Gudimallam linga - Satavahana style

This is truely one of the most spectacular sculptures found here, a little north of Chennai. It is known to date back to the 1st century BC, it is also proclaimed to be sculpted in the Satavahana style. Surprizingly there is no other sculpture of the same kind any where near this geographically to associate it with any pattern in art styles.



The gudimallam linga, depicts the true nature of a Shiva linga, with the human form carved well within the limits of the linga. Here we see a sculpture of Shiva standing with a club on one side, the only sculpture where shiva is carved completely within the linga. We later see versions of the same in the Lingodbhavamurthi which shows only part of shiva, found at Kanchipuram and later temples in the southern regions.

We get to know more about the Pallavas from the 6th century onwards because of the constant clashes with the Chalukyas, but as far as early sculptures are concerned, the Gudimallam Linga, stands a class apart.

There are other interesting caves around the Pallava region. The caves at Dalavanur, are probably one of the earliest caves made by the Pallavas. This cave at Dalavanur, depicts the characterestics of the pallava caves with very confused dwarapalas, whose bodies are flexed rather awkwardly. Interestingly, the pillars are very bare and at the most have medallions which is a Chalukyan take off. This si actually in the Shatrumalla cave near Chennai. These caves were built during the period of Mahendravarman and have very square pillars on two ends with an octagon in the center. No yali figures accompany this cave which are so charcterestic to Pallavas. We see that the yali figures come in later constructions.

Shiva Nataraja - Chatura pose

Shiva's dance involves all of 108 poses, some of which have been sculpted in bronze as well as stone on temple walls. Here at the Brihadeshwara temple, under the rule of Rajaraja chola and the patronage of queen Sembiyan Mahadevi, one of the leading queens of the Chola dynasty are depicted the various forms of shiva.

To the Chola rulers, apart from Tanjore, Chidamabaram was another place that boasted the strong presence of Shiva. Apart from the beautiful bronze Nataraja at the Chidambaram temple a lot of similar forms have been installed along the temple niches for the diety.



Here at Brihadeshwara, along its south wall we see Shiva in the chatura pose. The chatura pose is that where the right leg is firmly placed on the apasmarapurusha (ignorance) and the left leg is raised half way into the air shortly before being stretched out as the nataraja tandava pose. Shiva wears a jatamukuta and holds the crecent moon and ganges in his hair! In this sculpture he is seen holding a trident as one of his many attributes.

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Photos courtesy: Michael D. Gunther / ww.art-and-archaeology.com

The Pallava foundation of temples

Before we jump to the temples of the Cholas we need to understand what brought about their forms and the prototypes for the same. Their predecessors the Pallavas had by now mastered the art of carving temples into live rock. The rathas and the shore temple are the standing examples of Pallava architecture in Mahabalipuram and the Kailashnatha temple is at Kanchipuram. They house dieties from both Shaivite and vaishnavite iconography.



Lets take a glimpse at the architectural forms at Kailashnatha temple, Kanchipuram. Look closely at the Gopuram. Its the structural version of the sculptural representation of the shrine models as seen in Mahabalipuram. The pillars are mounted on yali figures. The yalis also adorn the sub shrines around the main sanctum which is rich in indian iconography. Each sub shrine marks a part of the outer wall, a sort of fortification a little different from what we get to see at shore temple Mahabs.

The main gopuram though small is very similar to that found on the Bhima ratha. Its a clear understanding here that the subshrines have shallow porches and are a miniature version of that found at the Varaha cave at Mahabalipuram.

The pallavas definitely had their had at structural temple architecture. This was probably one of the larger temples they built. Its very interesting to notice that the Kailashnatha temple though rich in iconography, the sculptures are not life size as that in Mahabalipuram or Ellora. In later temples they will taken on much smaller forms as in the pillars of later Chola temples.

Temple architecture under the Cholas.

