Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas

7242019 Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas

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THE ICONOGRAPHYOF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH

AND THE VISNUDHARMOTTARAPURAumlNA

BY ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

IN

A

RECENT

ARTICLE I TRIED TO DEMONSTRATE

THAT

One who builds such a temple in

accordance

w i t h the

the prototype of the

temple described

in great p r e s c r i p t i o n s and always worships al l gods is known

aumls

detail

in the third

khanda

of the Visnudharmot-

Cakravartin [the sovereign

of the

world]

in the

b e g i n -

tarapuraumlna aumls the Sarvatobhadra temple is the

ninS of t h e

Tretaumlyuga he

r e s i d e s

in

heaven

auml s

long auml s

famous

Gupta

temple at eogarh (in Jhaumlnsi Bis- he wishes and

then he

attains contradeon with

Visnu

r τ τ Ά ι ΤΊ middot

The man who has nc e

worshipped

a l l

gods

i n t h i s tem983085

t r i c t

of

UP)1 This

temple also known m the bdquo

c rr

middot

middotη middot

ι t t u u

r

p l e

w i t h

a l l k i n d s

of

offenngs w i l l

certamly g e t t h e

ben983085

scholarlyliterature aumls

the

Dasaumlvataumlra temple ( the efitofthegiftofthethreeworldsandwithoutanydoubt

temple of the ten avataumlras of Visnu ) was

com-

win attain whatever he

desires As soon aumls the v e r y beau-

pleted i n the first half of the sixth

Century

AD2 tiful temple w i t h

i t s

Cakras and Pataumlkas

becomes

v i s i -

and is a

masterpiece

of the art and architecture

b l e

c a l a m i t i e s dis appear

Undoubtedly

anyone

who

of the

Gupta age

Its magnificent

reliefs

and the

enters

it is not

susceptible

to

disease sudden

death

lavishly

adorned

doorway have been studied time

c a l a m ity Demons

have no power over him The

and

again

and

photographs

of it

may

be found king in whose

dominion

this temple is

b u i l t

remains in

in

every

handbook

on

Gupta a r t t h e

heaven of

Indra

and

r e j o ic e s

for a

long time

In

spite

of the

fame

of this

temple

ts

icono-

No harm should

be

done

to

this d i v i n e

obJectmiddotThe

kinS

graphic program is

still

unknown and several fig- o r his r e p r e s e n t a t i v e who

does

this

goes

to the

t errible

i middot

i

i

i middot

r middot - i -r i

h ell

t o g e t h e r w i t h his

sons

c a ttle a n d

relatives

a n d

ures depicted on the r e l ie ts

remain unidentmed

r

4

r his p o s i t i o n m this world will certamly vamsh

In the

present a r t i c l e

I

intend

to

show that

the

description of the

Deogarh temple

found in the The

temple

is o precisely

described

and its

Visnudharmottarapuraumlna

(henceforth the ab- merits so eloquently raised

aumls

to

create

the im-

breviation VDh will

be

used

for the

third khanda

pression

that

the author had

seen

the Sarvato-

of

t h i s

text) may help to elucidate some

obscure bhadra temple himself

The fact that he d id not

points in the

iconography

of

this temple include

this

temple

i n the classification of a

hun-

dred temples

but

described t

in a

separate hap-

te r also

points

to its special

importance

for the

Form

ofthe

Sarvatobhadra and

Deogarh

Tempks

author

of

he

VDh

He defmitely

wanted

to ndi-

cate that the Sarvatobhadra t empl e is something

The VDh composed in approximately the e v- uni que This abode of Visnu ust be seen

enth Century AD3

consists of short

treatises

on

because

the man who has

seen it

is

released

from

Sanskrit and Prakrit

grammar metrics poetics all

sins and

attains

merit (8763)

dancing

inging usic painting

conography

The form and proportions of the Sarvato-

and

architecture

These t r e a t i s e s take the form bhadra temple are discussed n my previous arti-

of a dialogue

between

the king Vajra who puts

cle5

Here I hall only

mention

those characteris-

the

questions and the

mythical sage Maumlrkandeya

tics

ofthe temple

and i t s shrines that are relevant

who gives the

answers

and prescriptions The

i c o -

to its

c onography

nography

ofthe

images

the o-called

Pratimaumllak-

The

temple Stands

on a

high square

platform

sana is

dealt

with in chapters

44-85 Temple

ar-

surrounded

by an enclosure

that

reaches up to

chitecture is the subject of

three chapters

knee

l e ve l

Four

broad

staircases

(their

width

s

chapter 86

presents

the

classification

of a

hun-

seven-eighths

of the

width

of the

temple)

lead

to

dred temples chapter

87

describes

he

Sarvato-

the

platform each oft he

staircases is flanked by

bhadra

temple

and

chapter

88

gives

general

in-

two

tusk

temples

Next to the main

s hrine four

formation

on

templ e proportions

additional shrines

rise i n the

corners

of the p l a t -

Several indications

suggest

that in

chapter

87

form

long the

border

ofthe

platform

are twen-

the author d escribed a real temple The chapter

ty-four

small temples with a shr ine (six on every

concludes with

a

lengthy eulogy (8743-63)

to side)

three

to the l e f t and

three

to the right of

the benefits of

uilding

this

temple

orshipping every

staircase

The

platform

is

adorned by a band

gods

there

or even merely s eeing

it Here

are

of panels

with images Every

side

ofthe main tem-

some extracts ple has a portico

supported

by two

p i l l a r s each



66 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

thus he

porticoes hav e three doors

t the

fourth

the

east I f

in

reality Vaumlsud eva faces

the

west

door

ehind the portico is a shrine (probably a the hole scheme should be turned 180 degrees

niche is meant)

Finally

at

every

corner of the The Deogarh temple is oriented to the west

main

temple

at the junction of the

porticoes

slightly

turned toward

the south in

such

a way

stand temples with two shrines each that the last

rays

of the setting sun could shine

The

description

f the

Sarvatobhadra temple

on the

image

in the main

shrine

The

orienta-

s u i t s

the remains of the Visnu temple at

Deogarh tion

to the west was not unusual for temples with

(see fig l for its

ground

plan) if we take into a

dark

shrine6

The so-called Varaumlha temple at

account

that the

s uperstructure

and the

platform

Deogarh which

is

similar in form to our

temple

of the Deogarh temple have been ruined so that and contains niches with almost identical reliefs7

the

small

temples on the platform and those at is facing

e a st

The

direction

of the niches is also

the junction

of the

porticoes

are no

longer

ex- the

opposite

bu t t h e i r

order during circumam-

tant Only

a few p i l l a r s of the

porticoes

re left

bulation

by the

devotees s

the

same

Going

clock-

and these are kept in a godown near the temple wise from the entrance of the shrine we first see

a

r e l ie f

with Visnu

liberating

the King of the

Ele-

phants (Gajendramoksa) hen a relief with

Visnu

Orientation

ofthe Temples

in the form of the two

sages

Nara and Naumlraumlyana

and fmally a

r eli e f

with

Visnu

s leeping on the

TheVDh (8717-18) allows wo

alternatives

for

serpentAnanta

(Anantasayana) The

Varaumlha

tem-

the orientation f the Sarvatobhadra temple ple

is

turned 180 degrees in comparis on with the

Visnu temple

which

is

exactly

what

the

VDh

pre-

The image of Vaumlsud eva should

f a c e

the e a s t or the

west

scribes One should consider the di rection of

and no

other

d i r e c t i o n One

should

consider the

Vaumlsudeva

aumls the east and the

order of the other

d i r e c t i o n

of Vaumlsud eva aumls the east and the order [ofthe d e i t i e s should be in

conformity

with this direc-

d eities] should be in conformity

w ith this

d i r e c tio n

don

raquo There are di fferent

OpiniOnS

concerning

the date

of the Varaumlha

temple8

but

even if it

was

This

seems to mean that the

placement

of the

alatecopyof

the

Visnu temple ratherthan

a

pro-

d e i t i e s

is iven in the t e x t aumls if Vaumlsudev a

faces

totype my argument would not be affected

t a th a v a k s y a m i

s a r v a t o b h a d r a s a m j n i t a m

c a t u r auml t m auml

hariryatra

kartavyo

agatlpate

I

sh all

n o w

t e i l

y o u

about

t h e

temple known auml s S a r va t o -

bhadra where Hari in hi s fourfold a s p e c t

should

be

p l a c e d

o

k i n g

The term caturaumltmauml s used

here

i n the sense of

caturvyuumlha

(of our

aspects

emanations)

which

refers to the quadripartite divine nature of

Visnu-

Krsna the key notion ofthe so-called Paumlncaraumltra

school

of

thought

The principal c u l t figures of

this

school are four deified heroes the kinsmen

Vaumlsudeva

Krsna

hi s

eider half-brother Samkar-

sana Pradyumna

the son of Vaumlsud eva and

Anir uddha the son of Pradyumna

FIG 1

Ground p l a n

o f t h e V i s n u t e m p l e at Deogarh Drawing by Mrs The VDh (chapters 44 47 54 85) elaborates

T

ezel-Ignatova

R e c o n s t r u c t e d p o r t i o n s i ndicated by d o t t e d lines the vyuumlha doctrine into a coherent iconographic

Iconographic Program ofthe

Sarvatobhadra

Temple

The VDh announces the

iconographic pro-

gram ofthe

Sarvatobhadra templ e

i n the

very first

sloka

ofthe

chapter

(871)



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU

TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 67

System of Symbols Each of the four vyuumlhas of ciated with sakti (creative

power)

holds a

leath-

Visnu

has a particular

appearance

and

banner

er shield and a sword and faces the north hi s

(dhvaja) and is

associated with

a

quality (guna)

banner is an

antelope

attributes and direction9 All these

qualities

and

According

to

Paumlncaraumltra

doctrine Visnu as-

attributes

relate

to the

function

of the

vyuumlhas

in sumes

different aspects

in

order

to

save destroy

the

Universe

The

following features

are

relevant

preserve

and

create

the

world

At the

same time

for the i conography of their images all these vyuumlhas are one and the

same

god Visnu

1

Vaumlsud eva

the

most

important of the four In sculpture

this

idea of the unity of the

four

has a gentle face He is associated with bala vyuumlhas is reflected in caturuyuumlha images of the

(force)

holds a mace and a

discus

and faces the Kusaumlna period10 where Visnu

is

represented aumls a

east his

banner

is

Taumlrksya

(Garuda) multiple deity consisting of four figures In the

2 Samkarsana

the

emanation

of the

destruc- Gupta period

the

iconographic development

of

tive

force has the face of Narasimha

(man-lion)

the Paumlncaraumltra doctrine resulted i n the

image

of

He

is associated with jnaumlna (knowledge) holds

a Visnu

Visvaruumlpa

an

image with

many

heads

and

pestle

and a

plough

and

faces

the

south

hi s

ban- figures representing

the

whole Universe

An

icon-

ner is the

Taumlla

tree (a fan palm) ographic descripti on of

Visnu

Vis varuumlpa is given

3 Pradyumna the emanation of the preserv- in VDh 83 and one unfmished Vis varuumlpa

image

ing

force

has the

face

of

Kapil a

(a

sage

who was

found

in

Deogarh11

preached the Saumlmkhya philosophy aumls stated in The VDh description of the Sarvatobhadra

VDh 7815) He is

associated with

aisvarya

(sov- temp le attempts

to

present

the

unity

of the four

ereignty

supr emacy)

holds a bow and an

arrow

vyuumlhas that

is

the unity of the

Universe

not in

and

faces

the

west

his

banner is

a

makara

(a myth- one

image

but in one

temple it s four sides

eing

i c a l

aquatic

animal)

dedi cated to the four vyuumlhas and the other shrines

4 Aniruddha the emanation of the creative to their consorts and attendants their attributes

force has the face of a

varaumlha

(boar) He is asso- and banners (see fig 2)

T R I V I K R A M A

V auml l r r i t k - i

V y auml s a

Paumloupata

(+Moon) VSyij

W E S T

( + S a t u r n ) V a r u n a

A S V A S I R S A

|middotmiddotmiddot

^

L)

[]

u b h a

Π

V a n a r a 5 1 5

T _ r

I n d r a ( + S u n )

S a r a D t

2

V e d a s

y o g a

S auml r n g a

Γ

Q

Saumlhkhya Trisuumllaln

ί

Se

Π P a d m a

Aparaumljitauml

N A R A S I M H A

F I G

2 I c o n o g r a p h i c

scheme o f t h e

S a r v a t o b h a d r a

t e m p l e

P a n e l s

around

p l a t f o r m

i n d i c a t e d in i t a l i c s




PLACEMENT OF THE DEITIES I n t n e

corner

temples s i t u a t e d in t h e northeast and so

on one should put

A s v a s i r s a [with

the head of a horse

The placement of the d e i t i e s is given in concen- northeast]

Varaumlha

[boar outheast]

arasimha [man-

tric circles beginning

with the

main shrine

and

iiongt

S0uthwest] and Trivi krama [making

t h r e e s t e p s

then

moving

further

to the periphery The or-

northwest]

(8724)

der of the deities is

always pradaksina

or clock-

wise

from the east

Samkarsana

has the

face

of

Narasimha (see

Iconographic

Program

of the Sarvatobhadra

Now

listen

to the

s u c c e s s iv e

placement

of the

gods

in

Temple

above) which

explains

the

position

of

the

temple

o king The

image

of

Vaumlsudeva should a ce

the Narasimha

shrine

in the

southwest (cf also

t h e east or

t h e

west

and no

other directions One

should 7827

Hari

in his

Samkarsana

form assumes

consider

the d i r e c t i o n of Vaumlsud eva aumls the east The or- the form of Narasimha)

der

[of the deities ] should conform to this direction Abou[ Agvagira (= Asvasiras Asvagriva

Lord Samkarsana

should beplaced

w i t h

his

f a c e

to

th e R

Hayagriva) it

is

ai d

(804-5)

that

he

south

Then

on e

should

p l a c e Pradyumna with

his

f a c e deg

_

J A middot

jji

vu

u middot f - u u should

b e represented

with

rour 01

his eight

to the west and Amru d dha with his f a c e to the

north

r 6

(87

17-20) hand s

on the heads of the

four

personified Ve-

das because

long

ago the Vedas had been re-

turned by

this

god from

Rasaumltala

where

they were

_ _

brought

by

two

demon chiefs His position i n the

PLACEMENT

OF THE

CONSORTS

middot

-

east thus

corresponds

to the position 01 the Ve-

The eight consorts of the four vyuumlhas are placed das at he eastern si de on the platform (see Pan-

a t the junction of the

porticoes

The scheme is eis around the Platform

below)

On the

other

given in the pradaksina order beginning from band hi s orthern orientation contradi cts 803

Vaumlsudeva Note that right

and

l e ft

in the

follow- Know

that the god

having

the head of a

horse is

ing

description

are

indi cated

from the

point

of a

part

of

Samkarsana

one

would rather ex pect

view of the image not the

viewer

the Asvasirsa

shrine

at the

southeast

Likewise the sou thern orientation of the

As to he s h r i n e s at

the junction

of

he

p o r t i c o e s about

Varaumlha

shrine i s urprising because

Aniruddha

which

I t o l d you one should

pu t Laksmi

to the

ight

f

(= north) has a Varaha f a c e gt and

we learn

from

the

eastern p o r t i c o

To the left of the

southern

p o r t i c o 79U

Varaha is

identifled

with

Aniruddha

o n e

should p l a c e

Nidra a n d K auml l a r at r i t o i t s right T o bdquo ι ι 1 r

4

983085

i

r r pound

bdquo

On e

would therefore expect Asvasirsa

to

stand

t h e

left of the western p o r t i c o one should p l a c e

S i d 983085

r 983085

dhi an d Rati to its r i g h t One should put

K irt i

to the m th e southeastern corner an d Varaumlha m the

left of the

northern p o r tic o S a r a s va ti

to

i t s r i g h t

and

northeastern corner Possibly

the

text

is

corrupt

P u s t i

to the

left

of the

e a s t e r n p o r t i c o

(8721-23) and

the

order

of Asvasirsa and

Varaumlha

should

be

changed Alternatively

the pl acement of the

gods

Consequently according to the prescri ption of

in

e

Sarvatobhadra

temple may not conform

u i r r - v u u r - - r r -

j

to the

later System of identmcations

the

VDh

the

rirst

wife

01

every

vyuha

Stands to

his

right the second wife to his eft The position

of some of the goddesses corresponds to their middotρΗΕ GIRDLE

description i n

other parts

of the

VDh

For in983085

stance Rati is the irst ife of Kaumlmadeva

(7321)

The VDh

also indicates the iconography

of the

who

is

identified with

Pradyumna

(5213) ama

grdle

(the c l o i s t e r of twenty-four temples on

and his consort Dhuumlmornauml are identified with the Pl atform)

Samkarsana and Kaumllaratri (51712) Also the

position of

Nidrauml

conforms to her description in The i r d l e should

c o n s i s t of l i t t l e connectinsect temPles

i0 00 _

ι ι ι middot ι ι τ ι middot i middot i dedicated t o

twenty983085four

d i v m i t i e s [attnbutes an d com983085

732398308524

which

dictates that she be

depicted with

bdquo

~983085

r^ j

τ

ό

983085

i _ r

i n

r panions

of

Visnu] Tarksya

[Garuda]

San kh a [conch]

her left band

on her

hip Samkarsana

on her

nght Padma [lotusjCakra

[discus] aumlngala

[plough] Mus-

and Vaumlsud eva on her

left a la

[pestle]

f

[serpent] Gad auml [mace]

Taumlla [fan

palm] Trisuumlla

[trident]

S auml r f i g a

[bow] Sara

[arrow]

Makara

[aq uatic

animal] arasu [axe] Mud gar a [ham-

CoRNER TEMPLES mermiddot

Carman [leather

s hie l d ] Paumlsa

[noose] 1 3

Pattisa

[spear] Nandaka [sword] Sakti [lance]

Musti [fist]

The corner

temples

of the

platform

are

dedi cat- Vajra

[club]

Kaustubha [jewel] Vanamaumllauml

[chaplet]

ed to

four manifestations

of

Vis nu

(8725-28)



THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 69

As with the eight consorts of the

four

vyuumlhas Now listen to the [placement of the] deities on the and

t h i s l i s t

seems

to

begin

to the right of Vaumlsudev a around the platform i n due order

Gaumlyatri

the four

We then arrive at a scheine that would match the Vedas Vaisnavi Aparaumljitauml Mrtyu Kaumlla

Yama

Danda

iconographic

program (flg 2)

The

three animals Kavaca Sara Saumlnkhya

Yoga t h e

Paumlncaraumltra

and

mentioned

in the

list

stand

directly

to the

right PaumluPata d o c t r i n e s middot YasfValmikigt Maumlrkanda

and

t h e

_ _

bdquo_

_ ι

ι

ι middot ι lt983085 middot983085

mahabhuumltos (five g r e a t elements) o n e

a fter

th e other

of the vyuumlhas Tarksya (Garuda) the bird

of

Va- f laquo 7 7-W

s u d e va to his right Ananta to the right o f

Samkarsana

and

Makara

he

banner

of

Pradyum-

Ag

middotη

casg

of

comer

t l e s gt

t h i s

li

na to his right Th e

banner

of

Samkars ana

(the

of

entyfour deities on the band Starts

from

th e

Taumlla tree) is also situated at his side (south) northeast enumerating f irst the s ix eastern pan-

As to the

attributes

of the

vyuumlhas

the

plough

elsgt followed by the six outhern panels and so

and the pestle the

attributes

of

Samkarsana

are on In this

waygt

we

haye

in the

east

four Vedasgt

placed

to his left Likewise the bow and the ar- ο t o the

left of

th e staircase and ο

to

the right)

row

the

attributes

of Pradyumna ar e

placed

d i 983085

plus Gayatri the personified sacred verse Rgve983085

rectlyto

his left

The attributes

of

Aniruddha the da36210 the motherof the edas (VDh604)

sword and the shield a re situated at his

side

and

Vaisnavi

Aparaumljitauml Gaumlyatri is associated with

(north) but not directly to his left The position Sarasvatl the goddess of learning

whose

face

of the

attributes

of

Vaumlsud eva

is

unexpected

At

according

to

VDh 643

5 represents the Saumlvitri

his

l e ft are his

jewel

and chaplet but not the

dis- mantra (=

Gayatri)

and

whose four hands repre

cus and the

mace

which

are

situated

to the south

sent the

Vedas

Aparaumljitauml

is

described

in

the VDh

the

side

of Samkarsana

as a diyine

mother

one

of the

wives

of the great

god Tumburu (chapter 66) She definitely be-

THE TusK SHRINES longs to the realm of death the southern direc-

bdquo tion

Consequently the most

northern

of the

The pl acement of the eities the tusk shrmes eastem

l g

g

a

Hnk northgt whi

a t both sides of the staircases is determmed by

most

southem one

i s a link

with the south

the direction of the taircase The guardians

the

Jn

south

wg irst ge three

ds

of

so-called Dikpaumlla(ka)s of he east are situated at and dest ruction_MrtyU jand Yarna_andgt

t h e

eastern staircase

a n d s o o n

c

^

middot

middot

on the

other

side

or

t he

staircase their

at-

tributesmdashDanda

(staff)

Kavaca (armor)

and

L i s t e n now to the order of

t h e

[gods

in

the] tusk h r in e s gara (arrow) scheme

sect

f u l l wkh

o kmg Indra and Agni should b e put at the east at the

bdquo bdquo

deg-

r destructive character or Samkarsana

south

Yama

and

Ni rrti

at the west

Varuna

and Anila

middot middot middot middot

[Vaumlyu] and at the north

Dhanesvara

[Kubera] and In the west are

the

phuumlosophical Systems

Mahesvara

[Siva]

