South Indian Bronzes: A Historical Survey of South Indian Sculpture with Iconographical Notes Based on Original Sources c8: Chapter III

South Indian Bronzes: A Historical Survey of South Indian Sculpture with Iconographical Notes Based on Original Sources c8

Language: English

Chapter III

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IN studying this school of bronzes it will be useful to consider the methods and process employed and the rules followed by these artists. Bronze is technically known by these artists as *Panchalouha*, literally the ‘five irons’—the amalgam being composed of the five metals—copper, silver, gold, brass and white lead. The copper forms the chief ingredient and according to the present practice the gold and silver are generally dispensed with. In most of the modern images the amalgam is made of the following proportions :—10 parts of copper, ½ part of brass and ¼ part of white lead. The process employed in casting the images is most well-known as the *cire perdu* or the ‘lost-wax’ process. The image is first modelled in wax in actual size which is wrapped in a thick coating of soft clay kept in position by wires. The wax model is then caused to be melted away by the application of heat which leaves a ‘hollow’ in which the amalgam is poured in. After the metal has set and cooled, the mud wrapper is removed and the figure is then chased and chiselled and all the fine finish is then worked at which sometimes takes days and months, according to the skill and technical power of the artist. It is clear, that unlike the copper-gilt images of the Tibeto-Nepal School, the South Indian *Pancha louha* sculptures are all cast in solid metals. This is also the case with the metal images found in Ceylon. There are actual texts which forbid the casting of hollow images. The Ceylonese rule is found in the canon attributed to Sariputra which runs as follows:—“No images of gold or other metal should be cast hollow within. The making of hollow images will ere long result in the loss of wife and wealth and lead to quarrels and famine.” (Coomaraswamy *Mediæval Sinhalese Art*, p. 154.)

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The first stage in casting the image is what is technically known as ‘*Madhuchistha Bidhanam*’ or the preparation of the wax-model. That the practice is a very old one appears from chapter 69 of the Mānasāra¹ which ascribes the process to the time of Agastya, Kasyapa, Garga and other Rishis.² Unfortunately the description of the process given in the chapter is very meagre and corrupt and full of mis-spellings which make the text quite unintelligible. The available portions of Kāsyapiya do not contain any chapter dealing with the technique of the casting. The art was practised by the image-makers in the Buddhist period³ (as is still done in some parts of Burmah) and it will be interesting to compare the formula for making bronze or ‘Samrit’⁴ as it is called, as laid down in an old Siamese manuscript now in the possession of the King of Siam.⁵

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¹ “*Lohajam-sakalam-yattu madhuchistena nirmitam*” i.e., ‘the metal images are made from wax.’

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¹ MSS. No. I. A. 60 in the collection of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

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² The use of copper seems to be as old as the Vedas as will appear from a reference to 'lohitam ayas (red metal, t.e., copper) in the Atharva Veda, XI 3, 7.

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³ The colossal copper figure of Buddha discovered in Sultangung, Behar, was seven feet high and weighed nearly 27 maunds and has been attributed to the 5th century A.D., vide "Manufacture of copper in Ancient India" by Professor Panchanon Neogy, M.A., read before the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Calcutta, 9th April 1914.

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⁴ "Take 12 parts of weight of pure tin, melt it at a slow fire, and avoid bringing it to a red-heat. Then pour in two parts of quicksilver, stir until the latter has become thoroughly absorbed and amalgamated, and cast the mixture into a bar. Take 80 parts of refined copper and melt it, and then gradually incorporate with it the amalgam, stirring vigorously in the meantime. Now throw into the crucible a sufficient quantity of ashes obtained from the stems of the 'bua-bok' (lotus) creeper, so as to cover the molten metal. Remove the dross with an iron ladle, and the metal remaining is Samrit bronze." This percentage thus works out to be 85.11 copper, 12.76 tin, and 2.13 quicksilver. Science Siftings quoted in The Statesman, 19th November 1911.

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⁵ To Mr. W. S. Hadaway, Government School of Art, Madras, is due the credit of publishing some of the South Indian canons for image making, vide his paper on "Proportions of Images taken from the Silpa Sastras" read before the India Society, London, published in 'The Hindu' on the 15th and 16th August 1912. His recent article published in the Ostasiatische Zeitschrift does not contain any new materials.

