This Prism !

CEILING ART IN TEMPLES @ AIHOLE & PATTADAKAL, KARNATAKA

2012-01-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

COLLAGES IN STONE !

Ceiling art in the Jain Cave temple @ Aihole.*

I was quite keen about taking photographs of the mythological scenes on the ceilings of temples @ Aihole and Pattadakal. But, it was a difficult task, specially @ Huchchappayana Matha , Aihole. There is a big stone-bull right below two reliefs on ceiling . Further, the light inside the 'Mandapa' of this 'Matha' was quite inadequate. Therefore, taking a position for clicking photos was extremely difficult. There are three reliefs on the ceiling - each very interesting. We took a dozen photos each, but, only a few could capture the details in a presentable frame . The other problem was flash - this robs the photos a lot of their appeal. Karnataka Tourism is very particular about not allowing tourists benefit of using a tripod. Though I carried one, I could use it at none of the locations.

At Papanatha temple, Pattadakal. taking photograph of the ceiling was much easier. The ceiling of the area @ the entrance - we can call it a porch - has a wonderful wall-relief of Siva and Parvati in a pose of dance. The light was adequate, there was no obstruction on the ground level and no visitor around.I could just lie prostrate on the ground and click.

Siva and Parvati dancing.Their feet are crossed in 'Swastika' posture

Siva's right-hand in 'Abhaya-mudra' and Parvati's right hand in 'musti'

while her left hand in 'dola' posture

Here we find 8-armed Siva and Parvati dancing, in accompaniment of Musicians and celestial dancers. All the four arms of Siva's right side are intact, but, on his left side , three arms are gone.

At Huchchappayana Matha, Aihole, we have Trimurti - Brahma Vishnu and Siva - depicted on the ceiling, though not in this sequence.The first one here depicts Vishnu sitting on 'Ananta' the snake and Laksmidevi and other goddesses & worshippers are around on his side. The limbs are drawn with very non-angular smooth lines. With time - @ Huchchappayana Matha was built around 11th century - the faces have lost the details.

Vishnu sitting @ rajalila asana posture on Ananta the snake. The snake's coil is a little too small. But, Visnu's posture is very graceful - well-crafted.

Next in the sequence is Siva. He is sitting on his bull - Nandi's - hump in lalitasana . Parvati sits on his right side !! - has been offered a most uncomfortable sitting area on the back of Nandi. An attendant holds an umbrella on her head. Musicians and dancers revel around the divine couple. Siva's face show details, unlike Vishnu's face, but suffered erosion.

Siva-Parvati on Nandi. Siva has 4 arms - he holds two snakes in his two top hands. Siva's left-hand in Katakamudra. Parvati holds a lotus in her raised right hand.

Last in this Trimurti series is Brahma. He is seated on a rather small swan. He has 4 hands. Akshamala is very prominent. Among the hermits offering salutations to him, quite a few are emaciated with just skin covering their skeletons . Brahma's face has suffered erosion.

Brahma sitting on a rather small swan. And... the swan is resting on a stool, though its wings

are spread across. Brahma's feet also rest on this stool. Parvati and Brahma have not been shown in graceful sitting postures !

*NOTE : We have either missed out taking a photograph of the plaque outside the Cave temple or the plaque outside was missing.However, from the Tourist guides we have brought home, it appears that the shrine is called 'Jain Basadigalu'.

AN OLD BUILDING IN RUINS @ JAGATBALLBHPUR,Dt : HOWRAH

2011-12-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

ON YOUR LEFT AS YOU PROCEED ON DOMJUR-JANGIPARA ROAD....

Old-world Charm 1 - December 2007

Old-world charm 1 - now in real bad shape!
December,2011

We were standing in front of this compound wall of the old - perhaps 150+ years - ' Puja Dalan' of a once-wealthy family of this area after a lapse of 4 years and a few days .

Old-world Charm 2 - December 2007

Reportedly, Cinema & TV Serial Directors found this 'Puja dalan' interesting !

When we were here in December,2007, we found this building locked .On enquiry, Ruby found the keys were available with a local shop - taking photograph was no problem ! Ruby did take a few photos of the interiorand these shots exude old-world charm.

My friend (LH) with the present day Care-taker (RH).December,2011

This year, we found a care-taker staying inside who allowed us to go inside but, stopped us from taking photos of the inside structure. Not that much could be captured as he hung tarpaulins in the court-yard and reportedly use the space for tuition !!

Old 'Puja dalan' in plight - December 2011

Just imagine - tutorial classes in a heritage (?) building !!
We found this care-taker somewhat strange - he is so much averse to photography that he did not allow anyone to take his photograph too ! He spoke big things about the ancestors of the owners of this building - they are descendents of the 'Pal' dynasty.

Old-world charm 3. Pillars photographed in December,2007.

The photos here are a mixed lot - a few are from what was shot in 2007 and others in 2011. If any reader knows the present owners, please convey our anxiety regarding the maintenance, the present use of the premises and the attitude of the care-taker to them.

Old-world Charm 3. A glimpse of the pillars inside,

as viewed though an opening of the compound wall.

December,2011

The arches are so graceful, the 'Puja dalan' compact yet decent, getting ravaged by time and made UGLY because of greed of a private tutor.

DURGA PUJA/2011 IN CALCUTTA - 2

2011-10-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

Two Pujas which must be chronicled in history of

Bengal's installation art

& a few others

I have noted one phenomenon in blogspot - I get regular hits on my very 1st blog on DURGA PUJA, which was published years ago while the latest blog on the same subject , incorporating 2011 Puja photos attract far less nos of hits !
Aisa kiun ? Aisa kiun ?? Aisa kiun ???

Behala Aikya Sammilani

Nevertheless, I continue my work of sharing photos from my HDD with my friends . My wife and I enjoy visiting Puja pandals selectively - had we been younger, we could have moved around in the night. Here we have been around locally - only at Parnasree and around. Clicking photos of decorated pandals in the evenings is a pleasure - more so for us, because, we have fewer choices as we do not venture outside our area in the throbbing crowd of pandal-hoppers.

Earlier - during 1980s - my wife and I used to out with my mother and my sons during the evening of 'Sasthi' and never placed any problem in parking our car or accessing a pandal.This year, I found no place to park my car near the College Street pandal @ 7am on the morning of Dashami !

While sociologists will work on evaluating how 'Sarbajanin Puja' in Calcutta - and in districts too - changed over the decades promoting 'art of installation', specially with advent of participation of sponsors/advertisers, the revelers are never short of discovering wonders in every 'par' - locality. The very famous Puja at Naktala this year has taken the art of installation to a new height!

The pandal has been planned to look like a bird. The curvatures are inspired by a sickle . Tons of high quality timber has been used to build this 'bird' !

Lot of thinking, imagination has gone in creating the idol of the goddess. She is in battle-mode - her being reminded me of Jiten Pal's creation of 1960s for 23Palli Sarbajanin. Several photos are required to convey the impression which has been built with metal and mehagani timber.

Durga rides the 'Mahishasura' - his posture shows he is about to be defeated. Durga holds his left horn with her left hand and raises the sword which is also the trident in her right.

Durga in her fiercest mood.Her large eyes are angry. Her hair flying.

Are her two shoulders at slightly different levels like a famous creation of a famous artist ?

The other Puja that requires mention was at FD-Block.THe idol is 52' tall - would not go for immersion.Reportedly, an urchin used to weep every year when Durga's idol sed to be taken for immersion. This year, the Puja Committee decided to go for a kind of near-permanent idol. Very proportionate is the creation - but Mintoo Pal has to explain my son's query - Why Laksmi & Saraswati are taller than Kartik & Ganesh ??

This is the tallest Durga in 2011. There must be very interesting stories on hoe the concept was brought into reality ! If chronicles of these installations were written,they would have interesting readings for us !

Demons, Lion and the Trident!

Pandal created as 'Cave temple'. Idol is a fusion of traditional & modern styles.

Kashi Bose Lane ( North Calcutta)

DURGA PUJA/2011 IN CALCUTTA - 1

2011-10-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

ART OF IDOL MAKING in DURGA PUJA -
SANATAN DINDA -
A SELECTION FROM OUR HDD

Thousand eyes behold her as Devi Durga vanquishes Mahishasura , descends on the Earth with her left foot resting on the head of the Buffalo and right foot touching the soul of mankind - floating horizontal in the cosmic void . Hymns in Sanskrit add to the solemnity of this 'presentation' by Sanatan Dinda.

Nalin Sarkar Street,2011

Entrance to NSS pandal from Grey street.'Maner Manush' on a boat - coloured blue. Blue colour has been used on the nets which stretch upto the rooves of the neighbouring buildings -

when lit up in the night, the boat-like structure and the bluish glow of the nets

create an impression of walking within a water-body.

Abstract designs and a large eye stare down on the boat-like walk-way to the pandal.

Tara - the most revered among the Bouddha goddesses - has reportedly sprung from the tear of 'Avlokiteswar' - the most important among the Bouddha gods. She is the goddess of compassion - and - also consort of 'Avlokiteswar'. Lotus blossom and eyes are symbols of Tara. Sanatan Dinda has used the both in his NSS and Chakraberia idols this year ( 2011).

Since we returned to Calcutta from our decade long stay in Pune and Durgapur, Ruby and I made a practice of visiting selected Puja pandals.Our 1st Puja in Calcutta was in 2004. We were at Hatibagan to attend a 'barir' Puja - a domestic Puja - when we reached the pandal @ Nalin Sarkar St while strolling around and clicking. Sanatan Dinda, seven years younger and much more accessible , was standing outside the pandal. This puja - the pandal and the idol - struck a chord in my heart. We had a chat with Dinda , clicked a photo of him and left.I decided to keep a track of Santan Dinda's work in coming years. Next time I saw his Durga idol - again @ Nalin Sarkar Street - was in 2007.

Dinda made this idol for NSS in 2004. The pandal, shaped like a temple was designed and executed by him. Durga's idol has a bronze-like finish and very prominent & big eyes. Miniaturisation of her 'children', lion and Mahisasura - which later became his trademark - can be noticed in this 2004 installation too.

This is Dinda's Durga for NSS puja in 2007. Her face is nearly conventional, slightly heavy in the chin. Like in 2004, her skin colour is golden. Not 'ataseebarnabhyang' !

We returned to Nalin Sarkar Street this year ( 2011) just to enjoy the presentation of Dinda. We were very much impressed by Chakraberia Sarbajanin - the idol by Sanatan Dinda and the pandal by Shibshankar Das. From photos in the newspapers, it was obvious that NSS idol and the pandal - both executed by Dinda will be worth a visit. And... it was.

At NSS, Dinda's 'theme' was 'Maner Manush' - a coinage from the title of the successful Bengali movie.
'Maner Manush' , translated literally, means 'The Person in our Heart'. But, mysticism wraps these two simple words - the meaning is 'understood' only by a 'sadhak' - someone who knows the specified process of meditation.In this installation at NSS , Dinda has created a mystique environment, used various symbols and an idol which is the result of seamless , but, complex fusion of Hindu and Bouddha Tantrk iconography !

Dinda has borrowed from Bouddha Tantrk iconography in Chakraberia Sarbajanin too. But, Dinda's Durga idol here is 'brushed' with less complexity. Shibshankar has built a pandal in a restrained manner . He did not attempt to dazzle the viewer with lots and lots of artwork and details.

Devi Durga rises from 'pralay jaladhi'- cataclysmic ocean, standing on the 'jiban taranee' - boat or ark of life . She defeats 'Madhu-Kaitava'-like demons . ''Maner Manush' - soul of mankind - lies stretched in front of Devi with a lotus in his folded hands.

Lotus adorns Durga's being, her crown .

Chakraberia Sarbajanin, 2011.

'Maner manush' - The person residing in our heart -lies prostrate on a contraption protruding at right angles to the boat while offering lotus as 'anjali' to Durga.

Pandal of Chakraberia Sarbajanin. Shibaprasad created a wonderful environment using 'shephsl/shiuli' flowers and lotus. He used exhaust fans to create the 'shephsl/shiuli' flowers !
( Photo : courtesy - Ruby Chatterji)

I have no intention of comparing CS with NSS -2011. Such a comparison will no way increase the enjoyment appreciation of these two very fine Puja pandals and idols. I have posted several photographs of 2011 Puja - please do enjoy ! I have also tried to write a few words on evolution of Dinda's style - what I termed as 'fusion' earlier in this blog with photos from my HDD and internet.

Sanatan Dinda, visibly younger, in 2004 ,was photographed interacting with viewers (Ruby ) in front of NSS pandal . It was noon of Saptami puja.

FROM MY 'DURGAPUJA' COLLECTION

2011-09-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

WORSHIP AND FESTIVITY

When I went back to HDD of my computer, I discovered that I have not clicked many photographs of the crowd and events around Devi Durga. As far as possible, I have pointed the lens high above to shoot the deity's images as we covered one 'pavilion' after the other. Therefore, a selection was easy. Not as good shots as I would have taken , if done consciously for writing a blog.

The first shot that I have selected is that of a priest who looks so small in front of the huge image of Devi. He was performing 'Arati' - adoration of Devi and then the devotees jostle for seeking her blessing.

As 'arati' gets over, devotees circle round the priest seeking the warmth of the lamp -

blessing of the Goddess.

Have you ever tried to move around festive Calcutta in the mornings of the celebration days ? It is much easier to navigate as the crowd has gone home. One misses the lighting, but, there is no push and jostle.
Two of my early morning shots are here.

Dozing Drummer

Intense watching !

I could never discover what is funny in this Vodafone banner !

When 'bhog' - food specially prepared for Devi - is offered, it is customary to have a stretched saree across so that devotees cannot 'see' Devi accepting the offering.

Buying a balloon ??

Who is the best dressed 'Devi' ??

FIFTH INCARNATION of VISHNU - TRIVIKRAMA - @ CAVE TEMPLE of BADAMI

2011-09-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

A CRITIQUE of WALL RELIEFS on 'VAMANA AVATAR' -
THE DWARF INCARNATION of VISHNU @ CAVE TEMPLE of BADAMI

A view of the access to 'MahaVishnu' Cave.

It is I climbing up the steps. 'Trivikrama' in the far end.

At Badami, we find four Cave temples - 1st one dedicated to Siva and Shakti, 2nd and 3rd ones to Vishnu and the 4th - the topmost one - to Jain Iconography.For the purpose of distinguishing one from the other,the two caves are called 'Vishnu Guha' - 2nd one from bottom - and 'MahaVishnu Guha'- 3rd one from bottom by the local guides .

A discussion on 'VAMANA AVATAR' need be done in three parts, before we move into the two wall-reliefs of Trivikrama, that we find at the Cave temple of Badami.

The 1st is the mythological tale - which might have started during rule of the Gupta dynasty. Gods' reign over the Heaven was threatened by growing influence of King Bali. He was invincible in battles - yet a generous and kind person. To protect gods' interest, Vishnu agreed to their entreaty of neutralising Bali. On a particular day, when during the ritual of 'Ashwamedh Yagna' - a big ceremony taking place around a sacrificial horse - Bali had organised a big event of granting donation to whoever came to his court seeking the same. Vishnu appeared incognito as a dwarf brahmin in this congregation. Bali received the dwarf brahmin with adoration, ignoring his mentor Shukracharya's warning that the brahmin was no ordinary person. Vishnu asked for land just enough for his three strides . When the king granted the same, Vishnu stood in front of the king in his full cosmic form filling the world . Vishnu's right foot covered the earth , his body filled the sky in all directions and the left foot reached the heaven . Vishnu then he asked the king: where the third step can be taken. King offered his head. Bali was then tied up and ready to be banished . Brahma pleaded for a benign treatment for Bali reminding Vishnu of his noble nature. Bali's wife Vindhyabali and grandfather Prahlada - great devotee of Vishnu - pleaded for Bali. Each in her/his way.Vishnu sent Bali to his own hermitage first and later to 'Sutal' - definitely a territory away from the heaven , Indra's kingdom . Vishnu also assured Bali of sovereignty of 'Sutal' after a while. ( based on 19th - 23rd chapters of 8th Canto, 'Srimadbhagabat Gita').

'Trivikrama' in the 'Vishnu' cave temple.Compared to the more well-known depiction of 'Trivikrama' in the next level, it appears to be a 'Draft' work.

This 'Trivikrama's' stance is somewhat static. The celestial portion is incomplete.

Next is a discussion on the appeal of the myth of Trivikrama - Vamana Avatar. This myth combines in it both the 'vibhava' or 'avatar' - incarnatory - and 'vibhuti' - manifestational aspects of Vishnu. To prevent Bali from getting control of the heaven, the domain of Indra, Vishnu incarnates himself as Dwarf in the womb of Aditi. the mother of gods. To generate awe in the heart of Bali, he manifested his cosmic form - 'Viratrupa' . Thus, in one myth, devotees of Vishnu find both the 'vibhava' and 'vibhuti' aspects of their Lord amalgamated.( based on 'Vaishnava Iconology of Nepal' by Prataditya Pal).

3rd point in this discussion - was Vishnu fare to Bali ? His army, as expected, reacted adversely . They felt, Vishnu came incognito and usurped all that Bali acquired in his life , though he was a religious person, a ruler of high moral standing. Their resistance was neutralised by Vishnu's companions - 'parshadas'. Bali's son Banasura caught hold of Vishnu's right foot and pleaded Vishnu not to banish his father . However, all these efforts made no impact on Vishnu. Only later, Brahma's pleading in favour of Bali and very carefully worded statements made by Vindhyabali and Prahlad brought a somewhat positive conclusion of this episode . Well, according to many, Vishnu was not fare to Bali!

'Trivikrama' wall-relief is divided into sections, depicting the major events.

Here we find 'Adration of 'Vamana Avatar' by King Bali . Queen Vindhyabali,

Shukracharya ( not separately distinguishable ) and his courtiers look on.

Among all the major wall-reliefs on this manifestation of Vishnu, two at Badami, one each at Mallapuram and Ellora are very well-known. So are the several ones found in Nepal. The characters in these wall-reliefs, placed around the huge figure of Trivikrama, tell the story of King Bali and adoration of Vishnu. Not all the characters are identical. In the wall-relief at 'MahaVishnu' cave temple at Badami ,we find Namuchi - son of King Bali - clasping left foot of Trivikrama , same way as at Changu Narayana of Nepal , while in the other wall-relief at Badami, this person is obese and cannot be young Banasura.

