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Elements of Hindu Iconography v1.c7: General Introduction

Elements of Hindu Iconography v1.c7

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General Introduction

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THE origin of image worship in India appears to be very ancient and its causes are not exactly known. Many believe it to be the result of the followers of Gautama Buddha adoring their master and worshipping him in the form of images on his apotheosis after death. However, there are indications of the prevalence of image worship among the Hindus long before the time of Gautama Buddha. The employment of an external object to concentrate the mind upon in the act of meditation in carrying on the practice of *Yōga* is in India quite as old as *Yōga* itself. Patañjali defines *dhāraṇa* or fixity of attention as "the process of fixing the mind on some object well defined in space." This process is, as he says, "of two kinds, in consequence of this defined space being internal or external. The external object, defined in space consists of the circle of the navel (the nabhi-chakra), the heart and so on. The fixing the mind thereon is merely directing its existence to be there.” There is indeed ample evidence to show that the practice of *Yōga* is in this country much older than the time of Patañjali. Vāchaspati Miśra, a commentator on Vyāsadēva’s Bhāshya on Patañjali’s *Yōga-Sūtras*, mentions a great sage Hiraṇyagarbha as the founder of the *Yōga* doctrine, which, he adds, was simply improved upon and promulgated by Patañjali, as evidenced by the use of the word *anuśāsanam* in Patañjali’s first aphorism *Atha yōgānuśāsanam*. This old sage Hiraṇyagarbha and his successor Vārshagaṇya Yājñavalkya are alluded to by Rāmānuja and other later teachers of Vēdānta; and Śaṅkara actually quotes some *Yōga* aphorisms which are not found in the work of Patañjali, but look older than his time. It is therefore clear that image worship among the Hindus was contemporaneous with, if not older than, the development of the *Yōga* system, which, as we have seen, dates from before the age of Patañjali, who has been assigned by scholars on good evidence to the second century before Christ. There is no doubt that the *Yōga* system is even older than the time of Buddha, because Buddha himself is declared to have been initiated into its practice in the earlier stages of

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his search after enlightenment and truth; and it may be taken that this fact is evidenced by sculptured representations of Buddha in the style of the Gāndhara school as an emaciated person almost dying under the stress of the austerities he practised.[*]

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Again, Pāṇini, to whom certain Orientalists assign a date somewhere about the sixth century before Christ, mentions in one of his grammatical aphorisms (v. 3,99) that "likenesses not to be sold but used for the purpose of livelihood do not take the termination *kan*." The word he uses to denote an image in a nearly preceding (v. 6, 96) aphorism is *pratikṛiti*, the literal meaning whereof is anything made after an original. Commentators on this aphorism understand these unsellable reproductions to be divine images. Evidently then, there were images of gods and goddesses in the days of Pāṇini, which were apparently not sold in the bazaars, but were, nevertheless, used for the purpose of making a living. This would indicate that the possessors of these images were able to utilise them as religious objects which were so sacred as to justify the gift of alms to those who owned and exhibited them. Finally, images of gods, as they laugh, cry, sing, dance, perspire, crack and so forth are mentioned in the *Adbhuta-Brāhmaṇa*, which is the last of the six chapters of the *Shaḍviṁśa-Brāhmaṇa*, a supplement to the *Pañchaviṁśa-Brāhmaṇa*.[*]

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∗ See fig. 61, on p. 110 of V. A. Smith's *History of Fine Arts in India and Ceylon*.

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As regards the existence or otherwise of image worship in the Vēdic period in the history of India, opinion is divided among European savants. Prof. Max Muller, (*Chips from a German Workshop*, I. 35), answers the question, ‘Did the Vēdic Indians make images of their gods,’ in the negative. He says, “The religion of the Vēda knows no idols. The worship of idols in India is a secondary formation, a later degeneration of the more primitive worship of the ideal gods.” On the other hand Dr. Bollenson finds in the hymns clear references to images of the gods, (*Journ. of the Germ. Orient. Soc.* xxii, 587, ff). “From the common appellation of the gods as *divō naras*, ‘men of the sky’, or simply *naras* (later?), ‘men’ and from the epithet *nṛipēśas*, ‘having the form of men’, *R. V.* iii, 4, 5 we may conclude that the Indians did not merely in imagination assign human forms to their gods, but also represented them in a sensible manner.”

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[*] Macdonell’s *Sanskrit Literature*, p. 210.

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Image worship seems to have become common in the time of Yāska. In his *Nirukta* he says, “We are now to consider the forms of the gods. One mode of representation in the hymn makes them resemble men; for, they are praised and addressed as intelligent beings. They are also celebrated with limbs such as those of men.”

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Later on Patañjali even gives in a casual manner an idea as to the images which were then commonly in use: he says in the *Mahābhāshya* “What about such likenesses as of Śiva, Skanda and Viśākha, which are known as Śiva, Skanda and Viśākha, and not Śivaka, Skandaka and Viśākhaka?”

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In the Rāmāyaṇa, we see mention of temples in Laṅka, (Bk. VI. 39, 21), clearly evidencing the fact that there existed at least in S. India the worship of images enshrined in temples.

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Thus there appears to be evidence enough to suggest that image worship was probably not unknown even to the Vēdic Indian; and it seems likely that he was at least occasionally worshipping his gods in the form of images, and continued to do so afterwards also. Such is the evidence as to image worship to be found in early Sanskrit Literature. It is desirable to direct our attention to actual sculptures and to references to images occurring in ancient inscriptions.

