Studies in Indian Art c14.s3: 42. A Samudramanthana Sculpture from Hardwar
Studies in Indian Art c14.s3
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42. A Samudramanthana Sculpture from Hardwar
c14.s3.1
This nice lintel (ht. 11"; length 2'6"; width 11") originating from a village named Jhivarhedi, 16 miles south of Hardwar, is now deposited in the Gurukul Kangari Museum at Hardwar. It is a welcome addition to a style of art, of which only few specimens are known in north Indian sculpture. The whole scene is very animated and the composition of the figures is rendered with great mastery and success. The force and dynamic application of power as appropriate to the occasion of the churning of the ocean are manifest in every detail of the sculpture, specially in the poses of the figures on the proper right side (*Fig. 158*).
c14.s3.2
The scene represented relates to Samudramanthana, churning of the ocean by the Devas and the Asuras. The cosmic serpent Vāsuki was used by them as the churning rope, Mount Mandarāchala was employed as the churning stick and its end rested on the back of the cosmic tortoise. The story says that the gods were relegated to hold the tail portion of the serpent as a mark of their receiving inferior treatment from the Asuras, who caught hold of the head of the serpent by virtue of their being of elderly rank. In the picture we find eight Deva figures holding the long body of the serpent and using their strength to pull it to their side. The figures have matted locks and beards. The bodies of the first two are shown slanting with the feet planted firmly on the ground and the busts exerting backwards. In between the first three figures there appear two more heads probably attendants or spectators. The third figure is wearing a *langoti* and the serpent passes under his right arm. His serious-looking long drawn face is the work of a master, and the same can be said of the face of the fourth oldish figure posed in tension. This figure has a long beard and a top knot and is holding the serpent with both hands, the right elbow showing a sharp angle. The fifth figure is rather of younger age. The sixth figure is standing in an opposite way, with its back to the visitor, the serpent passing under his armpits. The next two figures are facing towards and standing nearest to the churning stick.
c14.s3.3
In the left corner of the relief, there is one figure which must be that of an Asura. He is holding the hood of the serpent, is wearing a conical *kulah* cap, and has a short beard and pointed cheek bones like those in Sassanian figures.
c14.s3.4
In between the first and the second figures on this side there is a longish object around which the body of the serpent is coiled twice. It is the churning stick in a jar (*ghaṭa*) placed on a mountain below which rests on the back of a tortoise.
c14.s3.5
The sculpture seems to be the work of a master. Its crowded but well ordered composition, the animated poses and rendering of the bodies in a realistic manner mark it as a work of extra-ordinary merit and an outstanding specimen of north Indian sculpture. The concentrated exertion of force, the pressure of crowding figures and the tension of feeling are effectively rendered, permeating the entire scene. In the gigantic trial of strength between the Angels and the Titans, or the cosmic struggle for supremacy—the Daivāsuram—the Devas appear to have had to summon much greater reserve of power and the application of combined strength than the Asuras who seem to have taken it easy. As against eight Deva figures only one Asura is pitched and the expression on his face shows the easy assurance of victory. On stylistic grounds the sculpture maybe assigned to about the seventh century A.D.
c14.s3.6
Fig. 158. Samudramathan sculpture from Hardwar.