'Trivikrama' in MahaVishnu Cave temple is artistically much improved compared to the previous one. Trivikrama's face is turned slightly towards his left - a stance very much unlike that at floor below and also at Mallapuram or at Changu Narayana,Nepal.Only at Cave 15 of Ellora, Trivikrama's face is turned towards his left , but that wall-relief carries much less details than this one.

We find here the sacrificial horse in the right-hand corner top, gods,the Moon , Rahu , Namuchi kicked up and away in the other half at the top. In the lower half, we find adoration of Vamana Avatar below the left foot of Trivikrama and persuasion of Trivikrama by Banasura and hostility of Namuci around his right-foot. In the portion 'Adoration of Vamana Avatar' we find eroded 'Vamana with his umbrella', thus robbing this portion of its beauty.

I have given copious notes under the pictures I have posted here . Hope my friends will enjoy the same.

Sacrificial horse - 'Ashwamedh Yagna'

'MahaVishnu' Cave temple, Badami

Upper half of Trivikrama in his full cosmic grandeur.

As his head touches the sky where Ganesha and gods , the Sun, Moon and Rahu adore him.

We can see some of the divine weapons here -

discuss 'Sudarsana', bow 'Sharnga' and sword 'Vidyadhar'.

'MahaVishnu' Cave temple, Badami.

One of the artistically finest 'Trivikrama' . It is sad the 'Vamana Avatar' has been eroded.

The wall-relief has been so crafted that a section of the same hides under the drooping pavilion

The details are astounding.

'MahaVishnu' Cave temple, Badami.

JOURNEYS TO THE HEART OF BIHAR

2011-09-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

MY MUNGER VISITS

I so far used my e-address @ hubpages.com - hubpages.com/shyamchat - to post photographs which I click during my trip to Munger.

The reason I have to visit Munger a few times a year is associated with PANIIT's 'IITians For ITIs' project. I have been invited by ITC, Munger to be a part of their team @ Institute Management Committee of ITI,Munger, which has received Rs 2.5 Crores from World Bank for introducing a course on 'Electrical maintenance'.

These trips have taken to the hillock on the outskirt of Munger from where one can view the famous horse-shoe of the course of the Ganges, a famous Yoga Centre which is the crown jewel of Munger and the Fort-side shore of the Ganges.Unfortunately for me, the management have decided that short personal travelogues - kind of photo-features - will not be published by hubpages.com any more. My latest 'hub' - 'Visit to Munger III' (http://shyamchat.hubpages.com/hub/munger_3) - has been 'unpublished'. I have here a part of the text and some of the photos from that blog as well as photos I have clicked during my recent train journey to Munger ( 15/09/11) .

FROM hubpages.com/shyamchat dtd.02/08/11 :

'First a few words about the Yoga Institute. From a very small set-up, the Institute has flourished to a big Institute with residential facility. I was shown around with a lot of care - understand my host ITC, Munger is quite friendly with the Management of this Institute. I would suggest that any visitor of Munger must find an hour to visit this place and absorb the tranquility of the enormous prayer hall !

SILHOUETTE

- Setting sun has turned the Ganges golden.Two boys - one ready for a plunge into water.

YOGA PRATISTHAN

GRAFFITI

A visit to western flank of the town where the Ganges flow , specially at the time of sunset, is very enjoyable. One finds ripples of the river shining ,boats plying with sails up , young people enjoying a dip and far out - a bridge under construction. The photos with boys in silhouette was disallowed in many 'flickr' groups - including the one on river administered by me - because their internal checking system perceived that the boys were naked. Well they were not ! I found the glowing ripples of the Ganges and silhouettes made excellent composition !'

TAKING OUT MY CAMERA !

Coming back to the train journey undertaken last week, I found good sunlight , a time span of an hour in the morning before I reach my destination - Jamalpur station and flooded country-side - quite interesting for trying out a few clicks. I was inside an A/C compartment - as expected, with a 'point& shoot' camera, I could hardly get the desired result.A few of them are here, which may be liked by my friends from Bihar, especially from that region, as the scenery remind them of their homeland.

TOILING HARD

- I found nos of persons walking past our train while we were waiting @ Sultangaunj for a 'crossing' of a train from the other side.

INUNDATED

BRUISED HILLSIDE

- As viewed from the train passing through countryside.

BIRTH OF KARTTIKEYA - THE SLAYER OF TARAKASURA

2011-08-05T00:22:00.000-07:00

THE TALE AS TOLD BY VEDAVYASA IN 'MAHABHARATA'

NOTE : Those, who worship Siva as an ascetic Yogi, or are below 18 years age, are requested to stay away from this blog.

Kartick joins Devi Durga while she is busy slaying Mahisasura.

His peacock is on his right side.

Kartik the Lord of war arrives in Bengal twice every year - during the days of Autumn festival. He accompanies Devi Durgaa and again return alone on the last day of the month of 'Kartik' for one day/night. We know him as the youngest among Hindu gods - a very handsome god who rides an equally handsome bird - a peacock.

When one delves deeper into the mythology of Kartikeya , one learns about his his valour - his defeating Tarakasura who struck terror among gods for years together and the complex story of his birth where Siva and Parvati - the most powerful celestial couple in Hindu mythology, Agni, Ganga and the gods played crucial roles. When we follow this tale , we need remember that Hindu mythology is built with layers of allegory and story-tellers from various sects colour these tales with their very own beliefs .

Our story - as told by Bhishma from his bed of arrows to Yudhistir in eighty third chapter of 'Anushasana Parva' in Mahabharata - begins when we find Siva and Parvati , having traversed a long path filled with death, destruction, long and harsh years of very severe Yogic meditation, reached the point where they could enjoy their conjugal life.

Siva embraces Parvati while they relax and enjoy in company of Siva's followers - 'Ganas'.

Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal.

As we all know,the beginning of their conjugal life was fraught with distabilisation by Ravana, whom Siva punished severely through prolonged imprisonment and then, a prolonged battle with Andhakasura. Andhaka was born in Kailasha .Parvati had so severe disliking for the new-born that Siva gave the infant away to Hiranyaksha for adoption. The adopted Asura , when grown up , became an invincible warrior .He blundered by coveting Parvati .Siva got engaged in a fierce and long battle with Andhakasura and his companion Gajasura. The later was killed and Andhakasura was subjugated - converted to an ardent devotee of Siva , known as 'Bhringee'.*1

RavanaDamanaMurti of Siva.Parvati clings to Siva as Ravana upsets her and inhabitants of Mountain Kailasha .

Siva punishes Ravana holding him a prisoner under this hill for years.

Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal.

When all these were matter of the past, Siva - who is called 'Hiranyaretah' and 'Mahabeeja' *2, the god with golden and powerful seeds - and Parvati - the Mother of the Universe and embodiment of 'Shakti',i.e. Power - were engaged in Divine union, secluded in their heavenly abode. This was when they heard the wail of the gods from outside :

' Oh Lord of the Gods!

Withhold - oh please do withhold

Shedding your seeds so Powerful !

You are the Super Yogi ! So is Parvati !

We are so very afraid

You two together will give birth

To such Power and Strength

That would vanquish us - the gods,

Oh ! His * power would not be contained in the Universe -

Alas! All will be singed !'

Gods outside the abode of Siva -Parvati.

Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal.

Siva was moved by this appeal . He withheld his ejaculation through his power of Yoga . When he withdrew, his semen spilled outside Parvati's womb . His Yogic power has been hailed by his devotees when they address him as 'Urddhalinga' - Ithyphallic' - and 'Urddharetah' *2- in control of ejaculation.

Ithyphallic Siva.

SriMukhalingam temple.A.P.

Thus interrupted ,Parvati was furious with the gods assembled outside . Deprived of motherhood of Siva's child, she cursed them that they would not give birth to children in future*3. Agni was not present this gathering of gods - so he was not affected by this curse. Siva's spilled semen was collected by Agni which grew within him *4 .

Kartikeya on his peacock - he is placed in the gallery of Durga in 5th Century AD.

Siva Gallery, Cave temple at Badami.

Gods were faced with a great dilemma - they needed Siva's progeny to defeat Tarakasura. Very much scared of Parvati, Agni was then in hiding - first within water and then atop an 'Ashwaththa' tree. Gods chased and hounded out Agni and coaxed him, who had Siva's seeds within him, to father a son in union with Ganga. Agni and Ganga complied and the gods started waiting eagerly for the birth of the child growing within Ganga.

Ganga found after a while that she would not be able bear the growing child within her for long . She gave birth to the future Lord of the war - prematurely - on mountain Sumeru . She described the child to Agni as an infant with countenance as bright as that of the Sun, the Moon and Agni, with fragrance of Neolamarckia Cadamba flower and cool like water of a lotus-filled pond ! Wth the flow of the river, the infant reached a water-body filled with weeds where he was nursed by six 'Kritikas'. Thus, he developed six heads.

Siva blesses Kartikeya as he proceeds with his army to fight Tarakasura.

Kartikeya clutches 'Shakti' in his right hand which has striking similarity with Siva's trident.

SriMukhalingam temple.A.P.

Soon, he grew to be a great warrior god and led an army to kill Tarakasura by an infallible weapon called 'Shakti'. He restored rule of the Heaven to the gods and Indra got back his throne after long years.

Felicitation of Kartikeya .He sits relaxed and smiling, sans his weapons, in 'lalitasana' as celestial dancers celebrate his victory over Asuras. On top of the alcove, we find Siva-Parvati,

together with Ganesha,Kartikeya, Ganas and Bhringee.

Someshwara temple,SriMukhalingam,A.P.

The name "Kartikeya' connects him to the 'Kritikas' who nursed him when he was an in infant.His other name "Skanda' connects him to Siva as 'Skanda' means spilling ( in this case , Siva's seeds ). He is also known as 'Devasenapati', meaning the leader of celestial army as well as husband of Devasena.He is widely worshipped as Lord Murugan in South India and as Katragama Deviyo in Ceylone. The word 'Katragama' comes from 'Karthikamam' . He is worshiped in a few other South Asian countries too.

Kartikeya on a 'Torana' - a gate - among ruins

among ruins @ Vadnagar,Gujarat.

NOTES :

One of the meanings of the word 'Skanda' is 'spilling'. If we refer to : http://bhagavata.org/downloads/SanskritDictionary.html , we shall find '
skanda = a name of Kartikeya, god of war
skanda = m. anything which jumps or hops (in {tRNa-skanda4}, `" grasshopper "'N. of a man) RV.; spurting, effusing, effusion, spilling, shedding (cf. {a4} and {ghraNa-sk-}); perishing, destruction Gît.; quick-silver L.; `" Attacker "'N. of Kârttikeya (q.v., son of S'iva or of Agni; he is called god of war as leader of S'iva's hosts against the enemies of the gods [1256,2];
*1 :Please read about the battle between Siva and Andhaksura in http://przmm.blogspot.com/2011/03/tale-of-siva-andhakaura-journey-from.html.
*2 - Both the ascetic and erotic imagery of Siva is explicitly stated in 'Thousand Salutation to Siva' by Upamanyu, in presence of Vasudeva Krsna. Please refer to thirteenth chapter of 'Anushasana Parva' in Mahabharata.
*3 - Gods had many sons - I do not recollect if our scripture writers had any gender bias - among non-celestial. Pandavas and Hanumana are the most famous among them.
*4 - If Agni was not among the group of gods outside the abode of Siva_Parvati, how did he collect the spilled seeds of Siva ?

SRIMUKHALINGAM TEMPLE's MOST EXCLUSIVE WALL-RELIEF

2011-07-20T06:03:00.000-07:00

Siva and SaptaMatrika in fierce battle with Andhakasura and Gajasura :Wall-relief above the main entrance to Inner sanctum

Front view of SriMukhalingam temple. There are several temples

around the main temple in the compound

The main temple of SriMukhalingam is built around the theme of warrior and fierce image of Siva. SaptaMatrika are in his side, Andhakasura and Gajasura on the other. Siva is depicted in the fierce image of Bhairava, with his fangs exposed - not only when he is engaged in fights, but also when he is dancing after vanquishing Andhakasura and Gajasura. Siva is ithyphallic, very masculine - the whole temple , as I have mentioned in my earlier blogs, exudes masculinity and valour !

Front view of SriMukhalingam Temple.

View of Wall-relief obstructed due to the 'Amloka' of the Mandapa in front.

Taking photograph of the wall-relief I am writing on was extremely difficult.It would be apparent from the photograph above. The wall-relief is practically at the centre of the wall on which the door to the inner sanctum of the temple is located, just above of the roof of the Mandapa at the entrance - with naked eyes, one can hardly see the details of the central portion, leave out those of the four parts of the panel at top, bottom, LH and RH sides. Apart from the distance, the other problem is that this wall-relief, though at the centre of the front wall, can be photographed from the right side of the entrance. I found no way of viewing it from the left side of the entrance. Shall try to capture more details if I re-visit this temple in future.

Sub-divisions of the wall-relief.

Actually, after I downloaded the shots in my computer and catalogued the lot, I realised the importance of this wall-relief. From none of the shots I could take, the characters of the bottom arc was clear.

On closer inspection. I could see that the wall-relief is divided into five sections ( see above). The central part depicts the core scene - the most important part of the event - Siva and SaptaMatrika engaged in fierce battle with Andhakasura. The top arc has Gajasura trampling Siva's soldiers. The LH and RH arc have a story of a healer woman - well, I know nothing about the details to-day.The lower part, as I have already mentioned, is hardly visible. I have selected these portions one after the other, 'insert'ed them in separate powerpoint pages, wrote out notes and converted .ppt document to .jpg format. Please read through the notes on the lower margin .

Central Portion -

The most important part of this Wall-relief

Siva standing @ the centre, holding a big mace in his right hand and a pot of Andhakasura's blood in his left . He wears a big moustache. His matted hair falls on his shoulder . All these and a huge erect phallus (symbolises his Yogic control over ejaculation - called 'Urdhareta/UrdhaLinga) create the 'image' of a very masculine naked warrior in the thick of a battle. SaptaMatrika are around him , fighting Andhakasura and his soldiers. Andhakasura is regenerating ( read about the story of this battle in http://przmm.blogspot.com/2011/03/tale-of-siva-andhakaura-journey-from.html ) while one of the seven Matrikas drink the blood of Andhakasura from the pot in Siva's hand.

Peripheral - LH

Peripheral - RH

I could not fathom the 'story' of the healer woman, as depicted in the Peripherals - LH and RH.But, that there is a 'story' is clear. Whatever little I have understood about it, I have cited in the respective photo inserts.If any reader has a clue about the background , please do share it with me.
Noticeable in this temple as well as the smaller temples in SriMukhalingam village are the various stories of religious persons, Devdasis and devotees of those days on the gates and external walls.This healer woman must be quite important to appear in close proximity of Siva and SaptaMatrika.

In the concluding paragraph, I shall return to the subject of Siva's battle with Andhakasura and Gajasura. Andhakasura was born in the surroundings of Siva and Parvati, was brought up as a foster son of Hiranyalsha , was a very successful warrior and his end came when he cherished Parvati.He had the power of re-generation - so he fought a long battle with Siva. He survived as emaciated 'Bhringee' after he got pardon from Siva and ,very likely, from Parvati too. Gajasura was killed and dancing Nataraja is seen holding elephant's hide in numerous wall reliefs ( https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OpmZyfBg2fs/TYiWvPxv7dI/AAAAAAAABd0/_HMcu3ujmoo/s1600/IMG_1456_aw.jpg ).

SLAYING OF MEGHNAD - DRAMA STAGED BY KASBA ARGHYA

2011-07-17T10:47:00.000-07:00

A PERFORMANCE EXTRA-ORDINARY

I read about the drama enacted by 'Kasba Arghya' group in Sunday 'Pratidin' published on 21/6/11. I searched for the group in the internet and found them in the Facebook. I also found Anirban Ghosh, Ranit Modak and Seema Ghosh - the principal actors - in the Facebook. I enquired and learnt from them about their next show - which was @ Madhusudan Mancha on 24/6/11. It was quite a wet evening - but we did not want to miss the chance.

Anirban Ghosh as Indrajit.

The effort was worth-making.We were rewarded with a performance that touched our heart. An intelligent yet simple stage setting, excellent lighting, music and choreography. Ranit and Seema performed in various roles - Ranit and Anirban simultaneously enacted the scene of 'Nikumbhila Yagna', which was very well-conceived and well-enacted. Over-all impact of direction of Maneesh Mitra and presentation by his team leave a deep impact on the viewer.

Ranit and Seema.

A couple of years ago, I visited the temple cluster of Guptipara . The temple dedicated to Ramachandra has a long wall-relief on 'Nikumbhila Yagna', This wall-relief was crafted with a perspective in view , with Meghnaad in the 'front' and Lakshman aided by Bibheeshan was shown entering the scene stealthily towards the 'rear'. This panel is certainly a remarkable panel , created decades before Michael conceived and wrote 'Meghnaad Badh Kavya'.

This wall-relief on 'Nikumbhila Yagna' inspired me a lot, I brought the copy of Michael's anthology from my library and enjoyed a his epic creation another time. That was the time when I wrote my blog
'Slaying of Meghnaad - a ballad' ( http://przmm.blogspot.com/2009/03/slaying-of-meghnad-ballad.html).

Needless to say, I had a special attraction towards this drama - 'Meghnaad Badh Kavya'. I must say that both Ruby and I enjoyed the drama a lot. I do have a few comments to make - I intend to share the link with 'Kasba Arghya' and hope that the Director and the team will accept the comments in a positive frame of mind.

First the positives. The production - lighting, sound - and music , stage setting, acting of Ranit, Seema and Anirban, 'Chow'-dance - well the Director knows all these. He must have received many accolades for all these and more. Shadow dance of Ranit , wallow of Ravan , 'Indrajit 1 and 'Indrajit 2' during 'Nikumbhila Yagna' in 3rd scene are the bits what we carried in our heart !The few areas where he can improve upon are here :

Was Pinaki Biswas present in the stage show of 24/06/11 ? Why there was hardly any 'Kathakali' dance movement of Ravan on that day? Ravan, tall and elegant in the make-up and costume of a Kathakali dancer appeared on the stage and stood nearly still !
Pronunciation of one the two 'Kathak's - the one who was in the right-side of the audience - need improvement.He has miles to go.
Indrajit was a great warrior. Why he would need so much effort to put string on his own bow ? May be Ranit was asked to show off his dancing skill - but his endeavour did not match the storyline.
Ranit acting as Chitrangada and Seema acting as Ravan did not look OK to me. May be the Director showcased the actors' versatility. But, I was not impressed.
Involvement of the gods, their conspiracy in Lakhsman slaying Indrajit have been blanked off totally ! Director's liberty - but, I could not agree with the same.

