140-1 folk beliefs and traditions 4, 106, Chantamula 142 Devaki 61 132, 139; see also village Charana citras 90 Devangana Desai 87 custom charity 168-9 Devapala, king 146 forest books see Aranyakas Chaturbhuj temple 167, 180 Devasena 142; see also Karttikeya friezes 115 Chhichha 147 Devi 19, 54, 114 Fuller, C. 10, 32, 79, 194, 227-8 Chidambaram temple 49, 159, 180 Devi Mahatmya 71, 73 funerary monuments 158, 170, Chinnamasta 70 Devidasis 33 178-9 chitra, art of 89-91 devotional cults 29 funerary temples 148, 158, 178 Chitralakshana 89 deya-dharma and deva-dharma Chitrasutra 30 180-1 Gail, Adalbert 30 Chittorgarh 107 Dhanga 147-8 Gaja Lakshmi 143, 153, 173 Chola dynasty 81, 157-61, 165-6, Dhangadeva 147-8 Gandhara 57, 112-13, 141, 202 158-9, 170, 177, 183, 230 dharma 3, 6-7, 11, 75, 81, 94, 136, Ganesa 7, 54-5, 71-2, 84-5, 113-14, Cholisvara temple 157 180-1, 217 142, 212 circumambulation 9, 37, 129-30, Dharmaratha 179 Ganga (dynasty) 149, 159 220 Dharmasastras 7, 210 Ganga (goddess) 54, 84, 115, 144, class discrimination 6; see also caste Dhiman 150 174 system Dhyana mantra 32 Gangaikondacholapuram 157-8, climate 125 Didarganj Yakshi 68 160, 161, 174, 179 cobras 84 Dirks, N. 138, 152 Ganges, river 45, 49, 76, 144, 158, coins, images on 57, 76, 80, 141, discus, the, symbolism of 64 174 143, 179, 207 disease 69, 79, 199, 220, 223 garbhagrha (sanctum) 3, 93-4, 99, colours associated with particular Divali festival 76, 88 101, 103, 106-7, 119, 121, 130, gods 31 dolmens 96, 99, 196 152 conch shells, symbolism of 64, 87, domestic worship 198 gargoyles 104 120 doors of temples 102-3, 112 Garoda caste 213 consecration Dravida-style temples 124, 127 garudabird 57, 84-5, 88 of images 14-15, 27, 32 Dubois, Abbe 84 Garuda Purana 73 of kings 138-9, 159, 168-9, 171, Durga 8, 26, 54, 71-3, 84-5, 97, Cauri 54 173, 181 144, 153, 162, 175, 184, 192 Gautamiputra 98 of temples 120, 124, 149 Durga-puja festival 72-3, 88 gavakshas 102-3, 120 Coomaraswamy, A. 17, 19, 23, 97, Dyaus 19 81 101-2, 114, 128, 213 genitals coronation ceremonies 176; see also earth goddess 68, 216; see also female see yoni consecration of kings mother goddess male see phallic symbols courtesans 78, 87, 110, 112, 118, Eck,D. 37 geometric diagrams 208; see also 175-6; see also vesyas elephant, symbolism and worship 26, yantras cow dung, use of 76, 83, 96, 207, 55, 76, 113, 115, 173, 219 ghats 4,25,73, 142 211, 223 Elephanta temple 150 ghosts 194-5 craftsmen, work of 28-9, 39, 120, Eliade, Mircea 108 Chosundi 98 122 Ellora 72, 151, 174 gift giving 135, 182-3, 188, 218-19, Crooke.W. 194 Ellura temple 98, 106 222; see also dana; mahadana; crossing from the temporal to the emblems associated with deities purtadharma spiritual world 180, 184 87-8; see also Siva; Vishnu Girnar 148

242 Index