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The oldest piece of sculpture, in South India distinctly Hindu in character, is, as far as it is known now, the Liṅga at Guḍimallam. From the features of the figure of Śiva carved thereon in half relief, from the ornaments worked out on the figure, from the arrangement of the drapery, from the battle-axe upon the shoulder, and many other characteristics, it may be put down to belong to the period of Bhaurhat sculptures, that is, to the second century before Christ. This remarkable piece of sculpture is interesting in two ways; it at once assures us of the exact nature of early Liṅga worship and also affords us a lower limit of time in relation to the worship of Śiva in the form of a Liṅga. From this Liṅga we may safely conclude that Liṅga worship is at least as old as the 2nd century B.C.

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Then again, the inscription on a Garuḍa-stambha discovered in Besnagar quite recently, states that Heliodoros, the son of Dion, a Bhāgavata, who came from Taxila in the reign of the great king Antalkidas set up that Garuḍa-dhvaja in honour of Vāsudēva. For this king Antalkidas various initial dates have been fixed, which range from B.C. 175 to 135. This is about the earliest known inscription mentioning Viṣṇu as Vāsudēva; and from this we are in a position to assert

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that the worship of Vāsudēva in temples in India cannot be later than the 2nd century B.C.

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The following are some of the noteworthy references to the iconographic aspect of the Viṣṇu cult in inscriptions :—The Udayagiri Cave inscription of .......ḍhala, son of Viṣṇudāsa, grandson of Chhagala and vassal of the Gupta king, Chandragupta II, dated the Gupta Era 82 (A.D. 401-2), records the dedication of a rock-cut shrine to Viṣṇu. The undated inscription of the Bhiṭāri stone pillar, belonging to the reign of Skandagupta, mentions that an image of the god Śārṅgin was set up and a village was allotted for its worship. Certain repairs to the lake Sudarśana by the governor Parṇadatta's agent Chakrapālita is said to have been made in the Gupta year 138 (A.D. 457-8). The same person also built a temple to Chakrabhṛt (Viṣṇu). The Gaṅgdhar inscription of Viśvakarma, dated A.D. 423-4, records that a person built a temple for Viṣṇu and the Sapta-Mātṛikās and dug a well for drinking water. Iran stone pillar inscription of the time of Budhagupta, dated Gupta Era 165 (A.D. 484-5), informs us that a Mahārāja Mātṛiviṣṇu and his younger brother Dhanyaviṣṇu erected a dhvaja-stambha for the god Janārddana. The Khoh copper-plates of Mahārāja Samkṣōbha dated G.E. 209 (A.D. 528-9), begins with the famous ‘twelve-lettered mantra’, *Ōm namō Bhagavatē Vāsudēvāya* of the Bhāgavatas.

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The following are similar references to the Śiva cult in inscriptions:—Udayagiri Cave inscription of the reign of Chandragupta II, records the excavation of a shrine for Śambhu; while another in Bilsad, belonging to the reign of Kumāragupta, and dated G.E. 96 (A.D. 415-6), makes mention of the erection of a number of additional buildings attached to the temple of Svāmi Mahāsēna.

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The facts disclosed by the inscriptions quoted above clearly show that the two Hindu cults of Śiva and Vishnu were in an advanced condition in the 5th century A.D., so as to indicate that they must have had behind them many centuries of developement.

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II.

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The objects worshipped by Hindus are images, of gods and goddesses, *śalagrāmas*, *bāṇa-liṅgas*, *yantras*, certain animals and birds, certain holy rivers, tanks, trees and sepulchres of saints. Besides these, there are several minor objects of local importance and personal predilection, which are also used as objects of worship.

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The Hindu images of gods and goddesses are broadly divisible into two classes as the Vaishṇava

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and the Śaiva. In this classification may well be included, for the sake of convenience, the images of Dēvī, Gaṇēśa, and other such deities since they are, according to the Purāṇas, related in some manner or other to Viṣṇu or Śiva. As a matter of fact, the goddesses associated with, Viṣṇu and Śiva represent their various divine powers and energies.

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The images of gods and goddesses are worshipped by the Hindus not only in temples as public places of worship but also in private households. Since the regular worship of images requires attention to a great many details in respect of ceremonial purity and piety, such worship is only occasionally conducted in many house-holds, even though the rule is that it should be conducted every day. Every Hindu household possesses its own images of the family deity (*iṣṭa-dēvatās* and *kula-dēvatās*) ; and worship is offered to them in many families only occasionally. On all other days a *śālagrāma*, a *bāṇa-liṅga*, a *sphaṭika-liṅga* or some such small object is worshipped, since nothing can be eaten by a pious Hindu which has not been offered in worship to his deity. A *śālagrāma* is generally a flintified ammonite shell, which is river worn and thus rounded and beautifully polished. The river Gaṇḍaki, which is one of the well-known tributaries of the Ganges, is

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Salagrama.

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famous in India for its deposits of *śalagrāmas*. Each of these has a hole, through which are visible several interior spiral grooves resembling the representation of the *chakra* or discus of Viṣṇu; and these are in fact considered by the people to be the naturally produced representations of the discus of Viṣṇu. The *śalagrāma* is in consequence looked upon as a representative of Viṣṇu. Remarkable virtues are attributed to it and fabulous prices are often offered to some particular specimens of it. There are treatises on the subject of the examination and evaluation of *śalagrāmas*; and there are also, here and there, a few experts to be found even in these days for estimating their value. The number as well as the disposition of the spirals visible through the holes is utilised in ascertaining which of the many aspects and *avatāras* of Viṣṇu a given specimen represents and what the value of it is to the worshipper.∗ The *Varāha-purāṇa* states that YANTRAS.

