Viśvarūpa

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Vaikuṇṭha-Viśvarūpa Vol. III

05. D.Ref.: KASMIR VK SPS(1) BEJBEHARA #38-75

DREIKOPPIGER VIṢṆU

Stein: 59 x 29

4 Hande

Bejbehara (Bijbiara Taluk, Anantnag District: Bijbiara < Vljabror <

Vljayeśvara(-pura/ Vijaya-bhaṭṭāraka[īśvara] > bror): Stein RT I

(trans.).: 9: I.38, n.38), 10 miles SE of Avantipura, Kashmir South (SPS).

05.1 DESCRIPTION

This image was acquired by the museum from Bejbehara. It represents the god Viṣṇu, three-headed and four-armed, and is aesthetically one of the finest of all Kashmiri sculptures. The lower part of both rear arms and of both legs, along with the base and any figures located upon it, are broken off. The remainder is in very good condition, having sustained only superficial damage and virtually no erosion; the smooth polish of the greenish stone and all sculptural details are preserved.

The anatomy is smooth and unmuscled, with the exaggeratedly massive shoulders typical of the Gupta style and of early Kashmiri sculpture. The figure is slightly ābhaṅga to the right, with the weight originally on the right leg. The only item of clothing is a dhotī with a short fold in front, curved folds over the left thigh, and long central pleats between the legs; a scarf s slung diagonally across the legs from the right hip. Viṣṇu wears the plain upavīta and the vanmālā curving around the back of the shoulders and over the elbows of the front arms. The śrīvatsa takes the form of an upright, diamond-shaped flower in the centre of the chest. The body-ornaments are long ear-pendants, a short peal necklace, a slightly longer triple-strand pearl necklace with a large central oval jewel, a twisted multi-strand pearl necklace with floral ornaments at the centre and at the slides, tied-on armlets with large floral plaques, studded bracelets, and a girdle consisting of square jewels and fastened at the centre with two round bosses.

The crown consists of a studded headband with a diamond-shaped jewel at the centre, surmounted by three crescents linked from central rosettes by looped pearl-strings, and filled with lotus-tendril and bud designs. (This would be the cakratrayāṅkita mauli, the royal crown of Kashmir with three disks, alluded to by Kalhana as representing fortune, rank and love, in his ironic description of the favours bestowed by the amorous other of King Gopālavarman on the opportunistic Prabhākaradeva: Stein, Rājataraṅgini V.231; in describing the 11th century King Ananta in the hands of a creditor, Kalhana also mentions, along with the royal lion-throne or siṃhāsana, a form of the royal crown having five crescents, paṅcacandrakaśobhāṅkamauli: Stein, Rājataraṅgini VII.195). Within the crown, an eight-petalled lotus, with a prominently raised seed-case at the centre, rests upon Viṣṇu's head. Long spiral curls of hair curve down form under the lotus and emerge from under the rim of the crown to hand upon the forehead and on to the shoulders.

The head of the Narasiṃha and of the Varāha emerge from the proper right and left sides of the central head. These side-heads are sculpted in very high relief, almost in the round, and are clearly differentiated from each other in shape and feature. Both animal faces have their mouths stretched open, revealing teeth and fangs, and the strained shape of these mouths can only be described as a ferocious snarl; the eyes, wide open and bulging, the eyelids jagged, the pupil contracted to a single point, are equally intended to express ferocity. There can be no doubt that these faces were never intended to be naturalistic representations, but are attempted depictions of aggressive ferocity expressed through animal features. It is reasonably clear that in these faces the artist was trying to express the violet transformation of the placid central face.

Both the animal heads are crowned with a single crescent, filled with a diamond shape framed in foliage, placed well back on the head between the ears. The three heads are backed by a circular halo outlined with a single beaded band.

The rear of the image is fully carved, though only in flat relief or simple engraving, showing the back of the upavīta, and of the long pearl necklace (with an ornate central clasp), armlets, girdle, dhotī and scarf. The back of the nimbus, flattened at the base so that it appears to rest on the shoulders, is polished like the rest of the sculpture, and completely plain.

The two rear arms, broken off at the elbow, are lowered; almost certainly the hands would have rested on the heads of the personified weapons, Gadādevī and Cakrapuruṣa. The right front hand holds the stem of a large ten-petalled circular lotus with a prominent seed-case, on the surface of which the individual seeds are represented by lightly inscribed circles. The left front hand supports a large conch shell, upright; the direction of the spiral is clockwise (Pradakṣiṇa).