The Cholas were Shaivite follower though they were tolerant towards other sects. Their Kuladeivam was Lord Shiva in whose honour they are known to have built the Golden Hall at Chidambaram. Its interesting to note that temple architecture under the Cholas took a new shape. Under the patronage of Queen Sembiyan Mahadevi, the temples were now planned and housed dieties on the niches along its outer wall.

Given the rising power of the minor dieties, the temple had to now save its own vitality and hence give room to minor shrines like the mother goddess within the temple premises. This was definitely not an earlier practise. Its also under the Cholas that the temples now have a gargoyle spout on the North wall. The back wall or the west wall always houses a Lingodbhava murti.

Mother Goddess and Ganesha adorn the other niches of the Shiva temple. The shala kutas and Karna kutas(architectural features) continue to decorate the vimana of these temples. Its also during the Chola times that the Vimana shoots up into the sky which can be seen in Brihadeshwara temple, Tanjore, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Tribhuvanam. Its at Darasuram that the vimana remains at 5 storeys. My next posts will have more on these temples.

Politics under the Cholas.

The Cholas ruled in South India from the 9th century to the 13th century. Along with the Pandyas they defeated the Pallavas, who finally disappeared after 300 years. This period also saw the crystalization of the tamil culture. The chola culture ruled the regular life styles of the people thus making it the Classical era.



This is a mural depiction of Rajaraja Chola with Guru Karuvurar at the Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjore.

The chola empire extended further to the south east Asian countries like Java etc. Politically the Cholas have ruled in Tamil Nadu since the first century AD but came into the lime light of historical importance when the first ruler Parantaka 1 defeated the Pandhyas and established his rule over the south. He was later defeated by the Rashtrakutas. The Cholas rule did have its ups and downs but rose again when they reclaimed their territories from the Rashtrakutas, who by then had faced enough harassment from the Chalukyas. This time the Chola empire came to be more stable under the rule of Rajaraja 1 (985- 1014) is son Rajendra Chola.

Commerce flourished under the Cholas and they were very well aware of their competition in the Arab traders who were supported by the rulers of Kerala. Hence the Cholas went and conquered the Malabar coast and monopolized on this. Further they had ties with China and other south east Asian countries. Indeed a politically very well knit state!

Shiva dances at Ellora

they called this the dancing skanda. i still think this is shiva himself ( the jattas probably give him away). but having come upon skanda, here is an interesting story.

The Kumbh Legend In Skanda Purana



The ancient Hindu scripture, the Skanda Purana, recounts the legendary origin of the Kumbh Mela. The Devas or Gods and the Asuras or Demons sought the nectar of immortality, hidden in the depths of the ocean. Using Mount Meru as a churning stone with the python, Vasuki Naga, coiled around it like a rope, balanced on Vishnu who had assumed the form of a tortoise, the epic exercise began. On the one side, the Devas took hold of the python's tail , on the other, the Asuras held his head. Together they turned the gigantic contraption and churned the ocean into a ferment. The beleaguered ocean then threw up enough deadly poison to swamp and destroy all the three worlds.

Before it could do so, however, Lord Shiva descended from the heavens, and swallowed it up. Parvati held his throat in order to stop the poison from descending, this turned his throat blue, hence he is called Nilakantha. After the ocean had purged itself, the universe was granted a treasure trove of boons. Among these was a flying horse, a wish-granting cow, a priceless jewel, a magic moon, a skycar, a musical instrument, the apsara Rambha, Lakshmi the goddess of wealth, and Vishwakarma the mystic architect. Ultimately, Danwantri the divine healer, appeared bearing the Amrit or nectar of immortality. The jar that held it, was the Kumbh.

As the Asuras made a grab for the Amrit , Rambha began dancing to distract them. Jayanta, son of Indra , transformed himself into a large bird and flew off with the Kumbha . Jayanta's flight to paradise took him twelve days. On his journey, he flew over the Earth, stopping at four places. First, Prayag or Allahabad, then Haridwar, Trimbakeshwar (near Nasik) and finally, Ujjain. At each place, a few drops of nectar fell into the river. These, therefore, are the holy places of the Kumbh Mela, and the significance of the ritual bath.

