John Guy indian V&A PublicationsA prlest performing a fiiga pajata temple inVaranasi, He‘ lustrating the five-faced metal ‘cover (paheemukhaliiga hora) that envelops the stone lige, Photograph by Frank Monaco. Viut18.155 2008, Given by Frank Monaco Manifestations and Appearances | alot te supreme Hindu deities have the capacity to determine te form in which | they reveal themselves on earth, Siva, Vigmuand Devi each appearin myriad forms \ ana potentially the numbers without limit, Conventionally itis understod that | Gia has aorumed twenty-eight manifestations, and Visnu ten, Devi subsumes unto herseifali goddess cults so her forms are already beyond knowledge } Asobserved in Chapter, many ofthe major Bralmanica deities have thelr origins in the pantheon of gods identified inthe Vedas, undergoing metamorp soith the passage of time, Pemaps the oldest record of entinuous worshiprelate to Siva and Purr, his Vedic forerunner. Rudra, an awesome Vedic storm deity whose f vane is varionsy interpreted as the howler’ the‘terrible or the frightful is praised i athe bringer of rains and more generally associated with fertility andthe | noses | a assay Senter periods Viz iyensin rai Fer ee cagetetnetrsanedwandeerewearerofizated | an tees pins oecomlnganephetorSve: uaa e tenifying dimension of Siva's personality Links with cate — | came toembody Rudra is sometimes titled Lord of the Cattle'~ suggest very early origins for this deity associating him with pre-Aryan pastoral settlement ofthe subcontinent | (plsass-~6) Siva’s calf-ball, traditionally named Nandi (see Chapter 3),can be seen eae igement of ts ancetry, as wellas being embleaticof S's | progenerative powers ‘Two cult images emerged early in the formative stages ofthe Brahmanical pantheon to become the paramount icons of temple Hinduism. They are the Siva tiga, and the anthropomorphic representation of Visnu. Siva liga i ‘The earliest recorded stone lnigas typically display five distinctive characteristics. Firstly, they are very large, up to1.5 metres in height. Secondly, most display tripartite sectioning. Thirdly, they are anatomically explicit, making itclear that they zepresent the erect male phallus (whatever the underlying metaphysical \ meaning) Fourthly, some of them are addorsed with one ot more faces of Sivan his various guises, and fithly, they often have a decorative floral band drawn around the head of the liga. These are the essential features, some or all of which are | found inall subsequent forms of the Siva liriga, The symbolic intent of the various features, and ofthe liiga itself,has been the subject of intense ‘ts conception to function on two levels: on a metaph represents the subtle, unknowable and unseen godhead, while on a physical level it energy? The pillar has conceptual that serves as a medium for linking the mundane/material world and the heavenly! This aspe sna later myth=the ate; suffice to say here that the Siva liriga was intended from: ysical, transcendental plain it satomical allusions refer to Siva’s capacity to generate life through his cosmic | allels with the stambha, the post or column cosmic spher ga imagery 0liigodbhavamarti~ that reflects the sectarian rivalries between the three leading 4 2 tabsicon of Sitti aderned wit) contenders in an emergent Hinduism Brahm, Siva and Vien from which Siva the image of Se ne emerges triumphant after having extended his flaming liviga form to infinite heights wasted wt a and depths, beyond the reach of his rivals. triimax ofthe festival procession of the aaring in around the second t Although they have been found predominantly ‘northern India centred on Mathura, ‘the city of the Sretovanesvara temple, Teuvenkadu Tanjaver hese representations of Sri, Tamilnadu. Photograph bythe author, apr993 centuries BCE, in the Sunga pert in the Ganges-Yamuna plains gods, they also occur at sites widely dispersed across northern India and the D from Rajasthan (Bharatpur) to Andhra Pradesh (Gudimallam), Significa ly overland trade routes, of which Mathura was the principal node. Ujjain, Ter and Nagpur were important centres to the west and south, and Pataliputra (modern Patna) to the east (see map, P10}. ‘Among the earliest representations is the most complex form of all, the paficarnukhatiriga, the five-faced linga, the