Tag Archives: Cambodia

Makara Thoranas an interesting link between Pallavas and Cambodia

I had loaned a book on Funan last week and found a very interesting sculpture. It reminded me of something we saw earlier in Dhalavanur. As i scrambled for the closeups and compared the two, i was stumped. Such a remarkable likeness is hard to achieve by pure chance. Oh, sorry forgot to put the pictures, so that you can all see the same – these are Makhara Thoranas ( The Crocodile Arches). Initially they just looked like some decorative motif, but then slowly a pattern emerged.


Many thanks to Mr. Andy Brouwer for readily giving me the permission to use his amazing snaps .

www.andybrouwer.co.uk/blog/

Do you see the amazing similarity between these two sculptures. lets see them a bit closer

So, it got me thinking of why and how – an imaginary creature adorning an early Pallava cave in late 630 AD could find such a twin parallel in far off Cambodia – Sambor Prei Kuk. Was this just a decorative motiff or is there more into this. When i searched the scriptures, a few references popped up here and there. But mostly were passing references to decorative stuff.

For eg, this 12th Tirumurai

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=12&Song_idField=1228&padhi=72&startLimit=1071&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

He had makara-toranas, beautiful bunches of areca-nuts
And severed banana-trees, peerless streamers
And garlands arranged in beauteous rows
And thus had the whole city with its long streets
Beautified with auspicious decorations;
It looked as though, the flawless, ethereal city itself
Had come down to the earth.
Translation: T.N. Ramachandran

Similar references come in the Ramayana as well. But what in essence is this creature, its sure an auspicious sign – denoting the higher heavens – so whenever a mighty city or godly dwelling was implied, the sculptor threw in the makara – the design elements have evolved into similar structures in most later Chola temples.

We miss these beauties in many later temples as well – Take a look at this decorative hand rail in Darasuram.

And this amazing Gyana Saraswathi from Rajendra’s Gangaikondacholapuram ( thanks to Mohandass for the photos) – the last dnap indicates the two wonderful makaras where the arch starts.


This pursuit led me to seek the guidance of hereditary architect and master sculptor Mr. K.P. Umapathy Stapathi. He was kind enough to explain the nuances of the makara thorana, its design elements combining 6 different species into one and integrating all of them into one confluence of fluid art, the variety of creepers at the base complementing the delightful curves of the front piece. He was kind enough to send us this illustrated photo to identify them.

It will be interesting to compile and study similar thoranas from various places.

The masterly art of the Pallava Sculptor

The core of this post is based on a interview that Satheesh conducted with Sri K.P.Umapathy Acharya – hereditary achitect and sculptor. I have supported it with pictures from Shriram,Gokul, graphic work by Ashok and closeups of the individual frames during my recent trip to mallai.

We would have passed this sculpture panel many times ( The earlier post)and each time a new awareness dawns on you. So too is this post

Lets first see the panel as a whole.


We have already seen a detailed post of this core theme,so will skip that part. Now, to add some highlights ( thanks to Ashok)


Can you now understand the crux of this post. – we are going to see how the Pallava sculpture has excelled in his portrayal of a multitude of hand and leg postures, am also trying to compare these with Angkorian ( cambodia – thanks to photos from Sri Gokul / sin – ardent cricket fan and best scorer in Singapore league) panel – to highlight why the Pallava sculptor is par excellence.

Inorder to better understand these, have taken individual exposures of the poses – so please take your time to see the indexed version and then proceed to see the individual items.

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Notice how each of the individual carvings are unique, ie not of the same size, yet every aspect of proportion is maintained for the individual sculpture. No two hands are the same, not only posture wise but also in dimensions.

At first glance we tend to miss out the significance of the last two photos.Well you might ask, why bring in the legs suddenly into the discussion. Let me throw in a few snaps of the Angkorian Apsara / dancers and see if you get a hint.

