Marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati

Marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati

Kerala Bronze, 14th Century AD, Thiruvananthapuram Museum, Kerala

            A very unusual and certainly the best bronze piece in the museum. It is unusual as the theme of marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati is not depicted even in Chola Bronze.  Chola Bronze does depict the family of Lord Shiva, but never his marriage. 

            The elegance of the pose, the gentle touch of  the hand, the beautiful facial expression, the details of the clothes worn by Goddess Parvati make this a masterpiece.  

            The social status of woman is very clear : smaller in size than Lord Shiva,  her status is lesser than his. But she is not the shy bride

            She is confident; she is radiant.   She is about to accept him as her counterpart.  But she is his equal in status. She may have longed for him. But now he is hers.  

Devi

Devi

Bronze Figure, 17th Century AD,  Thiruvananthapuram Museum, Kerala

        The Chola artist were the famous sculptors in casting beautiful bronze figures. But their techniques and influence went beyond the Chola Kingdom.  The other kingdoms of the South also picked up their concerns and iconography and made the their own. 

        This figure of the Devi is a case in point. She stands in the same pose as Goddess Parvati would have stood in Chola Bronze.  But here she holds a pair of cymbals.  Cymbals are symbols of time and rhythm.  With the instrument one marks the time (beats) and yet with sequence of beats, one creates a rhythm.  The Devi is symbolises Nature in all its benevolence.  She is Time and yet She is the rhythm of Nature. She is the Divine Mother. 

Lord Sastha

Lord Sastha

Kerala Bronze,17th Century,  Thiruvananthapuram Museum,  Kerala

          Lord Sastha is quite a unique figure in Hindu pantheon.  Initially, he was considered to be the son of Lord Shiva and Mohini ( the female form of Lord Vishnu ). Thus, he was the South Indian version of Lord Harihar. But subsequently and presently Lord Sastha is considered as the elder son of Lord Shiva, as a form of Skanda, the Hindu god of war. 

        The Keralites are fierce warrior. They not only worship Skanda in his form as Ayyappa, but also have war dances called, Kalaripayattu. It is a dance form where high leaps and jumps are common, where the dancer uses the sword and shields, the spear and the club. 

         But Lord Sastha is not the God of war. In this form he is seen as a teacher. Here he sits with a halo, made out of his hair. He sits in the 'Maharaja Lila ' pose or in the posture of a king.  He smiles benevolently towards the devotee,  ready to impart his knowledge of how to cope with the struggles, skirmishes and battles of life. He is the true teacher.  

Lord Brahma

Lord Brahma

Chera Dynasty, 15th Century AD,  Thiruvananthapuram Museum,  Kerala

            Lord Brahma is the most neglected of the Gods of the Hindu Trinity. While Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva are worshipped all over India, there are hardly any temples dedicated to Lord Brahma.                 According to Hindu mythology, Lord Brahma was born out of Lord Vishnu ' s navel, while the latter slept on his snake, Sheshnag.  Lord Brahma is the creator of the universe. It is said, having created, He fell in love with his creation. He chased his "daughter", wanting to have it. Seeing his arrogance, seeing his mala fide intention, Lord Shiva cut off the fifth head of Lord Brahma which used to look upwards towards the sky.

           This story, like any other myth,  is merely symbolic.  Arrogance and mala fide intention have no place in an orderly universe. Rule of Law must prevail. Even the Gods are not above "Dharma " (righteous acts). Lord Brahma has four heads in order to symbolise that a given fact  can have various interpretations. Different points of views can co-exist. This is the foundation of our pluralism and of our catholic world view.

Goddess Durga

Goddess Durga

Wooden Sculpture, 15th Century, Kerala

           Another beautiful and unusual sculpture in the Thiruvananthapuram Museum.  Wood is not as popular medium for sculpture in India as is stone. But there is a continuous tradition of wood carvings in India. Bengal,  Gujarat,  Karnataka and Kerala are centers for exquisite wood work and wood sculpture.  This statue of Goddess Durga shows the dexterity of the sculptor in depicting not only the fine jewellery, but also in portraying the fierce expression of the face. 

         This sculpture is unique in two ways: firstly, it does not depict the Goddess riding the lion. But shows her standing on him. Secondly, the ornate jewellery,  the mask like face, the flamboyant headress seems to show the influence of both Kathakali, a classical dance from Kerala and of the folk dances of Kerala. Here one can see the impact of folk culture on the classical tradition. The artist has to speak the language of the common man in order to drive the story home. The sculpture, thus, testifies to the fusion of the classical tradition of Brahminism or Sanskritization of the south, and the strong undercurrent of the local community. It is a proof of our ability to assimilate different cultures and communities, traditions and philosophies.