five-fold form denoting metaphysical completeness (pl1s3). This exists as five mantras, each evoking in its sound an aspect of total reality, and emitting from the liga in the five directions. At some point this concept was given physical expression in sculpted stone as the niga with five centres were all linked through In what is widely accepted asthe oldest surviving version of this subject~the Bhita iriga,dated by inscription to around the beginning ofthe frst rllernium CP-all five faces are represented: the four directional faces and the fifth face, that of Isana- Rudra Sivaat the summit, presiding over the other forms ina three-dimensional cosmology drawn directly ftom Vedic ritual. From the outset, the multiple faces on. these lriga are differentiated, conveying the complex metaphysical concept this smage embodied. The four cardinal directions are identified: the east is Tatpurusa (tne original creator), the south Aghora the wrathful), the west Sadyojata (the ‘malestic) and the north Vamnadeva (the gentle). The fifth head, Isana the rule, lord overall), was rately represented, but its presence was always assumed. ‘The practice of lustrating the liga, an essential component of liiga- puja directly flows from Vedic ritual practices in which the dreadful power of Rudrais pacified with offerings of goa’s milicand the chanting of prayers: Already by the Kushan. period, in the early centuries ofthe frst millennium the fit face was rarely represented, but nonetheless understood to be present. From around the second century CE we see a single-faced lriga ~ethamuhaliriga become the normin the Jaterushan and Gupta eras and into the medieval period (pl:s7). Even here, the five aspects are conceptually present, but implied rather than represented, At another level, the face/s emanating from the shaft of liga car be seen as the frst part of divine manifestation (frst the head, as in birth), leading to full anthropomorphic display: This is witnessed most sublimely at Gucimallam (plgg) and seen a few nturies later at Mathura,” ting holy man, with cow-hora headdress and mask, in yogte meditation and surrounded by wild beasts, pethapsaproto- Rudraas‘Lond of the wild Animals (Pasupati ‘Mehenjo Dro, ndus Valley, Pakistan. 2300-1150, BCE, Steatite. ational museum, New Delhi 156, > Seal depicting standing bul and pitograms. The bulls a regular motifinimagery from the Harappan civilization preserved principally ‘nintaglo seas. the pletographe script ermains Lndeciphered, Mohenjo Dar, Indus Valley, Pokistan.2300~7750 ACE. Stent, ght 27cm. VBS 82-1951 MANIFESTATIONS AND APPEARANCES 29‘le single-acod liga ekhomukhlliga, scomof va. The face hasa prominent moustache, pearly defined thied eye and upward-swept iffure al features ofthe Gupta style. ‘thurs region, Uttae Pradesh. Mid-sth century, Gupta period. Red sandstone, Height 8.5m. Viasi50-969 vara, the Lord (Siva) who is Hal lysed toa ga. Thebisenual igure tratvided vertically. and on the reverselsan angry {ua fac, perhaps intended to represent Rudra Mathura, Utar Pradesh. Late 2nd century Kushan petiod Sandstone. Height 27cm. V8AsINLS=9931 Siva Kratajunamrt the hunter. In this form, ‘Siva disguised himself asa hunterin order to test the prowess of Aruna. Sivas associations with hunting are ancient and fink him to Rudra the ‘wild hater who presided over the forest animals and was given the title PazupatiLord ofthe Wild Animals an epithet ater assumed by Siva. Kerala, ‘sth-th century. Copper alloy. Height 29.5cm. VEunsis.43-1887 The anthropomorphic lriga of Gudimallam points to another important development in the early iconographic manifestation of Siva. This was the Sadasiva/Mahesvara representation, in which Siva assumes supra-human form. not all of which survive beyond the early This can take a number of variant form redieval period. A numberof stone anthropomorphic Sadasiva cons survive from the Vakataka centre of Mandhal near Nagpur, Madhya Pradesh, with multiple heads ‘our or eight) and further heads emanating from hs shoulders and thighs.Tn the ultimate declaration of supreme manifestation, Siva s represented in multiple human forms, asin the masterpiece of sixth-century Vakataka devotional imagery, the astonishing $iva Sadasiva Saptamurt, the seven-foldBver lasting Siva, in ths e manifestation