Elephanta is Buddhist, see the elongated ear of Trimurthi. If it is Shiva, show me the snake!

With the tools that google, wiki and the world wide web place on our hands, its very easy to make up a convincing article, but we must take care to ensure that we try and present our posts with utmost care. You may ask, why this sudden concern, but off late there is an overpowering outflow of emotionally charged writing on the net, and poetic license is being twisted to promote half baked theories and a hidden agenda to increase viewership by featuring titillating content. Religion and Castes are thrown in for good measure, with scant regard for communal unity, for they are subjects that we need to handle with caution and the clarion call is to be more responsible in what we put up on the net including contributions to every growing efforts like Wiki.

Couple of years back, an interesting discussion on Iconography, was punctuated by a certain person, who put up this photo of the magnificent Trimurthi or Mahasadhasiva Shiva from Elephanta. He obviously read that there were Hindu and Buddhist caves in the same vicinity and added for good measure that the entire site was an earlier Buddhist cave usurped by Saivites. He went on to showcase the Serene face of the main ( centre) form and its elongated ears and then as a final encore, asked everyone – if its Shiva where are the snakes?

This was the image he put up. I presume he had taken it from this site

Temple net transposed photo

Now, early readers would get easily influenced by this, hence we took on the task of answering his questions.

First of all, there was something wrong with the image. It didn’t look correct. Do you notice the large mustache of the face on the left of the sculpture ( right as you see it) – thats Rudra Shiva , its not supposed to be that way. The image he had ( the site and many more such sites) seem to have put up is a transposed image. ie. the sculpture is rotated right to left. Below is the correct view

The question on snakes was very easy to answer and its clear that he has never been to the site.

See this post and its photos

India Temple Blogspot post

Do you notice what he is holding in his hand?

Pl navigate to the 12th image in the ASI website

ASI site

Mr. George Michell has brought out a book titled “ELEPHANTA” and is a wonderfully illustrated work. I am showing some low resolution images from his book – for there is one more snake which i wanted readers to observe

Now, that we have settled the snake issue, lets take up the elongated ears.

Without getting too much into Agama / Iconography texts, ( for the more seriously inclined – please read the ref from Elements of Hindu Iconography by Sri Gopinath Rao – attaching relevant pages), the canons for Iconography were common for Jain, Buddhist and Hindu sculptures.

For, eg, I am taking an illustration from his book, which gives the proportions as per silpa text cannons for an ear.

Lets, compare this against our Elephanta sculpture and see how it measures up against the standards. ( This is not a research work done to scale, but just to give you an idea)


Interesting exercise, but would this ` Ear Test’ give sustained results on a definitive Shiva sculpture. So why not test it, not against any sculpture, but a chola bronze, not any chola bronze, but a dated chola bronze – Who else but our Rishabantakar.

Need to get a good straight shot of his ear, here we go!

The ears

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How do they match up?

He went on to state that the sculptures in the Hindu caves are all converted from Buddhist ones. I wish he had at least went through the Wiki pages properly. These are monolithic sculptures carved out of base basalt rock. The below link gives you the detailed layout and the location of each of the icons.

Wiki layout of Elephanta

Main Hall

1. Ravana lifting Kailash
2. Shiva-Parvati on Kailash
3. Ardhanarishvara
4. Trimurti
5. Gangadhara
6. Wedding of Shiva
7. Shiva slaying Andhaka
8. Nataraja
9. Yogishvara
16. Linga

East Wing Shrine

10. Kartikeya
11. Matrikas
12. Ganesha
13. Dvarapala

West Wing Shrine

14. Yogishvara
15. Nataraja

Indeed a stunning location, sadly not a single inscription is there to ascertain its date. We are forced to assign a 8th C CE date and Gupta / Chalukya authorship for them.

The truth is out there !!