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A wax model of Siva-Kāma-Sundari illustrated in figure (1) was made for the writer by Guruswamy Sthapathy, a living hereditary sculptor from Swami Malai. This will help us to follow the rules and canons of imagemaking which are still followed according to the old Sanskrit texts, it being considered improper to follow any other measurements in the making of images.⁶ In the Brāmhiya, Sāraswatiya, Kāsyapiya and in the Mānasāra elaborate rules are laid down dealing with measurements of all sorts of images current in South India. The young apprentice is taught to learn by heart these formulas and he learns their practical application in the workshop of some master-sculptor probably his own father, brother or grandfather. Some times he is taught a series of versus memorialis which give in a few words the the Roman world, and the most important events of the reign of Antoninus Pius, are related by his biographer, and the reader will not be sorry to find them here in a more concise form. The reign of Antoninus Pius is marked by the rare advantage of furnishing very few materials for history; which is only another mode of saying that its happiness was complete. During the twenty-three years of his administration, the Roman empire was governed by the same invariable maxims of justice and peace. The natives of a vast extent of country were protected by the same laws, and enjoyed the same privileges. The frontiers were defended by the same legions, and the same spirit of moderation and equity prevailed in the councils of the emperor. The death of Antoninus was lamented as a public calamity; and the memory of his virtues was preserved by the gratitude of his subjects, and the imitation of his successor.

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Fig 1

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The reign of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, which followed, was a period of great activity and of great events. The empire was attacked on all sides by the barbarians, and the emperor was obliged to spend the greater part of his life in the camp. He was a man of a mild and philosophical temper, and he would have preferred the quiet of the study to the tumult of the field. But he was a prince of a high sense of duty, and he did not shrink from the task which was imposed upon him. He defended the frontiers with vigour, and he defeated the enemies of Rome in many a hard-fought battle. His death was a loss to the empire, and it was felt by all classes of his subjects. He was the last of the good emperors, and with him the golden age of the Roman empire may be said to have terminated.

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The character of the Roman government, under the Antonines, was that of a mild and paternal despotism. The emperor was the source of all power, and his will was the law of the land. But he was restrained by the influence of the senate, and by the force of public opinion. The senate was still a body of great dignity and importance, and its members were the principal officers of the state. The emperor was careful to consult them on all matters of importance, and he was always ready to listen to their advice. The public opinion was also a powerful check upon the actions of the emperor. The people of Rome were still a proud and independent race, and they were not afraid to express their dissatisfaction with the measures of the government. The emperor was aware of this, and he was always careful to avoid any act that would be likely to give offence to the people.

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The administration of justice was one of the most important duties of the emperor. He was the supreme judge of the empire, and he was always ready to hear the complaints of his subjects. He was assisted by a council of jurists, who were the most learned men of the age. The laws were administered with impartiality, and the rights of the citizens were protected. The taxes were moderate, and they were collected with fairness. The public works were carried on with vigour, and the cities of the empire were adorned with magnificent buildings. The trade and commerce of the empire were encouraged, and the people were prosperous and happy. The Roman empire, under the Antonines, was a model of good government, and it was the envy of the world.

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important measurements and are found more useful than the longer sets of rules given in the Sanskrit works above named. Examples of these mnemonic verses will be quoted at the proper place.

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The value of these canons of proportions in the development or otherwise of the art of sculpture is of some consideration. It has been stated that the rules laid down in the *Silpa Sastras* have for ever limited the scope or originality of the genius of the artist. To repeat the same forms in strict accordance to the *dhyana mantras* in measures and proportions immutably fixed could hardly afford any latitude in the artistic expression of the sculptor.

