Srinivas, Many Heads, Arms and Eyes. Origin,

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DO

RIS METH

SRINIV

S N

M

AN

Y

HE

AD

S

A

RM

S

A

ND

Y

S

Origin Meaning

Form

of Mul t

iplicity

in Ind

i

n

rt

RILL



• F

Publication of this book has

been

aided

by

a grant from the Millard Meiss Publication Fund of the

College Art Association

CoY<:r illustration: Parel (Bombay-Mabarashtra} Siva Sadasivamurti, 6th century. Deccan trap

(Plaster of

Paris

copy}, Bombay, Prince of Wales Museum,

90.

Courtesy of the American lnstilllte

of Indian Stuclies.

This

book

is

printed

on

acid-free

paper

.

Lllwvy olCoav- C a ~ P a h U . - i o a

ata

Srini•Jasan

Dori

s

Many head<,

anm, and <) CS

: origin, meaning·,

and

fonn

of

multiplicity in

Indian art

I

by Doris Meth

Srinivasan

.

p. cm. - (Studies in A<ian an and IU Char.ology. JSSN 138().782X ;

Y,

20)

ln

c:ludcs bibliographical n:fem>ces and index.

ISBN 9004107S84 (cloth :

a1k.

paper)

I. Arts,

lndi

c-

Thcme<, motive

.

2.

Cods, Hindu, in an.

S.

Cods,

Hindu,

in

lit

.erature.

I.

Tide.

11.

Series

.

~ 3

77

vol. 20

[NX576.AI)

700

.9M-DCc21 97-

11187

CIP

Sriaiw. ..

D..U Meclu

Many bead.,

and

eyes : origin, meaning and fonn of mulri.plicity

in

IDdian

an I by Doru Mcth

Srinivasan.

- Lciden ; New

Yor

k ; KOln : Brill, 1997

(St

udios;, Aaian aot

and

archaoeolol)

;

Vol. 20)

ISBN

9G-04-107)8-4

Ocwcbc

JSSN 1380·782X

ISBN 90 04 I

0758

4

~ 199

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

IX

Abbreviations

X I

PART I:

Mtmi w Textual Studks

Se,crion A lntmdncrion

Chapt

er One:

Th

eory ... ............................................................................... ....... .... 3

Sr-ction B. Basic Prlinjrions in the SawhiW

Chapter Two: The

Rig

Ve

da

Defines the Multiplicity Convention .................. 24

Chapter

Three:

Th

e AthaiVa Veda Su'tains and Expand the Definiri

olliS

...... 33

Chapter

Four. So Does the Yajur Vcda ............... ............................................... 41

Chapter Five: Theo ry Con' t: Vedic Rudra-Siva .................................................. 47

Section C Transference of the

Punap

Ideal into rbr

n m a ~ ~ a

Chapter

Six:

From

Puru$ 1 to Praj pati ...... . .. ................. .. ... .. ..... ...... ............. 60

Chapter

Seven: Rudra and

Vimu arc

Linked to Puru.a-

Pra

j lpati ....... ............ 76

Section

D

Multiplicity in the Upanif d s

Cha

ter

F i t: The Fullness of Brahman .................................................•.......... 83

Chapter

Nine: Body

of God in

the veWva ara Upanisa<f .... ................. .......... 96

Chapter

Ten: Munis

and

the MallanaraY3 )a Upanisad ............................ ........ 2

Section

E.

Multiplicity

in

the Epics

and

Beyond

Chapter Eleven: The Bridge from Words to Forms: Mul tiplicity in the

Epics and Selected Devotional Texts ................................................................ 29

Chapt

er Twelve:

Th

e Language

of

Numbers ......................... .............................

62

PART l l:

Form

lcunogr@ ludUs

Socrion F The Prehistoric Period

Chapter

Thirteen: Does the Multiplicity Convention Begin in the Indus

Civilization? .. . .. .. . 9

Chapter

Fourtecn: Ritual

as

Icon ...... .. ....... ........... . .... . ............ ...... .. . ............ 1

85

octjoa G The Pre-Ku53 )a Period

Chapter F"tftecn: Maba Yakp:

Image of

an Apparition ..................... ................

197

Chapter Sixteen:

In Praise

of

He

roes (Vnl}i Vlras) ...........................................