No, ok, now do you get it

See how the Pallava craftsmen has depicted the feet, especially of the person who is sculpted as facing into the wall. Simply mind blowing.

The depiction of the feet both facing to one side – would be akin to a beginner’s attempt at sketching someone in straight profile. You have difficulty in showing the depth in a one dimensional sketch. But a bas relief is almost a 3 dimensional medium ( well 2 1/2 – 3D would be a full sculpture like an idol or statue). But the Angorian style is more representative of a craftsmen moving from a uni dimensional sketch into sculpture, while the Pallava craftsmen centuries before had already mastered this.

Some more pictures to illustrate the intricacies of the panel for your viewing pleasure.

Vaali ambushed by Rama – Cambodia

We had earlier seen Rama aiming at Vali in the amazing miniature from Darasuram. To see the next part of the story we travel to Cambodia. We have seen many panels from the Banteay Srei complex. This is another excellent one.

We see the story progressing left to right ( right to left as you view it)

Watch carefully the pose of Rama – he has just discharged his arrow. The right hand is a definite give away ( look at the delightful detailing of the bow – even to the knot at the bottom)

Lets look at the two fighting brothers – that they are monkeys is obvious, but see the masterly depiction of their feet – monkey feet. The hands are depicted as humans though. See Vaali’s clenched fist ready to deliver a massive blow to Sugreev. The ferociousness of the battle has been superbly caught by the sculptor in the face of the two fighting brothers.

The next scene in the storyboard is also shown – Vaali is felled by the arrow, mortally wonded, he is shown grabbing the arrow. Who is holding him up – he seems to have fallen down and is held up protectively – is it his Tara. ( see the slight differentiation between the two facial features). A standing Sugreev is shown looking over at his slain brother.

Vali is shown with a questioning look – he seems shocked and very angry. To understand what transpired, we need to look back at the text of the Ramayana. The southern version ( tamil) says that Vaali was very angry with Rama for having shot him from an ambush position, which doesn’t quite befit a noble warrior. He has a heated argument with Rama and Lakshmana, questioning the disgraceful act. Rama then goes on to explain to him his need to uphold righteousness and how Vaali has turned against the right path and banished his own brother and usurped his wedded wife!

100th Post – A unique sculpture, an unique person – Dr. Jaybee

This is the 100th posting on this site. A century in a short span would not have been possible without the support of friends, philosophers and guides – but the seed for this effort was sown by a few guiding lights. One such guiding light, who continues to enthrall not only me, but anyone interested in varied subjects from trivia to research thesis – whose sheer propensity to generate articles of interest to a wide audience spanning pre sangam to contemporary living, makes you think if he is a walking encyclopedia – well, How do i introduce this truly multi faceted master of writing – or does he need an introduction at all : yes, its Dr.S. Jayabarathi whose writings (in Tamil and in English) on Tamil history and culture have earned him the respect and affection of enthusiasts world over. He has this amazing ability to judge individuals, an interesting thread or even a small post in some forum and he would call you – clearing your doubt or correcting an error, offering not the answer but show you the path – for the journey is half the pleasure of the goal ! he loves to inspire people to join on this search to understand what a great land we hail from.

( incase there is someone who don’t know him, this is for their benefit :
An introduction
)

I kind of wriggled this post from him, or technically hijacked from his site, but again since we have showcased most of the other sister sculptures of this group, i sought Dr . Jaybee’s kind permission to use his – and he graciously consented. Pray for his long life, so that he can inspire many more like me.


Dr. Jaybee’s site link


This frieze is a panel from the famous group of temples at Bantei Seri. Bantei Seri is 15 miles north-east of Ankor Wat in Cambodia. Bantei Seri is acclaimed as among the most beautiful pieces of sculpture in the world.

“The lacy setting is superbly executed and the balanced rhythm and harmony of the scene itself cannot be surpassed in any work of man” – Reginald le May.

