TEMPLES EXTRA-ORDINARY : OUR VISIT TO TEMPLES OF ORISSA -PART V

IN THE TOWN OF TEMPLES : 

 A FORGOTTEN TEMPLE : SWARNAJALESWAR

SwarnaJaleswar temple . 

A portion of the  wall around the tiny court-yard is seen as well as the  empty ground from where  some photography is possible.

This temple will not be in the list of regular tourists cris-crossing Bhubaneswar. It does appear   in the list of temples of this town -  but it does not at all figure among the  well-known ones. I could not trace one photo of this temple in the Internet ! Well -  Internet  dates this temple to 7th century AD , mentions its resemblance to that of Parasuramaswar temple and added that Kotitirtheswar temple is in its neighbourhood. Someone told me while I was planning my trip to Bhubaneswar that it is best approached through a narrow lane opposite to  Parasuramaswar temple - a tenacious auto-rickshaw driver did take us to the right spot through a winding lane and not without several misses. You must not quite believe the simplicity of ' Bhubaneswar Heritage Walk : Route 2' of http://www.orissatourism.gov.in/heritagewalk.htm.

 Fragment of a beautiful 'Mithuna Murti' . 

One of the finest amorous couple in my collection.

This temple's height would be that of Parasuramaswar temple, but there is no Jagmohana here. Maintenance must have been much worse than that of Parasuramaswar temple. It must have been neglected for quite a  long stretch . Now, with reconstruction, some of the wall-reliefs are noticeable to the occasional visitors. It is tucked away in a court-yard beyond a cluster of houses and photography of at least two sides is possible from a large empty ground on the side of the court-yard, in spite a tree in the vicinity. If a large building comes up in this large tract of land, this temple will be hidden from public view for ever.

 

 Wall-relief of Ganesha and the smaller version on  its top (above). 

A bowl of fruits in front of the stool makes it interesting.

Pious  persons are both on the top and central depictions  

may be the ones who built this temple.

 I found a wall-relief of Ganesha , badly mutilated, sitting on a pedestal with lions as its legs . There is another small Ganesha, quite intact, just above the head of this mutilated one. I found a bust of a Nagdevata too - much like the one I found  @ the main temple of SriMukhalingam. I have noted  Nagdevata is a regular feature of  Orissa temples, but often without the status of a  'Parshadevata'.

 NagaDevata

The  broken and damaged wall-reliefs in the front of the temple are the ones which  deserve special mention.There is a wonderful Nataraja here - most of it is lost - but  one can imagine how beautiful it was when intact. Nataraja is in tribhanga posture. Only a small part of the 'dola hasta'  rsurvived the vandals and ravage of time. It has similarity  with the 10-handed Nataraja above the Jagomohana of Parasurameswar temple , but more attractive . The influence is evident from the headless person playing drum in the left-hand corner.

  Nataraja exquisite. Ithyphallic ,with his head tilting towards left, 

finely chiseled face,eyes and matted hair. 

We see a small portion of Siva's 'dola hasta' and 

 delicately crafted fingers and nails ! 

The simple waist-band and the hangings  and index finger touching  his own left thigh create an irresistible image.

 I have taken  some more photos which include a three-headed manifestation of Siva, several grotesque figures - human and animals, a four-armed god in 'yogasana', a two-armed 'Nataraja' or a dancer in the centre of a 'Bho' during reconstruction. Strangely, during reconstruction, someone has put the mutilated figures of  a 3-persons amorous scene in two parts - one part each at two ends ( !) , only a pot-bellied short character intact. More such examples can be a subject of academic discussion, but what is intriguing is a 'Uma-Maheswar' reconstructed in such a manner that it becomes an interesting  subject of discussion.

 A jigsaw puzzle  for all of us . 

1 - Siva or Sivani with a trident in his/her right-arm, question - relevant in this depiction , 

2a - Siva/'Maheswar's face, 2 - part of his body,

3 - Uma's left arm, 3a -Uma's right leg,

 4 - Ganesha, 5 -bull, 6 - Lion, 7 - a 'yogini',8 - a very fine and intact 'Bhringee'. There are many more figures in this wall-relief.