GitaCovinda 62, 91 iconic deities 19-20 Kaustubha 57 goat-heads 52 iconography 31, 34, 154, 194-5 Kautilya 97 Goddess, the 66-7, 69-70, 78-9 Ikshvaku dynasty 25, 141-3, 157, Kauveri river 158, 177 god-kings 143, 159, 165, 168, 170, 163, 165 Kerala 61 174, 180, 182-4, 230 illiteracy 10 Kesava temple 160 godlings 190, 193-4, 197, 223 imagery 13-39 Khajuraho 54, 106, 108-9, 126, gods and goddesses, local and origin of 3, 16-18, 38 130-1, 146-8, 168, 176, 178, regional 189-90 images 180 gold, weighing rulers against see history of development of 20-27 king, title of 181 tulapuru-shadana making of 29-31 kingship 64, 85, 135, 143, 149, 176, Gommatesvara 159 power of 38 181-3, 230: see also god-kings; Gond tribe 23, 59, 68, 95-6, 146, purpose of 27-9 legitimacy 187, 1%, 207, 212 worship of 19-20,39 Kinsley, D.R. 68, 75 GondaJ. 56, 121, 175, 181 imperialism 145 kirtimukha image 103, 104 goose, symbolism of 116 Inamgaon 202 Kodumbalore 157 Covindalll 151 Inden, R. 152, 171 kolam 210, 211 gramadevata 68 Indonesia 61 Konarak sun temple 149, 166, 177, Indra 4, 16, 19, 23, 25, 32, 49, 63, Gudimallam 7, 25, 45, 47, 87, 97 179-80 73, 80, 84, 97, 112-13, 139, guilds 122-3, 136,217 Kondamotu 57, 60 175, 181 Kramrisch, Stella 97, 99, 103, 109, Gujarat 148, 211-13, 215 Indus valley culture 46, 87, 95, 143, Gupta dynasty and society 7-8, 142, 208, 222 201 Krishna 7, 9, 19, 55, 57, 59, 61-3, 26-7, 34, 59, 112, 121-2, 138, invocation of the dead 179 141, 143-4, 149, 163-4, 179, 66, 91 IrwinJ. 23 pictured as a baby 62 203 Isvara 13, 19, 218 Gwalior 144-5, 147, 167, 180 Krishna-Gopala 56 Jabala Upanishad 36 Krishna Misra (poet) 147 hair-cutting 107, 171, 172 Jagannatha temple 63, 110, 149 Krittikas constellation (the Pleiades) Hampi temple 126 Jain art 4, 13, 141, 230 54 hand gestures 33 Jainism 6, 15, 18-19, 28, 36, 76, 98, Krsnal 151 Hanuman 61, 81 136-7, 140, 144, 163-5, 168-9, Krsnadevaraya 162, 180 Harappa 4, 20, 46, 67, 95, 201, 220 182-3 Kshatriyas 61 Hariti 165-6 Jayakar, Pepul 198, 201, 203-5, 207, Kubera 76, 114 Haritiputra Virapurushadatta 142-3 214, 220 Kulli culture 200 Harman.W. 191 Jayavali, queen 166 Kumaragupta 144, 164 Heliodorus 24 jewels 147-8,230 Kumbhasyana temple 107 Heliodorus column 56 Jivaka Cintamani 178 Kundalini 79, 84 Hemadra 159 Jorwe people 202 Kusan art and scripture 7, 57, 98, hero stones 158 Jumna (goddess) 84, 174 203 hierarchy of deities 189 Kusan dynasty 25, 47, 80-1, 84, 138, Himachal Pradesh 52 Kailasanatha temple 51, 91, 106, 151 141, 163, 179, 182, 202 Himalayas, the 71, 151 160 Kuttalam temple 158 Hindu art Kakshasanas 103 Kala Candali river 47 Lacchukesvara Mahadeva temple evolution of 187 166 nature of 14, 230 Kalachuri dynasty 26, 150-1 Kalanjara 146-7 Laidlaw, J. see Humphrey, C. role of 11-12 Kali 54, 71, 73-5, 74 LajjaGauri 166, 202, 216 Hinduism Kali-Gandaki 57 Lakshmi 7, 24-5, 64, 65, 66, 72, 75, Brahmanic and rural 189, 222 Kalibangan 201 88, 114, 139, 165, 173, 198, historical development of 4-9 Kalidasa plays 71 200, 211 meaning and nature of 2-3, 163 Kalighat 73, 90 Lakshmi-Narayan 64 Hindustan 2 Kama Sutra 30, 108, 116 Lakshmana temple 111, 146-7, 168, hiranya-garbha 138 Kamakhya 70 176 Hiranyakasipu 59-60 Kanchipuram 157, 207 Lalitaditya 178 Homa 38 Kandariya Mahadeo temple 106, Lannoy, R. 39 home, sense of 187 108, 110, 126, 130 legitimacy of kings 170-1, 174, 183 horse, attitudes to 63-4, 85, 113 Kankali Devi temple 96 Lingaraja temple 149 horse sacrifice 135, 137, 169 KankaliTika 165 lingas 19, 25, 37, 45-9, 70 horses made of clay 193, 201, 204, Kapalikas sect 52 lion, the, images and worship of 60, 218, 219, 