Viśvarūpa

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Vaikuṇṭha-Viśvarūpa Vol. II

20. FUNFKOPFIGER VIṢṆU

Stein: 47.7 x 45.7 x 7.6

4 Hande

Privatbesitz

20 .1 DESCRIPTION:

The sculpture appeared recently in a private collection. Exactly where it was found is not known, but both the post-Gupta style, of Mathuran inspiration, and the iconographical composition indicate a point of origin on the western Madhya Pradesh borderlands. When complete, the sculpture represented a form of the god Viṣṇu with four arms and multiple emanations, around the head, standing against a densely populated, flat-topped rectangular stele having rounded upper corners. There has been considerable damage to the details on the top edge of the stele and some to the central face of the god, and three of the arms and both legs of the main figure are lost, as is the lower extent of the stele, particularly on the proper left. The material is a buff flecked sandstone. In its present condition, this fragment has a maximum height of 47.7 cm, is 45.7 cm in width, and the slab is 7.6 cm thick. The subject matter is a cult icon representating of Viṣṇu as Viśvarūpa, the source and axis of all creation, which is represented by its archetypes surrounding the god. Although in this and in its design it is an image of a well known (though comparatively rare) type, it has considerable stylistic interest; and the logic of its symbolic structure, which is unique to each Viśvarūpa image, is of considerable importance to understanding the evolution of North Indian Vaiṣṇava thought concerning the nature of the Hindu universe.

20.1.1 The central figure

The god was represented with a considerable dehanchement, the hips being deflected to the right and the weight carried on the straight right leg, while the left knee was bent forward, as can be seen from the remains of the left thigh. The torso leans correspondingly to the left, producing a pronounced but not exaggerated ābhaṅgha posture. The front right arm is lowered, the empty hand turned to the centre and resting in a stylish gesture of ease, with thumb and forefinger splayed, on the rolled sash which crosses the upper thighs. Behind it, the second upper arm on the right was lowered at the same angle, but the forearm was brought forward, as can be seen by the position of the break below the elbow. Both left arms, now broken off well above the elbows, were also lowered; the front left hand held the upright conch-shell (śaṅkha) supported at the base by the fingers, resting against the palm, and with the point tilted in towards the left hip. As there are no fracture marks on the surface of the stele, it is safe to assume that no weapons such as the sword and shield, or bow and arrow, were shown being wielded in the rear pair of hands. These hands must therefore have been lowered to the sides, and in this position they can only have rested on the heads of two weapon-personifications (āyudhapuruṣas) standing on the plinth. In order to complete the symbolism of a four-armed Viṣṇu figure, these must have been the embodiments of the mace (gadā) and disk (cakra), namely Gadādevī and Cakrapuruṣa. Thus the complete set of attributes was gadā-śaṅkha-cakra, with the first right hand being left empty and resting near the right hip (a form of katyavalambita), on the thigh.

The torso appears to be bare except for a short, double-strand pearl necklace with a central gem in a jewelled setting. Its physical volumes are rounded and unmuscled, and the physique is in part unusually slight, resulting in a certain anatomical imbalance, often seen in early post-Gupta work, between the slenderness of the abdominal region and the depth of chest and breadth of shoulder. A light double line down the left side of the torso indicates a plain yajṅopavīta faintly delineated. The upper hem of the adhoṃśuka or lower garment is indicated by a double line, and the girdle below it sits very low on the hips, with a central ornament, similar in design to the necklace pendant, above the groin. The folds of the garment, dhoti-like, are wound around the right thigh and fall straight down on the left. The upper arms are encircled by triple-wound keyuras with splayed ends, and heavy ear-ornaments hang from extended pierced lobes to the level of the collar-bones. Strands of hair hang beside them on the shoulders. The remains of a thin vanamālā encircle the shoulders and fall through the crook of the right elbows to the stele (visible on the right), whence the garland doubtless continued to loop under the knees. The contours of the face are rather plump, making the head appear somewhat large in relation to the body. The crown is of the truncated-pyramid shape (kirīṭa-mukuṭa), with a frontal diadem.