rock-cut Candikadevi temple at Parel, near Mumbai! This supre! had its Vaisnava iconographic equivalent in the equally complex Visvariipa images that appeared in the later first millennium across northern India and in Licehavi, Nepal. These complex iconographic programmatic compositions did not prove popular and soon lapsed in favour of single figure cult images. Curiously itis in the arena of Mahay&nist Buddhist iconography that multi-formed im complexity survived, as seen for example in the eleven-headed Avalokitesvara in Cave 41 at Kanker\, and they persist in the cult images of this Buddhist Bodhisattva of compassion, and in images of the cosmological Buddha, seen both in India and elsewhere in Buddhist Asia” $iva’s manifestations Sivas the most complex of all the deities, assuming twenty-eight conventionally recognized forms, Nonetheless, his many manifestations are integral and vital to the mythology of iva and to understanding his complex and flawed personality. Unlike the avataras of Visn, which are divine appearances of equalimportance, for devotees of Siva one form, the liga, is supremely sacred. Siva's many other formas donot challenge the supremacy of Sivas ultimate sgn; the literal meaning ofthe Sanskrit liga. itis erect, full of life-giving potential (semen) withheld by yogic discipline. Its Siva as ascetic yogic Siva Yogesvara. Siva the Great Yogi draws on ancient forms. Yogic asceticism s signalled on small Harappan seal relief from Mohenjo Daro ofthe late third millennium B (plass). There the yog! is seated in siddha dsana, and with an erect penis (drdhva Tiga), surrounded by four animals, tiger, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo. These animals also appear individually on other seal eliefs, indicating that they had a it-lie importance in their own right. The yogi wears buffalo-horn headgear and is seated on a throne with bovine legs, thus infusing him with the qualities of nobility and strength associated with that beast his posture indicates that he embodies ‘that this figure isa proto Siva~ nothings yogic powers. While it cannot be claime MANIFESTATIONS AND AP “he religious ideas of this time itis clear that many of the concepts dy present, These contributed to the isa cognitive sign. Further evidence 160 known of rapasini Parvati, Pavati performing yogic recognizable in the later yoga system are alte’ Aaustertiesin order towinthe favour ofSva.she va Yogesvara concept, of which the erect pe! Seer maurcheterimeralés “Sw Woeesvara concept of whichihe erect is contained in the Rgveda, where the wrathful wild hunter god Rudra was given therudidkén bead rosary (mal), made from fit beviessacredtoSia.The postion oftherosary the title PaSupati, Lord of Wild Animals, a favoured epitaph for Siva in later times, isteminiscent ofthe sti-eentuy Durgibolding The byl] js associated with many ofthe Vedic gods, but in the Bralrmanical period is tupa victory wreath at Cave 6, Udayagi (p65), ced with Rudra-Siva, as first witnessed ona gold coin of the specifically lin Tis spay ofthe beads may aide to Prvats TMhoninorscomingShavescticsm Parvati century AD Kushan ruler Vima Kadphhises” These two signs, thearoused Sivaand 's surrounded by fou altar fires,emblematicof ‘the attendant bull, are to be seen in a number of Kushan and early Gupta period the testing nature of he penance Recovered from es Ae ee nkimakneranaka sculptures of Umasahitarnirti (Siva and Uma and the androgynous Swva Pradesh, gth~1oth century, Chalukyan period. ‘Ardhanarigvara, where the calf-bull Nandi nestles behind his lord, Lmestone. Height 45cm. VBdA:INh.296-1914 Siva Yogeévara teaches its ultimate expression at Hlephanta in the sixth century 16 BCE (pl2ga). This isan expression of Siva’s essential nature the master of yogic ‘Siva, Fragmentary stele depicting Svan discipline, from which all else is possible, Siva the transcendental yogt in tum. scivommerifom angina agsues aber of closely relate ons she ovina sachet of You Mahara pss iy of arg Supreme Guru Yogn Daksinammut and asthe teacher of nowledge mvsieand al the ats. In the medieval period Siva Daksinamurti assumes a prominent placein Basalt Height 73m. VBAACIMLA3—1915 temple sculptural programmes, particularly in south India, as the lord who faces south (p)80) iva is much adored