The above piece shows a scene from Mahabharatha. Its the one of the last scenes in the Bharatha War. Duryodhana lay exhausted and wounded, alone after losing everything. The Pandavas wanted to finish the war decisively and came in search of Duryodhana.

Since Duryodhana was alone and the Pandavas were five, he is given the option of fighting with any one of them. Among the five, all the others, except Bhima, were no match for Duryodhana who possessed the strength of ten thousand elephants. Bhima was similarly strong.

Both of them were exponents of warfare with the Gatha aayudham. Though exhausted, Duryodhana had better training and skill in fighting. So a duel of gatha weapons took place. Gatha is a huge mace which is very heavy. It was used to crush opponents, break armour, wreck chariots and kill elephants.

The Pandavas, Krishna, and his elder brother Balarama were watching. Both Duryodhana and Bhima had learned the art of gatha warfare from Balarama. It was a dvantha yuddham which was a fight to the finish. As the fight proceeded, Bhima got tired and became unwary. But Duryodhana still retained his skill and fought a cautious, careful, and alert fight.

At one instance, Duryodhana jumped up high above the level of Bhima’s head. From that vantage position, he aimed and swung his gatha at the head of Bhima in a downward stroke. But at that time, Krishna gestured to Bhima to hit Duryodhana on his left thigh, which was now at level with Bhima’s swing. The left thigh is Duryodhana’s vulnerable part. Duryodhana can only be killed by crushing his left thigh. Krishna knew this and gave the cue to Bhima. Bhima dealt a death-dealing blow which crushed the left thigh of Duryodana. Duryodana fell to the ground, mortally wounded.

When balarama saw what was happening, he swung his Haalaayudham the plough weapon with fury at Bhima for this frank breach of duel code of honour. But Krishna prevented him from harming Bhima.

You can see in the panel, the scene embodying all the dynamism and feelings fully.

At the right, the four Pandavas are seated.

In the centre, Bhima and Duryodhana are fighting. Duryodhana is aloft if the air with a swing and an unswerving aim.


At the left, Balarama is about to hit Bhima with his Haalaayudham. He is being held back by Krishna who is depicted wth four arms.

This is a wonderful piece of sculpture. What is more striking is that THEY have it THERE and we don’t have it here with us.

An Unique Panel – Fire in the Kandhava forest…Cambodia

Today we are going to see a very rare and unique sculpture panel from Banteay srei in Cambodia. This is quite a revelation to me, since i had never heard of this story and thanks to this amazing sculpture, i had to dwell deep into the recesses of the mahabaratha to pick up this interesting legend – and present to you this…. The legend of Kandava Dahanam or Burning of the Kandava forest.

As usual we see the legend ( quite lengthy but interesting and very essential to truly appreciate the great sculpture that follows)

The legend starts thus. Vaisampayana is narrating the epic – Once Krishna and Arjuna are met by a Brahman who asks them for Alms – or food to be more particular. The two master marksmen, ask him what kind of food that he
wants, but are shocked when he asks for the entire Kandhava Forest. They soon realise that its no common old man but Agni who has been reduced to such a state.

Despite who it is, they want to know why Agni can’t eat /destroy the forest on his own and more so why he needs to destroy the forest. Agni then goes on tell them the story of the great King Swetaki.

Wanting to crown his achievements the great King wants to conduct a string of sacrifices spreading over a number of years. The priests are given generous gifts and they begin the great sacrifice – but pretty soon they realise that the sheer effort involved is too great and sitting in front of the fire and smoke for so many years is not possible …they leave the sacrifce half done. Enraged Swetaki tries all he can to get others to come and complete the sacrifice but with no luck. Finally he tries once again to reason with the priests and they in jest told him to seek Rudra ( Shiva) to assist him to complete the sacrifices.

Enraged, Swetaki decides to do that as well – he undergoes severe penances, giving up food for months and standing upright with arms raised for ages. Pleased Shiva appears and asks him his wish – when Swetaki asks him to assist in helping him finish the sacrifices, Shiva tests his resolve some more – and instructs him to do a special sacrifice by himself – for 12 uninterrupted years, he had to pour Ghee into fire and lead a life of extreme austerity.