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∗ A good or auspicious *śalagrāma* is one which has a *chakra*, which resembles a *nāga* (cobra) reposing in a spiral; the spirals of the *chakra* in the *śalagrāma* should have in them delicate traceries running across them. Those *śalagrāmas* which are of the size of an *āmalaka* fruit or smaller, are very efficacious. *Śalagrāmas* may be of the following colours: brownish black, green, white, red, blue, dark brown, jet-black, yellow or multicoloured. They are said to belong respectively

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A group of śālagrāmas and an image of Rāma made of a piece of śālagrāma.

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the river-goddess of the Gaṇḍaki requested Viṣṇu to be born in her womb, to which Viṣṇu acceded and came to be born in the river as *śalagrāmas*.

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It is a fairly common sight to find a large collection of *śalagrāmas* in many important temples, in monasteries called *mathas* and even in certain old households. They are worshipped by Vaiṣṇavas and also by persons of the Vaidik Śaiva persuasion; but the Āgamic Śaivas and the Vīra-Śaivas do not worship them.

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to Narasimha, Vāmana, Vāsudēva, Saṃkarṣaṇa, Dāmōdara and Aniruddha, Nārāyaṇa, Kṣētra-Vaiṣṇava (?), and Śrīdhara. A *śalagrāma* with three *chakras* is said to belong to Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa. Fine spiralled ones grant all the desires of the worshipper, whereas black ones would give fame (*kīrti*); white *śalagrāmas* destroy sin, and yellow ones confer sons. *Śalagrāmas* of blue, etc., colours grant peace and wealth, while red bestows enjoyment (*bhōga*). Even pieces of the auspicious *śalagrāmas*, might be worshipped. The following specimens must be avoided: badly mutilated, and rough surfaced ones, those having a large number of holes or pits, or scarred with many lines, porous, unusually large sized, those having too many spirals, or having only one loop in the spiral (?), big mouthed or large spiralled, down-looking and burnt ones, very red ones, ill looking ones, and those with a number of *chakras* in a line; worshipping these brings only misery to the worshipper.

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Bāṇa-liṅgas mostly consist of quartz and are egg-shaped pebbles. They are described in the *Siddhānta-sārāvaḷi* of Trilōchana Śivāchārya:—" Bāṇa-liṅgas are liked by Īśvara and may be in sizes ranging from the eighth of an *aṅgula* (inch) to one *hasta* (cubit). They may be of the colour of a ripe *jambu* fruit, of honey, of a black beetle, or of the touch-stone, or may be blue, deep-red or green. The *pīṭha* should also be of the same colour as the *bāṇa-liṅga*. They have to be either like the teat of a cow or like an egg in shape, and must be highly polished. These *bāṇa-liṅgas* are said to be found in Amarēśvara, on the Mahēndra mountain, in Nepal, in the Kanyātīrtha and Āśrama near the same place. It is considered that each of these places contains a crore of *bāṇa-liṅgas*, and that there are three crores of *bāṇa-liṅgas* in each of the following places of Śaiva pilgrimage, namely, Śrīśaila, Liṅgaśaila and Kāligarta.

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Yantras are certain mystic and magical diagrams engraved upon metallic plates, or, sometimes drawn on paper, with certain mystic letters in association. These diagrams are supposed to have the power to protect the worshipper from ills due to the influence of evil deities or evil spirits, and to bestow on him happiness, wealth and eventually even liberation from births. Sometimes they are worn about the person of the worshipper in small cylindrical gold or silver cases. The most important of the *yantras* and the holiest among them is the Śrīchakra. (For an extensive treatment of this *yantra*, see under "Śrīchakra"). It is held generally in very high esteem, but is especially adored by the worshippers of Dēvī.

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Cow. The pious Hindu regards the cow with the reverence due to a divine being; and to him she is as dear as a goddess-mother. Worship is offered to her by some Hindus regularly on all Fridays. On certain important occasions, she is specially worshipped, as for instance, on the day following the Makara-saṅkrānti in South India. In North India, one often sees cows being freely fed in front of temples by visitors going there to worship. Every cow is to the pious Hindu an *avatāra* of Kāmadhēnu, the mythical all-bestowing cow of the god Indra.

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Birds. Among the birds, Garuḍa, the brahmany kite, is the most sacred; and when a pious Hindu happens to see one of these birds hovering in the sky, he invariably offers obeisance to it. It is considered to be a very good omen, if one of these birds happens to be seen when one goes about on any important business.

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Worship is also offered to holy rivers like the Ganges, the Gōdāvari, the Kāvēri, etc. The Ganges is considered to be holy throughout the year; even in the case of this river, certain specific places along her course and certain times in the year are held to be very sacred; and bathing in the river in those times and places and doing *pūja* to her is esteemed very meritorious. Various other rivers and even certain tanks are considered holy during particular periods and on special occasions; for instance, the river Kāvēri in South India is especially worshipped in the month of Tulā (October-November), and pilgrims from various parts of India go to Talakāvēri, Śrīraṅgam and Saṅghamukha, which are holy places situated at the source, the middle and the end respectively of the river Kāvēri. In a similar manner, a large sacred tank at Kumbhakōṇam, generally held in very great veneration, is considered to become specially sacred on the occasion of the *Makha-nakshatra* in the month of Māgha once in twelve years; and this occasion is celebrated as the Mahāmakha. The various *mēlas* in North India in relation to sacred rivers and tanks correspond to the things described above.