as the lover and husband of Parvati. The divine marriage ~ XKalyanasundara-is a popular subject, as witnessed at Hlephanta,andis often given seen most movingly at Madurat in Siva’s marriage to thelocal rin royal ease they are known as Uma Mahesvara, local significance, goddess Miniksi, Seated toge' the Great Lord and Great Goddess as wedded divine lovers. They are usually shown, ‘with one or more of their children, Ganeéa and Skanda, and with Nandi the calf-bull {pls.a62-3), When depicted just with Skanda,the ‘holy family’ are known as ‘ion uniquely included in the interior back wall of the somaskanda,a represent: temple sanctum (garbhagrha) of Pallava shrines (p182). The subject continued tobe riod, especially represented in processional bronzes (pL.308). popular into the Cola pe: ‘The married love of Siva and Parvati was not without its problems, much of ther caused by $iva's yogic asceticism. Parvati suecessfully attracted Siva’ attention by herself mastering advanced asceticism and the performing of extreme austerities {p1360}, but despite protracted lovemaking Siva would not shed hs seed. Procreation only happened ina later age Siva also took a second wife~Parvati'ssister, the frascible river goddess Ganga much to Parvati chagrin (see Gaga, p69 ~70). Siva’s ambiguous attitude to assuring the role of divine husband sests in partin siva’s nature, which encompasses all aspects, male and fernale. This finds its most ression in Siva Ardhandrisvara,'the Lord who is Half- Woman, complete exp the right side male, the left female (pL1s8), On one level this can be read as a syncretism of Siva and Sale! (female personification of a male god's energy) follows: Siva was born from the mind cults, The cosmological account is, of Brahma, and at Brahma’s command Siva was splitso that Uma was created out of his othe 1e Book of Manu (I, 32-3), most probably composed in the Kushan period: “Dividing his own body, the Lord ‘became half male and half female; with that (female) he produced Vita) But know me, O most holy one among the twice-born, to bethe creator ofthis whole (world) ‘esentally, va reveals hirnself through the symbolof sexual bi-unity as inclusiveness, he embodies both aspects, Hence Ardhanarivara isa statement ofthe completeness of Siva's creation. As the Bhagavata Purana says,heis both seed and womb, the instruments of making life et, paradoxically, Siva in this form, rm, cannot procteate in the mortal sense. Rather than being two ina singl INDIAN TEMPLESCULPTURESiva and Parvati accompanied by Ganesa and Nandi This tively image, in which $Wva and Parvati appear tobe engaged in animated conversation, {dominated bythe splendid rita, Sivas ttident,festively decorated South-eastem Bengal possibly Chittagong region Bangladesh. oth ‘century Pala period. Coppe aly Height sem. VBALIS.854 lation of Siva isa symbol of his omnipotence, and so if sion in his form as Nat manifestation, this iva icons tothe isthe closest conceptually of any of the ga form its Siva's creative energy is given its most complete ex ch he create: is cosmic dan Lord o universe, The enactment of t is most fully and vividly described intheninth-century Sans ya, written a tation at ymiri poet Ratnakara.” Siva dances in many forms; the one most requently represented in sculptural forms that of ananda fierce dance of leg and downward-pointing hand, as Nataraja the Supreme dispenser of grace to his devot (plaxg).This complex cosmological imagery, fi mits full treatment at Aihole (Ravana Phadi Cave),Badami (Cave 2), Ellora (Cave 21) and Elephant inCola, south India Itisan wa devotees (bhaktas}:'Siva dances the dance of bliss [ananda ‘ousness {Chit Sabha, at Chidambaram] within Dance, in wl sustains, destroys and again regenerates the picfor re court by the K bliss), where he assumes the posture with raise: ncer, creator t giv became the fa for processional bronze im: the wrath of Siva was feared by all, even his beloved Parvati Siva’ angered forms are many. Siva reduced the God of Love, Kama, toash witha flame from his third eye for the crime of having disturbed his meditation. Inone of his, dance forms, Gajantaka, he kills and flays an elephant demon and then dances in a trophy. In another that described in the re—he kills his waywar victory displaying the animal's skin