Rising diagonally in the right-angle formed by the shoulders and the sides of the face and crown appear the foreparts of the animal avatāras Kūrma (Turtle) and Matsya (Fish) on the right, and the heads of Narasiṃha (Man-Lion) and Varāha (Boar; now a mere broken stump above the lion-head) on the left. Behind these emanating incarnations, a semi-circular fan-like shape is spread behind the crown; this appears to be a cluster of serpent-heads, expressed as a series of cobra-hoods. This feature identifies the central figure with Saṅkarṣaṇa or Balarāma, brother of Kṛṣṇa and the first vyūha of Vāsudeva in the Pancaratra-based cosmogony. This iconography therefore identifies the god represented in this sculpture as Kṛṣṇa-Vāsudeva and Saṅkarṣaṇa-Balarāma combined in one deity, namely Nārāyaṇa Viṣṇu, who is the source of the avatāras.

There are at least forty miniature figures, all eroded and several of them broken or damaged, carved in relief on the remaining surface of the broken stele. These are arranged in five groups, though originally there may have been six. They are conceived as manifesting themselves within the nimbus (prabhāmaṇḍala) of Viṣṇu, a sculptural concept which was developed at Mathura in the fifth century to give visual expression to the phenomenon of spiritual emanation as a form of divine, or pure, creation¹ (suddha-srsti); the stele is to be regarded as representing this creative effulgence emanating from the god, and the figures within this radiance are to be seen as representing the immortal yet created beings which are similarly his emanations (see Bericht an die DFG vom 30.06.1990: p.130- 131, C.3.1-3.7).

Above the flat-topped crown of Viṣṇu rise three figures, one above the other, to the central apex of the composition. Although they are damaged, these can be identified as, first, Vāmana the Dwarf incarnation, followed by Hayagrīva the Horse-headed (both displaying the abhaya-mudrā), and finally caturmukha Brahma, three of whose four heads were represented.

These vertical emanations, which together with the figure of Viṣṇu define the axis of symmetry of the whole sculpture, further identify Viṣṇu as the giant form (virāta-rūpa) known as Trivikrama (the colossal transformation of Vāmana), as Vedagarbha and Vacaspati/Vagisa (source of Hayagrīva, Lord of Speech, therefore origin of the Vedas, and hence of all knowledge), and as Nārāyaṇa/Śeṣaśayyin (the Lord floating on the ocean of pralaya. symbolised by the serpent Ananta/Śeṣa -- whose cobra-hoods resemble those of Saṅkarṣaṇa around the heads of Viṣṇu -- source of the creation of the contingent world through Brahma as demiurge). These three, together with Viṣṇu, form a cosmic unity: Viṣṇu is the source of all; the Dwarf incarnation, through his transformation as the giant Trivikrama, measures and defines space; Hayagrīva with his voice pervades space with sacred knowledge; and in this prepared but empty space Brahma as Vidhatr (the Organiser or Controller) constructs and populates the universe². It is this organised and populated cosmos which is symbolised by the remaining groups appearing on the surface of the stele.

Across the top of the stele, to left and right of Brahma located at the centre, appear a number of individual deities.³ Those to the proper left of Brahma are the following. First, adjacent to the axis, stands the Vaiṣṇava incarnation Rāma Dāśarathī, hero of the Rāmayana epic, with the bow. Riding towards him is Indra, king of the Vedic gods, mounted on his elephant, Airāvata. The next two figures are damaged beyond recognition, but on the basis of the Viśvarūpa stele from Tumain at the National Museum, New Delhi, one can be fairly certain that the first of them represented Agni, the Fire-god, mounted on his symbolic animal, the goat. The other is unfortunately too badly damaged, both in this sculpture and in the Tumain fragment, to permit of identification; judging by the character of the previous two, it may well have been another Vedic god. Below lndra appears Virupaksa, the god of dying (marana), seated on a camel, holding the reigns in his right hand and carrying his emblem, the danda, consisting of a skull on a stick, sloped on his left shoulder.⁴ The figure seated cross-legged below Virupaksa to his left is probably his consort, Nirrti, the embodiment of death (mrtyu); she may hold the noose (pāśa) in her left hand, as the Viṣṇudharmottara describes, but in her right she holds up a bowl and tilts it toward her face, suggesting that it is a kapala (skull-bowl, made from a human cranium) containing blood. The two standing male figures to her immediate left and right cannot be individually identified, but they appear to be ṛṣis.