Nonetheless, I shall recommend this production strongly. Enjoy the very interesting production of 'Meghnaad Badh Kavya' directed by Maneesh Mitra.

'Nikumbhila Yagna'

Wall-relief from Rama Temple, Guptipara.

AN OEVURE OF HANDSTICHED DRESSES & SAREES _2

2011-07-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

Another set of selected work from 'Ruby's Boutique'

A lovely party wear, can be given to the bride as an addition to her wardrobe, which she would treasure. It is done with a combination of two materials. Half is done in lace and half is tissue. The two piecesare then joined .Next, the design is done upon. The work is done in such a way that it is difficult to make out the joint itself.The design has been done in silk and sequence and stones.

These are a close look to the design itself.

This is a combination of lace and chiffon, the work has been done on it. You can have a closer look to the details of the design below.

The sky blue raw silk kurta with hand crafted designs done on it.It brings out grace of a man of any age. Excellent for Indian party wear,shows our culture which we should be proud of . One can make it a regular wear during such occasions we can call them our 'own'. Or showcase it in any other social event too.
A peep into the design can be taken in the next close up.

AN OEVURE OF HANDSTICHED DRESSES & SAREES _1

2011-07-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Photos of designs by 'Ruby's Boutique' on the occasion of marriage of Sujash and Moumita

Sujash and Moumita. The Kurta of Sujash designed by 'Ruby.

Silk cloth used as base and silk threads and jari threads have been used for the works done by hand by artisans.Design idea and colour combination has been done by me.

Details of Sujash' kurta.

The sherwani are done in South raw silk as base,the work is done using kashmiri stitches and a varied number of stitches,again lot of jari and silk threads have been used to bring out the motifs,a pains taking work done the the artisans.Was highly appreciated by invitees.
The lehenga has been done in brocade cloth,the blouse is in south raw silk and the top in tissue silk.The design has been thought for months before being worked upon. There are a lot of thread sequence and stone work done on it.
Men's dupatta has been specially bought from Bikaner to bring out the authentic look.

Sujash, Moumita and Surath wear Sherwani and Lehenga designed by me.

Details of the needle work of Sujash' Sherwani.

The above pictures offer a closer look into the designs.

The South silk has a shaded mauve colour sari with a second shade of blue hue showing. It is a perfect blend of colours, the work just complements the whole sari in totality. A perfect evening wear,for a reception or a party wear.One would love to own it, a princely possession I would like to believe.

One of the masterpiece the karigar has done, could really bring out the imagination on cloth which I could design on paper. Silk-Thread, sequences have been used to give it a dimension I was looking for.

IMAGERIES OF SHAKTI IN LAND OF SAIVITES - II

2011-06-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

A remarkable and large wall relief of 'MahishasuraMardini' @ cave of Ravana Phadi, Aihole.

Devi mauls ( - 'mardana'-) Mahishasura with one of her four left hands as well as the left knee. She pierces Mahishasura too by a spear held in one of her right hands.The earliest 'MahishasuraMardini' can be found mauling 'Mahishasura' only with her hands . Here, 'Mahishasura' suffers mauling ( - 'mardana'-)

as well as attack by spear.

During our visit to SriMukhalingam/Hampi/Badami/Aihole/Pattdakal in February,11, we

came across beautiful wall-reliefs of 'MahishasuraMardini' - as was expected.Here, 'Mahisasura' is often a buffalo, not the dark-complexioned well-built masculine figures we come across during DurgaPuja in Calcutta and other cities.We saw interesting figures of 'Shakti' riding a lion too - 'Singhabahini'.The origin of this imagery can be traced to 'Nonaa' of West- and Central- Asia. These imageries of 'Shakti' , we can reckon, was quite popular among the builders of temples in the region we traveled - oldest being @ Badami, newest being @ Hampi.

A remarkable wall relief of 'MahishasuraMardini' @ Someswara temple, SriMukhalingam.

Devi has ten hands. 'Mahishasura' is in human form. Remarkably, 'Mahishasura' is in human form in other temples @ SriMukhalingam too !

Devi can be seen with four, eight and even ten hands in SriMukhalingam, eight hands in Hampi, hands in Badami, eight hands in Aihole and two hands in Mahakuteswar. Her 'aayudhas' - the weapons - also vary. Sword and Spear - specially spear - being very common.

'Singhabahini' @ Hampi.Devi has eight hands. She weilds a sword, but, no spear. Face of the lion clearly indicate that the sculptor has never come across a real life lion !

From the present entrance gate to Vitthala temple.

Those who have followed my blogs on Siva Iconography are aware that 'SaptaMatrika' came into the being to help Siva in his battle against 'Andhakasura'. Those who might have missed the particular blog where I have recounted this episode may please refer to : http://przmm.blogspot.com/2011/03/tale-of-siva-andhakaura-journey-from.html. I found the most fierce 'SaptaMatrika' depiction on a high point at the entrance of the main temple of SriMukhalingam. Capturing the photo of this wall-relief was difficult .My friend and guide Mr Netaji Rao and I have made several attempts to capture this very special wall-relief. I intend to devote one blog to detail the same. The most benign depiction of 'SaptaMatrika' is at Ravana Phadi, Aihole where they are part of the dance of Nataraja - his celebration after subjugating 'Andhakasura' and slaying of 'Gajasura' .

Four of the seven 'SaptaMatrika' at Ravana Phadi, Aihole.Ganesha and 'Bhringee' - 'Andhakasura' redeemed and re-christened - are seen on the right side of Nataraja.

Celebration of subjugation of 'Andhakasura' and slaying of 'Gajasura'.
All the participants in classical dance poses .

Hindu religion , through centuries, have worshiped 'Shakti' - the female power. Female power have power to annihilate enemies - as in 'MahishasuraMardini' and 'SaptaMatrika'. Female power has potential of creation, fertility - as in 'LajjaGouri'. She is the consort of Siva - 'Uma/Parvati' .This 'relationship' has been viewed and interpretated in Hindu religion from many angles. Some are quite complex - like 'Sati's corpse on Siva's shoulder and conversely, Kali on a corpse-like Siva.

Kali on corpse-like Siva.

Terra cotta temple at Baronagar, Murshidabad,WB.

The finest 'LajjaGouri' I found is at the Museum of Badami - a beautiful sculpture.Unfortunately, I could not click a a photo since I did not have permission for the same. The In-charge advised me to get permission from DG, ASI,New Delhi - he promised me a photo as soon as the DG snds his permission. I wrote to him twice without result. This Executive suggested that I visit the Hulegamanaolla temple at the village of the same name.We did visit this temple next day, on our way to Aihole and found representative wall-reliefs of 'LajjaGouri' and also 'SaptaMatrika' - a bonus indeed !

The most beautiful 'MahishasuraMardini' we came across this trip - eight-handed Devi @

'Durga Gudi ' , Aihole.

Such a blog on 'MahishasuraMardini' cannot be completed without her oldest depiction we came across.It is the stunning wall relief of 'MahishasuraMardini', 'Kartikeya' and 'Ganesha' in an alcove next to the famous 'Nataraja' in the very first pavilion of the cave temples of Badami - popularly known as 'Siva's pavilion'. Devi has four hands.She has pulled the buffalo up by his tail, mauled him down by llacing her right foot on his head and pierces his neck by a spear.

'MahishasuraMardini' at Badami. 454 AD.

One important point to note here is : in typical Brahminical style of Iconography, the vanquished 'Mahishasura', appears to be quite small compared to 'Durga' - now-a-days in Calcutta, and often in other cities too, we find much more formidable - more 'macho' - 'Mahishasura' during the 'Puja'. At Badami and Aihole, vanquished 'Mahishasura' do not look like a demon who kept 'Durga' engaged in a battle for quite a long time !

IMAGERIES OF SHAKTI IN LAND OF SAIVITES - I

2011-06-08T10:41:00.000-07:00

'Shakti' - with a lot of resemblance to the imagery of 'Bhairava'. She has fangs, holds trident and 'akshamala in her right hands. Left hands hold a snake and a 'bhanda' - a small vessel .A skull prominent in her head gear.

Parvati temple inside the main complex of SriMukhalingam.

When we embarked on our visit to SriMukhalingam/Hampi/Badami/Aihole/Pattdakal in February,11, we had some idea about the wonderful 'MahishasuraMardini' wall-reliefs that await us. This imagery of 'Shakti' , we found, was quite popular among the builders of temples - oldest being @ Badami, newest being @ Hampi.

Parvati sits on the left thigh of Siva. Nandi the bull and Shakti's lion ( the sculptor could not

bring out the shape well !) rest at the respective master's foot.

SriMukhalingam temple.

Hindu religion , through centuries, have worshiped 'Shakti' - the female power. Female power have power to vanquish enemies - as in 'MahishasuraMardini' and 'SaptaMatrika'. Female power has potential of creation, fertility - as in 'LajjaGouri'. She is the consort of Siva - 'Uma/Parvati' .This 'relationship' has been viewed and interpreted in Hindu religion from many angles. Some are quite complex with 'tantrik' innuendos - like 'Sati's corpse on Siva's shoulder and conversely, Kali on a corpse-like Siva.

'ArdhaNaareeswara' - Siva in right half. Shakti in left.Siva holds trident.
Shakti holds a mirror.Nandi the bull on the right side whereas the lion is on the left.

East-side alcove in Someswara temple,SriMukhalingam.

A major imagery of 'Shakti' is embodied in 'ArdhaNaareeswara' - Androgynous Siva. It has a complexity which cannot be stated in simple terms. The 'concept' of 'ArdhaNaareeswara' is linked with birth and propagation of mankind. Sages and architects of our scripture and mythology have interpreted the 'concept' in various Puranas . It is not possible for common people like us to fathom the same . I read 'Presence of Siva' by Stella Kramrisch to understand the 'concept'.'ArdhaNaareeswara' was born from 'Brahma'. He agreed to let 'Shakti' be released from this embodiment to the world with her full power.Release of 'Shakti' in the Universe led to birth of 'Sati' whose parent was 'Daksha'. Siva married 'Sati' and then lost her in a tumultuous event.

Close-up of 'ArdhaNaareeswara'.

Ravana Gudi Cave.Aihole.

The release of 'Shakti' from the embodiment of 'ArdhaNaareeswara' brought the female sex into this world. Manu , born from Brahma and his consort 'Satarupa' - the hundred beings - gave birth to mankind, through the process of sexual intercourse. This is when sensual pleasure and sexual urge originated in the Universe. Having accomplished her mission,'Shakti' returned to the embodiment of 'ArdhaNaareeswara' . In words of Stella Kramrisch,'the timeless,changeless image was a seal that comprised, in its paradoxical unity, the simultaneous and equivalent existence of opposite entities.'

I shall present photographs of 'SinghaBahini' , 'MahisasuraMardini' and 'SaptaMatrika' in Part -II of this series.

CELEBRATION OF 'KAMA' - LOVE - FROZEN IN STONE Part I

2011-06-02T23:07:00.000-07:00

PHOTOS FROM MY DIARY OF TEMPLE VISITS
IN FEBRUARY,2011 - I

NOTE OF WARNING - Those who are below 18 years OR dislike discussions on 'erotic' work of art in Hindu temples are requested to stay away from this Blog.

Dance of 'Kama' under tree of life.

Man dances with his woman held in tight embrace - posture resembling 'Tantrik Bouddha' depictions. Does the man have a 'jata' - matted hair - and a snake on his right upper arm? Siva and Shakti in union , tree of life blooming in joy ?

Obscure and damaged ,yet a remarkable wall-relief at Virupksha temple,Pattadakal
( Note - Can a viewer please tell me - what I have described as 'tree of life'
is actually a collage of celestial viewers ?)

During my visits to the temples of SriMukhalingam, Hampi, Pattadakal and Aihole, I often wondered what was the attitude of the creators of these temples - the kings, religious leaders and the society in general - towards 'Kama' , the primal urge . A lot has been written analysing Hindu scripture , religious practices and Hindu art through centuries. I am no student of sociology - but, I felt, 'Kama' was ever-present in the mind of the people who 'created' these temples. The society did believe that expressions depicting primal urge need not be be put away from public view. The society were told that 'Dharma' - religion, 'Artha' - money,'Kama' - primal urge and 'Moksha' - salvation form the core of human strives. Meaning of each word has been expanded - yet, each segment of Hindu society, through ages, interpreted those words in their own way.

Excellent craftsman ship in this wall-relief of 'Mithun murty'.Woman stands with a slight 'bibhanga', her right hand around the trunk of a long and slender tree, a 'kamandalu' - water-pot in her hand. A hermit with matted hair , standing in 'swastika' pose, touches her chin tenderly.

SriMukhalingam temple.

'Kama' - is it Love or Lust ? It is Desire and there is a force,an urge inherent in this word. Like any feeling , it has shades of varying range. The borders between these shades are not so distinct - and as I go through the photos of numerous 'Mithun murty', sculpted by different artists, in different centuries, the study looks very interesting. Physical proximity - postures showing eagerness of the poignant moments - or lack of it - was brought out in varying details. Some of these 'Mithun murty' were sculpted by inexperienced hands , therefore do not have much artistic merit. Such wall-reliefs were often placed away from the most-visited areas, yet, worth a 'dekko'. I have posted photo of one such wall-relief in this blog.

The couple is stimulated. Man pulls the woman closer during embrace.She is all but naked - her lowered girdle highlights her nudity.Man's right hand holds forward a full bloomed lotus which covers his erected phallus. She is pushing down the man's girdle.

The companion's lower body is covered. She turns away from the ensuing 'act'.

Durga temple,Aihole.

The couple is stimulated. Woman pulls the man closer during embrace.She is explicitly working on her companion's crotch . Man's right hand holds a flower which is yet to bloom. The sizes of the flowers indicate the states of male excitement !

Huchchappyana Matha,Aihole.

We can see the fervour of 'Kama' brought out through postures of couples - 'Mithuna murty' , gods and their consorts - in standing and seated postures. Then the sculptors often took a step forward - they added companion/s to the 'twosome'. As the postures evolved with the society ,'Tantrik' practices came out on the open. In this phase, we find men and women engaged in coitus and other acts of sex , often in groups. Michael D. Rabe, in his well-researched book - 'Tantra in practice' - has devoted a big chapter to 'Secret Yantras and Erotic Display for Hindu' . Here, he has correlated 'Tantrik Yantras' with the sculptures created.

'Kamakala Yantra' superimposed on a famous sculpture from Khajuraho temple.

Source - Internet .

In this blog , I have brought out 'Kama'-enriched work with 'Mithuna murty' which I came across my February,11 visit and shall leave out those where acts of sex have been shown explicitly. Explanatory notes and my comments are in the descriptions of the photos.

A near-Rape scene. Crudely sculpted, yet the postures captured the woman's resistance

to the act of violation.

Huchchappyana Matha,Aihole.

Passion of Sugriba.

Vitthala temple,Hampi.

Note - Part II in http://orange-leaves.blogspot.com/2011/06/celebration-of-kama-love-frozen-in.html

IN PURSUIT OF SIVA ICONOGRAPHY - VI

2011-05-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

NATARAJA SIVA - 1: THE COSMIC DANCER

- From 'Bichitra', Geetabitan, RabindraNath Tagore

Loosely translated, this means :

Who is dancing on my conciousness all the while !

His steps in perfect rhythm .

Whose percussion plays along with

His steps in perfect rhythm .

Laughter and tears sway on His head like jewels

Good and Evil too vibrate in tandem

Behind Him, dances Life,dances Death with

His steps in perfect rhythm .

Joy abundance ! Oh ! with joy abundance

Dances Salvation,dances Binds

I too follow Him in this flow

His steps in perfect rhythm .

I read Kapila Vatsayan's critique on Nataraja in 'Discourse on Siva' and portions of 'Dance of Shiva' by Ananda K. Coomarswamy a few days ago.Their writings are on 'Chidambaram Nataraja' whereas the ones I came across in SriMukhalingam, Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal are very much connected with Siva's dance after he defeated Andhakasura and slayed Gajasura.

One of the most elaborate depiction of Siva's battle with Gajasura and His dance after Gajasura was vanquished. SriMukhalingam temple. 8th century AD. Built by Kamarnava II of Eastern Ganga dynasty of Orissa ( source - WIKIPEDIA - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukhalingam ) .

Nataraja' posture is in equilibrium, in direct contrast with that in GajasuraSamharaMurti. Raised hands hold elephant's skin while the lower right hand touches Devi's chin . Nandi is on His left side. Siva as Nataraja and Gajasura SamharaMurti is ithyphallic.

The twin wall-relief of Nataraja and GajasuraSamharaMurti on the western wall of temple at SriMukhalingam, photos of which I found in Ann Mary-Gaston's book and later in Ravi Putlam's photo-stream in flickr.com, inspired me to undertake the journey to the land of Saivites during February,2011.We made our plan during 3rd quarter of 2010 and are thankful to Siva that the trip went according to plan.

Now, back to the subject.The most well-known Nataraja's imagery is Chidambaram Nataraja. Through ages, sages and devotees have added to the myth of this manifestation layers of interpretation. Siva in perfect balance within a ring of fire, one leg on trampled 'Apasmara', the other raised slightly , crescent moon on his matted hair..... Siva is revered in this manifestation through centuries. Yet, the Nataraja of Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal. Lakundi and SriMukhalingam are different from this imagery. The former is very likely connected with Siva's encounter with the sages at Deodar forest whereas the later with his battle with Andhakasura and Gajasura. The twin wall-reliefs on the western gate of SriMukhalingam's main temple refer to these battles.

Nataraja at the entrance of the Siva's cave at Badami. 534 AD.

His both legs touches the base, Ganesha dances on His left while

Nandi stands on His right.

Poses of Nataraja's sixteen arms and his posture form the basics of Bharat-Natyam.

There is a duality in these imageries. Siva , aided by 'Sapta-Matrikas' has defeated Andhakasura in a prolonged battle , converted emaciated Andhakasura to a devotee - Bhringee - and slayed Gajasura. The time now is to rejoice.He was at his fierce manifestation during these battles. He is the greatest master of dancing too - and - now he dances with abandon. The 'Ganas' and 'Pramathas' , his companions, join him in this revelry. Often, Ganesha too is among these cosmic dancers !