220 Karle monastery 137 66, 81, 115; see also Hoysala period 115, 126 karma 3, 5, 11, 60, 169, 228 kirtimukha; vyalas human sacrifice 175 Kamataka 194 lion tank 159, 161 Humphrey, C. and Laidlaw, J. 15, 28, Karttikeya 25, 54, 72, 77, 84, 142; Llandegla (Wales) 220 33, 36 see also Skanda Loka Mahadevi 166 Huntington, S. 150-1, 162, 171, 201 Karuppu 190, 192-3, 219 lotus flowers 64, 70, 95, 115, 188 Huyler, S. 198, 205-6, 208 Kausika Sutra 198 Luschinsky, M.S. 177, 189, 217, 222

243 Index lustration 75-6, 102, 138-9, 143, mithuna couples 35, 85-6, 105-6, obscenity 107, 110 173,230-1 107, 109-10, 112, 120, 176 OTIaherty, Wendy 11, 49, 53, 227 Mitterwallner, Gritli V. 47-8 old women, attitudes to 75 mace, symbolism of 64 Mode, Heinz 207 Orissa 63, 66, 69, 81, 88, 122, McCee, Mary 217 Mohenjo Daro 18, 20, 21, 46, 67, 84, 149-50, 166, 174-5,208, Mackay, E. 194 95, 143 211-12 Madurai 32, 36, 54, 78, 89, 122, 162 Mohini Vyasa 56 Madurai temple 140 moksha 3, 44, 95, 106, 109, 112, painted images 89-91 magic 67, 198, 203-5, 208, 213-14, 118, 128, 169 painters 212-15 217 monastic communities 136-7 Pala dynasty 150-1 definition of 2 monkey, the, reverence for 81 Pallamangai temple 157 Mahabali 59-60, 72 Mookherjee, A. 91 Pallava Dharmaraja ratha 178 Mahabalipuram 153, 179 moon, the, symbolism of 53 Pallava dynasty 138, 150-7,164, Mahabharata, the 7, 56, 59, 77, 95, Mosteller.J. 31 170, 177 102, 115, 138, 147, 169, 214, mother goddess 20, 54, 67, 78-9, Pallava Varaha cave 171, 172, 173 219 142-3, 200-1 Pallippadai temple 158, 178 mahadana 137-8, 182 'Mother India' 92 pancayatana puja 37 Mahadevi Khanduvula 166, 216 Mount Abu temple 148, 179 Panini 19, 97 Maharastra temples 159 Papanatha temple 124 Mahendravarman I 152 mountain analogy with Hindu temples 94, 101 Parantaka 158, 178 Mahendravarman III 156 Parasuramesvar temple 103 Mahipala 146 Multan temple 38 multiple limbs and heads of deities parrot motif 188 Mahisa Mardini 71 Parsees 80 maithuna 85-6, 105-7 44-5, 57, 64, 66 multiple meanings of words 33, Parsvanatha temple 148 Majumdar, R.C. 69, 195 Parvati 54-5, 71-3, 75, 87, 109, 112, makara, the 114, 115 108-10, 147, 153 murtis 14-15, 18, 35 131, 158 Malaprabba river 151 Pasupata sect 147, 149 Mallikarjuna temple 151, 166 Murukan 8, 142, 191-2, 193 musical instruments 87, 114, 132 patronage Mallinatha temple 148 communal 136-7, 163-4, 182 Mamalla I 178-9, 181 Muslim invasions 8, 140, 146, 150, by merchants 148 Mamallapuram 59, 152-3, 162, 154, 161-2 motivations 168-9, 175-7, 184 155, 156, 159, 171, 172, 173 myrobalan trees 114 nobles and officers 167 Manasa 68, 190, 223 mythology 115, 187 records of 139-40 mandalas 100-1, 118, 198 Nachna temple 144 rivalry 177 mandapa 116, 120 naga shrines and worship see snake royal 127, 135-84 passim Mandasalur temple 122 Mankheda temple 145 shrines temples 168, 177 Nagapanchami festival 83 mantras 8, 14-17, 22, 32, 35, 81, villages 215-18 130, 199, 229 Nagarajan, Vijaya 210 women 165-7, 182, 215-17 manuals Nagarjunakonda 98, 142-3, 165-6, Pattadakal temple 124, 151, 166, for making images 30-1 216 174 of ritual 32, 198 Nagaswamy, R. 178-9 penances 190, 199, 221 Marglin, F.A. 33, 175-6, 184 Nagesvara temple 34, 