Gangadhara Shiva - Ganges in Shiva's Jatamukuta

Bhagirata was the renowned king and forefather of Rama of Raghu Vamsa. His forefathers known as Sagaras were burnt down due to a curse. In order to uplift his ancestors from the curse and finally get them to heaven, he wanted to bring the river Ganges to earth. The concept is that when the waters of the Ganges touch the ash of Sagaras, they would be uplifted from their sin.

Bhagirata performed very severe austerities to get Indra's acceptance. He gave permission to bring the Ganges to the earth. However, the decision of coming down to earth would be Ganga's. So Bhagirata again started his penance and prayed to the Goddess to descend. She agreed to come down, but he was warned that earth would not withstand the force with which she would descend.

Bhagirata worshipped Lord shiva for help. He performed severe austerities to pleasing Lord Shiva. Shiva was pleased with his devotion and agreed to hold the Ganges when she descends to earth. Ganges blinded by her own pride and ignorance thought that the Lord wouldn't be able to withstand the force! She descended with an intention to flow down with heavy force on the Lord.

Lord Shiva, the creator of the entire universe arrested her flow in His Jatamukuta! She tried her best to release herself only to get locked further.Bhagirata, prayed to the Lord to show mercy on the Goddess and release her. Ganges flowed gently down from his matted locks to purify the earth and the Sagaras off their sins. Ganges then flowed gracefully and blessed Patala with her waters. Thus the ancestors of Bhagirata were resurrected by the holy water of the Ganges.

Shiva sculptures depict Ganges in Shiva's Jatamukuta. This is most often seen in the Nataraja sculptures with Ganges on one side and the crescent moon on the other!

Kalyanasundara Murti - wedding of Shiva and Parvati

Mother goddess Shakthi was reborn as parvati, the daughter of the king of Himalayas. As a young child, she was not interested in playing with the other children. She was more inclined towards meditating on Lord Shiva in the mountains and she desired to marry him. For that she wanted to perform austerity in the snow covered Himalayas. Her parents hesitated, but finally had to subdue to the determination of Parvati.

Lord shiva who was happy with her worship, came as an old devotee to her place. Parvati offered her respect to the old bhakta of her beloved lord. Now, he tried to convince her that she shouldn't waste her youth doing tapas, but should enjoy life getting married ! He further suggested that she could get married to him, instead of desiring for Lord Shiva Who dances in the cemeteries and wears skulls and bones! parvati, without knowing who he is, got very angry on hearing his words told him that she showed him respect only because he seemed like a devotee and she would not want to hear any little blasphemy of God further.



The Lord, pleased with her determination and devotion, reveals who he is. He gave her the boon she yearned for and accepted to marrying her. The Himalayan king's family was delighted to have their beloved daughter wedded. The region was decorated and shining with prosperity. The young beautiful Parvati was decorated with beautiful ornaments for the wedding.

Now came the groom, lord Shiva to the wedding place on an old bull, with skull and bone ornaments, with the skin of the tiger as the clothing, accompanied by the roar of the bhuta ganas !! Having seen this form of Lord Shiva, the wedding was called off. In order to please the royal family and having realized the hypocrisy in society Lord Shiva decided to change his form, into a groom in glittering beautiful wedding robes and golden ornaments! The queen could not belive that what came in such a hidious form now looked so devine and beautiful ! The enchanting Lord in the wedding robe got married to the daughter of the mountains and this form of god is called kalyana sundhara.


Click here for the complete story

The Nataraja in dance

The Nataraja is definitely one of the most popular sculptures, brought to the lime light under the Cholas. The form had been sculpted before, but in bronze its a class apart.

This form of Tandava is one of three steps in dance, this being the final pose. The beauty is seen in a series of Natarajas sculpted under the Chola rule. Over three centuries we see this form take shape most beautifully in bronze. Shiva stands on the Apasmara purusha on his right leg, while his left leg almost rises into the air but has still not left the ground - this is the lalita pose.