211

Chapter

Seventeen: Religious Netw

orlcs

and

Incipient

Saiva

Forms ..................

221

Se.:rion H

The

K n ~ Q a

Period

Cha ter

F i

htcen: Multi lici and the Me er Towards Vai avism .............. 240

aiva Multiplicity:

Th

e Germ ination of God .............. ......... 260

M r

al

pro

1do

por d

10S

d

ll



CHAYfER FifTEEN

MAHA

Y AKl>A:

IMAGE OF AN APPARITION

The

cosmic form$ constinl c the

vairui Ja,

the manifold appearance

of

the deity. £acb

of

thcrn in its strict definition is an apparition, a yakrha

merely name and fo

iTrl

without real subsmnce.

V.S. Agrawala "VisvakaiTOa"

A

·n1cre

is

something

of

a

Y

a in the two earliest

vai/lraoo

sculptures showing cosmic

fonn.s of the deity. The first, a four-sided upright poruaying the u a i l r m ~ a catuTfl) iiha notion

depicts twO

of

the emanations, or, I )ID w in anthropomorphic forms (Pis. 15.1 2). T hey

arc t.all, pot-bellied males

and on

tha.t account they recall the earliest Malta

~

(

i.

e.

the colossal yak4a forms). These affinities influenced their initial identification. N .P. Joshi

idcnl ified the upright from Bhfta as a fourfold Y a image of c. the second century

B.C.' The

four-armed

vai,rrtaua

image from Malhar, Madhya Pradesh (PI. 14.

1),

reminds

of

a

~

for a different reason. It calls attention to a connection between Vrra and

Y ~ . With his sword suspended from the left hip all the way down nearly to the

a

nk

les

(PI. 15.3),

he conveys

m a l e n e s s ~ ,

especially

an

heroic male" (vf

ra

).

The Malhar

image

is big (c

.

5' 2 ) and

is

readily comparable with a Sunga over-life

size

torso having

a similar sword

also

on the left hip (PI.

16 10

11

).

This torso, which would have been

originally part of a large male figure, comes from the village of Biriivai (Skt. vrra); its

name

indicates that

at

one time that locality in Rajasthan paid

honor

to a hero-god.

Four miles from the Brravai image, in Noh, Rajastban, a statue still under worship as

'jakkba (Skt. Ya4a) B11b3 was discovered.' Again, it is a massive Swiga Y ~ a found

on

the bank of a tank

(PI.

15.4). On the basis

of

girth alone, which at the shoulden [mclu

sive of

both

arms) is seven feet across, the Noh Yak4a stands as a large (or mahii a ~

Maha could well be applied also 10 the Bir11vai

and

M

alhar

statues,

but pe

rhaps in

their cases, maha Vrra would

be

more suitable. Actually, the name

Maha vtra

was given

10 th

e foremost

of

~ a s . Possibly both the Brravai torso and the Malhar figure repre

sent a Vrra, a great

or

foremost Yak '3, the laucr figure incorporating these qualities

within some

so

rt of

vai$11ava

context. The special connection believed to

exist

in ancient

times between Vrras and Y

is

evident still in modem times. V.S. Agrawala observed

' N.P. joohi, "Some Unnoticed ~ i n h of Iconographic lnten:st",

East

aMI

at

(Rome), Vol. 22, N

os.

1- 2,

1972,

41

- 43.

' R.C. 8r•wal•, Y.q.

Tol'liO

fi"m Bharaq>ur Region", J.,ma/ o/ tlot Orinti41 111Jtillill, Vol. 17 , 1967,

64-65

.

' Cf. V.S.

Agrawala, lllrMrt /Niiolo Folk Odu,

Var.masi, 1970,

p.

186.

Mater

al

p

oteg1do

por d r chos d a to



198

that

on

his campus at Banaras Hindu University there are "to-day four Yaksha shrines

under t11e

name

of 'Brr'

[i.e.

VTr) receiving religious homage even now".' His many

ot11er fmthand acco

unu leave

little doubt

as

to t11e prevalence

of

Y worship in modem

times under the name of B

im

and Bamhm (i.e. Bmhmli} worship.• Names of some of

the Brr-Barnhm godlings show that epithets indicative of ~ u r u o r and "senior"

are

prefixed

to

Yalcl a nam

es, and it should have been the same in ancient times. n fuct, V.S. Agrawala

surmises that when the

Jain

Savior, Vardhamlina, became famous, he received the hon

orific "Mah lvfra" (i.e. senior VTra, that

is,

f o r e ~ n o s t Yak(l<l).