Eight p l a n e t s should be

put

at the

Saumlnkhya

and Yoga then the

Pancaratra

and the

tusk s h r i n e s

Aumlditya [sun] and Sukra

[Venus]

in the Paumlsupata Systems at both sides of the staircase

east

Kuja

[Mars]

and Asura [= Raumlhu who causes the then two sages

Vyaumlsa

the mythi cal

author

of the

eclipses ]

in the

outh

Sanaiscara

[Saturn]

and

S a s auml f l k a Mahaumlbhaumlrata

and the Pur aumlnas and

Vaumllmiki

the

[moon]

in the west Candraputr a [Mercury] and author of the Raumlmaumlyana The western side thus

Brhaspati

[Jupiter] n the north At the tusk hrines underscores the function of Pradyumna as an

of

Vaumlsud eva [that

is at

the eastern

s t a i r c a s e ]

should be ascetic and protector of the Universe (VDh 78

placed

two

doorkeepers

of

Vaumlsud eva Subhadra

and Va- - ^

g

sub hadra the l o r d s of the three worlds then Aumlsaumldha

Jn Λ nor[h [amp

situated

th e Maumlrkanda

and Ya n a t a t a [the d oorkeepers] of

Samkarsana

-

_

Λ Τ ^

I X T middot middot

r i i i n r ( = Markande ya) the mythical author oi t h e VDh

should be made

J a v a

and

N i i a y a

[the doorkee pers] of _

Pradyumna

Aumlmoda and

Pramoda [the doorkeepers] and the haumlbhuumltas (five great elements) hich

of

Aniruddha

The

placement

of

the gods

and the

door-

are

clearlY associated

with

Siva

bemg

hi s five

keepers i n the tusk temples t h a t I have described to faces (VDh 487-8) and consequently

with

the

you is known to be of many m e r i t s This is what one north the d irection of Siva

should

know

about

the

guardians

of the

quarters

of

t h e

world

and about the l a n e t s (8729-37) The

iconographic

program of the Sarvato-

bhadra

temple can be summarized as

follows

Ev-

bdquo π ery side of the

temple

is dedicated to one of the

PANELS AROUND

THE

PLATFORM

r _

bdquo

rour vyuumlhas of Visnu east Vaumlsu deva

south Sam-

Finally the deities depicted in the panels around karsana west Pradyumna nd north Aniruddha

the platform

are enumerated

Their

consorts are placed i n the

shrines

at their



70 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY

side the first

wife

to

their right

and the second

VDh 8717

the

direction of Vaumlsudeva

should be

to their left

Their

attributes

are situated in six considered the

east

Doing so

yields

the follow-

small temples on

every

side of the

platform

The ing combinations

which

conform to he

prescrip-

panels around the platform ar e adorned with tions

Gajendramoksa-Samkarsana-south

different deities

sages

and deified

abstract

no- Naranaumlraumlyana-Pradyumna-west Anantasayanamdash

tions which are associated either with vyuumlhas or Aniruddha-north The Varaumlha temple presents

with their cardinal point The corner shrines are an actual example of such an orientati on

occupied by four manifestations of Visnu n gen- The following discussi on of the r e l i e f s aims at

eral

this

placement scheme

conforms to the

sys- finding additional evidence

for their

dedication

tem of identifications found i n the Pratimaumllak- and at identifying some of the figures In com-

sana the part of the VDh that describes image- parison with previous attempts we now have

two

making

advantages F i r s t since

we assume

that

the au-

thor

of the VDh had

seen

and

admired

the

Deo-

garh temple

his

rescriptions were probably

in-

TheDeogarh

Temple fluenced by the iconography of the

Deogarh

reliefs

The use of

conographic descriptions

from

We may now

turn

to the iconography of the the VDh to identify the

obscure figures

on the

Deogarh

temple

of which only the doorway and Deogarh r e l i e f s

thus

becomes more

legitimate

three

r e l i e f s are

still

intact The

panels

around the and more

valuabl e than before

Second we shall

platform have become ruins Only

several

frag- compare the r e l i e f s of the Varaumlha temple with

ments

with

scenes

from

the

li feofKrsna

and

Raumlma those

of

Deogarh

which

to my

knowledge

has

are preserved but these are not mentioned aumls such hardly ever been done The evidence of the

by the VDh The original place of hese ragments Varaumlha

r e l i e f s is

especially i mportant

when

a art

is

generally unknown so that it seems useless to of the Deogarh

r e l i e f

i s

amaged It

is irrelevant

speculate on their

Interpretation withi n

the r i t u a l

which

of the

temples

is the prototype in

both

scheme of the

VDh

The

only

means at our

dis- cases

the

Varaumlha

r e l i e f s provide

invaluable infor-

posal to determine the

iconographic

program of

mation

the

Deogarh

temple is analysis of the

reliefs

Before we proceed with a detailed escription Τηΐ

LALAumlTABIMBA

o f t h e

r e l i e f s

o f t h e

Deogarh temple

etme

s t a t e

middot

i - r - r middot

o

ι ι

ι

Γ

r We

start

with the relief (fig 3)

above

the

door983085

a t th e outset that the iconographic proeram or T _

r

middot Γ i i r w a y (the so983085called

Lalatabimba )

which depicts

t h i s temple seems

to

agree with

th e s che me o r 983085

T

r

i middot r middot ι ι middot Visnu

s i t t i n g

on t h e serpent

nanta with

Laksmi

the Sarvatobhadra temple it s iour sides

beme

middot deg_ _ r r

r

_

r T

bdquo

deg

caressmer ms

foot

Two

manifestations

of

Visnumdash

dedicated to

the iour vyuumlhas of

Vis nu

The rehef T deg

T 7 _

1 - 1 1 middot rmiddot

middot middot

Narasimha

(man-hon) a n d Vamana (dwarr)mdash

above

th e doorway

which depicts Visnu

sitting

bdquo

T _

deg

appear to his nsrht an d

l e f t respectively

I he

on the serpent Ananta with

Laksmi

and

his

two rr

deg _

r

-

middot

χ τ middot ι ι τ τ 983085 middot

i

choice o f t h e

mamiestations

seems sigmncant

mamfestations N

arasimha and

amana is prob983085 T

bdquo _ deg

j bdquo

middot

r In t he s c h e m e o f t he


ably dedicated t o Vaumlsudeva

Th e

northern

r e l i e f X T

bdquo

r

Narasimha and Tnvi krama10 are laced in two

representing

Visnu aumls

a warnor hberatina the

r

τΓ r ι

τ 983085 ι

Ί

^

middot ι τ

corner shrines eh in d t h e temple a n d a r e

i n v i s i 983085

King oi the

Llephants (Gaiendramoksa)

con983085

deg

J r r Ί ble to the devotee approaching t he mam en983085

forms

to the destructive

power

of Samkarsana X T deg

T

middot

r r

XT

trance Now with these

two

manifestations

depict983085

In

th e

east

is Visnu i n the rorm

of

two sages Nara _ _ bdquo

1 X T 983085

_

1 1 middot e d next t o

Vaumlsud eva

o n t h e alatabimba a l l four

and Narayana whose ascetic power clearly points _

bdquo

mamiestations

are

facing

the

devotee

to Pradyumna the preservmg aspect of the god _

deg

_

bdquo

middot r i

middot

i r i T h e closest

parallel

t o this representation o f

Fmally

the

rehef

at the

sou thern side

oi the

tem- T 7 _ bdquo r Λ Γ Γ ^ n _

x r T

rr

i middot r middot Vaumlsudeva

i s found in

VDh 8549-50 which de-

pl e

with

Visnu

engaged

in

the act of creation

bdquo

r _ _

i A

scnbes

dnierent

Images

oi

Vaumlsud eva

lymg

on the erpent

Ananta

(Anantasayana) deg

must be

dedi cated

to Aniruddha the

creative

_

Or he

[Vaumlsudeva] should

be represented

charmmg

middot middot

s e a t e d

on the

coils

of

Sesa

[=

Ananta] Surround ed

by

The

actual

orientation of the r e l i e f s is the op-

hj s

hoodsgt t h e f a c e of t h e Mighty one i s

di f fi c ult

to

ook

posite of the

prescrib ed orientation

of the

vyuumlhas at

w n

he s i t s

on th e coils of sesa) i s

four hands

a r e

b ut

aumls

we have seen with respect to orientation empty Cakra [discus] and Gadauml [mace] should be

this can be accounted for by the rule given in made near him ssuming

human

forms



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


On the

Deogarh

rehef

Cakra

and

Gadauml

m hu-

durua-gmss

and he

wears

the skm of a black

ante-

man

form

are

missmg Instead

Vaumlsud eva

holds

a lope

The

antelope

skm

is

missmg on the

rehef

conch

m his lower l e ft hand and a discus m his

lower nght

hand

Incidentally the way Vaumlmana

is

depicted on the THE GAJEN DRAMOKSA

RELIEF

Lalatabimba

corresponds

to

his

description m Movmg around the

temple

m the

radaksina

di -

VDh 85 54-55 Vaumlmana should be

made

with rection we come to the

northern

niche In

con-

short

hmbs

and a fat body

carrymg

a

staf f

and

tradistmction

to the other

two

niches

of the Deo-

engaged

in study

His

color

is the

green

of the

garh templ e

the

scene depicted here is

not

F IG

3 T h e

doorway

o f t h e

Deogarh t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y

Kern Institute L e i d e n Coll V o g e l

021



72 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY

described in the VDh The r e l i e f (fig 4)

shows

attribute in his other le ft band is broken off From

Visnu aumls a

warrior fighting with two serpents

the

parallel r e l i e f

on the Varaumlha

temple (fig 5)

which

have bound the helpless elephant with where

Visnu

holds a conch in this band

we

may

their

coiled bodies

Visnu

sits on Garuda hold- conclude that here too he held a

conch

The two

ing a mace in his lower right band and a discus serpents

fold

t h e i r

hands

m anjahmudrauml admit-

in his

upper

right band ready to

throw it

One ting

their

defeat and saluting he victor The chief

of his l e f t hands r e s t s on his knee while the serpent is hit y the discus of Visnu

hich

is vis-

i b l e

in the middle of his breast The elephant

offers

a lotus

flower

to Visnu in gratitude Note

thaton

the

r e l i e f

of the Varaumlha temple there are

three serpents not two

Above the

head

of Visnu on a

separate

slab

tw o couples hold a crown These

d e i t i e s

do not

carry any

attributes

and

cannot

be

positively

den-

tified

In a

semi-circular

panel below the

capital

on

each p i l a s t e r of this niche is a seated

male

figure

holding [a] flower with a female companion on

either

side 16

Similar

scenes

are found on one

of the p i l l a r s that presumabl y stood in front of

this

niche

The man and two

women

depicted

on the r e l ie f s of the p i l l a r are dri nking wine and

are i ntoxicated17 The function and meaning of

these scenes have never been explained

It i s

well

known however

that

wine

and intoxication are

t y p i c a l for Samkarsana For

instance

VDh 8573

prescnbes

that Bala [= Samkarsana] should be

represented with eyes dilated

through

i ntoxica-

tion

It

is

therefore reasonable to

assume

that

the scenes on the pilasters and the p i l l a r are

meant to create the atmosphere of

Samkarsana

to whom this side of the temple is dedicated

F I G

4 T h e

Gajendramoksa

relief

o f t h e

Deogarh

t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y

Kern Institute L e i d e n

Coll

V o g e l 3024 THpound NARANAumlRAYANA

RELIEF

According to the scheme of the Sarvatobhadra

temple the western side is dedicated to Pradyum-

na the

preserving

aspect of Visnu VDh 781

(verses l and 5) states

Know that Pradyumna i s vairaumlgya [ i n d if f e r e n t e t o world-

l y

h f e a s c e t i c i sm ] when he assumes the body of the

sage

Kapila

He p o s s e s s e s g r e a t

might

through the

vairaumlgya

s t a y in g m meditation to the h i g h e s t grade

Thus meditatmg

he

a n c i e n t

preacher of the

Saumlmkhya

phuumlosophy i s protectmg th e world

This explains hy the

r e l i e f

(fig 6) depi cting the

meditation

of Visnu i n the

form

of two

sages Nara

and Naumlraumlyana appears at he

Pradyumna

side of

the temple

Shastri

has

already pointed

out

that

the de-

F I G

5 The

Gajendramoksa relief of t h e V a r auml h a t e m p l e scription

of

Nara

and

Naumlraumlyana given

m

chapter

C o u r t e s y Kern Institute L e i d e n Coll Vogel 30870 76 of the VDh exactly corresponds to the r e l i e f



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


of Deogarh

1 8

The only

mmor dis crepancy

is that on the

back

and

tied

m

front 21A fold

of

his gar-

accordmg to he VDh

Nara

and Naumlraumlyana should ment

lu tters

elow On his

nght

his

wife

lies n

si t on a

chariot which

is not found on the relief the ai r holdmg her fluttermg garment

In the

center

of a

separate relief

on the

top This

god must be Vaumlyu who is

descnbed in

four-faced Brahma

sits on a

lotus cushion

The the VDh

aumls

follows

way

in

which Brahma has been depicted here

i s

very

similar

to the

image

on the

Anantasayana

Vaumlyu

[wind]

has the

olorof

the ky and the ky should

relief Only his

clothes

are

di fferent

On the

have

the

appearance

of the wind

Vaumlyu

made

visible

Naranaumlraumlyana relief

Brahma wears a wide sash has two a r m s gt and h ls garment i s puffed

u p with

the

with

plam

borders and

mcised

cross-hatchmg wmd His W l f e Slvauml

should

be Placed

at

hi s left wantmg

t

i

middot

c to move (eamaneccha) Pavana [= Vaumlyu] hould be made

which seems

to

represent

the yoga-patta of a

yog-

v s

trade

ι 983085

ι ι ι ι j holdmg the

ends

of

h i s garment with both hands

The

i n

that i s

a

b a n d

of

cloth

or

other matenal used middot 0 f

c

i raquo TM

same

apphes to

t h e

goddess S i v a of i n f i n i t e

beauty The

m

yogic

exercises 1 9 on the

Anantasayana

r e l i e f face

of [he

go d

shouH

fee tumed a s i d e and

h i s h a i r

Brahma wears an antelope hide As Maxwell sur983085 d i s h e v e l e d As Vayu assumes the

s m e l l c o l or

and so

mises

the

reason

for

this Variation

may be the

on Of

everythmg he

touches

he has the

color

of

collyr983085

different s y m b o h c roles that

Brahma

plays m

ium

because he has touched the sky The sky i s a l s o h i s

these

two

rehefs

On the

Anantasayan a

re lief

garment S i v a

i s the

motion Anila

[=

Vayu] i s unob983085

s t r u c t e d (5819830855)

h i s wearing of the b l a c k

antelope

skm may have been

intended

to emphasize

h i s

omniscient

r s z 983085 c h a r a c t e r

The

fact that

Siva

is

depicted

to

Vaumlyus

nght

and

smce

he i s m the

process

of

creatmg

the world here-

not to

hls lef t as

prescribed

by the VDh

is msig-

a s the other

panel

hi s

wearing

a p i e c e of he yogms nlflcant Her position is no doubt dictated by the

Standard equipment i s most s u i t a b l e m a scene d e p i c t - COmposition of the r e l i e f

mg aplace

of

austenty

namely

the asramaof

Nara

and

bdquo

_

bdquo

X T Ouml

20

The male ngure of the

other

couple holds an

Naumlraumlyana20

object

in ms nght hand

that

has not yet been

iden-

ti fied It seems

to be a conch

its openmg

turned

Brahma is

flanked by

c e l e s t i a l couples which

to the

viewer

The

conch

of

Visnu

on the

have

not

been identified

To the

nght

of

Brah-

Gajendramoksa r e l i e f of the Varaha

temple (fig

mauml i s a male

figure

holdmg his garment worn 5) has been depicted m the

same fashion

The

l e f t hand of the deity r e s t s on his thigh

His con-

sort sits at his l e ft her nght hand on his back

and

in

her

l e ft

an

upsid e-down

lotus

This

celestial

couple probably

represents

Varuna and

Gaun

who are

described in the

VDh

as follows

Varuna the l o r d of the sea animals must be d e p i c t e d

on the

c h a r i o t yoked w i t h seven geese

He

wears

white

garments

and resembles a

glossy

l apis

laz uli

[m

color]

He has four arms a somewhat hanging belly and i s

adorned

with

a p e a r l necklace and all Ornaments At

hi s

left

s i d e one must make a banner

with

a makara on

i t

and a white

umbrella

over hi s

head His

wife Gaun

b e a u t i f u l m a l l hmbs has two arms and

s i t s

on

hi s

left

l a p

In her left

hand

s he holds a blue l o t u s her nght

hand

i s

on the

back

of the god In the

nght hands

of

t h e god t h e r e should e a l o t u s and a noose and i n the

left hands a conch and a r a t n a p a t r a [vessel of jewels]

(52 1-5)

There are two major dis crepancies

between

the description of the VDh and the relief there

i s no chariot yoked

with

seven geese and

Varuna

F I G 6 The N a r a n auml r auml y a n a

relief o f t h e

Deogarh t e m p l e has two mstead of four

arms

Both di screpancies

C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute L e i d e n Coll

Vogel

3025

are of a systemati c

nature

The chanots are




prescribed

by the VDh for many gods but they in VDh 8537 and Varuna is

associated

with

do not

appear

on the

eogarh

relie fs The VDh Pradyumna in VDh

5213

also

prescribes four arms

and four attributes for On the

le ft

pilaster of the

Naranaumlraumlyana niche

al l

major gods whereas

i n

Deogarh these gods

we find

Gaja-Laksmi (Laksmi with

two

elephants)

are generally represented with two arms and only depicted in uumll l agreement with a description in

one attribute

Except

for a r e l ie f of Ganesa on VDh 823-8

Possibly she

is

positi oned

on the

the

lef t

p i l a s t e r

of the Anantasayana

niche only

Pradyumna side of the

temple because

in this

Visnu appears with four arms The

practice

of representation with two elephants she is the

assigning

to

adeity two

arms insteadof our

con- mother of the entire world

(821)

The

right

forms to a prescription found

several

times in the

pilaster

is rather worn and it s therefore

diffi-

VDh

a

deity

who

normally

has

four arms should cult

to

identify

the figures It is

unlikely howev-

be

depicted with only

two arms

when appearing

er that

they represent

an amorous couple

aumls

near

Visnu

(eg 822

about

Laksmi and 545 su ggestedb y

Vats22since

such ascene

wo u l d d e-

about Garuda) Moreover in the iconographic stroy the serene atmosphere of the niche

descriptions of the VDh a

deity holds

hi s

most

As all scenes i n the medallions of

pillar

no 2

essential attribute in his l e ft hand sually in his

take place

in a grove or under a t r e e 2 3 thus oint-

lower

l e f t hand

whereas on the

Deogarh r e l i e f s

ing to the

realm

of ascetics t h i s

p i l l a r

may have

this

attribu te invariably appears in the deitys stood in front of the Naranaumlraumlyana niche

right

hand

We

observe

this

practice

i n the case

of

Varuna

aumls

well According

to the

VDh

he

should

hold his

most

characteristic attribute

he

THE

ANANTASAYANA

RELIEF

conch

in his

(lower) l e f t hand whereas

on the On t h i s

r e l ie f (flg

)

Visnu l ie s

at

ease

on the

r e l ie f

he carries

it

in his right

hand

coils of the

serpent Ananta (Sesa)

who

repre-

The presence of

Vaumlyu

and

Varuna

on this

re-

sents the primordial waters This

is

the moment

lief

is

not coincidental These two gods are Dik- of the creation of the world and aumls Aniruddha

is

paumllas the guardians of the northwest and the the creative aspect of Visnu we may assume that

west

respectively and it s in this

function

that this

r e l ie f

is

edicated

to

him

they seem to appear here on the Pradyumna side There are any correspondences between the

which

is the western

side

within the orientation Anantasayana

r e l i e f

and the description of the

scheine

of the

temple

The

doorkeepers

of god Padmanaumlbha

( with

a lotus emerging

from

Pradyumna

are

dentified with Varuna

and Vaumlyu the

navel )

in

chapter

81 of the

VDh

Sesa m the orm of a s e r p e n t

should

be lymg amidst

the w a te r s

His

head

i s

dazzlmg

because

o f t h e g r e a t

jewels adornmg

hi s

hoods

The god of gods

should

be

made s l e e p i n g

with

four arms

One

foot

of the god

should rest on the

l a p

of

Laksmi

the other

should

he

on the coils of

S e s a

One

hand

should be

s t r e t c h e d

out and

rest

on

hi s knee

the

second should

be

near

t h e n a v e l t h e third should support

h is

head a n d t h e

fourth should hold a bunch of Santaumlna fl owers2 4 On

t h e l o t u s

emerging

from the

pool

of

his

n a v e l and con-

tainmg the

whole

e a r t h should be Brahma d e p i c t e d

auml s

above

Madhu and

Kaitabha

[two demons ] should

be made

near

the stalk of the lot us Near the snake

t h e r e

should be the

weapons in hum an form

The Deogarh r e l i e f eviates from this descrip-

tion in two

d e t a i l s i r s t

the stalk of the

lotus does

not visibly emerge from the navel of Visnu but

rises

from behind

his recumbent figure The sec-

on d point concerns the

demons

and the weap-

ons in human form he so-called aumlyudhapurusas

F I G 7 The Anantasayana relief of

th e Deogarh t e m p l e

The tWO figures

Standing near

the l otUS

Stalk

are

P h o t o

Prof essor

K

an

Kooij

not the

demons Madhu

and Kaitabha aumls



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably

an attendant of Laksrm) 25 whereas ond the tiara on the

head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-

purusas fighting with two

demons

on the l e ft sumes30 The drawing b y Vats

(fig

8) shows

that

side26 The lady to the viewers

right is

Gadaumldevi the c i r c l e s of the

t i a ra

are rather concentric o

the personified

mace and her

neighbor

is thattheheaddresshastheformofahides hield31

Cakrapurusa he personified iscus Their iden- Considering the

form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity

can b e established on the

basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would

liar hairdo Gadaumldevis hair is done in the form venture to suggest that the man is

Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the

personified ide shield This i dentification seems

forehead of Cakrapurus a

is

part of a discus The further to be confirmed by VDh

8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s

that Carman should have

the

appearance

this way is prescribed by the VDh One should of Cakra [while] Khadga [= Nandaka] should

somehow

show the real forms [of the weapons] be tall On the Deogarh r e l i e f Cakra and Car-

on

theheadsof

Cakra and the others (8527)

t

man

look very

similar ndeed theywear thesame

i s


assume that

the other armlets in the shape of a coiled snake and the

two aumlyudhapurusas are also characterized by an same necklaces (see fig 9) while the man with

emblem

on

their

head and not otherwise aumls was the sword

is

taller than the other two Therefore

traditionally

assumed

(these figu res were seen aumls

the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka

[sword] the latter and

Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word

and the former because he tral position on the r e l i e f possibly because the

positions his right leg

aumls

if t were a bow ) 2 7 sword and the shield are the emblems of

Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of

t h a t consequently this

must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e

gods at the top of the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

identified

the

fourth fi gure aumls Padma because

of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on

a lotus in his hair28 the lef t by Siva with Paumlrvati sitting on his usual

These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-

vaumlhana the b u l l and on the

right

by

Indra

on

tunately not without problems

F i r s t aumls

Gail ob- his elepha nt Airaumlvata In his

right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls

an attribute of Visnu does probably holds a

vajra which

is now

broken

off

not appear in scul pture efore the seventh cen- both on our relief and on the Anantasayana re-

tury AD so that it is

better

to stick to the t r a d i -

lief

of the

Varaumlha

temple According to the VDh

tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)

Indra s hould hold a vajra in one of his

pecially

aumls

Nandaka often occur s in Sanskrit lef t

hands (presurnably

his

ower

l e f t band aumls the

F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he

G u p t a Te mple a t

D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman

and Cakra o n t h e A n a n t a s a y a n a

relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh

t e m p l e P h o t o Pro fessor

K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)

lef t hand appears on

the r e l i e f in the right hand

Whereas

the identity of the central three fig-

ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond

any doubt the identity of the other two

d e i t i e s

is

s t i l l under discussi on

The figure to In-

dras

right has generally been

identified aumls Kaumlrt-

tikeya (Kumaumlra Skanda)

because of

his

vaumlhana

the

peacock This v iew has recently been chal-

lenged

b y van Kooij who s t a t e s (together with

Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana

of t h i s god i s not a

peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG

10 Siva and S uuml r y a on

th e

A n a n t a s a y a n a

relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e

P h o t o Pro fessor K

an

Kooij

characteristic

of the

peacockand looks verymuch

like

a

goose

bu t this is insufficient to

prove

that

other l e ft

hand r e s t s on the back of his consort the god

is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese

and peacocks are not

always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y

distinguished in he conography On our

Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his

right hand mined because

his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand

has not been i dentified It is a small object (flg

11)

the god holds a spear (or a

long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that

it s a mirror From VDh

against

Varuna

aumls

the spear is Kaumlrttikeyas at-

552-3

we learn

that Siva

should be with four tribute Accord ing to VDh 715

Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right

and a trident and in his l e ft hands a mirror and hands a banner and a spear in his l e ft hands

a

blue

lotus Here again the attribute prescribed Once again the VDh puts the main attribute in

FIG 11

T he

A n a n t a s a y a n a relief

o f t h e

Varaumlha t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute

L e i d e n Coll V o g e l

301004



THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU

TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most

probably in the lower abandoned

since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls

Varuna and Vaumlyu seem to e

Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and

Suumlrya Kaumlrttikeya

is the son of Siva and

The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods

(see VDh 717) he prob-

confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara

tioned aumls their representative Suumlrya

is

often seen

a garland-bearing figure generally without any aumls the representative of heAumldityas (see VDh 727

elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is

the twelve Aumldi tyas

should have

the

form

of

identity

at some length hesitatingly prop osing Suumlrya ) Accordingly the group of

Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana

relief ar e Vaumlyu and

The

only

detail

which

may

give

some i n d i c a t i o n is the Varuna in the function of Dikpaumllas the guard-

fluttering p i e c e of

c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians

of the northwest and the west respectively

iconography from the

Kus aumlna

period onwards It i s therefore probab le that the gods represent-

Vaumlyus main c h a r a c t e r i s t ic is the i n f l a t e d garment35 Qn

the

Anantasayana relief

are

Dikpaumllas aumls well

Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render

t h i s i d e n ti f i- ern

direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the

cation i mprobable irst

the garland he holds in east

Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the

northeast while Suumlrya represents

the

Second the god has a halo around his head

east

and is s ituated together with Indra in the

which

is clearly v i s i b l e on the

r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern

tu skshrine of the Sarvatobhadr a

temple

temple (fig 11) Finally

n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented

on the Naranaumlraumlyana r e l ie f

(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where

he has a very scheine of the temple and the presence of Siva

different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the

northeast is understandable

I propose

to

identify this

god

aumls Suumlrya whose Note that

he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is

characteristic features are the raised

hands

with

accompanied

by his wife aumls are Vaumlyu and Varuna

(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana

relie f It remains unclear

(672-4)

escribes the image of

Suumlrya

aumls follows however why the Dikpaumllas of the east are repre-

sented on the Anantasayana relief

The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a

b e a u t i f u l moustache

The

northern orientation

of the

niche

is

fur-

and b eof t h e vermilion color

He

should wear t h e d r e s s ther accentuated by the r e l i e f s on its pilasters

of t h e Northerners e

adorned w i t h a l l Ornaments

nd On the pilasters to the viewers

l e f t

is

Ganesa

be of good appearance He should have

our

hands and

another

son of Siva On the opposite

p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s

He should be covered by an armor i rmiddot - laquo u umiddot 4 middot umiddot middot u raquo u

j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an

obiect in bi s right hand

and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e

positively identined

r i g h t hands h e hould

hold

b e a u t i f u l r e i g n s which

have

r

t h e form of

garland

t h r e a d s going up and are dorned but

i t

looks more l i k e a weapon than flowers aumls

by f l o w e r s suggested by Vats The deity looks at a smaller

figure to his right and this fact ay

help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-

The description of the reigns s u i t s the r e l ie f but scribed in VDh 7315-17 aumls follows

Northerners dres s (who used

to

cover their

body)36 is absent The halo around Suumlryas head Nandin should be made w i t h t h r e e eyes and w i t h four

i s

mentioned

in Varahamihi ras Brhat-Samhitauml

longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)

One should make him w i t h two hands holding a t r i -

What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a

b h i n d i p auml l a

[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d

According to an Kooij hey

represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his

fourth hand makinS a

en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the

Aumldi tyas Siva aumls

the

leader of the Rudras Vaumlyu aumls the leader of the

Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with

representatives of the Thirty-three This sugges- the placement of

gods

in different types of tem-

tion

is in i t s e l f plausibl e and can be supported ples we learn that in the

v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)

ough d escription of its conographic

program

The triad Siva-Ganesa-Skanda is also mentioned and

incorporated

many

iconographic elements

in 8635 (ganesarudraskanda-) This

prescription

into the

System

of identifications that can be

accords

with

the r eli e f s of the Deogarh temple

found

in the Pratimaumllaksana the part of the

VDh

that describes

image-making

The iconographic program of the Deogarh

Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra

doctrine This temple

is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described

i n the caturvyuumlha images of the Kusaumlna

period

but this

third

khanda of the Vis nudharmottarapuraumlna is time the

unity

of the four emanations of

Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented

not i n one image bu t in one

build-

thorof this text must

have been deeply mpressed ing

its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige

of the Deogarh vyuumlhas




Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen

12 In the e d i t i o n by

Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas

tathauml vaumlme mm kaumlnam c a t a t h auml s utah

paper

would also

like to hank the nends of

the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam

Karel van Kooij for kind

p e r m i s -

Venkatesvara Press e d i t i o n maikaumlnesauml

t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs

readmg of ms B maikaumlnaumlmsaumls tathauml suggest

t h a t

the

goddess Ekaumlnamsauml

must be meant here She

i s

1

Alexander

Lubotsky The Sarvatobhadra Tem-

descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma

p l e of the Visnudharmottarapuraumlna and t h e Visnu and Krsna w i t h her

left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her

right hand (the position

of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a

Essays in Honour ofj C Heesterman ed between Raumlma and Krsna

also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek

D H A K o l f f M S Oort 86 26) The verse i s e v i d e n t l y corrupt

(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch

TheVishnudharmottara[PartIII]

A T r e a t i s e o n

Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna

Gottfried Williams The Art of Gupta In- ta C a l c u t t a Umversity Press

1928]

97) but the

d ia Empire andProvmc e

(Pnnceton nnceton Um- meamng

must

be And so

a l s o

Ekaumlnamsauml [should

versity

Press 1982)

132 and n 98 for a d i s c u s s i o n be represented] The

corruption

must

have

orig-

of the date i n a t e d when a scribe erroneously connected vaumlma

ekaumlnamsauml i n to

vaumlmaikaumlnamsauml

3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4

This and su bsequent

quotations

of VDh are trans- paumlsam i s erroneously w r i t t e n aumls one

word

l a t e d

from V i s n u d h a r m o t t a r a - p u r auml n a third hhanda

ed Priyabala Shah vols Gaekwads Oriental Se- 14 In spite of the readmg of a l l

manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and

here Priyabala Shah everywhere

19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra

5 Lubotsky Sarvatobhadra

Temple

15 Tnvikramaand

Vaumlmanaare twoformsof

the same

m a n i f e s t a t i o n

of

Visnu r e f l e c t m g

the

myth about

6 See Stella Kramnsch The Hindu

Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a

Umversity Press 1946) 72 for a space equal to hi s three Steps When this e-

q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7

N R Banerjee New Light on the

Gupta

Temples gan to row and assummg g i g a n t i c

proportions

at

Deogarh Journal o f t h e

Asiatic

Society (Calcutta) cov ered t h e whole Universe

i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16

MS Vats The Gupta Temple at Deogarh Memoirs

8 See

Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra Temple

10f

and

ofthe Archaeological

Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed

(Calcutta Umver si ty

of

Calcu tta

1956) 409 wntes t h a t the VDh a s s ign s the north 18 B Ch S h a s t r i I d e n t i f i c a t i o n of a Relief Belong-

to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t

the faces of Visnu are mentioned in the t a h a 12 (1934)middot 116-25 The myth of two brothers

text in t h e followmg order front =

east

nght =

Nara

a n d Naumlraumlyana i s also g i v e n

in

hhanda l

chap

south

left = north and back = west This i n te r p r e - 129 1-19 and alluded to m hhanda 3 chap 35

t a t i o n

is repeated b y W E Begley Visnu

s

Flammg

where

th e o r igin o f t h e a r t o f pamuumlng i s associat-

Wlieel The

Iconography

oltAeSudars ana-Cakra

(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows

Banerjea In reality 19 Maxwell

Visvarupa

117

t h e VDh always g i v e s th e d i r e c t i o n s i n th e

pradaksina o r d e r

t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117

west north (see Placement ofthe Deities )

21 Vats Gupta Temple 35

10

See T S

Maxwell Visvarupa (Delhi

Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale

d ipartamento d i s t u d i Asiatici

senes

mmor 12 (Naples 1985) 683

24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the

Santaumlna flowers i s b roken o f f but on the Varaumlha 29 See van

Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n

relief th e f l o w e rs a r e s t i l l

present (see

f l g

11)

30 G a i l Aumlyudhapurusa 183 n 11

2 5 This f i g u r e

i s generally

idenuumlfied auml s Bhuumldevi (c f

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next

to the head of Visnu t h e r e

i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e

on the coils of Sesa She cannot but be the

goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure

behind 33 Van Kooij Gods and

Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her

attendant Mitra Varaumlha-Cave

of

dayaginmdashAn Iconograph-

i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2

t i n g t o n The Art ofAnaent India (Buddhist Hindu

Jmn)

(New

York

Weatherhill 1985) 210 34

Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l

AumlyudhapurusamdashDie

anthropomorphen

36 See Banerjea Hindu Iconography

436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift

L Sternbach I n d o l o g i c a Taunnensia 8-9 37 Gupta Temple 15

(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G

Liebert IconographicDictionary o f t h e Indian

Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9

Schotsmans and M Taddei Istituto Umversitano




thus he

porticoes hav e three doors

t the

fourth

the

east I f

in

reality Vaumlsud eva faces

the

west

door

ehind the portico is a shrine (probably a the hole scheme should be turned 180 degrees

niche is meant)

Finally

at

every

corner of the The Deogarh temple is oriented to the west

main

temple

at the junction of the

porticoes

slightly

turned toward

the south in

such

a way

stand temples with two shrines each that the last

rays

of the setting sun could shine

The

description

f the


on the

image

in the main

shrine

The

orienta-

s u i t s

the remains of the Visnu temple at

Deogarh tion

to the west was not unusual for temples with

(see fig l for its

ground

plan) if we take into a

dark

shrine6

The so-called Varaumlha temple at

account

that the

s uperstructure

and the

platform

Deogarh which

is

similar in form to our

temple

of the Deogarh temple have been ruined so that and contains niches with almost identical reliefs7

the

small

temples on the platform and those at is facing

e a st

The

direction

of the niches is also

the junction

of the

porticoes

are no

longer

ex- the

opposite

bu t t h e i r

order during circumam-

tant Only

a few p i l l a r s of the

porticoes

re left

bulation

by the

devotees s

the

same

Going

clock-

and these are kept in a godown near the temple wise from the entrance of the shrine we first see

a

r e l ie f

with Visnu

liberating

the King of the

Ele-

phants (Gajendramoksa) hen a relief with

Visnu

Orientation

ofthe Temples

in the form of the two

sages

Nara and Naumlraumlyana

and fmally a

r eli e f

with

Visnu

s leeping on the

TheVDh (8717-18) allows wo

alternatives

for

serpentAnanta

(Anantasayana) The

Varaumlha

tem-

the orientation f the Sarvatobhadra temple ple

is

turned 180 degrees in comparis on with the

Visnu temple

which

is

exactly

what

the

VDh

pre-

The image of Vaumlsud eva should

f a c e

the e a s t or the

west

scribes One should consider the di rection of

and no

other

d i r e c t i o n One

should

consider the

Vaumlsudeva

aumls the east and the

order of the other

d i r e c t i o n

of Vaumlsud eva aumls the east and the order [ofthe d e i t i e s should be in

conformity

with this direc-

d eities] should be in conformity

w ith this

d i r e c tio n

don

raquo There are di fferent

OpiniOnS

concerning

the date

of the Varaumlha

temple8

but

even if it

was

This

seems to mean that the

placement

of the

alatecopyof

the

Visnu temple ratherthan

a

pro-

d e i t i e s

is iven in the t e x t aumls if Vaumlsudev a

faces

totype my argument would not be affected

t a th a v a k s y a m i

s a r v a t o b h a d r a s a m j n i t a m

c a t u r auml t m auml

hariryatra

kartavyo

agatlpate

I

sh all

n o w

t e i l

y o u

about

t h e

temple known auml s S a r va t o -

bhadra where Hari in hi s fourfold a s p e c t

should

be

p l a c e d

o

k i n g

The term caturaumltmauml s used

here

i n the sense of

caturvyuumlha

(of our

aspects

emanations)

which

refers to the quadripartite divine nature of

Visnu-

Krsna the key notion ofthe so-called Paumlncaraumltra

school

of

thought

The principal c u l t figures of

this

school are four deified heroes the kinsmen

Vaumlsudeva

Krsna

hi s

eider half-brother Samkar-

sana Pradyumna

the son of Vaumlsud eva and

Anir uddha the son of Pradyumna

FIG 1

Ground p l a n

o f t h e V i s n u t e m p l e at Deogarh Drawing by Mrs The VDh (chapters 44 47 54 85) elaborates

T

ezel-Ignatova

R e c o n s t r u c t e d p o r t i o n s i ndicated by d o t t e d lines the vyuumlha doctrine into a coherent iconographic

Iconographic Program ofthe

Sarvatobhadra

Temple

The VDh announces the

iconographic pro-

gram ofthe

Sarvatobhadra templ e

i n the

very first

sloka

ofthe

chapter

(871)



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU



power)

holds a

leath-

Visnu

has a particular

appearance

and

banner


(dhvaja) and is

associated with

a

quality (guna)

banner is an

antelope


qualities

and

According

to

Paumlncaraumltra

doctrine Visnu as-

attributes

relate

to the

function

of the

vyuumlhas

in sumes

different aspects

in

order

to

save destroy

the

Universe

The

following features

are

relevant

preserve

and

create

the

world

At the

same time


same

god Visnu

1

Vaumlsud eva

the

most


this


four


(force)

holds a mace and a

discus


is

represented aumls a

east his

banner

is

Taumlrksya


2 Samkarsana

the

emanation

of the


the


of

tive


(man-lion)


image

of

He


a Visnu

Visvaruumlpa

an

image with

many

heads

and

pestle

and a

plough

and

faces

the

south

hi s


the

whole Universe

An

icon-

ner is the

Taumlla


Visnu



image

ing

force

has the

face

of

Kapil a

(a

sage

who was

found

in

Deogarh11


VDh 7815) He is

associated with

aisvarya


to

present

the

unity

of the four

ereignty

supr emacy)

holds a bow and an

arrow

vyuumlhas that

is

the unity of the

Universe

not in

and

faces

the

west

his

banner is

a

makara

(a myth- one

image

but in one


eing

i c a l

aquatic

animal)




varaumlha


T R I V I K R A M A


V y auml s a

Paumloupata

(+Moon) VSyij

W E S T


A S V A S I R S A

|middotmiddotmiddot

^

L)

[]

u b h a

Π

V a n a r a 5 1 5

T _ r

I n d r a ( + S u n )

S a r a D t

2

V e d a s

y o g a

S auml r n g a

Γ

Q


ί

Se

Π P a d m a

Aparaumljitauml

N A R A S I M H A

F I G


scheme o f t h e


t e m p l e

P a n e l s

around

p l a t f o r m






corner


on one should put


the head of a horse


Varaumlha

[boar outheast]

arasimha [man-


with the

main shrine

and

iiongt


t h r e e s t e p s

then

moving

further


northwest]

(8724)


always pradaksina

or clock-

wise

from the east

Samkarsana

has the

face

of

Narasimha (see

Iconographic

Program


Now

listen

to the

s u c c e s s iv e

placement

of the

gods

in

Temple

above) which

explains

the

position

of

the

temple

o king The

image

of


the Narasimha

shrine

in the

southwest (cf also

t h e east or

t h e

west

and no


should 7827

Hari

in his

Samkarsana

form assumes

consider


der


Lord Samkarsana

should beplaced

w i t h

his

f a c e

to

th e R

Hayagriva) it

is

ai d

(804-5)

that

he

south

Then

on e

should


his

f a c e deg

_

J A middot

jji

vu


b e represented

with

rour 01

his eight


north

r 6

(87

17-20) hand s

on the heads of the

four

personified Ve-

das because

long


turned by

this

god from

Rasaumltala

where

they were

_ _

brought

by

two


PLACEMENT

OF THE

CONSORTS

middot

-

east thus

corresponds




porticoes


below)

On the

other



and

l e ft

in the

follow- Know

that the god

having

the head of a

horse is

ing

description

are

indi cated

from the

point

of a

part

of

Samkarsana

one



viewer

the Asvasirsa

shrine

at the

southeast



the junction

of

he


Varaumlha


Aniruddha

which


pu t Laksmi

to the

ight

f


we learn

from

the


To the left of the

southern

p o r t i c o 79U

Varaha is

identifled

with

Aniruddha

o n e

should p l a c e


4

983085

i

r r pound

bdquo

On e


to

stand

t h e


S i d 983085

r 983085


K irt i


left of the


to

i t s r i g h t

and


the

text

is

corrupt

P u s t i

to the

left

of the


(8721-23) and

the

order

of Asvasirsa and

Varaumlha

should

be



gods


in

e

Sarvatobhadra


u i r r - v u u r - - r r -

j

to the


the

VDh

the

rirst

wife

01

every

vyuha

Stands to

his



description i n

other parts

of the

VDh

For in983085


(7321)

The VDh


of the

who

is

identified with

Pradyumna

(5213) ama

grdle




position of

Nidrauml



i0 00 _


twenty983085four


732398308524

which


depicted with

bdquo

~983085

r^ j

τ

ό

983085

i _ r

i n

r panions

of

Visnu] Tarksya

[Garuda]

San kh a [conch]

her left band

on her

hip Samkarsana

on her


[discus] aumlngala

[plough] Mus-


left a la

[pestle]

f


Taumlla [fan

palm] Trisuumlla

[trident]

S auml r f i g a

[bow] Sara

[arrow]

Makara

[aq uatic



Carman [leather

s hie l d ] Paumlsa

[noose] 1 3

Pattisa


Musti [fist]

The corner

temples

of the

platform

are

dedi cat- Vajra

[club]


[chaplet]

ed to

four manifestations

of

Vis nu

(8725-28)





four


t h i s l i s t

seems

to

begin


Gaumlyatri

the four


Yama

Danda

iconographic

program (flg 2)