Nataraja Siva at Ravana Phadi ( also known as Ravala Phadi),Aihole.6th century AD.The wall-relief comprises of three panels - we see two of these in parts.We face ten-armed Nataraja, Devi on His left side, Ganesha on His right. At the far end,on His right-hand side,stand three of the seven Matrikas.

Another view of the same wall-relief. Devi and three of the seven Matrikas - including Varahi -

stand on the left hand side of Nataraja.

While the cave temples of Badami and Aihole have large wall-reliefs, exquisitely crafted,temples of Pattadakal have a very large numbers of Nataraja on the front-walls of the same - but not so attractive. These are more like motifs , visible to the devotees from a distance .

The Natarajas of SriMukhalingam are very different in nature. While the one with GajasuraSamharaMurti has serene composure, that on one on the alcoves in the Western wall has fierce expression with his fangs out !

Nataraja in alcove at SriMukhalingam temple.He touches Devi's chin with His lower left hand.Bhringee imitates His dance posture. Nandi looks up. Nataraja is ithyphallic.

Siva is the Master of the art of Dance. The story goes that He was disappointed at the quality of a session where Brahma was giving dance lessons. Siva gave dance lessons to His companion 'Tandu' - the word 'Tandava' was thus came into being. His dance postures are stated to be the starting point of Bharata Natyam - the famous South Indian dance form, appreciated among the elite across India as one of the purest classical form of dance. More on this subject will be discussed in later blogs. I end this one here, with one photo of dancing 'Ganas' from Badami caves.

IN PURSUIT OF SIVA ICONOGRAPHY - V

2011-04-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

THE TEMPLES OF SRIMUKHALINGAM - II
BHEEMESWARA & SOMESWARA TEMPLES

Front face of Someswara temple.Pl notice Nandi at the start of the staircase and

Nataraja at a height above the entrance.

We found Someswara temple, which is a dwarf in comparison to the main temple of SriMukhalingam, quite interesting. ASI has built a small and neat compound around the temple. The temple is a typical Orissa-style temple built on 5' platform, no Gopuram, no mandapa , a SivaLinga inside and very interesting Iconography on the outside walls .But, the most important characteristics of this temple are in the portrayal of sages and hermits in different groups.If the main temple has its gods as warriors with a theme of masculinity, this one has congregations of sages and hermits, crowding around the deities.

The temple's entrance faces the north, just the opposite of the main temple .Nandy placed in the front of the temple stares at the SivaLinga, with glans-like etchings on it . The entrance has Dwarpals - the gatekeepers - nothing like the famous one at Badami cave though ( pl. view http://przmm.blogspot.com/2011/03/scrapbook-our-journey-through-land-of.html ) - Ganga,Yanuna, GajaLakshmi and above all, an eight-handed Nataraja, ithyphallic and touching the chin of Devi , beams benignly at the devotees.

Moving anti-clockwise, we find Ganesha and Lakulisha on the Western wall, Siva,Kartikeya, ArdhaNareeshwar - Androgynous Siva and HariHara on the Northern wall , Veerbhadra, MahishasuraMardini and Ekapada Siva on the Eastern wall.

HariHara at the centre of the alcove.Siva is ithyphallic.Shakti in Lalitasana on the top of this alcove. Nandi and Garura at the side of their respective Lords.

Watch the hermits and sages engaged in animated conversation.

The alcoves have been built according to a pattern. There is a main deity for each of the alcoves, a smaller on the top, two sides have columns with ornate designs framing the alcove - very noticeable are the sages and disciples in animated postures of activities.

MahishaMardini and Ekapada Siva on the eastern wall of Someswara temple . Both the alcoves have Shakti in two different manifestations on top of these deities.Watch the ornate work on the vertical columns and the hermits and devotees all around.The priest beams at my camera.

A pair of white bulls at the entrance of Bheemeswara temple.

A deviation from the conventional black Nandi !

Bheemeswara temple is closer to the main temple than Someswara temple. Built a few metres away from the main road, this temple deserves a thorough look. A Siva temple, it has remarkable depictions of Agni and MahishaMardini. It has several erotic panels too.

SivaLinga at Bheemeswara temple.

Noticeable features are the cuts on the top of the Linga and the flat base.

Agni.Slightly fat from over-eating of 'offerings @ rituals,

hair spread on both the sides. Two hands broken.

Bheemeswara temple has several wall-reliefs which are erotic - the postures different from normal frontal coitus.Ditto for Someswara temple , though fewer.It will be proper to to post photos of those wall-reliefs under http://orange-leaves.blogspot.com , where I post blogs which should not be viewed by younger persons. I end with a wonderful wall-relief of Lakulisha from Someswara temple.

An exquisite wall-relief of Lakulisha with Siva placed at the top of the framing of lotus petals.

Both Siva and Lakulisha ithyphallic.

IN PURSUIT OF SIVA ICONOGRAPHY - IV

2011-04-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

COMBAT BETWEEN HARI-HARA AND THE LINEAGE FROM KASHYAP & DITI

During our February,2011 'pilgrimage' to the land of Saivites, as we went from temple to temple of SriMukhalingam, Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal, we could see that the kings and their team of visualisers wanted to present images of Siva,Vishnu and other gods, including MahishaMardini and SaptaMatrkas engaged in battles to the worshipers. While SivaLinga was placed in the inner sanctum, wall-reliefs and the scenes carved on the pillars depict the combat scenes.

I picked up two photos - one each of Siva and Vishnu - relaxed and at peace.

Siva leaning against Nandi.

Mallikarjuna temple,Pattadakal,Karnataka.

Vishnu rests on Ananta the snake while Lakshmi and Saraswati give him company.He would soon be engaged in battles against Hiranakshya and Hiranyakashipu.

Famous fresco from SriKurmam temple,SriKakulam,A.P.
NOTE : From any point on the corridor where this fresco is painted, it would seem that Vishnu's eyes are focused on you !

Mythology has layers of tales,allegories and worshipers of various deities adding their beliefs as spices ! These stories are never linear in nature and are subject to the view points of the writer - OR the person who interprets ! Therefore, stories of the conflicts the mightiest among the gods had with the lineage from Kashyap and Diti may be differently perceived by others - my apologies to them .

Diti was one of the wives of sage Kashyap. Kashyap - a much-married sage - fathered Adityas through Aditi, twin sister of Diti, Danavas through Danu and Nagas through Kadru. Diti's conception has a story with a twist - she was jealous of her sister's sons and invited Kashyap to bed at the time of twilight. Kashyap advised her to be patient, suggested not to invoke wrath of Rudra and his companions who roam around during the hour of sunset. Diti was restless. She tugged at his clothes and Kashyap yielded.Later Diti understood her mistake and braced for tragedies of her sons' lives.

Vishnu in his boar manifestation - Varaha Avatar.He has brought Bhudevi - the Earth goddess from the bottom of the ocean - she rests on his lower left hand on a lotus.His own left leg rests on a lotus too.His other three hands carry 'Chakra' - the wheel, mace and conch. Nagaraj , gods and other celestial beings worship him and celebrates Bhudevi's appearance.

Cave of Vishnu, Badami, Karnataka.

Diti gave birth to Hiranakshya and Hiranyakashipu who grew to be great warriors. They defeated the gods and their arrogance brought upon their death at the hand of Vishnu.

Hiranakshya adopted Andhaka ( vide my story on Andhakasura ,posted a few days ago ) - he also grew up to be a great warrior.He challenged Siva and was nearly killed by him.After 'a thousand years' of punishment and equally long penance , he was let free and allowed to join Siva's 'Ganas' as Bhringee.But, Gajasura - a close associate of Andhaka - was killed by Siva.

Siva slaying Gajasura. At least three Matrkas are present in this wall-relief.Siva is ithyphallic and Nandi looks upwards.If the skeletal figure next to Siva's right leg is of Bhringee ( Andhakasura before his penance ) - then I would say : it is tragic, it is an irony of Andhaka's destiny that he had to witness the demise of his erstwhile associate and friend !

SriMukhalingam, SriKakulam,A.P.

Hiranyakashipu's son Pralhad was a great devotee of Vishnu - there was no conflict in this generation.Later, gods and Daityas collaborated in churning of the sea - but gods took away all the goodies including the divine elixir . Thus, the temporary truce was broken.There was prolonged battle when Prahlad's grandson Bali was chosen the army-chief of the Daityas and was pitted against Indra.Bali was a great warrior, he could not disposed of in face-to-face battles, - we shall come back to the tale of his manipulation a little later.

NaraSimha in action. Here, his gestures more terrifying than those @ Hampi and Aihole.

Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal,Karnataka.

If we look back to the episodes so far, we shall find the Devatas - the gods - were rescued by either Vishnu or Siva again and again. Vishnu's third manifestation - Varaha Avatar - rescued Bhudevi, the goddess Earth from the depth of ocean when Hiranakshya was slayed.His next manifestation - Nrisimha Avatar - killed Hiranyakashipu.From the gods' point of view, these slayings were big reliefs for them. The mythological stories have been written by devotees of Vishnu - who can tell if he were partisan or not ?

Partisan he was.During the collaborative phase of Devatas and Daityas, Visnu posed as a beautiful woman - Mohini - and 'her' charm deprived the Daityas of their rightful share of the divine elixir.

Before I move to Bali's end as a mighty ruler, Siva's big contribution to churning of the ocean must be mentioned . This exercise was mostly controlled by Vishnu. He helped the gods at every stage - yet, at a very critical juncture, Siva lent his big support to this event. Vasuki ,the snake used as the 'rope' for churning, was greatly stressed and vomited poison. All those engaged in this operation were very badly affected. Siva drank the poison to the world's relief and his throat turned blue forever - he is now called 'NeelKantha'- the blue throated god - by his devotees. I have not found any wall-relief on this episode at Pattadakal or Aihole. But, Samudra Manthan

Emergence of Lakshmi. The ocean is getting churned - on the right , Daityas holding the head of Vasuki .Gods,on the left ,hold his tail .We see 'Uchchaishraba' the horse and 'Airavat' the elephant among other treasures this churning yielded.

Mallikarjune temple,Pattadakal,Karnataka.

Now back to Bali. Bali survived the battle with the gods. He stayed at the top and kept on ruling the world. When he could not be dislodged by the gods. a manifestation of Vishnu - BamanAvatar - came to their rescue. Vishnu posed as a short Brahmin and came to Bali's court as a alms-seeker. He asked for land just enough for three steps of his. When Bali granted his wish , he did not know he was being tricked by Vishnu into a situation from where hewould have no escape.Vishnu grew into a size extra-ordinary.His first step filled up the e-n-t-i-r-e kingdom of Bali, his body filled up the sky and his arms blocked the eight directions. His second step filled up the heaven and his third step - well there was nowhere any place for it. I just now read the exchange between Vishnu and Bali as written in BhagavatPurana - and Bali emerges as a great soul..... though he understood that he was tricked by Visnu incognito, he offered his head for the third step.

Trivikrama in his full glory.The world worships him. Bali is shown as uprooted in this famous sculpture. According to what I read,Vishnu's third feet was placed on his head and he was then removed from the heaven which was restored to the Devatas.

MahaVishnu caves,Badami,Karnataka.

History repeated itself.Bali's father Virochan was deprived of his life by the gods as they came to his palace posing as alms-seeker Brahmins ( 2nd paragraph, nineteenth chapter, eight canto). Well, from our mythology, we often find the gods were not always great ! And , often, quite unfair.But, Bali's treatment at the hand of Vishnu ( or his feet ! ) leaves me sad. The story-tellers have applied soothing ointment to his banishment from his throne and kingdom to the 'underground' (...'paataal...') by adding that he was offered a beautiful abode ('...sutal...' in Sanskrit) built by Vishwakarma and the position of 'Indra' in 'Sabarni Manwantar' , but,it reminds me of the many unfair deeds of the protagonists of Mahabharata and Ramayana.

I end with a photo of Hari- Hara, standing together with Siva - ensuring the support extra-ordinary to their clan of gods !

On the left, stands Siva with two arms , his trident with a coiled snake, a smiling skull on his piled matted hair.His left hand rests on his thigh in KatyaValambita posture.His right foot is in anchita and left in sama postures.Hari-Hara in Siva's left has four arms.Siva's half is in the right, with his third eye, crescent moon and snake.Vishnu has the conch in his upper left arm, his lower left hand gain in KatyaValambita posture. Both the feet are in sama posture.

RavanaPhadi, Aihole, Karnataka.

1.Reference : 7th and 8th Cantos,SrimadBhagataPurana - Bengali translation by Sri Taaraakaanta Kaabyatheertha.
2.Siva in dance,myth and Iconography - Ann Marie Gaston.

3. Mr Palahali, my 'friend' in sulekha.com brought to my notice a 'story' on Prahlad/Bali - a blog of his.This was 3 years ago. in response to a blog I wrote on Mahisasura - a story of this Asura's viewpoint.My submission - I did appreciate Mr Palahali's blog a lot , but what I wrote here is completely my view-point.

SCRAPBOOK : OUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE LAND OF SAIVITES - I

2011-03-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

OUR SCRAPBOOK of TRAVEL TO SRIKAKULAM , BADAMI & AIHOLE

Ruby, me and Aihole.
The entrance of DurgaGudi with
Aihole Museum's outdoors's displays in the background.

During this February,'11 trip to the land of Saivites, I have taken just a few photos of people and landscape.What I have in my HDD to-day are mostly related to Iconography.Looking back, this is a lost opportunity for me.After a few years, I shall not be having much of a scrapbook from this visit to refer back ! I should have been more conscious about this aspect while moving around.Fortunately, Ruby has been more methodical and her album fill in some of the gaps.

Sea-shore @ BandarwaniPeta near SriKakulam. Fishermen's boats near the horizon.The stone formation bang on the shore is nice for photography from a distance, specially when waves break into the same.Unfortunately, it is an open-air toilet for the villagers!
Had to stay quite a distance away from the same.

Catch of fish, lying on sand at the sea-coast.

These children were playing on the coast - requested me for clicking a photo

as we were returning to our car.

SriKakulam has a sea-shore at BandarwaniPeta - accessible by car and bus - which is very different from the normal tourist destination. It has a strong presence of fishermen - the seacoast is full of boats and fishing gears like nets. We could see several boats on the prowl in the sea. It is obvious that the main activities take place during the night. The neighbouring LightHouse/Watchtower was out-of camera's range. The confluence of river Bansadhara and the sea may be a spot where one can sit down and relax - but, the coast where we stood for a while and took photos had an unpleasant stench of fish and open-air toilet around a big mound of stone which was getting splashed by waves at regular intervals !

The untiring doorman -'DwarPal' - @ Badami caves.
Looking after thr gods' abode since 534 AD !

Shadow & light - street photography @ Badami

Badami offers two magnificent views to those who care to move around with binocular and/or camera. Once on the top level of the caves temple, we find the small town around, its sky-line with two near-by mosques from the AdilShahi era of Bijapur, Agastaya Teertha with sprawling 'ghat' around, Bhoothanatha temple complex cradled here, a hillock on the other side of Agastaya Teertha with Malegitti Sivalaya on its top. From the other side of Agastaya Teertha, we can see the hillock with Badami caves and a fort on its top . To serious photographers, 'ghat' is an important subject.But, when I reached a reached Agastaya Teertha's 'ghat' , it was well-past noon, bathers have left for lunch and afternoon siesta.

Skyline of Badami - photograph taken from platform in front of the caves.

View of AgastyaTeertha from Badami caves.

Grapes for the hungry & thirsty @ DurgaGudi,Aihole.

Sunflowers , looking away from us, while we were moving towards

Aihole from Badami on 23/2/2011 .

The roads - we used a detour too - to Aihole/Pattadakal are picturesque.Specially, the approach road to Aihole. A small hill has RavanaPhadi - the Brhminical cave - and we went round this hill to various locations over which the temples of Aihole are spread around.Along this routes, we found cultivation - specially mentionable are tracts with sunflowers blooming with direction of their faces changing with sun's movement. River Mahaprabha which flows diagonally from north-west to south-east on the Western side of Aihole is a small one. We can have a good view of the river's course from the 'ghat' beyond Galganatha temple.

A pavilion at Galganatha temple's courtyard - River Mahaprabha and the hill that houses the ancient cave temples of Aihole in the background.

The nature as well as the villages, both at SriKakulam and North Karnataka, looks very different from what we find in West Bengal. Later, I plan to post a few more photographs from our HDD for scrap book - II.

IN PURSUIT OF SIVA ICONOGRAPHY -III

2011-03-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

THE WONDERFUL TEMPLES AT VILLAGE LAKUNDI

Damaged sculpture of 'Vishnu reclining on Ananta'. Lots of details attract our notice. Vishnu is exquisitely built, ornaments on his limbs, torso neck and head are beautiful.His consort is bare-breasted, with a locket and a sacred thread running through her torso intact, Her left leg is bent while only thefingerss of right leg have survived. Look at the Makara and conch ,wheel ("Chakra'), mace of Vishnu depicted on the base - lotus lost to ravages of time.

Sculpture at Museum of Lakundi.

Lakundi is a village near Karnataka's big town Gadag - approximately 20 km from it.Mr Deshmukh, the soft-spoken and knowledgeable Manager of Hotel Mayur Bhubaneswari, Hampi guided us into visiting Lakundi - he suggested that we avoid the direct Hospet - Badami bus route as a stretch of that was not in good shape.He suggested a slight detour - he advised us to proceed to Badami via Gadag
and have a stop-over at Lakundi. Lakundi has a bus-stop , a small shed for local passengers , but, not a big place for tourists.We landed there with our small baggage during the village's lunch-break hours of a bright day in February,2011. The only auto-rickshaw driver's greed for a kill was tamed by a middle-aged man and we savoured a wonderful treat of Chalukya architecture of 10th Century AD for next few hours.

A few hundred meters on the right hand side of the highway to Gadag stands Manikeshwara temple and an attached Pushkarini with 3 very well laid-out staircases leading down to it.On the left hand side of this highway, we visited the local Museum, adjacent Jain temples - Brahma Jinalaya and Naganatha temples which share the same compound, Naneswara temple and lastly the Kashi Vishwanatha and Surya temples complex which share the same compound and are connected by a common platform too.

Blackstone Brahma in Jain temples complex.

Brahma,Siva-Parvati and Vishnu on the lintel of Naneswara temple.

Intricate work on black stone is a speciality of the temples of Lakundi.