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Tree worship is also a common feature in popular Hinduism. The *aśvattha* tree (*Ficus religiosa*) is always sacred to the Hindu. The sacredness of this tree to the Buddhist is due to the fact of Buddha having obtained his religious enlightenment while meditating under it. On those mondays, on which the new-moon falls, circumambulations and offerings of various things are made to the *aśvattha* tree by many Hindu women. In South India, each Śiva temple has some particular tree which is peculiar to that temple and goes by the name of *sthala-vriksha* or the tree of the place. For instance, the *kadamba* (*nauclea kadamba*) tree is the *sthala-vriksha* of the famous Mīnākṣī-Sundarēśvara temple at Madura; the *jambu* tree is the *sthala-vriksha* of the temple of Jambukēśvara at Tiruvānaikkāval near Trichinopoly. The *tuḷasi* plant (*ocimum basilicum*) is held in high esteem in association with Vaiṣṇavism, and regular *pūja* is daily offered to this plant in many Hindu homes even to-day. The leaves of this plant are as sacred and pleasing an offering to Viṣṇu as those of the bael tree are to Śiva.

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Another object of adoration to the Hindu is the sepulchre of saints. Places hallowed by the presence of such sepulchres, or associated otherwise with the memory of saints and sages, are venerated all over the country. For instance, the birth places of Śaṅkarāchārya, Rāmānujāchārya and Madhvāchārya, and also the places where these great teachers passed away, are held in high reverence by their respective followers. The temple of the famous Vaiṣṇava devotee Puṇḍalik near Paṇḍharipūr is visited by all pilgrims who go there to worship Paṇḍharināth, the tradition being that this god appeared at Paṇḍharipūr in response to the dutifulness and devotion of Puṇḍalik.

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Other objects. Many other minor objects, such as inscribed stones and even ordinary bricks, etc., are also made into objects of worship occasionally. The conch shell is used to serve more than one purpose in the conduct of worship. But that variety of it which has its spirals running dextrally clockwise, when viewed as springing up from within is specially valued and even worshipped. Indeed, through the processes of religious sanctification and deification, any suitable object, small or large, may be made into an object of worship. In all these cases it is not the object, as such, which is worshipped in reality: the object, whatever it may be, is understood to represent the deity intended to be worshipped.

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III.

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Classifications of images.

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Images are divided into three classes, as *chala* (moveable), *achala* (immoveable), and *chalāchala* (moveable-immoveable). The moveable images are those which are made of metal and are easily portable; of these the *kautuka-bēras* are meant for *archana*; the *utsava-bēras* are taken out, on festive occasions, in procession; and *balibēras*, and *snapana-bēras*,* are employed in relation to the daily services, for the purpose of offering *bali* to the *parivāras*, and for bathing respectively. The immoveable images are commonly known as the *mūla-vigrahas* or *dhruva-bēras*, and are generally made of stone and permanently fixed in the central shrine. They are invariably large and heavy images. *Dhruva-bēras* are of three kinds called *sthānaka*, *āsana* and *śayana*, that is, standing, sitting and reclining. In the case of Vaishnava images each of these three kinds of images is further divided into, *yōga*, *bhōga*, *vīra* and *ābhichārika* varieties. These varieties of the standing, sitting and reclining

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*ध्रुवं तु ग्रामरक्षार्थमर्चनार्थं तु कौतुकम् । स्नानार्थं स्नपनं प्रोक्तं बल्यर्थं बलिबेरम् ॥ उत्सवं चोत्सवार्थं च पञ्चबेराः प्रकल्पिताः ।
(भृगुप्रोक्तवैखानसागमे)

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images of Vishnu are worshipped respectively by those who desire to attain *yōga* or spiritual self-realisation, *bhōga* or enjoyment and *vīra* or military prowess.

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There is yet another classification of images into three kinds as *chitra*, *chitrārdha* and *chitrābhāsa*.* *Chitra* denotes images in the round with all their limbs completely worked out and shown. *Chitrārdha* is the name given to figures in half-relief, and *chitrābhāsa* refers to images painted on walls and cloths, and such other suitable objects.

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Moreover, an image sculptured fully in the round is said to be *vyakta* or manifest; if it is half represented, say up to the chest, as in the case of the images on the *mukha-linga*, and in what is known as Trimūrti in the Elephanta Cave, it is called *vyaktāvyākta* or manifest-and-non-manifest; and objects like the *linga*, the *śalagrāma*, the *bāṇa-linga*, etc., are said to be *avyakta* or non-manifest form.

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∗ अर्धाङ्गचलितं बिम्बमर्धचित्रमिति स्मृतम् । सर्वावयवसन्दष्टं.... चित्रमुच्यते ॥ The Tamil commentary on this passage runs as follows:—எல்லா அவயங்களும் ஷண்மானத்தினாலே அளவுபட்டது சித்திரமென்று பெயராம், ‘that which is measurable by the six ways of measurement is called *chitram*.’ निम्नोनतपटे भित्तौ लिखित्वाभास-मुच्यते ॥

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The images of no gods other than Vishnu should be represented as reclining. They might all be sculptured as standing or sitting; but the images of Vishnu alone could be in all the three postures, standing, sitting and reclining.

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There is still another classification of images based upon their terrific (*raudra* or *ugra*), or pacific (*śānta* or *saumya*) nature. The first class is always characterised by sharp, long tusks and nails, and a large number of hands carrying weapons of war. The images of terrific nature have also wide, circular eyes, flames of fire round their heads, and are in some cases adorned with human skulls and bones. The *raudra* form of images are worshipped for the attainment of objects requiring the use of violence. The *śānta* or *saumya* form of images are peaceful looking in appearance, and are worshipped for the attainment of peaceful aims and objects. Among the images of Vishnu, the Viśvarūpa, the Nṛisiṃha, the Vaṭapatraśāyin and Paraśurāma are considered to be *ugra-mūrtis*; and Śiva as the destroyer of Kāma, of the elephant (Gajahā-mūrti), of the *tripuras*, and of Yama, has to be terrific in nature and appearance. The terrific images are not meant to be set up in temples in towns, but must always have their temples invariably outside.