The counterpart of Rāma Dāśarathī, to the proper right of Brahma is the second (Bhargava) Rāma, known as Paraśurāma, standing with his long-hafted axe resting against his right shoulder. The two damaged figures to his right are Śiva, with Pārvatī seated on his left knee, depicted as a conventional Umāmaheśvara icon. In the Tumain image, the next two represent their sons, the elephant-headed Gaṇeśa and Skanda-Kārttikeya, the war-god; these identifications are less certain in the case of this sculpture because of damage. The same applies to the one or two smaller figures below Śiva and Pārvatī.

Below the individual gods to the proper left of the axis, there appear six identical standing figures: a row of four level with the Narasiṃha head, and two more below them. They are crowned, and hold up indistinct objects in both hands, in such a way that these objects in the hands of one figure overlap those held by the adjacent figures to each side, thus forming two continuous friezes. All the evidence from other Viśvarūpa icons indicates that these are six of the twelve Ādityas, the twelve aspects of the annual solar cycle. Each is represented as a miniature Sūrya image: they amount to a group-representation of the Sun-god. The remaining six Āditya images would have appeared lower down, on the now destroyed part of the stele.

On a level with the foreparts of the Kūrma and Matsya incarnations, on the proper right half of the stele, appear two more lines of identical figures containing five in the upper row and four in the lower. Each has a piled-up hairstyle, places the empty left hand on his chest, and holds a trident (triśūla) in his right. This weapon is the emblem of Śiva, who appears above them, and these figures, called Rudras, are aspects of him, in much the same way that the Ādityas are aspects of Sūrya on the opposite side of the stele. The standard number of Rudras is eleven (ekadasa-rudrah); the remaining two are to be conceived of as concealed behind the heads of the Turtle and Fish incarnations.

Further down on the proper right side of the stele, opposite the now broken part on the left, are ten small figures, the top row containing four and the two lines below them three each. Their piled ascetic's hairstyles, similar to those of the Rudras, and the folds of their robes over their left shoulders, can still be seen in some instances. The right hands are held up, palm forward, in the abhaya-mudrā. The first two rows alone would be identifiable as the primary group of seven sages (saptarsayah), who also appear in other Viśvarūpa icons. They are Marici, Atri, Angiras, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, and Vasistha. The reason for a decade of sages appearing in this sculpture is that the designers clearly referred to the lists given in the Mahābharata and the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, in which three more (Pracetas, Bhrgu, and Nārada) are said to have been created by Manu; these ten sages (also called Prajapatis) then generated all creatures (prajas), including the gods and men.

One of the functions of the Viśvarūpa concept in ancient Indian mythology and iconography to reconcile or mediate between spiritual, ritual and social opposites. The concept finds typical expression in this image through the juxtaposition of creative and destructive forces, in the shape of the Prajapati-Sages and the Rudras, on the proper right side of the stele, while the Viṣṇu figure, as axis, mediates between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, represented on opposite halves of the stele by the Ādityas and the Rudras.

On the edges of the stele appear two series of four faces or masks, one above the other, which meet on either side of the rear of the apical Brahma figure. The faces have bulging eyes, short noses, slightly open mouths which reveal fangs, and they are topped by various ascetic hairstyles (jatabharas). These can only represent the eight Bhairavas, which are ferocious aspects of the eight-bodied (astatanu) god Śiva. The source of this peripheral imagery is Mathura, where the two earliest surviving Viśvarūpa fragments (fifth century A.D.) have either Śaiva ascetics or true Bhairava faces in this position. Their original purpose was to depict, in terms of standard Śaiva iconography, the many fierce devouring faces of Viṣṇu-Kṛṣṇa transformed into the god of destruction, Viśveśvara Viśvarūpa, as described in the eleventh Adhyaya of the Bhagavad-Gita (see Bericht an die DFG vom 30.06.1990, p.144-146, F.2, and Thematic Index). By the late seventh or early eighth century, when this image was made, they had become a standard feature of all Viśvarūpa icons.

