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South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c8.s7: IX

South-Indian Images of Gods and Goddesses c8.s7

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IX

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Other forms of Vishnu not included in the *avatārs*. ANANTASĀ-VIN, PADMANĀBHA or RANGA-NĀTHA.

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Besides the *avatārs* mentioned above, there are other forms of Vishnu which are also often found in South-Indian temples. The most important of such is his reclining form, known by the names Anantasāyin (or Sēshasāyin), Padmanābha and Ranganātha.¹ The temples at Srīrangam and Trivandrum may be specially mentioned as the places where this form of Vishnu is worshipped. In Tamil he is known as Palligondān. A good illustration (fig. 32) comes from the old sculptures at Mahābalipuram. In the so-called Mahishāsura-mandapa, on the proper right wall of the front verandah is depicted the scene under reference. Here on the coils of the serpent Ananta sleeps on his back a gigantic figure of Vishnu with two arms. The right hand is carelessly thrown on the body of the serpent while the left hand is raised up at the elbow. The god wears a cloth round the waist, which reaches down to the feet. The usual *udarabandhana* is also tied round the lower part of the stomach in the form of a girdle, its ends gracefully hanging down and touching the right side of the serpent couch. The garland round the neck (i.e., the *vanamālā*) has slipped down the right arm of the god, thus emphasizing his sleeping posture. By the side of the serpent couch, near the feet of Vishnu, is the figure of Lakshmī kneeling down and worshipping him with folded hands. In front of her are two other figures also seated by the side of the serpent couch. These may be the two colleagues of Vishnu, viz., Brahmā and Siva, or the attendants Jaya and Vijaya. Above the sleeping god in the air are two flying figures, one a female and the other a fat figure, probably a goblin. Beyond his feet and looking him straight in the face are two stalwart figures standing one in a defiant attitude with a club in his hand and the other dissuading him from what looks apparently like a murderous attack on the god. The Padma-Purāna gives a description of Vishnu, which comes very near to what has been depicted above. It says: "The god of gods sleeps on the serpent. One of his legs lies on the thigh of Lakshmi, while the other is placed on the body of the serpent. He has two hands, one of which is stretched along the right thigh and the other is placed over his head. Brahma is comfortably seated on the lotus which springs from the navel of Vishnu. Entangled in the stem of the lotus stand the demons Madhu and Kaitabha. The symbols of the god, viz., the conch, discus, club and lotus are all represented about him, each assuming a body."¹ A similar description is given by Hemadri under the term Jalasayana.

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¹ The *Mayamata* says that the serpent, the couch of Anantasayana, may be of five or seven hoods, its white colour indicating great bliss. Padmanābha means "he of the lotus-navel"; and we see, in figures of Anantasayana, the navel of the god sending forth a stock at the end of which is a lotus flower and in it the four-faced Brahmā. Ranganātha is "the lord of the *ranga*, the assembly-hall." It might be noted that in the illustrations of Anantasayana the central figure of Vishnu is surrounded by all the other gods as if in an assembly-hall.

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¹ Vasudeva described by Hemadri as a standing Vishnu figure of four arms, holds in the two upper hands the lotus and the conch and instead of having in the two lower, the weapons chakra (discus) and gada (club), he places the palms of these hands on the heads of two dwarf figures, one male and one female, holding chauris in their hands and looking at the face of the god These dwarf figures are stated to be the personified weapons chakra and gada; (see Mayurabhanja, fig. 16, on plate facing p. xl). The descriptions given by the same author of Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha—other standing forms of Vishnu—refer also to personified weapons.

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FIG. 32.—Anantaśāyin; Seven Pagodas.

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God Vishnu seated comfortably on the serpent couch is named Vaikuntha-Narayana² (fig. 33). The left leg is stretched down and the right is bent at the knee; the left hand rests on the knee-joint, while the right hand rests carelessly thrown back on the head of the serpent; the two back hands hold the weapons sankha and chakra. The image is decorated with jewels and by its side are his consorts Lakshmi and Prithvi.

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² See the Madras Epigraphical Report for 1906, p. 76. The Brahmiya-Silpa calls this same figure Adimurti and describes him as being attended by gods and rishis in a worshipping attitude.

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Lakshmi-Narayana is another of Vishnu's seated forms where, to the left of the god, by his side or sometimes on his thigh, is found seated the image of Lakshmi throwing her right hand round the neck of the god while she holds in her left a lotus. The left hand of Vishnu similarly passes round the waist of Lakshmi. A female deity called Siddhi stands near, with a fly-whisk in her hand. The vehicle Garuda is on the right side at the foot of the god. The sankha and chakra not being held by the god are carried by two dwarf male figures standing in front of him; Brahma and Siva also stand by, worshipping Vishnu with folded hands³ (fig. 34).