In search of a Ring

As an ornament and fashion accessory, Rings have always held their sway over mankind. It needed minimum work, shaping or piercing and was easy to put on take off, if you add the digits in the toe, you could wear 20 ( yeah it was worn on the thumbs as well) – and add to it the tag of love – engagement, wedding, wealth , power – you get the larger aura surrounding a ring. In the age of emails and digital signatures, the value of the Emperor’s crust or the Clan’s standard could be easily and safely carried on person with the Ring. No wonder,its tradition goes back almost 4800 years ( thanks wiki !!) but then that would mean trying to fix a date for India’s two greatest Epics. Pending the verdict, wouldn’t want to dwell more on it, but to mention that the ring plays a vital role in Ramayana, with Sita identifying Hanuman as a messenger of her Lord on seeing his ring on him and also in the reunion of Shakunthala with Dushyant, who forgets his marriage and his own son Barath, due to the sage’s curse, and then reminded by seeing his ring from inside the belly of fish ….we the great lineage of Barath trace our antecedents. More recently, the impact of the Lord of the Rings triology, showcased the power of the rings in middle earth!!!

Well, today we go in search of one such a ring, as we try and merge two different fields – Ornaments and Bronzes, as we figure the answer to a complex problem – of fixing reasonably accurate dates for bronzes. Many thanks to Mr Raman, for once again taking time to provide us with quality photographs, which also reinstate our request for viewers to try and take many photos of bronzes from Museums world over.

It all began with the 1000th year celebration of the Tanjore Big Temple, and the thoughtful exhibition that was organised to go with it. Mr Raman had documented the exhibition extensively and one of his albums had this exhibit of Chola period ornaments. One struck our eye, for its not often you get to see actual exhibits of period ornaments, and there is very sparse written details on them.

Being avid enthusiasts, we started talking about the ring that was being exhibited there.

He had also photographed quite a number of bronzes that were being exhibited with some detailed closeups of their hands and rings !! ( Most of the exhibits were from the Chennai Egmore Museum, but out there there are inside glass cases that are a nightmare for photography).

So, logical progression was to check the bronzes to see, if he could find a matching ring.

For that we needed a good closeup of the ring, first up.

What a fantastic ring !!

First up, is this CE 10th Century, bronze Parvathi, from Kodaikkadu, Vedaranyam Taluk, Nagappattinam district.

Just too stunning a bronze, but lets focus on the rings for now.

The rings are pretty plain ones, almost like thick wires with some amount of artistic work done on them

Next up, we shift another Century, This CE 11th Century Bronze Parvathi with an assistant is from Tiruvengimalai, Trichy

Lets go a bit closer and study if the ring style / fashion has changed in this 100 years.

The fashion industry has definitely caught up, we see a more pronounced set stone in the center, with flower bud/petal like patterns around it.

Another example from the same period, the splendid Ardhanari 11th C CE, from Tiruvengadu , Mayiladuthurai.

The Umai ( left) side, has her delicate hand as we zoom in for the ring

The style here might be slightly before the previous Parvathi. Maybe this was early part of the 11th C, you can see the ring becoming more flattened at the centre and more definition in its design – shaping up like a ring now.

We might need to study a few more samples in the 12th and 13th C, but we met our result in the next exhibit. This Paravathi from Devarkandanallur, Tiruvarur District.

The date of this bronze is a bit unclear, as while she was in the Chennai Museum she was given a 14th C CE date, while the Tanjore Exhibition gave her a 15th C Date. ( will study the Catalogue and do a post on why she is given such a late date shortly !)

But, on the topic of this post, we did find the ring on her.

The Characteristic styling is pretty evident.

So now comes the tricky question. What is the date for this ring?

Showcasing another Facet of our heritage, an interesting Coin Chat – part 1

Dear Friends, Today we are branching out a bit from stone sculpture into metal, again not metal sculpting but something smaller in size, but equally interesting. A field of study which offers fascinating insights into our history and culture on par with Inscriptions and Plates. Infact, they go much beyond the time frames of what i thought as the basics of Archeology. I was fortunate to have the chance acquaintance of a passionate antique collector Sri Raman Sankaran, who was willing to share his rich knowledge on this field with us. The thought occurred to me to make it like a Q& A session, with me the “novice” asking the expert some basic questions and we would feature them as a series of posts, end of which we could all claim to have gained valuable insights into this splendid field of Numismatics.