21.2 CHRONOLOGY:

Post-Gupta stylistic considerations -- the anatomy of the torso and the restrained use of jewellery to ornament it -- and the iconographic structuring of the stele, both point to a date in the early 8th century, during the expansion of Gurjara-Pratīhāra power, and within the territories of eastern Avanti (Malava) on the Malwa Plateau which were controlled by that dynasty at the time. The sculpture was most probably made in the triangle between Guna, Ujjain (ancient Ujjayini / Avanti), and Vidisa, in the first half of the 8th century.

21.3 PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION:

An early mediaeval Gurjara-Pratīhāra version of Viśvarūpa, representing Viṣṇu as Vāsudeva combined with Nārāyaṇa as the source of creation, and as the giant cosmic form Virātarūpa, emanating six avatāras directly from himself along with the demiurge Brahma; and emanating other avatāras, the Vedic devas, the Hindu gods of Time and Death, the Twelve Ādityas, the Eleven Rudras, and the ten Ṛṣis, in his nimbus, which is bounded by the Eight Bhairavas.

Malwa, c. 725-750 AD.

Nr. 20: Privatsammlung

Malwa

21. ZEHNKOPFIGER VIṢṆU

Stein: Hohe 110

8 Hande

Citragupta-Tempel, Khajuraho: sudliche AuBenwand des Sanktums

21.1 DESCRIPTION:

The Citragupta temple on which this image appears is apparently dedicated to the sun-god Sūrya. Its iconographical programme on the maṇḍapa and mahāmaṇḍapa is destroyed. The external sanctum images, however, are still partly intact, showing the following sequence:

South wall: Brahma with Sarasvati above the ten-headed figure (lower niche destroyed); West wall: Śiva with pārvatī above Hari-Hara-Pitāmaha above Brahma;

North wall: Viṣṇu with Lakṣmī above Varāha (lower niche destroyed).

This is therefore an image of Viṣṇu as a parsvadevata in the central niche of the south external wall of the sanctum of a sun-temple. The figure stands in ābhaṅga to the left, with the weight on the left foot. Originally eight-armed, the image retains only the rearmost left hand, which holds a circular kheṭaka, now partly broken. The figure wears the usual ornaments and a tall kirīṭa.

This figure is usually described as eleven-headed (Krishna Deva, ASI I966 repr. 1987: 30; Avasthi, Agra 1967: 127), i.e. as having the face of Viṣṇu surrounded by ten smaller heads, on close examination, only nine heads can in fact be seen around the central face, suggesting that the main figure represents Viṣṇu identified with one of his avatāras, very probably Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa as Vaikuṇṭha (see iconographical interpretation below).

21.2 ICONOGRAPHICAL INTERPRETATION:

The iconography of this unique ten-headed image was created by augmenting the front view of a standard Kashmiri Vaikuṇṭha icon, which has the profiled heads of two of the animal avatāras, namely the lion-head of Nṛsiṃha and the boar-head of Varāha, positioned to the proper left and right respectively of the central face of Vāsudeva-Viṣṇu alias Vaikuṇṭha. These same animal profiles appear in their standard places flanking the central face of this ten-headed image on the Citragupta temple.

The remaining seven avatāra-profiles were then added in the following manner: a human face was inserted below that of the lion, and two below that of the boar; a third human profile was added beyond the muzzle of the lion, which is shorter than that of the boar; and a fourth human face appears immediately above the lion-profile; then the head of a horse (representing the last incarnation, Kalkin) was placed above that; and the heads of the fish and turtle incarnations were made to appear above the boar-head. There are thus four additional profiles on the Nṛsiṃha side of the Vaikuṇṭha icon, and five on its Varāha side, in the following configuration:

In the absence of any hand-held attributes, and given the unusual ordering of these profiles, the separate identities of the four human side-heads was clearly not considered a matter of importance. It became impossible to represent the heads of the avatāras in their usual incarnation sequence vertically once the decision had been made, as it obviously was, to use the Vaikuṇṭha icon as the basis for this new image: because the Nṛsiṃha and Varāha profiles had to be laterally opposed. Representing the incarnations in ascending or descending pairs (fish and turtle, boar and lion, etc.) is theoretically possible, and this method was indeed put into practice at other places (see Forschungsbericht an die DFG vom 30.06.1990, pp.85-87, 5.2-5.2.2: the 11th-century Viśvarūpa from Bhusawar at Bharatpur), but not at Khajuraho. The arrangement of the nine additional heads in this image was apparently decided by the sculptor on aesthetic grounds, the principal intention being to produce an icon of Viṣṇu as a single figure incorporating all ten incarnations, rather than an exposition of the avatāra doctrine. The adherence to the basic Vaikuṇṭha iconography indicates that the three heads of the icon, as seen from the front, were all taken to represent avatāras in early 11th-century Khajuraho.