157, 166 personal gods and goddesses 218 Mariyamman 68, 189-90, 193 Nakhacitra 90 phallic symbols 7, 18, 45, 82; see Markandeya Purana 214 Nakkash caste 214 also lingas marriage 8, 66, 128, 139, 188, 212, 'namaskara' greeting 11 phallus worship 4, 9, 19, 48 221 nara and narayana 26, 28, 89 pilgrimage sites 95 Mason, Darielle 121 Narasimha 26, 57, 59-60, 81 plaques 202-3 Mathanadeva, prince 166, 178 Narasimhavarman Mamalla I 154, Plathies 69 Mathura 25, 57, 84, 98, 141, 180, 155, 156 poetry 163-4, 170 202 Narasimhavarman Mamalla II portrait sculpture 179-80 matriarchy 79-80, 143, 165-6, 216 Rajasimha 155 possession by spirits 69, 191-2, 199 matrkas 77-8 Narayana 56, 88-9 potters 205-6, 217, 220 matronymics 165-6 Nataraja see Siva Nataraja women as 206 Mauryan dynasty 6, 122, 136, 202 Nath, Anna 123 The Prabodhachandrodaya ofKrisna maya 44, 81, 231 Nathdwara temple 175 Msra(play) 109, 147 meditation 17, 20, 29,39 Nattaputta Vardhamana see Mahavira Prajapati legend 205-6 Meguti temple 164 Navaratra festival 72, 88, 215 prasada, the 36, 116, 119, 124 Meister, M. 27, 97-8, 107, 116 Nayak dynasty 78, 125, 162 Pratihara dynasty 144-6 menstruation and the menopause 75, Nepal 179, 191 Pratimanataka (drama) 29 176, 192 Nepattur village 211 prestige from building temples Meruvarman 177 niches in temples 103 176-7 Michell, George 118, 150 Nilgiri hills 201 priests 135 Minakshi 15-16, 54, 78, 89 Nilgiri tribe 220 female 69 Mithila tribe 209, 221 Nitimargall 159 local 1%, 197, 198, 205 Mithra, cult of 80 Nrsimhadeva I, Raja 149, 179 see also Brahmans

244 Index princesses 142, 157 interpretation of 191-2 consorts and offspring of 54-5 procreative powers of kings 175-6, see also human sacrifice; self- emblems of 52-3 184 sacrifice Siva Lingodbhava 46 proportions for sculpture 30-2 sacrificial sheds 97, 99 Siva Loketesvara 166 puja 15, 28, 36-7, 130-1, 228-9 Sadasiva Chatushpada 148 Siva Nataraja 44, 47, 49, 50 Pulakesin, king 151, 164 Sailodbhavas dynasty 149 Sivalinga 25 Punja, Shobhita 109 Saivite cult 45-6, 50, 52, 60, 63; Skanda 8, 54, 71, 142 punning in use of words 108, 110, see also Siva smallpox 69, 79, 190, 220 147 saki (self-immolation) see self-sacrifice Smith, Reginald 17, 95 Puranas, the 7, 10, 56, 71, 102, 105, Sakti 8, 44,54 smrti 6, 10 115, 117, 121, 138, 140, 145, sakti worship 67, 78-9, 184 snake shrines and snake workship 6, 147, 165, 177; see also Agni Sama Veda 5 19, 25-6, 55, 81-4, 82, 95, 97, Purana; Bhagavata Purana; Samr Sutra 90 114, 136, 153, 165, 167, 194-5, Garuda Purana; Markandeya samskara ceremony 211-12 219,221 Purana; Vishnudharmottara Sanchi temples 96, 106, 136, 143 snake stones 82, 83, 194 Purana Sankara 10 soma (drink) 13, 16-17, 83, 139 purification 207, 223, 231 Sankarshana-Vasudeva 98 Soma(god) 80, 113, 139, 175 Purna Kumbha 116-17, 165 Saora tribe 187, 212 sound 229,231 purtadharma 140, 145, 165, 169, Saptamatrkas 102 spirits 113, 120; see also possession 183, 228 Sarasvati 66, 72, 76-7, 84, 152 sraddha 179 Puspabhadrasvami temple 165 sastras 8, 29, 31, 93, 116-17, 124 Sravana Belgola temple 159 Satavahana period 25, 157 Sri 66, 75, 231 Radha 62-3,66,91 Sati 52, 70-1, 94 SriLakshmi 139 rainbows 84 Schnepel, B. 174-5 Sri Lanka 81 Rajaraja I 157-8, 165-6 sculpture 30-34 Sri Nathji temple 63, 175, 215 Rajasimha Pallavesvara 156 Scythian tribes 80 Srirangam temple town 100 Rajasimhesvara temple 156 Sekine, Y. 191-2, 194 Srivastava 80 rajasuya ceremony 135, 171 self-sacrifice 75, 101, 128-9, 132, sruti 6, 10 Rajendra 1 157-8, 160, 165. 