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³ Hemadri. According to the Silpasangraha, Lakshmi-Narayana has four arms in which he displays the conch and the discus and the protecting and the boon-giving postures. Mr. Rea portrays a fine picture of Lakshmi-Narayana from Nilagunda (Bellary district) on Plate LIII of his Chalukyan Architecture.

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FIG. 33.—Vaikuntha-Nārāyana ; Nāmakkal.

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FIG. 34.—Lakshmī-Nārāyaṇa ; Nāmakkal.

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The *Silpasāra* mentions an image called Garuda-Nārāyaṇa wherein Vishnu is seen riding on Garuda, holding a bow and arrow, conch and discus. An illustration from Chidambaram (fig. 35), which is mutilated, is apparently one of Garuda-Nārāyaṇa. On a pillar in the Rāmasvāmin temple at Kumbakōnam is a fine representation of this form of Vishnu in the attitude of blessing the elephant (*gajēndra*) after rescuing it from the attack of a crocodile. The scene is generally known as Gajēndra-mōksha (fig. 36).

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Figures of Vishnu, with four arms seated in a meditative posture, are probably those of Yōgēśvara-Vishnu, described by Hēmādri as seated on a lotus, with eyes half-closed and directed towards the tip of the nose. An image (fig. 37) from the ruined Vishnu temple at Hūvinahadagalli (Bellary district) illustrates this form. Another image, probably of this same form of Vishnu but seated on the serpent couch, comes from Kumbakōnam (fig. 38). Here the god is bathed by two goddesses with pots in their hands.

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The twenty-four well-known names of Vishnu repeated by the Brāhmanas in their daily prayer known as *sandhyāvandana*, are represented each by a standing figure of the god with four hands holding the four symbols *sankha* (conch), *chakra* (discus), *gadā* (club) and *padma* (lotus), in different combinations. Consequently we may often find in Vishnu temples images named Trivikrama, Vāmana, Padmanābha, Narasimha or Krishna represented as plain standing figures of Vishnu, without reference to any of the *Purānic* scenes connected with these gods. Four of the above mentioned twenty-four forms, viz., Vāsudēva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are sometimes represented by different weapons.

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The two illustrations in the accompanying plates (figs. 39 and 40) show another form of standing Vishnu, known as Pānduranga or Vithōba. The characteristic feature of the image is that it has two arms which, being bent at the elbow, are placed on its hips. A poem in praise of this form of Vishnu, entitled *Pāndurangāshtaka*, is attributed to Sankarāchārya of about the eighth century A.D.

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Hayagrīva is still another form of standing Vishnu, represented with the head of a horse. Hēmādri describes him as having a white complexion, and placing his feet on the hands of the goddess Earth. He has eight hands, in four of which are held the Vaishnavite symbols conch, discus, club and lotus. With the others he carries the four *Vēdas* personified. The *Pāncharātrāgama* mentions only four hands in which are seen the conch, rosary, book and the *jnāna-mudrā*.

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GARUDA-NĀRĀYANA.

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GAJĒNDRA-MŌKSHA.

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YŌGĒŚVARA-VISHNU.

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Twenty-four general forms of standing Vishnu.

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PĀNDURANGA or VITHŌBA.

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HAYAGRĪVA.

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FIG. 35.—Garuda-Nārāyaṇa ; Chidambaram.

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FIG. 36.--Garuda-Nārāyaṇa and Gajēndra-mōksha ; Kumbakōnam.

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FIG. 37.—Yōgēśvara-Vishnu ; Hūvinahadagalli.

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FIG. 38. —Yōgēśvara-Vishnu (?) ; Kumbakōṇam.

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FIG. 39.—Pānduranga; Tirupati.

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FIG. 40.—Pānduranga ; Ahōbalam.

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VENKATĒSA. Venkatēsa or Venkataramana (also called Srīnivāsa) is a name of Vishnu applied to the god on the Tirupati Hill. He is in form like one of the twenty-four images of Vishnu described above.¹

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¹ It is believed, and perhaps on reasonable grounds, that the image on the Tirupati Hill is a combined form of Vishnu and Siva. The name Vrisha-saila, i.e., “Bull-hill” applied to the mountain on which the temple is situated, indicates also the Saiva nature of the god. In later times, the name Sēsha-saila “the hill of the serpent god Sēsha” came to be applied to it.