6

It seems equally

po

ssible

that the four-armed Malhl r figure commemorates a famous or senior Vtra. Combining

vaiP,IIWO attributes ith VTra and ~ features, the Malhar figure could be a va# taiiQ

Maha

Vim.

'The Noh

~

along \\ith several other early Yalqas, assumes a particular shape

which tells a lot about the nature of

Y ~

a matter of prime imponance

i

we are

ultimately to understand what their features may mean

when

incorporated into the car·

licst v a ~ O I I Q multiplicity imagery. The overall impression

of

the Noh

a k ~

is one

of

massiveness. Tllis impression is achieved by height (the visible height is c. 5'} and an

unrelenting series of

O'Pansive

forms.

The

entire Y

is

composed

of

rounded volumes.

11te head

is

large and round. Viewed from the back, the neck

is

as broad as t11e bead

(PI. 15.5). Tite shoulders and the remttining parts of th e arms and legs appear like in·

Aated tubes. Foremost of all the swollen forms

is

the middle, further accentuated

by rwo piece. of cloth. One is a looped sash which circles the upper part of the ~

belly; the other i.s a sash holding up the dhoti and emphasizing the lowermost part of the

convex hulk.

There is

no need to indicate all the details of this oR described Yak.,a

.

Suffice it to note that all such details are subordinated to the s

heer

vo.lumc of the image.

The Nob ~ is of course very similar to an even more well-known image, the Parkham

~ which has been aruibuted to c. the first ceotury B.C.

{PI. 15.6)

.'

Tills

is a

figure

over 8' in height coming from the village of Parkham, which

is

situated ne

ar

to Mathurll,

as

is

also Nob.

When

found, the figure received worship under the name ':Jakhaiya"

(ultimately derived from Skt.

"yalcl a"

).

1

The word ~

is

not mentioned in the in

scription around the feet

of

the image.

Th

e inscription does state that the image

of

the

Holy

One

was caused

to

be made by the members

of

the M

lnibhada

(i.e.

M ~ b h a d r t

co

ngregation.

On

that account, it

is

surmised that the image represents Yaqa Miil;libhadra,

whose connection with ''vfra" worship (In present Bengal) may have

bc:gtm

in antiquity.'

Two otJ1er Y ~ are associat.

ed

\\id1 Mfil;libbadra; one is from the region of

Kauiambr

and one is from Pawaya (ancient Padmiivau1. These figures confirm the impression con·

' Folk OdU, p.

1

85

.

' See V.$ .

Agrawala, Folk

Cldts, pp. 185-191;

C£ M. Clundra,

Some Aspec:ts of Vaqa

Cult in

AJ>c

lcm

India

,

l+iou

q

W.Ju &Jkho,

No. 3, 1954,

6Hi2

.

• FoiJ;

c

its

PP· 166; 1aa.

'

Sec

Gritli

v. Mitt<JWO Incr, "Yak$as of MothurA"

in

Maflrotrl: Th C.ltUTa/ Hmlllf.<, gen. cd

. D.M.

Sriniv:uan, New Delhi, 1989 ,

Jl >· 368 t

O.C. Sircar,

IKt l ~ t ~ t r i { l i < l r u

I,

p.

93.

1

Sec

V.S. Agntwala, F.lk Cldts, p. 167.

• See V.S. Agmwal•'s fmdings p"'oented in R.N. Misra,

Ya.tsita c.JJ

IWi l t ' 'f J'J/rJ, New

Delhi

1981,

p. 85.

llllatenal protog1do por d rccro > do



MAltA VAJ<V.: IMAOE OF AN APPARITION 199

veycd by the partial figure

of

the Noh Ya4a, namely that a huge body and swelling

forms, in particular

an

expanded middle, are the primary traits

of

early free-standing

Y a s . The entire torso

of

the Parkham Ya4a expands as a un.it. The surface is taut.

Volumes defining the neck, shoulders

and

chest sweU

and

lock into each

other

abruptly.

The neck is so wide that it articulates more as a passageway than a pan

of

a body. The

face whose features are now defaced, does not seem to have had a fierce expression.