21.2.1 PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION:

Iconographically, the sculpture represents Vaikuṇṭha embodying the ten avatāras simultaneously; it is a Candella magnification and interpretation of the Vaikuṇṭha icon. It is not Viśvarūpa in the classical sense of the Bhagavadgītā, though in its depiction of the multiple forms of one god it could well have been known by that name. The term Vaikuṇṭha-Viśvarūpa describes it most accurately.

Khajuraho, circa AD 1000-1025.

Nr. 21: Khajuraho

Citragupta Temple, AuBenwand

22. ZWOLFKOPFIGER VIṢṆU

Stein: 104 x 61,5

urspr. 12 oder 14 Hande

Laksman-Tempel, Khajuraho: ostliche Innenwand des Mahāmaṇḍapa, Nordseite

des Eingangs

22.1 DESCRIPTION:

The figure stands on a shelf-like base, ornamented with fan-palm motif on front and sides, which is built into the interior east wall of the mahāmaṇḍapa (facing west), on the north side of the entrance. Adjacent to it on the north wall is an image of Vāmana in an elaborate niche. On the opposite side of the entrance, in the location corresponding to that of the multiheaded Viṣṇu, appears three-headed Sadasiva, adjacent to an image of Śiva in a large niche which faces the icon of Vāmana.

The central figure stands in ābhaṅga to the proper left. Originally it had 12 or 14 hands, of which only three survive: the front left rests on the left thigh; the right front appears to have held a lotus; the rear right holds the cakra. On the right beside the cakra, the head of the gadā can be seen. The proper right head is that of Nṛsiṃha, the proper left of Varāha; the central face is destroyed. Above these, forming the nimbus, is an arch of 9 uncrowned human faces (4 on each side and 1 at the apex); the lowest face in the arch on either side is concealed behind raised attributes.

Brahma sits in the top (proper) right corner of the stele, at the apex of the right-hand pilaster of the framework, and Śiva (headless) in the top left.

Figures on the base: To the immediate right of Viṣṇu's feet stands a small corpulent male figure with a jaṭā hairstyle, his left hand in abhayamudrā and his right holding a gadā at his right hip, like sword. The figure to the left beside Viṣṇu's feet is damaged, the left leg and arms, and the face, being lost; he appears to have worn a crown, and holds the khaḍga upright in his right hand. The outer figure to the right of Viṣṇu's feet is female and faces the centre; she is seated on a round stool, with her left foot resting on it and her right foot on the floor. Her hands are joined in the namaskāramudrā. The outer figure to the left of Viṣṇu's feet kneels in the flying posture. The head and both hands are destroyed. The left hand was lowered to the left thigh, and the right hand was raised in salutation. A cape-like covering over the left shoulder is pointed at back, apparently in the form of a wing. (The wing and the flying posture suggest that this was Garuḍa.)

22.2 INTERPRETATION:

In the abstract, it would be possible to suggest that this is a Candella modification of the classical Viśvarūpa image, from which it retains only the central Vaikuṇṭha icon and the arch of heads which originally appeared on the periphery of the nimbus, the rest of the complex imagery being completely omitted. But it cannot be identified as the classical Viśvarūpa of the Bhagavadgītā, nor does it resemble the Gurjara-Pratīhāra Viśvarūpa images of Kanauj or elsewhere.

The placement of the image in the iconographical programme of the temple, indeed, indicates a different interpretation. The image is placed on the inside of the east wall of the mahāmaṇḍapa facing west, to the immediate north of the entrance. Adjacent to it, on the north wall facing south, is located an image of equal size representing the dwarf incarnation Vāmana. The clear implication is that the three-headed image is Vaikuṇṭha as the transformation of Vāmana, the giant cosmic form of Viṣṇu known as TRIVIKAMA or, in the terminology of Rao and Banerjea, VIRĀTARŪPA (EHI 1.1.174; DHI 418). The image would represent the Virātarūpa at the moment of transformation, prior to the taking of the three strides as Trivikrama. The arch of nine heads (possibly a reference to the Navagrahas) would indicate the cosmic nature of the giant form, as in Viśvarūpa images. The counterpart of the Virātarūpa appears in the corresponding location on the opposite side of the mahāmaṇḍapa doorway: multiheaded Sadasiva as the transformation of Śiva.

