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18. Vishnu India, Tamil Nadu Chola 12th - 13th c. granite height 99 cm. |
Vishnu is an embodiment of the aspect of the Supreme Reality and is the lord of protection and maintenance. He represents stability and order and is recognizable by the symbols he carries, the discus, and the conch. The discus is a weapon, signifying his power to destroy evil; the conch shell is blown like a trumpet during many sacred rituals. It is regarded as making the purest sound, from which creation springs. In Vishnu’s hand the conch symbolizes purity and auspiciousness. Vishnu is reincarnated on earth from time to time to destroy the evil in the world. Ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu are described in Hindu mythology, revealing the help rendered by the god during various stages of human evolution. Portrayed in the royal posture of rajalatitasana on a rectangular throne, Vishnu makes the abhayamudra, the gesture of protection and the blessing of fearlessness, with his front right hand. His front left hand makes the vitarkamudra, the gesture symbolizing intellectual argument and discussion. In his raised hands are the discus and conch shell. On his head the god wears a tall karandamukuta and is adorned with flowers above his ears, earrings in his elongated lobes, necklaces, an udarabhanda girdle, a yagnopavita or sacred cord across his torso, bracelets, anklets, rings on his fingers and ornaments. Large ringlets of hair flow across his shoulders and his dhoti is finely divided into repeating folds. The Cholas were at the height of their power from the tenth to the thirteenth century. The dynasty ruled primarily in southern India and originated in the fertile valley of the Kaveri River. Karikala Chola was the most famous among the early Chola kings, while Rajaraja Chola, Rajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I were notable emperors of the medieval period. Under Rajaraja Chola I and his son Rajendra Chola, the dynasty became a military, economic and significant cultural power in Asia. Their territories stretched from the islands of the Maldives in the south as far north as the banks of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, annexed parts of Sri Lanka and occupied the islands of the Maldives. Rajendra Chola sent a victorious expedition to northern India that touched the River Ganges and defeated the Pala ruler of Pataliputra, Mahipala. He also successfully raided kingdoms of the Malay Archipelago. With the rise of the Pandyas and the Hoysalas, the dynasty came to an end in the late thirteenth century. Both Vishnu and the image of Laksmi on the following page were created as two individuals but also as a significant pair, as two important and popular Hindu gods, made to serve a south Indian temple. Vishnu is portrayed with a beautiful lively facial expression, powerful movement, and finely detailed features. The sculpture is a rare icon as most images of Vishnu are known in a standing attitude, and reveals the great skills of the Chola craftsmen in working the imposing volume of hard stone from which it has been so masterfully carved. Art Loss Register Certificate, Reference S00003681. P. Pal, Asian art at the Norton Simon Museum: art from the Indian Subcontinent, Norton Simon Museum, vol. I, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2003, p.264, pl. 189, India, Tamil Nadu, Vishnu, Chola, c. 1200, height 116,8 cm, F.1975.16.4.S. R. Russek, Hinduismus, Bilderkanon und Deutung, Battenberg Verlag, München, 1986, p.225, pl. 260. India, Vishnu, 13th century, Chola, height 165 cm. |