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.

VIOLATION OF VEDABATI : A TALE FROM RAMAYANA

Violation of Vedabati : Krittibas and reference links/material from internet


It was a small district town of West Bengal in 1950s... Suri. A seven years old child used to spend at least one hour every day, pouring on two big books he had received during his last birthday. A volume of Mahabharata by Kashiram Das and another of Ramayana by Krittibas. In early fifties, epics as cartoons were not so popular among children. Kafi Khan has just started his strip on Mahabharata in Sunday Jugantar.

The stories were fascinating. Ramayana ... as linear as Valmiki wanted it to be. Mahabharata .... very complex for a child. Search for Vishalyakarani, Arjuna's exploits and Karna's demise kept him intrigued. Within a few years, he would read 'Mahabharater Katha' by Buddhadeb Bose and 'Krishnacharitra' by Bankimchandra.
He decided : after retirement , he would return to these epics again.

And after 53 years, I did that when I started to work on Iconography of terra cotta panels of Bengal’s temples.
Recently,after I dusted and read 'Meghnaad Badh Kavya' to address a question of a friend from sulekha.com, I wrote my 2nd blog on a stigmatised character of our mythology: Tale of Soorpanakha.

One point is true about that Tale : this was when the roller-coaster journey to destruction of Ravana's regime and life started. Or did it start when Ravana violated Vedabati, daughter of sage Kusadhvaja ? A serious reader of Ramayana will very likely agree with me.

During the last week, I searched for Vedabati ,Ravana and Sita in Internet . I came across complex postulations about Sita's birth and that took my notice away for a while . Many story-writers of Ramayana, across countries and ages believed that Sita was the daughter of Ravana and/or Mandodari, Ravana's principal wife and daughter of RakshasaRaj Maya . One story says Ravana sneezed to give birth to her .Yet another says Mandodari conceived Sita after she wanted to commit suicide and took a potion of six ascetic's blood ,collected by Ravana, on the assumption that it was poison and conceived Sita.One point remains constant : Mandodari , after learning that the new born would be cause of Ravana's death, arranged to send the infant away to Mithila (in Nepal,currently known as Janakpur).She was abandoned in a field which Rishi Janaka was tilling in the month of Baishakh ( end-April, early-May).Rishi Janaka took the infant home and fathered her.

Then, I returned to my Krittibasi Ramayana for the best known story about Vedabati. It has a less-than-two-pages story of Vedabati. There is a painting too : Ravana pulling hair of Vedabati, a white dress covering her well-endowed curves , not the dear skin Krittibasa described to be her regular dress. Ravana's appearance does not evoke fear or repulsion....nowhere near the two images of Ravana created by Ravi Verma. Now, the story by Krittibas.

Vedabati portrayed as an attractive woman, Ravana ,a wimp

Ravana did not approach Vedabati in a hurry. He tried to win her over by courting her , pointed out the futility of trying to be Lord Vishnu's consort , then tried to gain her attention by taunting her and bragging about his strength (and very likely about his virility) before he violated her. Stories say he pulled her by her hair and only one source have used the ultimate word :'rape'. Ravana had strong ego, uncontrolled libido and a desire to possess. So, it is difficult to believe that he stopped at pulling her hair. This woman ,who led the life of an ascetic and was so engrossed in her dream of being Lord Vishnu's consort ,that she ignored the threat her earlier powerful suitor DemonKing Shambhu cast on her family (finally she had to suffer the tragedy of having her parents killed in retaliation for refusal to offer her hands to Raja Shambhu in marriage!) definitely found the act defiling not only her body but also her soul. According to Krittibas, she committed suicide in shame, with a vow of 're-incarnation for retribution' on her lips.

In the story I intend to write, (same as in that of Lord Srinivasa, a Tale of Vedabai well-known in South India) , she stays alive . That will appear in part II.
Reference to the story of Srinivasa is : http://www.indiadivine.org/articles/394/1/Srinivasa-Kalyanam/Page1.html.
Also, here is the story of Vedabati from Internet which uses the word 'rape' whereas other writers stopped at molestation and avoided writing about Ravana violating Vedabati sexually.

http://www.experiencefestival.com/vedavati
"Vedavati - Early life and Dedication to Vishnu
Vedavati is speculated to have been the spirit of Sita Devi, the wife of Rama in the epic Ramayana. Vedavati - Early Life. Vedavati is the daughter of Brahmarishi , who is the son of Brihaspati, Lord-Guru of the Devas, the Gods. Having spent his life chanting and studying the sacred Vedas, he names his daughter Vedavati, or Embodiment of the Vedas, born as the fruit of his bhakti and tapasya
Her father wants his child to have Lord Vishnu for a husband. He thus rejects many powerful kings and celestial beings who sought his daughter's hand. Outraged by his rejection, a powerful Daitya king Sambhu murders her parents in the middle of a moonless night.
Vedavati continues to live in the ashram of her parents, meditating night and day and performing a great tapasya to win Vishnu for her husband.
The Ramayana describes her as wearing the hide of a black antelope, her hair matted in a jata, like a rishi. She is inexpressibly beautiful, in the bloom of her youth, enhanced by her tapasya.
Violation and death
Ravana, the emperor of Lanka and the rakshasa race found Vedavati sitting in meditation and is captivated by her incredible beauty. After mocking her dedication to Vishnu and her penance, he attacks her and rapes her.
Her chastity and reputation destroyed, Vedavati immolates herself by building a pyre, while Ravana is watching with sick pleasure."
I , however,do not believe Ravana viewed the scene with sick pleasure. Ravana had high libido. A King of his physical and mental stature is expected to have high testosterone level. We have innumerable stories in our mythology and history about persons with characteristics of Ravana.In this case,I believe, if he had lost interest in Vedabati,he would have gone away after the act . Alternatively,if he felt a bond with Vedabati, he would have tried to stop her from self-destruction as she was a beauty Ravana cherished. Immolation of women till 19th century is found in every corner of Indian history and this subject should be on our collective conscience...... Ramayana's more well-known act chastity's test by fire being no exception!