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Among the aspects of Vishnu the *yōga* form, be it standing, sitting or reclining, must be enshrined in a temple built far away from the bustle of the village, on the banks of rivers, or at the junction of two or more rivers, on hill tops and in forest recesses. The reason of the choice of such places is quite patent. The worshipper of the *yōga* image has to be a *yōgi* or one aspiring to become a *yōgi*; he would certainly desire to have a calm place for concentrating his thoughts on the object of his worship; and naturally the temple intended for the conduct of worship by him has to be away from human habitations. The *bhōga* form is the form best fitted to have the temple therefore constructed within towns and villages, as it is conceived to be the giver of all happiness to its worshippers and has therefore to be worshipped and prayed to by all sorts of men and women belonging to all conditions of life. The *vīra* form of Vishnu, a form which is conceived to be capable of giving physical power, prowess and strength to conquer enemies, may have the temple for it built either inside or outside towns and villages.

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The *ābhichārika* form which is worshipped for the purpose of inflicting defeat and death on enemies is looked upon as inauspicious and is unfit to be set up for worship in temples built in towns

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and villages. Therefore, forests, mountains, marshy tracts, fortresses and other such places are prescribed as being fit for the construction of temples to enshrine this aspect of Viṣṇu, (*vana giri jala durgē rāṣṭrāntē śatrudiṅmukhē*).

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IV

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Various kinds of places are prescribed for the building of temples to the several gods; different forms of central shrines are also described in the āgamas,[*] as suitable for different deities, according as their posture is standing, seated or reclining.

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Temples might be built near tanks, rivers, at the junction of two or more rivers, on the seashore, in villages, on the tops of hills and at their foot, and in places where great and good men live. The temple of Śiva might be constructed in the north-east, north-north-east or east-north-east

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∗ The words āgama and tantra are used throughout this work as synonymous; strictly speaking an āgama differs but slightly from a tantra. The former is said to deal with twenty-five subjects, such as the nature of the Brahman, Brahmavidyā, the names of the different tantras, creation and destruction of the world, etc. The latter treats of only seven out of the twenty-five subjects dealt with in the āgamas. Sometimes the word yāmala is used as synonymous with āgama and tantra; and a yāmala deals with only five out of the twenty-five subjects in the āgamas.

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corner of a village; that of Viṣṇu, in the west; of Sūrya, in the east of the village and facing the west; of Durgā, in the south; of Subrahmaṇya, in the north-west. The Sapta-Mātṛkās or Mother-goddesses with Vināyaka are to be set up in the north near the fort walls, on the edge of the surrounding moat facing the north side; Jyeṣṭhādevī is to be set up on the banks of tanks.

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Different sorts of vimānas or domed central shrines are mentioned in the āgamas and tantras. Some of them are square (sama-chaturaśra) or circular (vṛtta) in ground plan, while others are rectangular (āyatāśra) or oval (vṛttāyata). Of these the square and circular varieties are prescribed for enshrining the sitting and standing figures of deities, while the rectangular and the elliptical varieties are naturally reserved for the reclining images of Viṣṇu.

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The śayana form of Viṣṇu may have its temple facing any cardinal point. If the temple faces the north, the head of the reclining image must be to the east; if it faces the south, the head must be placed to the west; in temples facing east and west, the head must be to the south. This means that in cases, in which the temples face the north, the south, or the east, the head of the reclining figure of the deity is to the left of the worshipper; and only in the case of temples facing the west, the head of the deity is to the right of the worshipper.

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V.

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It has been pointed out that the worship of the different aspects of the diety, as the *yōga*, *bhōga*, *vīra* and *ābhichārika*, is intended to enable the worshipper to achieve certain desired ends. When the diety is in the *śayana* or the reclining attitude, the worship thereof is said to produce different results to the worshipper according as the head of the image is in the north or south or east or west. If the head is in the east, the worship grants peace (*śāntidam*); if in the west, it produces plenty (*puṣṭhidam*); if in the south, victory (*jayadam*); and if in the north, *ābhichārika* results. The daily worship offered to Viṣṇu in public temples is regarded as leading to the increase of the population in the place. The worship of Indra gives plenty to the people. The worship of Subrahmaṇya and Chāmuṇḍā keeps children in sound health while that of Sūrya removes all ailments, physical and mental. Worship offered to Kāma bestows on the worshipper a beautiful body. Gaṇēśa always vouchsafes his

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The effects of worshipping the different deities.

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votaries freedom from hindrances in their undertakings, while Durgā and Umā grant victory. The worship of Lakshmi brings wealth and destroys poverty, while that of Sarasvati results in enabling one to secure learning and the power of speech. The Saptamātṛikās grant their worshippers wealth and happiness. Śiva is said to be capable of granting, according to the Kāmikāgama, all the results that may be expected of all the various gods.

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Again the ugra and the śantamūrtis of Vishnu or Śiva are looked upon as granting different results according to the position in which their temples are constructed in the village. If the ugra form of a god is set up for worship in the east, the village will soon be ruined; if it is set up in the south-east, the women of the place will become immoral; if in the south, ghosts and demons in crowds will cause trouble to the people; if in the south-west, the population will dwindle through sickness; if in the west, mental unhappiness, bad conduct and mournfulness will arise; if in the north-west, bad conduct will become rampant among the people; and if in the north, they will be subjected to all sorts of affliction. It is only in the north-east that the ugra forms of gods may be enshrined harmlessly so as to grant prosperity and

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abundance of children. The setting up of an *ugra* image in the midst of a village is strictly prohibited. If there happens to be a *raudra-mūrti* in a village, a *śāntamūrti* should be set up before it to counteract the evil effects, or at least a tank must be dug in front of the temple. Such things go to pacify the terrific gods.

