CEILING ART IN TEMPLES @ AIHOLE & PATTADAKAL, KARNATAKA

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 !

 The  ceiling art of Virupaksha temple,Pattadakal is of Surya in his seven-horses chariot - not any one of the Trinity. Very  seriously done arrt-work, with many charatcters of Surya's Iconography. Art historians can compare with the Poosha - the morning sun of Konark temple !

 Surya holds two lotus buds in his two hands - will they bloom as the day progresses ? his two consorts  strikes pose with bows - as if the arrows will pierce the darkness. Surya stands 'samapada' 

on two lotus. He wears no shoes.

Virupaksha temple,Pattadakal .

We have an elaborate  Kartikeya in the ceiling of  Huchchamalli temple of Aihole. Kartikeya's young face and physique is very carefully crafted. The peacock is quite proportionate in size - I liked this ceiling-relief very much.

   Kartikeya, Huchchimalli Temple,Aihole.

*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'.

IMAGERIES OF SHAKTI IN LAND OF SAIVITES - II

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 wields 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 sends 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 placing 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' does 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

 

'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

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

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 with 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 - IV

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 he would 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

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.

IN PURSUIT OF SIVA ICONOGRAPHY - I

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.