Connecting Krṣna’s Cosmic Victories
I wrote this essay as part of the Indian Aesthetics 2022-2023 Diploma course at Jnanapravaha.
SCULPTURE - GOVARDHANADHARI KRṢNA,
KALYAN CALUKYA, 12 CE
“Within infinite myths lies the eternal truth.
Who sees it all?
Varuna has but a thousand eyes,
Indra has a hundred,
You and I, only two.”
- Devdutt Pattanaik,
Myth = Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology
As we gaze at the sculpture (Fig. 1.), the ṣilpi comes to mind, seated in a shaft of light, still for a moment, connecting to his kaya madhya sutra (Stapathi) and that of the sculpture, taking up his chisel, checking his cutline, chanting an incantation and wielding his hammer, as a gentle tap-tapping fills the air with stories that echo through the centuries.
Krṣna sports a serene smile, laced with mischief, holding aloft Mount Govardhana in one of his eight arms. The stylised mountain blends into the prabhavali that frames the central figure standing in Ūrdhvajānu (Stapathi, 65). The living mountain is represented with detailing of trees, animals and birds. Krṣna wears a kirit mukut and is adorned with jewellery around his neck, waist, upper arms, wrist and ankles. The lower half of the body is draped in a simple, short garment, ending at mid-thigh, with minimal detailing of the drapery. The garment for the upper body is seen as a narrow pleated strip draped around the right arm holding the flute. Four female attendants stand on either side on the rectilinear base, cows and calves huddle at his feet, seeking shelter under the mountain.
Fig. 1 Govardhanadhari Krṣna, 12th Century,
Kalyan Chalukya, Government Museum, Bengaluru
Fig. 2 Govardhanadhar Krṣna, Closeup of right foot, 12th Century, Kalyan Chalukya, Government Museum, Bengaluru
While all of the surrounding components are carved in relief, the central figure of Krṣna is carved fully, in the round. Aside from the central figure and 2 cows, which are coarsely defined in the rear, the rest of the rear of the sculpture is left entirely unarticulated, suggesting that it wasn’t meant to be viewed from behind, and possibly intended for an aedicule.
Interestingly, Krṣna stands facing backwards, the torso and head sinuously contorted a hundred and eighty degrees to face the spectator in a flamboyant pose. (Fig. 3.) This becomes more apparent upon noticing that the coarsely carved left foot of the figure faces away from the polished front of the sculpture. The right foot is beautifully arched over a stylistic rendering of the flood waters, symbolically quelling Indra’s attempt to drown the dwellers of Braj with his wrath in unseasonal, incessant rains. This pose is reminiscent of Durgā, with one leg resting on the ground and the other placed on the head of Mahiṣ āsura. Krṣna’s arm, holding up the mountain, becomes the axis of the mountain and the statue, visually communicating that they are one. Not only does it become an umbrella that celebrates his divinity it also represents them together sheltering the civilized world (Hawley).
It is worth noting that even though the ṣilpa ṣastras explicitly stipulate that a youthful Krṣna is to be depicted with only two arms, the sculptor chose to represent the majesty of this lila, of lifting an entire mountain and ‘defying’ Indra, by depicting him with eight arms (Hawley). Two arms hold the flute, and one the mountain. four arms hold the symbols of Viṣnu, clockwise starting from the bottom right padma, gada, cakra & ṣanka. This manifestation of Viṣnu in the sculpture is further underlined by the presence of Garuda at the base of the sculpture. The article in the eighth arm, top right, is unidentified.
SCULPTURE OF THE KALYAN CHALUKYAS
Fig. 3 The Philadelphia Brahma, signed by Cavundoja. University of Pennsylvania Museum of
Archaeology and Anthropology. Penn Museum object 29-69-2, image no. 2214
The epoch of the Cãlukyas of Kalyani, to which this sculpture belongs, covers two and a quarter centuries from tenth to the twelfth centuries CE. One of the most famous images of the Later Calukyan era is the image of Brahma now housed by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, a work of exceptional quality and interest . However, the sculpture of the Later Cãlukyan period remains barely explored by scholars. They are relatively rare in museum collections and poorly dated or provenienced.
In Image, Text, Monument: A Reexamination of the Philadelphia Brahma, and “Later Calukyan” Sculpture, John Henry Rice writes that:
The primary reason for this negligence is the relative dearth and dispersal of securely dateable images from the period. Unlike in the succeeding Hoysala period, temple builders during the Later Cãlukyan period usually preferred to ornament their structures with architectural features rather than figural sculpture, thus depriving scholars of securely provenienced comparative data. Freestanding images from the Later Cãlukyan period are far more widely dispersed than, for instance, Early Cãlukyan-period works. Unlike their architecturally applied counterparts, freestanding sculptures could be - and it seems commonly were - moved. Many temple assembly halls (mandapas) in Karnãtadêsa are today crowded with an assortment of images saved from ruined temples, moved according to shifts in cultic practices, and perhaps even taken as political trophies. (172)
Fig. 4. Mallikarjuna temple, Kuruvatti. Independent images.
a. Sürya in antarãla. b. Siva in antarãla. c. Portrait sculpture on the south porch.
(Fig. 13. RICE, JOHN HENRY. “IMAGE, TEXT, MONUMENT: A REEXAMINATION OF THE PHILADELPHIĀ BRAHMA AND ‘LATER CĀLUKYAN’ SCULPTURE.” Artibus Asiae, vol. 68, no. 2, 2008, pp. 169–214. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40599599. Accessed 4 Dec. 2022.)