The


Yoga t h e

Paumlncaraumltra

and

mentioned

in the

list

stand

directly

to the


and

t h e

_ _

bdquo_

_ ι

ι



a fter

th e other


of

Va- f laquo 7 7-W


Samkarsana

and

Makara

he

banner

of

Pradyum-

Ag

middotη

casg

of

comer

t l e s gt

t h i s

li


banner

of

Samkars ana

(the

of


from

th e


As to the

attributes

of the

vyuumlhas

the

plough


and the pestle the

attributes

of

Samkarsana

are on In this

waygt

we

haye

in the

east

four Vedasgt

placed


left of


to

the right)

row

the

attributes

of Pradyumna ar e

placed

d i 983085


rectlyto

his left

The attributes

of



side

and

Vaisnavi



whose

face

of the

attributes

of

Vaumlsud eva

is

unexpected

At

according

to

VDh 643


his

l e ft are his

jewel


dis- mantra (=

Gayatri)

and


cus and the

mace

which

are

situated

to the south

sent the

Vedas

Aparaumljitauml

is

described

in

the VDh

the

side

of Samkarsana

as a diyine

mother

one

of the

wives

of the great



bdquo tion


northern

of the


l g

g

a

Hnk northgt whi


most

southem one

i s a link

with the south


the

Jn

south

wg irst ge three

ds

of


t h e

eastern staircase

a n d s o o n

c

^

middot

middot

on the

other

side

or

t he

staircase their

at-

tributesmdashDanda

(staff)

Kavaca (armor)

and


t h e

[gods

in


sect

f u l l wkh


bdquo bdquo

deg-


south

Yama

and

Ni rrti

at the west

Varuna

and Anila



Dhanesvara


the


Mahesvara

[Siva]


put

at the

Saumlnkhya

and Yoga then the

Pancaratra

and the

tusk s h r i n e s


[Venus]


east

Kuja

[Mars]


Vyaumlsa

the mythi cal

author

of the

eclipses ]

in the

outh

Sanaiscara

[Saturn]

and



Vaumllmiki

the

[moon]


Brhaspati


of

Vaumlsud eva [that

is at

the eastern

s t a i r c a s e ]


placed

two

doorkeepers

of


and Va- - ^

g


Jn Λ nor[h [amp

situated

th e Maumlrkanda


Samkarsana

-

_

Λ Τ ^

I X T middot middot


should be made

J a v a

and

N i i a y a


Pradyumna

Aumlmoda and


of

Aniruddha

The

placement

of

the gods

and the

door-

are

clearlY associated

with

Siva

bemg

hi s five


with

the


should

know

about

the

guardians

of the

quarters

of

t h e

world


iconographic


bhadra


follows

Ev-


temple


PANELS AROUND

THE

PLATFORM

r _

bdquo


south Sam-


the platform

are enumerated

Their


shrines

at their



70 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY

side the first

wife

to

their right

and the second

VDh 8717

the


should be

to their left

Their

attributes


east

Doing so

yields

the follow-

small temples on

every

side of the

platform


which

conform to he

prescrip-



different deities

sages

and deified

abstract





eral

this

placement scheme

conforms to the


for their

dedication



two

making


we assume

that

the au-

thor

of the VDh had

seen

and

admired

the

Deo-

garh temple

his


in-

TheDeogarh


Deogarh

reliefs

The use of


from

We may now

turn


obscure figures

on the

Deogarh

temple


thus

becomes more

legitimate

three

r e l i e f s are

still

intact The

panels

around the and more


Second we shall


several


ments

with

scenes

from

the

li feofKrsna

and

Raumlma those

of

Deogarh

which

to my

knowledge

has



r e l i e f s is


when

a art

is


r e l i e f

i s

amaged It

is irrelevant

speculate on their


the r i t u a l

which

of the

temples

is the prototype in

both

scheme of the

VDh

The

only

means at our

dis- cases

the

Varaumlha


invaluable infor-


iconographic

program of

mation

the

Deogarh


reliefs


LALAumlTABIMBA

o f t h e

r e l i e f s

o f t h e

Deogarh temple

etme

s t a t e

middot

i - r - r middot

o

ι ι

ι

Γ

r We

start


above

the

door983085


r


Lalatabimba )

which depicts


to

agree with


T

r


s i t t i n g

on t h e serpent

nanta with

Laksmi


beme

middot deg_ _ r r

r

_

r T

bdquo

deg

caressmer ms

foot

Two

manifestations

of

Visnumdash

dedicated to


Vis nu

The rehef T deg

T 7 _


middot middot

Narasimha


above

th e doorway

which depicts Visnu

sitting

bdquo

T _

deg



I he


Laksmi

and

his

two rr

deg _

r

-

middot


i

choice o f t h e

mamiestations

seems sigmncant

mamfestations N

arasimha and


bdquo _ deg

j bdquo

middot




Th e

northern

r e l i e f X T

bdquo

r


representing

Visnu aumls


r

τΓ r ι

τ 983085 ι

Ί

^

middot ι τ


i n v i s i 983085

King oi the


con983085

deg


forms

to the destructive

power


T

middot

r r

XT


two

manifestations

depict983085

In

th e

east


of


1 X T 983085

_


Vaumlsud eva



bdquo

mamiestations

are

facing

the

devotee


deg

_

bdquo

middot r i

middot

i r i T h e closest

parallel


Fmally

the

rehef

at the

sou thern side

oi the


x r T

rr


i s found in


pl e

with

Visnu

engaged

in

the act of creation

bdquo

r _ _

i A

scnbes

dnierent

Images

oi

Vaumlsud eva

lymg

on the erpent

Ananta

(Anantasayana) deg

must be

dedi cated

to Aniruddha the

creative

_

Or he


be represented

charmmg

middot middot

s e a t e d

on the

coils

of

Sesa

[=

Ananta] Surround ed

by

The

actual


hj s


di f fi c ult

to

ook

posite of the


of the

vyuumlhas at

w n

he s i t s


four hands

a r e

b ut

aumls



human

forms



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


On the

Deogarh

rehef

Cakra

and

Gadauml

m hu-

durua-gmss

and he

wears

the skm of a black

ante-

man

form

are

missmg Instead

Vaumlsud eva

holds

a lope

The

antelope

skm

is

missmg on the

rehef

conch


lower nght

hand


is


RELIEF

Lalatabimba

corresponds

to

his


temple

m the

radaksina

di -


made


northern

niche In

con-

short

hmbs

and a fat body

carrymg

a

staf f

and

tradistmction

to the other

two

niches

of the Deo-

engaged

in study

His

color

is the

green

of the

garh templ e

the


not

F IG

3 T h e

doorway

o f t h e

Deogarh t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


021



72 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY


shows


Visnu aumls a


the


on the Varaumlha

temple (fig 5)

which


Visnu


we

may

their

coiled bodies

Visnu


conch

The two


fold

t h e i r

hands


in his

upper

right band ready to

throw it

One ting

their



hich

is vis-

i b l e


offers

a lotus

flower


thaton

the

r e l i e f



Above the

head

of Visnu on a

separate

slab


d e i t i e s

do not

carry any

attributes

and

cannot

be

positively

den-

tified

In a

semi-circular

panel below the

capital

on


male

figure


either

side 16

Similar

scenes

are found on one


this

niche

The man and two

women

depicted




It i s

well

known however

that

wine



instance

VDh 8573

prescnbes



through

i ntoxica-

tion

It

is


assume

that



Samkarsana


F I G

4 T h e

Gajendramoksa

relief

o f t h e

Deogarh

t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


Coll


RELIEF



na the

preserving




l y


sage

Kapila


might

through the

vairaumlgya


Thus meditatmg

he

a n c i e n t

preacher of the

Saumlmkhya



r e l i e f


meditation

of Visnu i n the

form

of two

sages Nara


Pradyumna

side of

the temple

Shastri

has

already pointed

out

that

the de-

F I G

5 The


of

Nara

and


m

chapter




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


of Deogarh

1 8

The only

mmor dis crepancy

is that on the

back

and

tied

m

front 21A fold

of

his gar-

accordmg to he VDh

Nara


lu tters

elow On his

nght

his

wife

lies n

si t on a

chariot which


In the

center

of a

separate relief

on the

top This


descnbed in

four-faced Brahma

sits on a

lotus cushion

The the VDh

aumls

follows

way

in


i s

very

similar

to the

image

on the

Anantasayana

Vaumlyu

[wind]

has the

olorof


relief Only his

clothes

are

di fferent

On the

have

the

appearance

of the wind

Vaumlyu

made

visible



u p with

the

with

plam

borders and

mcised


should

be Placed

at

hi s left wantmg

t

i

middot


which seems

to

represent

the yoga-patta of a

yog-

v s

trade

ι 983085


ends

of


The

i n

that i s

a

b a n d

of

cloth

or


c

i raquo TM

same

apphes to

t h e


beauty The

m

yogic


Anantasayana

r e l i e f face

of [he

go d

shouH


h i s h a i r


s m e l l c o l or

and so

mises

the

reason

for

this Variation

may be the

on Of

everythmg he

touches

he has the

color

of

collyr983085


Brahma

plays m

ium


these

two

rehefs

On the

Anantasayan a

re lief

garment S i v a

i s the

motion Anila

[=


s t r u c t e d (5819830855)


antelope

skm may have been

intended

to emphasize

h i s

omniscient


The

fact that

Siva

is

depicted

to

Vaumlyus

nght

and

smce

he i s m the

process

of

creatmg

the world here-

not to

hls lef t as

prescribed

by the VDh

is msig-

a s the other

panel

hi s

wearing



mg aplace

of

austenty

namely

the asramaof

Nara

and

bdquo

_

bdquo

X T Ouml

20


other

couple holds an

Naumlraumlyana20

object

in ms nght hand

that

has not yet been

iden-

ti fied It seems

to be a conch

its openmg

turned

Brahma is

flanked by


to the

viewer

The

conch

of

Visnu

on the

have

not

been identified

To the

nght

of

Brah-


temple (fig

mauml i s a male

figure


same fashion

The


His con-


and

in

her

l e ft

an

upsid e-down

lotus

This

celestial

couple probably

represents

Varuna and

Gaun

who are

described in the

VDh

as follows


on the


He

wears

white

garments

and resembles a

glossy

l apis

laz uli

[m

color]


adorned

with


hi s

left


with

a makara on

i t

and a white

umbrella

over hi s

head His

wife Gaun


s i t s

on

hi s

left

l a p

In her left

hand


hand

i s

on the

back

of the god In the

nght hands

of



(52 1-5)


between



with

seven geese and

Varuna


relief o f t h e


arms

Both di screpancies

C o u r t e s y

Kern


Vogel

3025


nature

The chanots are




prescribed


associated

with

do not

appear

on the

eogarh


5213

also



le ft

pilaster of the


al l

major gods whereas

i n

Deogarh these gods

we find


two

elephants)


one attribute

Except


Possibly she

is

positi oned

on the

the

lef t

p i l a s t e r

of the Anantasayana

niche only


temple because

in this


practice


assigning

to

adeity two

arms insteadof our


(821)

The

right


several

times in the

pilaster


diffi-

VDh

a

deity

who

normally

has


to

identify

the figures It is

unlikely howev-

be

depicted with only

two arms

when appearing

er that

they represent

an amorous couple

aumls

near

Visnu

(eg 822

about


Vats22since

such ascene

wo u l d d e-



deity holds

hi s

most


pillar

no 2


take place


lower

l e f t hand

whereas on the


ing to the

realm

of ascetics t h i s

p i l l a r

may have

this


right

hand

We

observe

this

practice

i n the case

of

Varuna

aumls

well According

to the

VDh

he

should

hold his

most


he

THE

ANANTASAYANA

RELIEF

conch

in his


on the On t h i s

r e l ie f (flg

)

Visnu l ie s

at

ease

on the

r e l ie f

he carries

it

in his right

hand

coils of the


who

repre-

The presence of

Vaumlyu

and

Varuna

on this

re-


is

the moment

lief

is


is


west


function

that this

r e l ie f

is

edicated

to

him


which

is the western

side


r e l i e f


scheine

of the

temple

The

doorkeepers


( with

a lotus emerging

from

Pradyumna

are


and Vaumlyu the

navel )

in

chapter

81 of the

VDh


should

be lymg amidst

the w a te r s

His

head

i s

dazzlmg

because

o f t h e g r e a t

jewels adornmg

hi s

hoods

The god of gods

should

be


with

four arms

One

foot

of the god

should rest on the

l a p

of

Laksmi

the other

should

he

on the coils of

S e s a

One

hand

should be

s t r e t c h e d

out and

rest

on

hi s knee

the

second should

be

near


h is

head a n d t h e


t h e l o t u s

emerging

from the

pool

of

his

n a v e l and con-

tainmg the

whole


auml s

above

Madhu and

Kaitabha


be made

near


t h e r e

should be the



tion in two


the stalk of the

lotus does


rises

from behind



demons

and the weap-




The tWO figures

Standing near

the l otUS

Stalk

are

P h o t o

Prof essor

K

an

Kooij

not the

demons Madhu

and Kaitabha aumls



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably


head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-


demons


(fig

8) shows

that


right is


t i a ra


the personified

mace and her

neighbor



form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity


basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would


Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the



is


8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s


the

appearance


somehow


on

theheadsof


t

man

look very


i s


assume that



emblem

on

their


is


traditionally

assumed


the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka


Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word



aumls


Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of


must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e


r e l i e f

identified

the


of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on


These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-


right

by

Indra

on


F i r s t aumls


right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls


vajra which

is now

broken

off



better


lief

of the

Varaumlha


tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)


pecially

aumls


hands (presurnably

his

ower


F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he


D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman


relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh


K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU



power)

holds a

leath-

Visnu

has a particular

appearance

and

banner


(dhvaja) and is

associated with

a

quality (guna)

banner is an

antelope


qualities

and

According

to

Paumlncaraumltra

doctrine Visnu as-

attributes

relate

to the

function

of the

vyuumlhas

in sumes

different aspects

in

order

to

save destroy

the

Universe

The

following features

are

relevant

preserve

and

create

the

world

At the

same time


same

god Visnu

1

Vaumlsud eva

the

most


this


four


(force)

holds a mace and a

discus


is

represented aumls a

east his

banner

is

Taumlrksya


2 Samkarsana

the

emanation

of the


the


of

tive


(man-lion)


image

of

He


a Visnu

Visvaruumlpa

an

image with

many

heads

and

pestle

and a

plough

and

faces

the

south

hi s


the

whole Universe

An

icon-

ner is the

Taumlla


Visnu



image

ing

force

has the

face

of

Kapil a

(a

sage

who was

found

in

Deogarh11


VDh 7815) He is

associated with

aisvarya


to

present

the

unity

of the four

ereignty

supr emacy)

holds a bow and an

arrow

vyuumlhas that

is

the unity of the

Universe

not in

and

faces

the

west

his

banner is

a

makara

(a myth- one

image

but in one


eing

i c a l

aquatic

animal)




varaumlha


T R I V I K R A M A


V y auml s a

Paumloupata

(+Moon) VSyij

W E S T


A S V A S I R S A

|middotmiddotmiddot

^

L)

[]

u b h a

Π

V a n a r a 5 1 5

T _ r

I n d r a ( + S u n )

S a r a D t

2

V e d a s

y o g a

S auml r n g a

Γ

Q


ί

Se

Π P a d m a

Aparaumljitauml

N A R A S I M H A

F I G


scheme o f t h e


t e m p l e

P a n e l s

around

p l a t f o r m






corner


on one should put


the head of a horse


Varaumlha

[boar outheast]

arasimha [man-


with the

main shrine

and

iiongt


t h r e e s t e p s

then

moving

further


northwest]

(8724)


always pradaksina

or clock-

wise

from the east

Samkarsana

has the

face

of

Narasimha (see

Iconographic

Program


Now

listen

to the

s u c c e s s iv e

placement

of the

gods

in

Temple

above) which

explains

the

position

of

the

temple

o king The

image

of


the Narasimha

shrine

in the

southwest (cf also

t h e east or

t h e

west

and no


should 7827

Hari

in his

Samkarsana

form assumes

consider


der


Lord Samkarsana

should beplaced

w i t h

his

f a c e

to

th e R

Hayagriva) it

is

ai d

(804-5)

that

he

south

Then

on e

should


his

f a c e deg

_

J A middot

jji

vu


b e represented

with

rour 01

his eight


north

r 6

(87

17-20) hand s

on the heads of the

four

personified Ve-

das because

long


turned by

this

god from

Rasaumltala

where

they were

_ _

brought

by

two


PLACEMENT

OF THE

CONSORTS

middot

-

east thus

corresponds




porticoes


below)

On the

other



and

l e ft

in the

follow- Know

that the god

having

the head of a

horse is

ing

description

are

indi cated

from the

point

of a

part

of

Samkarsana

one



viewer

the Asvasirsa

shrine

at the

southeast



the junction

of

he


Varaumlha


Aniruddha

which


pu t Laksmi

to the

ight

f


we learn

from

the


To the left of the

southern

p o r t i c o 79U

Varaha is

identifled

with

Aniruddha

o n e

should p l a c e


4

983085

i

r r pound

bdquo

On e


to

stand

t h e


S i d 983085

r 983085


K irt i


left of the


to

i t s r i g h t

and


the

text

is

corrupt

P u s t i

to the

left

of the


(8721-23) and

the

order

of Asvasirsa and

Varaumlha

should

be



gods


in

e

Sarvatobhadra


u i r r - v u u r - - r r -

j

to the


the

VDh

the

rirst

wife

01

every

vyuha

Stands to

his



description i n

other parts

of the

VDh

For in983085


(7321)

The VDh


of the

who

is

identified with

Pradyumna

(5213) ama

grdle




position of

Nidrauml



i0 00 _


twenty983085four


732398308524

which


depicted with

bdquo

~983085

r^ j

τ

ό

983085

i _ r

i n

r panions

of

Visnu] Tarksya

[Garuda]

San kh a [conch]

her left band

on her

hip Samkarsana

on her


[discus] aumlngala

[plough] Mus-


left a la

[pestle]

f


Taumlla [fan

palm] Trisuumlla

[trident]

S auml r f i g a

[bow] Sara

[arrow]

Makara

[aq uatic



Carman [leather

s hie l d ] Paumlsa

[noose] 1 3

Pattisa


Musti [fist]

The corner

temples

of the

platform

are

dedi cat- Vajra

[club]


[chaplet]

ed to

four manifestations

of

Vis nu

(8725-28)





four


t h i s l i s t

seems

to

begin


Gaumlyatri

the four


Yama

Danda

iconographic

program (flg 2)

The


Yoga t h e

Paumlncaraumltra

and

mentioned

in the

list

stand

directly

to the


and

t h e

_ _

bdquo_

_ ι

ι



a fter

th e other


of

Va- f laquo 7 7-W


Samkarsana

and

Makara

he

banner

of

Pradyum-

Ag

middotη

casg

of

comer

t l e s gt

t h i s

li


banner

of

Samkars ana

(the

of


from

th e


As to the

attributes

of the

vyuumlhas

the

plough


and the pestle the

attributes

of

Samkarsana

are on In this

waygt

we

haye

in the

east

four Vedasgt

placed


left of


to

the right)

row

the

attributes

of Pradyumna ar e

placed

d i 983085


rectlyto

his left

The attributes

of



side

and

Vaisnavi



whose

face

of the

attributes

of

Vaumlsud eva

is

unexpected

At

according

to

VDh 643


his

l e ft are his

jewel


dis- mantra (=

Gayatri)

and


cus and the

mace

which

are

situated

to the south

sent the

Vedas

Aparaumljitauml

is

described

in

the VDh

the

side

of Samkarsana

as a diyine

mother

one

of the

wives

of the great



bdquo tion


northern

of the


l g

g

a

Hnk northgt whi


most

southem one

i s a link

with the south


the

Jn

south

wg irst ge three

ds

of


t h e

eastern staircase

a n d s o o n

c

^

middot

middot

on the

other

side

or

t he

staircase their

at-

tributesmdashDanda

(staff)

Kavaca (armor)

and


t h e

[gods

in


sect

f u l l wkh


bdquo bdquo

deg-


south

Yama

and

Ni rrti

at the west

Varuna

and Anila



Dhanesvara


the


Mahesvara

[Siva]


put

at the

Saumlnkhya

and Yoga then the

Pancaratra

and the

tusk s h r i n e s


[Venus]


east

Kuja

[Mars]


Vyaumlsa

the mythi cal

author

of the

eclipses ]

in the

outh

Sanaiscara

[Saturn]

and



Vaumllmiki

the

[moon]


