D:REPORT.BAGHELKHAND.JAMMU.RAJASTHAN.BANGLADESH1994/1995 F:BERICHT.01

KATALOG

T. S. Maxwell

General

Location

Condition

Figures on the plinth

Garu·a

The main figure

Source

Stein: 60 x 32 x 18

ursprunglich 12 Hande

Aus Antnra, Shahdol District, Madhya Pradesh (BiMBh Depot)

A standing female figure can be seen at the lower left corner, and the head of another figure (the remainder of it destroyed) at the lower right. There are no other figures on the remains of the stele apart from the main ViÀ¸u.

02.2  PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION:

This appears to be a late figure, of the 11th century, from the eastern part of the Late Kalacuri kingdom. In view of the number of heads, it was a form of VIáVARÍPA, apparently with fewer, if any, emanating figures. It was thus probably related to the late Vi¿var£pa variant from Badgaon / Nalanda in Bihar (see T. S. Maxwell, Bericht an die DFG vom 30.07.1992: pp.224-227) and derived from the late Vi¿var£pa images from the eastern end of the Gurjara Pratih¡ra empire.

Nr. 02: Antara

Birla Museum, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

(Fotografie nicht erlaubt)

03. D. Ref.: FUNFKOPFIGER VIâÛU

Stein: 93 x 50 x 26; ViÀ¸u H. 58

ursprunglich 10 Hande

Aus Gurgi, Rewa District, Madhya Pradesh (BaMRe #154)

03.1 DESCRIPTION:

The piece was found at Gurgi, and belongs to the archaeological collection of His Highness Maharaja Martand Singh Ju Deo, which now forms part of the content of the Baghela Museum in Rewa.

The sculpture, in buff sandstone, consists of a thick rectangular stele with a dvi-anga base supporting an image of ViÀ¸u and Accompanying figures in high relief, with other figures sculpted in lower relief on the base and the face of the stele.

The figure of ViÀ¸u, originally ten-armed, stands in an exaggerated ¡bha´ga posture with the left knee bent far forward, and the right hip correspondingly raised. ViÀ¸u wears the vanam¡l¡ and an almost equally thick upavita, with a broad short torque and a channav¢ra across the chest, knotted in the centre. From the rolled girdle depend long pearled tassels reaching to the knees. The crown is a tall tapering kir¢t¡ rising from a square base. The ear ornaments are large half-disks hanging to the collar bone.

Four animal profiles rise at an angle from behind the ears and the back of the crown. These are disposed as follows:

Var¡ha K£rma

NarasiÆha Matsya.

Behind the crown and the Var¡ha and K£rma profiles rises the circular nimbus, carved with an eight-petalled lotus which was pierced around the edges; the proper left half of the lotus has broken off,

Most of the arms and attributes are lost. The front right hand displays the vy¡khy¡na-mudr¡, turned to the left. The front left hand holds the ¿a´kha horizontally, its point laid against the left thigh. The fourth left holds the remains of a bow.

ViÀ¸u stands on a raised lotus which occupies the surface of the central plinth projection. The lotus is supported on the hands of a Garu·a figure in the flying posture: his arms are raised like those of a caryatid. He is flanked by two kneeling figures, that to his right being male, that on his left female, both turned to face the centre and holding their hands in the namask¡ra-mudr¡.

On the face of the plinth to either side stood two figures side by side, of the which the pair on the left have been broken off. The two remaining figures on the right are crowned males standing in a similar posture to that of the main ViÀ¸u figure, but with the left foot turned to the left. The right hand was raised evidently in the abhaya-mudr¡, and the left hangs down to hold an indistinct object.

Above these figures stood a larger couple on either side, the male on the left being broken off. The male on the right appears to have held his hands in the namask¡ra-mudr¡. The two female figures, adjacent to ViÀ¸u on either side, place one hand on the thigh and hold up an akÀam¡l¡ in the other. Their feet are buried in the plinth surface at the periphery of the central lotus, as if standing in water like Naginis.

The left edge of the stele is damaged, and all sculpture there has been destroyed. On the right edge appear two diminutive figures side by side, the lower part of their anatomy concealed by the head of the male figure standing on the plinth. Above them are two seated male figures of the same size, and two figures above them, one above the other. These appear to hold a large lotus blossom by its stem in each hand, and they are crowned. Together with the now missing figures in the corresponding position on the left margin of the stele, they probably represented the Dvadasa-Ëdityas, the twelve aspects of the Sun-god.

