South Indian Bronzes: A Historical Survey of South Indian Sculpture with Iconographical Notes Based on Original Sources c8.20

c8.20

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.