Before I conclude ,I copy/paste material on Ravana's libido I found in the internet, touching upon the link between death of Vedabati and birth of Sita :
"Ravana - Violations of Women
http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Ravana_-_Violations_of_Women/id/1869565
Ravana's sexual prowess is important to note as it plays a critical part in his legacy and downfall. Even as a young man he shamelessly violates women, and blessed with awesome strength, becomes an immensely virile rakshasa. He is a master of tantric vidya, or magical sexual arts.
Although Ravana is married to Mandodari, the daughter of Asura Maya, he captures thousands of women from his conquests and maintains a harem of unparalleled size.
Ravana also violates Rambha, the queen of the Apsaras. He is thereby cursed that if he ever forces himself on a woman again, his heads will burst. This curse protects the chastity of Sita when she is his captive.
There is also a discussed prophesy in the Ramayana that Ravana had violated Vedavati, a young ascetic who was performing tapasya to win Vishnu as her husband. Ravana's actions cause Vedavati to immolate herself, but she pledges to return in another age to be his destruction. The Rishi Agastya explains that Vedavati was born as Sita, and she is the wife of Vishnu's Avatara, Rama, and the cause of Ravana's death."


Vedabati sacrifices herself in flaming fire.
PanchaRatna Temple, Dt Bankura,West Bengal

A TALE OF RETRIBUTION FROM MYTHOLOGY

THE TRAGEDY OF A STYGMATISED FEMALE CHARACTER FROM HINDU MYTHOLOGY

It was another tranquil evening in Dankaranya. After the sunset, birds were quiet…. the forest did not betray any movement. Mild fragrance of wild flowers hung heavy among the trees . The river Godavari was flowing as usual. Stars were shining on the sky above. Neither the river nor the sky betrayed any fore-bidding of an epoch of the millennium which would have its first act unfolding next morning in this forest .

This evening , a young woman was reclining on a flower decorated divan. placed on a raised platform adjacent to the river’s bank. Her supple athletic body betrayed slight tension. Her companions had lit up the platform with decorative lamps and placed incense sticks in its four corners . One of them was playing a stringed instrument softly. Her favourite masseur was ready with lukewarm oil, mixed with herbal ingredients and bowls of warm water, waiting slightly impatiently for the touch of her sensuous body his deft fingers would get during this chore and the pain of his ever-unfulfilled arousal. Her favourite snacks and drink were ready on a silver platter placed near her divan. A perfect set-up for relaxation of this special woman who spent the day riding through the forest on horse-back and hunting.

One of her companions came near her with slow-burning camphor, soaked in aphrodisiacs. She informed her that three young satraps of this forest were waiting in her pavilion .......invited to join her for a sumptuous dinner and later a session of wild revelry and dance to the tune of orgasmic drum-beats .

But, her mind was wandering far away from this set-up and another evening of heightened pleasure. She was staring at the flicker of light coming from a distance through trees of this forest. She was intrigued by the dwellers of the sprawling cottage where the light was coming from. This cottage came up after she last visited this favourite hunting place of hers. She was , therefore, naturally curious about the dwellers of this cottage. She found there were three persons in this cottage. Two young men, one practicing archery and the other repairing the thatching of the cottage….. and a veiled beauty, humming and watering the creepers on the fencing. One thing she noticed : They were so different from all the people she knew in the power circle she belonged to.

This woman was no ordinary person. Her father was a very respected sage, her eldest brother a very powerful king, dreaded for his exploits of kingdoms and women, and her half-brother the richest person of the universe. Enlightened and sophisticated woman she was, with huge resources placed at her disposal. Her prowess has attracted many virile men to her inner circle. But, for the first time in her life, she felt attracted to a man, in a way she could not fathom herself.

These three persons staying at the distant cottage were no ordinary persons either. But, they were busy with their lives, having no idea what would befall upon them the next morning , when their neighbour would walk into their cottage with an unexpected request. The course of event would change not only their lives for ever but those of thousands whose existence they were not yet aware of.

This was the night before the start of a war Gods would watch with trepidation. One of the greatest poets of India will write an Epic based on this war . Can you guess who this woman is ?

She is Soopananakha, grand-daughter of sage Pulastya, daughter of Visrava and Kaikasee, sister of Ravana and half-sister of Kuber. Next morning, she would put on her best dress, jewelry and demeanour , and offer herself to the archer she saw from a distance. The other young man , the archer’s younger brother, would jeer at her dark skin , taunt her for her amorous advances and throw her out of their cottage . Losing her cool, she would turn blind with rage and create a ruckus. In a cruel act of retribution by the younger brother, she would be disfigured permanently.Her bodyguards would be killed. Soon, her eldest brother Ravana would abduct the veiled beauty to avenge this insult. A devastating battle would engulf her country bringing in immense tragedy into the lives of the all the valiant relatives of Soorpanakha as well as to the person she wanted to allure into her life.

This is a tale of India millenniums ago. To-day , Anurag Kashyap finds her heroine carrying a bed-roll to the shade of a tree and inviting her lover Dev D to have sex with her. Dev D disappoints Paro and the audience . Tragedy follows but, of a different kind and scale !

A conventional portrayal of Soorpanakha under attack - Jorbangla temple ,Bishnupur