mn Andhaka with his ninth-contury Haravijaya cited ab trigitla in fury after his offs ring attempts to seduce Parvati, a subject representedin large rock-cut relief panels at both Elephanta and Ella (Cave 29). Siva in these forms shows the aghora ~ dreadful and wrati jul-aspect of his nature63 ‘Uma-mahefvara. Siva and Parva, accompanied by Nand. The divine couple are Seated on a cushlon-throne draped with tiger shin, Sivaengagesin exposition as the supreme {ural tenderly holding his spouse. Both ‘leply elaborate jewellery and diadems, Sivas enhanced withthe crescent moon and ll ‘emblems. andl intrudes his head from behind the group, asifisteing alertly to his lors words. Kathmandu Valley, Nepal roth century, Liechavi petiod. Copper alloy, llded and inlaid with stones. Height 6c, VAs I5 54-1085 assumed this form Siva has an expressly dreadful form that of Bh after, in anger and fury, decapitating Brahma’s fifth head. In repentance of this, nspeakable sin, Siva wandered the earth as an agonized and sometimes deranged rendicant, using Brahma’s skull as his begging bow and accompanied by a dog, the scavenger of ynasi was he cleansed of this sin ( Ganges) and found release from his nightmare. As the emb« f terror, Bhairava is invoked in rituals intended to destroy one’s enemies. Sivaas the naked also assumes a benign form, that god as the Supreme Beggar, whose naked beauty aroused the wives and daughters of at thelr advances. These two forms of Siva as a w full of dread, the other sublimely rest master of y . The Bhairava fc display the yogk committing the ultimate sin, Beggar exhibits the triumph of yogic di wveyards. Only in Vai iment: Bhiksatana, the penite: sages he met at a forest hermitage (pLgi}; Siva the ascetic remained unmoved by indering beggar, one agonized and ined, both allude to Siva as the supreme 's punishment for failing to discipline necessary to contain his fury, which lead to him ing his father/ ipline over sexual desire, gic disc iecapil eator. Siva as the Supreme een inhis Yogesvara fon Vasudeva/Vignu Visnu emerged worshipped as Vasudeva, The name of Vasudeva first appears in the second-century ind near Bhilsa (ancient Vidisa).This pillar, ofthe synthesis ofa Vedic solar deity and an early warrior-hero BCE inscription on the Besnagar pillay, {identified in its Brand inscription as a g Garuda), records the conversion to the Vasudeva cult of a Greek (Yavana) amtbassador from west Asia” This unique r by this tandard in honour of cd, presumably erecte:ianal mask (moha) used to adorn c= during religios festivals in the imac Valley, 31 Prades devotee adjacent toa shrine dedicat 0 Vasudeva, can be seen as marking the beginning of the recorded history of devotional worship - bhakti inthe subcontinent. As noted by JIN. Banerjea, it also provides evidence that the converging of the Vasudeva Bhagavata (devotional) cuit and the Vedic Visnu cults was already ay, as well under itnessed by the column identified with Garuda, the {cconceptof the sun as.a’beautiful-winged divine bird’. From the same period, of Stapa 3 at Sanchi, Madhya nest Asian dress slaying (toran eremonial gatewa tte of a warrior-hero i .gon-makara, ofalater depiction isnu slaying the horse demon Kesh’ he Nagaraja Kaliya. th form (pl165),also seen on th Barly in his Vas morphic developr s coin,*b ith four arms, holdin era) and the chub (gada) in the upper hands which ho! Vasudeva-Krgna and finally into th and making a protective ge the conch shel fully dev right hand displays hencefor four-armed for ped Visnu in the late 4 periods.” Whereas the second ital .e ofthe earth, or asa fruit attribute, which has been var agh without ar al authority. Inthe Gupta period also, the gada ming anthropRelief sulptures at Cave 6, depicting (rom fett Lo sight) Vig, two door guardians lanking the entrance, Vi and Durgs Mahigisuramardin ‘gnu wears lon-rewn and victory garland, and “tonds with hislower hands dagping his weapons, the discus (enka) and club (god), appearing forthe {ist time In personified for yudhopuras) Togethes with the Vardha mages atthe same ste {plana thisseries of sclptures represents the most important ensemble of Gupta-perod sculpture preservedin situ. Udayagi, Viisa, Madhya Prodesh. Early sth century, western Ksatrapa period. American Institute of indian