Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c10.s5.1

c10.s5.1

Viśvakarma, already referred to as the mythical ancestor of the Kammālar, is the patron deity of arts and crafts, the great Over-craftsman of the Universe. He is the architect of the gods, and revealer of the Sthapatya Vēda, or science of architecture and mechanics. He is described in the Mahābhārata as ‘Lord of the arts, the carpenter of the Gods, the fashioner of all ornaments, Who formed the celestial chariots of the deities, on whose craft men subsist, and whom, a great and immortal God, they continually worship.’ He is known in India also as Kāru, the workman; Takshaka, the woodcutter; and Dēva-vardhika, the builder of the Gods. In the last capacity he is frequently referred to in the Mahāvaṃsa, and as assisting human undertakings at the command of the Gods; as in Ch. XXVIII., where by his aid, bricks are miraculously produced. In Ch. XXX., when the King enquired of a certain bricklayer, “In what form dost thou propose to construct the cētiya?”, it is stated that Viśvakarma in that instant inspired him. The bricklayer, Viśvakarma filling a golden dish with water, and taking some water in the palm of his hand, dashed it against the water (in the dish); a great globule, like unto a ball of crystal rose to the surface; and he said, ‘I will construct it in this form.’ The delighted monarch bestowed on him a suit of clothes worth a thousand, a splendid pair of slippers, and 12,000 kahāpaṇam (coins)” (Mahāvaṃsa, Ch. XXX). It would be easy to quote any number of such stories from Indian literature.