Swetaki completes that as well and returns to Shiva – who is much pleased and instructs Sage Duruvasa to assist in completing his sacrifices. Duruvasa helped him to complete the task and at the apt time, Swetaki ascended to the heavens.

But this left one problem – having been fed a diet of Ghee for 12 years by such a great King, Agni the God of fire became over weight but he could also eat of anyone else – so slowly he began to loose his shine and energy. He appealed to Lord Shiva for help and the lord showed him the the bad demons of who resided in the Khadava forest –
directing him to satiate his hunger on the enemies of the Gods and that will help his regain his vigor.

But when Agni tried to consume the forest there came a small problem. Takshaka, the chief of the Nagas ( snakes) who dwell in the forest was a friend of Indra and hence had his protection. Everytime Agni tried to consume the forest Indra would bring in Varuna ( the god of water/rains) and quench Agni and protect his friend.

Thus Agni sought the help of Krishna and Arjuna to help keep out Indra and Varuna. Jointly they attacked the Kandava forest.

Arjuna – invoking his excellent weapons, prevented that shower of rain by Indra, by means of a shower of his own weapons – he soon covered the forest of Khandava with innumerable arrows like the moon covering the atmosphere with a thick fog. When the sky above that forest was thus covered with the arrows of Arjuna no living creature could then escape from below. And it so happened that while that forest was burning, Takshaka, the chief of the Nagas, was not there, having gone at that time to the field of Kurukshetra. But Aswasena, the mighty son of Takshaka, was there. He made great efforts to escape from that fire; but confined by Arjuna’s shafts he succeeded not in finding a way. It was then that his mother, the daughter of a snake, determined to save him by swallowing him first. She first swallowed his head and then was swallowing his tail. And desirous of saving her son, the sea-snake rose (up from the earth) while still employed in swallowing her son’s tail.

But Arjuna as soon as he beheld her escaping, severed her head from her body by means of a sharp and keen-edged arrow. Indra saw all this, and desiring to save his friend’s son, the wielder of the thunderbolt, by raising a violent wind, deprived Arjuna of consciousness. During those few moments, Aswasena succeeded in effecting his escape. Beholding that manifestation of the power of illusion, and deceived by that snake, Arjuna was much enraged. He forthwith cut every animal seeking to escape by the skies, into two, three, or more pieces.

The chief of the celestials also, seeing Arjuna in anger, sought to fight with him, and hurled his own fierce weapons, covering the wide expanse of the firmament. Then the winds, making a loud roar and agitating all the oceans, brought together masses of clouds in the sky, charged with torrents of rain. Those masses of clouds began to
vomit thunder and terrible flashes of lightning charged with the thunderclap. Then Arjuna possessing a knowledge of all means, hurled the excellent weapon called Vayavya with proper mantras to dispel those clouds. With that weapon the energy and force of Indra’s thunderbolt and of those clouds were destroyed. And the torrents of rain with
which those clouds were charged were all dried up, and the lightning that played amongst them was also destroyed. Within a moment the sky was cleared of dust and darkness, and a delicious, cool breeze began to blow and the disc of the sun resumed its normal state.

Then the eater of clarified butter (Agni), glad because none could baffle him, assumed various forms, and sprinkled over with the fat exuded by the bodies of creatures, blazed forth with all his flames, filling the universe with his roar. Then numerous birds of the Garuda tribe bearing excellent feathers, beholding that the forest was protected by Krishna and Arjuna, descended filled with pride, from the upper skies, desirous of striking those heroes with their thunderlike
wings, beaks and claws. Innumerable Nagas also, with faces emitting fire descending from high, approached Arjuna, vomiting the most virulent poison all the while. Beholding them approach, Arjuna cut them into pieces by means of arrows steeped in the fire of his own wrath. Then those birds and snakes, deprived of life, fell into the burning element below. And there came also, desirous of battle, innumerable Asuras with Gandharvas and Yakshas and Rakshasas and Nagas sending forth terrific yells. Armed with machines vomiting from their throats (mouths?) iron balls and bullets, and catapults for propelling huge stones, and rockets, they approached to strike Krishna and Partha, their energy and strength increased by wrath.