Studies ‘Vignu wearing a tripartite dadem surmounted bya sun emblem, with sashes uttering outwards onthe hal, reminiseent of ranian models He's draped with alvis flower garland a (mlacakha} which loops below hisknees. personifications of these attributes. The earliest expression of this can beseen in the Jearing on temples, pillars (stambhas), standards (dhivaja) and coins.” Vismu Universe, Purusa, etcetera, He is considered a tree, fixed in heaven, n incidence that Vignuis. stambha.Itisn 5 AND APPEARANCES wrvu-caturmirt rare representation which ‘Hedin the Gupta period, of ign in four presentation, addoreed toacental pila. Spears three times nis supremeform asudeva,andoncein his mandion “station Narasiha, Precedents for such ste images exist in both the ain and ist sarvotabhadra or caturmutha icons and sand the Saivaliiga addorsed with the Cesof Svaon the shaft. ils probably the hich provide the model for this Valsnava sle-Kathmandi Valley, Nepal. cxoth century, viperiod. Vast. 30-1987 2u Vatkuptha, in which Visqu manifests his fon form (Narasfiha) and his boar form ta] as supplementary heads. Unusually or ‘the bodys floxed, nt srctly vertical and ars a dagger, aroya accoutrement. The long vd malacakha) flog to below the knees is ‘event, ae fist seen at sth-century Uday. iv oth century, Karkotapetiod Black basa tage. VENI 542-1952 erect and perfectly vertical pillar-lke’ explained ata mundane level as symbolizing hisrole as the Preserver ty in the Universe. Out of these three strands emerged a syncretic deity of the early Gupta period as Visnu.” Most importantly, wi a religious system with a clear emphasis on devotion rather than pure ritual as its key activity. This emphasis was new, and sets Vatgnavism apart from Vedic and zen Saivismn had not progressed as far a dieval and modern rab st named in inscriptions stemerged vas Brahmanical ritual and sacrificial practices fhe devotional path, still being firmly rooted in Brahmanical ritual devotional bhakti so familiar from m¢ x the second half ofthe first millennium. With it we ty forms alot onthe abstract liiga. The Hinduism only emerges witness the emergence ofa multiplic of sup levotional images in com ‘Vigna appears in a num forms, in acknowledgement of his central rolein key creation myths. His foremost form is that as Maha-Visnu the archetypal pillar at the centre of universal order. He is depicted standing (sthanaka-ratirt) strictly vertical and symmetrical, with four arms and adorned with his familiar attributes, the conch, discus, club and bow, or more commonly varadarnudré gesturing the granting of a devot ‘widely worshipped, adorned and bejewelled, During special pajas and festivals he is further ernbellished with detachable gold jewellery and yellow precious metal thread fabric. ‘Two rare forms of Visnu emerged in the Gupta period that underscore the 's wishes. This is the form in which Visuis most hybridity of early cult images, and the incessant borrowing of powerfuland efficacious forms by rival cults. Two instances can be cited, The first would appear be the result of followers of Siva absorbing Vaignava references into theit imagery. Thisis the image of Harihara, a unique occurrence of two principal and rival deities, Vista (Hari) and Siva (Hara), subsumed into a single form, conographicallythisis realized as an icon vertically divided, with their respective attributes disposed left and right. Siva is assigned the right side and is the male element; Vismuis assigned the left side and is seen as the female aspect. Other forms of hybridity do occur within the same cult, as in Siva and Parvati co-joined as Ardhanarisvara (pls8).The second instance of cross-cult syncretism is to be found in the four images of Visnu, facing the cardinal directions, emerging from a central pillar (pL167).This concept, which may betermed Visnu-caturmarti (four-image Vis), appears to be the creation of the Gupta period theologians, but images remain rare.