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If one compare and examine different examples of the same theme, say the Natarāja or the Ganesha, it will be found that they have been treated with artistic skill varying with the degree of the genius or the technical power of each performer. The rules and canons are only limitations for the mediocre and the incapacitate—and not to the real artist to whom the fixed convention of a particular theme is never a barrier to his artistic expression. The canons or the *dhyāna mantras* which have defined on strict lines the conception and the form of the subject have not proved to the masters of South Indian school of bronzes any serious impediment to their artistic skill. It was in later times when the artists divorced from the culture and training of their predecessors, failed to grasp the meaning and significance of the original conceptions suggested in the *dhyanas* or failed to interpret the spirit of these conceptions that they fell back merely on the rules and canons which alone could not help them to create artistic images. The conceptions of the Brahmin iconographers could only be interpreted and expressed in forms by those artists who could enter into the spirit of these conceptions and sympathise with the meaning and significance of their ideals. The ancient Greek artists had also their canons and systems of proportions but the beauty of the great schools of Greek Sculpture was no more due to these formulas than the artistic excellence of these South Indian bronzes was due to the systems laid down in the *Silpa Sāstras*. Polykleitos (440-410 B.C.) who composed a *Treatise on Proportion* with a model in marble known as Doryphorus used a system founded on the Egyptian rules. There was also a system attributed to Vitruvius which used to be followed by Leonardo da Vinci and also by Lysippius. The system of proportions was therefore a very ancient practice and had their uses for the practical sculptor. The Buddhist image-makers had also their system of proportions. The rules of the South Indian sculptors are however quite different from those practised by the Buddhist artists and the Hindu sculptors of the North.

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The rules which are embodied in the South Indian manuscripts fall into three divisions :—(a) The *dhyāna* or the contemplative verse which gave the iconography of each deity. They are sometimes a little different from the *dhyānas* or *stottras* (hymns) in actual use in the worship of the deity in the temple. They set forth in concise language the characteristics of the deity giving the number of hands and the weapons carried by it and a general description of the pattern of the image. The *dhyānas* used in the cult-worship of the image in the temple dealt specially with the spiritual character and the personality of the deity rather than its physical characteristics. The difference between the two kinds of *dhyānas* will be found in the two verses quoted in the description of Natarāja (Plates III & IV). (b) The *lakhanas* or the precipé which suggested a sort of a pattern image in the form of which the particular deity described in the *dhyāna* is to be translated. The *lakhanas* are given generally only in respect of the more important deities. They give the pose and other details and particulars for the image which are not found in the *dhyānas*. (c) The measurements of the different parts of the body and their relation to each other. These measurements are given with reference to particular classes of images. The types, suggested by the system of measurements given in the *Silpa Sāstras*, do not relate to the construction of human figures although they are deduced from the average human model. They suggest a standard for a super-human being, situate on a plane higher than the ethnical level.

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The face is taken as the unit or the common measure and is technically known as *tula*. In the 4th chapter of the *Sukra-nitisāra* as also in the *Pratimālakhana*, chapter 58 of the Brihat Sanhitā, measurements are given of the average human body according to which the average male figure is stated to be eight times the face which is represented by one *tala*. This law of eight heads or *asta tālam* is therefore the same as laid down by Vitruvius. Any height for a human male less than the *eighth measure* is conceived in the *Sukraniti* as dwarfish or below the average. The average human female figure is given as of seven measures (*Sapta tāla*). The average infant figure is laid down as of the fifth measure (*Pancha tāla*) : " *Pancha-tala smritā-bālā*," ' The fifth measure is said to be for the infant.'

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¹ The Kokka No. 6 and No. 7 of 1906.

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The measures higher than the *asta tāla* are reserved for the images of the gods, demons, *rakshasas* and other super-human beings. Thus the image of the goddess according to the *Sukraniti* is always in the ninth measure, that of a *rakshasi* in the tenth measure. According to the *Brihat sanhita* the measure of the finest type of man is given as 108 *angulas* which correspond to the *Madhyamnava-tāla*; that of the average man 96 *angulas*, the *asta tāla* measure; and the man below the average is stated to be 84 *angulas* high.' The South Indian and the Ceylonese manuscripts however differ a little from the *Sukraniti* and other works in respect of the rules for the measure of the deities. But except in the case of the image of Ganesha and Krishna all the measures given for the images of deities are higher than the *asta tāla* the average human measure, as stated in the *Sukraniti*; the higher measurements suggesting a relatively ' heroic ' type.

