Sculpture is divinely inspired. How better to explain these two sculptures in the Arjuna ratha ( one of the five rathas in the Mahabalipuram cluster).

Look at how an elephant rider ( is it Indra the lord of the devas or it is Muruga) - but to just see the skill of artist to have been able to conceptualize this composition, an elephant rider in front profile and to execute it to such perfection, is incredible. Such is the wisdom the ancients that they could bring such finesse into their art.

The ladies standing next to them, simply blow you away. How else to describe, that classical lines, divine proportions, that slightly angled profile, bent waist, flexed knee, hand gently caressing her locks, the other one enchantingly resting on her waist, the youthful exuberance of her face and lastly the sensuous smile. Is this a figment of the sculptors imagination or did the divine apsaras themselves come down to earth to witness this spectacle and stopped to strike a pose for this sculptor.

( the last image is from varalaaru.com. Would request serious tamil enthusiasts to please visit their site. its an open university on sculpture)

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Category: Sculpture

Tags:  Five rathas, Indra, mallai, Murugan, Pallava

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