The Development of Hindu Iconography c4: Preface to the First Edition
The Development of Hindu Iconography c4
- Language
- English
Preface to the First Edition
c4.1
T. A. G. Rao's *Elements of Hindu Iconography* (Vols. I and II, published under the auspices of the Travancore State in 1914 and 1916 respectively) has so long been and still is the standard work on the subject. Some other works on it, such as H. Krishna Sastri's *South Indian Gods and Goddesses*, B. C. Bhattacharya's *Indian Images*, Part I, J. Dubreuil's *South Indian Iconography*, the Brahmanical section of N. K. Bhattasali's *Iconography of the Buddhist and Brahmanical Sculptures in the Dacca Museum*, etc., have been published since then. Krishna Sastri's and Dubreuil's works, as their names imply, deal with the South Indian images only, while Bhattacharya's book treats of several North Indian Hindu images of the Gupta and the post-Gupta periods. Bhattasali discusses the special features of the Brahmanical sculptures found mostly in Eastern Bengal. So none of these works can claim to be as full and comprehensive as the monumental work of T. A. G. Rao. But comprehensive as the latter is, it still lacks certain features which are essential for the study of Hindu Iconography. Rao, no doubt, collected a number of very useful iconographic texts (many of which were then unpublished, some are still so even now) in the appendices to his volumes, and reproduced numerous early and late mediaeval and some modern sculptures, mostly South Indian, to illustrate the same, but the development of the individual iconographic types has seldom been discussed by him. To show this development, it is not only necessary to study critically the extant reliefs and single sculptures of the Gupta, Kushan and pre-Kushan periods, but a careful and systematic handling of the numismatic and glyptic remains of India of the same periods is also indispensable. When earlier sculptural types of gods and goddesses are not available, ancient Indian coin and seal devices help us remarkably in determining the mode of their representation in the remote past. To refer to one or two instances: The Buddha type on Kanishka's coins, the Gaja-Lakṣmī device on the coins of Bahasatimita, Azilises and Rajuvula, and the ‘Varāha avatāra’ one on the ‘Ādivarāha drammas’ of the Gurjara Pratihāra king Bhoja I, fully show how they were based on the contemporary representations of the same divinities in Indian plastic art.
c4.2
Not only have the above-mentioned data not been utilised by Rao, but the earliest monumental and epigraphic ones also have not been fully made use of by him. But his was a pioneer work, and it must be said that many of the above materials were not available to him. In the course of long years of teaching the subject to the Post-Graduate students of the Calcutta University, I felt the need of the systematic collection of the above materials and their careful study in relation to Hindu Iconography. The present work is the outcome of years of collection and first-hand study of not only such archaeological data, but also of bringing together many new texts relevant to the subject, which have not yet been fully noticed. This volume, however, mainly deals with the general principles of Hindu Iconography, and the early iconographic types of Hindu divinities as determinable by ancient Indian coins and seals. It is thus complete in itself, and I intend to follow it up with two more volumes dealing with the numerous Hindu cult images and their accessories.
c4.3
In the first chapter of this book, after giving an idea about the subject itself, I have indicated the lines in which the study of Hindu Iconography should be conducted and the varieties of materials handled in its scientific treatment. The second and third chapters contain elaborate discussions about the antiquity and origin of image-worship in India. In them I have tried to appraise critically the views of previous scholars on the above problems and have given my own based on literary and archaeological data. In the fourth and fifth chapters I have shown how the ancient Indian coins and seal-impressions can materially help us in ascertaining the early iconographic types of a number of Hindu divinities and their emblems, many of which would have otherwise remained unknown to us. In the sixth chapter I have elaborately discussed the technique of the Iconoplastic art in India with the help of a variety of indigenous texts, few of which were critically studied by the previous writers on the subject. I have also discussed there the various factors which contributed to the development of this art in India and the nature and extent of their individual contributions. In the seventh chapter have been explained the various technical terms and terminologies that are frequently to be found in iconographic texts, a correct knowledge of which is essential to every student of Hindu Iconography. In the eighth and last chapter the Indian canons of Iconometry have been discussed, a proper understanding of which is necessary for the study of this subject. In course of this I have instituted a brief comparison of the Indian canons with those followed by the Egyptian and the Hellenistic artists of ancient times. It has been found necessary to add three appendices to my book, in the second one of which I have re-edited the iconometric text entitled *Pratimāmānalakṣaṇam* with translation and notes. In all these tasks I have often referred to the views of various previous writers; reasons have often been adduced by me, whether I accepted or rejected them. I may submit here that my method in the above studies is mainly objective, and I have approached the subject chiefly as a student of history and archaeology. This is the reason why I could not utilise some comparatively recent publications of eminent authors, which, remarkable as they are, treat Iconography from an angle different from that of mine.