When he raises his leg mid way into the air but yet not out stretched its in the Chatura pose, and when he finally stretches his left leg out and points to it in the gaja hasta pose with his left hand, the right hand continuing to remain in abhaya pose - signifying "do not fear" and seek refuge in lord Shiva, it is the final Nataraja.

Interestingly there are around 108 poses depicted in shiva's dance. For now, click here to view another sculpted pose of Lord Shiva.

Click here to know more on the dance of Shiva

Shiva Bhikshatana - the enchanting mendicant.

This story of Shiva portrays him as a mendicant who went through the villages and seduced wives of brahmins. It was this yogic personality that gave Lord Shiva his irresistible looks.

As described in the Suprabhedagama, Shiva is said to have passed the slopes of Mount Meru without any garments. The wives of the Rishis fell in love with him and lost their chastity. The rishis wild with rage, performed incantations to kill Shiva, the seducer of their wives. From their ceremonial grounds there came snakes, a Krishna-Mriga, an Apasmarapurusha, a Parasu, a bull, a tiger, a lion and several other things.

The latter took for his sport the black deer, the snake and the parasu, the apasmarapurusha was trampled under his feet, the lion and tiger were killed as worn as garments, while the skull and the moon were placed on his jatamukuta.

There are of course various versions to what he carries as attributes. The snakes are either on his waist or in his jatas. The primary point here is that the Bhikshatana murti leads to him possessing most of the attributes depicted in the Nataraja.

Nataraja and its various forms

What is evident from looking closely at the themes that best describe shiva at Elephanta is that they all belong to his "soumya rupa" or his lasya form. Apart from these sculptures (click here for the list of sculptures) Shiva is known to be depicted in two forms - the soumya rupa and the ghora rupa. Most of his stories depict him in one of these two forms.

Now take for example the Nataraja itself, he is said to have performed the dance in both forms. The tandava itself has various parts to it. In all these sculptures Nataraja is said to stand onthe apasmara purusha, hold the damaru, covered in tiger and lion skins and have a snake around his waist.

How did he come around possessing these icons! This leads us back to the story of Bhikshatana Murti. A mythological story that clearly shows how he came to possess these attributes.

The Trimurti at Elephanta.

The Elephanta Nataraja re-emphasizes the beauty of sculpture. Here mostly destroyed Nataraja carries the following attributes. In a Nataraja sculpture, Shiva is depicted with the following attributes



His upper right hand carries the Damaru, the upper left a bowl of fire, which is destruction, the dissolution of form.. The lower right hand is raised in blessing, betokening preservation. The right leg, representing obscuring grace, stands upon Apasmarapurusha, a soul temporarily earth-bound by its own sloth, confusion and forgetfulness. The uplifted left leg is revealing grace, which releases the mature soul from bondage. The lower left hand gestures toward that holy foot in assurance that Shiva's grace is the refuge for everyone, the way to liberation. He wears the skins of lions and tigers on his loins and the moon and skull adorn his jatamukuta.

The circle of fire represents the cosmos and especially consciousness. The all-devouring form looming above is Mahakala, "Great Time." The cobra around Nataraja's waist is kundalini shakti, the soul-impelling cosmic power resident within all.

This is the enlarged view of Nataraja at Elephanta.
See this post on Nataraja

The Nataraja - extension of the Trinity

The misconception of this sculpture being a part of the trinity is age old. The assumption is that the preserver as seen in Elephanta is Vishnu when actually, as mentioned earlier its Vamadeva, while the destroyer is Bhairava. Very clearly these are aspects of Lord Shiva himself.



The sculpture has been given another form in the later Chola sculptures. Here of course the three forces of Shiva have been depicted symbolically, there is no human form representing all three forms of Shiva, but instead the feminine form of Vamadeva the creator is replaced by the Damaru - the symbol from which creation issues forth. The other hand carries fire, the symbol of distruction or Bhairava.

Shiva himself in the center is the preserver and this dance of Anandha Tandava depicts reassurance and perservation of all those who seek refuge in him. This is Shiva Nataraja from the Chola period dated bck to the 11 -12th cen AD, Madras Museum.