On the upper part of the stele two rows of figures are carved in relief, the upper frieze of fen figures running continuously across the top, the lower, with eight figures, interrupted by the nimbus of ViÀ¸u.

The upper row of ten are all seated, nimbate figures holding various attributes, but most are damaged. The 3rd from the left is crowned and holds a sceptre-like object (possibly a lotus-bud) in the left hand, while displaying the abhaya-mudr¡ with the right. The 4th holds both ends of a scarf which flies up behind his head in a curve, suggesting that this figure might represent the Wind-god Vayu. The 5th holds an object similar to that of number 3, but in his right hand. The 6th holds a larger club in the right hand.

The lower group, divided by ViÀ¸u's nimbus into two sets of four, consists of eight identical figures, also seated. apparently crowned but not nimbate, holding a bow in the left hand and an arrow in the right.

03.2 PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION

The posture of ViÀ¸u, the grouping of figures on the centre of the plinth face and upon the plinth, and the frieze-like presentation of figures at the top of the stele, correspond to the same elements in the 10th-century Vi¿var£pa from Suhania at Gwalior. This sculpture from Gurgi also represents ViÀ¸u VIáVARÍPA, and may be dated in the late 10th or 11th century.

04. D. Ref.: FUNFKOPFIGER VIâÛU

Stein: 66 x 40.5 x 22; ViÀ¸u H. 52.5 (face H. 5.7)

ursprunglich 8 Hande

Aus Antara, Shahdol District, Madhya Pradesh (StaMShah #84)

04.1 DESCRIPTION:

According to local officers of the State Archaeology Department, the sculpture was discovered in 1985 in the course of excavating and clearing one of the six mounds behind the Ka´k¡l¢ temple at Antara, and was subsequently brought to Shahdol and placed in the State Museum. The mound in question at Anatara (inspected on 16.03.1994) shows the remains of the jagati of an east-facing temple of considerable size: nearby lie many detached architectural fragments dating to the 10th or 11th century- (Kalacuri period); no other individual sculptures are to be found in situ today except those claimed by the temple authorities and now haphazardly cemented into the compound wall, a number of fragmentary Yogini images among them, but their precise provenance can no longer be established.

The sculpture represents five-headed ViÀ¸u standing on a projecting plinth against an unpierced rectangular stele with hatched sides and back. This is not a populated stele. The remains are not seriously eroded, but they have sustained extensive damage: the upper right corner of the stele is missing, as are all but one of the left arms of the image, and the crown, right-hand attributes, a flying figure in the upper left corner, and the plinth-figures, are all damaged

The plinth was intended to represent a projecting bhadra, with a recess at a lower level on either side. The front, and to a lesser extent the sides, of this projection are carved, while the flanking recessed angles were left plain with some hatching still remaining. The relief-work on the front of the plinth shows an undulating plant-motif (patravalli) with a central kirttimukha from the sides of which the leaf-pattern emerges.

On each of the lower flanking angles appears a kneeling male worshipper, that on the right still clearly showing the hands joined in the namask¡ramudr¡. Two larger figures in the same posture occupy the front corners of the raised plinth surface. Behind them are two female figures standing in an exaggerated atibha´ga posture, leaning outwards in order to look up at the central ViÀ¸u, one arm resting on the thigh and the other raised and perhaps originally holding a c¡mara. Behind the smaller kneeling worshippers on the outer angles are two standing male figures, one hand lowered to the thigh, the other holding a flower below the centre of the chest; these would have been the VaiÀ¸ava dv¡rap¡las. The figure on the right extends in height up to the level of ViÀ¸u's hip, but that on the left was considerably shorter, presumably to accommodate a large attribute, probably the bow (for which a supporting element remains on the stele, see infra) on this side. The damaged relief in the upper left corner of the stele appears to have represented a flying vidy¡dhara or maladhara with his consort behind.

The main figure stands in a somewhat awkwardly depicted ¡bha´ga posture with the right hip thrust out and the weight on the right leg: the bent left knee tends inward toward the axis, producing a slightly pidgeon-toed effect which is further emphasised by the abrupt inward curve of the supporting leg and by the curious shortening of the big toe on both feet. In the case of the left foot, both the tip of this toe and the heel are elevated, suggesting a dance position. The torso however has a stiff frontality, with no turn of the shoulders or head.