Some of these temples have numbers of green- and black-stone pillars, with delicately polished surfaces . A couple of them, when wet, act as concave mirrors ! Lots of delicate work - carvings and and forms - hold the viewers spellbound ! On the outside walls of the two temples mentioned last , one can see Hindu deities and scenes from mythology, a few of which are not very common. The divine and human figures showcase dance postures which made my task of photo-editing and uploading a pleasure.

Musicians in classical dance postures. Work on black stone.

Naneswara temple, Lakundi.

KashiViswanatha temple (near) and Surya temple (far) share the same compound and have a common platform connecting the two.

The most unusual wall relief shows Siva dancing on skeletal Andhakasura, his top two hands hold torn skin of Gajasura and in notable similarity with RavanPhadi cave of Aihole, accompanied by Ganesha and Devi on his left and Yogeswari (?) on his right . There are several celestial figures in the frame , all in various dance postures, now broken beyond recognition.The posture of Siva is unique - we can see his rear side as he is dancing away from us - then in an extra-ordinary dance posture, he has turned hsis face towards us. Comparable is Nataraja of Muvar temple, Koddumbalur(TN) and a MahisuraMardimi Murty created by late Jiten Pal in 22nd Palli DurgaPuja in early 1960s.

Awesome combination of AndhakasuraMardan and GajasuraSanhara Murty Siva has eight hands, his face lost all the features, but typically, he has two different earrings !

KashiViswanatha Temple, Lakundi

A conventional depiction of Siva's Andhakasura Mardana.He is pierced by Siva's trident and held up .

The frame is balanced by a figure on Siva's left - either Parvati or Yogeswari.

KashiViswanatha Temple, Lakundi

NB - All the photos above have been taken either by my wife or me.

Reference documents :
1. Siva in Dance,Myth and Iconography by Anne_Marie Gaston.
2.http://karnatakatravel.blogspot.com/2009/11/temples-of-lakkundi.html

WONDERFUL HAMPI - 1

2011-03-18T12:25:00.000-07:00

PHOTOS FROM OUR VISIT DIARY TO HAMPI

A view of the road-side wall-paintings along the route to Hampi from Hospet. A bullock cart crawls into my camera's frame as I try to capture Krishna Debaraya II offering prayer to Narayana in his temple.

Gopuram of Virupaksha temple - any visit to the wonders of Hampi starts from this temple !

'I enjoyed our trip to Hampi very much' will be such an understatement , it will not express the level of satisfaction I had during this trip to Hampi in February,2011.Nor the excitement I feel during recapitulation.

Immediately after spending two days at Hampi, Ruby and I proceeded to Badami from the near-by town Hospet, stopping at Lakundi in between to visit the not-so-well-known temples and museum there and then landed in the epicentre of Hindu Iconography ! Overwhelmed we were and now, when I go through the photographs we took during our trip, I wonder - shall I ever be able to write blogs to represent the 'joy' of visiting Hampi and Badami !

Three headed Nandi and a calf attracting salutation of devotees at Virupaksha temple.

Hampi's attractions have many dimensions. Westerners visit this place , drawn by its beauty and its status as a World heritage site . It has wonderful topography, excellent sunrise and sunset points, rich historical background. It has temples and palaces built in grand style, offering an oeuvre of Hindu Iconography.One can walk miles among ruins and hillocks made of strange-shaped stones or float in the cool blue water of the Tungabhadra river in boats made by bamboo.

A few photos with brief descriptions are here to share our joy of Hampi visit - more will follow.

Gates of Hampi's monuments are often a photographer's delight - and that of 'students' of Iconography too. The gates of Krsna, Vitthala and Malyavanta Raghunatha temples offer large choices. Southern face of Krsna temple, the outside face of the main entrance of Vitthala temples are in good shape - rest are in various degrees of ruin. Picking up 'Icons' from bad/worse portions of these gates is a difficult job. Among the gates of good portions, King's march to battlefield is famous - I have found excellent 'Putana and Krsna',Durga and Nataraja among these gates !

Southern gate of the Vitthala temple complex. Most of the details , even the heads are gone.

Afternoon sun brightens the gloom while two parrots rest on two headless statues !

Click for bigger view .

Lots of Westerners come here and enjoy the ambiance and Indian sculpture. I wish they had more knowledgeable guides - in Rama's temple - where walls are adorned with tales from Ramayana, I felt these visitors are somewhat lost.I asked a visitor if she could enjoy these wall-reliefs. She replied - 'Partly. My driver explained a few scenes'.We face the same situation in Europe and USA's museums. One can enjoy Vitthala temple even without understanding the tales on the wall reliefs - upto a point.Here are two photos from this temple complex connected with Krsna.

Each of the pillars adorning this prayer hall in Vitthala temple stand out for its beauty.

Watvh how superbly depicted the scene of Krsna stealing away the clothes of Gopis

who were enjoying a bath in the river Yamuna !

Krsna merged with imagery of Vishnu. Krsna has Vishnu's headgear, not his usual knotted hair - known as 'Mohanchura'. Ananta Nag spreads his hood over the god' head.He holds a flute with his lower hands , a conch and wheel ('chakra') with his upper ones. Krsna's tribhanga, cows from Vrindavana and two consorts are the other highlights of this imagery.

I found that ASI is clamping down on vandals and photographers with dishonest intentions while the interested visitors are suffering. Tripods are not allowed - poor light affects quality of shots taken by hand-held cameras. One cannot access the Musical Hall of Vitthala temple complex ! So one of the most beautiful section of this complex stay unseen. Nor a visitor can enjoy the musical pillars !

Visitors are not allowed to 'enjoy' his drumbeats !

Capturing this Drummer's photo is not an easy task anymore !

Catching a woman drying her saree after a dip in a river has become a very a common theme these days, thanks to a few celebrity photographers. Two photographers capture this woman in this act,

while the river Tungabhadra flows in the background.

A DEITY CALLED 'SHARHABHUJA MARICHI' !!

2011-03-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

A BUDDHIST GODDESS WITH REMARKABLE ICONOGRAPHY

'Sharhabhuja Marichie'. We can see her benign left face and the beautiful lotus

at the top left corner.Many of the features detailed below are clearly visible in this view.

We met her at the Museum of Sailahundam Hill. This is a small museum, about 200' from the foot of the famous BouddhaStupa of Sailahundam, near SriKakulam,A.P., high on the western shore of Bansadhara river. The museum houses many sculptures - mostly Bouddha - kept in a semicircle , in a rather dark ambiance. The most attractive sculpture is that of 'Sharhabhuja Marichi' - her imposing figure faces the visitor as s/he enters the gallery.

The caretaker of the museum told us that Marichi is the consort of Surya. Not exactly - with help of of e-friends, Satyasri Ukil and Gregory Fegel, I realised that I noted the name in my notebook incorrectly.She is not 'Harichee' - the correct spelling is 'Marichi' ! Well, nothing was written about her in the museum. A fresh internet search indicated she is the Buddhist Goddess of Dawn .Her Iconography in Tibet and Japan are, however, different from what we found in this museum.

Marichi is 6' tall, made of sandstone ,stands on a base which has seven horses and two wheels .She has three faces - the front face is almost without any features - eyes,nose and lips gone through erosion.The other two faces have two very different expressions - like that of Siva's Trimurti - one is ferocious,fangs out, the other calm and smiling benignly.Only two of her hands are intact.The middle right hand holds a sword and the lower left hand holds a half-coiled whip.She is adorned with ornaments from head to her feet.Though she is standing on a base which is being drawn by galloping horses, her posture is not that of a woman standing still on a carriage - the right leg and angabastra near her hip depict movement.

According to Tibetan Iconography, Marichi is drawn by a cart of sow.Here, we find horses, just as in Hindu Iconography of Surya.

Refernce - http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/90016.html

Lots of motifs around her.
Above her left shoulder, we see a blooming lotus. A wonderful flower is that - one has to look at a close-up on a large screen ! There are two sitting and mediating Bodhisattwa on her left and right sides.The chariot is being driven by she-charioteer ,sitting in the centre of the base in a posture which can be called Lalita Asana.She carries a fully coiled whip in her left hand, raised to the level of her shoulder. The base has , as I have mentioned earlier, seven horses and one wheel each on two sides of the base.

A blow-up of the lower part of the sculpture.Clear view of two meditating Bodhisattwas, she-charioteer and the two whips, one each in the hands of the goddess and her charioteer

can be viewed clearly.

I end with a photo of a MahisasuraMardini like sculpture and the nameplate of 'Sharhabhuja Marichee'. The English letters cannot be read, Telugu letters are clearer. If someone can decipher and advise me if I got the name correct or not.

MahisasuraMardini like statue.Six-handed goddess, sitting in Lalita Asana on a lotus. Her top right hand has a sword raised above her head.She is crushing a demon-like figure under her right foot.

If someone can read the Telugu words, please write back to me.

TALE OF SIVA & ANDHAKAURA - A JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT !

2011-03-11T11:14:00.000-08:00

A STORY OF POWER,LUST AND …….REDEMPTION

Andhakasura pierced by Siva's trident and held up in the air.

Siva defeated Andhakasura after a prolonged battle,with help of SaptaMatrika.

ANDHAKAUSURA’s lineage is not clear to me. It is said :

Siva and Parvati were enjoying a very pleasant day at Mandara parvat. Parvati closed the eyes of Siva playfully and darkness descended on the universe. Parvati was perplexed and her palms were wet with perspiration. As she removed her hands from the eyes of Siva, the universe emerged out of darkness. Yet, from the droplets of sweat of Parvati that fell on ground, a child was born and he was blind. He was noticed by the divine couple when he roared .

Siva gave away this blind child to Hiranyaksha, the Daitya king who was childless and was doing tapas for a son. This child, very much unwanted among the gods, would one day rule the world as Andhakasura.

What do we learn from the beginning of this story ? Andhakasura was perhaps from an unknown lineage whom Parvati did not find worthy of her compassion and blessing. Did this child have an easy and normal childhood ? The story-tellers have not told us anything about that. We know that Andhakasura grew to be a competent warrior, faced jealousy in the palace and did rigorous tapas to earn attention of Lord Brahma. He asked for a life of victories . And a life without death. The second part was not granted. Andhakasura was to die when he would try to grab the unattainable.

Andhakasura conquered the universe. Nothing wrong in that. Devas were inconvenienced. So what ! The universe belongs to the hero – Devas lost their ’kingdom’ to Daityas and Asuras on umpteen occasions.

Vishnu , who vanquished Andhaka’s foster father Hiranyaksha and his brother Hiranyakashipu, was not successful in his battle against Andhaka. The pendulum of success in battle with Devas - the gods – swung in favour of this hero.

At this point, Andhaka committed the error that would ruin his life and throw him into the jaw of death. He went to Mandar with his friends and possibly a pose’ of soldiers. He heard from his friends about a Yogi and his beautiful wife. His fate , which took Andhaka from a give-away blind child’s position to pinnacle of success, did a volte-face .Andhakasura wanted to possess the beautiful woman of Mandara – did he know the woman he coveted was Parvati ? Who could have been his mother !

Now, Siva was drawn into a fierce battle against Andhakasura. He , according to one account, had to go for a long tapas to augment his vigour to the level required while Brahma, Vishnu,Varahamurty, Indra, Kartikeya and Yama held fort. Siva, on his return from his tapas, joined the battle. But he found killing Andhakasura was not possible as each drop of blood from his body that fell on the ground gave birth to another Andhakasura. In this battle, Andhakasura was helped by Shukracharya , the guru of the Daityas.

Siva stands in the centre of this wall-relief,surrounded by Yogeswari and SaptaMatrikas.He holds his trident on his right shoulder.A Matrika bends herself to drink blood from a 'Kapala' in his left hand. Siva is ithyphallic.Gajasura is seen on the upper right-side of this relief.Many figures crowd the relief too.

Temple at SriMukhalingam,A.P.*

* NOTE :- This wall-relief, which sets the theme of this great temple, is nearly invisible from the view of the devotees and pilgrims.It is at the centre of the principal temple, just at the merging point of the Mandapa and the Garbhagriha. One needs a binocular to view the details.I shall analyse a blow-up this wall-relief later if I can add more interesting and important details.

Siva then created a Devi by his divine power – Devi Yogeswari – who was joined by Matrikas created by the warring seven gods. Each of these Matrikas was identically endowed as the god she was representing. Yogeswari and the Matrikas would drink each droplet of blood of Andhakasura, thus stopping him from multiplying.At the same time, Siva subdued Shukracharya too.

Sapta Matrika. Collection at Museum , Aihole, Karnataka.

Gradually, Andhakasura was cornered. He could not multiply further and his retinue's strength started getting depleted.Siva , then, struck his final blow. He pierced Andhakasura's chest with his trident and held him up. After ‘a thousand years’ in the suspended position, Andhakasura realised his mistake and prayed for forgiveness. Siva blessed him to lead a reformed life among the Pramathas and Ganas who accompany Siva. Andhakasura was rechristened ‘Bhringee’ and has been depicted as a human with a skeletal form.

Siva dances with Devi on his left and Bhringee - transformed Andhakasura - on his right.Nataraja touches Devi's cheek.Skeletal Bhringee imitates dance pose of Nataraja - watch his 'Gajahasta' posture.Siva is ithyphallic, with Nandi looking upwards.

SriMukhalingam temple,A.P.

Andhakasura’s story is the story of a tragic hero, of a very successful person of obscure lineage, of lust for unattainable , of persistence against divine onslaught and finally, of realisation of his misdeeds and redemption. Perhaps, in another leven, the mythological tale is reminder of darkness within us, that multiplies to engulf our wisdom - only a divine intervention , a big conflict bring light back to our mind and life . Much has not been written about Andhakasura in our mythology , much less from his view point. If I were Amish Tripathy, I would have written about Andhaka’s rise , fall and redemption. And his life as Bhringee – in servitude of his parents-like Siva-Parvati – one of whom he challenged and the other whom he coveted.

A view of the gallery showing 'Dance of Nataraja' at RavanPhadi,Aihole Karnataka.Here we find three Matrkas placed at right angle of the main wall-relief. Here, we have a limited view of Ganesha,Yogeswari andright knee of Nataraja. Skeletal Bhringee in the corner strikes a pose too with his right hand in 'Gajahasta' posture.

A lot of what I have narrated here has come from various sources in the internet. A few questions arose in my mind :

Did Andhakasura, in the darkest hour of his lust, know that Parvati was like her mother ?
Was his attraction for Parbati laced with Oedipus complex ?
Did Andhaka have a resentment against her ?
If Karna and Andhaka would come face-to-face, how would they relate to each other’s destiny, actions, beliefs and regrets ?

IN PURSUIT OF SIVA ICONOGRAPHY - II

2011-03-06T01:18:00.000-08:00

THE TEMPLES OF SRIMUKHALINGAM, A.P.
THE PRINCIPAL TEMPLE - PART I

A view of SriMukhalingam temple complex from outside.

The principal temple is @ the centre of the photograph.

It was 17/2/11. Ruby and I , accompanied by our friend Mr Netaji Rao, were standing in front of the main temple - a temple complex to be more precise - at SriMukhalingam. It is 7 months 24 days after I came face-to-face with the ithyphallic Nataraj of Ann Mary Gaston's book on Schwarzman Public Library in New York ! No doubt I felt great , somewhat overwhelmed - having made the pilgrimage planned in June/July,2010.

Nataraj and Gajasura SanharaMurty on top of the west side (service) door

of the principal temple. These are the wall-reliefs in Mary Ann Gaston's book

which influenced my decision to visit SriMukhalingam.

The main temple was built according to a planned theme .The gates have men in huddles, couples , soldiers, gods , 'dwarpals' and carvings on vertical walls - quite feminine. But the temple - its architecture, the wall-reliefs framed in bulbous shapes with phallus-like shapes pointing upwards, Siva in ithyphallic-Bhairava and ithyphallic-Nataraj manifestations, Shakti killing demons relentlessly, not one Uma-Maheswar among the wall-reliefs of the main temple - the theme is that of valour, victory over the 'Enemy'. I felt - the theme is 'macho', overtly masculine - in spite of strong presence of 'MahishasuraMardini'.

Through the second door, one can view the main door of

the principal temple. Both are ornate with reliefs and carvings - in contrast

to the 'style' of the principal temple.

Abstract design on the wall of the principal temple.

Is it not an artistic interpretation of SivaLinga - the divine phallus?

I would like to emphasise here that Siva in SriMukhalingam's main temple was visualised neither as ascetic nor erotic ( recall the title of the book on Siva by Wendy O'Flaherty )., but as the destroyer of the 'Enemy'.He kills Gajasura, celebrates His victory over Andhakasura in the company of Chandika and Her warring companions , dances 'tandava' . The walls here are adorned with MahishasuraMardini,Virbhadra, Kartikeya, Bhairava and Indra.Later on, as smaller temples have sprung up - among the additions, there is a Parvati temple and at least two wall-reliefs depicting Uma-Maheswar ( photos in Part II of this blog ).

Siva, in His fiercest form, fangs out, ithyphallic. He has vanquished Andhakasura,

who lies trampled at His feet. Chandika and Matrika who supported Him in this battle

are standing by His sides.The pillars on the two sides are adorned with peacock and lotus motifs.

Siva ( depicted again as Bhairava,with His fangs out), ithyphallic, guides the Ganges into

His matted hair. Bhagirath kneels down on His right side and

the Ganges flow out on His left on Her 'Makara'.

Postures of the two wall reliefs placed side-by-side, very much comparable.

Strange that the priests decided to have this Ganesha clothed !

Not much is there in the web-pages about this temple. According to Wikipedia, the temple was built by Kamarnava II of Eastern Ganga dynasty of Kalinga in 8th century AD. Quite a temple he got built ! The big court-yard now has several medium and small-sized temples dedicated to Siva and one as mentioned earlier,is exclusively devoted to Parvati.

This gesticulating priest is standing beside the smallest temple in this court yard.

Kartikeya , the commander-in-chief of gods,slayer of Tarakasura,

stares on from the northern wall of the principal temple.

I did miss out a lot during our visit since I could not communicate with the priests . My friend Mr Netaji Rao, helped me a lot. But, I did not use his services as a interpretor - may be it was not a good decision. Like, among the wall-reliefs of the Western wall, where one finds Nataraj,Virbhadra, GajasuraSanharaMurty, one can see a Ganesha clad in clothes. I was curious - if he was ithyphallic, if approached, the priests would allow to take a photo of the Ganesha sans the cover put on by the priests - but, I restrained myself. Such attempts are sometimes taken as attempt of vilification and disliked by the priests.

