SAGES AMONG THE EROTICA OF SUN TEMPLE, KONARK

MAJESTIC SUN TEMPLE OF KONARK - V

NOTE - Those have aversion to erotica of Indian temples and are below 18years of age are requested to stay from this post.

A holy  man and his disciple.

After I posted  photos from our collection on King NarasimhaDev I , as depicted on the walls of Surya temple, Konark, I started to look for depictions of  holy men  . I found quite a few of them - male sages with shaven head, matted hair , old and middle-aged.  I found one photo where he is instructing a disciple - not a very delicate work.  There is one among existing work in  'chlorite' - sages in meditation. Rest are so very different !

Sages in meditation with disciples in attendance.

Male sages on this temple's wall covers many sects - naming my guesses will be somewhat delicate.  Quite a few are shown in grotesque postures. A  good number of them have been shown in active or passive acts of coitus and various stages of excitement . Blow-ups of the faces and torsos make interesting viewing.

Here I start with a bald holy man who has - not one or two - but three companions . He holds a  bag in his left hand, lifted beyond the reaches of  women around him - glee on his face, sculpted centuries ago still make this wall-relief  stand out.

This wall-relief tells us a tale !

(The 3rd woman, kneeling in front of this holy man, not in this frame).

 A holy man with shaven head !

 I shall cite one specific example which is a large  composite. Two questions regarding this sculpture : First - Does this signify  ritual of slaughter of  some  sect ? The composite here has a man's face.Round eyes, matted hair, glimpse of fangs. His lower portion is that of a lion. He tramples a hunter, smaller in size . The hunter's features,ornaments and hair style have  similarity with those of the composite. He holds a hunting knife and shield. Specially noticeable is the chain around the waist of the hunter. Second - Is this at all a face of a holy man ? We  find identical waist-chain in another sage, being coaxed by a courtesan.

Man-lion Composite,attacking a hunter on an ornate pedestal . 
A camouflaged secret practice of sacrifice or a scene from a drama ?

Sage with matted curly hair and beard - noticeable similarity between this figure and the ones above.

Watch the waist band.

The artisans of Surya temple have depicted holy men of various sects without reverence.  I have seen  not-so-serious depictions elsewhere, but not so noticeable as Konark !   In some areas , we find grotesque figures - I would guess that the artisans chose appearances of some of these figures  based on holy men moving around those days  ! Anthropologists and Sociologists who are expert in Kalinga's social situation of 12th century AD can throw more light on this fact. But, in whatever literature I have come across, I did not find any reason of this irreverence.

I have  here photos of one wall of the famous 'Nata Mandira' and a couple of blown-up figures .

 Dancers and sages as grotesque abandon the walls of 'Natamandir'

 

 Grotesque figures of holy men standing on decorated pedestals.
While one is skeletal, others are well-fed. One is stark naked, wearing different ear-rings. Does that point to a specific sect ?

I have  in my HDD   many more photos to convey to the readers of what we found at the Sun temple at Konark. But, one has to stop somewhere. I shall end with one full-frame of erotica with a holy man at the the centre of activity.  As  persons familiar with this temple are aware of,there are numerous wall-reliefs with erotica of sages - but closer scrutiny will lead a discerning viewer to categorisation.

 A holy man, with his matted hair placed high on his head,in accompaniment of two women, one tall and other short, standing a crude pedestal, under the near-mandatory tree of life.

THE MONARCH WHO SCRIPTED KONARK'S SURYA TEMPLE

MAJESTIC SUN-TEMPLE OF KONARK - IV

Prayer being offered in a temple - both JagganathaDeb 

and MahisasuraMardini are being worshiped.

In the lower tier, we note waiting elephants.

 We have an excellent wall-relief , theme being similar  , executed on 'chlorite' stone in Konark's Museum. Photography is prohibited within the gallery. Ruby , based on her sketch and a photo of this piece of art in an ASI  publication has drawn the following drawing of the same :

Among the Hindu kings/emperors  who built  the greatest landmarks of Indian Architecture , two persons stand out in my heart and mind. The 1st one is : NarashimhaDev I Langula who completed the  Surya temple around 1275 AD. The other is : Devaraya II, whose town planning and temple building activities attract thousands of tourists every year to Vijayanagara ( Hampi) which became a jewel in India during his tenure ending in 1446 AD.