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Courtesy: photo copyright © Madras Museum

The merging of Vrishabhavana and Ardhanarishwara

This is indeed an extremely interesting sculpture. What typically is known as the Ardhanarishwara has been treated differently here at Elephanta. With the introduction of Nandi and the pose of Shiva, this sculpture brings together two aspects of Lord Shiva.



Vrishbhavana is the name given to Lord Shiva with his bull Nandi, a casual pose with his right arm resting on the bull.
Ardhanarishwara is the merger of Shiva and Parvati described in an earlier posting. This sculpture truely unique and maybe the only one of its kind is found here at Elephanta.
The over all theme gives an idea of attendants at the bottom of the panel, flying celestial figures to depict the heavens and the abode of the Lord at the Kailasa peak. The central definitely being the imposing sculpture of Lord Shiva in a combination of Vrishabhavana and Ardhanarishwara. The bull is realistically sculptured and almost larger than life as if to almost walk out of the panel. Parvati is depicted in the tribhanga pose (the S shaped twist to the body in three parts). This pose is followed in most of the sculptures of the goddesses in the south during the later Chola period.

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Photo courtesy: www.colby.edu/art/AsianArt

Elephanta rock cut temples

Western india is famous for a string of rock cut temples ranging in date from the 2nd century BC to the 12th cen AD.around Mumbai. within a radius of 20 kms lie several caves which include the buddhist rock cut temples of Kanheri and Kondivite and the brahmanical caves of Elephanta, Mandapesvar and Jogeshwari.

The island of elephanta originally known as gharapuri, derives its name from a massive stone elephant now displayed in the victoria gardens at Mumbai. Except for a few Kshatrapa coins of the 4th cen AD found here, nothing is known of the history of elephanta prior to the defeat of mauryan rulers if konkan by the chalukyan emperor Pulakesin 2 of badami in a naval battle of the island in 635 AD.

there are three caves (rock cut temples) out of which one is dedicated to shiva. others are of no particular interest. the main cave datable to the mid 7th cen AD conprises of a pillared hall in which a small shrine with four entrance doors is flanked by dwarapalas. it is a unique example of gupta and chalukyan art. while the massive but graceful figures of divinities and guardians and certain architectural features such as square pillars with cushion capitals suggest chalukyan influences the depiction of mountains and clouds and the hair styles of the women are reminiscent of gupta art.

Click here for more information

All about Shiva - truely an enigmatic diety!

Here is more on Lord Shiva. I know i sound religious, but to be honest i have been really fascinated with this diety. he is truely amazing and terribly anti-social at the same time, which is whats most interesting. here is something of interest to you. A list of his various forms as far as I can remember, in alphabetical order(they were my mailing list folders :D)

Andhakasuravadh
Ardhanarishwara
Bhikshatana
Dakshinamurti
Gangadhara
Harihara
Kailasanatha
Lingodbhava
Nataraja
Rhishabavana
Sanathana
Somaskandha
Tandava
Tripuranthaka
Trivikrama

Most importantly, the linga is sculpted only for the lingodbhava murti!

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Photos courtesy: Michael D. Gunther

Shiva at Elephanta for the tourist.

To the untrained eye, Elephanta is all but a tourist spot, known to have a few sculptures which are almost reduced to dust now. Elephanta caves are remote, carved into a hill near the Mumbai coast.



Little is known about the true nature of these caves except for a few sculptures that speak of the glories of Lord Shiva. Interesting facts are that these caves at Elephanta are the only surviving caves that depict Shiva. No where else in India do we find a cave dedicated to Shiva, with a Linga in the central shrines. The silence and the darkness of these caves does have a lot in store for us.

I had learned before that there is more to that darkness than what meets the eye. Here is an idea on what is actually the biggest quest of life. A series of iconographic sculpture depicting the paradoxes of life. In case you are headed to Elephanta, this is what you should look for.