'Naga sannyasi' (naked hermits) of 8th/9th century AD.

This gate is clearly very different from the principal temple.It has none of the phallus-shaped

motifs of the principal temple or masculine figures of war-gods. A very 'feminine' gate.

Many 'Mithuna' couples decorate the facade.

I plan to cover the temples at SriMukhalingam in four parts -

The principal temple.
The satellite temples around.
Bheemeswara temple and
Someswara temple.

'Nandi'

This means a lot of photo-editing and uploading. This task will take some time, because I intend to write on our visits to Hampi, Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal.I request the readers of these blogs to leave their feed-backs in the 'Comments' section.

Mr Netaji Rao , our friend in SriKakulam and Ruby. Mr Rao took a lot

of interest in showing us around.Our heartfelt thanks to him !

SRI KURMAM TEMPLE at SRIKAKULAM,A.P.

2011-03-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

A FINE TEMPLE FOR KURMAVATAR - VISHNU's 2nd MANIFESTATION

One of the two 'Gajastambhas' and the Sri Kurmabatar temple.

A section has been whitewashed . Was it avoidable ? Will the visiting ASI team undo the same ?

Kurmavatar is the 2nd Avatar of Lord Vishnu. He did not fight any demon or Asura in this avatar. Mandar the hill was placed Kurmavatar's back, Vasuski the snake was used a rope while 'Daitya's i.e. demons and gods joined hands in churning the ocean to retrieve loads of treasure from its depth - that is why ocean is often called 'Ratnaakar' - container of gems - in Sanskrit.This churning brought the nectar of immortality too, which gods took away, as well as poison - 'halahala' - which Siva swallowed to save the world.

Sri Kurmam temple is 13/14 km from SriKakulam, well connected by road. The temple has excellent work of art in form of wall reliefs and frescoes . The frescoes have been damaged - what I saw in the internet earlier and what I found - are not the same.During my stay at SriKakulam, we found a team from ASI landed in this town heading for the temple - one of the missions being restoration of the frescoes.

One section of the best-preserved part of the frescoes. Careless white-washing

and ugly lay-out of electrical wire mar the beauty the procession in view.

A good part of the work of art centres round Vaisnavite themes including SriMadbhagavat . There are 108 pillars in this temple - 70 in the courtyard and 30 inside the temple - almost each having carving on its faces. The temple has two masts for flags - known as 'Gajastambha' - unlike the conventional single mast in most of the temples. The temple's outer structure has been reconstructed many times since inception - the present one is 700 years old.

A walk-around the court-yard of the Sri Kurmam temple - total nos of pillars here is seventy.

Face - human, body - lion, tail - peacock.Art of grotesque on one of the pillars.

I met Mr Srinivas Tulugu in this temple, where Ruby and I were clicking photos of the artwork around.Mr Tulugu is a Management Consultant - he loves this temple and work in close tandem with the Management Committee of this temple. More on that aspect later. Seeing my interest, he showed me a few special points which I would have otherwise missed. Beyond an old blue-coloured door, lie a now-closed 14 km long tunnel to a hill-top.Reportedly when Mamud of Ghajani was approaching this temple, it was covered under earth, a small temple was constructed outside with a replica of 'Kurma' which was being worshiped. A broken 'Kurma' preserved within the 'Mandapa' bears witness to the vanadalism of 11th century. Mr Tulugu also pointed out a rectangular stone bath-tub meant holy dip of 'Kurma' on special days.

A relief work on the temple's wall .Four hands of Lord Vishnu hold conch shell,wheel, mace and lotus - His face lit with smiles.

He wears a large crown, ornaments and sacred thread.

Later he introduced us to the Executive Officer of the temple's Management Committee. We learnt that the collection of this temple is inadequate for meeting the expenses . The MC is, therefore, heavily dependent on Government aid. When delayed , even wage payment becomes irregular. For maintenance, MC is totally dependent on external help.One Company has helped to repair the leaky roof. Another is helping air-conditioning the interior... so on and so forth.

Beyond this door lies the 14km underground tunnel to a hill top

- an escape route, now closed for safety.

The bath tub created out of a single stone.

A dip in adjacent 'Pushkarini believed to be as effective as that in the Ganges in Varanasi.

Both Mr Tulugu and the EO suggested that I mention in my blog that the readers may please feel free to contribute to the temple fund through Andhra Bank savings a/c no 0542 1011 000131 and get in touch with : The Executive Officer, SriKakulam Debasthanam ,SriKakulam - 532 404. Dt - A.P.
An Organisation is helping the MC to create its website - soon one will be able to reach the EO directly. One can reach Mr Tulugu @ fax no 040 6636 1256 for further details.

The Executive Officer appeals for your encouragement and support to the temple's fund.

FROM OUR DIARY @ HAMPI

2011-02-27T23:31:00.000-08:00

WALKING THROUGH THE RICH HERITAGE OF A RICH EMPIRE's CAPITAL !

My daughter-in-law wanted me to share a few 'general' photos of Hampi with her. I thought of picking up a few photos from Ruby's and my respective albums and write out a blog sans Siva iconography.

We reached Hospet - nearest railway station of Hampi - from SriKakulam by Amaravati Express. The train proceeds to Goa. Therefore, seats are in demand and a very early reservation is prudent. Autorickshaws work in cartel @ Hampi and Hospet - therefore charges are unreasonable. We found an auto-rickshaw driver quite reasonable and we utilised his services during our stay at Hampi and later when we returned from Badami. His mobile no is 090 350 96672.

Rudresh poses before a Kannada Film's poster

I clicked on our way to Hampi from Hospet.

We were put up @ Hotel Bhuvaneswari , located at Kamalpura, a rather thinly populated area 4 km away from Virupaksha temple. This hotel has an excellent semi-open dining room. We loved the dining room. A cat will give company, specially when you devour an omlette .

This hotel is very popular among tourists from abroad. Get your reservation done @ 08394 241574/241474 or Mr Deshmukh, hotel's Manager @ 089 706 50025. Take advices of Mr Deshmukh regarding the architecture around Hospet and he has many suggestions to offer. It is he who suggested the temples of Lakundi to us - we loved the 6 temples of this village which lie on the route to Badami from Hospet vis Gadak.

A view of the Dining Room of Hotel Bhubaneswari.It opens on a nice lawn in its east side.

Mosquito control during evening is commendable.

One may move around in hired cars,autorickshaws or 2-wheelers.We took a conducted tour on the 1st day and hired Rudresh on the 2nd day. Seeing Pampa Sarovar was not in our agenda. We instead spent time in a relatively unknown Vishnu temple, now getting reconstructed, on Hospet-Hampi Road.On this road, lies an old chariot in excellent condition, painted in black, with interesting statuettes carved on it. More on these two subjects later.

Hampi caters to various types of travelers. If one loves history, one can move around the this once-very-rich city's reconstructed temples and shopping areas and palaces , marveling at the grandeur of Vijayanagar empire's capital . For lovers of nature, Hampi offers a wonderful topography, with its huge boulders strewn around , wonderful sunrise and sunset points, L-shaped river-bend to boat around. For the religious, Hampi has Virupaksha temple, Hazara Rama temple, bhajan at Malyabanta Raghunatha temple and other spots connected with Ramayana's KishkindaKando.The best way to savour Hampi is to go prepared with a bit of homework and then enjoy the oeuvre. The regret we have is : the famous 'Sangeet Hall of Vitthala temple has been closed to public to stop vandalism causing deterioration of the 'musical' pillars !

I end with a few photographs from our HDD :

First Gopuram of Virupaksha temple. Closer view shows numerous

deities on the alcoves at various levels.

Second Gopuram was constructed by KishnaDebaraya II.

At the distance, we see the 'sikhara' of the main temple.

Uma-Maheswara relief on the 'Garbha griha' of the temple.

Lovely fresco on the ceiling of the 'Mandapa'. Here we see Brahma,Vishnu and Maheswara.

On the second day of our stay, we went to the riverside.One can enjoy boat ride paying an exorbitant price.One hour's boating for two comes at Rs 1000/- !! One can compare this with the auto-rickshaw fare we were paying for the day's ride - Rs 500/-. We decided to skip the same . The scenery is beautiful though the sun was scorching.

We loved the rock formations !

I liked the the work on the entrance of Krsna temple very much - our friend Mr DJ Ray brought my attention to these details.The photo here does not offer the view of RH part of the Gopuram - the view of the roof of the large 'Mandapa' blocks the way. Now, wait for the future postings.

KrishnaDebaraya II leading his army .

Those who are interested in details of the panel may please write to me.

Before we come to the sunset point, let us have a look at the Vitthala temple complex - better description of the wonders of this complex would need at least 50 photographs. One regret we have is that the 'Sangeet Mandapa' remained out-of-bounds ! The few photographs I could take were by standing on my toes!

Not very easy to get an opportunity to find the Chariod free from onlookers!

Ruby clicks to capture photos of the load-berers of this chariot !

The load-bearing stones of this chariot have been given very interesting shapes !

The sun-set point beyond the Malyavanta Rama temple deserve a full blog ! The three pictures do not do justice to the splendour of this spot !

No captions needed !

GEMS FROM AN UNKNOWN ARCHITECTURAL RUINS IN GUJARAT

2011-01-10T09:58:00.000-08:00

Camels we met on en-route Vadnagar

One of the two 40' 'Toranas'

I love to visit historical sites - but, I did not utilise my stay and visits to Gujarat for travelling for pleasure,except for the last one in 2009.This was when Ruby and I visited Ahmadabad in late August of that year.I was there in connection with our PANIIT's project - 'IITians for ITIs'. I was visiting several ITIs in Guajarat - together with the Dy. Director of ITI,Tollygunge - to study their association with Industries and introduction of ISO in ITIs.

Details of the intricate work on a 'Torana'

On the 2nd day of our stay, we visited, among other places, an ITI at Vadnagar. I learnt much later that Vadnagar's history very likely, dates back to Harappan civilisation.Our hosts did not touch upon this aspect , but after lunch, took us to a 12th century ( Solanki period) archaeological site showcasing the 'Toranas' on the bank of Lake Sharmishtha. Some people believe - I learnt later from internet sites - that the 'Toranas' were part of a big palace or temple complex , built elsewhere and now transplanted in the present location.There is very little of the complex in the vicinity of the 'Toranas' , except for some stone slabs, with reliefs,statues and motifs. Those were found strewn around. I have read that a lot of them have disappeared - the ones which survived - are neatly arranged.I took photographs of some of those few preserved in the location.

One of the several Saiva imageries that survived ravages of time. Here, Siva has four arms. View http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India////photo1268068.htm for a ten-armed Kala Bhairava

The 'Toranas' are about 40' tall. They have several 'Makara' motifs on them, much like the 'Yalis' of South India. There are deities and social scenes carved in stone.The statues and motifs have suffered a lot of erosion - a lot of the details were left to my imagination.Some of the interpretation is my imagination !

View of the top of the magnificent 'Torana' top. At the centre, Kartikeya sits in in yogic posture - we can see his three faces only . His peacock is at his feet. Is his consort Devasena on his left ? 'Makara' motif appears repeatedly.

On the left, Uma rests on the left thigh of Siva . On the right, we see a naked woman stooping to touch the feet of a man coming towards her.Two on lookers, one standing and one in a sitting posture placed in the background. What the man in the right flank trying to do ?

This one is ,very likely, an erotic wall relief .A very interesting wall relief of this site is my last entry for this blog of mine .

Wife 1 pulls at the hair of wife 2 while the husband tries to bring the temperature down !!

Note - Please refer to http://vadnagar.blogspot.com/ for more details.

IN PURSUIT OF SIVA ICONOGRAPHY - I

2010-12-22T07:36:00.000-08:00

PILGRIMAGE EXTRAORDINARY !

This is my season of thanksgiving! Before Ruby and I embark on our journey through AP and North Karnataka in pursuit of Siva/Shakti/Vishnu iconography.

My interest in Siva iconography was kindled by the books I could lay my hands on @ NY Libraries - at Schwarzman Building and Lincon Center. Three from the books I went through were presented to me on the eve of our departure by my elder son Sujash and his friend Miriam .Two rounds of thanks go to them.

Bhiksatana Siva from temple @ Kanchipuram (not in my current itinerary)
(Photo used from Internet)

Special thanks go to my e-friends who have spent valuable time in advising me about the logistics and other innumerable details of the trip I have planned for February,11.

Siva and Vishnu are two major deities of Hindu religion, worshiped across the country.Vishnu has ten 'manifestations -Dashavatar - whereas Siva has none.Most of Siva temples have SivaLinga and a few have an idol like the following :

Siva-Shankara-Bhairava @ a temple in Chittorgarh,Rajasthan

But through the ages, Siva's imagery has gone through lots of changes. He has been visualised , through centuries,as the following, perhaps many more :

Pasupati of pre-Vedic ages.
Rudra, the Archer of Vedic hymns.
Bhikshtana Siva, Androgyneous Siva
Kalyana Murti,Gajasura-sanhara Murti,Gangadharana Murti etc
Bhairava, Kal-Bhairava
Nataraj and
Linga

Who knows if some of the later ones were based on heads of sects practising Saivism ? A great disciple was transformed , in the followers' mind as an 'avatar', an incarnation of Siva. Foremost example - Lakulisha .I believe, imageries of Bhairava and KalBhairava were connected to real lives.

Those who are very much interested may please read the excellent and handy compilation of Margaret Stuteley :

Ruby and I hope to capture many of Siva's imageries during this 'pilgrimage'. And those of Shakti and Vishnu too.We shall not be able to savour the beauty of miss the Ganges and majestic Himalayas like the pilgrims to Kedarnath and Badrinath . Instead, here, my bonus will come from another 'H' - history. And the Tungabhadra, the river which inspired novelist Saradindu Bandopadhyay.

A NEWYEAR'S GIFT FROM A TRAVEL-PHOTOGRAPHY-FREAK

2010-12-10T22:19:00.000-08:00

The 'SURPRISE' Gift

When DJ Ray insisted on getting my address as he wanted to send a 'New Year's Greetings' by post, little did I expect the surprise he was readying for despatch!!

I came to know DJ Ray through flickr.com. When I was studying about Iconography of Siva during my stay in New York June-August, 2010, Those days, I spent a good amount of time on Internet resources looking for materials on this subject.This is when I came across photos of DJ Ray and Mukul Banerjee , covering wall reliefs from Badami/Aihole/Pattadakal.

I left an elaborate comment on his photo of 'Nataraja Pattadakal', highlighting the details from the viewpoint of Siva's Iconography ( view : http://www.flickr.com/photos/djray1943/4718038964/) , thus earning his acquaintance. The reward came yesterday noon. It is a 12-pages table calendar, printed on glossy paper. Each page....26.5 cmX 22 cm in size....contains 22.5cmX13cm photos of architecture/reliefs from Hampi/Badami/Aihole/Pattadakal clicked by DJR.

What a wonderful gift! Thanks a lot DJ Ray!

Readers of this page - please take your time to appreciate this person's pages of wanderlust in http://www.flickr.com/photos/djray1943/with/4718038964/.

DURGA PUJA IN CALCUTTA - 2010

2010-10-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE EVENING OF NABAMI

The earliest images of Durga Puja I recall is of a village in Murshidabad district , known as Shimulia , wherefrom the family of my mother originates. My grandfather, who was a doctor in Calcutta, had his establishment in Shimulia village. I recall the Candimandap, the Goddess in Her full glory, the priest's puja offering in chaste Sanskrit and sacrifice of goats on Sandhipuja and Nabami. My grandfather's elder brother would match the crescendo of the dhakis' percussion with loud calling out of prayers during the moments of sacrifices. Later, I realised, he ... and the priest , Bhondul masai.... used to be under the influence of alcohol at those moments.

After my grandfather expired, fund flow for this Durga Puja dried up. Later, as my uncles did nor take any interest in their ancestors property, their relatives sold off the buildings and landed property piece by piece.

The Candimandap is now nearly flattened, but for a small portion where idol of Maa Carcikaa.... worshiped by the family for generations.....has been kept. With a son of my mother's cousin's family getting financially established and being in a position to revive the tradition. I did not have an opportunity to be present at Shimulia this Puja (2010), but, offer my prayer to the deity as I found Her last February when Ruby and I visited Shimulia village .

Decades after, in my sixties, I have collected a good number of Duga Puja's photos. Since I purchased my 1st digital camera while @ Durgapur , I have taken scores of photos of Puja for many years. I am no longer young, I visit a few pandals in Calcutta in the vicinity which have earned good name for splendour and artistic merit. A good representation of current days style of decoration and display I have collected through years !

One of the best idols I have seen is here :

I do not like the doll-like idols which have become quite popular these days in Calcutta. Initially, this style appealed a lot , but now , repetition has rubbed off the novelty. Here is a photo of one such idol which is a few years old. I was quite fond of this style .... but too many copies have now been made. The advantage of having such an idol has probably a relationship with cost. This type of idol is relatively small in size and therefore organisers do not have to shell out a fortune for the kind Ballygunge Cultural or Ekdalia Evergreen needs. So, other attractions like pandal decoration gets a good share of the collection .

But, the hype in media before and during the Puja days have brought a question in my mind. There is a lot of emphasis on the crowd a Puja pandal attracts. We find a spirit of carnival among the revelers ! The more is the publicity, the more crowd the pandal pulls.... thus attracting larger Corporate contribution. I often wonder, so much time goes into planning a pandal's shape and decoration and hundreds of man-hours go into creating it , do not fare appreciation from the swelling crowd. Thousands of people streaming through the In- and Out- gates get just a glimpse of the splendour created as the volunteers herd the people at every stage. If one has to savour the 'creations', only time to visit is early mornings .... when lighting cannot be enjoyed.... and the evenings of Dashami/Ekadashi , when crowd pressure is minimal.I remember once Badamtala Puja committee had displayed a style based Kalighat's pata. I went in the evening of Ekadashi and could take as many photos as I wanted to , because there was a handful people around. but, then , the maximum number pandals one can cover will be between 10 and 15, hardly more !

SIVA THE ICON -III

2010-08-24T05:02:00.000-07:00

SIVA & JESUS - ARGUMENT on ASCETIC /EROTIC IMAGERIES.

Nataraja Siva from Srimukhalingam temple,AP,India. Siva has Nandi on his right and Devi on his left. His ithyphallic image beautifully poised,exudes cosmic joy and power.