05.2 PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION

The sculpture represents VIṢṆU in the typical three-headed form which originated in Mathura in the 5th century ad became the standard icon of the god in his highest state throughout the western Himalaya from the early 7th century (Brahmapura) onward. Although the piece is stylistically a brilliant example of Kashmiri art, and very well preserved, it s iconographically unexceptional. It is however important to note the pronounced, even exaggerated, ferocity in the depiction of the faces of the two animal avatāras; this appears to accord with the belief in these deities specifically as demon-slaying transformations of Viṣṇu, the aspect which was to be emphasized in the Devsar frame and in the mythology current at Khajuraho, both in the 10th century.

The absence of the face of Kapila on the back of the nimbus indicates that the sculpture was produced, evidently for a wealthy (possibly royal) patron, in the Avantipura region, before this feature was introduced at Avantipura itself by Avantivarman in the mid-9th century. The quality of the sculpture and its polish, however, suggest that it comes from a period not much earlier than that date, though this s by o means the immediate predecessor of the Avantipura style. It is later than the Parihasapura sculptures of the reign of Lalitāditya in the first half of the 8th century, since the style has become more elaborate and lost all trace of Gandhara and central Asian influence. Within the 125 years between the two kings, a date toward the end of the AD 750-800 period, two generations after Lalitāditya ad two generations before Avantivarman, therefore seems probable.

Bejbehara (Vijabror, modern Bijbiara), late 8th century.

Nr. 05: Bejbehara

SPS Srinagar

Visnu, Bejbehara, Avantipura, Kashmir South

06. D.Ref.: KASMIR VK SPS(I) AVANTIPURA #76-87

VIERKOPFIGER VIṢṆU

Stein: 77 x 37

urspr. 4 Hande

Avantipura, Kashmir South (SPS)

06.1 DESCRIPTION:

The sculpture represents Viṣṇu, standing, with four faces: the legs below the knees, and the arms are broken off The material is a dark-grey stone, polished to a glossy black. The main figure has curls, parted in the middle, on the forehead, and longer curls lying on the shoulders. A round tilaka mark appears on the forehead. The figure wears round floral ear-ornaments, a single-strand necklace composed of large beads or pearls with a central floral piece having three small pendants, the diamond-shaped śrīvatsa below this in the centre of the chest, floral armlets and a flower at the centre of the waistband, the yajṅopvīta looping just below the waistband, a dagger in the waistband on the right, and a sash looped across the thighs and over the dagger. The remains of the vanamālā can be seen on the shoulders only. The tall crown consists of the three crescents filled with a central flower surrounded by tendrils; its base is a wide band ornamented with circular flowers and a central diamond-shaped motif.

The horizontal side-faces of Viṣṇu represent the Nṛsiṃha (proper right) and the Varāha (proper left). These faces are not fully carved on the back, where the lower part of the animal-head carving consists of a plain curved support only.

The face at the back of the central Vāsudeva head represents Kapila. It is carved in flat relief, but projects considerably behind the crown of Vāsudeva. The hairstyle is the ascetic jaṭākalāpa, the jaṭā drawn back from a central lenticular parting, through a band to stand up in the centre, while longer tresses loop down at the sides. The band around the central part of the hair consists of a garland, which also hangs across the top of the head behind the central projection, covering the connexion between the backs of the Vāsudeva and Kapila heads. The face had a double-knobbed frown above the nose and three furrows above it on the brow; the nose itself is very flat, and the nostrils wide. The eyes are large and bulging, with creases in the skin at the outer corners, and widely spaced high eyebrows. The mouth is a straight line, slightly open, showing even teeth and upward-pointing fangs at the corners, beyond which small curling moustaches appear. The large ears have whisps of hair curving across them and large circular ear-ornaments. The throat bears the trirekha but has no necklace; on either side, the throat is framed by long pendant jaṭās. The baseline of the Kapila depiction is marked by the back of the vanamālā which belongs to the main Vaikuṇṭha figure on the front.

The plain, curving supports at the back of the animal side-heads effectively shield these from view when the image is seen from the back; the side-heads of the avatāras were deliberately separated from the Kapila face. The intention evidently was to prevent the avatāras being mistakenly regarded as emanations of Kapila. (The Kapila head is also shielded from direct connexion with the back of the Vāsudeva head by means of the garland mentioned above.) The yajṅopavīta is hidden at the back of the left shoulder by the pendant jabs of Kapila. It is therefore clear that the Kapila face was as far as possible to be seen as isolated from the main three-headed image.