Brhaspati


of

Vaumlsud eva [that

is at

the eastern

s t a i r c a s e ]


placed

two

doorkeepers

of


and Va- - ^

g


Jn Λ nor[h [amp

situated

th e Maumlrkanda


Samkarsana

-

_

Λ Τ ^

I X T middot middot


should be made

J a v a

and

N i i a y a


Pradyumna

Aumlmoda and


of

Aniruddha

The

placement

of

the gods

and the

door-

are

clearlY associated

with

Siva

bemg

hi s five


with

the


should

know

about

the

guardians

of the

quarters

of

t h e

world


iconographic


bhadra


follows

Ev-


temple


PANELS AROUND

THE

PLATFORM

r _

bdquo


south Sam-


the platform

are enumerated

Their


shrines

at their



70 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY

side the first

wife

to

their right

and the second

VDh 8717

the


should be

to their left

Their

attributes


east

Doing so

yields

the follow-

small temples on

every

side of the

platform


which

conform to he

prescrip-



different deities

sages

and deified

abstract





eral

this

placement scheme

conforms to the


for their

dedication



two

making


we assume

that

the au-

thor

of the VDh had

seen

and

admired

the

Deo-

garh temple

his


in-

TheDeogarh


Deogarh

reliefs

The use of


from

We may now

turn


obscure figures

on the

Deogarh

temple


thus

becomes more

legitimate

three

r e l i e f s are

still

intact The

panels

around the and more


Second we shall


several


ments

with

scenes

from

the

li feofKrsna

and

Raumlma those

of

Deogarh

which

to my

knowledge

has



r e l i e f s is


when

a art

is


r e l i e f

i s

amaged It

is irrelevant

speculate on their


the r i t u a l

which

of the

temples

is the prototype in

both

scheme of the

VDh

The

only

means at our

dis- cases

the

Varaumlha


invaluable infor-


iconographic

program of

mation

the

Deogarh


reliefs


LALAumlTABIMBA

o f t h e

r e l i e f s

o f t h e

Deogarh temple

etme

s t a t e

middot

i - r - r middot

o

ι ι

ι

Γ

r We

start


above

the

door983085


r


Lalatabimba )

which depicts


to

agree with


T

r


s i t t i n g

on t h e serpent

nanta with

Laksmi


beme

middot deg_ _ r r

r

_

r T

bdquo

deg

caressmer ms

foot

Two

manifestations

of

Visnumdash

dedicated to


Vis nu

The rehef T deg

T 7 _


middot middot

Narasimha


above

th e doorway

which depicts Visnu

sitting

bdquo

T _

deg



I he


Laksmi

and

his

two rr

deg _

r

-

middot


i

choice o f t h e

mamiestations

seems sigmncant

mamfestations N

arasimha and


bdquo _ deg

j bdquo

middot




Th e

northern

r e l i e f X T

bdquo

r


representing

Visnu aumls


r

τΓ r ι

τ 983085 ι

Ί

^

middot ι τ


i n v i s i 983085

King oi the


con983085

deg


forms

to the destructive

power


T

middot

r r

XT


two

manifestations

depict983085

In

th e

east


of


1 X T 983085

_


Vaumlsud eva



bdquo

mamiestations

are

facing

the

devotee


deg

_

bdquo

middot r i

middot

i r i T h e closest

parallel


Fmally

the

rehef

at the

sou thern side

oi the


x r T

rr


i s found in


pl e

with

Visnu

engaged

in

the act of creation

bdquo

r _ _

i A

scnbes

dnierent

Images

oi

Vaumlsud eva

lymg

on the erpent

Ananta

(Anantasayana) deg

must be

dedi cated

to Aniruddha the

creative

_

Or he


be represented

charmmg

middot middot

s e a t e d

on the

coils

of

Sesa

[=

Ananta] Surround ed

by

The

actual


hj s


di f fi c ult

to

ook

posite of the


of the

vyuumlhas at

w n

he s i t s


four hands

a r e

b ut

aumls



human

forms



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


On the

Deogarh

rehef

Cakra

and

Gadauml

m hu-

durua-gmss

and he

wears

the skm of a black

ante-

man

form

are

missmg Instead

Vaumlsud eva

holds

a lope

The

antelope

skm

is

missmg on the

rehef

conch


lower nght

hand


is


RELIEF

Lalatabimba

corresponds

to

his


temple

m the

radaksina

di -


made


northern

niche In

con-

short

hmbs

and a fat body

carrymg

a

staf f

and

tradistmction

to the other

two

niches

of the Deo-

engaged

in study

His

color

is the

green

of the

garh templ e

the


not

F IG

3 T h e

doorway

o f t h e

Deogarh t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


021



72 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY


shows


Visnu aumls a


the


on the Varaumlha

temple (fig 5)

which


Visnu


we

may

their

coiled bodies

Visnu


conch

The two


fold

t h e i r

hands


in his

upper

right band ready to

throw it

One ting

their



hich

is vis-

i b l e


offers

a lotus

flower


thaton

the

r e l i e f



Above the

head

of Visnu on a

separate

slab


d e i t i e s

do not

carry any

attributes

and

cannot

be

positively

den-

tified

In a

semi-circular

panel below the

capital

on


male

figure


either

side 16

Similar

scenes

are found on one


this

niche

The man and two

women

depicted




It i s

well

known however

that

wine



instance

VDh 8573

prescnbes



through

i ntoxica-

tion

It

is


assume

that



Samkarsana


F I G

4 T h e

Gajendramoksa

relief

o f t h e

Deogarh

t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


Coll


RELIEF



na the

preserving




l y


sage

Kapila


might

through the

vairaumlgya


Thus meditatmg

he

a n c i e n t

preacher of the

Saumlmkhya



r e l i e f


meditation

of Visnu i n the

form

of two

sages Nara


Pradyumna

side of

the temple

Shastri

has

already pointed

out

that

the de-

F I G

5 The


of

Nara

and


m

chapter




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


of Deogarh

1 8

The only

mmor dis crepancy

is that on the

back

and

tied

m

front 21A fold

of

his gar-

accordmg to he VDh

Nara


lu tters

elow On his

nght

his

wife

lies n

si t on a

chariot which


In the

center

of a

separate relief

on the

top This


descnbed in

four-faced Brahma

sits on a

lotus cushion

The the VDh

aumls

follows

way

in


i s

very

similar

to the

image

on the

Anantasayana

Vaumlyu

[wind]

has the

olorof


relief Only his

clothes

are

di fferent

On the

have

the

appearance

of the wind

Vaumlyu

made

visible



u p with

the

with

plam

borders and

mcised


should

be Placed

at

hi s left wantmg

t

i

middot


which seems

to

represent

the yoga-patta of a

yog-

v s

trade

ι 983085


ends

of


The

i n

that i s

a

b a n d

of

cloth

or


c

i raquo TM

same

apphes to

t h e


beauty The

m

yogic


Anantasayana

r e l i e f face

of [he

go d

shouH


h i s h a i r


s m e l l c o l or

and so

mises

the

reason

for

this Variation

may be the

on Of

everythmg he

touches

he has the

color

of

collyr983085


Brahma

plays m

ium


these

two

rehefs

On the

Anantasayan a

re lief

garment S i v a

i s the

motion Anila

[=


s t r u c t e d (5819830855)


antelope

skm may have been

intended

to emphasize

h i s

omniscient


The

fact that

Siva

is

depicted

to

Vaumlyus

nght

and

smce

he i s m the

process

of

creatmg

the world here-

not to

hls lef t as

prescribed

by the VDh

is msig-

a s the other

panel

hi s

wearing



mg aplace

of

austenty

namely

the asramaof

Nara

and

bdquo

_

bdquo

X T Ouml

20


other

couple holds an

Naumlraumlyana20

object

in ms nght hand

that

has not yet been

iden-

ti fied It seems

to be a conch

its openmg

turned

Brahma is

flanked by


to the

viewer

The

conch

of

Visnu

on the

have

not

been identified

To the

nght

of

Brah-


temple (fig

mauml i s a male

figure


same fashion

The


His con-


and

in

her

l e ft

an

upsid e-down

lotus

This

celestial

couple probably

represents

Varuna and

Gaun

who are

described in the

VDh

as follows


on the


He

wears

white

garments

and resembles a

glossy

l apis

laz uli

[m

color]


adorned

with


hi s

left


with

a makara on

i t

and a white

umbrella

over hi s

head His

wife Gaun


s i t s

on

hi s

left

l a p

In her left

hand


hand

i s

on the

back

of the god In the

nght hands

of



(52 1-5)


between



with

seven geese and

Varuna


relief o f t h e


arms

Both di screpancies

C o u r t e s y

Kern


Vogel

3025


nature

The chanots are




prescribed


associated

with

do not

appear

on the

eogarh


5213

also



le ft

pilaster of the


al l

major gods whereas

i n

Deogarh these gods

we find


two

elephants)


one attribute

Except


Possibly she

is

positi oned

on the

the

lef t

p i l a s t e r

of the Anantasayana

niche only


temple because

in this


practice


assigning

to

adeity two

arms insteadof our


(821)

The

right


several

times in the

pilaster


diffi-

VDh

a

deity

who

normally

has


to

identify

the figures It is

unlikely howev-

be

depicted with only

two arms

when appearing

er that

they represent

an amorous couple

aumls

near

Visnu

(eg 822

about


Vats22since

such ascene

wo u l d d e-



deity holds

hi s

most


pillar

no 2


take place


lower

l e f t hand

whereas on the


ing to the

realm

of ascetics t h i s

p i l l a r

may have

this


right

hand

We

observe

this

practice

i n the case

of

Varuna

aumls

well According

to the

VDh

he

should

hold his

most


he

THE

ANANTASAYANA

RELIEF

conch

in his


on the On t h i s

r e l ie f (flg

)

Visnu l ie s

at

ease

on the

r e l ie f

he carries

it

in his right

hand

coils of the


who

repre-

The presence of

Vaumlyu

and

Varuna

on this

re-


is

the moment

lief

is


is


west


function

that this

r e l ie f

is

edicated

to

him


which

is the western

side


r e l i e f


scheine

of the

temple

The

doorkeepers


( with

a lotus emerging

from

Pradyumna

are


and Vaumlyu the

navel )

in

chapter

81 of the

VDh


should

be lymg amidst

the w a te r s

His

head

i s

dazzlmg

because

o f t h e g r e a t

jewels adornmg

hi s

hoods

The god of gods

should

be


with

four arms

One

foot

of the god

should rest on the

l a p

of

Laksmi

the other

should

he

on the coils of

S e s a

One

hand

should be

s t r e t c h e d

out and

rest

on

hi s knee

the

second should

be

near


h is

head a n d t h e


t h e l o t u s

emerging

from the

pool

of

his

n a v e l and con-

tainmg the

whole


auml s

above

Madhu and

Kaitabha


be made

near


t h e r e

should be the



tion in two


the stalk of the

lotus does


rises

from behind



demons

and the weap-




The tWO figures

Standing near

the l otUS

Stalk

are

P h o t o

Prof essor

K

an

Kooij

not the

demons Madhu

and Kaitabha aumls



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably


head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-


demons


(fig

8) shows

that


right is


t i a ra


the personified

mace and her

neighbor



form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity


basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would


Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the



is


8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s


the

appearance


somehow


on

theheadsof


t

man

look very


i s


assume that



emblem

on

their


is


traditionally

assumed


the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka


Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word



aumls


Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of


must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e


r e l i e f

identified

the


of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on


These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-


right

by

Indra

on


F i r s t aumls


right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls


vajra which

is now

broken

off



better


lief

of the

Varaumlha


tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)


pecially

aumls


hands (presurnably

his

ower


F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he


D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman


relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh


K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9






corner


on one should put


the head of a horse


Varaumlha

[boar outheast]

arasimha [man-


with the

main shrine

and

iiongt


t h r e e s t e p s

then

moving

further


northwest]

(8724)


always pradaksina

or clock-

wise

from the east

Samkarsana

has the

face

of

Narasimha (see

Iconographic

Program


Now

listen

to the

s u c c e s s iv e

placement

of the

gods

in

Temple

above) which

explains

the

position

of

the

temple

o king The

image

of


the Narasimha

shrine

in the

southwest (cf also

t h e east or

t h e

west

and no


should 7827

Hari

in his

Samkarsana

form assumes

consider


der


Lord Samkarsana

should beplaced

w i t h

his

f a c e

to

th e R

Hayagriva) it

is

ai d

(804-5)

that

he

south

Then

on e

should


his

f a c e deg

_

J A middot

jji

vu


b e represented

with

rour 01

his eight


north

r 6

(87

17-20) hand s

on the heads of the

four

personified Ve-

das because

long


turned by

this

god from

Rasaumltala

where

they were

_ _

brought

by

two


PLACEMENT

OF THE

CONSORTS

middot

-

east thus

corresponds




porticoes


below)

On the

other



and

l e ft

in the

follow- Know

that the god

having

the head of a

horse is

ing

description

are

indi cated

from the

point

of a

part

of

Samkarsana

one



viewer

the Asvasirsa

shrine

at the

southeast



the junction

of

he


Varaumlha


Aniruddha

which


pu t Laksmi

to the

ight

f


we learn

from

the


To the left of the

southern

p o r t i c o 79U

Varaha is

identifled

with

Aniruddha

o n e

should p l a c e


4

983085

i

r r pound

bdquo

On e


to

stand

t h e


S i d 983085

r 983085


K irt i


left of the


to

i t s r i g h t

and


the

text

is

corrupt

P u s t i

to the

left

of the


(8721-23) and

the

order

of Asvasirsa and

Varaumlha

should

be



gods


in

e

Sarvatobhadra


u i r r - v u u r - - r r -

j

to the


the

VDh

the

rirst

wife

01

every

vyuha

Stands to

his



description i n

other parts

of the

VDh

For in983085


(7321)

The VDh


of the

who

is

identified with

Pradyumna

(5213) ama

grdle




position of

Nidrauml



i0 00 _


twenty983085four


732398308524

which


depicted with

bdquo

~983085

r^ j

τ

ό

983085

i _ r

i n

r panions

of

Visnu] Tarksya

[Garuda]

San kh a [conch]

her left band

on her

hip Samkarsana

on her


[discus] aumlngala

[plough] Mus-


left a la

[pestle]

f


Taumlla [fan

palm] Trisuumlla

[trident]

S auml r f i g a

[bow] Sara

[arrow]

Makara

[aq uatic



Carman [leather

s hie l d ] Paumlsa

[noose] 1 3

Pattisa


Musti [fist]

The corner

temples

of the

platform

are

dedi cat- Vajra

[club]


[chaplet]

ed to

four manifestations

of

Vis nu

(8725-28)





four


t h i s l i s t

seems

to

begin


Gaumlyatri

the four


Yama

Danda

iconographic

program (flg 2)

The


Yoga t h e

Paumlncaraumltra

and

mentioned

in the

list

stand

directly

to the


and

t h e

_ _

bdquo_

_ ι

ι



a fter

th e other


of

Va- f laquo 7 7-W


Samkarsana

and

Makara

he

banner

of

Pradyum-

Ag

middotη

casg

of

comer

t l e s gt

t h i s

li


banner

of

Samkars ana

(the

of


from

th e


As to the

attributes

of the

vyuumlhas

the

plough


and the pestle the

attributes

of

Samkarsana

are on In this

waygt

we

haye

in the

east

four Vedasgt

placed


left of


to

the right)

row

the

attributes

of Pradyumna ar e

placed

d i 983085


rectlyto

his left

The attributes

of



side

and

Vaisnavi



whose

face

of the

attributes

of

Vaumlsud eva

is

unexpected

At

according

to

VDh 643


his

l e ft are his

jewel


dis- mantra (=

Gayatri)

and


cus and the

mace

which

are

situated

to the south

sent the

Vedas

Aparaumljitauml

is

described

in

the VDh

the

side

of Samkarsana

as a diyine

mother

one

of the

wives

of the great



bdquo tion


northern

of the


l g

g

a

Hnk northgt whi


most

southem one

i s a link

with the south


the

Jn

south

wg irst ge three

ds

of


t h e

eastern staircase

a n d s o o n

c

^

middot

middot

on the

other

side

or

t he

staircase their

at-

tributesmdashDanda

(staff)

Kavaca (armor)

and


t h e

[gods

in


sect

f u l l wkh


bdquo bdquo

deg-


south

Yama

and

Ni rrti

at the west

Varuna

and Anila



Dhanesvara


the


Mahesvara

[Siva]


put

at the

Saumlnkhya

and Yoga then the

Pancaratra

and the

tusk s h r i n e s


[Venus]


east

Kuja

[Mars]


Vyaumlsa

the mythi cal

author

of the

eclipses ]

in the

outh

Sanaiscara

[Saturn]

and



Vaumllmiki

the

[moon]


Brhaspati


of

Vaumlsud eva [that

is at

the eastern

s t a i r c a s e ]


placed

two

doorkeepers

of


and Va- - ^

g


Jn Λ nor[h [amp

situated

th e Maumlrkanda


Samkarsana

-

_

Λ Τ ^

I X T middot middot


should be made

J a v a

and

N i i a y a


Pradyumna

Aumlmoda and


of

Aniruddha

The

placement

of

the gods

and the

door-

are

clearlY associated

with

Siva

bemg

hi s five


with

the


should

know

about

the

guardians

of the

quarters

of

t h e

world


iconographic


bhadra


follows

Ev-


temple


PANELS AROUND

THE

PLATFORM

r _

bdquo


south Sam-


the platform

are enumerated

Their


shrines

at their



70 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY

side the first

wife

to

their right

and the second

VDh 8717

the


should be

to their left

Their

attributes


east

Doing so

yields

the follow-

small temples on

every

side of the

platform


which

conform to he

prescrip-



different deities

sages

and deified

abstract





eral

this

placement scheme

conforms to the


for their

dedication



two

making


we assume

that

the au-

thor

of the VDh had

seen

and

admired

the

Deo-

garh temple

his


in-

TheDeogarh


Deogarh

reliefs

The use of


from

We may now

turn


obscure figures

on the

Deogarh

temple


thus

becomes more

legitimate

three

r e l i e f s are

still

intact The

panels

around the and more


Second we shall


several


ments

with

scenes

from

the

li feofKrsna

and

Raumlma those

of

Deogarh

which

to my

knowledge

has



r e l i e f s is


when

a art

is


r e l i e f

i s

amaged It

is irrelevant

speculate on their


the r i t u a l

which

of the

temples

is the prototype in

both

scheme of the

VDh

The

only

means at our

dis- cases

the

Varaumlha


invaluable infor-


iconographic

program of

mation

the

Deogarh


reliefs


LALAumlTABIMBA

o f t h e

r e l i e f s

o f t h e

Deogarh temple

etme

s t a t e

middot

i - r - r middot

o

ι ι

ι

Γ

r We

start


above

the

door983085


r


Lalatabimba )

which depicts


to

agree with


T

r


s i t t i n g

on t h e serpent

nanta with

Laksmi


beme

middot deg_ _ r r

r

_

r T

bdquo

deg

caressmer ms

foot

Two

manifestations

of

Visnumdash

dedicated to


Vis nu

The rehef T deg

T 7 _


middot middot

Narasimha


above

th e doorway

which depicts Visnu

sitting

bdquo

T _

deg



I he


Laksmi

and

his

two rr

deg _

r

-

middot


i

choice o f t h e

mamiestations

seems sigmncant

mamfestations N

arasimha and


bdquo _ deg

j bdquo

middot




Th e

northern

r e l i e f X T

bdquo

r


representing

Visnu aumls


r

τΓ r ι

τ 983085 ι

Ί

^

middot ι τ


i n v i s i 983085

King oi the


con983085

deg


forms

to the destructive

power


T

middot

r r

XT


two

manifestations

depict983085

In

th e

east


of


1 X T 983085

_


Vaumlsud eva



bdquo

mamiestations

are

facing

the

devotee


deg

_

bdquo

middot r i

middot

i r i T h e closest

parallel


Fmally

the

rehef

at the

sou thern side

oi the


x r T

rr


i s found in


pl e

with

Visnu

engaged

in

the act of creation

bdquo

r _ _

i A

scnbes

dnierent

Images

oi

Vaumlsud eva

lymg

on the erpent

Ananta

(Anantasayana) deg

must be

dedi cated

to Aniruddha the

creative

_

Or he


be represented

charmmg

middot middot

s e a t e d

on the

coils

of

Sesa

[=

Ananta] Surround ed

by

The

actual


hj s


di f fi c ult

to

ook

posite of the


of the

vyuumlhas at

w n

he s i t s


four hands

a r e

b ut

aumls



human

forms



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


On the

Deogarh

rehef

Cakra

and

Gadauml

m hu-

durua-gmss

and he

wears

the skm of a black

ante-

man

form

are

missmg Instead

Vaumlsud eva

holds

a lope

The

antelope

skm

is

missmg on the

rehef

conch


lower nght

hand


is


RELIEF

Lalatabimba

corresponds

to

his


temple

m the

radaksina

di -


made


northern

niche In

con-

short

hmbs

and a fat body

carrymg

a

staf f

and

tradistmction

to the other

two

niches

of the Deo-

engaged

in study

His

color

is the

green

of the

garh templ e

the


not

F IG

3 T h e

doorway

o f t h e

Deogarh t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


021



72 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY


shows


Visnu aumls a


the


on the Varaumlha

temple (fig 5)

which


Visnu


we

may

their

coiled bodies

Visnu


conch

The two


fold

t h e i r

hands


in his

upper

right band ready to

throw it

One ting

their



hich

is vis-

i b l e


offers

a lotus

flower


thaton

the

r e l i e f



Above the

head

of Visnu on a

separate

slab


d e i t i e s

do not

carry any

attributes

and

cannot

be

positively

den-

tified

In a

semi-circular

panel below the

capital

on


male

figure


either

side 16

Similar

scenes

are found on one


this

niche

The man and two

women

depicted




It i s

well

known however

that

wine



instance

VDh 8573

prescnbes



through

i ntoxica-

tion

It

is


assume

that



Samkarsana


F I G

4 T h e

Gajendramoksa

relief

o f t h e

Deogarh

t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


Coll


RELIEF



na the

preserving




l y


sage

Kapila


might

through the

vairaumlgya


Thus meditatmg

he

a n c i e n t

preacher of the

Saumlmkhya



r e l i e f


meditation

of Visnu i n the

form

of two

sages Nara


Pradyumna

side of

the temple

Shastri

has

already pointed

out

that

the de-

F I G

5 The


of

Nara

and


m

chapter




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


of Deogarh

1 8

The only

mmor dis crepancy

is that on the

back

and

tied

m

front 21A fold

of

his gar-

accordmg to he VDh

Nara


lu tters

elow On his

nght

his

wife

lies n

si t on a

chariot which


In the

center

of a

separate relief

on the

top This


descnbed in

four-faced Brahma

sits on a

lotus cushion

The the VDh

aumls

follows

way

in


i s

very

similar

to the

image

on the

Anantasayana

Vaumlyu

[wind]

has the

olorof


relief Only his

clothes

are

di fferent

On the

have

the

appearance

of the wind

Vaumlyu

made

visible



u p with

the

with

plam

borders and

mcised


should

be Placed

at

hi s left wantmg

t

i

middot


which seems

to

represent

the yoga-patta of a

yog-

v s

trade

ι 983085


ends

of


The

i n

that i s

a

b a n d

of

cloth

or


c

i raquo TM

same

apphes to

t h e


beauty The

m

yogic


Anantasayana

r e l i e f face

of [he

go d

shouH


h i s h a i r


s m e l l c o l or

and so

mises

the

reason

for

this Variation

may be the

on Of

everythmg he

touches

he has the

color

of

collyr983085


Brahma

plays m

ium


these

two

rehefs

On the

Anantasayan a

re lief

garment S i v a

i s the

motion Anila

[=


s t r u c t e d (5819830855)


antelope

skm may have been

intended

to emphasize

h i s

omniscient


The

fact that

Siva

is

depicted

to

Vaumlyus

nght

and

smce

he i s m the

process

of

creatmg

the world here-

not to

hls lef t as

prescribed

by the VDh

is msig-

a s the other

panel

hi s

wearing



mg aplace

of

austenty

namely

the asramaof

Nara

and

bdquo

_

bdquo

X T Ouml

20


other

couple holds an

Naumlraumlyana20

object

in ms nght hand

that

has not yet been

iden-

ti fied It seems

to be a conch

its openmg

turned

Brahma is

flanked by


to the

viewer

The

conch

of

Visnu

on the

have

not

been identified

To the

nght

of

Brah-


temple (fig

mauml i s a male

figure


same fashion

The


His con-


and

in

her

l e ft

an

upsid e-down

lotus

This

celestial

couple probably

represents

Varuna and

Gaun

who are

described in the

VDh

as follows


on the


He

wears

white

garments

and resembles a

glossy

l apis

laz uli

[m

color]


adorned

with


hi s

left


with

a makara on

i t

and a white

umbrella

over hi s

head His

wife Gaun


s i t s

on

hi s

left

l a p

In her left

hand


hand

i s

on the

back

of the god In the

nght hands

of



(52 1-5)


between



with

seven geese and

Varuna


relief o f t h e


arms

Both di screpancies

C o u r t e s y

Kern


Vogel

3025


nature

The chanots are




prescribed


associated

with

do not

appear

on the

eogarh


5213

also



le ft

pilaster of the


al l

major gods whereas

i n

Deogarh these gods

we find


two

elephants)


one attribute

Except


Possibly she

is

positi oned

on the

the

lef t

p i l a s t e r

of the Anantasayana

niche only


temple because

in this


practice


assigning

to

adeity two

arms insteadof our


(821)

