Flying Gandharva and Apsara

Flying Gandharva and Apsara

Chalukyan Dynasty,8th Century AD,National Museum, New Delhi

          Lord Indra ' s palace is full of Gandharvas and Apsaras.  They are the musicians and the dancers of his court. They are the Hindu  counterpart of Christian angles. Like the angels they are divine beings who are closer to the gods than mortals. Man is said to be between the angels and the beast. It is up to us to ascend the ladder and become angels,  or to descend the ladder and become the beast. 

          Chalukyan art had a great influence both on Indian and Chinese Art.  These flying figures became the proto - type for divine beings both in Hindu art and in Buddhist art of China and Japan. Globalisation of Asian art began from India. 

Dakhshinamurti ( Lord Shiva as a Teacher)

Dakhshinamurti  ( Lord Shiva as a Teacher)

Chola Dynast,11th Century AD

       Today is Guru pornima, when we are supposed to remember our Gurus or teachers. After our Gods and parents, gurus are the most venerated. For it is they who educate us and civilise us. Without education, Man is like a beast. 

       In Hinduism Lord  Shiva as Dakhshinamurti, and Brahaspati are considered the two foremost gurus. While Dakhshinamurti teaches the mortals, Brahaspati is the guru of the demons. 

      Dakhshinamurti is a unique form of Lord Shiva. He faces the south direction  (dakhshin), the direction of death. He sits under the polar star, symbol of unflinching devotion and determination.  He holds the Vedas in one of his hands, symbol of wisdom. His one foot rests on a dwarf, symbol of ignorance.  Lord Shiva as Guru teaches us how to cope with impermanence,  with mortality, with death. Impermanence and death are the two most frightening fears we have. With devotion and dedication, with wisdom and vision we shall overcome our ignorance about impermanence. The world is an illusion. But beyond this illusion is permanence, immortality and truth. For the soul is immortal, the body is perishable.  

        It is for this knowledge and wisdom and vision that we bow before our Gurus. Given a choice between God (Govind) and Guru, Saint Katie says "Bow to your Guru.

Kalash ( A Pot)

Kalash ( A Pot)

Kachchhapaghata Dynasty, 9th -10th Century AD,Bhopal Museum

       Invariably the top of a Hindu temple is crowned with a pot. This pot too must have crowned the main tower of a temple.  

       Although pots are ordinary objects, but they have extra - ordinary meanings and symbolism. Pot is the symbol of Man's first invention: the wheel. Without the potter's wheel a round pot is an impossibility.  The Mayan civilisation did not invent the wheel. It had no round spherical pots. The pots in Mayan civilisation were hand moulded into either faces of human beings or animals and birds. 

      Pot is also mass produced. Thus, it may be one of the first "industrial product" we produced as a species. 

      Pot is also commonly used as a symbol of good fortune--to find a pot of gold, a pot of luck. 

      In Hinduism it is a symbol of Nature. For it contains water,  Mango leaves and a coconut. It thus stands for the bounty of Nature. 

       In Hindu mythology it is connected with the pot of nectar which Lord Vishnu as Mohini had to lure from the demons. 

       It is also the last resting place as the ashes of the dead are brought in a clay pot before the ashes are immersed in  holy rivers. 

      It is, thus, a symbol of our achievement, our hopes and aspirations, our life and Nature.

Sada Shiva (Four headed Lord Shiva)

Sada  Shiva (Four headed Lord Shiva)

Paramar Dynasty,11th Century AD

          The four heads of Lord Shiva depict four different aspects of His. The creator,  the preserver, the destroyer.  The fourth face is of Devi or his Shakti  (power). Without His Shakti, He is lifeless. 

        The four heads also depict the ideology that every fact or situation can be interpreted in different ways. Thus there is no such thing as "the truth." Multiple interpretations are welcome. It is this thinking which has strengthened our civilisation of diversity and unity. 

Bhairav

Bhairav

Paramar Dynasty,11th Century AD, Indore Museum

        Lord Shiva was furious at the sudden death of Sati, his wife. She had gone uninvited to her father's home. Hearing the insults about her husband, Lord Shiva, she had jumped into the sacrificial fire. When Lord Shiva realised that his wife had committed suicide he rushed to his father -in- laws palace. It is said there he plucked two hair strands from his head; from the hair strands arose Bhairav--a violent form of Lord Shiva. He had eight arms, each carrying arms or drums (symbol of time), he has a belt of bells ( symbol of eternal vibrations in Nature), he is naked (symbol of total detachment ) has a dog as his vehicle (symbol of attachment that mortals have). 

        In Hindu iconography it is easy to recognise an image of Bhairav. He is naked, at times bearded, has dishevelled hair--or hair protruding like a halo in the back of the head as in this sculpture ), carries weapons and at times a skull or a bowl (the bowl of fire), at times has bulging eyes and even fangs. The sculpture is supposed to depict the violent side and is thus meant to look ferocious in appearance.

      Interestingly in order to appease Him, the devotee is to offer him alcohol or drugs. The most famous temple of Bhairav is in Ujjain where the image drinks liquor!

