Lord Shiva as a Column of Fire

Lord Shiva as a Column of Fire

Virupaksha Temple at Pattadakal,8th Century CE

          Raja Vikramaditya II ( r. 734- 45 CE) had finally defeated the Pallava King of Kanchipuram. His two Queens, Lokmahadevi and Trilokmahadevi erected two temples at Pattadakal.  The Virupaksha temple was commissioned by Queen Lokmahadevi.  It is the pinnacle of Chalukyan architecture.  The fact that the queens commissioned the temples clearly proves the harmony within the royal harem. It is also testifies to the Socio-economic and political importance of the queens. 

         Since Goddess Lakshmi was the family Goddess, we see the Gajalakshmi sitting at the top. She is being bathed by two elephants. 

         In the Shiva  Purana there is a story about a pillar of fire which had suddenly appeared. Both Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma wanted to prove that one was better than the other. Brahma went towards the top of the flame ( the tiny figure on the left hand side), while Vishnu went towards the bottom of the flame ( figure has been damaged towards the right bottom). But neither could find the end of the flame. But to prove His superiority,  Brahma lied and claimed that he had discovered the top of the flame as He brought a Kewada flower from the tip of the flame. Lord Shiva appeared from the flame and cursed Brahma that He will not be worshipped as He had lied. Kewada flower would not be offered to the gods, only it's essence will be burned. For Kewada flower had conspired with Brahma to cheat Vishnu. 

        This story proves the superiority of Lord Shiva over the other two members of the Hindu Trinity. It also establishes the concept of crime and punishment.  Even the Creator can be punished.  For Dharma  ( the laws of righteous conduct ) are above Him. Rule of Law is eternal and omnipresent.

Lord Shiva as Natraj ( Lord of Dance )

Lord Shiva as Natraj ( Lord of Dance )

Ellora Caves,Rashtrakuta Dynasty,8th Century CE

Popularly Natraj is associated with Tamil Nadu in general and with Chola art in particular.  But the popularity of Natraj is across the country. Natraj has been depicted in the temples of Khajaraho in M. P. and in Badoli in Rajasthan. 

In the Kailash Temple at Ellora we find different versions of Natraj: as performing in the assembly of the Gods, while performing the "Tandav", the dance of destruction.  Here is another example of Natraj performing the Tandav dance. With arms moving like the spokes of a wheel, with the body bent in three different direction,  with the head looking skywards, the Lord is in a frenzy. 

To the Indian mind, Natraj is a summary of Hindu philosophy.  While it is a dance of destruction, it is the birth of creation.  For the fire and the drum, the two symbols of destruction and creation are at the same level. Similarly while the skull tops the hair knot or is hidden in the Crown,  Ganges also  flows from the hair. Thus death and immortality are balanced. The dual aspect of Nature is beautifully depicted in the image of Natraj. 

Surprisingly while the Lord is in fury, Goddess Parvati is epitome of calmness and tranquility.  She quietly sits watching the dance of life and death. Nature is detached from the mundane affairs of life and death. So should we. 

Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati

Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati

Ellora Caves, Rashtrakuta Dynasty, 8th Century CE

             Lord Shiva was not only a loner, but was also the one to defy the social norms. A recluse,  an ascetic, He is the symbol of pure intellect. He is the 'mahayogi' (the great yogi). While the ancient Indian society venerated the ascetic,  it did not hold him as the ideal person. It is the 'grahasthi ' ( the householder) who is the idol. Thus Lord Shiva had to be transformed from the yogi to the grahasthi.  

             Goddess Parvati is the symbol of the benevolence of Nature. She is the beauty of Nature,  She is the opulence of Nature. She represents the concepts of peace,  harmony and beauty. She is the emotional part of the human psychology.  The task of transforming the pure intellect into something more human, thus, fell on Her. 

             Here we see the happy couple together.  Since Parvati symbolises the fertile nature, the hearth and the home, since She is mother Earth, She holds a stalk of  sugarcane.

             The sugarcane itself is symbolic. It belongs to the grass family. Yet, it is useful to mankind. Like life, it undergoes an ordeal, being crushed, to become valuable.  We too have to undergo difficulties in order to emerge as a useful person. Like sugarcane we have to lend sweetness to people, to our relationships, to the world. Like Goddess Parvati we are the providers of hearth and home. We have to maintain harmony and peace like an ideal grahasthi. For, a house divided never stands.