The

right


several

times in the

pilaster


diffi-

VDh

a

deity

who

normally

has


to

identify

the figures It is

unlikely howev-

be

depicted with only

two arms

when appearing

er that

they represent

an amorous couple

aumls

near

Visnu

(eg 822

about


Vats22since

such ascene

wo u l d d e-



deity holds

hi s

most


pillar

no 2


take place


lower

l e f t hand

whereas on the


ing to the

realm

of ascetics t h i s

p i l l a r

may have

this


right

hand

We

observe

this

practice

i n the case

of

Varuna

aumls

well According

to the

VDh

he

should

hold his

most


he

THE

ANANTASAYANA

RELIEF

conch

in his


on the On t h i s

r e l ie f (flg

)

Visnu l ie s

at

ease

on the

r e l ie f

he carries

it

in his right

hand

coils of the


who

repre-

The presence of

Vaumlyu

and

Varuna

on this

re-


is

the moment

lief

is


is


west


function

that this

r e l ie f

is

edicated

to

him


which

is the western

side


r e l i e f


scheine

of the

temple

The

doorkeepers


( with

a lotus emerging

from

Pradyumna

are


and Vaumlyu the

navel )

in

chapter

81 of the

VDh


should

be lymg amidst

the w a te r s

His

head

i s

dazzlmg

because

o f t h e g r e a t

jewels adornmg

hi s

hoods

The god of gods

should

be


with

four arms

One

foot

of the god

should rest on the

l a p

of

Laksmi

the other

should

he

on the coils of

S e s a

One

hand

should be

s t r e t c h e d

out and

rest

on

hi s knee

the

second should

be

near


h is

head a n d t h e


t h e l o t u s

emerging

from the

pool

of

his

n a v e l and con-

tainmg the

whole


auml s

above

Madhu and

Kaitabha


be made

near


t h e r e

should be the



tion in two


the stalk of the

lotus does


rises

from behind



demons

and the weap-




The tWO figures

Standing near

the l otUS

Stalk

are

P h o t o

Prof essor

K

an

Kooij

not the

demons Madhu

and Kaitabha aumls



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably


head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-


demons


(fig

8) shows

that


right is


t i a ra


the personified

mace and her

neighbor



form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity


basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would


Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the



is


8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s


the

appearance


somehow


on

theheadsof


t

man

look very


i s


assume that



emblem

on

their


is


traditionally

assumed


the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka


Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word



aumls


Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of


must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e


r e l i e f

identified

the


of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on


These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-


right

by

Indra

on


F i r s t aumls


right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls


vajra which

is now

broken

off



better


lief

of the

Varaumlha


tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)


pecially

aumls


hands (presurnably

his

ower


F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he


D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman


relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh


K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9






four


t h i s l i s t

seems

to

begin


Gaumlyatri

the four


Yama

Danda

iconographic

program (flg 2)

The


Yoga t h e

Paumlncaraumltra

and

mentioned

in the

list

stand

directly

to the


and

t h e

_ _

bdquo_

_ ι

ι



a fter

th e other


of

Va- f laquo 7 7-W


Samkarsana

and

Makara

he

banner

of

Pradyum-

Ag

middotη

casg

of

comer

t l e s gt

t h i s

li


banner

of

Samkars ana

(the

of


from

th e


As to the

attributes

of the

vyuumlhas

the

plough


and the pestle the

attributes

of

Samkarsana

are on In this

waygt

we

haye

in the

east

four Vedasgt

placed


left of


to

the right)

row

the

attributes

of Pradyumna ar e

placed

d i 983085


rectlyto

his left

The attributes

of



side

and

Vaisnavi



whose

face

of the

attributes

of

Vaumlsud eva

is

unexpected

At

according

to

VDh 643


his

l e ft are his

jewel


dis- mantra (=

Gayatri)

and


cus and the

mace

which

are

situated

to the south

sent the

Vedas

Aparaumljitauml

is

described

in

the VDh

the

side

of Samkarsana

as a diyine

mother

one

of the

wives

of the great



bdquo tion


northern

of the


l g

g

a

Hnk northgt whi


most

southem one

i s a link

with the south


the

Jn

south

wg irst ge three

ds

of


t h e

eastern staircase

a n d s o o n

c

^

middot

middot

on the

other

side

or

t he

staircase their

at-

tributesmdashDanda

(staff)

Kavaca (armor)

and


t h e

[gods

in


sect

f u l l wkh


bdquo bdquo

deg-


south

Yama

and

Ni rrti

at the west

Varuna

and Anila



Dhanesvara


the


Mahesvara

[Siva]


put

at the

Saumlnkhya

and Yoga then the

Pancaratra

and the

tusk s h r i n e s


[Venus]


east

Kuja

[Mars]


Vyaumlsa

the mythi cal

author

of the

eclipses ]

in the

outh

Sanaiscara

[Saturn]

and



Vaumllmiki

the

[moon]


Brhaspati


of

Vaumlsud eva [that

is at

the eastern

s t a i r c a s e ]


placed

two

doorkeepers

of


and Va- - ^

g


Jn Λ nor[h [amp

situated

th e Maumlrkanda


Samkarsana

-

_

Λ Τ ^

I X T middot middot


should be made

J a v a

and

N i i a y a


Pradyumna

Aumlmoda and


of

Aniruddha

The

placement

of

the gods

and the

door-

are

clearlY associated

with

Siva

bemg

hi s five


with

the


should

know

about

the

guardians

of the

quarters

of

t h e

world


iconographic


bhadra


follows

Ev-


temple


PANELS AROUND

THE

PLATFORM

r _

bdquo


south Sam-


the platform

are enumerated

Their


shrines

at their



70 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY

side the first

wife

to

their right

and the second

VDh 8717

the


should be

to their left

Their

attributes


east

Doing so

yields

the follow-

small temples on

every

side of the

platform


which

conform to he

prescrip-



different deities

sages

and deified

abstract





eral

this

placement scheme

conforms to the


for their

dedication



two

making


we assume

that

the au-

thor

of the VDh had

seen

and

admired

the

Deo-

garh temple

his


in-

TheDeogarh


Deogarh

reliefs

The use of


from

We may now

turn


obscure figures

on the

Deogarh

temple


thus

becomes more

legitimate

three

r e l i e f s are

still

intact The

panels

around the and more


Second we shall


several


ments

with

scenes

from

the

li feofKrsna

and

Raumlma those

of

Deogarh

which

to my

knowledge

has



r e l i e f s is


when

a art

is


r e l i e f

i s

amaged It

is irrelevant

speculate on their


the r i t u a l

which

of the

temples

is the prototype in

both

scheme of the

VDh

The

only

means at our

dis- cases

the

Varaumlha


invaluable infor-


iconographic

program of

mation

the

Deogarh


reliefs


LALAumlTABIMBA

o f t h e

r e l i e f s

o f t h e

Deogarh temple

etme

s t a t e

middot

i - r - r middot

o

ι ι

ι

Γ

r We

start


above

the

door983085


r


Lalatabimba )

which depicts


to

agree with


T

r


s i t t i n g

on t h e serpent

nanta with

Laksmi


beme

middot deg_ _ r r

r

_

r T

bdquo

deg

caressmer ms

foot

Two

manifestations

of

Visnumdash

dedicated to


Vis nu

The rehef T deg

T 7 _


middot middot

Narasimha


above

th e doorway

which depicts Visnu

sitting

bdquo

T _

deg



I he


Laksmi

and

his

two rr

deg _

r

-

middot


i

choice o f t h e

mamiestations

seems sigmncant

mamfestations N

arasimha and


bdquo _ deg

j bdquo

middot




Th e

northern

r e l i e f X T

bdquo

r


representing

Visnu aumls


r

τΓ r ι

τ 983085 ι

Ί

^

middot ι τ


i n v i s i 983085

King oi the


con983085

deg


forms

to the destructive

power


T

middot

r r

XT


two

manifestations

depict983085

In

th e

east


of


1 X T 983085

_


Vaumlsud eva



bdquo

mamiestations

are

facing

the

devotee


deg

_

bdquo

middot r i

middot

i r i T h e closest

parallel


Fmally

the

rehef

at the

sou thern side

oi the


x r T

rr


i s found in


pl e

with

Visnu

engaged

in

the act of creation

bdquo

r _ _

i A

scnbes

dnierent

Images

oi

Vaumlsud eva

lymg

on the erpent

Ananta

(Anantasayana) deg

must be

dedi cated

to Aniruddha the

creative

_

Or he


be represented

charmmg

middot middot

s e a t e d

on the

coils

of

Sesa

[=

Ananta] Surround ed

by

The

actual


hj s


di f fi c ult

to

ook

posite of the


of the

vyuumlhas at

w n

he s i t s


four hands

a r e

b ut

aumls



human

forms



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


On the

Deogarh

rehef

Cakra

and

Gadauml

m hu-

durua-gmss

and he

wears

the skm of a black

ante-

man

form

are

missmg Instead

Vaumlsud eva

holds

a lope

The

antelope

skm

is

missmg on the

rehef

conch


lower nght

hand


is


RELIEF

Lalatabimba

corresponds

to

his


temple

m the

radaksina

di -


made


northern

niche In

con-

short

hmbs

and a fat body

carrymg

a

staf f

and

tradistmction

to the other

two

niches

of the Deo-

engaged

in study

His

color

is the

green

of the

garh templ e

the


not

F IG

3 T h e

doorway

o f t h e

Deogarh t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


021



72 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY


shows


Visnu aumls a


the


on the Varaumlha

temple (fig 5)

which


Visnu


we

may

their

coiled bodies

Visnu


conch

The two


fold

t h e i r

hands


in his

upper

right band ready to

throw it

One ting

their



hich

is vis-

i b l e


offers

a lotus

flower


thaton

the

r e l i e f



Above the

head

of Visnu on a

separate

slab


d e i t i e s

do not

carry any

attributes

and

cannot

be

positively

den-

tified

In a

semi-circular

panel below the

capital

on


male

figure


either

side 16

Similar

scenes

are found on one


this

niche

The man and two

women

depicted




It i s

well

known however

that

wine



instance

VDh 8573

prescnbes



through

i ntoxica-

tion

It

is


assume

that



Samkarsana


F I G

4 T h e

Gajendramoksa

relief

o f t h e

Deogarh

t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


Coll


RELIEF



na the

preserving




l y


sage

Kapila


might

through the

vairaumlgya


Thus meditatmg

he

a n c i e n t

preacher of the

Saumlmkhya



r e l i e f


meditation

of Visnu i n the

form

of two

sages Nara


Pradyumna

side of

the temple

Shastri

has

already pointed

out

that

the de-

F I G

5 The


of

Nara

and


m

chapter




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


of Deogarh

1 8

The only

mmor dis crepancy

is that on the

back

and

tied

m

front 21A fold

of

his gar-

accordmg to he VDh

Nara


lu tters

elow On his

nght

his

wife

lies n

si t on a

chariot which


In the

center

of a

separate relief

on the

top This


descnbed in

four-faced Brahma

sits on a

lotus cushion

The the VDh

aumls

follows

way

in


i s

very

similar

to the

image

on the

Anantasayana

Vaumlyu

[wind]

has the

olorof


relief Only his

clothes

are

di fferent

On the

have

the

appearance

of the wind

Vaumlyu

made

visible



u p with

the

with

plam

borders and

mcised


should

be Placed

at

hi s left wantmg

t

i

middot


which seems

to

represent

the yoga-patta of a

yog-

v s

trade

ι 983085


ends

of


The

i n

that i s

a

b a n d

of

cloth

or


c

i raquo TM

same

apphes to

t h e


beauty The

m

yogic


Anantasayana

r e l i e f face

of [he

go d

shouH


h i s h a i r


s m e l l c o l or

and so

mises

the

reason

for

this Variation

may be the

on Of

everythmg he

touches

he has the

color

of

collyr983085


Brahma

plays m

ium


these

two

rehefs

On the

Anantasayan a

re lief

garment S i v a

i s the

motion Anila

[=


s t r u c t e d (5819830855)


antelope

skm may have been

intended

to emphasize

h i s

omniscient


The

fact that

Siva

is

depicted

to

Vaumlyus

nght

and

smce

he i s m the

process

of

creatmg

the world here-

not to

hls lef t as

prescribed

by the VDh

is msig-

a s the other

panel

hi s

wearing



mg aplace

of

austenty

namely

the asramaof

Nara

and

bdquo

_

bdquo

X T Ouml

20


other

couple holds an

Naumlraumlyana20

object

in ms nght hand

that

has not yet been

iden-

ti fied It seems

to be a conch

its openmg

turned

Brahma is

flanked by


to the

viewer

The

conch

of

Visnu

on the

have

not

been identified

To the

nght

of

Brah-


temple (fig

mauml i s a male

figure


same fashion

The


His con-


and

in

her

l e ft

an

upsid e-down

lotus

This

celestial

couple probably

represents

Varuna and

Gaun

who are

described in the

VDh

as follows


on the


He

wears

white

garments

and resembles a

glossy

l apis

laz uli

[m

color]


adorned

with


hi s

left


with

a makara on

i t

and a white

umbrella

over hi s

head His

wife Gaun


s i t s

on

hi s

left

l a p

In her left

hand


hand

i s

on the

back

of the god In the

nght hands

of



(52 1-5)


between



with

seven geese and

Varuna


relief o f t h e


arms

Both di screpancies

C o u r t e s y

Kern


Vogel

3025


nature

The chanots are




prescribed


associated

with

do not

appear

on the

eogarh


5213

also



le ft

pilaster of the


al l

major gods whereas

i n

Deogarh these gods

we find


two

elephants)


one attribute

Except


Possibly she

is

positi oned

on the

the

lef t

p i l a s t e r

of the Anantasayana

niche only


temple because

in this


practice


assigning

to

adeity two

arms insteadof our


(821)

The

right


several

times in the

pilaster


diffi-

VDh

a

deity

who

normally

has


to

identify

the figures It is

unlikely howev-

be

depicted with only

two arms

when appearing

er that

they represent

an amorous couple

aumls

near

Visnu

(eg 822

about


Vats22since

such ascene

wo u l d d e-



deity holds

hi s

most


pillar

no 2


take place


lower

l e f t hand

whereas on the


ing to the

realm

of ascetics t h i s

p i l l a r

may have

this


right

hand

We

observe

this

practice

i n the case

of

Varuna

aumls

well According

to the

VDh

he

should

hold his

most


he

THE

ANANTASAYANA

RELIEF

conch

in his


on the On t h i s

r e l ie f (flg

)

Visnu l ie s

at

ease

on the

r e l ie f

he carries

it

in his right

hand

coils of the


who

repre-

The presence of

Vaumlyu

and

Varuna

on this

re-


is

the moment

lief

is


is


west


function

that this

r e l ie f

is

edicated

to

him


which

is the western

side


r e l i e f


scheine

of the

temple

The

doorkeepers


( with

a lotus emerging

from

Pradyumna

are


and Vaumlyu the

navel )

in

chapter

81 of the

VDh


should

be lymg amidst

the w a te r s

His

head

i s

dazzlmg

because

o f t h e g r e a t

jewels adornmg

hi s

hoods

The god of gods

should

be


with

four arms

One

foot

of the god

should rest on the

l a p

of

Laksmi

the other

should

he

on the coils of

S e s a

One

hand

should be

s t r e t c h e d

out and

rest

on

hi s knee

the

second should

be

near


h is

head a n d t h e


t h e l o t u s

emerging

from the

pool

of

his

n a v e l and con-

tainmg the

whole


auml s

above

Madhu and

Kaitabha


be made

near


t h e r e

should be the



tion in two


the stalk of the

lotus does


rises

from behind



demons

and the weap-




The tWO figures

Standing near

the l otUS

Stalk

are

P h o t o

Prof essor

K

an

Kooij

not the

demons Madhu

and Kaitabha aumls



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably


head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-


demons


(fig

8) shows

that


right is


t i a ra


the personified

mace and her

neighbor



form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity


basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would


Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the



is


8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s


the

appearance


somehow


on

theheadsof


t

man

look very


i s


assume that



emblem

on

their


is


traditionally

assumed


the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka


Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word



aumls


Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of


must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e


r e l i e f

identified

the


of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on


These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-


right

by

Indra

on


F i r s t aumls


right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls


vajra which

is now

broken

off



better


lief

of the

Varaumlha


tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)


pecially

aumls


hands (presurnably

his

ower


F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he


D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman


relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh


K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9




70 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY

side the first

wife

to

their right

and the second

VDh 8717

the


should be

to their left

Their

attributes


east

Doing so

yields

the follow-

small temples on

every

side of the

platform


which

conform to he

prescrip-



different deities

sages

and deified

abstract





eral

this

placement scheme

conforms to the


for their

dedication



two

making


we assume

that

the au-

thor

of the VDh had

seen

and

admired

the

Deo-

garh temple

his


in-

TheDeogarh


Deogarh

reliefs

The use of


from

We may now

turn


obscure figures

on the

Deogarh

temple


thus

becomes more

legitimate

three

r e l i e f s are

still

intact The

panels

around the and more


Second we shall


several


ments

with

scenes

from

the

li feofKrsna

and

Raumlma those

of

Deogarh

which

to my

knowledge

has



r e l i e f s is


when

a art

is


r e l i e f

i s

amaged It

is irrelevant

speculate on their


the r i t u a l

which

of the

temples

is the prototype in

both

scheme of the

VDh

The

only

means at our

dis- cases

the

Varaumlha


invaluable infor-


iconographic

program of

mation

the

Deogarh


reliefs


LALAumlTABIMBA

o f t h e

r e l i e f s

o f t h e

Deogarh temple

etme

s t a t e

middot

i - r - r middot

o

ι ι

ι

Γ

r We

start


above

the

door983085


r


Lalatabimba )

