The iconographic development in India has
been continuous at least for about seven thousand years. The iconic specimens found in the sites of the
Indus Valley civilization, the proto historic phase of Indian history and
the descriptive hymns dealing with iconic conceptions in the Rig Veda provide
the background for the nation–wide iconographic tradition that has held the
field till date.
Choodamani, in her Arts and Crafts of Indus
Civilization, writes, “The sculptural forms which blossomed then are considered
to be the primary sources for studying the major streams of Indian art
history.” The images that were found in the Indus Valley are well-defined human
and animal forms, flora, fauna, and ritualistic figurines. The animal figures
include those of bull, dog, horse, ram, pig, and rhinoceros. The birds and
other living creatures include doves, parrot, The term “Indus Civilization” is
generally applied to all the phases of the Harappa culture
Some Basic Aspects in Iconography
Iconography has several integral elements in
it. They include the classification of images, textual principles of making
images, mode of casting, materials employed in making images, the accessories,
and the characters of gods and goddesses.
Classification of Images Since prehistoric
times worship of gods and goddesses exists in Tamilnadu. Worship of god must
have been coeval (having
the same age or date of origin; contemporary) with people’s knowledge of gods.
The ways of worshiping gods have differed
from age to age in Tamilnadu. They suggest the different aspects of the Supreme
Being.
The three main forms of worship are
uruvam vaḻipādu உருவம் வழிபாடு(image
worship), aruvam vaḻipādu அருவம் வழிபாடு(spirit
worship) and aruvuruva vaḻipāduஅருவுருவ வழிபாடு
(worship of formless form). Of these, 80 image worship is of much later origin
than the other two. The history of image worship has been traced by many historians
in Tamilnadu. The people had a custom of
worshipping stones in honour of the valiant heroes who sacrificed their
lives in the battlefield. It is said
that without images one cannot imagine, one cannot remember, and one cannot
think. The word sandrśe means objects visible to the eye, that is, images
proper. Thus, each god has an existence in two forms: one is the concrete and finite form and the
other is the abstract and infinite form.
"The Supreme Spirit has two states of form: the [one, the] Nature of the
World (prakṛti) and [the other,] its transformation as appearance (vikṛti).
Prakṛ ti is His invisible form. Vikṛ ti is the aspect (akara) in which He
pervades the Universe.
Worship and meditation can be performed in relation to His aspect (sakara) only."
Ganapati
Sthapati believes that God is one; He is the
beginning, the end and the intermediate substance. He is not without qualities
(nirguṇa), nor is He nirakara or formless. He has a form and is contained within reality,
and all reality contained within Him. Therefore, there are numerous forms of
the deity and they are classified according to the form, quality, and the
material used in making images. Lord Kriṣhṇa says in Bhagavat Gita that the
Supreme God is one. All the other gods are aspects of him. When any devotee
worships any one of the various forms of the Lord with faith, he is bestowed
with what he yearns for, because the path he takes from any side leads to the
Supreme God. Thus the multiplicity of the forms of images arises from various
causes, all ultimately referable to the diversity of the need of individuals
and groups
There are numerous forms of images. The
images are classified into
Hindu Puranic images,
Buddhist Puranic images,
These
images are classified into various types. In general, the images are of three
types, namely ‘bodily’, ‘tactile’(tangible) and ‘visual’ images.
The imagination is largely made up of images deriving from and corresponding
mostly to sensations. One may seem very ‘real’, another ‘fantastic’, another
‘distorted’, and another ‘abstract’. One may emphasise visual quality, another
tactile, another bodily, and another seems to draw impartially on all kinds of
sensory experiences.
Hinduism has different sects such as Śaivism
(the followers of Śiva), Vaiṣṇavism (the followers of Visnu), Kumāryam (the
followers of Murukaṉ ), Gaṇapathyam (the followers of Ganapati), Śaktism (the
followers of goddess) and Sūryam (the followers of Sun God). Each sect has
numerous images in various forms.
Mūrtiis the deity of the temple. The deities
differ according to the religious faith of the people. Each sect has a
philosophy and religion of its own. The main deity of the Vaishnavites is Lord
Viṣṇu. As a philosophy, it bases itself upon the Upanishads, and as a religion
it reaches its roots into the Tantra. Its religious ritual, in general, is of
Āgamic or Tantric in character. The history of Vaishnavism in northern India is
traceable in its main lines at least from the 5th century BC and the history of
Vaisnavism in South India is said to have gained popularity since the 13th century AD.