Lord Shiva Dancing within the Skin of an Elephant

Lord Shiva Dancing within the Skin of an Elephant

 Ellora Caves, Rashtrakuta Dynasty, 8th Century CE

       Gajasura, a demon in the form of an elephant  (Gaj), attacked Lord Shiva. The Lord killed him, skinned him, stretched his skin to the end of the cosmos and danced within the skin. Here we see the colossal form of Lord Shiva as he dances in his fury: his ten arms flaying in the cosmos, his one foot trampling ignorance, his hair dishevelled and the skin stretched to the frame of the panel. It is an image of fury,  anger, and total destruction.  Yet Goddess Parvati just turns around to see what all the fuss is about. Like her,  the Seven Mothers quietly sit as though nothing has happened.

            The cosmos may be in turmoil, but there is a sense of calmness. Even when we suffer tragedy in our lives and the world seems to be crashing down, Nature continues to be tranquil. The sculpture is, thus, an existentialist statement.

            When the Europeans saw these sculptures they mistook them to be demonic in nature.  For it was difficult to imagine divinity as having "octopus like" arms. But their art being realistic, they could neither see the concept, nor the philosophy behind the Indian art. Our art has always been "conceptual" whereas the western art was till the 20th century realistic. Our aesthetics are different.  Hence it is difficult for people to understand the mysteries of Indian Art.  To fully understand Indian Art one has to comprehend indian dance, music, myths, and philosophy. It is a complex world. 

Lord Narsimha Wrestling with Hiranyakashyap

Lord Narsimha Wrestling with Hiranyakashyap

Ellora Caves,Rashtrakuta Dynasty, 8th Century CE

             In order to get rid of evil,  the Lord has to undertake different forms: the fish, the tortoise,  the Lion.  Narsimha is considered the third incarnation of Lord Vishnu. 

            Hiranyakashyap had prayed to Lord Shiva. From Him he got the boon that he could not be killed either by man or animal, either in day or at night, either in a building or outside. Having gotten the boon, power went to his head. Absolute power corrupted him absolutely.  He became an arrogant, ruthless ruler to such an extent that he was cruel towards his own son (some claim his nephew) Prahlad.  

             He asked Prahlad to prove that God existed. For according to Hiranyakashyap,  he himself was god. From a pillar, Lord Narsimha emerged as a half man, half lion. 

            Most of the time, the sculptors have depicted Hiranyakashyap lying on the lap of Narsimha; the Lord tearing his stomach with his sharp nails. But in Ellora, the sculptor has not depicted the last gasping moments of Hiranyakashyap.  Here both are wrestling with each other. 

            Good and evil are equally matched. That is life where we struggle with the good and evil in our mind and in our society. The battle is eternal, full of struggle and fury. Every moment is ambiguous.  We do not know which of the two would win. The sculptor has caught the uncertainty of life beautifully.

Lord Shiva Dancing as Natraj in the Assembly of Gods

Lord Shiva Dancing as Natraj in the Assembly of Gods

Ellora Caves,Rashtrakuta Dynasty,8th Century CE

               According to legend Lord Shiva performed the first dance in an assembly of gods. This over life size panel depicts the said moment.  While a few gods come flying in on their vehicles, Parvati and others are already seated. In fact, Parvati is shown playing a harp in the front row, while other gods are attentively watching the performance. 

               It is said that Lord Shiva also taught dance to Bharat Muni,  who later wrote the first book on dramatology called the Bharat Natya Shastra. Written in 2nd century BCE, the book not only deals with drama, but also elaborately deals with dance. It divides dance into three parts: pure dance, part pure dance and part expression, and pure expression.  It talks about the purpose of performing arts, about the hastamudra  (hand gestures), the movement of the body or body postures. 

              All the classical Indian dances today are based on Bharat Natya Shastra. All with our art, our classical dances also travelled to other parts of Asia in the ancient period. Thus, the dance forms of China, Japan, Indo-China,  and of East Indies are all derived from Bharat Natya Shastra. Ironically, the Japanese have written the best book on Hastamudras.  We prefer not to talk about our own art and achievements.  