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The *tāla*, the measure of the face, is sub-divided into *tāla*. 12 parts each represented by one *angula*. The lowest unit being *anus* or the atoms which are seen in a ray of sunlight streaming through a crevice. The units of measurements which appear to be the same in all the South Indian texts may be thus tabulated :—

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| 8 Anus | .. | 1 | Renu or molecule. |
| 8 Renus | .. | 1 | Romagra (lit., the top of a hair). |
| 8 Romagras | | 1 | Likhya. |
| 8 Likhyas | .. | 1 | Yuka. |
| 8 Yukas | .. | 1 | Yaba or barley-corn. |
| 8 Yabas | .. | 1 | Angula' (Manangul). |
| 12 Angulas | .. | 1 | Tāla. |

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¹ Sukraniti, Chapter IV, 4, sloka 88. 2 Brihat Sanhita, Chs. 67-68, verse 105. 3 Vide (a) Tāla Prakaranam in Agastya's Sa-Kalādhikār.
(b) Brhāmhyia Chitra Karma, 13 chapter.
(c) The Karan Agama, quoted by my friend Mr. Narayan Iyer of the Government School of Art, Trevandrum, gives the same measures, as current in many of the Travancore manuscripts.
(d) Sukraniti, Chapter IV; Sloka, 82.
(e) Barahamihira, Pratima Lakhana, Chapter 58, Slokas 1 and 2.

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Angulas are sometimes classified into (1) *Mānāgulas* according to the above measure; (2) *Mātrangula* represented by the second digit of middle finger of the right hand of man; (3) *Deha labdhāngula* (Lit-‘angula as found in the body’) the measure as found in the *angula* or finger of the image-maker himself. The *mān-angula* is the absolute measure which is the ‘foot rule’ of the craftsman. The distinction of the three classes is however not quite clear. The *Mātrangula* evidently is not a fixed measure like inches but are only units for measurements of a particular figure and must be proportionate to the total height prescribed for a given figure. The *tāla* is deduced from the length of the face which is sub-divided into 12 *angulas* as will appear from the drawing made by a South Indian artist. (Figure 2.) The cranium is not included within the *tālam* which is taken from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the chin. The length of the face differs according to the various *tāla* or measures prescribed for particular deities generally constructed in the *nava tāla* or the *dasa tāla* measure. The *nava tāla* (ninth measure) is again classified into three groups—*Uttama-nava-tāla* (the best ninth measure), the *Madhyama-nava-tāla* (the medium); and the *Adhama-nava-tāla* (the lowest). Similarly the *dasa-tāla* is also divided into ‘Uttam,’ ‘Madhyam’ and ‘Adhama’ or as sometimes called ‘Kaniyasa’ (lowest).

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All the existing manuscripts in the chapters on *Talu Prakarana* give the detailed measurements of the component parts of each of the three groups of the *nava-tāla* images. The different proportions comprised in the *Uttam Dasa tala* quoted below are taken from the Tanjore manuscripts *Tara Lakhanam* and are practically the same as given in the *Kāsyapiya*, chapter 63, where some of the passages are corrupt and unintelligible:--

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The total length is to be divided into 124 equal *angulas* or parts (“*Chaturbingsa-satam kritwā tathai-bāngsena mānayet*”) of which the following divisions are prescribed:--

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4 parts the length of the crown up to the end of the hair. 13 ,, the length of the face. ½ ,, the length of the larynx. 4 ,, the length of the neck.

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¹ *Vide* Burnells’ Classified Index to Sanskrit MSS in the Palace Library of Tanjore, Silpa Sastra VI, No. 9.

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Fig 2

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the Roman world, and the most important events of the reign of Antoninus Pius, are related by his biographer, and the reader will not be sorry to find them here in a more concise form. The reign of Antoninus Pius is marked by the rare advantage of furnishing very few materials for history; which is only another mode of saying that its happiness was complete. During the twenty-three years of his administration, the Roman empire was governed by the same invariable maxims of justice and peace. The natives of a vast extent of country were protected by the same laws, and enjoyed the same privileges. The frontiers were defended by the same legions, and the same spirit of moderation and equity prevailed in the councils of the emperor. The death of Antoninus was lamented as a public calamity; and the memory of his virtues was preserved by the gratitude of his subjects, and the imitation of his successor.

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13½ parts the length of the breast from the neck to the heart. 13½ ,, the length from the heart to the navel. 13½ ,, the length from the navel to the pubis. 27 ,, the length from the pubis to the knee. 4 ,, the length of the knee joint. 27 ,, the length of lower leg from the knee to the ankle. 4 ,, the height of the foot from the ankle to the ground.

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Total 124 parts.