- 1. chala (movable),
- 2. achala (immovable), and
- 3. chalāchala (movable-immovable).
The moveable images are easily portable and
are made of loha (metal). The images that come under this category are the
kautukaberas, meant for arcana (dedication); the utsavaberas are meant for
festive occasions in processions; the baliberas are meant for the purpose of
offering sacrifice to the parivāras; and snāpanaberas are used for holy
bathing. In short, the bhoga mūrti or utsava vigraha that are carried in
processions are the best examples for chala.
The immovable images cannot be moved from the
particular place where they are installed. They are made up of mṛnmaya
(terracotta) or sārkara (laterite), and sauyaja (stucco). That are permanently
established in a shrine come under this category. The movable and immovable images are made of
stone, wood, dhātu (mineral, possibly jade) and gem.
There is another classification of images
into three kinds –
1. Chitra (depiction of a
painting –two dimensional),
Chitra denotes images in the full round representation with all
their limbs completely worked out having all its parts visible.
2.
Chitrārdha/ ardha–chitra (high
relief sculpture) Chitrārdha is an image in which half the body is not seen. It
is to be done with mineral colours .
3.
Chitrabhāsa (relief
sculpture).
Chitrabhāsa
refers to images painted on walls and cloth, and such other objects. It is
referred to as a vilekhanaṁ (painting) and lekhyaṁ nānā-varṇ ānvitaṁ (painted
with the use of many colors)
The images are again classified into vyakta or
manifest form, vyaktāvyakta or manifest and non-manifest form, and avyakta or
non-manifest form.
There is
another classification of images based on their terrific (raudra or ugra) and
pacific (śānta or saumya) nature.
Images are classified into
five forms, namely
PARAMA, : Parama
means the ultimate or the highest
VYŪHA, : Vyūha
stands for formation or line of arrangement. It denotes the state in which the
supreme power gathers its qualities together.
- VIBHĀVA, This is the state where the creation of the universe begins.
- ANTARYĀMI: Antaryāmi is the name given to the inner image held in intense worship within the beings of devotees. And
- ARCĀ. Arcā stands for images that are worshipped, which have been fashioned according to the specifications and methodology of the sculptural tradition
In short,
parama, vyūha and vibhāva stand for the subtle states in which the paramātman
exists everywhere and eternally.
Antaryāmi is
the essentially subtle state of existence of the Divine within our
consciousness and within the beings of all substances.
It is only
through the arcā state that He becomes perceptible and manifest in a form which
can be identified and worshipped by all.
Textual Principles of Making
Images
Strict and most elaborate rules were laid down for the measurements of the
various parts of the body and their relative proportions and the different
postures. In course of time, representations of gods and goddesses were made.
An impression of their power and personality was created by the sthapatis (the
metal workers or the sculptors).
Elements of Hindu Iconography.
In the
Indian value of measurement of length there are two different kinds of units,
namely, the absolute and the relative. Of these, the first is based on the
length of certain natural objects, while the second is obtained from the length
of a particular part or limb of the person whose measurement is under
consideration.
This is obtained by dividing the whole length
of the body of an image into 124,120 or 116 equal parts. Each of this division
is called a deha-labdhāṅ gula or shortly dehāṅ gula. The relative measure is used
in the construction of temples or in the making of The Icons and Images in
Indian Temples,. The different tāla measurements prescribed for the various
images are given below: 1. The Uttama-daśatāla (124 dehāṅ gulas) is prescribed
for the images of the principal deities Brahmā, Viṣ ṇ u and Śiva.
The Mode of
Casting Images In the Rig Veda there is reference to the hollow casting of
images. But the people in the Rig Vedic period did not have so many images of
gods. Nor were they made for the purpose of worship. In the later texts there
is very little instruction on the casting of metal figures, or on making icons
of wood, clay and stone. It is only after the Christian era that one finds
proper instructions for working in metal. The art of making images has survived
over the centuries in Tamilnadu with
relatively little change either in the norms of making the image or in the
technique of casting. The present day use of metals is the culmination of a
long path of development extending over approximately 6,000 years.
The first
metals known to humans were gold, silver, and copper which occurred in the
native or metallic state. Such native metals became known and were appreciated
for making ornaments and images during the latter part of the Stone Age.
The mode of
casting are two ways of casting metal images, the hollow method and the solid
method –
The casting
of metals began about 3500 BC and there was an interval of about 2,000 years
between the making of crudely wrought metal articles and the earliest castings.