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PRADYUMNA, KAMADĒVA or MANMATHA. Pradyumna, which is mentioned among the twenty-four general names of Vishnu, occurs in the Sanskrit lexicon Amarakōsa as a synonym of the god Kāmadēva or Manmatha, who is recognized as a son of Krishna-Vishnu. His consort is ‘Love’ (Rati). This god of Love was reduced to ashes by Siva. His form that was thus destroyed is still alive but is visible only to Rati. The metaphysical meaning of the story is more or less clear. Rati and Manmatha are often found among the sculptures in a temple. The latter is represented as a graceful youth of unparalleled elegance. He has eight hands in four of which he holds the conch, lotus, bow and arrow. The four other arms embrace his four beautiful wives called Rati (love), Prīti (pleasure), Sakti (power) and Bhēda-Sakti (jealousy). Kāma has five arrows, each arrow being a fragrant flower; the crocodile (makara) is his banner. More often he is represented with two hands, riding on a chariot (or a parrot) with his chief queen Rati by his side (fig. 41). Vasanta, the Spring, is his intimate friend and ally. His five arrows are the flowers of lotus, asōka, mango, jasmine, and blue-lily; and he shoots them with his graceful bow of sugarcane. Mayamata says that Manmatha’s arrows are made of the cruel teeth of women and are called tāpani, “the tormentor,” dāhini “the consumer,” sarvamōhini “that which completely infatuates,” visva-mardini “the all-destroyer” and mārani “the killer.”

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XI

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VISH- VAKSĒNA. Vishvaksēna, a synonym for Vishnu also found in the lexicon Amarakōsa, is recognized as a Vaishnava god who, like Ganēsa of the Saivas (described below), is worshipped by the Srī-Vaishnavas, at the beginning of every ceremony in order to avoid obstacles. He has his face turned towards the south and is a guardian deity in Vishnu temples. In three of his hands he holds the usual Vaishnavite symbols, viz., the conch, discus and the club and in the fourth exhibits the threatening finger-pose called tarjani. He is seated with his right leg hanging down from the pedestal and the left bent crosswise and placed on the same [fig. 160 (c), below].

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FIG. 41.—Rati-Manmatha; Chidambaram.

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GARUDA. Vishnu’s vehicle Garuda is installed in every Vaishnavite temple right opposite to the central shrine and is a standing human figure of stone or mortar, with a beak-shaped nose and with spreading wings proceeding from his back on either side. He has his two arms folded over the breast in a worshipping posture (fig. 42).¹ When made into a processional image of metal, Garuda is represented as kneeling on the left knee, the right foot being firmly placed on the ground and a serpent decorating his head.²

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¹ According to the Silparatna, Garuda figures may also be shown with the two hands pointing the abhaya and the varada postures. Occasionally, Garuda may be made to carry in his right hand a pot of nectar. This is evidently a reference to the story that Garuda while young carried away from Indra the pot of nectar, in order to fulfil his mother’s promise to Kadru, the mother of serpents.

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² The Silpasangraha describes a form of Garuda who has fierce protruding teeth and eight arms in six of which he has the conch, discus, club, lotus and the nectar-pot while the others are stretched out to receive the feet of the Lord (Vishnu). It is further stated that the eight lords of serpents are worn as jewels by him, thus showing that Garuda had completely subdued the Nāgas. Garuda when represented with four arms is called Vainatēya. It may be noted that the bird Garuda is of Vēdic fame, his body being supposed to be completely made up of the Vēdas. A Vēdic sacrifice called Garuda-chayana is performed by offering oblations to the gods on a platform built in the shape of Garuda. Vishnu is sometimes known as Yajna-purusha—the personified god of sacrifice.

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XII

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HANUMĀN. Hanumān, the monkey-god, has been already referred to as a great devotee of Vishnu intimately connected with the incarnation Rāma-avatār. In Southern India he is very popular, even insignificant villages containing a shrine for Hanumān. He is represented in two postures.³ When included in the group of Rāma, Lakshmana and Sītā, he stands at a distance on one side, or opposite to them, in a humble and devotional attitude, with the two hands folded together, the tail hanging down close to his feet.⁴ In shrines exclusively dedicated to him he is always the heroic Hanumān, who, on seeing his beloved masters Rāma and Lakshmana faint with fatigue on the battle field of Lankā, flew in an amazingly short time to the Himalayas and, uprooting a whole hill containing drugs that have power to raise a dead man to life, returned to revive Rāma and Lakshmana and with them also the millions of dead monkeys. His heroism, strength and devotion are always admired and the one aim of sculptors in cutting a figure of Hanumān is to give effect to these three special characteristics. No wonder that even the Muhamadans (or, rather Muhammadan converts of later ages) who set high value on physical strength and individual heroism came to appreciate the story of Hanumān and to erect shrines for him. There is inscriptional evidence to prove that in the Ceded districts, where the Muhammadan influence has been very strong, certain classes of Mussalmans are still devoted to this heroic servant of Rāma. This must also have been the object of Chiefs in erecting shrines for Hanumān at the gates of their forts, viz., to infuse into the hearts of their fighting men the spirit of loyal attachment to their masters and indomitable heroism. Sometimes Hanumān may also be represented with hands showing the abhaya and the varada postures.