The terminology used for the Virātarūpa revealed to Bali in the Vāmana-purāṇa (in both versions of the Vāmana myth), in addition to Mahākāya, Mahārūpa etc., is SARVADEVAMAYA-RUPA (10.48, 66.9), The Form Consisting of All the Gods. The arch of heads above the image may be a reference to this; or to the celestial bodies (jyotimsi), perhaps conceived here as the Navagrahas, the Nine Planets as a halo of nine heads, with reference to Vāmanapurāṇa 10.58:

sarvajyotimsi yaniha tapasca paramam mahat

tasya devadhidevasya tejah prodbhutam uttamam

"The highest manifested light of the God of Gods (Viṣṇu as Vāmana) is the fire of religious austerity and the light of the celestial bodies."

22.2.1 PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION:

A Candella modification of the Vaikuṇṭha icon representing the Virātarūpa (Trivikrama) of Viṣṇu, the multiform cosmic transformation of Vāmana.

Khajuraho, AD 954.

Nr. 22: Khajuraho

Laksman Temple, Mahāmaṇḍapa

23. DREIKOPFIGER VIṢṆU

Stein: 208 x 187

urspr. 4 Hande

Khajuraho, Laksman- Tempel, Hauptikone, innere westwand des Sanktums

23.1 DESCRIPTION:

This is the largest and iconographically the most complex of all the multiheaded Viṣṇu images at Khajuraho. Its iconography has never been fully described, analysed, photographed, or published before.

A full photographic documentation was carried out for the first time in 1991 and 1992 as an important part of this research project. The descriptive analysis follows.

23.1.1

Height: 300 (pilasters) x width 246 x depth 333.

Axis of the sanctum threshold: E 7* S (97*).

The sanctum ceiling is a lantern roof with friezes of flying musicians. Iconography of the exterior walls: Varāha(S) - Nṛsiṃha(W) - Hayagrīva (N).

The sanctum doorframe:

Architrave:

Pilasters:

The sculpture consists of 4 frames surrounding the central image: (1) an outermost, (2) an outer, (3) an intermediate, and (4) an inner. Each frame is populated with multiple figures, which in aggregate define and identify the main central image. (Note: all seated figures appear in lalitāsana with the left foot on the seat and the right on the ground.)

Left side:

1. (base) cāmara-dharini, crowned: padma in raised left hand, cāmara in lowered right.

2. (2nd up) SARASVATI. Crowned, seated, 4-armed:

front hands hold vina;

upper right padma, lower left pustaka.

3. (3rd up) elephant, warrior, vyala.

4. (above crossbeam) makara-head with warrior in jaws.

Right side:

1. (base) cāmara-dharini, reflex of Left:1.

2. (2nd up) GAṆEŚA, seated, 4-armed:

padma-----(broken)

stem of lotus(?)---bowl of modaka.

3. (3rd up) elephant, vyala, warrior.

4. (above crossbeam) makara-head with warrior in jaws.

Top centre:

SŪRYA:

seated in dhyanasana, crowned, with 4 arms: front hands in dhyāna-mudrā, rear hands raised holding 2 pointed lotus-buds.

Base of left pilaster:

Standing figure, severely damaged; only remaining attribute: śaṅkha in lower left hand.

The remaining figures on this outer frame appear on the pilasters and represent 8 aspects of 4-armed Viṣṇu in human shape, seated, all flanked by 2 female attendants.

1. (base) VIṢṆU seated with śaṅkha-----cakra (facing)

padma-----gadā (lowered)

2. (2nd up) VIṢṆU seated with padma-----(broken)

śaṅkha-----cakra (facing)

3. (3rd up) VIṢṆU seated with gadā--------śaṅkha

cakra-------śaṅkha (edge-on). - or more likes padma.

4. (top) VIṢṆU seated with gadā--------padma

cakra-------śaṅkha (damaged).