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A *śāntamūrti* may well have its temple in the middle of a village. Such a *mūrti* grants happiness, long life, sound health to the people and victory and prosperity to the king of the country.

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Varāhamihira, the great Indian astronomer, states that the *pratiṣṭhā* of the various gods should be through the hands of persons of the caste peculiarly suited to the diety that is to be set up. Thus, a Vaiṣṇava image should be set up in temples by a Bhāgavata; that of Śiva, by a Brāhmaṇa who wears the *bhasma*; the Maga Brāhmaṇas should be employed for the setting up of the image of Sūrya: Brāhmaṇas should be employed for the *pratiṣṭhā* of Brahmā; and Jainas and Bauddhas should set up the images of Jina and Buddha respectively: those who worship the Mātṛi-maṇḍala should alone be employed for the setting up of the Saptamātṛikās.

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VI.

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To the Hindu, the omnipresent God, who is the father of the universe, appears to reside in everything, as much in the loving heart of the devotee as in stocks and stones. His God may or may not be conceived as anthropomorphic; the form of the conception depends upon the stage of advancement of the worshipper in the culture of divine knowledge and spiritual wisdom. To a *yōgin*, who has realised the Supreme Brahman within himself, there is no need of any temple or any divine image for worship; but to those, who have not attained this height of realisation, various physical and mental modes of worship are prescribed, and rules of various kinds are laid down in relation to conduct. The Hindu *śāstras* prescribe image worship to weak unevolved persons in particular.[*] The *Jābāla-upanishad* distinctly asserts that the *yōgin* perceives Śiva in his heart, and that images are meant for ignorant men.[†]

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∗ अज्ञानां साक्षाद्भगवत्पूजायाः कर्तुमशक्यत्वेन प्रतिमायामेव कर्तव्यत्वात्तदर्थ प्रतिमा निर्मातव्या । Chhalārī's commentary on Madhvācharya's *Tantra-sāra*.

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† शिवमात्मनि पश्यन्ति प्रतिमासु न योगिनः । अज्ञानां भावनार्थाय प्रतिमाः परिकल्पिताः ।

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Again, the worship of images, it is said, brings on re-births and is not therefore to be resorted to by the *yōgin*, who desires to free himself from them.[*] Accordingly, the images of the Hindu gods and goddesses are representations of the various conceptions of divine attributes. It is plain that the thought of thinkers is made manifest and concretised by various means, such as speech, pictorial and sculptural representations, and signs and symbols. All these means have been utilised in the history of humanity for bringing divinity down to the level of the common man and lifting him up gradually to the sublime height of true divine realisation. This is indeed what the seers of India have done. Sculpturally it may be said, the number of hands in an image represents the number of attributes belonging to the deity, and their nature is denoted by the *āyudha* held in the hand or by the pose maintained by it. The larger the number of hands, the more numerous are the attributes conceived; and the image with many hands is considered to be *tāmasic* in character. Similarly, the less the number of hands, the less numerous are the *guṇas* conceived; and the image may thus be made

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[*]: पाषाणलोहमणिमृन्मयविग्रहेषु पूजा पुनर्जननभोगकरी मुमुक्षोः । तस्माद्यतिस्त्वहृदयार्चनमेव कुर्याद्बाह्यार्चनं परिहरेदपुनर्भवाय ॥

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to approach as nearly as possible the description of the attributeless *Brahman*. Even in image worship there are thus different grades of evolution. An image, therefore, has to be understood to be a symbol meant to keep before the eye of the worshipper certain attributes of the deity he undertakes to worship and upon which he desires to concentrate his thoughts.

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It may well be said that images are to the Hindu worshipper what diagrams are to the geometrician. To the latter, an ill-drawn free-hand circle serves the same purpose in his demonstration as a neat compass-drawn circle. Similarly, to the Hindu even an ill-shaped image, but one made according to the directions given in his *śāstras* serves the same object as a very artistically executed image, provided it is made in strict conformity with *śāstraic* rules. Hindu worshippers of images ignore beauty passively; and this negligence of artistic merit on their part has tended to make the sculptor very often a careless worker.

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Thus, the standpoint from which the Hindu views the images of his gods and goddesses differs very largely from that of the Greek. While symbolism has been the essential feature of Hindu sculpture, the Hindu artist was not averse to secure beauty in his images. As a matter of fact every

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Agama and Tantra insists upon the necessity of making the images as beautiful as possible. When they happen to be ill-made, the fault is attributable entirely to the incapacity of the artist. Neither the Hindu ideal of art nor the injunction given in the written authorities of the Hindus is responsible for ugliness.

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VII.

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The foregoing remarks lead us naturally to look at the probable causes of the decadence of the iconoplastic art in India. There is no doubt that the arts of sculpture and painting attained an amount of perfection in ancient India, which could stand comparison with what was attained in other civilised countries. The Indian artist was not wanting in originality and vigour in the handling of his subjects; he was also true to nature, and in his representations of animals and birds he is often unsurpassed. In the early period of the history of Indian art, the imagination of the artist was not tied down by mechanical rules, which became the bane of art in later times. The early sculptor was guided by his own observation and imagination, and dealt with his subjects with a freedom, which made him able to produce very

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pleasing results. He had an eye for the beautiful as well as for the humourous, and he always gave free scope to the display of his powers, although he never forgot the religious motive behind his workmanship.