These sculptures include:
Marriage of Shiva and Parvati - Kalyanasundara murti,
Shiva holding the Ganges - Gangadhara,
Ravana shaking Kailasa - Ravana Anugrahamurti,
Shiva as Ardhanarishwara,
The dancing shiva - Lasya form Nataraja,
The lord of the yogis - Yogiswara
The destroyer of evil - Samharamurti
Trimurti - comprising of Aghora, Shiva and Vamadeva
Shiva who bestows gifts - Anugrahamurti

Right through the cave His aura is felt - silent, enigmatic, meditating... Interestingly, Shiva has many more forms like the Bhikshatana, Gajasuvadhamurthi, Tandava Nataraja, Lingodbhava murthi, none of which are depicted in this cave, but do make a permanent appearance in later temples of south India.

Dwarapalas of shiva temple - Elephanta.

The Linga shrine in the cave temple of Shiva is unusual in having four entrances, one at each cardinal direction. Beautiful dvarapalas guard the entrances. Although detached from the walls, the shrine is, like everything else in the cave, cut from a matrix of living rock.



Extensive damage has been done to these guardian sculptures, by the Portuguese. Yet their appearance and their crowns gives us a hint of how flamboyant they are. Their silence speaks of a thousand wars long time ago. The yajnopavita is very clearly defined here, of what is commonly known as the brahmin holy thread.

These dwarapalas remind us of Egyptian deities along the temple walls at Abu Simbel. Large life size sculptures re-emphasize either the supernatural or the imperialism of the ruling dynasty. The trend of dwarapalas continued though they were borught down well in size. Few temples later show four gateways to the shrine within, its was a piece of architecture that was slowly stopped as a practice.

This image is of the dwarapalas at Elephanta caves near Mumbai.

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Photos courtesy: Michael D. Gunther / www.art-and-archaeology.com

Deep within the walls of Elephanta

This is a silent cave, built by the Vakatakas and located off the Mumbai coast,which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Strange but true, its one of its kind and truly magnificent. It has an aura of suspense and a shroud of the unknown envelopes this cave.



Within its walls are one of the greatest treasures of art history. All the cave walls depict a story from Shiva's exploits. These mythologies include:

Andhakasuravada murthi
Kalyanasundara murthi
Ardhanarishwara
Trimurti
Saptamatrikas
Nataraja
Vrishabhavana


This cave has a lot to contribute not only to the iconography of Shiva but also to cave architecture during those ages. Its very evident that they were still experimenting with cave architecture and attempting to give full justice to the canons of architecture for the garba griha. In this cave we see the garbha griha has 4 entrances each in a cardinal direction.
The striking features of this dark place is a square linga enshrined in a garbha griha, with life size dwarapalas on all side which are damaged but beautiful.

Elephants is one of very few cave temples that depict Lord Shiva to the fullest. The other Shiva temple during the same period is Kailasanatha temple at Ellora.

Bhringi the three legged sage.

Bhringi, a great devotee of Lord Shiva, is shown sculpted here on the walls of a Shiva temple in the Vijayanagar period. The story of Bhringi is quite interesting.



Sage Bhringi was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva, but he never considered Parvati to be a part of his worship.

As always, sage Bhringi meditated over Lord Shiva at his abode at Mount Kailasa. At the end of his worship he would religiously circum-ambulate Lord Shiva. Parvati having seen this ritual of Bhringi, chose to be part of it and sat closer to Lord Shiva. Sage Bhringi noticed this, and realizing what had just happened, turned himself into a bee and went around Shiva thrice.

Parvati was enraged and Shiva wanted to teach Bhringi a lesson that Parvati is an integral part of Him and cannot be excluded. He merged Himself with Parvati such that Bhringi would have to circum-ambulate both of them.

Bhringi is often depicted as a skeleton in most images, this is because Parvati cursed him in fury to become thin and completely emaciated, so weak that he could not stand. Shiva, moved by Bhringi's plight, gave a 3rd leg for support.

Hence Bhringi is always depicted with three legs.