Standing figure, severely damaged; only remaining attribute: śaṅkha in lower right hand.

Right pilaster:

1. (base) VIṢṆU seated with śaṅkha-----gadā

bijapuraka(?)--cakra (facing)

2. (2nd up) VIṢṆU seated with cakra (facing)-----gadā

śaṅkha-----bijapuraka

3. (3rd up) VIṢṆU seated with cakra (edge-on)--gadā

śaṅkha-----bijapuraka(?)

4. (top) VIṢṆU seated with gadā-----cakra

abhaya---śaṅkha

makara-torana with 6 vidyādharas bearing garlands on each side, and a vyala on either side beneath. (This arch flanks the Sūrya image at the apex of Frame 2.)

1. (base) VĀMANA, seated, chattra in left hand, right hand in abhaya.

2. KṚṢṆA, standing, holding kridayasti (behind Vāmana).

3. Forequarters of a seated elephant, surmounted by a rampant vyala mounted by one warrior and attacked by another.

4. Flying figure.

5. makara-head with standing figure behind.

1. (base) unidentified seated figure, crowned, 2-armed, both hands broken off.

2. BALARĀMA/SAṄKARṢAṆA, standing, with snake-canopy, 2-armed, holding hala head-down under left hand (behind seated figure 1).

3. Forequarters of elephant seated on lotus, surmounted by a rampant vyala with 2 warriors as before.

4. Flying figure with flute.

5. makara-head with standing figure behind.

Seated in dhyanasana, front hands in dhyānamudrā, upper hands holding 2 long pointed lotuses (buds), flanked by

Beneath Sūrya, on the pilasters and pilaster bases, appear the following figures, 5 to a side.

Seated figure, now headless, arms broken, end of robe held in left hand.

Behind stands a female figure, left hand holding a lotus tendril, right hand on thigh.

1. (base) 

Seated devotee, hands in namaskāra, facing central image.

2. (2nd up) 

VARĀHA (boar head, human body), striding toward central image, 4 armed:

top right broken; top left holds cakra against chest, with Bhūdevī seated on the raised left elbow (behind right elbow of the main image); lower right holds śaṅkha; lower left rests on thigh.

3. (3rd UP) 

Seated skeletal ascetic with triśūla held aslant in left hand; right hand in abhaya.

4. (4th up, at top of pilaster) 

BRAHMA, seated, 4-armed:

sruk------pustaka

abhaya---kamaṇḍalu.

5. (top, flanking Sūrya) 

MATSYA on a lotus, with 4 standing figures behind.

mounted on a horse (now headless); reins in left hand. Behind is a standing male figure, probably anthropomorphic GARUḌA, with hair on end and a snake headband; left hand broken off, right hand in vismaya-mudrā.

1. (base) 

Seated devotee, reflex of 1:left.

2. (2^nd up) 

NṚSIṂHA, 4-armed, upper hands raised in vismaya, lower hands disembowelling Hiraṇyakaśipu.

3. (3rd up) 

Damaged seated figure; right hand in abhaya, left hand holds a stick-like object (mace? plough?).

4. (4th up, at top of pilaster) 

ŚIVA, seated, 4-armed:

triśūla-----sarpa

abhaya------kamaṇḍalu.

5. (top, flanking Sūrya) 

KŪRMA with 2 standing figures behind (deva and asura, pulling the rope around the churning stick which stands in a pot on a lotus on the Kūrma's shell).

Central group on base (at the feet of Vaikuṇṭha): Left and right of Vaikuṇṭha stands a male figure, severely damaged, unidentifiable; the outer hand rests on the thigh in each case. In front of them, on lotuses, also severely damaged, are 2 seated female figures with hands in namaskāra.

Beneath the feet of Vaikuṇṭha, on the front of the plinth, is a group of three, set on a single lotus without a stem, comprising:

BHŪDEVĪ in the centre, seated cross-legged on a turtle (KŪRMA), having a canopy of three snakehoods, with a pot in her left hand, and the right raised in abhaya;

Bhūdevī is flanked by 2 NĀGAS, half human and half serpentine, their hands in namaskāra, their serpentine bodies intertwined beneath the turtle, and having three snakehoods in their canopies, like the goddess.

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