which depicts


to

agree with


T

r


s i t t i n g

on t h e serpent

nanta with

Laksmi


beme

middot deg_ _ r r

r

_

r T

bdquo

deg

caressmer ms

foot

Two

manifestations

of

Visnumdash

dedicated to


Vis nu

The rehef T deg

T 7 _


middot middot

Narasimha


above

th e doorway

which depicts Visnu

sitting

bdquo

T _

deg



I he


Laksmi

and

his

two rr

deg _

r

-

middot


i

choice o f t h e

mamiestations

seems sigmncant

mamfestations N

arasimha and


bdquo _ deg

j bdquo

middot




Th e

northern

r e l i e f X T

bdquo

r


representing

Visnu aumls


r

τΓ r ι

τ 983085 ι

Ί

^

middot ι τ


i n v i s i 983085

King oi the


con983085

deg


forms

to the destructive

power


T

middot

r r

XT


two

manifestations

depict983085

In

th e

east


of


1 X T 983085

_


Vaumlsud eva



bdquo

mamiestations

are

facing

the

devotee


deg

_

bdquo

middot r i

middot

i r i T h e closest

parallel


Fmally

the

rehef

at the

sou thern side

oi the


x r T

rr


i s found in


pl e

with

Visnu

engaged

in

the act of creation

bdquo

r _ _

i A

scnbes

dnierent

Images

oi

Vaumlsud eva

lymg

on the erpent

Ananta

(Anantasayana) deg

must be

dedi cated

to Aniruddha the

creative

_

Or he


be represented

charmmg

middot middot

s e a t e d

on the

coils

of

Sesa

[=

Ananta] Surround ed

by

The

actual


hj s


di f fi c ult

to

ook

posite of the


of the

vyuumlhas at

w n

he s i t s


four hands

a r e

b ut

aumls



human

forms



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


On the

Deogarh

rehef

Cakra

and

Gadauml

m hu-

durua-gmss

and he

wears

the skm of a black

ante-

man

form

are

missmg Instead

Vaumlsud eva

holds

a lope

The

antelope

skm

is

missmg on the

rehef

conch


lower nght

hand


is


RELIEF

Lalatabimba

corresponds

to

his


temple

m the

radaksina

di -


made


northern

niche In

con-

short

hmbs

and a fat body

carrymg

a

staf f

and

tradistmction

to the other

two

niches

of the Deo-

engaged

in study

His

color

is the

green

of the

garh templ e

the


not

F IG

3 T h e

doorway

o f t h e

Deogarh t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


021



72 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY


shows


Visnu aumls a


the


on the Varaumlha

temple (fig 5)

which


Visnu


we

may

their

coiled bodies

Visnu


conch

The two


fold

t h e i r

hands


in his

upper

right band ready to

throw it

One ting

their



hich

is vis-

i b l e


offers

a lotus

flower


thaton

the

r e l i e f



Above the

head

of Visnu on a

separate

slab


d e i t i e s

do not

carry any

attributes

and

cannot

be

positively

den-

tified

In a

semi-circular

panel below the

capital

on


male

figure


either

side 16

Similar

scenes

are found on one


this

niche

The man and two

women

depicted




It i s

well

known however

that

wine



instance

VDh 8573

prescnbes



through

i ntoxica-

tion

It

is


assume

that



Samkarsana


F I G

4 T h e

Gajendramoksa

relief

o f t h e

Deogarh

t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


Coll


RELIEF



na the

preserving




l y


sage

Kapila


might

through the

vairaumlgya


Thus meditatmg

he

a n c i e n t

preacher of the

Saumlmkhya



r e l i e f


meditation

of Visnu i n the

form

of two

sages Nara


Pradyumna

side of

the temple

Shastri

has

already pointed

out

that

the de-

F I G

5 The


of

Nara

and


m

chapter




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


of Deogarh

1 8

The only

mmor dis crepancy

is that on the

back

and

tied

m

front 21A fold

of

his gar-

accordmg to he VDh

Nara


lu tters

elow On his

nght

his

wife

lies n

si t on a

chariot which


In the

center

of a

separate relief

on the

top This


descnbed in

four-faced Brahma

sits on a

lotus cushion

The the VDh

aumls

follows

way

in


i s

very

similar

to the

image

on the

Anantasayana

Vaumlyu

[wind]

has the

olorof


relief Only his

clothes

are

di fferent

On the

have

the

appearance

of the wind

Vaumlyu

made

visible



u p with

the

with

plam

borders and

mcised


should

be Placed

at

hi s left wantmg

t

i

middot


which seems

to

represent

the yoga-patta of a

yog-

v s

trade

ι 983085


ends

of


The

i n

that i s

a

b a n d

of

cloth

or


c

i raquo TM

same

apphes to

t h e


beauty The

m

yogic


Anantasayana

r e l i e f face

of [he

go d

shouH


h i s h a i r


s m e l l c o l or

and so

mises

the

reason

for

this Variation

may be the

on Of

everythmg he

touches

he has the

color

of

collyr983085


Brahma

plays m

ium


these

two

rehefs

On the

Anantasayan a

re lief

garment S i v a

i s the

motion Anila

[=


s t r u c t e d (5819830855)


antelope

skm may have been

intended

to emphasize

h i s

omniscient


The

fact that

Siva

is

depicted

to

Vaumlyus

nght

and

smce

he i s m the

process

of

creatmg

the world here-

not to

hls lef t as

prescribed

by the VDh

is msig-

a s the other

panel

hi s

wearing



mg aplace

of

austenty

namely

the asramaof

Nara

and

bdquo

_

bdquo

X T Ouml

20


other

couple holds an

Naumlraumlyana20

object

in ms nght hand

that

has not yet been

iden-

ti fied It seems

to be a conch

its openmg

turned

Brahma is

flanked by


to the

viewer

The

conch

of

Visnu

on the

have

not

been identified

To the

nght

of

Brah-


temple (fig

mauml i s a male

figure


same fashion

The


His con-


and

in

her

l e ft

an

upsid e-down

lotus

This

celestial

couple probably

represents

Varuna and

Gaun

who are

described in the

VDh

as follows


on the


He

wears

white

garments

and resembles a

glossy

l apis

laz uli

[m

color]


adorned

with


hi s

left


with

a makara on

i t

and a white

umbrella

over hi s

head His

wife Gaun


s i t s

on

hi s

left

l a p

In her left

hand


hand

i s

on the

back

of the god In the

nght hands

of



(52 1-5)


between



with

seven geese and

Varuna


relief o f t h e


arms

Both di screpancies

C o u r t e s y

Kern


Vogel

3025


nature

The chanots are




prescribed


associated

with

do not

appear

on the

eogarh


5213

also



le ft

pilaster of the


al l

major gods whereas

i n

Deogarh these gods

we find


two

elephants)


one attribute

Except


Possibly she

is

positi oned

on the

the

lef t

p i l a s t e r

of the Anantasayana

niche only


temple because

in this


practice


assigning

to

adeity two

arms insteadof our


(821)

The

right


several

times in the

pilaster


diffi-

VDh

a

deity

who

normally

has


to

identify

the figures It is

unlikely howev-

be

depicted with only

two arms

when appearing

er that

they represent

an amorous couple

aumls

near

Visnu

(eg 822

about


Vats22since

such ascene

wo u l d d e-



deity holds

hi s

most


pillar

no 2


take place


lower

l e f t hand

whereas on the


ing to the

realm

of ascetics t h i s

p i l l a r

may have

this


right

hand

We

observe

this

practice

i n the case

of

Varuna

aumls

well According

to the

VDh

he

should

hold his

most


he

THE

ANANTASAYANA

RELIEF

conch

in his


on the On t h i s

r e l ie f (flg

)

Visnu l ie s

at

ease

on the

r e l ie f

he carries

it

in his right

hand

coils of the


who

repre-

The presence of

Vaumlyu

and

Varuna

on this

re-


is

the moment

lief

is


is


west


function

that this

r e l ie f

is

edicated

to

him


which

is the western

side


r e l i e f


scheine

of the

temple

The

doorkeepers


( with

a lotus emerging

from

Pradyumna

are


and Vaumlyu the

navel )

in

chapter

81 of the

VDh


should

be lymg amidst

the w a te r s

His

head

i s

dazzlmg

because

o f t h e g r e a t

jewels adornmg

hi s

hoods

The god of gods

should

be


with

four arms

One

foot

of the god

should rest on the

l a p

of

Laksmi

the other

should

he

on the coils of

S e s a

One

hand

should be

s t r e t c h e d

out and

rest

on

hi s knee

the

second should

be

near


h is

head a n d t h e


t h e l o t u s

emerging

from the

pool

of

his

n a v e l and con-

tainmg the

whole


auml s

above

Madhu and

Kaitabha


be made

near


t h e r e

should be the



tion in two


the stalk of the

lotus does


rises

from behind



demons

and the weap-




The tWO figures

Standing near

the l otUS

Stalk

are

P h o t o

Prof essor

K

an

Kooij

not the

demons Madhu

and Kaitabha aumls



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably


head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-


demons


(fig

8) shows

that


right is


t i a ra


the personified

mace and her

neighbor



form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity


basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would


Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the



is


8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s


the

appearance


somehow


on

theheadsof


t

man

look very


i s


assume that



emblem

on

their


is


traditionally

assumed


the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka


Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word



aumls


Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of


must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e


r e l i e f

identified

the


of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on


These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-


right

by

Indra

on


F i r s t aumls


right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls


vajra which

is now

broken

off



better


lief

of the

Varaumlha


tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)


pecially

aumls


hands (presurnably

his

ower


F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he


D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman


relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh


K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


On the

Deogarh

rehef

Cakra

and

Gadauml

m hu-

durua-gmss

and he

wears

the skm of a black

ante-

man

form

are

missmg Instead

Vaumlsud eva

holds

a lope

The

antelope

skm

is

missmg on the

rehef

conch


lower nght

hand


is


RELIEF

Lalatabimba

corresponds

to

his


temple

m the

radaksina

di -


made


northern

niche In

con-

short

hmbs

and a fat body

carrymg

a

staf f

and

tradistmction

to the other

two

niches

of the Deo-

engaged

in study

His

color

is the

green

of the

garh templ e

the


not

F IG

3 T h e

doorway

o f t h e

Deogarh t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


021



72 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY


shows


Visnu aumls a


the


on the Varaumlha

temple (fig 5)

which


Visnu


we

may

their

coiled bodies

Visnu


conch

The two


fold

t h e i r

hands


in his

upper

right band ready to

throw it

One ting

their



hich

is vis-

i b l e


offers

a lotus

flower


thaton

the

r e l i e f



Above the

head

of Visnu on a

separate

slab


d e i t i e s

do not

carry any

attributes

and

cannot

be

positively

den-

tified

In a

semi-circular

panel below the

capital

on


male

figure


either

side 16

Similar

scenes

are found on one


this

niche

The man and two

women

depicted




It i s

well

known however

that

wine



instance

VDh 8573

prescnbes



through

i ntoxica-

tion

It

is


assume

that



Samkarsana


F I G

4 T h e

Gajendramoksa

relief

o f t h e

Deogarh

t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


Coll


RELIEF



na the

preserving




l y


sage

Kapila


might

through the

vairaumlgya


Thus meditatmg

he

a n c i e n t

preacher of the

Saumlmkhya



r e l i e f


meditation

of Visnu i n the

form

of two

sages Nara


Pradyumna

side of

the temple

Shastri

has

already pointed

out

that

the de-

F I G

5 The


of

Nara

and


m

chapter




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


of Deogarh

1 8

The only

mmor dis crepancy

is that on the

back

and

tied

m

front 21A fold

of

his gar-

accordmg to he VDh

Nara


lu tters

elow On his

nght

his

wife

lies n

si t on a

chariot which


In the

center

of a

separate relief

on the

top This


descnbed in

four-faced Brahma

sits on a

lotus cushion

The the VDh

aumls

follows

way

in


i s

very

similar

to the

image

on the

Anantasayana

Vaumlyu

[wind]

has the

olorof


relief Only his

clothes

are

di fferent

On the

have

the

appearance

of the wind

Vaumlyu

made

visible



u p with

the

with

plam

borders and

mcised


should

be Placed

at

hi s left wantmg

t

i

middot


which seems

to

represent

the yoga-patta of a

yog-

v s

trade

ι 983085


ends

of


The

i n

that i s

a

b a n d

of

cloth

or


c

i raquo TM

same

apphes to

t h e


beauty The

m

yogic


Anantasayana

r e l i e f face

of [he

go d

shouH


h i s h a i r


s m e l l c o l or

and so

mises

the

reason

for

this Variation

may be the

on Of

everythmg he

touches

he has the

color

of

collyr983085


Brahma

plays m

ium


these

two

rehefs

On the

Anantasayan a

re lief

garment S i v a

i s the

motion Anila

[=


s t r u c t e d (5819830855)


antelope

skm may have been

intended

to emphasize

h i s

omniscient


The

fact that

Siva

is

depicted

to

Vaumlyus

nght

and

smce

he i s m the

process

of

creatmg

the world here-

not to

hls lef t as

prescribed

by the VDh

is msig-

a s the other

panel

hi s

wearing



mg aplace

of

austenty

namely

the asramaof

Nara

and

bdquo

_

bdquo

X T Ouml

20


other

couple holds an

Naumlraumlyana20

object

in ms nght hand

that

has not yet been

iden-

ti fied It seems

to be a conch

its openmg

turned

Brahma is

flanked by


to the

viewer

The

conch

of

Visnu

on the

have

not

been identified

To the

nght

of

Brah-


temple (fig

mauml i s a male

figure


same fashion

The


His con-


and

in

her

l e ft

an

upsid e-down

lotus

This

celestial

couple probably

represents

Varuna and

Gaun

who are

described in the

VDh

as follows


on the


He

wears

white

garments

and resembles a

glossy

l apis

laz uli

[m

color]


adorned

with


hi s

left


with

a makara on

i t

and a white

umbrella

over hi s

head His

wife Gaun


s i t s

on

hi s

left

l a p

In her left

hand


hand

i s

on the

back

of the god In the

nght hands

of



(52 1-5)


between



with

seven geese and

Varuna


relief o f t h e


arms

Both di screpancies

C o u r t e s y

Kern


Vogel

3025


nature

The chanots are




prescribed


associated

with

do not

appear

on the

eogarh


5213

also



le ft

pilaster of the


al l

major gods whereas

i n

Deogarh these gods

we find


two

elephants)


one attribute

Except


Possibly she

is

positi oned

on the

the

lef t

p i l a s t e r

of the Anantasayana

niche only


temple because

in this


practice


assigning

to

adeity two

arms insteadof our


(821)

The

right


several

times in the

pilaster


diffi-

VDh

a

deity

who

normally

has


to

identify

the figures It is

unlikely howev-

be

depicted with only

two arms

when appearing

er that

they represent

an amorous couple

aumls

near

Visnu

(eg 822

about


Vats22since

such ascene

wo u l d d e-



deity holds

hi s

most


pillar

no 2


take place


lower

l e f t hand

whereas on the


ing to the

realm

of ascetics t h i s

p i l l a r

may have

this


right

hand

We

observe

this

practice

i n the case

of

Varuna

aumls

well According

to the

VDh

he

should

hold his

most


he

THE

ANANTASAYANA

RELIEF

conch

in his


on the On t h i s

r e l ie f (flg

)

Visnu l ie s

at

ease

on the

r e l ie f

he carries

it

in his right

hand

coils of the


who

repre-

The presence of

Vaumlyu

and

Varuna

on this

re-


is

the moment

lief

is


is


west


function

that this

r e l ie f

is

edicated

to

him


which

is the western

side


r e l i e f


scheine

of the

temple

The

doorkeepers


( with

a lotus emerging

from

Pradyumna

are


and Vaumlyu the

navel )

in

chapter

81 of the

VDh


should

be lymg amidst

the w a te r s

His

head

i s

dazzlmg

because

o f t h e g r e a t

jewels adornmg

hi s

hoods

The god of gods

should

be


with

four arms

One

foot

of the god

should rest on the

l a p

of

Laksmi

the other

should

he

on the coils of

S e s a

One

hand

should be

s t r e t c h e d

out and

rest

on

hi s knee

the

second should

be

near


h is

head a n d t h e


t h e l o t u s

emerging

from the

pool

of

his

n a v e l and con-

tainmg the

whole


auml s

above

Madhu and

Kaitabha


be made

near


t h e r e

should be the



tion in two


the stalk of the

lotus does


rises

from behind



demons

and the weap-




The tWO figures

Standing near

the l otUS

Stalk

are

P h o t o

Prof essor

K

an

Kooij

not the

demons Madhu

and Kaitabha aumls



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably


head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-


demons


(fig

8) shows

that


right is


t i a ra


the personified

mace and her

neighbor



form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity


basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would


Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the



is


8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s


the

appearance


somehow


on

theheadsof


t

man

look very


i s


assume that



emblem

on

their


is


traditionally

assumed


the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka


Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word



aumls


Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of


must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e


r e l i e f

identified

the


of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on


These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-


right

by

Indra

on


F i r s t aumls


right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls


vajra which

is now

broken

off



better


lief

of the

Varaumlha


tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)


pecially

aumls


hands (presurnably

his

ower


F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he


D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman


relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh


K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9




72 ALEXANDER

LUBOTSKY


shows


Visnu aumls a


the


on the Varaumlha

temple (fig 5)

which


Visnu


we

may

their

coiled bodies

Visnu


conch

The two


fold

t h e i r

hands


in his

upper

right band ready to

throw it

One ting

their



hich

is vis-

i b l e


offers

a lotus

flower


thaton

the

r e l i e f



Above the

head

of Visnu on a

separate

slab


d e i t i e s

do not

carry any

attributes

and

cannot

be

positively

den-

tified

In a

semi-circular

panel below the

capital

on


male

figure


either

side 16

Similar

scenes

are found on one


this

niche

The man and two

women

depicted




It i s

well

known however

that

wine



instance

VDh 8573

prescnbes



through

i ntoxica-

tion

It

is


assume

that



Samkarsana


F I G

4 T h e

Gajendramoksa

relief

o f t h e

Deogarh

t e m p l e

C o u r t e s y


Coll


RELIEF



na the

preserving




l y


sage

Kapila


might

through the

vairaumlgya


Thus meditatmg

he

a n c i e n t

preacher of the

Saumlmkhya



r e l i e f


meditation

of Visnu i n the

form

of two

sages Nara


Pradyumna

side of

the temple

Shastri

has

already pointed

out

that

the de-

F I G

5 The


of

Nara

and


m

chapter




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


of Deogarh

1 8

The only

mmor dis crepancy

is that on the

back

and

tied

m

front 21A fold

of

his gar-

accordmg to he VDh

Nara


lu tters

elow On his

nght

his

wife

lies n

si t on a

chariot which


In the

center

of a

separate relief

on the

top This


descnbed in

four-faced Brahma

sits on a

lotus cushion

The the VDh

aumls

follows

way

in


i s

very

similar

to the

image

on the

Anantasayana

Vaumlyu

[wind]

has the

olorof


relief Only his

clothes

are

di fferent

On the

have

the

appearance

of the wind

Vaumlyu

made

visible



u p with

the

with

plam

borders and

mcised


should

be Placed

at

hi s left wantmg

t

i

middot


which seems

to

represent

the yoga-patta of a

yog-

v s

trade

ι 983085


ends

of


The

i n

that i s

a

b a n d

of

cloth

or


c

i raquo TM

same

apphes to

t h e


beauty The

m

yogic


Anantasayana

r e l i e f face

of [he

go d

shouH


h i s h a i r


s m e l l c o l or

and so

mises

the

reason

for

this Variation

may be the

on Of

everythmg he

touches

he has the

color

of

collyr983085


Brahma

plays m

ium


these

two

rehefs

On the

Anantasayan a

re lief

garment S i v a

i s the

motion Anila

[=


s t r u c t e d (5819830855)


antelope

skm may have been

intended

to emphasize

h i s

omniscient


The

fact that

Siva

is

depicted

to

Vaumlyus

nght

and

smce

he i s m the

process

of

creatmg

the world here-

not to

hls lef t as

prescribed

by the VDh

is msig-

a s the other

panel

hi s

wearing



mg aplace

of

austenty

namely

the asramaof

Nara

and

bdquo

_

bdquo

X T Ouml

20


other

couple holds an

Naumlraumlyana20

object

in ms nght hand

that

has not yet been

iden-

ti fied It seems

to be a conch

its openmg

turned

Brahma is

flanked by


to the

viewer

The

conch

of

Visnu

on the

have

not

been identified

To the

nght

of

Brah-


temple (fig

mauml i s a male

figure


same fashion

The


His con-


and

in

her

l e ft

an

upsid e-down

lotus

This

celestial

couple probably

represents

Varuna and

Gaun

who are

described in the

VDh

as follows


on the


He

wears

white

garments

and resembles a

glossy

l apis

laz uli

[m

color]


adorned

with


hi s

left


with

a makara on

i t

and a white

umbrella

over hi s

head His

wife Gaun


s i t s

on

hi s

left

l a p

In her left

hand


hand

i s

on the

back

of the god In the

nght hands

of



(52 1-5)


between



with

seven geese and

Varuna


relief o f t h e


arms

Both di screpancies

C o u r t e s y

Kern


Vogel

3025


nature

The chanots are




prescribed


associated

with

do not

appear

on the

eogarh


5213

also



le ft

pilaster of the


al l

major gods whereas

i n

Deogarh these gods

we find


two

elephants)


one attribute

Except


Possibly she

is

positi oned

on the

the

lef t

p i l a s t e r

of the Anantasayana

niche only


temple because

in this


practice


assigning

to

adeity two

arms insteadof our


(821)

The

right


several

times in the

pilaster


diffi-

VDh

a

deity

who

normally

has


to

identify

the figures It is

unlikely howev-

be

depicted with only

two arms

when appearing

er that

they represent

an amorous couple

aumls

near

Visnu

(eg 822

about


Vats22since

such ascene

wo u l d d e-



deity holds

hi s

most


pillar

no 2


take place


lower

l e f t hand

whereas on the


ing to the

realm

of ascetics t h i s

p i l l a r

may have

this


right

hand

We

observe

this

practice

i n the case

of

Varuna

aumls

well According

to the

VDh

he

should

hold his

most


he

THE

ANANTASAYANA

RELIEF

conch

in his


on the On t h i s

r e l ie f (flg

)