But though they rained a perfect shower of weapons, Arjuna addressing them reproachfully, struck off their heads with his own sharp arrows. That slayer of foes, Krishna, also, endued with great energy, made a great slaughter with his discus. Many Asuras of immeasurable might, pierced with Arjuna’s arrows and smitten with the force of Vishnu’s
discus, became motionless like waifs and strays stranded on the bank by the violence of the waves. Then Indra , the lord of the celestials, riding on his white elephant, rushed at those heroes, and taking up his thunderbolt which could never go in vain, hurled it with great force. And the slayer of Asuras said unto the gods, ‘These two are slain.’ Beholding the fierce thunderbolt about to be hurled by their chief, the celestials all took up their respective weapons.

But he was to be proved wrong ….

Now – a long story, but have not seen this depicted in any sculptures in India till date – but finding this in Banteay Srei stumped me.

What a beautiful, intricate and faithful reproduction of the legend. right from indra on his airavatam – discharging his thunder bolt – to his faithful varuna – depicted by the swelling water under him – to the roof of arrows – holding up the deluge – the escape of awsena, krishna on one side with his discus, arjuna on other with his bow – the forest beings, deers, antelope, rabbits, the flocks of different kinds of birds trying to fly and escape.

an amazing panel.



Kama aims at Shiva – this time in Cambodia

Sometimes the sheer extent of geographical spread of our legends baffles me. The reliefs of Banteay Srei in Cambodia and Parambanan in Indonesia are such – veritable treasure troves. But once in a while, something very unique comes up, that makes you sit up and take notice. What we are seeing today is one such sculpture. This is from Banteay Srei complex – this follows the previous post of Kama vs Shiva which we saw deep in the hearts of Chola land – tanjore big temple – the illustrious capital of Raja Raja. It gives me great pleasure in presenting to you today the same legend depicted in Cambodia.

Lets analyse the panel in depth – shiva is seated on a high pedestal – a very regal presentation of Shiva, seated in an almost yogic stance – the spine straight, left arm on his thigh …he is looking down to his left – at Kama – who is taking his stance with his bow to discharge the arrow. Shiva’s right hand is holding a rosary but he seems to be giving it to the beautiful lady seated to the right. Below are three rows of various gods and demi gods, incl some animals.

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How do we interpret this panel. This is most probably a composite panel – meaning unlike the chola version which comprised of individual scenes moving like a story board – this is just a single panel depicting the legend. Going from left to right ( of the panel) – Kama aims and discharges the arrow, shiva is woken up and looks at Kama in anger – but the impact of the arrow is strong, that he is giving up his life of austerity symbolised by the rosary to Parvathi and falling into wedlock !!!

Tilotthama – beauty that made shiva sprout 4 faces and Indra a 1000 eyes

Today we are going to see a very interesting legend, supported by a unique sculpture from Banteay Srei in Cambodia ( but presently housed in the Guimet Museum, France)

Am sure we have come across the names of the heavenly Apsaras – Rambha, Urvasi often, and then there is Tilottama. Her name is used often to denote perfection of form, of pristine beauty and perfection. Inorder to know more about this celestial beauty, we go deep into the Hindu scriptures – the Mahabharta. The legend of Tilotthama comes as an interesting conversation between the first of the Pandavas, the Just Yudhistir and the divine sage Narada.