I invite readers of this blog, trained in Photoshop, to reconstruct this panel. My very 1st attempt is here :

TEMPLES EXTRA-ORDINARY : OUR VISIT TO TEMPLES OF ORISSA - PART IV

IN THE TOWN OF TEMPLES : VAITAL TEMPLE 

 The famous eight-armed MahishasuraMardini on  northern wall of 

Vaital temple.

Vaital temple  is known for its association with performers of 'tantrik' rites. Some bloggers have written about the eerie  atmosphere inside - specially  with a fearsome idol of its presiding  deity 'Camunda' and idols of Bhairavas inside the temple. Unfortunately, entrance to the temple was closed when we reached there because we were there at around 2.30 pm. I knew that the priest opposes any any attempt to take photos inside the temple - still, I am quite disappointed that  an opportunity was missed.

 Vaital temple  and Sisireswar temple.

8th century temples with several unique features.

I found a photo of Vaital temple's Camunda  in a blog where the writer has used a photo  sourced from IGNCA. I  noted the deity is covered with a saree and garland - in my opinion, the  deity found in Jajpur is fiercest among the few photos published in Internet.  Camunda of  '64 Yoginis' temple' @ nearby Hirapur village is also fearsome , but the effect  is lost partly  because it has been defaced and partly because it is in open, not  enshrined in semi-dark sanctum !

 Camunda  - goddess with her emaciated body and fierce posture - 

of   '64 Yoginis' temple' @ nearby Hirapur village

 Vaital  and Sisireshwar temples are adjacent to each other  and enclosed within an irregular compound wall. It is unfortunate that this  small complex  is so tight in space that photography around Sisireswar  temple is impossible. Only south side of this 8th century temple, said to be built in  same architectural form  as that of Parashurameswar temple , is accessible to photographers !  Rich carvings of this wall is a delight to watch. It is unfortunate that a green sprawling site that ASI has developed for RajaRani temple is not possible here, not even one like Parashurameswar temple.

 View of the southern facade of  Sisireswar temple. Richly carved, 

it contains remarkable wall-reliefs of Ganesha and Lakulisha.

11.6m tall Vaital temple is unique in many respects . It has a  semi-cylindrical roof - known as  'khakhara' - which can be compared with an inverted boat  or a Gopuram of Southern temple architecture. Nataraja-Surya  combination on the wall above the Jagmohana is unique - the details  themselves deserve a separate blog !Also unique are the wall-reliefs of  6-armed 'MahishaMardini'  , 4-armed Shivani and Uma-Maheswar . I found a 'ArdhaNareeswar' on Vaital temple's wall which I did not come across anywhere else @ Bhuvaneswar.

 

Huge wall-relief above the Jagmohana of Vaital temple. On top, 

8-armed ithyphallic Nataraja ,Devi on his left, Nandi staring upwards. 

Below, Surya  on his 7-horses chariot with his 2 consorts.

Mythical animals including Capricorns,elephants, hermits, amorous couples and others adorn this wonderful wall-relief.

 A very well-known Uma-Maheswara wall-relief.

Siva ithyphallic 4-armed, with a round object in his lower right hand.

Parvati sitting close to him - not on his left thigh. Both the postures are comparable to a similar wall-relief of Parashurameswar temple.

Some of the stories  on the walls  remained a puzzle to me. One of them is here , where we find hermits engaged with women, at least two among whom are equipped with arms !

TEMPLES EXTRA-ORDINARY : OUR VISIT TO TEMPLES OF ORISSA - PART -II

IN THE TOWN OF TEMPLES : PARASURAMESWAR TEMPLE

 Parasurameswar temple. 7th century AD.

 Bhubaneswar is a temple- town. Most of the temples are devoted to Siva.It is not him in 'samhara-murthy' - the divine annihilator - whom we find  here at Bhubaneswar. We see him as the divine source of energy of creation, symbolised by his 'linga' piercing the 'yonipatta'. Those who study temple architecture of India believe that Orissan temples' shape  has been developed imitating the shape of 'Siva Linga'  ++.

 'Koti Lingam', North court-yard,Parasurameswar temple.

Said to have 1001 'lingam' inscribed on the shaft.

Saivites of India  have evolved from sub-sects spread across this vast country through centuries and are of  much diverse origins than the followers of other Vedic gods Simply stated, Siva had his worshipers among various communities of  non-Aryans . Numerous tales of his deeds, which contribute to his characteristics and his imageries, have sources  across this vast country, recounted through the ages. Historians of Art have written pages about the same and will continue to do so. I submit here  in przmm.blogspot.com what I little I viewed through the lenses of my camera.