Siva is a major deity of Hindu religion. Through centuries, millions of followers have worshipped him. His imagery's , as we find in Sanskrit and vernacular texts, in temples and caves ( Elephanta, Ellora et all),paintings vary widely. He can be Shankar the Benevolent, Bhairava the Ferocious, Nataraj the Cosmic dancer,Lakulisha the Ithyphallic yogi. Sects of Saivites , through centuries of practices, built up Siva's imageries with conflicts among them.Not all the sects believed in being celibate ascetics.Nor the Vaishnavites among Hindus always been kind to Saivites while penning puranas and other religious scriptures.Tale of Siva and the wives of sages in the 'pine forest' is well-known ( refer to Part I ) . Here, Siva was under attack for cuckolding sages.

Besides the above ,scriptures tell us : Siva was married to Sati whose dead body he carried across the world on his shoulder till Vishnu cut the body in pieces by his Wheel and relieved Siva. He stayed an ascetic for centuries thereafter,burnt KamaDev, god of Love, to death.Then he married Parvati and enjoyed divine conjugal life again for centuries till Kartikeya , also called Skanda , was born, but not from the womb of Parvati.

Siva and Parvati in an intimate posture in Mount Kailash as Ravana attempts to disturb them.Ravana will be severely punished by Siva for interruption and creating discomfiture of Parvati.

Ellora Cave 29.

Yet he is the super Yogi - Yogeswar.

Lakulisha - one of the greatest Yogi incarnation of Siva. Ithyphallic.

British Museum, London.

Wendy O'Flabberty has brought out all the tales connected with Siva in her book : Asceticism and eroticism in the mythology of Siva'.This book was published in 1981 and as far as I know , created no ripple among Hindus in India - probably was overlooked . I have found this conflict has been brought out in an extensive article titled 'Shiva The Sensuous Yogi',published in the internet during April 2002 ) - refer to http://shiva.exoticindiaart.com/. Very likely, this article will not be accessible from India, because Siva is not portrayed as a celibate ascetic here and this theme is offensive and unpalatable to many Saivite Hindus .

Not only in India, but even among the more liberal society of Christians in the Western hemisphere,celibacy is considered very important to religious order.But, unfortunately,the burden of life-time celibacy is not easy to carry.There has been many scandals and power struggles in Vatican's history, at the root of which are instances of failure of people in religious order.

It becomes very much apparent when I was reading internet sources about possible relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. My impression is that a large section of followers of Jesus believes it would have been improper for Jesus to have a normal conjugal life .Without going into deep discussions about what were written and what were implied in the religious writings by his disciples, disseminated over centuries,let us read:

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070227040110AAfvdD5, including comments
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081217130718AAmugoz, and
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1282/were-jesus-and-mary-magdalene-lovers, a 1998 article, published much before the hype 'Da Vinci Code' generated.

to understand how segmented the view point is about this relationship .

To-day, what we have about the life of Jesus is partly from the ancient writings ,their interpretations for centuries and troves of work of art.Enthusiasts have taken time to publish collections of the best on Mary Magdalene in the internet I was floored by the collection of 'Bible Art Gallery'.

Let us take a look at the few that struck my heart :

'Noli me tangere' ( John - 20.17) - Touch me not - by Titian. See how tender is Jesus in his refusal . He is not walking away harshly, but, he has bent towards Mary Magdalene.When Buddha and ChaitanyaDev left the beds of their conjugal partners, did they bid goodbye as tenderly?

Let us have a closer look at Titian's interpretation of the scene of parting :

Titian added a sensuous dimension into this painting through nearly nude image of Jesus.His naked body , clad by just a loin cloth, tells a story to the viewers, to those who are willing to listen. In direct contrast to the robed figure of Jesus in Frescos by Fra Angelico and Giotto .

Two of the best work on Jesus and Mary Magdalene are where one of the two characters is not present. First one is a sculpture ....clay to be turned to bronze , capturing the moment when, amid tears, she utters ; Rabbouni !!' ( which means Teacher). Jesus is not present in the composition, yet the viewer does feel his presence.

The 2nd one is a masterpiece by Mangegna -'The Lamentation over Dead Christ' . The viewer will feel s/he is standing at the position of Mary Magdalene, where the bruised feet of Jesus protrudes beyond the marble slab of the tomb chamber. This is a subdued and highly acclaimed tempera work of this great artist.

The Lamentation over the dead Christ.
Pinacoteca di Berra, Milan.

My own Comment :

Though many people continue to debate about the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, I feel, it is not very important to mankind if Jesus was celibate or not. He was a great preacher. If he found solace in a relationship during the turbulent days of his life in company of the 2nd Mary of his life, so be it.Unfortunately for the mankind, his teachings on tolerance and love have been violated by his followers through centuries.

To me , it is important that he dies on the cross every time justice suffers and hate prevails.In continents and in Institutions and at homes.

His teachings and Siva's present-day imagery - 'Shantam-Sivam ( Tranquil and Good) ' are the essences we can carry in our heart.

NOTES :
1 A. FRESCO BY FRA ANGELICO - http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lib-art.com/imgpainting/7/0/18907-noli-me-tangere-fra-angelico.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.lib-art.com/paints/nolimetangere.html&h=1087&w=900&sz=173&tbnid=c7Z8QfpR8I8EKM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DNoli%2Bme%2Btangere.&zoom=1&usg=__TosqnRUSmwZ5ZrhSv8yJnL3UK3Q=&sa=X&ei=FfJyTOCZIJTNjAfh0rT7CA&ved=0CDgQ9QEwCQ.
Museo di San Marco, Cell 1, Florence.
B. FRESCO BY DIOTTO - http://www.shafe.co.uk/crystal/images/lshafe/Giotto_Arena_Chapel_Noli_me_tangere.jpg
Capella degli Scrovegni, Padua

2. BIBLE ART GALLERY - http://www.bible-art.info/MaryMagdalene.htm

SIVA THE ICON - II

2010-08-13T04:30:00.001-07:00

A book from National Geography.

A wonderful gift I received during 2010 trip to NY.

Siva's Blessings

After I completed the blog on Siva, I circulated an e-mail requesting a few friends to have a look at the same.

I received two responses - one from DJ Ray and the other from Suraj Nowlakha. I have inserted a quote from DJR's e-mail in the ' Comments' column.Suraj has sent a number of Sivalinga's photos . I did not include any Sivalinga's photo in my 1st blog on Siva.Here is the 1st one...that of Somnath temple.......one of the twelve photos he forwarded to me.

The Linga is made of white stone while the Yonipatta is covered with silver .

Milk drips from a bowl on the Linga to soothe the same.

I found an interesting photo of the 'Brahmanaical Triad' in a book on the Asian art collection of Brooklyn Museum ( Unfortunately, the day I visited this Museum, this section was closed to visitors) . This one is from Kashmir, an 8th century green chlorite sculpture. Here we find Brahma and Vishnu standing on the sides of phallic symbol of Siva. Brahma on the LH side has two geese which are his 'chariot'. On the RH side, we find Vishnu with a female and male figures on his two sides. According to the book, the female figure symbolises the mace Vishnu carries and the male his 'Wheel of law'.

8th Century Green Chlorite figure of 'Brahminical Triad'.

Source - Brooklyn Museum.

The most pleasant reward for all the work I did during my Library visits @NY came from Sujash, my elder son and his University-friend Miriam. On 7th August ,2010,we were discussing about NYPL @ Miriam's place over a lunch of salad, after a long walk @ 11oth Street and Harlem. Miriam enjoys reading and travelling. I mentioned the books I enjoyed reading during my visits, but could not copy as many pages as I wanted to ( because @ 30 p/page, the cost is high even @ USA standard) and the only book I could not find there. She asked for the list and yesterday ( 12th August) , I found a packet of three books as a gift from Miriam and Sujash.

The cover of this book has now changed. But, I could not copy the image of the cover from Internet source.

A remarkable book by a person who learnt Indian classical dance and created this wonderful collection of writings and photographs while

elaborating the nuances of Nataraj's postures.

SIVA THE ICON - I

2010-07-31T07:45:00.000-07:00

Tension between the imageries of Siva

'If he is naked what need he has of bow?
If armed with bow then why the holy ashes?
If smeared with ashes what needs he has with a woman?
Or if with her, then how can he hate Love?'

- 'Asceticism and eroticism in the mythology of Siva', Wendy O'Flabberty.Translation from a Sanskrit poem written perhaps around 1000AD.

Bhikshatana Siva - The Wandering Mendicant.Matted unbound hair, naked except a girdle of snake around his hip,wearing sandals ( the only imagery of Siva wearing a footwear ), skull of Brahma in his left hand. Siva is naked, but, not ithyphallic. A dog accompanies Siva.

Interpreting the intrinsic meanings of Hindu Iconography is a subject that requires scholastic understanding of our religious history, ditto of mythological tales and study of allied fields. As I glanced through some of the work on Iconography of Siva, written by Western writers during my visit to NY in 2010, I found the list of books and articles each of them referred to is simply enormous. Among the writings I went through,I was most impressed by the book of Anne Marie-Gaston, an exponent of Bharat-natyam herself, on Siva’s dance-form, as expressed in wall-reliefs in temples across India and Stella Kramrisch. The other books I could lay my hands are by Homer John Custead and Charles Dillard Collins.

Present day anthropomorphic image of Siva

It is quite well understood that the worship of Siva as a ‘Linga’ has a long history. But, Siva in his sitting posture, with the crescent on his matted hair, tiger-skin covering his loin, trident on his right-hand, is comparatively new. The first image of a Yogi, wearing buffalo-horns as his head-gear, sitting in a straight posture, ithyphallic – ‘unencumbered by a loin cloth’ is where we start from. This image ( see below) is from Harappa and probably dates back to BC. Was he a god of Fertility? Was he a Lord of animals – a ‘Pasupati’ among the non-Aryan gods? There is no answer yet.

A pre-Vedic age imagery of an ithyphallic Yogi, presumed to be a god of fertility and a Lord of animals ('Pasupati' )

Then we have Rgveda slokas,referring to 'Rudra', the Roarer .The Roarer was an archer too. But, Rgveda has no mention of Siva .One point is very clear – Siva is no vedic god. A lot has been written by serious students of Siva’s mythology on evolution of Siva/Mahadeva from the Yogi of Harappa , tension between Siva’s imageries as erotic/ascetic, benevolent/ferocious.

A coin from Kushan era.King Vasudeva ( 190-230 AD ) on the left. On the right, Oshio - probably derived from a Prakrit word 'HAVESA',representing the Sanskrit word 'Bhavesha', the Lord of Being. The ithyphallic god has his trident in his left hand and is accompanied by his bull. ( Note : 1)

Bhikshatana Siva - The Wandering Mendicant, at Darukavana. Wives of sages submit themselves to Siva as an cuckolded sage gesticulates furiously. Siva's finger is raised upwards, a gesture copied centuries later by a sculptor , who created a statue of Siva's disciple Sambandar (Note : 2)

Photo : Obliged to Sardonik , Trekearth.

Yet another depiction of Bhikshatana Siva . Parsvanath temple at Ranakpur, Rajasthan. Siva is not young and his hairs not unbound like the preceding image . Siva is naked, but, not ithyphallic.Wives of the sages are seen dancing around him.I did not understand the relevance of the dancing figures when I took this photo in Sept,2009... thus missed out the details of the RH side.

Among the mythological tales woven around Siva/Mahadeva , the most interesting are :

Beheading of Brahma.
Bhikshatana Siva and his encounter with the sages of Darukavana after their wives fell for Siva’s charm.
Dance of Siva after he vanquished the challenges of the sages of Darukavana.
Slaying of Gajasura. Destroyer of Tripura.
Dance of Siva after Andhakasura was tamed & Gajasura slayed.
Hari-Hara.
Androgynous Siva.
Birth of Kartikeya.

Stone statue of Natesh Siva from Bangladesh.Siva dances on Nandi , not Apasmara.
Siva is ithyphallic.

Through ages, followers of Saiva sect have added to their sacred text. The ‘tales’ have been written and re-written, trying to establish the supremacy of Saiva sect above the other. Upper class Aryans have come into the fold of this sect….yet a large group of those on the fringe of the society continued to be followers of Siva.

A painting showing Siva and Parvati in mountain Kailash, as Ravana shakes it.This imagery has been used repeatedly by Indian sculptors.

All these, specially the rivalry among sects, added much to the ‘twists’ of the tales. One point is clear…. There seems to a lot of conflict between Siva and Brahma in Hindu mythology. One of the Western writers I mentioned above has drawn an arrow diagram that portrays the conflicts between the two from the starting phase to development in the Bhikshatana Siva and Natesh Siva imageries.
I have taken the liberty of using a few photos from the Internet .I acknowledge the debt with thanks.

Three manifestations of Siva - somber,benign and ferocious. Photo taken at Chittor, Rajasthan.According to Hindu mythology, Siva has eight manifestations -Sarva,Pasupati,Ugra,Asani,Bhava,Mahadeva,Isana and Rudra.

No blog on Siva's Iconography can end without a para on and a photo from Elephanta Cave. A very nice reference book is written by Charles Dillard Collins , title being 'The Iconography and ritual of Siva at Elephanta'.We find the earliest reference of this cave in the record of Gracio da Orta, a Portuguese physician and scientist,in the company of Portuguese sea Captain Martin Afonso de Soma. He wrote : '.....On the walls , all around,there are sculptured images of elephants,lions,tigers,and many human images,some like Amazons, in many other shapes well-sculptured..Certainly it is a sight , well worth seeing, and it would appear that the devil had used all its powers and knowledge to deceive the gentiles into its worship'. An useful link to an exhaustive album is at : http://www.google.com/images?q=elephanta+caves+pictures&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=xFNUTPX1BcG78gavscX-Ag&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCAQsAQwAA&biw=922&bih=520.

I have picked a nice photo from this album. The relief shows marriage of Siva and Parvati , again an imagery which inspired sculptors through centuries .

Siva-Parvati's marriage - Kalyansundarmurti. Elephanta caves. Source - Internet.

I end with one terra cotta panel from the hexagonal temple ( 19th century) of Ilambazar, Birbhum district , WB which shows an unconventional depiction og the Ganges coming down to the earth ...... she is not shown as coming down on the matted lock of Siva !

From left to right : Bishnu,Ganga riding on makara, Bhagiratha praying with folded hands,Siva, ithyphallic Ganesha and Bhagiratha looks up as the river flows down to the earth.

Notes :

1. Refer to page 791 on the Trident of Poseidon, 'Zeus - A study in ancient religion,vol-2, part-1'. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ys83AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA791&lpg=PA791&dq=oisho+with+bull&source=bl&ots=Q0I4_Bsw8c&sig=k9zuiaQBqeXLtb3J9OyiRDDlM8Y&hl=en&ei=fXxVTIKfN8T58AabrYTgBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCYQ6AEwBTgU#v=onepage&q=oisho%20with%20bull&f=false

2.View : http://postbalki.wordpress.com/2009/01/31/kolaru-pathigam-from-gnanasambandar-surprisingly-different-1/

A WALK ON 5TH AVENUE

2010-06-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

5th Avenue the Great !

When Ruby and I came to New York from Banbury (Oxfordshire), some of my friends thought that we would stay away from the more crowded areas of New York for weeks. We visited London and Oxford for one day each,, which, well.... was far less than 'enough'. One of them has vowed to come down to Banbury during the 2nd stint there in August-September and make us travel to Oxford by train and visit Bodelian Library.

Ruby standing in front of 'The Ego and the Id' ( Sculpture by : Franz West.20' tall. Hardly impressive !

We ,however, were not lazy about '5th Avenue' at all. Within a few days of our arrival in NY for a 8+ weeks' stay, Ruby and I went to visit the 'temples' of brands of high fashion.We started from Bay Pkway station of Brooklyn at around 4.15 pm and got down at 5thAve/59th Street station. On our left was the southern corner of Central Park. We walked along the footpath with kiosk of books, children playing around the 'The Ego and the Id'.We found the whistle-blowing Traffic Police persons in the same state of agitation as in Calcutta.

Not a moment of rest for these Traffic control police persons. Crossing between 59th Street and 5th Avenue.

Next,we crossed the 5th Avenue and went down to the underground shop of 'MAC'. A very crowded joint with visitors and enthusiasts overflowing the Shop. The price tags generates a bit of awe. For a couple of years, my elder son suggested if I should buy a mini-Mac, but I never took the plunge. Later, we sat by the side of the fountain of this plaza and started our walk.

I am standing in front of the 'Apple' Store on 5th Avenue.

Fountain by the the side of the 'Apple' Store

The great brand names were ablaze in an area of 2 blocks X 2 blocks. Armani, Dior, Louis Vuitton , Yves Saint Laurence, Sony ,Prada, Swarovski...... et all. Tall handsome young men in dark formal attires were supervising the entrances of these high temples. If one of them ever think of writing about his experiences, it will be 'who's who' among the top celebrities of the nations. The mannequins , however, were mostly uninteresting except for those in the windows of Bergdorf Goodman. We did not venture into any of these 'high fashion' shops ..... the doormen looking formidable.....but took a stroll into Swarovski and Sony. Swarovski salespersons were very friendly but tried not to mention that whatever items we enquired about were manufactured in Thailand. In the showroom of Sony, we had the very 1st exposure to 3-D TV. A children's cartoon was being played and a few persons stayed glued to the visitors' seats, though I did not find the show great !

'Eiffel tower' painted at the entrance of Louis Vuitton store.

Refection of one skyscraper on another , opposite Bergdorf Goodman.

A passer-by stares at a mannequin, attired in a very fashionable dress. The array of shark/skeleton/other strange objects makes this window very special, whereas refection of a car whizzing past make the scene very real ! To enjoy the big-sized photo, please click on the photograph or request for the original size .

It was nearly dark before we returned to 5thAve/59th Street station....... en route we took photographs of the fun items ,e.g., rickshaws and horse-drawn carts. I took a few photos of the pond of Central Park and Pulitzer fountain in Grand Army Plaza. Another 2-3 hours of walking and clicking will complete this photo-feature.

View of Grand Army Plaza - statue of goddess Pomona ( godess of wealth) atop the fountain on the left hand side, quiet in the middle of crowded 5th Avenue-59th Street crossing.

A place for everyone...... fast and stylish cars, limousines, rickshaws and even horse-drawn carts !

PS - Getting into N-train was not easy for me that evening. I was slow to enter after the Metrocard swipe and the 'Go' signal. Babai advised me to walk to the next station instead of waiting for the mandatory 20 minutes. Ruby and I walked to '7th Avenue/57th Street' station, but that took no less than 20 minutes. We should have waited for 20 minutes coolly and take a few more photos !