The

belly

is

again set

off

by a looped sash

on

top

and

a right sash

on

the bottom. Conspicu

ous, it dominates the body's contours.

It

is easy to see why a

Y ~ l

with

t hi.s

feature

should be Jabeled a

kumbhodara

yalqa (i.e. a

y ~ l

whose beUy is like a water pot). Four

miles from Parkham comes a fragment ofa male, worshipped under the name of

:J

alcheya",

who surpasses in size the Parkham Ya4a. This is the upper pan of the Y ~ from

Baro<la in Mathurii District.'

0

When complete the image should have reached over twelve

feet in height. It shows the same fullness of forms as the Parkham and Noh Y ~ it has

the unusually br

oad

neck, inflated chest

and

shoulders

and

the looped sash marking the

upper

part of the large abdomen. Mention of these few early free-standing ~ will

suffice since the aint is neither to rcitermc surveys

of

the various types (which would need

to include the demonic fonm, the caryatids, seated as well as standing types, plus the

female counterparts), nor to present an historical sequence (which would need

to

concen

trate on stylistic considerations, in the main). inquiry into Mahii Y ~ s essential fea

tures

and

what they disclose about the nature

of

this Ya4a is the aim here. ·nte size of

the figures and the absence of the flywhisk indicate that these large Y are

not

aucnd

ant figures, but major cult images.

Ind

e

ed

on the

Y ~ a

from Dcoriya {about one

km.

from Bhita) attributes are present which bespeak of high status.

1

t The Dcoriya colossus

is adorned with a turban and a large protective umbrella, both insignia of the highest

cultic status. All these colossi (plus the Palwal

Y ~

the two Pama Y ~ the Haigunda

Yak$a, the Vidisa, Pratapgarh

and

Sopara Ya4as

to

mention the o ther impor tant free

standing colossi) express an astowtding sense

of

physical energy, in spite

of

the archaic

stilfucss

of

the limbs

and

their abrupt articulation. A sense

of

energy

is

due

lO

the pal

pab

le fullness that inform.s every bodily •cavity, especially the beUy. An essential feature

of

these

ear

ly free-standing Yak,as the locked-in sense of fullness, a characteristic which

continues even in later ages. An cxccUent example

of

a Kumbhodara Ya4a dating to the

si

.xth/scventh century A.D. comes from Nort11 India, probably Bih.ar (Pl 15.7).'' The

rotund, seated Y ~ 1 holds a knotted mace (gat/4), in both his hands which are placed

on

his knees.

He

spreads his legs far apart to

make

room for a

bcUy of

truly globular pro

portions. Its girth is circled by a thick sash whose ends are tied into a bow. Below the

V.S. Agrawola, «Pn:-Kushll(la

n

or Matlwr.l ,

J .U.

.H .

S. Vol.

6, 193

3,

see

95 and Fig. 9.

F

or

n:cmt

worb

providing a bibliography

on

these

matten

,

tee

N.P

.

Jwhi

,

Unnoticed

Find• , 42,

ap

.

fn.

2; v. Minen..-allner, 'Yak:ps .

A.

K.

Coomanuwamy, The Origin

or the

Buddha Image ,

Art

Holklin

Vol

. 9, 1927;

Hs 47

.

l t is

reproduced in ll<iimt

Arrhtli Jiogy

1973

74

A

1/aMrc,

Plate X:XXU; tbc

other

yaJqas

arc

fr<qucndy

published, - for ' plc tbc publication J11Cllliooed in rn. l0.

R.C. Agrnwoln , More Sculptures Tom

the

National MuJeum, New O.:lbi ,

&.rt

Wut (Rome

),

N.S.

Vol. 20, No. 3, 1970, 351ft

v1

n prot gtdo por d c ~ o a

JLJIOI



200 CllAPTER PIITEI N

navel it

is

possible

to

catch a gfunpse

of

the lower sash straining to get

arou

nd the

bottom

of the

be

ay.

Depictions of painted Kumbhodara

~ ~ a s and

the "male" vessels already described

reveal that th.e belly is not merely inspired by the shape

of

a

vessel.

t

is

meant to

represent a

vessel

kumhha, gluJ a etc.), or vice VCJlll. ln

the

aforementioned "male" vessels

from Sonkh PI. 14.9), Bhflll PI. 14. 10), Taxila PI. 14.