Me : Sir, Good morning and thanks again for taking time to educate us. I start with the standard line of questioning. When and how did you get interested in collecting coins, seals and rings.

RAMAN: I started my collection in my school days with coins of British India. I Still remember that I acquired a coin for Rs1 dated 1835. It was East India company’s half Anna coin. This was in the 1980’s

Me : Oh, ok. How did you find that coin.

Me: Sir, are you there?

RAMAN: Sorry ,power off

Me : Ok, Sir no problem.

RAMAN: I am in Chennai 🙁

Me: Hahaha. J . You were saying you started with the 1835 half anna coin. how did you get the coin?

RAMAN: I got it from a shop that dealt with old items. I showed it to all my friends, was feeling proud that I have 145 year old coin 🙂

Me : great, that leads us to next question. What are the sources of coins for a collector? Do you collect only South Indian coins or are you generic

RAMAN: sources for new collectors are basically buying from dealers. Every Dist Head there is a coins collector’s club.

Me : Wow, I guess there must be many fakes in circulation as well. So it is better to be acquainted with the Hobbyists and Professionals to understand the nuances. You mentioned about the Club, is there one in Chennai?

RAMAN: Tirunelveli, Nagerkovil, Thanjayur. Trichi, Salem Chennai…. u can find the coins clubs,in Chennai there are more than 25 dealers plus about 5 or more shops that sell only coins and currency (no stamps). In addition in Chennai there are more than 4 clubs functioning as well.

Me : Sir, do you focus only on south indian coins or you collect all antiques

RAMAN: For the past 25years i am collecting coins and I have Sangam age coins , Chola, Chera, Pandya, Pallava, Vijayanagar, Nayaks coins, and from 2004 i start collecting seals and rings.

Me: What are the earliest known Indian coins and which period are they dated to.

RAMAN: First known coin is silver punch marked coin. In that coin we can see 5 punch marks on one side and other side one or two punch marks. This coin is dated to 2 BC to 1 AD. In Tamil Nadu First coin known is Pandya punch marked coin. The terms used for coins front side is obverse and back side is reverse.. For Punch marked coins dating is not clear and i am not sure

Me: Ok sir. What are the various metals in which coins found in Tamil Nadu

RAMAN: Gold Silver copper Lead Potion* some times in Brass as well. *Potion metal is mixed metal of copper silver tin and few others metals….

Me: Oh, ok. Which is most commonly found and obviously gold must be rarest?

RAMAN:In Sagam age no gold coins have been found so far. The most acceptable reason is the Roman GOLD coins are used in that period. First gold coin known in Tamilnadu is Later Chola (Rajaraja) coin only

Me: Oh, great – would love to start the images with the Emperor’s Gold issue.

RAMAN: Have highlighted his legend ` Sri Rajarajah’ in devanagari script.

Me: We are indeed blessed to see such. What are the most common shapes of the coins and we see more square or rectangular coins – before we see round coins. when did the change happen

RAMAN: Most of the punch marked coins are Square shaped and most Sangam age coins are square shaped, but after roman influence we see round coins being issued. This is a 2nd C BCE Chera coin

The Obv, you see a Majestic Elephant facing a tree, behind it four fishes, and below the Elephant a horizontal Palm tree. The rev you have Chera ensign – The Bow and arrow , and also an ankusam ( weapon used to control elephants)

Me: Fantastic sir. Can we see a Sangam Period Pandya Coin

RAMAN: Sure. This is again a 1st C BCE Pandya coin


The Obv you see a magnificent male elephant and on the rev, a fish depicted as swimming towards the bank.

Me. Fish i can see, but not the detail of swimming to bank

RAMAN: Imagine like a wave, let me illustrate for you.