These two wall-reliefs have same thene - King bids good-bye to his Court before departure for a long campaign. 

Here, in the upper tiers of  the wall-reliefs, King fondles his child.

In the lower tiers, we find horse/elephant/palanquin and attendants.

 I have not yet found much about the great Ganga king NarashimhaDev I in regular history books. Nor I have found any story or novel written on his exploits though Devaraya II have been featured in at least two. Saradindu wrote a historical novel  'Tungabhadrar teere' - literally meaning on the bank of Tungabhadra. The second book is by  SreeParabat , title being  'Vijaynagar' . I have to find more from books dedicated to Orissa's history. Till such time, my tribute to him is through this post where I present photos of some of  scenes of his  court and his life, as depicted on the walls of  Surya Temple, Konark .

Erosion damaged this wall-relief of THE valiant rider ! Who can be this rider - other than King NarasimhaDev I ? In this symbolic wall-relief, King is seen trampling enemy. Lower tier has palanquins.

The scenes on wall-reliefs of this temple I have chosen are often having two tiers - the larger ones in the top have the monarch in the centre of the depiction. Lower portions often show  conveyance  of those days - horses, elephants and palanquins.

A court scene.

In 2nd tier, a favour-seeker requesting a guard for entry inside.

 Is it King hurrying out of a temple - attendants and priest around ? Possibly a favour-seeker on his left.

(Enlarged from a small wall-relief.No 2nd tier here)

I shall end this Post with two famous wall-reliefs of  king NarashimhaDev I. In one , we find a giraffe - it is assumed that a group of visitors came to King's court from Africa. This wall-relief is very popular among tourists and photographers. We find King  sits on a elephant during this meeting which is taking place under a very large tree with peacocks sitting on the branches.

The second has a courtier reading out a plaque ( Is it an appeal by a favour-seeker ?) to King - those who have gone through reference  books on Surya temple of Konark are familiar with this wall-relief.

In this huge temple,whose walls are kind of space for exhibition , there are numerous warriors,hunters and valiant riders depicted, who are probably fashioned after  King NarashimhaDevI ! But, we have no way of ascertaining if my hypothesis is correct.

SUPREME DANCER,SILENT MUSICIANS

FROM TWO OF INDIA'S GREATEST TEMPLE SITES

A visit to Hampi as well as Surya temple of Konark is like 'visiting' an Epic. Every exposure is a delight , a revelation. You will  re-discover what  stayed at out sight during last 'visit'  or needed 'dusting' of memory cells or a new meaning of a known chapter, of a dear character.

Drummer of Hampi, playing 'Mridanga'.

Vitthala temple, Hampi.

 Hampi is not only a wonder  for those who have interest in  architecture, it has something for travelers who love trekking, rafting ,enjoy nature or photography for his/her special albums. Konark's architectural grandeur   is within a compact  area - not spread over a sprawling area like that of Hampi - the attraction here is architecture, and architecture only. It has  a sea-beach near-by - but, not many people  visit Konark attracted by the sea-beach !

 Drummers of Konark, in fluid poses of dance.

Pavilion of dance & music, Surya temple, Konark.

For this blog, I have chosen a subject  which has very delicately sculpted in both the sites  - musicians.   A serious Art historian will count how many percussionists are depicted on the pavilion for music/dance at Konark -they are numerous, but the finest at Hampi are limited in number.

 Music & Dance Pavilion - Vitthala temple complex. February,2011.

Vitthala temple complex  has a pavilion for music/dance too . Its additional attraction is that this pavilion has slender stone columns which, when touched, resonate to generate the seven notes of music. This hall's several sculptures of musicians are mostly male percussionists . Unfortunately for us, visitor's entry to this portion was prohibited to protect the 'musical'  columns from vandalism . Major repair work was going on  during our visit in February,2011 with scaffolding, slabs of stone obstructing photography from outside .

 Hundreds of miles, several centuries apart - 

 striking similarity of the dance pose !

Capturing the best sculptures of musicians at Surya temple  was not easy either. The work on 'chlorites' were placed far above the eye-level, on various upper floors of  the Jagomohan. Scaffolding was a problem here too - visitors and photographers  of  temple art have learnt to accept this problem as unavoidable.