11

), Purana Qila (PI. 14.12) and

Mathurll (Pis. I4.I3 14), the vessel equates with the body which is effectively reduced

to the belly. Two painted Kumbhodara

~

also have bodies which assume t11e fea

tures of vessels.

The

Y have been found painted

on

rocks in the region of central

India. They arc oontcmporaneous with the "male" anthropomorphic pots and the major

ity of the stone colossi just reviewed. The first Kumbhodara Y ~ a comes from t11e

Bhonr.twali hill (Cave Jl A- 5) in the Bhinlbetka region

(Raisen

Dist., Madhya Pradesh).

Dr. Mathpal, who has studied Biumbetka rock paintings in detail, assigns the figure to

the Early Historic Period and states in his communication that it is some 2200 years

before the present. That means that a Mauryan dating has been given to the

figure

whose head

is

formed by a rectangle outlined with a double line (see PI. 15.8 which

represents a drawing

of

the figure

in

the Cave).

Th

e head rests directly on the mouth

of

the vessel, whose rim turns outward. The vessel is the 'body of the Y ~ At its widest

part, a ribbon cuts across, reminding of the

sash

that circles the upper part of the belly

on the sculptured and larger counterparts. In the painted versions,

tl1e

1ibbon extends

beyond the body in a manner indicative of outstretched arms. Two dissimilar

stallS

are

held

in

each

of me hands.

The ~ legs are splayed open

and

are rendered in a

series of short, unc01wected brush strokes.

The

Bhinlbetka Y ~ bas a benign expres

sion on

his

face,

and

is in a field witl1 auspicious symbols such as a bird, the svastika, the

railing, the moon

or

mountain symbol

and

a hollow cross. t therefore

is

likely that this

~

too is an auspicious representation. Nearly identical to this ~ is another

Kumbbodara ~ from Binaikli near Bharkhera (M.P.). K.D. Bajpai places the fJgure,

painted in red ochre, between

t11e

second century B.C.

and

the second century A.D.

PI.

15.9; sketch is on PI. 15.10).

16

This ~ (ht. 6"), has both a fiercer expression and hair

which grows upward

like

two pliant stalks. Again the head rests on the mouth

of

the

open vessel; it

is

almost as if the

vessel

is brimming with vegetation which is converted

into hair. Here too the girth of the

Y ~ s

body is punctuated with a ribbon. These

paintings which show the body/vessel marked with the ribbon are just a step away,

visually, from the

clotl1,

draped and kuoued, over the Pfll' la gha a ( filled container")

as depicted in t:.vly lndian art

PI. 15

. I 1). Such decorated vessels probably n:Rect the

appearance of ritual vessels in certain worshipful contexts. Al-George and R ~ u connect

" Penonal communication from Or. Yashodhar Matbpal, dated

April

4,

t989. Dating

of

this

''Yalqa"

f t g ~ t r e is

on the buis

.

of

auperimrJO<Iition•

of painted la>"" •• Bbimbctlta •nd dtc scientific analyses of the

c:omponenu

of

each

l&)'tr; personal c:omrnunication

from Or.

Mathpal dated June

6, 1989. I

am chankfulco

Or. Mathpal for his ~

a n a t i o n s

of

tl1e

work

ao Rbimbctlca

.

Sec also

Robcrt R.R. Rroolc.o and

Vi hn

u S.

Wakanlou,

SIJJR

Age Pamlifw in lndin, New Hava1

and

London, 1

97

·6,

p.

57

and p-

98.

11

Jnfonnarlon in a p c r O I I I ~

communication,

dated

July

16,

197

9. Prof. Bajp:u kindly

s

uppliod mr. ,.;,h

this photograph and

ske

tch.

M at roal pro

gKlo

por d cchos

o

Jior



MAHA A i q ~ A : IMAGE OF

AN APPARrriON

201

such images of the draped purrr

glraJa

10 riJUals wherein the vessels "en tant que support

du ctivin ou des reliques du mort'' are addressed." They also point out that the vessel's

sash is imbued with precise symbolism pertaining to both the cosmic and the theological

level . For example, the vessel in the Agnicayana, the uldJII, is presented with a girdle

ramii

) that represents, according to the Satapatha BriihmaQa passage accompanying the

gesture, the celestial regions (SB Vl.5.2.11), as

well

as the girdle of Adiri (SB Vl.5.2.13).