* This Vaisnava image, with three representations of Visnu in his supreme form and the fourth in his mare lion aspect, Narasimha, mimics in its conception and configur. Saiva four-faced liriga, the caturmukhaliiga. ‘Acentral creation myth is the source of another great Vignu icon, Anantasayana, vvisnu sleeping on Sesa (Ananta). This deals with Vignu'’s sleep om the cosrnic ocean, represented by the world-serpent Sega. Visnu lapses into this cosmic slumber atthe end of each age (apa), only to be stirred when needed for re-creation of thenext universe, in which he is aided by Brahma, born from a lotus issuing from Visnu’s navel. This form of Vignu gives expression to the most ancient of indian creation ryths, in which life comes forth from the primordial waters of the great flood. The cyclical concept of time, and life, sofundamental to the Hindu world view, is given its clearest expression in this sculptural form of Visnu. The popularity of this subject xditions of it, most famously on the sixth-century tion the is witnessed by several early x Gupta temple at Deogarh, a sublime depiction of this creation myth, belonging to the first phase of, servacotta relief panel at Bhitgaron (pl34), and in rock-cut form a century oF n.in coastal Tamilnadu. standing temple building It also appears in a contemporary solater at Mamallapure ‘More complex forms occur, characterized by emanations and the depiction of {NDIAN TEMPLE SCULPTUREVignu. A majesticicon,in which Vig embodies the stability and permanence of the universe The flaming discs,conch shell and cubare emblems of his supreme authority, while the ‘remaining hand gestures reassurance and protection (abhayamudrd replacing the lotus held erlor versions. This probably responce tothe challenger of Buddha images where this gesture prevails. Excavated in Coimbatore, “Tamilnadu, roth century, early Cla peciod Copper alloy. Meight 725 cm. VBA IM.128-1927. Bequest of Lord Curzon. 1927 0, Vispuenthroned on altus sea, dsplaying in his fourhands an ealy convention of attributes, notably of discus, conch shell cub andiotus He ‘eats atichiybjewelled ylindeleat crv (kita ‘muito) and ornaments, which establishes the ecoratve repertoire forthe successive carly Cola period. Kanchipuram dsc, Tamilnadu th-10th century, Palla period, Copper alloy. Helght 23m. Vass IN33-1034 a multiplicity of body parts. At thei simplest, these are intended multiple identities or oles assumed by the deity. Emanations can represent separate cult identities embodied in one form. A creation of the Gupta period is Vaikunth, a standing Vigna with three heads, the crowned human head of Visnu, flanked by two avataras, the man-lion Narasimha andthe boar Varaha, perhaps the two oldest aspects ofthe cut of Visnu, presumed to have been incorporated from ancient animal cults. This multi-headed or multi-faced form has direct parallels with the four faced Siva discussed above tn all probability, the Saiva concept o ga form inspired the use of multiple imagery jo represent in Vaisnava sculpture, More elaborate again is the cosmic Visvaripa, a colossus form of Visnu/Krg tions, first expressed in li named in the Vedas and described in the Bhagavata Gitd as vast and frightening, ‘manifest with multiple heads, arms and emanations, They are awesome icons, .gtaphy the concept of multiple emanations par excellence. This deity assumes its earliest known sculptural form as a Kushar- period pillar tiered with multiple male figures, the lowest form holdtinga discus (caera) and the uppermost figure surmounted by a Garuda, the mythical sunbird ‘The key iconographic components of Hindu Vaignavism are already present in this early anthropomorphic pillar (stambha) concept. The Visvarapa concept ‘metamorphoses in the eariy Gupta period into a fully anthropomorphic form, but with the addition of four arms and emanations of subsidiary deities from the upper part of his body, such as Vasudeva, Balardma/Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha. The stele at Samalaji, Gujarat, conveys a sense of the power incarnate in such images. One of the finest representations of this subject is Changu Narayana, in tenth century Licchavi-period Nepal” This s a creation ofthe early medieval period that then disappears from the iconographic repertoire, perhaps because it represented an extreme and disturbing aspect that was not in keeping with the benign nature of Visnu that was increasingly favoured by devotees. Visnu is conceived above all else asa solar god. Among the earliest reco appearances, in Vedic sources, is of Visnu striding the world in three steps (Trivikrarna),a clear allusion to