 Two drummers on two sides of entrance of the inner pavilion 

@ Vitthala temple,Hampi

& the 'dhol'-player at 60' elevation of Surya temple,Konark.

Yet, I could not  resist of sharing a compilation of the photos I have of the musicians from  both these temples .Watch the percussion instruments, the expression  joy and seriousness the artisans, the controlled dance steps, the swing of clothes  sculpted so delicately. A close-up will show the details of ornaments, folds of clothes , ribs of the shell of  'Mridanga', executed centuries ago, wonderful  till date ! 

  'Yugal-bandi' - musicians in duet. Across centuries.

THE MAJESTIC SUN-TEMPLE OF KONARK-III

MYTHS, 'CHLORITE' STATUES,MORE MYTHS ....

 Mid-day Sun. Mutilated statue exudes grace !  Dandi on the right.

Because of lack of access, a full frontal view is impossible to capture.

In a giant temple like the one at Konark, there are bound to be 'stories' around the 'birth and life' of the temple.  Through centuries,  some of these  take the proportion of myths.

  Recounting the myths !

Gathering around the story-telling guides.

 It is said that 1200 architects and artisans were given 12 years to build this temple by King NarshimhaDev-1. The team toiled for 12 years while the King spent  his revenue earning for 12 years on this temple-building project. The temple was far from completion  at the end of  the stipulated period. King was quite unhappy - in a mood to punish the team severely for the delay.  Bishu Maharana, the head architect was at his wit's end. His 12 year old son  Dharmapada  reportedly solved the problem of fixing the last coping stone - a 52T magnet according to another version -  though he  was without any experience. He then committed suicide to spare his community  the indignity of wrath of   King's  discovering   the source of   solution of a nagging and critical problem was a 12 year old boy  .

 Was this the principal deity of Konark's Sun-temple ?

Source - ASI Museum, Konark.

Was this death the reason why the deity of Sun was ever was worshiped ? Or did worship  of  Sun in the 'Deul' continue till 1568 AD ( according to another source, desecration  happened during early 17th century) , when Muslims invaded the temple ? Where is the main idol of the sun ? In the temple of Indra at Jagannatha temple complex of Puri ? Or at National Museum, Delhi ?

It is also said that the temple's inner sanctum most of which was damaged had several strong magnets strategically  placed. The iron rich (chlorite ?) statue of Sun was so placed that it did not the touch the base, but, used to float ! These magnets were causing problem to compasses of ships visiting the neighbouring sea coast. Reportedly, the shipping community arranged for removal of the magnets. leading to the collapse of the 'Deul's roof.

  Iron beams preserved within the temple complex.

Strangely, without any explanatory plaque !

  There are stories and counter-arguments....  but,  I find the idol of  Sun floating above the pedestal is a great idea ! We all know, magnets lose power over time . Very likely , ships were not disturbed by the decayed magnets of the temple during 17th or 18th century. Perhaps decay caused collapse of the 'Deul'. There are interesting books on this subject - the most well-known being Sun Temple of Konark  by Pt. Sada Shiv Rathsharma .

  Martanda Vairava at a high level of Jagamohana.  Feet in a posture of dance, Vairava has 'ghora' -fierce - disposition. Fangs out and 'Kapala' in left hand.

A fine 'chlorite' statue.

 But, here stands the temple partly restored, the areas around cleared, foundations of  the smaller temples exposed and rebuilt, the 2 victory horses and 2  giant elephants on elegant pedestals. This site attracts thousands of visitors everyday . King NarashimhaDev- I, Dharmapada and Bishu Maharana  with his team would be remembered  while this Sun temple remains firm at Konark.

 Mythical lion in the Sun temple complex - made of khondalite stone.

ASI uses green hue extensively during evening illumination to highlight the 'chlorite' idols of Surya and 

create an effect on such khondalite statues too !

THE MAJESTIC SUN-TEMPLE OF KONARK - II

THOSE WONDERFUL STATUES  & WALL-RELIEFS OF 'CHLORITE' STONE - Part 1

 'Haridashwa'. 

Wall-relief of Surya on the western wall.

NB - Horses of other two statues of Surya ( much smaller !) 

are not visible because of the way ASI has placed the same.