Since Aditi is

th

e embodiment

of

motherhood and generation in the

S31]1tilltlls,

11

the

girdle which highlights her loins must be equally charged with procreative energy or

gencrntivc powen. The

uJdJ

itself also correspond to cosmic,

celestial

and ritualistic entities.

The three parts of the

uidJII

(pl

us

the wholc),'

0

in SB

Vl.5.2.3-6, correspond to four

different sets of gods, parts of the universe and Vedic meters. The uidJII in the Apastamba

SrautasOtr.t (

c.

500 B.C.), receives not only a girdle, whicb seems to be an elevated strip

of clay, fashioned during

its

preparation, it

also

sho

uld

have two, four, six or ciglht breasts/

udders (i.e. elevations; swna-

XVI.5.2).

The Baudhayana SrautasOtra

(X.5;

T aittirfya

Recension) also specifies that an upper girdle and breasts/udders Jtana-) should. be carved

on the ukltli

to

be used in tJ1c Agnicayana.

21

In tJ1e Pravargya rite, tJ1e Mahlivfra

pot

is

also fitted with an upper girdle rlisn

li}

during the course of its preparation,zz and it is

given "elevations" uddhi-).

n

It is clear tbat the Ukha and the Mahavfrn vessels a.re out

fitted, mainly during the

pr

epararional stages, with a girdle and female decorations

having cosmic and procreative import." In addition, a conceptual connection may have

been. eventually forged between "the vessel" and "the place of birth". A word such as

yoni develops tJ1e

speciali7.ed

secondary me.aning of "womb-chamber", from the p1imary

meaning "place of issue, receptacle, abode or place" (especially on or before the ritual

a l t a r ~ Several Upani$lld ' usage ofyoni reflects the secondary meaning; yoni as "source"

in

tJ>

c Svet.Uvatara

U p a n i ~ a d

(1.9), implies "a pregnant cavity"; in the Brbadarat)yaka

(1.4

.1

1)

and MahanariiyaQa (vs.

535)

U p a n ~ d stipulates the Brnhman-Womb, birth

place

of

creation. The result

is

that a symbolic connection between "vessel" and "place

of

birth" can

be

made for the time

of

the

sOtr.lll.

The

po

ssi

bility

is

strong

that

ritual

vessels mentioned in the siltras were understood as life-symbols, having possible

cos

mic

" S. AI-George et A ROJu, "l'lln)a Gha a et Le S)'mbolisme du V:w: dans L' lnde

" ,

Lll ll

Tome

IV ,

1 957

, 243ft:; 251.

" In tloc

Rig

Veda, Aditi

is

allied

with

Vilk, Sacred Speech, another

female

crelltive principle. Aditi/Viik

i incorporaled into

OO<onOf O

nic tpeeulations

which posit

her as a cream . principle. Sec eopccially RV

10

.

72

.

31t

where she is called Uttil.napad (She whose legs .are

spread [m

parturition]).

•• On the addi ti

on

of " I" Jignifying "the whole" to

1h

e sum of the p:uu, sec Ch•ptcr 6,

1 1'-

71- 72.

10

C .G. Kashikar, " l'onuy

in

the Vedic Literature", lntlUlnJ1111n141 of/Ju History of imt<, Vol 4, 1969, 21.

' '

Knshikar

uP

ot

c

c:ry , Hr20

"' Ka.ltikur, "l'ouery",

J (H7

, using the llaudbi

ya

na $rautuutm (IX 1 ).

" .J

.A.B

. van

Duiten

cn,

Tlu

l rllfNlllla, Poona, 19f.S, p .

10

.

" lo

•bould

be

noted

tbat

except for

deoails

on the

preparation

of

tlt...

two

vessels,

we

h:.

ve

very

little

additional

infonnation in U\ C Vcdic texm on

the

preparotion or

Vedic

pottery; Kuhilw, " Pot·tery", 2•

1.

" See

L Renou,

p r i o o

premiere du mot sanskrit y6ni",

BSL

4 1:1, 1940, pp. 18, 20.