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³ The Silparatna mentions a third posture in which Hanumān is described as a yōgin, teaching philosophy to a number of pupils who surround him.

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⁴ See above, fig. 23. Here, at the right end of the picture Hanumān is seen in a submissive attitude while another figure of his at the left end, carries in both hands two Siva-lingas which Rāma had ordered him to bring for establishing at Rāmēsvaram, on his way back from Lankā. Visvakarma, Part VI, Plate 100, also gives a metallic figure of Hanumān from Ceylon, with his hands stretched out, indicating evidently a mixed feeling of wonder and despair.

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FIG. 42.—Garuda; Tanjore.

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SUDARSANA. Of the Vaishnava symbols and weapons referred to in the previous paragraphs as being sometimes personified, the discus (chakra) under the name Sudarsana deserves special mention, it being separately worshipped in the Srī-Vaishnava temples under the name Chakra-Perumāl (figs. 43 and 44). The Silpasāra describes Sudarsana to be brilliant as fire, with sixteen arms holding the weapons conch, discus, bow, axe, sword, arrow, trident, noose, goad, lotus, thunderbolt, shield, plough, pestle, club and spear. The figure has protruding teeth, fiery hair and three eyes. It is fully decorated and stands in front of a shatkōna or hexagon. Dancing thus amidst the flames of the discus, the Sudarsana is supposed to kill all enemies. Sometimes the image may be represented with eight or four arms holding the discus in all of them.

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Mr. Longhurst has supplied two other photographs (fig. 45) in the first of which Sudarsana appears to be similar in all details to the Tirupati figure No. 43, but has at the back of it an equilateral triangle within which is the seated figure of Nrisimha in the yogāsana attitude (see above, fig. 19) with flames of fire proceeding from his crown. This form of Nrisimha is evidently what is popularly known as Jvālā-Nrisimha “the fiery Nrisimha.” It may be noted that the famous Chakrapāni temple at Kumbakōnam is dedicated to the discus Sudarsana of Vishnu.

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FIG. 43.—Sudarsana ; Tirupati.

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FIG. 44.—Sudarsana, back view ; Tirupati.

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FIG. 45.—Sudarsana, front and back view (metal); Dādikombu.

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Apart from the various forms of Vishnu detailed above, every Hindu worships certain formless stones, called Sāligrāma, as these more satisfactorily answer to the idea of the formless Brahman. The Sāligrāma stones are generally picked up from the bed of the river Gandakī (in North Bihar) or are made of a particular kind of stone procurable at Dvārakā. The former are perfectly smooth and rounded pebbles and are heavier than ordinary stones. The belief is that within them is found gold or other heavy metal. The Sāligrāma stones are believed to possess certain mystic and sacred virtues. In the country of Avantī, at the foot of the sacred hill known as Hariparvata, is stated to be a big pond called Chakratīrtha, from which flows the river Gandakī. On rare and auspicious occasions, within this pond, are produced the Sāligrāma stones, which, after remaining for 1,000 years in water, become the abode of Vishnu, who then assuming the form of a brilliant little insect called vajrakita enters into them and bores a hole with his mouth, forming therein a discus (*chakra*) of numerous varieties. The stones are of many colours and sizes and are distinguished by these chakras to represent either Vāsudēva (white colour), Hiranyagarbha (blue), Pradyumna (red), Vishnu (black), Srī-Nārāyana (dark-green), Narasimha (tawny), or Vāmana (deep-blue). Eighty-nine varieties are recognized, each bearing a different name of Vishnu. One well-known test of their suitability for worship consists in placing them in milk or in rice, when, a genuine Sāligrāma is supposed to increase in size and in weight. A strange feature about these stones is that, while they mostly represent the forms of Vishnu, some are stated to be also forms of Siva, Sakti, Sūrya (Sun), Ganapati and the Planets. The Sāligrāmas are never fixed on pedestals as the lingas of Siva (see below, p. 72) or as the images of other gods. In many of the South-Indian temples of Vishnu, garlands of Sāligrāma stones are hung round the necks of images. Sāligrāma forms the most important object of daily worship in every orthodox Brāhmana’s house in Southern India. The water poured over it is most holy and like the Ganges water which Brāhmanas generally preserve in their homes in sealed vessels, is offered to the dying man in order that his soul may become pure and depart in peace. The gift of Sāligrāma stones to Brāhmanas is considered one of the most meritorious acts and is as highly prized as the presentation of gold itself. Strictly religious people never sell or purchase Sāligrāmas but only acquire them by gift or by transfer. Of the sectarian Vaishnavas of the South, viz., the Srī-Vaishnavas and the Mādhvas, the latter show greater respect to the Sāligrāma stones than even for sculptured images of Vishnu.

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