ViÀ¸u wears a jewelled vanam¡l¡ which loops below the knees, a short adhoÆ¿uka with a jewelled girdle and tassels, a short necklace, ear-ornaments, key£ras, and n£puras on the ankles. Two long pearlstrings are worn on the torso in the manner of a channav¢ra, crossing below the centre of the chest. Between their junction and the necklace, a small flower-shaped srivatsa appears on the chest. The front of the crown is severely damaged: remains of carving on the sides indicate that it consisted of a kir¢t¡ with a. circlet of rosettes connected by looped pearlstrings supporting a taller, cross-hatched element. The enigmatic facial expression of ViÀ¸u is typical of Kalacuri sculpture.

The two front hands hold the inverted ¿a´kha at waist-height on the left, while the right displays the ahhaya- or vy¡khy¡namudr¡ with the akÀam¡l¡ at the level of the chest. Of the three remaining arms on the right the lowest was extended downward but is now a mere stump. The hand above held the gad¡, and the uppermost a bundle of arrows (both sloping toward the shoulder), indicating that the bow originally appeared among the attributes on the left.

Four small animal-heads, two on either side, project from behind ViÀ¸u's ears and the rim of his crown. On the right, angled very sharply upward, the tusked snout of the Var¡ha appears above the diminutive head of the K£rma. On the left, at a much flatter angle, the profile of the Matsya (closely resembling that of the Boar) emanates above the head of NarasiÆha which shows clear signs of recutting.

In summary, the available iconographic features are these:

Behind these heads on the left, between them and the damaged Vidy¡dhara-couple, the remains of the inner rim and petals of a lotus-halo can be seen.

Like sculpture no.2 (in the Birla Museum at Bhopal), this image originates from Antara in the eastern Kalacuri kingdom, where the many figures populating the nimbus were abandoned but the four emanating heads of the animal-avat¡ras retained. (The two kalacuri versions from Antara however represent them in differing dispositions, and the number of hands and attributes also varies.) Both of these late mediaeval icons appear to be related to the late Vi¿var£pa variant from Badgaon / Nalanda in Bihar (see T. S. Maxwell; Bericht an die DFG vom 30.07.1992: pp.224-227) and to be derived from the late Vi¿var£pa images from the eastern end of the Gurjara Pratih¡ra empire. Of the two Antara Vi¿var£pa images, this version, which is stylistically similar to art of the 10th century, is the earlier.

This image has similarities to the Vi¿var£pa from Gurgi (No.3, in the Baghela Museum at Rewa), but it is at least a generation later, as iconographic and stylistic changes indicate: the minor figures on the stele have been omitted, the posture is a travesty of the already exaggerated ¡bha´ga in No.3, the channav¢ra which still gives the appearance of being a piece of equipment knotted on the chest in No.3 has here become a mere ornament of draped pearl-strings, and the iconographic motif on the plinth of No.3 has degenerated into a piece of decoration. Whereas the Gurgi Vi¿var£pa (No.3) is a product of the late 10th or 11th century from a major centre of art production, this version from Antara is a markedly provincial variant made by an inferior artist at a slightly later date.

04 .2  PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION:

The image represents a late, abbreviated version of the Gurjara-Pratih¡ra ViÀ¸u VIáVARÍPA, derived from the Gurgi version. Antara, 11th century.

05.D. Ref.: FUNRKIPFIGER VIâÛU

Stein: ca. 60 x 40

ursprunglich 8 Arme

Aus bhadoli, Shahdol District, Madhya Pradesh

05.1 DESCRIPTION:

This is a cult-image, a standing figure of ViÀ¸u represented in high relief against a broad rectangular stele. The figure was intended to appear standing in an ¡bha´ga posture with the weight on the left leg, the left hip being thrown out, and the right foot turned to the side; the legs are however very stiffly represented. The upper torso is turned slightly to the proper left, as is the face, the right shoulder being higher than the left. The figure is broken at the knees and waist, and the whole stele was once broken in half transversely at the latter level. The ViÀ¸u figure appears to have had eight arms, all of which are broken off except the upper left, the hand of which wields the cakra near the shoulder. The figure wears the usual ku¸·alas, hara, upavita, mekhala, and vanam¡l¡, the latter being severely damaged. The broad round face wears a somewhat incongruously narrow kir¢t¡. Behind the crown appears a small ring-shaped nimbus with alternate rosette-and-diamond motifs in relief.