View of two skyscrapers beyond Central Park.

SUMMER VACATION @ BANBURY, OXFORDSHIRE

2010-06-10T04:13:00.000-07:00

ENRICHING EXPERIENCE : HISTORY OF INDIAN ARTS

Statue of Hari-Hara in British Museum

I write this blog for me as well as for two of my young friends ,one in Pune,india and the other in London, UK.

Pankaj Sakpal of Pune is a Design specialist, but, I know him through flickr.He is one of my few acquaintances who has an appetite for non-fictional books . He was the first person to invite me to make a presentation on Bengal's terra cotta temples to a small gathering of his friends in Pune when I visited that city in 2008.

Amit Guha is an IITian who lives in London ,and in spite of his busy schedule, devotes a lot of energy for the cause of Bengal's terra cotta temples.Whenever he is home in Calcutta, he steals two or more days from his crowded schedule for visiting terra cotta temples in a small town or a village in West Bengal's districts. I could not act on his suggestion of visiting British Museum's lecture session on Indian Art organised by SOAS, but, could find other opportunities in this line.

Four weeks at Banbury is a vacation , not a sight-seeing trip. My wife Ruby and I spent good amount of time at home, with family members, on computer , sorting out the large nos of photographs we have taken on our days out. My vacation has been considerably enriched by the very helpful and kind persons at Banbury Library.

Earlier during 1970s, during stint in Glasgow , I got myself enrolled in a local library.It was a small one. The library in Banbury cannot be called a big one , but adequate for a small community of 35000 people.Ground floor of this Library has 5 major sections : non-fictional, fictional,children-specific,audio books &video and large print . The entire 1st floor is for reference section on various subjects, town's history and lineage of families, maps/directories and computers.

I found a book on 'Hindu Iconography' written by Margaret Stutley in the reference book section of Oxford's public library .I got a very favourable response from the authorities .The book was sent across to the library in Oxfordshire for my studying and copying . This library has several excellent books on 'History of Arts' section. For example, books on Classical art from Greece and Rome, Isms and understanding Art, which I could never find in National Library or Asiatic Society in Calcutta.

Statue of Kakulisha in British Museum

I have scanned lots of pages from this book of 'Hindu Iconography', specially several manifestations of Shiva/Rudra. My interest in this matter was aroused by the statue of Hari-Hara and ithyphallic Lakulisha ( was he a great Shaiva sage from Gujarat , 200 AD or a manifestation of Shiva *) in British Museum. The evolution of Shiva's current imagery from the pre-Vedic days to 20th/21st centuries ia interesting reading....... I shall collect more materials regd. this subject once I return to Calcutta. Many scholars believe that pre-Vedic Shiva and Vedic Rudra merged during course of centuries , during which there used be a lot of conflict between the followers of Vishnu and Shiva.

I have little knowledge in Jain Iconography...... may be Pankaj has. See the Jain equivalent of Rudra's image ( Ranakpur temple) in : http://www.flickr.com/photos/cshyamal/3987378782/ and Bhairav's photos in : http://sudhansu-nayak.blogspot.com/2009/01/64-yogini-temple-hirapur-detailed-view.html.

* A note below the statue describes Lakulisha as one of the biggest Shaiva sages whereas on searching 'Lakulisha' in 'British Museum's website, one finds this :
'an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva standing on the vanquished dwarf of ignorance, Apasmara, and flanked by two diminutive figures.'
(http://www.britishmuseum.org/search_results.aspx?searchText=Lakulisha&withinResults=all&searchPrevious=kakulisha&currentPage=1)

PRESENTATION @ ROTARY SADAN,09/04/2010

2010-04-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

Front cover of our Brochure.

Article published in the AnandaBazaar Patrika ahead of the Presentation.

'TERRA COTTA TEMPLE TOURISM"

My friends , Somen Sengupta , Rangan Datta and I got an opportunity to make a presentation to a 160+ strong audience @ Rotary Sadan, Calcutta on 9/4/10 on Terra cotta temples of West Bengal. Somen covered the travel-related subject, Rangan the architecture and I spoke on the 'Iconography'.

Timir Roy, President of Rotary Club of Gardenreach helped us a lot to get this venue . He worked hard on our behalf to get media attention,. Our friend Soumitree Ghosh Dastidar played a very good role in roping in several TV channels.Connections of Rangan Datta and Somen also helped.All in all, our very 1st attempt did receive good publicity and audience support.

We started dot @ 6.30 pm with Timir and Ruby making short introduction about the subject and speakers.We could finish our Presentation within the scheduled time ......did not drag at all!

We three felt happy to note that the audience sat through the 3-part presentation .... however, the question-answer session found a part of the crowd melting away.

I am very pleased that I could bring out the best of the plaques of my collection, specially those which have some special point in imagery One example is here : 'Art of reverse similarity'.

'Abduction of Seeta and Jatayu' - Unconventional description @ Gangeswar temple , Baronagar at the centre. Conventional imageries by Ravi Verma and on RadheShyam Temple @ Bishnupur on its two sides.

This panel got a special mention in the article published in the Hindustan Times dated 17/04/10.

We three have planned more such presentations in the future. We have to incorporate a few suggestions :

Introduce a few hilarious 'moments'. Otherwise , the presentations tend to become a little too 'heavy'.
A bit of pause between the presentations, perhaps in form of a short Q&A session.
A mic. on the collar and a hand-held mouse so that the speaker can move around the dais. Staying stuck to the podium looks too formal.
More joint rehearsals.

I end with thanks to Amitabha Gupta for his designs of our Invitation Card and the brochure, Timir ,Somen, Ruby and Rangan as we could work as a team without friction and the sponsors and well wishers for their support.

A TRIP TO 'RARH' BENGAL - LAND OF TERRA COTTA

2010-02-11T09:48:00.000-08:00

SRIBATI - BARONAGAR - GAUR - PANDUA

Somen requested me to post 15 best photographs from the ones we have taken during our trip to 'rarh' Bengal in flickr/kodak/picassa. It is a difficult choice.Besides, I am slow about editing and often I work with writing blogs as a target.

Anyway, as I am progressing with listing and PSing the photos, I have picked up a few from our albums for sharing the same with my friends and relatives.I start with with a mosque , which I thought is the best among the Muslim terra cotta architecture we saw.

Lottan Masjid. 1475 AD ( 500+ years old !!).Built @ the behest of a courtesan . Attributed to sultan Yusuf Shah. Slope of the roof, domes, an extension on the far end and terra cotta motifs impressed us ( photo by RC).

Among the terra cotta work among the Muslim terra cotta architecture , I have selected two as the most representative ones :

Pillars and arch in a monument under restoration @ Gaur. ASI did not fix any notice here and the time of construction,therefore, is unknown to us. Try to visualise the grand view when , centuries ago,
the coloured tiles were intact.

Terra cotta decoration on the western wall @ Adina Masjid built by sultan Sikandar Shah between 1364-74 AD,
supposedly the largest in Asia !
Simply majestic !

The history of construction of this huge Masjid stares at your eyes as you come across scores of Hindu deities abounding the structure !

No caption needed...... from one of the pillars of the gate to the Nave.

Terra cotta and other temples of Baronagar were overwhelming . Those at Sribati can be called cute. I must add that villagers of Sribati were very bitter about indifference of Govt regd. support to the maintenance efforts . They do not get even 1 rupee for removal growth after every monsoon. These temples have panels with lots of stories to tell . Let us try to contribute to the preservation of thises temples .

LH - Krsna kills Kansaraj as Balam looks on. RH - Krsna kills mahut of Kubalayapeerh while Balaram tackles the elephant which is finally killed by Krsna . Baronagar . 1755 AD.
( Photo by RC )

Ravan had a special place in the heart of the person/s who decided on depiction of Ramayana scenes in Charbangla and Gangeswar temples. Those who are interested in more on this aspect may pl open : http://www.flickr.com/photos/maulindu/4054539545/in/set-72157622562648829/. View this Ravan, placed separately, armed and dressed regally.

Finally, 2 panels from Sribati. Sribat has a cluster of 3 temples. One of them is an octagonal temple, quite like
the one at Ilambazar.This temple has many interesting social scenes.

This panel, centrally placed above one of the arches of the octagonal panel, has no figure from mythology !

Who are these characters ?

TEN MANIFESTATIONS OF 'SUPREME' KNOWLEDGE

2010-01-25T09:46:00.000-08:00

'DASA MAHA VIDYA' - MANIFESTATIONS FEMALE POWER -
'SHAKTI' IN HINDU MYTHOLOGY

This blog is being written based on an idea that came to my mind during an early morning 'chat' with Amit Guha on 25/01/2010, my young friend from London. He is an enthusiast about terra cotta temples of Bengal. We were talking about motifs and icons when I told him about not so many 'Dasa MahaVidya' images being seen in our terra cotta temples.

Later during the evening, I searched 'Dasa MahaVidya' in the internet and found a lot of material regarding the tantric side of 'Dasa MahaVidya', the 'Yantras' et all. One can do one's own search and read whatever s/he likes. I have the simple story here for Amit and a few terra cotta panels.

The story I read as a child is this : Sati, daughter of Daksha the king, married Shiva against her father's will. To humiliate the couple, Daksha organised a very large gathering around a religious pyre ("Yagna') . Here, the rich and famous of that era were invited , but for Shiva and Sati.

Sati was keen to be present at this 'Yagna' ,even though she was not invited . Shiva vehemently opposed her decision. The quarrel reached its peak when Sati transformed herself into multiple ( ten) appearances. Shiva was thus subdued and allowed Sati to join her father's 'Yagna'. This led to a tragedy as Sati committed suicide after being insulted by her father in front of distinguished guests. Shiva came to tremendous grief , stormed into the gathering and ransacked the place by ' Tandava'. The ten manifestations of Sati are called 'Dasa MahaVidya'...ten ' supreme' knowledge or revelations.

The ten manifestations are linked with 9 planets and 'Lagna' by tantric devotees. They vary from fierce to benign . Tantric scripture have paean devoted to each of these ten 'Maha Vidya's. I shall post three from my collection of photos here:

Left to right : Top row - Matangi (Planet Sun), Shoroshee (Planet Mercury) and Kamala (Planet Venus). Middle row - Bagala (Planet Mars), Tara (Planet Jupiter) and very likely Barahi ( a Matrika, not one of the 'Maha Vidyas'). Bottom row - Kali (Planet Saturn ), Durga and Chhinnamasta (Planet Rahu ).

'Shoroshee' rests on a lotus rising from the navel of Shiva.Lotus in her upper left hand , blessing in her lower right hand, she is a beautiful woman .

'Dhumavati' (Planet Ketu ) is the only manifestation who is a widow. She is old,ugly with her breasts hanging out and she has fumes all around , being fanned and spread by a 'kulo', a flat contraption used for segregating grains. She rides a chariot pulled by a crow.

TERRA COTTA TEMPLES OF BENGAL - VII

2010-01-01T22:14:00.000-08:00

VISIT TO TEMPLES @ ILAMBAZAR AND SURUL, Dt : BIRBHUM DISTRICT

Winter season is the time for us go out in the district and take photographs of terra cotta temples. For quite a while , I had the intention to go Birbhum district for photography. The temples of Birbhum district, I read, are different from the ones we find in Hooghly and Bankura districts. I saw excellent b/w photographs of the panels from Ilambazar temples in a book written by late Mukul De. December 2009 brought the 1st opportunity for a visit to this district.

We had a guest from NY University , a young Israeli guy who is a classmate of my elder
son Sujash. He came for a tour of India and Thailand , centered around the marriage ceremony of Sujash.When I suggested a visit to Shantiniketan and villages of West bengal during his return leg of journey back to the USA through Calcutta, he readily jumped into the offer.

Ruby , Aviv and I started @ 6.20 am on 30/12/2009 from Calcutta and reached Ilambazar by 9.30 am, comfortably with a break for breakfast @ Shaktigarh. To reach the temples, we had to negotiate through a narrow lane and a crowded bazaar

The 1st temple we visited has idols of Gour (Chaitanya Dev and) - Nitai.It is of octagonal shape,terra cotta work all over,quite unique in nature.There are lots of motifs which have quite an Islamic appearance. It has lost its roof, now protected by corrugated sheets . The walk-around, very low in Bengal's standard has just a two rods barrier. However, this protection is effective, since, a good nos of panels are near-intact, except for the ravages of time and weather.It has interesting panels , both mythological and social.Photography, with clothes hung near one face, merchandise all around and shade of corrugated roof affecting the view of the top-side of the panels.

The other temple @ Ilambazar is of Shiva..... is quite a rather small 'Rekha' temple. A very neatly kept temple, very likely maintained by a wealthy family whose dwelling is just adjacent to this temple.It has interesting panels , more on which on other blogs.

Like the temples of Birbhum, this temple has many motifs of 'Shakti' - the female Divine Power. Here is an example :

We liked this temple a lot . The temples we came across in village Surul were small too, well kept and with interesting panels.

First - a few lines on how to locate and reach Surul. Surul village comes on your right as you approach Bolpur along the road to Shantiniketan from Ilambazar.You will cross an Engineering College and then Kharimati Hotel. You start asking for the village right after the Hotel and within a minute , you will reach the lane on your RH going inside the village.2 minutes into this road and on the right is a motorable but narrow lane going upto a cluster of two temples.The one for Shiva has good amount of terra cotta panels.The road takes a RH turn adjacent to a 'Durga bari' where there is cluster of 3 neat temples with good terra cotta work.

For more details on locations of the towns/villages,you can view :
http://maps.google.co.in/maps?hl=en&q=google%20maps&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enIN349IN349&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

Largest of the Surul temples.The arches have scenes from Ramayana.

Very well-planed terra cotta work.The central panel has Ram-Ravana war. The ones on LH and RH shows coronation of Ram and Sita in Ayodhya palace and Ravana in his court and Sita in captivity respectively.More details later.

Before closing, I shall add that visit to Shantiniketan, specially the Fair ( 'Pous Mela') was quite disappointing.

NOTE 1 - Several photos in this blog are shot by my wife Ruby, whose album has been of immense help to me.
NOTE 2 - Sri Satyasri Ukil , grandson of Sri Mukul Dey, who among other remarkable deeds, built an extensively researched album on terra cotta temples of Birbhum district, wrote :
'Hello Good to see your recent blog on Illumbazar and Surul. The pic attached depicts a temple which you have visited at Illumbazar...for last sixty years, at least, it has a corrugated roof...! You wrote: "It has lost its roof, now protected by corrugated sheets".

This photograph was taken by Mukul Dey in c. 1948-49. May
use it on your blog if you so feel...'

I am thankful to Sri Ukil and I have inserted the 60 years old photo of the hexagonal temple of Ilambazar in my blog.

THOSE BROOKS OF LIFE

2009-10-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

A collage from my collection of photographs
Source : Panels on temples of Bengal and Rajasthan

Many of the surviving temples of India , built during medieval ages , are adorned with sculptures and panels . There is one common point : gods , goddesses, ‘yakshas’ and ‘yakshees’ are positioned at a height and the devotees have to look up to view them. Most of them are in static postures .

At the lower level, are panels, often overlooked by the tourists in a hurry, where one can view portrayals from scenes from life . In many of these panels we find the incumbents frozen in time, yet dynamic in postures.These panels are often not done to artistic perfection, but, most of these panels tell viewers stories about lives of common people and aristocracy of those days. A serious student of terra cotta art would have read Zulekha Haq's book where she has made a powerful presentation on social scenes in terra cotta temples of Bengal.

There is another reason why we were serious about these panels, While the sculptures at the higher levels are regal and beautiful, the postures are often static and can be monotonous. Artists created the eventful panels in lower level where often we found energy and the flow of life.

Here is a selection from photographs of such panels Ruby and I have taken during our trips to temples of Hooghly and Bankura districts of West Bengal as well as of Rajasthan and created 'albums' during last 3 years.

‘HUNTERS’: View the dynamics of all the human and animal figures of this panel. One of the oldest from my collection. 1648 AD. ’Jor-Bagla’ temple, Bishnupur, West Bengal.

‘MARCH TO THE BATTLEGROUND’: Movement of human and animal figures depicted with careful details. The Foot soldiers have differing strides. ’Sameedheswar Shiva’ temple, Chittorgarh, Rajasthan.

‘TRAPEZE’ : A wonderful collage of 20 persons in various postures of acrobatics,The ‘zamindar’, in a crouching posture (LH bottom-most corner) watches the show. 1786AD.’RadhaGovindjiu’s temple, Aantpur, Dt –Hooghly, West Bengal.

‘COAXING’ : Woman sulks and looks away from his lover while their friends are in a mood of joyous revelry.1652 AD. ’Jagdhish’ temple. Udaipur, Rajasthan.

‘FESTIVITY’ : Ecstasy and abandon .11th (?) century. ‘Aadinath’ temple, Ranakpur, Rajasthan.

‘FERTILITY’ : Queen Devaki rests on a upturned cane container (‘dhaamaa’ in Bengali) as her attendant helps her to give birth to infant Krsna. In the neighbouring panel, Mahamaya looks on while the lone sentry of Kansa’s prison dozes off. Vasudev will escape the prison in a short while with infant Krsna to take him to Vrindavan. 18th century .Krsna temple, Bahirgarh,
Dt.- Hooghly, West Bengal.

‘SAILING ON THE BROOKS OF LIFE’ : 18th century. Temple at Kotalpur, Dt.- Hooghly, West Bengal.

The top panel has two parts from a well known sequence of Krsnaleela.Many songs....'kirtan' and folksongs...have been written and sung for centuries on the same. Secondly, according to Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyaya, a renowned scholar of Bengal , 'boat' has special significance in 'Caryapada',the earliest mystic poems in Bengali and repeated appearance of 'boat' in 'Krsnaleela' in terra cotta temples of Bengal has influence of 'Caryapada' theme too.
On the left-hand side, we find 4 milk-women of Vrindavan, stranded on the shore of Mathura,since Krsna has managed to disperse all the boatmen of the Yamuna river.2 women are seen to persuade Krsna to take them to take them to Vrindavan while the other two enliven the scene by song and dance.On the right-hand panel, we find Krsna in multiple manifestations.He is at the stern as well as at the centre of the boat,embracing Radha and another milk-woman.
On the lower level,we can see a large see a large boat, very European in its appearance. Damaged it is ..... but, it is not difficult to imagine how magnificent the panel was. Rows of sailors and revelers adorn the panel.