c4.4
Ten plates are appended to this work, the first five of which contain drawings carefully made by Mr. S. Banerjee, artist, under my supervision, from early Indian coin and seal-devices and sculptures; the last four plates are reproductions of the reverse figures of some coins and of a few seal-impressions. These mostly illustrate the fourth, fifth and the seventh chapters of my book. Figures 1, 2, 3 in plate No. VI illustrate my observations contained in the last chapter; figure 4 in the same plate shows the broad proportions of the height of a human body followed by modern artists of the West.
c4.5
A few words about the system of transliteration adopted in the following pages are necessary. I have followed the system recommended in the *Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society*, with slight modification; for example, I have invariably used *ṃ* in place of *ṁ* to denote an anusvāra. In writing modern place names as well as ancient ones still current, I have usually desisted from the use of diacritical marks. But sometimes, due to oversight, the same name (*e.g.*, Gandhāra) has been spelt with or without these marks; but such lapses, I hope, are comparatively few.
c4.6
I have prepared a General Index as well as a Bibliographie one for the convenience of my readers. Attempt has been made to make both as full and comprehensive as possible; Sanskrit words of technical import have been incorporated into the former.
c4.7
It was the late Sir Asutosh Mookerjee who first kindly offered me facilities for studying Indian art and archaeology. I take this opportunity to dedicate my book to his sacred memory as a token of gratitude and esteem which I shall always cherish for him. I am also greatly indebted to his worthy son, Dr. Syamaprasad Mookerjee, the President of the Post-Graduate Council in Arts, for the encouragement I always received from him in my work, for which I shall remain ever grateful to him. My former teacher and the present head of my department, Dr. H. C. Raychaudhuri has taken a keen interest in my work all along and I am much obliged to him for a few suggestions of his, which I have incorporated in the first chapter. Dr. P. C. Bagchi, my esteemed friend and colleague, has laid me under deep obligation by kindly allowing me to use the manuscript copy of *Pratimāmānalakṣaṇam* which was brought by him from Nepal sometime ago. Dr. Stella Kramrisch, my distinguished colleague, kindly went through most of the book, while it was being seen through the press. Mr. S. K. Saraswati, one of my former pupils and now one of my colleagues, has obliged me with some practical suggestions in the formal get-up of the book and in other matters. I am also much indebted to Dr. N. N. Law, the learned editor of the Indian Historical Quarterly, for kindly allowing me to utilise several blocks which were prepared at his expense to illustrate two of my articles published in his Journal. I should also express my obligation to him and to the Joint Editors of the Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art for permitting me to incorporate in this volume a few of my articles published in their respective Journals. I cannot but be grateful to the different authorities of the Indian Museums, especially Calcutta and Punjab Museums, and the authorities of the British Museum, London, for kindly allowing me to reproduce a few of the coins and seals in their collection, all of which have been previously published. I shall remain thankful to Mr. J. C. Chakravorti, the Registrar of the Calcutta University, for his great help in the publication of this volume. My thanks are also due to Mr. D. Ganguly, the Superintendent of the Calcutta University Press, and the members of his staff, for the unfailing courtesy and kind attention which were shown to me while the book was going through the press.
c4.8
A few errors and misprints in the following pages could not be avoided; certain suggestions relevant to different topics discussed in the book occurred to me when the particular sections had been printed off. The former have been corrected and the latter added in the few pages on Additions and Corrections. Some more printing and other errors might have escaped my notice, for which I crave the indulgence of my readers. No one is more conscious than myself about my own limitations; I can only say that I have made an honest effort to throw some new light, however small and fitful it may be, on the study of Hindu Iconography. It is for my readers to judge how far I have been successful in the attempt.
c4.9
CALCUTTA UNIVERSITY, 1st December, 1941.
c4.10
JITENDRA NATH BANERJEA.