The

idea hat

• rea:p1ade ;., a womb-<:hamber promotes the

Mahlbhllr.u

a binh-story of ~ i Aga1tya

who

is born imide a

poL This """""' bim to

be

called Kumbhajannw.t, Kumbhayoni, Kumbhas311tbhava, Gha odbhava etc.; see

17oe

MaMM6raJJJ

trarul.

and

cd. by J .A.B. van

e n e n

Boob 2 and 3, ChiCAgo, p. 187. In the KaUfRW

Bmhrn:tlJll

(VI.I -9),

R

udra

is born from a golden bowl.

tJ.atertal p otegtdo por derechos de aL.tor



202 CHAPTF.R FIPTF.I?.N

implications. (l'he Mahavira, for example, represents

the

sun in the ritual whose inten

tion is to reinforce the power of the sun.)

26

The symbolism attributed to the ritual vcsseb

should

be

likewise attributed to the

fiiirpa

glrn/n

which is always encircled

by

a girdle in

the ar tY By extension, the correspondence between a fiilled vessel and a filled womb is

retained when the hypostatic

parrta

g raJa is fitted wtto the body of the Y as his

swollen belly. Like the craftmen when they fashioned a

Y a ~

swollen

be

lly , the ancient

ritualists did not shy away from ascribing female procreative attributes to the male. The

Mahavtra vessel makes this point implicit. H ere is a vessel called the large man or the

gTCat hero , therefore obviously a male' ' vessel, which :is adorned with elevations and

a girdle , symbols of fecundity taken from the female realm. The Pravargya is an iconic

ritual

and

it may

have, on that account, helped prepare for the acceptance

of an

i

co

nog

raphy which associates the male's pot-belly with the female's pregnant womb.

There arc numer•ous examples which demonstrate

that

the belly of a god, godling or

goddess, is id

eo

logically connected to the fliirrta

glra a

and represents the filled womb

chamber. Depicted on railing pillars and

on

temple doors

are

small

Y ~

from whose

bellies forms of life proceed. A lower fragme

nt

of a Bharbut r.tilpost now in

th

e Allahabad

Mu

seum de

pi

cts a small, seat

ed

YaJcsa

on either s

id

e.

On

one side vegetal forms, includ

ing a lotus still intact, stream from his distended navel (PI .

15.12). On

the

other

side

similar

foJTnS stream from his mouth (PI. 15.13). Be it navel or mouth, plant life

can

arise

from tl1e Ynk a because his body, mainly composed of his belly

=

vcssel

=

womb) is

fecund. For the same reason, squatting, full-bellied Yalqas on either side of a railing

pillar from Siiiichr Stiipa II unfurl from their navels flowers, buds and leaves over the

upper

portion of a pillar .. A sev

en

hundred ye

ar

interim has neither affected the basic

iconography

nor au

spiciousness of tlt

c

plant-bearing Yalqa found, in a la ter example, on

a doorframe from the temple at

Bhumara

(M.P.) of the fifth century A.D.

(PI.

15.14}.

With all these examples, as with the painted Kwnbhodara Y ~ the limbs

are

not as

important as the middle of the body which emphasizes the fruitful womb.

Y ~

on

th

e lowest arcltitrave of the so

uth torana

of

Sanchi

Stiipa I exhibits a splendid variation

(Pl. 15.15; sketch from A.K. Goomara swamy, Ya/rfas on

PI.

15.16). Walking on infantile

legs, the bloated belly of the

~

sprours plant forms both from the navel and r.he

moutlt. Two Bharrbut railing medallions, while also recognizing the symbolic inte.rchange

ahility of these two orifices, confirm that in all these cases the image is that of the par

turient Y ~ .

In

the first medallion the foliage issues from the navel (Pl. 15.1 7}; in the

second

it

comes from the mouth (Pl.

15.18). ln

both medallions the Y body

is

clodt

ed

and poised in a similar, and telling, manne r. Nude

but

for a

co

vering over the

genitals, the Yah,a sirs on the bottom of the medallion; his thighs and knees

are

stretched

wide open and his feet a.re tensed on the lower

rim

of

the

medallion.

Th

e posture is the

mmc as that of the Birth-Giving Goddess (PI.

15

.

19

),

co

nfirming that

tl1es

e

ar

c birth·

, . van

Bui

tenen, 7Ttt

~ ~ D r ~ I f U J >

p. 31.