The Govardhanadhari sculpture doesn’t sport the intricate detailing and delicacy of the Philadelphia Brahma in which every bead, clasp and tassel is individually articulated. Its overall effect is closer to some other sculptures in the Mallikarjuna temple, at Kuruvatti of the same period (Hawley) (Fig. 4.). On the cusp of a new technology, with the use soft, fine-grained chlorite schist among the new stones being employed by the sculptors of this region and era, as they transitioned from sedimentary to metamorphic rock, the Govadhanadhari sculpture represents the excitement in exploring new materials, fostering an aesthetic of structured organicism and creative whimsy. It is a creative exploration of the iconography, rather than the details of the evolving craftsmanship using new materials, that we seek to unpack for this sculpture.
COSMIC CONNECTIONS THROUGH ICONOGRAPHY
Fig. 5. Chandra, Kavikondala. (2018). A Vishnu Sculpture from Kelzar, District Wardha, Maharashtra. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342169773_A_Vishnu_Sculpture_from_Kelzar_District_Wardha_Maharashtra
In exploring the iconography of Viṣnu as depicted by the four pratima lakṣana, of ṣanka, cakra, gada and padma in his four hands, we seek clues in Manasollasa, an encyclopedic treatise composed by the Kalyani Chalukya king, Bhulokamalla Somesvara III (A.D. 1131) While it covers topics from governance to games and leisure, music to cuisine, taming elephants to medicine, we focus on the chapters dealing with paintings and art that are prescribed for the royal residence. In the section on ‘Chitrakala’ in the Manasollasa (P. Arundati) , Somesvara addresses Keṣavadi Caturvimsati Murti Bheda - the order of arrangement of the four attributes in Viṣnu’s four arms to represent the twenty-four forms of ‘Jagannatha’. It starts with the form Keṣava in the following configuration - padma in the right lower hand; ṣanka in the right upper hand; cakra in the left upper hand; gada in the left lower hand.
Following the sequence of arrangement mentioned in the Manasollasa and comparing it with AgniPurana and Rupamandana results in one of twenty four forms assigned to each sequence (Kavikondala). The arrangement of ṣanka, cakra, gada and padma in the four hands of each of the 24 forms of Vishnu according to Rupamandana is listed in Fig. 5.
The seventh form of Viṣnu in this list is of Trivikrama, carrying the same order of pratima lakṣana as the Krṣna in our sculpture (Fig. 6.).
The story of the Trivikrama / Vāmana Avatara speaks of another cosmic victory of Viṣnu, that of consigning the Asura king Bali into the Netherworld. This is the Puranic story of the rivalry between the Devas and the Asuras, children of Kasyapa and his wives Aditi and Diti, respectively. When the king of the Asuras, Bali became haughty and threatened Indra’s supremacy, Viṣnu took birth as Vāmana the dwarf, son of Aditi (and hence ‘brother’ of Indra). In this avatara, he seeks a vara from Bali at his aśvamedha sacrifice. Vāmana asks for as much land as he can measure out in three steps. When Bali agrees to the request, the dwarf Vāmana expands himself into a colossal form as Trivikrama Avatara and covers the earth and the skies in two strides. Trivikrama then asks Bali how he might complete the three strides he was promised. To honour his word, Bali surrenders to Viṣnu and offers his head for the third step and Trivikrama places his foot on Bali’s head, sending him to the Netherworld.
Fig. 6. Stock Photo Id 2142642231, Lord Vishnu as Trivikrama in Vaman Avatar, Lakshmi Narasimha Temple, Javagal, Hoysala, 13 CE, https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sculpture-lord-vishnu-trivikrama-vaman-avatar-2142642231
CONCLUSION
The Govardhanadhari sculpture brings together these two cosmic victories of Viṣnu - the enduring theme celebrating his cosmic victory over Indra in Braj and the older conquest of Bali by Viṣnu to reinstate Indra’s supremacy - A Rgvedic Viṣnu who is ‘brother’ of Indra and a Puranic Avataric Krṣna, who overthrows the Vedic Indra. In both narratives, cosmic order is reestablished as Bali and Indra offer homage to Viṣnu. Neither Indra nor Bali are killed, instead they are relegated to their rightful place in the cosmos. It is interesting to note that this sculpture chooses a form of Viṣnu that so obviously harks back to the ‘brotherhood’ of Indra and Viṣnu in the story of Trivikrama, in an icon that represents not only the same Indra’s hubris but also his defeat at the hands of another Avatara of Viṣnu.
One wonders if these are the stories the ṣilpi chose to tell with his chisel and hammer. The subtle, mischievous smile on the face of Krṣna appears to say so, as he turns around to see if Indra, you and I, begin to see the eternal truth in infinite myths.
Works Cited
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Berkson, Carmel. The life of form in Indian sculpture. India, Abhinav Publications, 2000.
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Hawley, John Stratton. “Krishna’s Cosmic Victories.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 47, no. 2, 1979, pp. 201–21. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1463249. Accessed 30 Nov. 2022.
Kavikondala, S.Chandra. “A Vishnu Sculpture from Kelzar, District Wardha, Maharashtra”,2018, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342169773_A_Vishnu_Sculpture_from_Kelzar_District_Wardha_Maharashtra
Mankodi, Kirit. The Three Strides Of Vishnu For His 'Brother ' Indra, Cities and Settlements, Temples and Tanks in th Medeival Landscape of Central India.
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RICE, JOHN HENRY. “IMAGE, TEXT, MONUMENT: A REEXAMINATION OF THE PHILADELPHIĀ BRAHMA AND ‘LATER CĀLUKYAN’ SCULPTURE.” Artibus Asiae, vol. 68, no. 2, 2008, pp. 169–214. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40599599.
Sthapati, V. Ganapati., Ananth, Sashikala. Indian Sculpture & Iconography: Forms & Measurements. India: Sri Aurobindo Society, 2002.