Eight-armed  Nataraja . Ithyphallic.

Partly damaged lower portion depicts torso of Bhringee

and legs of Nandi.

 To appreciate  the iconography of Parasurameswar temple, it is relevant to  understand the  timeline  of Saiva architecture of the centuries of 1st millennium AD * :

• Virupaksha temple, Pattadakal was constructed by Queen Lokamahadevi in 745 AD.
• Kailashanatha temple , Ellora caves was  started by King  Krishna I of Rastrakuta dynasty - his rule was between 757 - 773 AD.
•  Mamallapuram - developed during 7th century AD.
• Parasurameswar temple -  developed during 7th century AD.

 These years are important to understand  what I shall state in the next two paragraphs.

 Parvati embraces Siva as Ravana shakes Kailash.

Unperturbed Siva's right-hand is in 'Abhaya mudra'.

 Parasurameswar temple  is the oldest among the surviving temples of Bhubaneswar. Its style is remarkable. The temple faces the west, its Jagomohan has a second door which is south-facing , the  door to inner sanctum has 'Asta Graha'( Eight Planets) inscribed on it . The ninth planet - Ketu - made its appearance in later-day temples.North-west side of the temple's court-yard has a 'Koti Lingam'** installed.

A close-up of 'Siva-Parvati in Kailash'. Parvati sitting on 

left-thigh of Siva. Siva ithyphallic.

To me . more important is that this temple is iconography. On the western wall of its 'deul', just above the roof of 'Jagomohan', we see Ravana disturbing the union of Siva and Parvati @ Kailasa. There are Ganesa, Kartikeya, Bhringee and other characters around. Siva is unperturbed but Parvati is not. Now - if we refer to the timeline above, we shall find that 'Ravana lifting Kailasa' of Ellora and Pattadakal - so very well-known - have their predecessor here.

 Revelry of Siva  and his followers . 

Top row : Siva dancing. Lower row : Musicians among his followers.

Parvati getting ready for marriage

This temple's eastern wall has a big wall-relief of Kartikeya , on its top the scene of Siva's marriage, thus bringing in the memory of 'Kumarsambhamam' - 'Birth of Kumar (Kartikeya'), written by the famous poet of Gupta era, Kalidasa,  during 4th century AD. The 'energy of creation' - represented by union of Siva and Parvati -  manifests in  their embrace on the west wall and again on the southern wall , in their marriage scene  and Kartikeya on the eastern wall, in 'Koti Lingam' of the court-yard and the shape of the 'deul'.

 

Very elegant wall-relief of Kartikeya.

On the top band, marriage scene  of Siva and Parvati.

Surya and Brahma on right-side of Siva, 

while Himalaya and Menoka flank Parvati.

Parvati snugs close to Siva - ithyphallic.

 Their respective  mounts,bull and lion, are depicted in the wall-relief too.

 The 'Andhakasura' episode of Siva's mythology was prominent on the mind of  the Savite artists of this temple. We find Nataraja and Bhringee on the south and western walls, 'SaptaMatrika' on the Northern wall. There are other 'Parsa Devata' - gods depicted on the outer walls of the temple. But, significant are  : the marriage procession of Siva-Parvati on the west -face of Jagomohan and Siva - Annapurna on on the southern wall of 'deul'.I have not come across any Siva-Annapurna  during my visit to the temples of SriMukhalingam,Aihole and Pattadakal in February'2011 - I consider this wall-relief quite special.

Siva  holds out an empty pot to Annapurna.

NOTES on Sources : 
++1. A Bengali book on ''Mithuna' Iconography by Late Narayan Sanyal

* 2. Quoted from WIKIPEDIA.
**3. 'KOTI LINGAM' -  Literal meaning  - 10 million 'Lingam'. I have been told by the priest of this temple that there are 1001 'lingam' inscribed. According to a source, stones with Buddhist inscriptions have been converted to 'Koti Lingam'. This is, however, is an unverified staement and not meant to offend any religious sentiment.
I have seen another 'KOTI LINGAM' shaft @ Mahakuta (    near Badami) , Karnataka.

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.   

SUMMER VACATION @ BANBURY, OXFORDSHIRE

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 Lakulisha 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)