The context is such – that the Pandavas are serving their exile, King Drupada of Panchala, holds a swayamvara ( competition of skill and the victor would get the hand of the maiden) for Draupadi The princes vying for Draupadi’s hand had to shoot five arrows at a revolving target, while looking only at its reflection in a bowl. While all ( ok, except Karna who could lift the bow but was barred from proceeding more by Draupadi – for being not fit for her – being brought up as a charioteer’s son) failed, Arjuna successfully won the competition and the hand of the beautiful Draupadi.

The trouble started now, While in exile, Kunti, mother of the Pandavas often advised her sons that they share everything they have (or obtain through Bhiksha i.e. alms) equally amongst themselves. Upon returning home with Draupadi, Yudhisthira addresses his mother first “Look mother, I have brought Bhiksha (alms)!”. Kunti, unmindful of what Yudhisthira was referring to, unassumingly asked her son to share whatever it is with his brothers!!! Being dutiful sons they had to accept their mother’s command, however, this created problems. At this time, Narada passes that way and Yudhistir seeks his counsel. Narada wanting to highlight the troubles a beautiful lady can cause even among brothers, narrates the story of Tillotama ..

“The glorious daughter of Panchala is the common lawful wife of all of you. You must lay down a rule, lest there be strife over her. Inorder for you to understand why i say this, listen to the story of Sunda and Upasunda. ”

They were two inseparable demon brothers, sons of Nikumbha , a descendant of Hiranyakasipu. They perform severe austerities, till their abode the Vindhya mountains begins to smoke – the Devas try all their pranks to distract them to no avail. Finally, Brahma has to appear before them – and as usual they seek the boon of immortality. Brahma refuses – since immortality is out of his powers, so the brothers place the trust in their brotherly love and modify their – for they share everything, their kingdom, their food, their palace – that they seek death only at the hands of each other. They are so sure of their affections – that they seek this boon, which Brahma obliges.

The Evil brothers, armed with this boon, pillage the earth and then set sights on the heavens. No one has the power to stop them and this puts Brahma in a fix. He thinks hard and sees the chink in the armour of the two demons – the loop hole in the boon – the Achilles heel – and plans to use it to bring about their downfall. He calls on Visvakarma – the divine architect, and instructs him to make the most beautiful, perfect, desirable women. Being an architect, Visvakarma chooses the best particles in the world,the animate and the inanimate, down to the smallest of gems ( tilo – as small as a grain of seasame seed – sanksrit and uttama – better) – and created the perfect women, how do we call this – the first clone or nano robot !! Tilotthama .

She was instructed by Brahma to go and seduce the two brothers. Before she left, she sought the blessings of Siva and Indra by circumambulating them. So great was her beauty that even Shiva couldn’t take his eyes of her – as she went round him, he sprouted faces on all sides – 4 in all, so that he could keep seeing her. Indra, on his part, sprouted 1000 eyes ( there are many version and more erotic legends on his 1000 eyes!!!).

But finally she did go to do her bidding, she seduced the two brothers and drunk in her beauty, they both fought over her and finally ended up killing each other.

Thus, Narada advised Yudistir to come up with a plan that will enable each of the brothers exclusive habitation with Draupadi for a year and …..ok the story goes on. We should close shop for today.

The sculpture now – the beauty of this story is in the depiction of this fight among the two brother over Tilotthama is carved in cambodia. The beautiful Tilotthama being held by both the brothers, each with a raised mace ( or sword) ready to strike each other. The smile of a women can indeed break a man, and if she were designed out of the best materials specifically for that very purpose – she was a potent weapon.

The pediment is from the east gopura of the third enclosure of Banteay Srei. Sculpted in pink sandstone and dated 967, the pediment could not be reconstructed at the site by Henri Marchal in 1936 and was given to France and the EFEO as a gift for their work in restoring Cambodia’s monuments.

From Tamil Nadu to Cambodia – Karaikkal Ammai


This amazing sculpture is from Khao Preah Vihear, Cambodia. We have already seen a few amazing sculptures from this, today we are seeing a very unique lintel freeze of Shiva as Nataraja. From a distance you can see the lovely depiction of shiva with his ten hands, creating a feel of the cosmic dance.