Four diminutive animal-heads project from behind the head, at the level of the ears and of the crown-rim. The lower pair project horizontally, but the upper two are angled upwards as in the Kannauj Vi¿var£pa iconography. These animal faces are very small and eroded, and hence very difficult to identify or even differentiate. They appear to represent the following distribution of avat¡ra heads:

Matsya K£rma

NarasiÆha Var¡ha

The figure stands on a very thin lotus-base at the centre of the plinth. Two flanking lotuses support two pairs of kneeling worshippers facing the central axis of the composition, clearly in the act of paying homage to ViÀ¸u. A further seated figure in similar posture appears behind each pair, on the rebates at the corners of the plinth. Behind the seated couples stand a pair of c¡mara-bearers, the male to the left of the ViÀ¸u figure, the female to the right, and two male dv¡rap¡las, left hands held in front of the chest, stand beside them. Rearing vyalas appear on the margins of the stele. Above them, facing outwards, stand two further figures, apparently n¡gas.

Three small standing figures appear on the crosspiece of the throne-back or torana, the n¡gas and ViÀ¸u's nimbus, on either side: these are manusya-avat¡ras. The two closest to the nimbus, and facing it, are VËMANA on the proper right, and PARAáU-RËMA on the proper left. They are depicted in the role of priestly attendants on ViÀ¸u's heads and crown, Para¿ur¡ma holding a c¡mara in his right hand (opposite the axe resting on his left shoulder) and V¡mana a small flower-offering in his right (opposite the parasol in his left hand). The remaining four small figures, two on each side, are shown facing the front. In the present condition of the sculpture, these are impossible to identify individually, but evidently they represent the other four avat¡ras in human shape, namely R¡ma, Balar¡ma, Buddha (assuming the identity of the ViÀ¸u image with K¤À¸a) and Kalkin. Together with the heads of the four emanating animal incarnations, all ten avat¡ras are thus shown in a line based on the crosspiece of the stele and level with the head of the principal ViÀ¸u image.

Two small seated figures (probably áiva and Brahm¡) occupy the uppermost corners of the stele, above the N¡gas. A pair of flying vidydharas then appear, above the two outermost avat¡ras on either side. These flank a row of six very small seated figures, divided into two groups of three which face each other across the top margin of the stele; their identities are uncertain.

0.51.1 HISTORICAL DISCUSSION

The number and identity of the heads of the principal ViÀ¸u image, and the relatively few diminutive figures on the stele, associate this image with the Gurgi Vi¿var£pa (No.03 in this Report), the Antara Vi¿var£pa (no.02), and the second, later Antara Vi¿var£pa (in Bhopal, No.04). These three, plus the fourth from Bhadoli described here, constitute a small corpus of mediaeval Vi¿var£pa images from Baghelkhand, testifying to the strength of the Vi¿var£pa cult in the later kalacuri kingdom during the 11th century. The iconography, though abbreviated, was clearly derived from the Vi¿var£pa images from the eastern end of the late prat¢h¡ra empire on the Gangetic plain. The location of this piece, in Shahdol District, further confirms the concentration of the Vi¿var£pa cult in the eastern half of the late Prat¢h¡ra kingdom (at Gurgi, Antara, and Bhadoli), while the Vaiku¸¶ha cult seems to have been prevalent in the western half (Bilhari: No.01 in this Report), where the centre of kalacuri political power was located (at Tripuri / Tewar and Puspavati / Bilhari); the eastern half was thus under the hegemony of the declining Prat¢h¡ras, while the western region, adjacent to the Candella kingdom, maintained a political independence, as the presence there of the Vaiku¸¶ha cult signifies.

05.2 PRELIMINARY IDENTIFICATION

An 11^th-century version of VIáVARÍPA from the eastern half of the Later Kalacuri domains directly derived from the later imperial Gurjara-Prat¢h¡ra Vi¿var£pa iconography of the Gangetic plain but considerably abbreviated. This image forms a group together with the three Vi¿var£pa images of similar date from Gurgi and Antara.