Natraj

Natraj

Ellora Caves, Rashtrakuta Dynasty, 8th Century CE

           We are all used to seeing Lord Shiva as Natraj ( the Lord of the dance ) dancing in a circle of fire. But here the sculptor has captured a more dynamic (Tandav ) pose of the dancer. The Lord no longer stands silently on one leg; instead he whirls around with his torso twisted to the point that while we see his broad chest from the front, we also see his hips from the side. He flays his six arms dramatically in the air. One of the hands carries his 'damaru ' ( his small hand held drum). The artist has contrasted the forceful movement of the dancer with the quietly sitting figures at the bottom.  The Lord is a huge figure compared to the small figures in the forefront.  This is one of the most dynamic image of Lord Shiva as Natraj.

          While we sit quietly at home,  we don't realise the churning that goes on either under our feet at the center of the earth, or outside in the cosmos. But the concept embodied in the figure is about the eternal cycle of life and death,  of creation and destruction.  The forceful figure of the Lord symbolises the violent cycle of creation and destruction.  We passively sit as an audience viewing this immortal cycle. But most of us ignorant of this eternal and natural cycle. 

Detail of Kailash Temple

Detail of Kailash Temple

Ellora Caves,Rashtrakuta Dynasty,8th Century CE

              If there is a marvellous piece of human engineering,  it is at Ajanta and Ellora Caves near Aurangabad in Maharashtra.  While in Ajanta, the architects have carved caves into the mountain, in Ellora an entire slice of the mountain has been carved leaving a free standing Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva--the Kailash Temple.  In the picture you can see the original mountain in the background and the carved out building in the foreground.  

            Carving a building out of a mountain is a herculean task. Firstly the building is not being constructed from foundation upward to the ceiling --as is done in conventional method of constructing a house or an apartment building. In fact the carving begins from top to bottom. Therefore,  the construction is reversed. Secondly, although the building and sculptures may be planned, but while chiselling away the stone, or while tunnelling into the mountain there is no way of finding out what lies inside the mountain.  Rocks might be missing, they may not be of the right size for sculpting an image. Thirdly, in the 8th Century one had neither electric drill, nor dinomite, nor remote sensing devices, nor computers to analyse the mountain or to blow up parts of it. The labour had to chip it away with hammar and chisel. The sheer amount of rock to be carved and carted away is mind boggling!  

           Additionally, besides the main temple there are three huge caves and a long ambulatory.  There is also a free standing pillar and a free standing image of an elephant. No wonder the Ellora Caves took two hundred years to be carved out. One wonders how the designs of the original architect were communicated to the generation of architects who followed? 

           Ironically, although Ellora Caves are a triumph of Indian engineering,  of Indian aesthetics, yet the monument is not considered one of the wonders of the world. We voted for the Taj, but not for either Ajanta or Ellora. Sadly, we fleetingly mention Ellora Caves in our history books.

The Temple of the Three Goddesses: Ganga, Yamuna and Swaraswati

  The Temple of the Three Goddesses: Ganga, Yamuna and Swaraswati

Ellora Caves, Rashtrakuta Dynasty, 8th Century CE

            Rivers have given us the fertile land and water for the beginning of civilisation.  All ancient civilisation, therefore, are river based: Egyptian on the Nile,  Indus Valley Civilisation on the Indus. Thus it was but natural for the people to venerate the Rivers. 

            In the Ellora Caves we have temple dedicated to the three famous rivers of the North: Ganga, Yamuna and Swaraswati. The temple is a unique one. For the temple faces the Kailash Temple in the Ellora Caves.  Are the three holy rivers paying their homage to the main diety of the temple,  Lord Shiva? Moreover, instead of the squat, plumpish ideal figure of woman, the River Goddesses are slim and tall nymphs.  While Ganga stands erect, in the central niche,  Yamuna and Swaraswati swagger in the left and right nitches.  The elegance of their walk is almost like a model's walk on a ramp. These women are not coy about their sexuality.  Since they are giver of life, they are confident of their role and status. 

           Today  while Swaraswati has disappeared, Ganga and Yammuna still continue to irrigate our fields. But unfortunately the super intelligent modern human beings no longer respect our rivers. We pollute them; we contaminate them; we kill them. Perhaps the ancients were wiser than us. They understood the value of water and importance of the rivers in our lives.