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7242019 Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalex-lubotsky-on-deogarh-and-vyuhas 116
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
7242019 Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalex-lubotsky-on-deogarh-and-vyuhas 216
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)
7242019 Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas
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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
7242019 Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalex-lubotsky-on-deogarh-and-vyuhas 416
68 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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)
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httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalex-lubotsky-on-deogarh-and-vyuhas 516
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
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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
Sarvatobhadra temple
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 71
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
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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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 73
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
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74 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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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)
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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
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68 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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)
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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
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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
Sarvatobhadra temple
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 71
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
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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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 73
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
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74 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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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
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68 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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)
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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
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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
Sarvatobhadra temple
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 71
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
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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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 73
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
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74 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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68 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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)
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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
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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
Sarvatobhadra temple
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 71
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
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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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 73
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
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74 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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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
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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
Sarvatobhadra temple
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 71
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
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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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 73
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
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74 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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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
Sarvatobhadra temple
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 71
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
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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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 73
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
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74 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 71
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
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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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 73
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
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74 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 73
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
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74 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 73
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
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74 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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74 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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THE
ICONOGRAPHY
OF THE
VISNU
TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 75
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
therefore reasonable to
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
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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
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78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
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80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
7242019 Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalex-lubotsky-on-deogarh-and-vyuhas 1416
78 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
(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
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THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
7242019 Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalex-lubotsky-on-deogarh-and-vyuhas 1616
80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
7242019 Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalex-lubotsky-on-deogarh-and-vyuhas 1516
THE ICONOGRAPHY OF THE VISNU TEMPLE AT DEOGARH 79
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
assum- mg 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
7242019 Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalex-lubotsky-on-deogarh-and-vyuhas 1616
80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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
7242019 Alex Lubotsky on Deogarh and Vyuhas
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullalex-lubotsky-on-deogarh-and-vyuhas 1616
80 ALEXANDER LUBOTSKY
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