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The measure of the *Madhyam Dasatala* is stated as follows in the *Kāśyapīya*, chapter 49 —

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The total length is divided into 120 equal *angulas* composed of the following parts —

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| The headgear | .. | 1 part |
| From the crown to the termination of the hair | .. | 3 parts |
| From the hair to the eye-lashes | .. | 4½ ,, |
| From the eye-lashes to the nose | .. | 4½ ,, |
| From the nose to the chin | .. | 3¾ ,, |
| The neck | .. | 4 ,, |
| From the neck to the heart | .. | 13 ,, |
| From the heart to the navel | .. | 13 ,, |
| From the navel to the pubis | .. | 13 ,, |
| From the pubis to the knee | .. | 26 ,, |
| The knee | .. | 4 ,, |
| The shank | .. | 26 ,, |
| The foot | .. | 4 ,, |

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Total 120 parts.

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The *Adham-Dasa-tala* according to the same manuscript is as follows —

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The whole length being divided into 112 parts is taken in the following proportions :—

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| The head gear | .. | .. | .. | 1 part. |
| The crown | .. | .. | .. | 3 parts. |
| The face | .. | .. | .. | 12½ ,, |
| The neck | .. | .. | .. | 4 ,, |

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The neck to breast 12 parts Breast to navel 12 " Navel to pubis 12 " Thigh up to knees 25 " Shank 25 " Foot Total 112 parts

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The *Nava tāla* measures in the three grades can be conveniently stated in a tabular form, The texts of the *Kasyapiya* chapter 50 and 51 and the *Brāmhiya* Chapter VII are authorities for the figures.

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| | Uttama Nava Tāla | Madhyama Nava Tāla. | Adhama Nava Tāla. |
| | Parts. | Parts | Parts. |
| Total length ... ... | 112 | 108 | 104 |
| The head gear ... ... | 1 | ... | |
| The crown ... ... | 3 | 3 | |
| The face ... ... | 12 | 12 | |
| Neck ... ... ... | 4 | 3 | |
| Neck to breast ... ... | 12 | 12 | |
| Breast to navel ... ... | 12 | 12 | |
| Navel to pubis ... ... | 12 | 12 | |
| Thigh ... ... ... | 24 | 24 | |
| Knee ... ... ... | 4 | 3 | |
| Shank ... ... ... | 24 | 24 | |
| Foot ... ... ... | 4 | 3 | |
| | 112 | 108 | |

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The *Madhyam-nava-tāla* and its component parts are illustrated in the photograph of the wax model (Fig. 1) one *tālam* in the diagram is equal to 12 parts or *angulas*. The *Uttama-dasa-tāla* is shown in the diagram of Vishnu (Perumal) prepared by an artist of Travancore (figure 3).

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According to the texts, the images of the following deities are to be constructed according to the *Uttama-dasa-tāla* proportions: (a) Brahmā (b) Vishnu, including his the Roman world, and the most important events of the reign of Antoninus Pius, are related by his biographer, and the reader will not be sorry to find them here in a more concise form. The reign of Antoninus Pius is marked by the rare advantage of furnishing very few materials for history; which is only another mode of saying that its happiness was complete. During the twenty-three years of his administration, the Roman empire was governed by the same invariable maxims of justice and peace. The natives of a vast extent of country were protected by the same laws, and enjoyed the same privileges. The frontiers were defended by the same legions, and the same spirit of moderation and equity prevailed in the councils of the emperor. The death of Antoninus was lamented as a public calamity; and the memory of his virtues was preserved by the gratitude of his subjects, and the imitation of his successor.

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Fig. 3

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Figure 5

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conceptions as Narasinha, Nārāyana, Varāha and others; (c) Siva or Maheswara including his conceptions as Natarāja, Rudra and others. The *Madhyama-dasa-tāla* applies only to images of female deities particularly the Saktis of Bramhā Vishnu and Maheswara. The *Kāsyapiya* enumerates under the *Madhyama-dasa-tāla* the following goddesses :— Uma, Saraswati, Durga, Usha, Vhumadebi, Lakhmi, Sapta-Matrikās and Jestha Devi. To the *Adhama-dasa-tāla* belong the following images :—Chandra, Surya, Kartikeya, Aswini Kumāras, Chandesa, Khetrapala and Indra.

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The images of the canonized saints are according to the prevailing practice proportioned in the *Adhama-nava-tāla* and their female consorts in the *asta tāla* the common human measure.