However, at the same time the iris and the pupil of the eyes of all four heads are incised on the eyeball, indicating that all four aspects of the god were intended to be invoked and worshipped.

6.1.1 DISCUSSION:

The prevention of all contact between the orthodox brahmanical three-headed image of Viṣṇu and the face of Kapila, while simultaneously presenting his face for invocation indicates the power of ritual contamination which the Kapila face was considered to generate in the context of orthodox Vaiṣṇavism. That the presence of Kapila was nevertheless considered essential for the new Vaikuṇṭha cult is shown by the fact that his eyes, like those of the other three aspects, were 'opened'at the consecration of the image. The introduction of the Kapila face thus involved considerable ritual danger, and so the reasons for introducing it must have been of overriding importance. This must have introduced into the ritual performance a strong element of tension, which finds expression in the iconography.

The fact that the iconography is apparently still in the process of adapting to the introduction of the Kapila face indicates that the image was made soon after this four-headed image of Vaikuṇṭha was created for the Avantisvāmin temple at Avantipura.

6.2 PRELIMINARY IDENTITICATION:

There can be little doubt that this is one of the original images of Vaikuṇṭha installed in the Avantisvāmin temple. It can therefore be dated to ca. AD 850.

Nr. 06 : Avantipura

SPS Srinagar

Vaikuntha, Avantipura, Kashmir South

07. D.Ref.: KASMIR VK SPS(1) AVANTIPURA #88-95

VIERKOPFIGER VIṢṆU

Stein: 66 x 33

urspr. 4 Hande

Avantipura, Kashmir South (SPS: Ac/20)

07.1 DESCRIPTION:

This is a damaged and partly eroded torso with the four Vaikuṇṭha heads. The left arms are broken off at the shoulder the right arms survive only down as far as the keyūra. Both legs are broken off above the knee. Traces of a former high polish remain only in the abdominal region, the rest of the sculpture presenting a worn grey appearance. The sculpture was washed before being photographed. As it is fixed into a large concrete block to prevent theft and kept against the wall, the rear face can only be seen and photographed at an oblique angle.

The central face of Vaikuṇṭha has open eyes under high arched brows; between them is a circular ūrṇā. The hair is arranged in long curls, parted in the middle, on the forehead, and others lie upon the shoulders. The central head wears the crown consisting of three disks with a row of large blossoms around the rim and a large six-petalled lotus design filling each of the disks, the large head of the Nṛsiṃha emerges horizontally on the proper right, that of the Varāha on the proper left, just above the shoulders. Damage to the snout of the Varāha face makes them almost indistinguishable. Around the neck hangs a single-strand pearl necklace with a small floral centre-piece having three very small pendants. Below this at the centre of the chest appears the diamond-shaped śrīvatsa. The one-remaining keyūra, on the stump of the right arm, consists of a plain band and a floral boss. Part of the vanamālā survives behind this keyūra, below the curls spread along the shoulder.

The waistband is plain and drawn very straight across the hips. At the centre it has a small blossom, from which pleats fall between the legs. A shallow loop of the upavīta which descends vertically from the left shoulder, hands below the waistband, and a larger scarf curves across the upper thighs. The blade of a large horned dagger s thrust into this scarf at the right hip.

The flattening of the animal faces at the back, and the garland binding the hair of Kapila, are features seen also in No.6.

7.2 PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION

Stylistic similarities show that this Vaikuṇṭa mage almost certainly does come from the Avantipura area, though It cannot be shown whether it originally stood in the Avantisvāmin temple. There are variations in the design of this piece as compared to No.6 -- for example the absence of the diamond at the centre of the crown rim, the positioning of the loops on the sash across the thighs -- but they are minor. The conception and style is identical, and both sculptures share certain important features, such as the flattening of the avatāra-faces at the back to disengage them from the Kapila face. The minor variations of design appear to be related to an increasingly mechanical reproduction of stylistic features, which indicates a date later than that of the Avantisvāmin temple.