A.K. Cooonaraswamy,

r..q.

Part D, Reprint, New Delhi, 197 1, pp. 61 - 64.

, . A.K. Coomararwamy, r.q.

Part

0 , Reprint, New Delhi, 1971, PI. 14,

No . I

M at

rral

pro grao por d cchos oc Jior



M H Y A K ~ IMAGE

OF

AN

APPAJUTION

203

giving Yalqas

who

bring forth vegetation.

The ea

rliest images

of

the Birth-Giving God

dess a.re minimally anthropomorphic, there being

no

head, no arms and

no

breasts.

29

TI1e emphasis is always on a recumbent female having tensely splayed legs

and

a middle

in the shape of a pot.

30

What is more, me pot

is

provided wim a girdle that

is

not unlike

the decorated band adorning the pur(Ul gha(4 seen in contemporary art

(cf.

me Amaravati

relief of a Pil.rQaghata, PI.

XVIll,

in Barrctt

31

and the recumbent figure from Kondapur,

No. 8 in

C.

Bolon,

Cauri).

This

is

n

ot

an

isolated case; there

are

many examples

of

a cloth around the shoulders of the pilrrra g/la/4 and around the girth

of

the body

of

the

pot-like Mother Goddess.

A curious set of sexual reversals musl be quickly registered. The Birth-Giving Goddess,

being without a swoll

en middle, shows no indication

of

pregnancy. She appears to be a

metaphor for creativity.

The

counterpart to the Yalqa, namely the

~

is almost never

portrayed

as

pregnant in the early

an.n

The Yalqa

is. Be

he represented as a colossus

or

a small ancillary godling, the male form expresses fullness; especially his belly symbol

izes the fruitful womb. There can be little

doubt

that the male Y re

pr

esents, on the

most general level, a being 6lled with an animating energy.

That

energy can

be

thought

of

as

a creative force

and

result in the depictions

of

the plant-sprouting

~

That

energy can be visualized as strength of body and mind

and

result

in

depictions

of

Viras.

In each case, the wellspring, conceptually and plastically, is the Large

~ the

colossus

whose entire body, but especially the middle, seems to be filled with animating energy.

Here is

a case where the Male

is

the Plenum and the Female is not. Why? Is it because

these Y a k ~ a s are sti

ll

under the influence of antiquity's important and impressive Male

Projenitor,

P u r u ~ a - P r a j a p a t i ?

B

In singling

out

the influence of

P u r u ~ - P r a j a p a t i

during a considerable p

arl

of

the first

millenium B.C., I am abandoning

an

approach lhat establisbcs importance

by

counting

the number of hymns to a god, or, the frequency

of

textual references to a god's wor

ship.

or

yet, another method lhat looks backward from the position of Hinduism

to

make

Carol Ra<k:liffe Bolon, Forms o/ U..

Godtlm

L< iio

Gaari

NIUm Art,

Universi1y

Park, 1992, p. 13.

10

Sec

Fill'·

1-17 in

Bolon,

L1j4 Ga.ui.

Douglas

B a m : t ~

SrollhJrts frOift

Amonwali iJ tl e

iJis4

MIIS- London,

1954.

.Bolon, 14je Caori, p. ~

'

t

is of

course

imJlO 'lhhe tO pn>vi<k

a

oompreberui\<e

list

of

'' 1' YalcJT in early Indian

art

A good

sampling

of

the genre is

KCD

in Coomaraswamy,

r. q.

and Misra,

Yakslul

Odl. Be they beauteous maidens,

seducti females, divine Mothers,

or

rcpresenlations

of

AbundJtooe,

tbe

Y qn

are

either

potent:ially mother>

or reali

•ed

mother>. But they are

not

shown being pregnant. At the ACSAA '94 Sympoo;ium where I

presented the paper 'The

Pregn.:utt

Male ,

Sara

I.. w t o and Stq>han Hylcr spoke of isolated examples

of pregnant fcnala , but did not mentioned data Amy Poster

knew

of a Maury.m tcrroootta pregnant

female. I have not yet xen their exampleo.

M On the bomologizing between Purup

an

d Ptajjpati which is assumed and sustained throughout the

b r t l h m ~ trndition, see Chapter 6; pp. 6 1- 62.

Documents

Srinivas, Many Heads, Arms and Eyes. Origin,