The statues and wall-reliefs of Konark's Sun temple made of chlorite stone  are famous - but it is not easy to find a lot about the material  in the Internet. For example:
In India, how many temples used this stone ? Again, Internet is not very clear about the details. I found that  the temples in Khiching,Orissa and Halebid , Karnataka have statues made of chlorite stone. I have to get more details about Halebid temple. One point is clear from what we found at Konark - this stone  did deliver the sculptors  very satisfying  and fine finish , which lasted the eroding impact of local environment that caused tremendous damage to other wall-reliefs  and statues made of khondalite stone.

 View of  chlorite statues on the Jagomahana on the northern wall.

 At Konark temple, all the statues and wall-reliefs  in Chlorite stone do not adorn the temple any more. Several statues are in National Museum, New Delhi. Yet others - wall-reliefs par excellence -  are housed in the neighbouring museum. What a visitor can find here are :

1. Three huge  statues of Surya mounted on the remaining portion of the 'deul' as wall-reliefs !
2. A huge door-frame to the now-inaccessible Jagomohana.
3. A pair of  four-headed Vairava  in dance posture at a height on four sides of Jagomohana.
4. Three/four musicians at the same level these statues of Vairava on four sides of Jagomohana.
5. Yet  four musicians at a level higher than these statues of Vairava on four sides of Jagomohana.

 Top - Two Vairava made of chlorite stone on the eastern wall. 

Below - A bigger view of  LH side Martanda Vairava.

 A serious visitor will definitely pay a visit to the local museum to savour a beautiful collection from the ruins of  this temple . S/he can have glimpse of photos of what all have been shifted away to New Delhi. This way, a good number of 'beauties' are lost to the visitor of this temple - but, those on the higher elevation should not be missed. That is, however, easier said than done. To the naked eyes at the ground level, statues of Vairava and musicians will not make much impact. The visitor may preferably be equipped with a   binocular or a telephoto lens.

 

Four musicians - in animated  postures of dance.

 What is chlorite stone ? According to geology.com, 'Chlorite is a name used for a group of sheet silicate minerals with similar properties. They are primarily found in weakly metamorphosed rock and form  the alteration of clay-rich sedimentary rocks and from alteration of pyroxenes, amphiboles and micas. They are also found in some sediments '. Regarding the chemical composition, we are told it has the following ' generalized formula: (Mg,Fe)₃(Si,Al)₄O₁₀(OH)₂^.(Mg,Fe)₃(OH)₆ ' and we are further informed that ' Many solid solution possibilities exist with the ' chlorite' composition, each producing a specimen with slightly varying properties'. This stone has got its name from the Greek 'chloros' for green with reference to its colour. In 1798 AD, A.G.Werner has named this stone and others in its group 'chlorite'. ( Reference : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PsychicStoneSensations/message/215) .

Does anyone know what was the 'desi' name of this stone - what King Langula  Narasinghadeva and his artisans used to call this stone  when the raw material was ordered  and subsequently crafted intoexquisite  statues ? Perhaps there were several nomenclatures - both formal as well as  colloquial ! I have not so far been able to locate either.

Top - RH side of the door frame of Jagomohana. 

Bottom - Details of the LH end of the frame.

The above-referred internet site  mention chlorite has several spiritual uses too,e.g.,

'Chlorite is used to stimulate the state of inspiration and to further actualization/manifestation.
Said to heal the void after implant removal.
Use this crystal to promote a deep meditation.
Helps you emotionally and mentally accept your physical self.
Chlorite is used to cleanse the aura and Chakras.
Dissipates anger.'

 It is said to have power of physical healing too - but, that is beyond the scope of this blog. Anyone interested for more details may please refer to the link mentioned above .

Top - A view of the Jagomohana beyond the mid-day Surya. 

Bottom - Bust of Poosha, the morning Surya. 

Part of RH lotus survived  vandalism & erosion.

 NB - Statues of Surya are around 3.45m tall.

Several myths are , as expected for a temple built in such a  scale, around. The local guides propagate them, then visitors like us record them here and there - thus 'stories' keep circulating. In the next part, I shall recount one such story  connected with Surya's statue in the sanctum  and few more photos of chlorite exquisites in sunlight and flood-light.