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Of the lower measures the *pancha tālam* canon is used for figures of Ganesha and the youthful Krishna and is probably based on the fact suggested in the *Sukraniti*, that in the case of small children the torso and the head are proportionately much longer than the legs than in an average full grown person. The canons in respect of these images are embodied in two very interesting mnemonic verses which are well known among all the image-makers :—

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GANESHA.

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" Guna (3) Jama (10) Nayana (3) Rudray (11)
Dwādası (12) sat Satāngsai (12)
Anala (6) Rasa (5) Guna (3) vāgam
Kesh Baktrancha Kantham
Hridayodara medhra, Uru-jānusha-janghā
Tālamiti-udayamānam panchatālam Ganesham."

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KRISHNA.

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" Kara (2) Nava (9) Nayana (2) Nandayi (9)
Nāg (8) Patal (7) Vhānu (12)
Rudra (11) Kara (2) Hridaya Mānam
Pancha-tālancha-Krishnam."

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The proportions given in the verses are illustrated in the accompanying diagrams (figures 4 and 5) Some of the texts give the different plumb-lines which guide the sculptors in the construction of the images. Dr Coomaraswamy in his *Mediæval Sinhalese Art* has given the principal plumb-lines as used by the Sinhalese image-makers, with an illustrative diagram (vide *Mediæval Sinhalese Art*, p. 156 & fig. 95). Though his diagram of *Lamba Tatuwa* relates to Buddhist images it is practically the same as the *Pralamba Phalaka* of the South Indian manuscripts. The principal plumb-lines are as follows :—

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1. The *Bramha Sutra*.—The axis or the imaginary line passing through the centre of the image.

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2. The *Madhya Sutra* or the *Rudra Sutra* is the medial plumb-line drawn from the centre of the crown of the head, the centre of the chest, the navel, the private part, the centre point between the knees and the inner sides of the feet.

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3. The *Pārsa Sutra* is the side plumb-line drawn from the side of the forehead, the cheek, the side of the arm, the centre of the thigh, the centre of the knee, as well as the centre of the ankle joint.

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4. The *Kaksha Sutra* drawn from the armpit by the side of the hip, the calf and its termination and by the fifth toe of the leg

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5. The *Bāhu Sutra* (shoulder plumb-line) drawn from the centre of the side of the left arm by the end of it and outside the palm

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The South Indian sculptors mention in addition a *Lamba Sutra* also called *Nata Sutra* which is the line of elevation, the general rule for which is laid down in the follownig corrupt verse and is illustrated by a diagram (figure 6).

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“ Sat-pancha-netram swayba (?) kalāngsam
Hikke-Satāngsam-hridoyancha-Yugmam
Nāsā-nunāvi-samamcba-kuiyāt
Urur-Dwayāngsam-Janghāsta vāgā
Beronnatam Chaturbingsa-satena.”

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Taking the length of the *Nata Sutra* as 124, the distance of the forehead and eyes should be 6 and 5 parts respectively. The Sutra shall touch the nose and navel in the same line The distance from the neck should be six parts and from the heart two parts. The thighs and the shanks should be two parts and eight parts distant from the line respectively.

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The three horizontal lines in very common use also illustrated in the diagram (figure 1) are the *Hikkā Sutra*, *Vadra Sutra* and the *Kati Sutra*. Sutra literally means a thread-line.

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FIG. C

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The five dimensions enumerated in the manuscripts are as follows :-

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"Manantu pratimayaman pramanam vistaram-tatha Unmānuntu-ghanam proktam, parimancha nahakam Antaram-chopamanani-lamba manancha Sutrakam"

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(1) *Mana* is the proportion laid down for each particular measure; *e.g.*, the ninth *tala*, the tenth *tala* and so on.

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(2) *Pramana* is the breadth or the horizontal extension of the image.

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(3) *Unmana* represents the height or depth of the image.

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(4) *Parimana* is the measure of the circumference of any part of the image.

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(5) *Upamana* is the relative measure of the different parts of the body from each other or from the *Bramha Sutra*, the line of axis.

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(6) *Lamba mana* is the measure for the surface elevation of the different parts of the image (?).