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The first cause that brought about a change in this natural and progressive state of Indian art was the entrance of *Tāntric* ideas into the worship of the Hindus as well as the Buddhists. The various aspects of a divine being thus came to be represented by various heads, and its various attributes by its various hands. The sculpturing of such complicated conceptions in the form of extraordinary human beings with several heads and hands was always attended with a certain amount of unavoidable unnaturalness and clumsiness. Like all art, the Indian iconoplastic art also has to be judged from the standpoint of its motive. To those, who cannot appreciate this motive, the very ideal of the art remains hidden and inexplicable. The consequence is that such critics can pronounce their opinions only on the technical details of the artist's workmanship, but can never grasp the soul of his art. The mediæval period of Indian art is not wanting in really noble and strikingly artistic pieces of sculpture in spite of many of these having more arms and more heads than ordinary man has. It is well known that even in Europe the old

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mythological art presents many uncommon and unnatural combination of strange elements. The justification of these combinations is in their motive; and the art which exhibits them can certainly be artistic. It has to be granted, however, that it is far from easy for such art to be really artistic.

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The second and the most potent cause that has injuriously affected Indian iconoplastic art is the hard and fast rules laid down in the *Āgamas* and the *Tantras* for the making of images. There is no doubt that the authors of the *Āgamas* devoted a large amount of attention to the beauty of the human figure studied in general; and as a consequence of this they naturally laid down the proportions and measurements of the various limbs and organs of the human body. The belief that these measurements ought not to be disregarded under any circumstance came into vogue later on in recognition of the authority of the *Āgamas* and the *Tantras*. The artist thus became handicapped, and his imagination had no freedom of action. Not much scope could be given to the display of the genius of the artist, under any circumstances, although there is an *Āgama* rule to the effect that "the artist should fashion the image as best as he could."

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With the decline of the Hindu kingdoms, the temple building activity of the Hindus ceased; and with it, to a very large extent, the sculpturing of Hindu images also ceased. The orthodox school of sculptors, who followed the *Āgamic* instructions, has very nearly died out. The modern set of stone masons in South India manufacture stone images of very inferior workmanship (See Pl. *B*.). In Northern India there is a disregard of the *Āgamic* rules; and whether it is due to want of knowledge or to other causes, it has produced certain salutary results. Influenced by Western Art in all probability, Rajaputana, Central India and the Bombay Presidency have been able to adopt in recent times a realistic style of sculpture; and some of the modern marble images of Kṛiṣhṇa and Rādhā, of Viṣhṇu and Lakshmī, of Gaṇēśa and other gods and goddesses offered in the bazaars for sale, are very pleasing; a few of them are even artistic in reality. Freedom for the display of thought and feeling through art constitutes the very life of all art; and the art of image-making cannot be treated as an exception. It is not that the Hindu does not desire that the images of his gods and goddesses should be sculptured beautifully; but he will not easily tolerate any glaring departure from the rules laid down authoritatively in his *Śāstras*.

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Śaṅkarācārya : Bronze : Kālaḍi.

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Śāradādēvī : Bronze : Kālaḍi.

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VIII.

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If one studies the sculpture of India from the historic point of view, he cannot fail to notice that there have been different stages in the evolution of the art here as elsewhere. To be able to assign a given piece of sculpture to the particular stage of its evolution, it is necessary to know with some amount of accuracy the various peculiarities of the earlier and later sculptures. All the earlier specimens of sculpture are in general free from the cramping influence of artificial rules, and are notably realistic; a desire on the part of the artist to copy nature as faithfully as possible, is plainly visible in his work. In his human studies, the bust, though fully formed, is not stiff and severe in its contours as in the later specimens. As in later workmanship, the chest does not end abruptly, and the abdomen begins making sharp angles with the former. There is a gentle merging in of the one into the other without any marked line of demarcation between them; the outline of the whole of the body is like two gently curved brackets placed at a little distance from each other with their concave opening side turned outwards and resembles more or less the outline of the face of a cow. Whereas, in later sculptures, we see the outline of the body to be the outline of the thistle flower; the lower circular portion represents the abdomen beginning abruptly and with a severe and unpleasant angle at both sides from where the thorax ends. In the earlier faces, the nose is rather short and the lips are somewhat thicker than in the later ones. The eyes are less artificial in that they are not disproportionately long. The face itself is noticeably round in outline in the earlier art, while it is oval in the later specimens of sculpture; and the chin is invariably shown somewhat prominently, although it is really smaller in proportion than what is demanded by accurate art. In the later sculpture, the nose is simply a long triangular pyramid attached by one of its sides to the face with the apex turned upwards. It is so awkwardly attached to the face that it is alone enough to mark off the sculpture to be quite modern. The sharp upper edge running throughout the length of the nose, the acutely pointed tip at one of the junctions of three edges in the clear-cut tetrahedron making up the nose, the broad wings and the single point at which the nose ends at the top, are all very peculiar to the works of the later period. The limbs are also sculptured with severe and abrupt outlines; for example, the muscles of the upper part of the

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chest in male figures are so modelled as to protrude in relief with their margins rising abruptly from the general surface of the chest. The folds in the abdomen are also worked out in a very artificial manner which is at once stiff and unpleasing in effect.

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In the early sculptures the arrangement of the drapery is very effective and natural. The folds and creases are delicately worked out and the dress is shown to flow freely down the sides and on the person of the figures which it clothes. One cannot deny that there is a certain amount of conventionality in the arrangement of the folds even in the early sculptures; but the conventional mode of the formation and disposal of the folds in the specimens of later workmanship is very strikingly artificial. In the later sculptures, the heavy central folds of the under-garment descend in a sharp conical form down to the ankles, the lower part ending in a point which protrudes somewhat forward. The smaller folds are represented as running across the thighs and the forelegs, and are marked by a couple of deep-cut equi-distant lines slightly curved from above to indicate their descent downwards. On each side of the figure there flows down a portion of the end of another cloth worn as a girdle, which end spreads out in the form of a fan (see the figs. on Pl. XXXV and LV.) The lines representing the minor folds in the drapery of the figures of the mediæval period are less artificial and less unpleasant in effect than those of a still later period.