Me: Very clear now. You mentioned use of roman coins, was there a more direct influence of the crafting and coinage. what i am asking is, We are always enamored by the antiquity of our artifacts. How do Tamil coins of the sang am age compare to the roman coins. Do you feel that there was a definitive knowledge flow from Rome into South India and it influences our coinage.

RAMAN: Lets see round coins issued by Sangam Cholas and Cheras, first

Me: wow, sir do you have a photo of the coin so that i can share with readers – a Sangam age Chola coin

RAMAN: sure


Me: Excellent sir, What is the approx date for this coin and can you describe the features in more detail

RAMAN: This is dated to 1st C BCE. The Obv – you see an Elephant facing left, and a fenced tree. On top of the Elephant there is royal Parasol ( Umbrella). The Rev, you see the majestic Prancing Tiger of the Cholas with its splendidly crafted tail.

Me: and the round Sangam period Chera coin

RAMAN: Here it is.

RAMAN: Obv, you have a seated Lion, and next to it a Chakra on a Mast. Rev, you have the bow and arrow together.

Me: Lion, looks more like a Lemuir !!

RAMAN: Haha, one more reason ( non availability of the gold coins in sagam age) gold mine or furnace are not found in South Indian, lot of Roman gold coins all reported over South India. The Madras museum has a collection of over 5000 roman gold and copper coins. Roman coins dated form 1 BC are found in South India

Me: Wow, can you share one such early Roman Gold coin found in Tamil Nadu.

Me: Further, do you see a change in the style of tamil coins, due to the roman influence. like for eg, when do we get to see Tamil ruler’s bust like that of the Emperor, in Roman coinage.

RAMAN: yes. In Sangam age King name v got few coins with Makkothai, Pervaluthi., Kuttuvan kotai, Kollipurai and Kolirumpurai all in Brahmi script

Me: Wow, we will need to see them in more detail later. To start with – the 3 premier clans of Tamil land – Chera, Chola, Pandya – what are the earliest dates for their coins and what are their distinguishing factors. Apart from the Chera Bow and arrow, the Chola Tiger and the Pandya Fish – are there any other characteristic marks of these clans.

RAMAN: For trade purpose few North Indian coins and foreign (like Greaks)coins are found in Tamil Nadu. Another clans coins we find is those of the Malayamans . Malayman coins are found in Tirukkoilur area only

Me: Tirukoilur is near my native :-). Can you share some old Chera, Pandya and malayaman coins for our readers

RAMAN: most of the Sangam age coins found in the river bed of Madurai, Karur, Tirukkoilur and Tirunelveili areas Here you see a Malaiyaman coin

RAMAN: This is a 1st C BCE coin of Malayamans, found in Tirukkoilur. Obv, you see a horse facing a tree ( without fence), on top of the horse you see a weapon and a Taurine (sign depicting the head of a bull). The rev has their ensign of a river flowing, a vertical and an horizontal spear or lance.

Me: Fantastic sir. There are so many things to observe and know ( like the Taurine sign etc). As a beginner to numismatics, are there any basic guide books that you can suggest our readers or authors

RAMAN: First they have decide what type of coins they are like to collect

Me: Most of us are die hard Chola fans and we would love to touch any piece of history associated with that clan, are coins of Raja Raja Chola available for early collectors like us?

RAMAN: Yes, You all can start with Chola coins. They are (chola copper coins) available in large numbers. I can give you a Chola copper coin as a compliment to start the collection.

Me: haha

RAMAN: yes not a joke

Me: I will take that offer for sure Sir. Moving on most of us are guided by knowledgeable scholars who teach and inspire us once we have reached a certain level. Who are your guru’s in this field?

RAMAN: my first guru is Mr Seetharaman from Thanjavur and for Brahmi legend coins, seals and rings Sri. I.Mahadeven IAS(ret) Avargal.

Me: Wow, they are all legends.

RAMAN: and my fist advice first know about the coin which u planning to collect. I can suggest a book on Chola coins is written by Mr Seetharaman.