Goddess Chamunda

Goddess Chamunda

Paramar Dynasty,10th Century AD, Indore Museum

         She is more ferocious than Goddess Kali. She is the most frightening looking Goddess in the Hindu pantheon.  She is Goddess Chamunda. Skeltal in appearance,  with protruding ribs, dried up hanging breasts,  a sunken face, with protruding eyes, laughing grotesquely,  with a garland of skulls, She depicts Nature in its most violent and ferocious form. 

      According to legend Goddess Durga was proposed by two demons who were brothers : Chand and Munda. She challenged them to a battle. Taking on the grotesque form, She killed both of them. Hence, the name Chamunda or 'Chand Munda Vinashni ' ( the slayer of Chand and Munda). 

To tackle evil, one should also have the physical prowess like the evil. But one must kill evil for the sake of protecting the good. The Divine Mother transformed Herself, only in order to restore law and order in the universe. She may be 'demonic looking', but She is Divinity in her heart and soul. 

Lord Vishnu in His Universal Form (Virat Swaroop )

Lord Vishnu in His Universal Form (Virat  Swaroop )

Kachchhapaghata Dynasty,10th Century AD, Bhopal  Museum

        The Kachchhapaghata Dynasty is a minor dynasty which ruled around Gwalior area of Madhya  Pradesh  in the 10th century AD. It has left beautiful temples around this area. 

       The Universal form of Lord Vishnu is rarely depicted in Indian art. It is described in Bhagwat Gita-- a form seen by Arjun. 

God is said to be infinite, undesirable, an abstract entity. It is formless, 'nirgun'--one without specific attributes. But in order to be comprehensible, He takes human forms. The universal form is a human display of the infinite form. In a way the concept is self - contradictory.  One who is infinite becomes finite to display His infinity. But then the very concept of God is that He is an amalgamation of contradictions.

        Here we see a multi-armed Lord Vishnu. He holds a sword in His right hand, and shield, 'pasha'(noose), bow, conch shell, and his blade (Sudarshan Chakra) in his left hands. He appears to his devotees and to the myriad gods who have assembled to witness the infinite aspect of God. 

Devi Crushing Lord Ganesh

Devi Crushing Lord Ganesh

Paramar Dynasty,10th Century AD,Indore Museum

         A rare piece indeed. Lord Ganesh is generally shown as sitting by a Devi, either with Goddess Swaraswati or Goddess Lakshmi or with the Seven Mothers (Sapta Matrike ). But here He is being trampled under the weight of the Goddess. 

       The Goddess here is a form of Shakti. Historically this piece indicates the rise of the Shakti cult during the medieval period. But philosophically it makes a very strong statement : when reason and wisdom is crushed, destruction prevails. Destruction is important and necessary to get rid of that which is bad or evil. But to destroy reason, intellect and wisdom only invites chaos, anarchy and annihilation.  

Devki Feeding Lord Krishna

Devki Feeding Lord Krishna

Kalachuri Dynasty,11th Century AD,Bhopal Museum.

          An unusual sculpture which depicts Devki feeding Krishna.  According to Bhagwat Puran Lord Krishna was born in prison where his parents were detained by Kansa, the Raja of Mathura.  There is no mention of Devki feeding Krishna for the moment he was born, his father, Vasudev carried him to Nanda 's house across Yamuna River. Yet here we see Krishna not only being fed,  but also protected by a five headed snake. The guards stand outside while a maid massages Devki's foot. This is called artistic licence!  

          Interestingly like our paintings, even in sculpture the perspective is flat. Krishna is shown in side view, Devki in side and frontal view. The concept of space is a complex one.

          Also notice the simple furniture and utensils. With the amount of jewellery worn by Devki, she is rich, yet the furniture is a simple one. Simple living, high thinking ! We all live in a prison of our own.  

Lord Harihar

Lord Harihar

Pratihara Dynasty, 10th Century AD, Bhopal Museum

        The Indian civilisation is a civilisation of assimilation and not of extermination.  While the West believes in exterminating those who hold a different point of view, we merely assimilate those views and move on. Our ability to accept different  philosophies, different cultures, traditions and communities is our strength. 

         Lord Harihar is a prime example of this innate quality.  When a division occurred in Hinduism between the Shaivites and the Vaishnavites,  we combined both the Gods to create a half - Shiva,  half - Vishnu image.  Lord Harihar was born. Although he is not a very popular god today, perhaps due to our unipolar thinking, but He is still worshipped in the Lingraj temple at Bhuveneshwar.  

         Harihar is unique as he combines the quality of the intellect  (Shiva) and the quality of the heart (Vishnu). Here He holds the trident and the rosary of Lord Shiva --the ability to control the mind through meditation.  He also holds the 'Sudarshan Chakra' and the conch shell of Lord Vishnu--the ability to cut through difficulties and to sustain things. 

         It is a sculpture with a powerful message and philosophy.  Let us celebrate the multi - dimensionality of our Indian civilisation.