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Viewing broadly the conditions and characteristics of Hindu sculpture, it may well be said that there are four different schools representing four different regions of India. The first comprises what Mr. V. A. Smith calls the Mathura school. The second school is represented by the sculptures of the early Chālukyas of Bādāmi and also by those of the Pallavas of Kāñchi. All the three groups comprised within these two schools are marked by the same characteristics of simplicity and elegance combined with much natural realism. The South Indian sculptures of a later period corresponding to the re-established dominancy of the Chōḷas and Pāṇḍyas are but the continuations of the Pallava style, and may therefore be classed conveniently with it. The third school of Indian sculpture is the later Chālukya-Hoysaḷa school, which is distinguished from the other schools by its extremely florid style of ornamentation and delicate tracery in details (See Pl. C.). In this school convention naturally holds a dominant place; and we notice a striking similarity between figures representing the

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Bust of Chennakēśava : Stone : Bēlūr.

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same subjects, although they may be found in different and distant parts of the country; the same kinds of ornamentation, clothing, head-gear, posture and grouping may be observed in the same subjects in a uniform manner. The fourth school, which resembles closely the third in respect of ornamentation and grouping, is chiefly represented by the sculptures of Bengal, Assam and Orissa. It is at once recognised by the human figures therein possessing round faces, in which are set two oblique eyes, a broad forehead, a pair of thin lips and a small chin (see figures 2, Pl. LXXII and 2, Pl. XCIII).* To these may be added the improved modern sculptures in marble found in the Bombay Presidency and elsewhere, and also the new characterless sculptures of the Madras Presidency. They are, however, of a miscellaneous character and are too incongruous to form anything like a school. All the images, the photographs of which are reproduced in this volume, are assignable to one or other of the first three schools above mentioned, the Bengal, Assam and Orissa school being referred to only very occasionally.

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∗ We are informed by Mr. Abanindranath Tagore that this sort of face is known in Bengal as of the pān type (See Mod. Review for March, 1914, p. 261).

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IX.

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It is an interesting phenomenon to note that there are vicissitudes in what may be called the fortune of images as objects of worship. As time passes on certain images somehow cease to be popular and their worship is eventually discarded. Similarly, the contrary process also takes place and images unknown to religious fame become quite famous. New images are often set up, and in time they too become popular and famous. The three important goddess-images of earlier times (from the 5th to the 9th Century A.D.) are seen to be those of Śrī, Durgā and Jyeṣṭhā. Of these the two first are still popular; but the last one is almost completely forgotten as an object of worship. That Jyeṣṭhā was once an important goddess is evidenced by the fact that in the *Bōdhayana-grihya-sūtras* a whole chapter is devoted to the description of the worship of this goddess, and that the Śrīvaishṇava Saint, Toṇḍar-aḍippoḍi, complains in one of his Tamil hymns that people were in his days wasting their veneration upon Jyeṣṭhādēvi, ignoring the Supreme God Viṣṇu, the greatest giver of all good gifts. The Jyeṣṭhādēvi group of three figures—a large female figure in the middle with a

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bull-headed male figure on the right and a good looking female figure on the left—(see Pl. CXXI), is now often thrown away as lumber in some corner of the temple compound; and, when rarely it is suffered to occupy its old place in the temple, it is left uncared for and no worship is offered to it. This is the case in S. India; in N. India also the goddess does not appear to be treated any better. She appears to be worshipped in Bengal, Orissa and certain other parts of India by low caste people under the name Sītalādēvī or the goddess of small-pox; there is an image of hers in the Bhūlēśvar temple in Bombay, and is worshipped on certain occasions by the women there.

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Another instance of such a vicissitude may be noticed in the case of the images of the Varāha (boar) and Nṛisiṃha (man-lion) incarnations of Viṣṇu. Almost all the early temples have the figures of Varāha and Nṛisiṃha set up in them: the Tantras and Āgamas require the figure of Nṛisiṃha to be set up to the west of the central shrine even in Śiva temples. As a matter of fact an image of Kēvala or the Yōga form of Narasimha is found in a niche on the west of the central shrine or the vimāna in all old temples. Separate temples built and dedicated wholly to Narasimha and Varāha in the palmy days of the Chālukyas of Bādāmi and the Pallavas of Conjeevaram. But no one hears in these days of the *pratisthā* of a new image of Nṛisimha or Varāha anywhere. In a large number of the older temples Varāha and Nṛisimha are even now worshipped, but in the South of India their popularity has very considerably waned. In the case of Nṛisimha the belief in modern times has been that he, being an *ugra mūrti*, will, if not properly worshipped in due form, burn down villages or otherwise cause harm to the people.

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The worship of Kārtikēya or Viśākha is common in South India, where the god is known generally by the name of Subrahmanya. It may well be said that there is not a village in South India but does not possess a shrine for this favorite deity. To the Hindus of Northern India this god is known only in name. Nowhere in the north is he worshipped by decent people, and no Hindu *sumangali* (married woman) goes to a temple of Kārtikēya in Central India. Because Kārtikēya is not worshipped in North India at the present day, we cannot argue that his worship was always unknown in those regions. In fact we come across the figures of this deity in the rock temples at Elephanta and Ellora, in Orissa and certain other parts of the country. Probably

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