Me: who is the author and publisher sir, and where can we get copies

RAMAN: Mr Seetharaman, is the author of the book. I will pass you his address. He is not on email, but I can procure the copies for you. They cost about Rs 150 per book, will work out to Rs 175 per title including postage if inside India. The author’s contact number is +919894578440 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +919894578440      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +919894578440      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Dhanalaksmi Publishing,
12, Rajarajan Nagar,
manojipatti ( south)
Tanjavur – 613004

Me: Thank you sir, its been a real eye opening conversation for me and am sure to my readers as well. We are definitely keen to do another detailed session – maybe we will do one for each of the Moovendars and then Pallavas, the Chieftains, there is so much to learn, we are all very excited and fortunate to have a willing teacher like you.

Itsdiff radio and Poetryinstone present a Radio Talk show – 7.30 PM Pacific Time Wed Oct 13th 2010

Dear Friends,

Thanks to Sri of
Itsdiff Radio, we are coming out with an exclusive – one hour radio talk show. Dial in to voice your views.

Itsdiff.com

Wed Oct 13 2010
7.30 AM ( US Pacific time)
Special Program – Kallile Kalai Vannam Kandan
(review of preserving Sculptures, paintings, and beautiful works
of our great masters of art) with Vijay (poetry in stone)
…- Listeners call in – 650-723-9010

Looking forward to interacting with you all on Wednesday

UPDATE:The recordings of our Radio show has been uploaded. Thanks to itsdiff radio and Sri for their support. Please see link below to hear and we would love to hear your comments

Itsdiff.com

We have been featured in the Times of India. Our thanks to Sandhya Soman, Senior Reporter, for the time, interest and support for our efforts.

TOI Article online link

Times of India Sunday 10th Oct 2010 Poetry in Stone

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Yours
Vj

Recreating a lost treasure – Somaskanda Paintings of Kanchi Kailasanatha – Part 3

Its been an amazing journey taking our readers through the last couple of posts, as we are treated to ring side seats to this delightful recreation of a lost pallava painting, from the Kanchi Kailasantha temple of Sri Rajasimha Pallava ( 700 CE !!), moving with the artist stage by stage.

We had started of by blocking in most of what we could salvage from the surviving pieces and started working on filling the finer details. The main hero of this panel comes up now. Shiva.

Next Umai, takes form.

Working on the divine mother a bit more. We notice that she is wearing a thin yellowish blouse or has applied turmeric on her upper torso.

The coloring starts now, with very light skin tones.

Shiva gets his color including his famous Neelakanta !

Umai matches her beloved now.

Lets see how they both pair up.

Its coming up quite well. lets add more color and fill in the details of Shiva’s Keyuras ( arm bands)

The bottom ganas and stands get colored up.

and as we approach the final stages of the composition, time for a quick stock taking. Have we missed any detail.

We forgot to correct the hands of Brahma, to be in the anjali pose.

This is where we go back to the origins of this study on Somaskanda evolution – the 1971 article of Dr Gift Siromoney.

http://www.cmi.ac.in/gift/Archeaology/arch_somaskanda.htm

“Of Siva’s four arms, his lower right arm is extended horizontally to the side with his hand in the position of holding something, such as a flower, though no object is actually shown. With his upper right hand he holds a snake by its tail. His lower left hand is in the ardha-dhyana mudra. His upper left hand is near his shoulder as though holding a rosary or akshamala. Siva’s left leg is down.”

This is ofcourse his reference to the early pre Rajasimha Style somaskanda sculptures. But there is no reference to the snake in the Rajasimha style Somaskanda. But his pointer made us search for the snake in more detail.

Do we see something in the lower right hand?

Do you see the raised hood of a beautiful Cobra. We incorporate it into ours.

and without further delay, with many thanks to the artist Mrs. Subhashini Balasubramanian and our young photographer jagadeesh, we have our recreation of the 8th Century lost wonder.

We hope you all enjoyed this attempt ( any mistakes are purely unintentional and we are open to comments)