his role in bringing forth day and night. The flarning discus, solar emblem, remains a key identifier of Visnu throughout India {pis.169~70).It is therefore surprising to find another major cult deity whose ches to the sun. The Vedic Sirya is embodying in their complexe imagery and cosmological meaning also: probably a borrowing of an Iranian solar god (hvare = to shine).There is extensive sculptural evidence into the medieval period of Stirya enjoying his own cult, as, witnessed by the impressive eleventh-century temple dedicated tohim at Modhera, in northern Gujarat, and at the mid-thirteenth-century ‘sun temple’ af Konarak, where he is closely identified with Visnu. Major cult images of Surya belonging to1 sary, the personifiation ofthe sun, holding Quering lotus in both hands. He s dressed in Seta coven long sword and boots that are Tegacy ofthe onan oviginsofthissolr deity. hesun god tavelsthrough the sky on chariot fawn by seven horses, seen onthe base ofthe riptue. At his feet sis charloteer Aruna, ind is consort, andhe s attended by the Montfeations of earth and ale. Celestial archers Gre oft the host ofthe night and bring on ight. thar oth centy,Pala period. lack basalt, tight gc. VUIMI09~1916 The ten appearances of Vignu, desavatdra, tinted wooden book cover from manuscript tion o the Vigpupurdy, an early toxt Scouting the ‘descents (avatiras) made by ‘fen through the ages in order to restore world ‘er Bishnupur, Bankura district, Bengal. Dated 59. Paint 09 w00d.9 x 56.5 cm. VA: TS.01-955 Pala period eastern india, and to the Deccan under the Hoysalas, make clear that his cult retained considerable status, even if relegated to the second league of gods by Visnu (play) Dasavatdras Vignu is the supreme granter of grace in Hinduism, and according to Vaisnava understanding he has made regular descents or appearances (avataras) on earth at times of peril to save the world from destruction by demonic forces, and to resto order and stability to the universe." In the Bhagavata Gita (IV, 7-8), Vistwu declares ‘that he will appear, ‘for the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, for the sake of firmly establishing righteousness. For this purpose lam born from age to age’"The avatdra concept is expressed in the Vedas but is further developed and elaborated in the Puranas and given mythological formin the Epics. itis perhaps significant that the first four Visnu-avatdas are in animal form, suggesting a tation ot absorption of nature-cult deities into the Brahmanical mainstream, The first three are of great antiquity, possibly having their origins in pre-Vedic cosmogonies; the remainder deal with Vignu as hero, and belong tothe Vasudeva-Krsna vira-cult tradition which contributed so much to the evolution of mature Vaisnavism. ‘The most widely accepted canonical list of Visnt appearances is ten, the dasavataras, although Visnu is credited with up to sixty-four. The dasavataras were only formally ‘canonized’ in the twelfth-century writings of Jayadeva in his Gita Govinda, These ten forms of Visnu, with minor variations, are regularly depicted in Vaignava temple arts (pl272}: @ Matysa, the fish avatdra, associated with a great flood myth and seer first divine intervention, during which he saved the Vedas from destruction. @ Karma, the tortoise avatara, whose mission was to retrieve divine treasures lost in the flood, most importantly the divine nectar (amrita). This mighty task involved the active cooperation of both the gods and demons, who together used a mountain to ‘cham the ocean, made possible by Visnw’s tortoise form providing the necessary bedrock for thetr task ‘© Varaha, the boar avatdra,came to earth expressly to rescue the earth (personified asa goddess) from the demon Hiranyakéa, who had forced her tothe depths of the cosmic ocean. Varaha raised her on his tusk, seen at Udayagirl,Cavess in 1e monumental rock-cut relief dated to 400-1 (pla65).The massive boar cradling the diminutive earth goddess is one of the most tender images In Indian art. © Narasimha, the man-lion avatda,in which Visnu descended in order to destroy the demon king Hiranyakasipu, protected by a boon from Brahmi, wsich Visnu. outwitted by clever semantics. This avatdra confirms Visnu's role as fearsome vignu's MANIFESTATIONS AND APFEARAD %