During the Bronze Age the Egyptians introduced
the lost–wax process. In this method, an exact model or pattern of the article
to be cast is made in wax, and then covered with a claylike material to form
the mold.
Casting is a
process practiced by foundries all over the world as a basic method for the
production of shapes, using in one form or another almost all of the metals
known to human. Important processes among these are plastic mold, composite
mold, investment, permanent mold, and die casting.
One of the
earliest examples known of the lost–wax art is the statue of the Pharaoh Pepi I
and his son, dating from about 2600 BC.70 In India, images are moulded in two
ways as mentioned earlier.
Iconometry
“Iconometry”
means the measurements of the icons. Iconometry is the use of relative units
and in the field of image making it is the most interesting part. The
measurements used for making images are the basis for perfection. Proportions
of images are ruled by complex iconometrical canons. The accuracy in
measurement is the criterion of perfection. The sthapatis have always produced
their images according to prescribed measurements. In the making of the images,
the sthapati follows two types of iconometry, the tālamāna and the aṅ gulamāna.
The word tāla refers to the length of the palm, which is considered to be
equivalent in sculptures, as in human beings, to the length of face from
forehead to chin. Generally, images are made according to the navatāla
measurement. That is, the length of the image is nine times the length of its
palm or face.
The nine-face length is distributed thus:
face, one tāla;
throat to
navel, two;
navel to the
tip of the knee, three;
lower knee
to ankle, two, and
the
remaining one tāla is divided among the height of foot, knee and top knot.
iconometry are inhibitive factors in that scheme.
·
Ideally the chest of a man should
be broad and flat as the face of a charging bull;
·
the female torso should be
slender and long like the face of a horse.
·
The male hand should be strong
and tapering like the trunk of an elephant;
·
that of woman, smooth and round
like a bamboo stem.
·
The mature trunk of a teak tree
is usually the model for a man’s thigh,
·
while for a woman the model is
the firm, pale-green inner core of a banana tree.
·
The gloriosa superba lily with
its long petals was often the sculptor’s favourite guide for fashioning female
fingers.
Different
attributes, weapons, and postures that are special for each deity must be
present in the image for it to be worthy of worship. Such details are described
in the various śilpaśāstras, treatises on sculptures, generally considered to
have been compiled between the 8th and the 12th centuries AD
In the last
two decades, innumerable artists from Madras and Kumbakonam have branched out
on their own creative instincts and some of them have made it to the national
and even to the international art scene. Talented sthapatis (sculptors) have
also been produced by the Tamilnadu Institute of Architecture and Sculpture at
Mamallapuram.
THE ATTRIBUTES HELD IN THE HANDS OF THE DEITIES
The
technical terms of the attributes relate to the objects which the images of
Hindu gods and goddesses are shown as bearing in their hands, such as weapons,
musical instruments, animals, and birds. The attributes also relate to the
various attitudes in which the hands of images are shown and the postures which
the bodies of the images are made to assume. The attributes include the
costume, ornaments and head gear in which they are represented.
Even though art, particularly the
three-dimensional form, is capable of translating the subtleties of the
philosophical principles by way of the posture, flexions, ornamentations and
facial expressions of the image, there are some aspects which can only be communicated through the employment of
specific symbols which are attributed meanings. The artist has had to take
recourse to symbols, which have clearly understood social meanings. The śilpa
tradition has made use of many symbols like implements of war; musical
instruments, work tools, flowers, plants, trees, fruits, animals and birds, and
some articles of daily use. Artists have also brought into use several kinds of
imaginative symbols. On the whole,
there are
about 120 symbols and accessories, which are explanatory tools in sculptural
compositions. The śilpa texts have classified the various accessories under the
broad heading of āyudha or karuvi (implement), including even flowers, animals,
and musical instruments. The following list of accessories comprises various
items and articles, which may have one or more meanings, to be understood
according to the context. Some of these symbols have been mentioned in the
śilpa and Āgama texts, some others in the philosophical works. Some of the
implements of war mentioned are – śakti (ornamental blade), śula (trident), śaṅkh
(conch), cakra (discus), vajra (two-headed śūla), daṇ ḍa (staff), udaivāḷ
(sword), kathi or surikai (knife), kēḍaya (shield), vil (bow), ambu (arrow), maḻu
(axe), gadā (mace), sammaṭ ṭ i (spade), īṭṭi (javelin), vēl (spear). Śaṅkh – Śaṅ
kh is the ordinary conch, which is almost always found in one of the hands of
the images of Viṣhṇu.
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