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Certain general rules are laid down for each dimension in each class of measure. Thus in the *Uttam-nava-tala*-measure the *pramana* or breadth of the different parts of the image is as follows :

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Face, one *tālam* (*vide* figure 1); the breast one and half *tālam*; the waist one *tālam*; the loin one and half *tālam*; the thighs two *tālam*; the lower legs at the knees one and half *tālam*; the spread of the arms, outer extremities two and half *tālam*; the feet one-third of a *tālam* each.

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The principal *Upamana* measures are stated thus :

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The distance between the *anamika* (second finger) to the shoulder in case of upraised hands should be 10 *angulas* or *mātras*. The space between the loin and the elbow should be two *angulas*. The space between the thigh and the middle finger of the hand hanging down as in figure (2) should be seven *angulas*. The space between the two ankles is 4 *angulās*, that between the toes being 16 *angulas*. This will vary in the different poses as we shall find. The *Parimana* measures are : the head, three *tālam* in circumference; the arms at the joint, two *tālam* each; the hands at the wrist, 12 *angulas* each; the circumference of the breast is five *tālam* - one and half *tālam* in front, one and half *tālam* at the back and one *tālam* each on the sides. The waist is four *tālam*. The *Unmana* or the actual height of the image varies according to the size of the shrine, the height of the *garvagriha* (inner shrine) and the height of the doorway for which special proportions are laid down in the works dealing with the construction of temples.

c8.99

The poses and the inclinations of the figures are the peculiar characteristics of the South Indian images and require some elucidation. The easy pose and the exquisite balance of some of these images, so very remarkable in their aesthetic quality, are based on certain rules as to the bent and disposition of the trunk and the legs laid down in the sculptors' hand-books. Although these rules are very ancient they were possibly deduced from the works of some master-sculptors of old and systematized for the use of later pupils. These rules have unfortunately in some cases been worked to death and have given rise in later times to a stiff pose extremely conventionalised with the result that the original graceful conceptions of the poses have degenerated into mannerisms. This will be apparent by comparison of the figures illustrated in plates (XVI, XVII, & I) with those in plates (XXI, XV & XVIII). The well known *trivanga* or *trivanka* pose of the images in North India is very familiar to all students of Indian sculpture from the figures of Krishna and also from various statues at Konarak, Bhubaneswara and Puri. The *trivanga* has however no place in the South Indian manuscripts although many of the *dhyanmantras* of the various Saivite images suggest that they should be constructed with the *trivanga* flexion. A form of the *Sakti* of Siva is specially known as *Trivangi Devi*. Instead of the *trivanga* we find three distinct poses prescribed in the text of the *Silpa Sastras* *Avanga*—('Little bent') *Sama Vanga* (equally bent) and *Ati Vanga* ('—greatly bent'). The last-named pose seems to be a variation of the *trivanga* of the northern sculptors. The different poses are based on deviations of the torso and the waist from the medial-line, which is called with reference to the three poses the *sama pāda sutra* being the line which equally divides the body of the figure when it is straight and erect and without any bend as in plate XVIII.

c8.100

The modern practising sculptors however have generally forgotten the practice of these three poses and although I read to many of them the original text from *Kāsyapiya*, and the *Agastiya* giving the exact plumb-lines with reference to the three *vangas*, they were unable to illustrate the rules by a diagram. The only poses which are familiar to them are the *Sama vanga* and *Trivanga* the last of which the Roman world, and the most important events of the reign of Antoninus Pius, are related by his biographer, and the reader will not be sorry to find them here in a more concise form. The reign of Antoninus Pius is marked by the rare advantage of furnishing very few materials for history; which is only another mode of saying that its happiness was complete. During the twenty-three years of his administration, the Roman empire was governed by the same invariable maxims of justice and peace. The natives of a vast extent of country were protected by the same laws, and enjoyed the same privileges. The frontiers were defended by the same legions, and the same spirit of moderation and equity prevailed in the councils of the emperor. The death of Antoninus was lamented as a public calamity; and the memory of his virtues was preserved by the gratitude of his subjects, and the imitation of his successor.

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Linked texts (8)

Atharvavedasaṃhitā — Atharvan & Aṅgiras, Sanskrit
Mānasāra — Sanskrit
Nāṭyaśāstra — Bharata, Sanskrit
Bṛhatsaṃhitā — Varāhamihira, Sanskrit
Kāraṇāgama — Sanskrit
Kāśyapīya — Kaśyapa, Sanskrit
Pur
Sakalādhikāra — Agastya, Sanskrit