174, 140, 167, 228 Staal.F. 15 179 Sembiyan Mahadevi 158, 166 steatite seals 20 Rajor 166, 178 semen, retention of 45, 48 stones as symbols 95; see also hero Rama 59, 61-2, 66, 81 Sena period 150 stones; snake stones Ramacandragani 12 Senapur 217, 222 story-telling 213-15, 221 Ramayana 61, 66, 77, 81, 102, 115, sensory dimension of religious stupas 21, 24-5, 99, 136-7, 143, 144, 147, 209, 214 practice 11 178, 213 Ramesvara cave 174 Seven sisters, the 190 Stutley, M. 220 Rani Paraj tribe 220 sexual energy 45, 84-5 Subrahmanya 82 Rastrakuta dynasty 145, 151-2 Subramaniam 194 Ravana 61, 81 sexual intercourse magico-protective aspects of Sulagava sacrifice 87 Rayapaseniya, the 98 sun worship 80-1, 150, 208 Recerla Rudra 160 105-8, 110, 112 as ritual 78-9 Sundaresvara 54, 89 reincarnation 5-6, 169 Sunga period 24-5, 202 religion, definition of 1, 227 see also mithuna figures sexual licence 62-3 surasundaris 111, 112-13 renouncing tradition 137-8, 163 SurkhKotal 141 restoration of shrines 31 sexual sensuality 12, 78,85, 216 sexuality, female 79 Surya 4, 7, 25, 32, 80 Rg Veda 5, 9-10, 19, 23, 46, 56, 73, Sutanjanan 178 Shah, Haku 220 81, 85, 136 Sutras 6, 137 Shaka dynasty 80-1 ritual 1-4, 11-12, 14-17, 23-4, Svarga Brahma temple 151 27-32, 34, 37, 39. 63, 69, 91, shamans 2, 5, 69, 191, 205, 220 Svayambhu 47 93, 99, 128-31, 163, 181-2, Sheri Khan Tarakai 67 228: see also ablution ritual; Shulman, D.D. 175, 191, 227-8 Tachikawa 38 puja; sacrifice; village custom Siddhartha Gautama see Buddha, the Tadgell, Christopher 118 and ritual sikharas 114, 124 Talakad 159 performed by craftsmen 120 Silpasastras 8, 15, 29-30, 87, 89, Tanjavur temple 157-8 river spirits and deities 68, 76, 78, 105, 109, 117, 121 Tanjore temple 8 95, 102, 112, 144, 174 Silparatna, the 91 tantras 15, 63, 78 Rudra 19, 45, 53. 148 silpi yogins 29 tantrikas 108, 110 Rudrapurushadatta 142 Simha-mukha 103 tantrism 8, 39, 73, 75, 79, 107-10, rural arts see folk art Sita 61, 66 120, 147, 184 Sitadevi 149-50, 166, 180 Taranatha 150 Sabara tribe 71 Siva 2-3, 7-8, 19, 25, 35, 37, 44-55, Tejpala 148 sacred imagery 13-39 70-7 passim, 84-9 passim, 97, TeliKaMandir 145 sacred places and sites 23, 94-5, 194 109, 114, 131, 138, 142, 148, temples sacrifice 1, 4, 17, 39, 69, 87, 96, 128, 150-1, 156, 158-9, 174, 228, architectural features of 34, 93, 135-9, 163, 169-70, 182, 230 99-102 188-94, 211, 216, 228 animals associated with 53, 55 construction of 116-24

245 Index