As we explore more, under him, we see a beautiful depiction of Vishnu as Sesha sayana – reclining of his seprent anantha, with his consort lakshmi lovingly massaging his feet ( badly damaged though). You can also see brahma seated on his lotus pedestal that emerges from Vishnu’s navel. To their right are two cute parrots, and on top of them a mythical beast and a rider. To their right we see two monkeys?

Thought of stopping at this, but as we look closer at the dancing Shiva, we see two spectators ardently enjoying his dance, though their heads have broken off – the statue maybe headless but not clueless, the body parts of the person on to his right – show that its a lady. Now our task becomes is simple, how many ladies have been granted the privilege of watching shiva dance – it could only be the famous Karaikkal ammaiyar. We have some magnificent bronzes from the cholas. Leaves us in no doubt as to who is depicted. We will see the legend of this great devotee in a coming post, but she did ask for her beauty to be taken away by the lord. Maybe this was part of the disfigurement. She is often called as the ghost lady.

We will see in another post, the detailed life history of the great lady and why she got the ghost form




But how did such a very south Indian character ( sadly even many tamils would not be able to remember her) reach Cambodia. Could it be the handiwork of our craftsmen, chances seem remote as the facial features of these sculptors are more south east asian than indian. Maybe they were trained under the same canons of art or the religious scriptures, verses, literature traveled that far.

images courtesy
http://www.sundial.thai-isan-lao.com/phanom_rung.html

When the buying stops the killing will stop as well

We read often in newspapers about idol theft, but nothing prepared me for this.
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Kbal Spean is a an amazing treasure trove of Hindu Art deep into the jungles of Cambodia. We see an entire river bed carved into a thousand stone lingas ( will feature in a separate post). across the small water fall we see a lovely bas relief of Vishnu in his characteristic sleeping pose, with Brahma the creator emerging from his naval via a lotus flower, Lakshmi his consort by his feet…three shrines are depicted to the right and a separate depiction of Brahma to the left…
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Now come the looters – art thieves -who first took away the face of Lakshmi. The local papers published these pictures….but guess no action taken, at least on the positive side when the looters struck again. This time taking away the face of Vishnu.
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What a sad sight. Anyway some good soul has restored the monument through in a crude manner.. the loss is indeed too great to even comprehend. Guess until the buying stops the killing wont stop for these as well.951

The three headed Elephant, Airavatham

The proverbial white elephant is an actual reality in Indian literature. This noble creature is the vehicle of the King of the Devas ( celestials)…Indra …. a la Zeus with his Thunderbolt. Not only is he white but has 33 heads.

Here is a depiction from a mural painting …

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Though there are other white elephants.. the Airawatam ( Erawan in thai/cambodian culture )is said to be the most powerful of all. Described as a huge elephant with silvery white body of 33 heads, each head has 7long ivory tusks. Each of his tusk is 16 million meters long, so huge that it can house 7 large lotus ponds, within each tusk also live thousands of angels and their servants.

This massive modern sculpture greets visitors at the entrance of the Erwan Museum in Thailand.

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Without doubt its almost impossible depict this creature in stone…and hence quite rare to see the full version of Erawan elephant with 33 heads, instead, many artists prefer to draw Erawan as a 3 headed elephant instead.

The Irrawaddy River in thailand is also named after Erawan …

We find the workship of indra and airavatam among the temples of ankor,
prasat preau, siam reap …

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In india some wonderful depictions exist…. in a cave at Bhaja not far from Mumbai that was the site of a Buddhist monastery – there is a stone relief carving showing Indra, king of the gods.

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He is seated upon Airavata with his thunderbolt in hand …in somnathpur.

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In The famous chola murals of tanjore big temple…there is airavatham…oh thats the subject of an entire new post….

Whats amazing is that the indian sculptor restricted to just one head while his cambodian couterpart depicts him with three heads.