Avantipura area, c. AD 875

Nr. 07: Avantipura

SPS Srinagar

Vaikuntha, Avantipura, Kashmir South

VIERKOPFIGER VIṢṆU

Stein: H. 58

urspr. 6 Hande

Avantipura, Kashmir South (SPS)

08.1 DESCRIPTION

This is a Vaikuṇṭha image of unique iconography. The stone has a high black polish like that of No.6, but this is a more intricate piece of sculpture. The intricacy and elements of the style place it close to the early Bejbehara sculpture (No.51, though this is undoubtedly a later piece, from a period when the elements of the Bejbehara image were already beginning to become standardised and somewhat summarily treated. The expression of the central face, with eyes rather more than half-closed and slightly downcast, expresses a contemplative mood, which has been all but lost in No. 7. Stylistically the sculpture is contemporary with No.6.

The central face of Viṣṇu has long curls on the forehead, clearly parted at the centre, and others are arranged on the shoulders. Both ear-pendants are in the form of elongated floral designs. The crown, consisting of three disks, has a studded headband for a rim, with a central diamond-shape. The disks are contained within high curved crescent-moon shapes (as in the Bejbehara piece, No.5), outlined with pearl borders, and filled with an abstract floral design. Above the crown curves a series of seven cobra-heads (only two of which are fully preserved), forming a canopy. The head of the Nṛsiṃha emerges horizontally from the proper right side, that of the Varāha from the proper left; the animal heads are elevated well above the shoulders (as in Nos.5 and 6, from Bejbehara and Avantipura). The necklace consists of a double row of pearls, separated by a plain central string; it has a floral centre-piece with three small pendants. The diamond-shaped śrīvatsa sign occurs beneath it, below the centre of the chest muscles. The position of the navel is marked by a cross-shaped line. The waistband has a pearl girdle with a central floral clasp. Narrow pleats fall between the legs, sculpted adhering the inside of the right leg and a swathe of pleats also falls on the front of the left thigh. The scarf curving across the tops of the thighs is rather stiffly represented, and it is incised with pall-s of vertical lines, suggesting that its folds are tied or stitched together: the loop on it occurs adjacent to the dagger, on the right side. Part of the vanamālā is preserved beside and below it.

The front right hand holds by the stem a large circular ten-petalled lotus containing a relief of a crowned figure seated with ankles crossed and holding up what appear to be two large fruits or gourds, one suspended from each hand. The corresponding front left hand is broken off at the elbow. The second right arm was lowered and the hand probably rested on the head of Gadādevī The second left hand rests on the head of the Cakrapuruṣa, who is shown wielding a cāmara in his right hand; behind his head like a nimbus is part of the spoked cakra, and between this and the back of his head emerges a single cobra-head, emphasising his affiliation to the form of Vaikuṇṭa represented by the main image, with its canopy of seven snake-heads. The attributes held in the raised rear hands are damaged, but it is clear from the remains that both were stick-like objects: possibly the musala and hala (pestle and plough) of Saṅkarṣaṇa, the aspect of Viṣṇu who bears the serpent-canopy.

The back of the image shows that the bands of the keyūras are triple-wound' with curving ends. The nimbus is very large and represented so as to appear superimposed upon the shoulders and heads of the main figure, which are thus completely shielded from view; the upavīta cord disappears underneath it. This method of depicting the nimbus achieves the same object as the flattening of the back of the animal-avatāra faces in Nos.6 and 7, that is, to isolate the face of Kapila from the rest of the Vaiṣṇava symbolism. The large face of Kapila is represented in the lower part of the nimbus, as usual in a much cruder style. The usual features appear -- the thick eyebrows and bulging eyes, the frown at the base of broad flat nose -- here augmented by the vertical third eye on the forehead, and fangs growing vertically from the corners of the mouth. The face has a beard and moustache (represented only to either side of the fangs), swept-back jaṭās terminating in three knob-like topknots, large circular ear-pendants and necklace of beads (rudrākṣa seeds?).

8.2 PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION

The image represents Vaikuṇṭha based on the image, not of Vāsudeva, but SAṄKARṢAṆA. It probably originates from the Avantipura area, quite possibly from the Avantisvāmin temple, since the iconography suggests that it belonged to a series of images set up for Paṅcarātra worship (see T. S. MAXWELL, "Vaikuṇṭha", in G. Bhattacharya (ed.), Akṣayanīvī Delhi 1991: 113-151). Stylistically it is close to No.6, though it probably did not belong to the same set of icons.

Avantipura area, c. AD 850

Nr. 08: Avantipura

SPS Srinagar

Vaikuntha, Avantipura, Kashmir South

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