decoration of 93, 100, 103, 121, Vaishnava worship 144, 149; see also Vishnudharmottara Purana 16, 22, 147, 175 Vishnu 30, 87, 89-90, 145, 164, 207 funding of see purtadharma Vallabha 10 Vishnusamhita 28 naming of 178 Valmiki 61 Visvanatha temple 106-7, 147-8 in northern and southern India Vamana 26 Visnudharmottapurana, the 98 compared 124-7 Varadarajaswami temple 173 Visvakarma 89, 120, 147 origins of 94-5 Varaha 26, 57, 59,64 Visvarupa 57, 91 reasons for building 93-4, 99 Varaha Mandapa 153 Vitthala temple 126, 162 stylistic variety of 124-7 Varuna 4, 9, 19, 56, 59, 80, 113 vrats 2, 198-9, 203, 209, 211, 217, symbolism of 100-1 vasamalai cloths 215 219, 221 terracottas 67, 72, 77, 80, 96, 143, Vasishthiputra Ehuvala Chantamula vratyas 5 165, 188, 196-7,200, 204, 217, 142-3 Vrindaban 62 221-2 VastuPurusa 123 vyalas 35, 37, 104-5, 112 historical development of 200-3 Vastupala 148 modern 203-5 vastupurushamandala 116, 119 Waghome, J.P. 227 see also potters Vastusastras 29, 114, 117 wall painting 207-9, 211-12, 221-2 Tigawa temple 143 Vasudeva 7, 24, 56-7, 88, 97-8 wall panels 26-7 tiger tank 159 Vatsayana 30 Warli tribe 212 time, symbolism of 115 Vayu 32, 80, 113 warrior kings 181-4 tirthankaras 137, 148 Vedic deities 97, 113, 121 water imagery and symbolism 64, 68, tirthas 95, 180 Vedic period 1, 14, 17, 20, 80, 96 85, 115, 144, 157 Tirumalai Nayak 162 Vedic texts 2-5, 9-11, 13, 19, 76, water ritual 172-4, 183; see also Tirumalainayaka 180 147 ablution Tirunallam temple 158 inadequacy for understanding wayside shrines 23 Tiruvannamalai temple 23, 48 Hinduism 10-11 weeping of statues 28 Toda tribe 187, 192 see also Atharva Veda; Rg Veda; Whitehead, H. 192 tortoise worship 59, 64-5, 81 Sama Veda; Yajur Veda Williams, Joanna 34 trance states 52, 79, 192 Venkatesvara temple 168 Willis, Michael 140, 166-7, 170, 178 transformation of the body and of the vesyas 78 witchcraft 75 offering 228-31 Vidisa 25, 98 women tree shrines 167, 219, 221 Vijaya Narayana 160 practitioners of ritual 2, 198-9 tree spirits 78, 102; see also yakshas Vijayaditya 174 role and status 206-9, 215-17, and yakshinis Vijayanagar dynasty 81, 161-2, 180, 222 tree worship 22-4, 47-8, 68-9, 95, 214 wooden buildings and images 22, 38, 194 Vikramaditya II 151, 156 98 trees village custom and ritual 95, 196-7; preaching beneath 50-2 see also folk beliefs Yajur Veda 5 sacred 24 village deities 68-9, 193-6, 199, 218 Yaksha, yakshini 6-8, 19, 22, 23-5, tribal communities 9, 14, 18, 62-3, village Hinduism 189 34, 47, 52, 67-8, 87, 97, 99, 66, 69, 95-6, 187, 194-6, 205, village shrines 70, 193, 195-7 112, 136, 144, 194-5 211-12,217-18 Vimala 148 Yaksgana dance 4 trident symbols 48, 196 vimana 124 yalis 114 Vindhya mountains 71 Trimurti temple 155 Yam-pattikas 213 Virabhadra 52 Trivikrama 153 Yama Pukura Vrata 204 Virakkal 178 tulapurushadana ceremony 148 Yamashita 191 Virgin Mary 75 Yamuna 144 Udayaditya 146 Vishna 228 yantras 8, 15, 18-20, 20, 35, 70, 91, Udayeshvara temple 146 Vishnu 2-3, 7-8, 17, 19, 24-6, 35, 108-10 Udaygiri 25-6, 57, 59, 144, 164 44, 54-9, 60, 75-6, 84, 88, 91, Yasodhara 30 Upanishads 5, 14, 109, 136, 140, 97, 114, 138, 142, 148, 156, Yasomati 167 182; see also Jabala Upanishads 173-4 Yasovarman 144, 146-8 Usha 81 animals associated with 66 yoga 29, 110, 228 Uttamal 158 avatars 61-4 Yogini temple 178 consort 64 yoni 48-9, 70 Vacchika, queen 166 emblems 64 Yuvarajall 178 Vaikuntha 106 Vishnu Kanauj 58 Vaishnavite sect 60, 63; see also Vishnu Purana 47, 61 Zhob culture 200 Vishnu Vishnu-Vaikuntha 146-7 Zvelebil 191-2, 195, 199

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