Visnu l ie s

at

ease

on the

r e l ie f

he carries

it

in his right

hand

coils of the


who

repre-

The presence of

Vaumlyu

and

Varuna

on this

re-


is

the moment

lief

is


is


west


function

that this

r e l ie f

is

edicated

to

him


which

is the western

side


r e l i e f


scheine

of the

temple

The

doorkeepers


( with

a lotus emerging

from

Pradyumna

are


and Vaumlyu the

navel )

in

chapter

81 of the

VDh


should

be lymg amidst

the w a te r s

His

head

i s

dazzlmg

because

o f t h e g r e a t

jewels adornmg

hi s

hoods

The god of gods

should

be


with

four arms

One

foot

of the god

should rest on the

l a p

of

Laksmi

the other

should

he

on the coils of

S e s a

One

hand

should be

s t r e t c h e d

out and

rest

on

hi s knee

the

second should

be

near


h is

head a n d t h e


t h e l o t u s

emerging

from the

pool

of

his

n a v e l and con-

tainmg the

whole


auml s

above

Madhu and

Kaitabha


be made

near


t h e r e

should be the



tion in two


the stalk of the

lotus does


rises

from behind



demons

and the weap-




The tWO figures

Standing near

the l otUS

Stalk

are

P h o t o

Prof essor

K

an

Kooij

not the

demons Madhu

and Kaitabha aumls



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably


head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-


demons


(fig

8) shows

that


right is


t i a ra


the personified

mace and her

neighbor



form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity


basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would


Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the



is


8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s


the

appearance


somehow


on

theheadsof


t

man

look very


i s


assume that



emblem

on

their


is


traditionally

assumed


the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka


Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word



aumls


Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of


must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e


r e l i e f

identified

the


of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on


These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-


right

by

Indra

on


F i r s t aumls


right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls


vajra which

is now

broken

off



better


lief

of the

Varaumlha


tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)


pecially

aumls


hands (presurnably

his

ower


F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he


D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman


relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh


K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


of Deogarh

1 8

The only

mmor dis crepancy

is that on the

back

and

tied

m

front 21A fold

of

his gar-

accordmg to he VDh

Nara


lu tters

elow On his

nght

his

wife

lies n

si t on a

chariot which


In the

center

of a

separate relief

on the

top This


descnbed in

four-faced Brahma

sits on a

lotus cushion

The the VDh

aumls

follows

way

in


i s

very

similar

to the

image

on the

Anantasayana

Vaumlyu

[wind]

has the

olorof


relief Only his

clothes

are

di fferent

On the

have

the

appearance

of the wind

Vaumlyu

made

visible



u p with

the

with

plam

borders and

mcised


should

be Placed

at

hi s left wantmg

t

i

middot


which seems

to

represent

the yoga-patta of a

yog-

v s

trade

ι 983085


ends

of


The

i n

that i s

a

b a n d

of

cloth

or


c

i raquo TM

same

apphes to

t h e


beauty The

m

yogic


Anantasayana

r e l i e f face

of [he

go d

shouH


h i s h a i r


s m e l l c o l or

and so

mises

the

reason

for

this Variation

may be the

on Of

everythmg he

touches

he has the

color

of

collyr983085


Brahma

plays m

ium


these

two

rehefs

On the

Anantasayan a

re lief

garment S i v a

i s the

motion Anila

[=


s t r u c t e d (5819830855)


antelope

skm may have been

intended

to emphasize

h i s

omniscient


The

fact that

Siva

is

depicted

to

Vaumlyus

nght

and

smce

he i s m the

process

of

creatmg

the world here-

not to

hls lef t as

prescribed

by the VDh

is msig-

a s the other

panel

hi s

wearing



mg aplace

of

austenty

namely

the asramaof

Nara

and

bdquo

_

bdquo

X T Ouml

20


other

couple holds an

Naumlraumlyana20

object

in ms nght hand

that

has not yet been

iden-

ti fied It seems

to be a conch

its openmg

turned

Brahma is

flanked by


to the

viewer

The

conch

of

Visnu

on the

have

not

been identified

To the

nght

of

Brah-


temple (fig

mauml i s a male

figure


same fashion

The


His con-


and

in

her

l e ft

an

upsid e-down

lotus

This

celestial

couple probably

represents

Varuna and

Gaun

who are

described in the

VDh

as follows


on the


He

wears

white

garments

and resembles a

glossy

l apis

laz uli

[m

color]


adorned

with


hi s

left


with

a makara on

i t

and a white

umbrella

over hi s

head His

wife Gaun


s i t s

on

hi s

left

l a p

In her left

hand


hand

i s

on the

back

of the god In the

nght hands

of



(52 1-5)


between



with

seven geese and

Varuna


relief o f t h e


arms

Both di screpancies

C o u r t e s y

Kern


Vogel

3025


nature

The chanots are




prescribed


associated

with

do not

appear

on the

eogarh


5213

also



le ft

pilaster of the


al l

major gods whereas

i n

Deogarh these gods

we find


two

elephants)


one attribute

Except


Possibly she

is

positi oned

on the

the

lef t

p i l a s t e r

of the Anantasayana

niche only


temple because

in this


practice


assigning

to

adeity two

arms insteadof our


(821)

The

right


several

times in the

pilaster


diffi-

VDh

a

deity

who

normally

has


to

identify

the figures It is

unlikely howev-

be

depicted with only

two arms

when appearing

er that

they represent

an amorous couple

aumls

near

Visnu

(eg 822

about


Vats22since

such ascene

wo u l d d e-



deity holds

hi s

most


pillar

no 2


take place


lower

l e f t hand

whereas on the


ing to the

realm

of ascetics t h i s

p i l l a r

may have

this


right

hand

We

observe

this

practice

i n the case

of

Varuna

aumls

well According

to the

VDh

he

should

hold his

most


he

THE

ANANTASAYANA

RELIEF

conch

in his


on the On t h i s

r e l ie f (flg

)

Visnu l ie s

at

ease

on the

r e l ie f

he carries

it

in his right

hand

coils of the


who

repre-

The presence of

Vaumlyu

and

Varuna

on this

re-


is

the moment

lief

is


is


west


function

that this

r e l ie f

is

edicated

to

him


which

is the western

side


r e l i e f


scheine

of the

temple

The

doorkeepers


( with

a lotus emerging

from

Pradyumna

are


and Vaumlyu the

navel )

in

chapter

81 of the

VDh


should

be lymg amidst

the w a te r s

His

head

i s

dazzlmg

because

o f t h e g r e a t

jewels adornmg

hi s

hoods

The god of gods

should

be


with

four arms

One

foot

of the god

should rest on the

l a p

of

Laksmi

the other

should

he

on the coils of

S e s a

One

hand

should be

s t r e t c h e d

out and

rest

on

hi s knee

the

second should

be

near


h is

head a n d t h e


t h e l o t u s

emerging

from the

pool

of

his

n a v e l and con-

tainmg the

whole


auml s

above

Madhu and

Kaitabha


be made

near


t h e r e

should be the



tion in two


the stalk of the

lotus does


rises

from behind



demons

and the weap-




The tWO figures

Standing near

the l otUS

Stalk

are

P h o t o

Prof essor

K

an

Kooij

not the

demons Madhu

and Kaitabha aumls



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably


head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-


demons


(fig

8) shows

that


right is


t i a ra


the personified

mace and her

neighbor



form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity


basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would


Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the



is


8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s


the

appearance


somehow


on

theheadsof


t

man

look very


i s


assume that



emblem

on

their


is


traditionally

assumed


the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka


Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word



aumls


Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of


must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e


r e l i e f

identified

the


of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on


These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-


right

by

Indra

on


F i r s t aumls


right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls


vajra which

is now

broken

off



better


lief

of the

Varaumlha


tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)


pecially

aumls


hands (presurnably

his

ower


F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he


D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman


relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh


K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9





prescribed


associated

with

do not

appear

on the

eogarh


5213

also



le ft

pilaster of the


al l

major gods whereas

i n

Deogarh these gods

we find


two

elephants)


one attribute

Except


Possibly she

is

positi oned

on the

the

lef t

p i l a s t e r

of the Anantasayana

niche only


temple because

in this


practice


assigning

to

adeity two

arms insteadof our


(821)

The

right


several

times in the

pilaster


diffi-

VDh

a

deity

who

normally

has


to

identify

the figures It is

unlikely howev-

be

depicted with only

two arms

when appearing

er that

they represent

an amorous couple

aumls

near

Visnu

(eg 822

about


Vats22since

such ascene

wo u l d d e-



deity holds

hi s

most


pillar

no 2


take place


lower

l e f t hand

whereas on the


ing to the

realm

of ascetics t h i s

p i l l a r

may have

this


right

hand

We

observe

this

practice

i n the case

of

Varuna

aumls

well According

to the

VDh

he

should

hold his

most


he

THE

ANANTASAYANA

RELIEF

conch

in his


on the On t h i s

r e l ie f (flg

)

Visnu l ie s

at

ease

on the

r e l ie f

he carries

it

in his right

hand

coils of the


who

repre-

The presence of

Vaumlyu

and

Varuna

on this

re-


is

the moment

lief

is


is


west


function

that this

r e l ie f

is

edicated

to

him


which

is the western

side


r e l i e f


scheine

of the

temple

The

doorkeepers


( with

a lotus emerging

from

Pradyumna

are


and Vaumlyu the

navel )

in

chapter

81 of the

VDh


should

be lymg amidst

the w a te r s

His

head

i s

dazzlmg

because

o f t h e g r e a t

jewels adornmg

hi s

hoods

The god of gods

should

be


with

four arms

One

foot

of the god

should rest on the

l a p

of

Laksmi

the other

should

he

on the coils of

S e s a

One

hand

should be

s t r e t c h e d

out and

rest

on

hi s knee

the

second should

be

near


h is

head a n d t h e


t h e l o t u s

emerging

from the

pool

of

his

n a v e l and con-

tainmg the

whole


auml s

above

Madhu and

Kaitabha


be made

near


t h e r e

should be the



tion in two


the stalk of the

lotus does


rises

from behind



demons

and the weap-




The tWO figures

Standing near

the l otUS

Stalk

are

P h o t o

Prof essor

K

an

Kooij

not the

demons Madhu

and Kaitabha aumls



THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably


head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-


demons


(fig

8) shows

that


right is


t i a ra


the personified

mace and her

neighbor



form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity


basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would


Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the



is


8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s


the

appearance


somehow


on

theheadsof


t

man

look very


i s


assume that



emblem

on

their


is


traditionally

assumed


the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka


Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word



aumls


Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of


must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e


r e l i e f

identified

the


of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on


These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-


right

by

Indra

on


F i r s t aumls


right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls


vajra which

is now

broken

off



better


lief

of the

Varaumlha


tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)


pecially

aumls


hands (presurnably

his

ower


F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he


D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman


relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh


K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9




THE

ICONOGRAPHY

OF THE

VISNU


prescribed

b y the

VDh ut Garuda

and a wom-

literature

and

drama

of the

Gupta period Sec-

an

(probably


head

of he third

figure does

the six figures

below the

s erpent

are

four aumlyudha-

not

take

the

form

of a snail

spiral

aumls

Gail

as-


demons


(fig

8) shows

that


right is


t i a ra


the personified

mace and her

neighbor



form

of bis

t i a ra

and the pecu-

tity


basis

of

their

pecu-

liar

(leather)

band around

hi s

hips32

I

would


Carman

the

of the

cogged point

of a mace while

above

the



is


8527

which

practice

of

distinguishing

the

aumlyudhapurus as

in s t a t e s


the

appearance


somehow


on

theheadsof


t

man

look very


i s


assume that



emblem

on

their


is


traditionally

assumed


the

third

and

fourth figures

seem to be

Carman

Dhanus

[bow]

and

Nandaka


Nandaka

These two

figures occupy

the

en-

because of his

word



aumls


Anirud -

Recently Gail

has

su ggested that

the

headdress dha

to

whom

the

niche

is

dedicated

of the

third figure

has the

shape

of a

conch

and Let us now

take

a

closer look

at the group of


must be Sankha van

Kooij f i v e


r e l i e f

identified

the


of In the

center

is

Brahma

on a

lotus

flanked on


These

identifications

are

tempting but unfor-


right

by

Indra

on


F i r s t aumls


right band

Indra

serves29

the lotus

aumls


vajra which

is now

broken

off



better


lief

of the

Varaumlha


tional

view

that

the fourth figure

s

Nandaka

es-

(505)


pecially

aumls


hands (presurnably

his

ower


F I G 8 T h e

h a i r d o

of

Carman

Drawing after M S

Vats

T he


D e og a rh F I G 9

Nandaka Carman


relief

(Delhi 1952)

o f t h e

Deogarh


K

van

Kooij



76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9




76

ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY

by the VDh for a

(lower)



Whereas


ures

on the

panelmdash

Brahma

Siva and

Indramdashis

beyond


d e i t i e s

is


The figure to In-

dras




because of

his

vaumlhana

the


lenged


Debala Mitra)

that the

vaumlhana


peacock

bu t a

goose

and

that

consequently

this

FIG


th e


relief must

b e

Varuna33

The

bird indeed

lacks any

o f th e Deogarh

t e m p l e


an

Kooij

characteristic

of the


like

a

goose


prove

that

other l e ft


is Varu na

ecause

aumls

van Kooij himself

Saci) In conformity

with

the

general practice

of has

shown34 geese


always

the

Deogarh

temp le (see The

Naranaumlraumlyana

c l e a r l y


Relief above) ndra

has

only

two

arms

and

holds r e l i e f

the

attribute

of the god

cannot

be

deter-

the

attribute

in his


his right

hand

is broken

off

ut

To

my

knowledge

the

attribute

in

Sivas right

on the Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

hand


11)


long

sword)

and

Siva

is

depicted

aumls

if looking

at

it (fig 10)

It in his

right hand This

is a

decisive argument

seems probable

that


against

Varuna

aumls


552-3

we learn

that Siva


Kaumlrttikeya

has

hands

in his right

hands

one

should

put a rosary

four arms with

a

cock

and a

b e l l

in his right


a

blue


FIG 11

T he


o f t h e


C o u r t e s y

Kern

Institute


301004




TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9





TEMPLE

AT DEOGARH 77

the

gods lef t

band

most


since

the

figures

thatwere

identified

le ft

band

aumls

the most

appropriate place

for the by van

Kooij aumls


Kaumlrt-

banner

is the

upper

band tikeya and



The figure to

Paumlrvatis l e f t

(fig 10) has always

leads

the

army

of

gods


confused

scholars

who

either refrained

from any ably

belongs

to the

Rudras bu t

is

never men-

identification

or

called

him a

Marut

a Vid yaumldhara


is

often seen


elaboration

Only

van

Kooij

has

discussed

b is


should have

the

form

of

identity


Vasus

is ab-

to identify

him

aumls

Vaumlyu

sent from

the

relie f

Above the

Nar anaumlraumlyana


The

only

detail

which

may

give



c l o t h

in his

r i g h t

hand In e a r l y

ians



Kus aumlna



the

Anantasayana relief

are


Siva is nown

aumls

the

guardian

of the

northeast-

Several indicators

however

render


direction

and

Indra

aumls the

guardian

of the



Kaumlrttikeya

who is he son of

Siva also

be-

his right hand

is

hardly

a

piece

of his garment

longs

to the


the


east


which


r e l i e f

of the

Varaumlha eastern


temple


n my

opinion Vaumlyu

is As we

have seen above

the Anantasayana

r e l i e f

represented


(see The

is

irected

to the

north within

the

orientation

Naranaumlraumlyana

Relief above)

where


different

appearance aumls

the

Dikpaumlla

of the


I propose

to

identify this

god


he i s the

only

god on the

relief

who is


hands

with

accompanied


(mostly

dou b le)

reigns

and a

halo

The VDh on the

Naranaumlraumlyana


(672-4)


Suumlrya



The Sun

should

be

made

w i t h a


The


of the

niche

is

fur-


He





l e f t

is

Ganesa


our

hands and

another


p i l a s t e r

sits

be v e r y

l u s t r o u s


j

bdquo

a

male isrure ith

an


and wear a

g i r d l e

known

auml s

Yaviyanga

In his left and

σ

_

f

uu u

983085 r i

middot

1 983085 1 1 which is

w o r n a n d

cannot

b e



hold


have

r

t h e form of

garland


i t




help

dentify

hi m

aumls

Nandin an

attendant

of

Siva

who is de-



to

cover their


i s

mentioned


longarms

His

c o l o r

i s vermilion He

wears

a

t i g e r s k i n

(5748)


What is the

meaning

of

these

gods

aumls a

group

dent

and a


[a

h o r t javelin ]38

with

his

t h i r d


represent

the Heav-

hand

on

his head and

with

his


en of the

Thir ty-three

Gods

Varuna

be ing

threatening S^ture

He

should

be

represented

auml s

bdquo

r

f

watching people

commg

from

a

d i s t a n c e

present aumls

the

leader

of the


the


Vasus

and

Indra

and

Brahma aumls

the

foremost From

a

passage

in

chapter

86

which deals

with


gods


tion


v i c in ity

of Mahaumldeva

by

several

parallels

Unfortunately

it m u s t be

(Siva)

one

should place Skanda

and

Vinaumlyaka




(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9





(Ganesa) and in the

vi c i n i t y

of

Vaumlsud eva

one

teniple

He devoted a

whole

chapter to a

thor-

shouldplace

Sesaand Taumlrksya

(Garuda)

(86139)


program


incorporated

many



prescription

into the

System


accords

with


found


VDh

that describes

image-making


Conclusion

temple is

closely

connected with the

Paumlncaraumltra


is an

analogue

of the

The Sarvatobhadra

temple described


period

but this

third


unity


Visnu

is

the famous Gupta

temple

at

Deogarh

The au-

represented


build-



its

four

sides

being dedi cated

to the

four

by the beauty and

prestige





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9





Notes

11 Maxwell

Visvarupa 233ff

I am

indebted

to

Prof Karel

van

Kooij

and Dr

Ellen


Priyabala

Shah VDh

7324cd

Raven for commentmg

upon

an

earlier

v e r s i o n

of this reads

vaumlsudevas


paper

would also


the Kern Paumlda

d does not make

sense

The readmg of the

Institu te and

agam


p e r m i s -


t ath auml

and the

s i o n to

reproduc e

the

photographs


t h a t

the



i s

1

Alexander


descnbed

m

VDh

8572

aumls

standmg

between

Raumlma


left

hand on her

h i p

and a

Temple at

eogarh

m

R i t u a l State

and

History

in

l o t u s in

her


of Ekaumlnams auml

S o u t h A s i a


also

follows from VDh

A W van den

Hoek


(Stella

Kram-

(Leiden

Bnll 1992) 199-221

nsch



Indian

Paintmg and

Image-Making

nded

[Calcut-

2 See

Joanna


1928]

97) but the



must

be And so

a l s o


versity

Press 1982)


corruption

must

have

orig-




3 Lubotsky

Sarvatobhadra

Temple 201f

13 Note th a t

m the

e d i t i o n

by

Priyabala

Shah carma

4


quotations


word

l a t e d



manuscnpts

m VDh

ries

nos 130

137

(Baroda Oriental

I n s t i t u t e

8530

85 36 and


19581961) wntes

Yajnataumlra


Temple

15 Tnvikramaand


the same


of


the

myth about


Temple (Calcutta

Visnu in the

orm

of

dwarf ho

asked an Asura

C a l c u t t a


q u e s t

had

been granted

the dwarf

sudd enly

be-

7


Gupta


proportions

at


Asiatic


i n

three

s t e p s

5

12

(1963) 37-49

16


8 See

Lubotsky


10f

and


Survey of

n d i a

no 70

(Del-

n 15 hi 1952) 28

9

J N

Banerjea

The

Development

of

Hindu Iconogra-

17

Vats Gupta Temple

28

phy

2nd ed


of

Calcu tta


to

Pradyumna

and the

west

to

mr uddha

assummg to the

Gu pta-Temple

of

Deogarh Acta

Onen-

in g

t h a t



east

nght =

Nara


in

hhanda l

chap

south


t a t i o n


s

Flammg

where


Wlieel The

Iconography


(New

ed w i t h the

c r e a t i o n

of

Urvasi

York New York

Umversity Press

1973) 39 n 182

and 43 n

202

who

follows


Visvarupa

117



t a r t m g from

the east

east

outh 20

Maxwell

Visvarupa 117



10

See T S


Oxford Um-

versity

Press

1988)

17ff

22

Vats

Gupta

Temple

14




23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9





23

Vats

Qupta Temple 29

Orientale


senes


24 On the

Deogarh

relief Visnus

hand

holding the


Kooij

Gods and

Attendants

683 n


present (see

f l g

11)



i s generally


Vats

Gupta

Temple

15) but

note

t h a t on the 31

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XXVII 11

Anantasayana

relief

of the

Varaumlha

temple

(flg

11)

next


i s

a s m a l l

female

32 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

pl XX 9

f i g u r e


goddess of the

earth

so t h a t the

figure


Attendants

686ff Debala

Laksnii

i s probably her


of


i c Study

Journal

o f t he Asiatic

Society (Calcutta)

5

26 See

Vats

Gupta

Temple

15 n andSusan L

Hun-

34 (1963)

100

n 2


Jmn)

(New

York


Gods

and Attendants 687

27

Huntmgton

A n c i e n t

India 10

35 Van

Kooij Gods

and

Attendants 698f

28 A J

G a i l


anthropomorphen


436ff

Waffen Visnus in

Literatur

und

Kunst Gedenk-

schrift


(1981)

183

n 11 K R an

Kooij Gods

and At-

tendants in

the

Relief

of

Visnu Anantasayana

at 38 See G


Deogarh

in

South Asian

Archaeology

1983

ed J

Rehgions

(Leidenmiddot

Bnll 1976)

9


Documents

Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas