Tag Archives: Pallava

Somaskanda evolution -Part 6 -Mallai Mahishasuramardhini Mandabam

Today, we proceed to another wonderful site in Mahabalipuram ( mallai) – we have already been there twice so far – taking in the splendor of the two masterpieces of Pallava relief sculpture – the Reclining Vishnu Panel and Mahishasuramardhini panel. Most visitors would just turn back after seeing these, but there is one more relief panel in this cave that needs to be seen. Its a wonderful and unique Somaskanda panel.

This is one of the largest Pallava Somaskanda panels and occupies the entire back wall of the sanctum. Its important to note that none of caves assigned to Mahendra Pallava have somaskanda panels.

Before we get into analyzing the uniqueness of this sculpture, we need to understand that there is always this issue of dating the sculptures in mallai and also on its authorship. The mahishasuramardhini cave does us no favors, in that it doesn’t have any inscriptions in it to give us any clues. There are also some confusing addons ( later additions – take overs – as per experts). We have already seen the Somaskanda in the shoretemple earlier on in this series and being a structural temple carrying inscriptions of Rajasimha Pallava, we will start our study with that image and try to date the current one as earlier or of later date.

At first glance they seem to be very similar, stylistically. Lets look at them side by side by side, with highlights to do a comparison.

The key things to see in the Mahishasuramardhini somaskanda are marked here.

Its a fantastic composition, with some classic postures. The pose of baby skanda, almost jumping out – the grace of the seated parvathi, how she rests her weight on her left hand, the calm poise of shiva – with Brahma and Vishnu inside the panel – fantastic work by the sculptor. ( notice the parasol above parvathi as well)

The major differences between the two sculptures are are the Lion styled legs of the throne, the nandhi in front and the female devotee by his side replacing the vase. The lion comes in to replace the Bull standard of the Pallavas during the period of Narasimha Pallava. It also enters Pallava pillars ( but that’s the subject of another post – evolution of Pallava pillars – to start soon)

Now, coming back to our question, which of these Somaskanda’s are earlier. Lets study the smaller details.Look into the dress of Shiva and its detailing.

its quite obvious that both these images – gross proportions are similar, styles are similar. Then how can we propose a solution. Lets analyse the two side by side figures one more. Notice the left leg of Shiva ( he is seated in sukasana – for those who want to know the tech terms) – in the panel from the shore temple, its position corresponds to the centre line of the shiva sculpture – whereas in the panel from the Mahishasuramardhini mandabam – you notice that its moved off centre, to its left – to accommodate the Nandhi – seamlessly integrating into the frame as a foot rest for divine couple.

To understand this better, let me attempt to digitally morph these two sculptures to show how the leg moves to the left to create space in the composition for the nandhi.

Based on above, i would assign a later or at least contemporary period for these panels but one thing for sure – the shore temple somaskanda panel cannot be earlier to the mahishasuramardhini somaskanda panel. What do you say.

Pallava Cave Temple at Thiruchirappalli Rockfort – Lalitankura Pallavesvara Griham

The Rockfort – the first of the two caves.

An imposing natural feature and an integral part of the charming Thiru Seera Palli town, it evokes lot of different emotions – there is something primeval about a stone outcrop that is not easy to explain. Anyway, thanks to Annapoorna, this long sleeping draft sees light. Actually, must have posted this long back – self and Arvind had been there in December, but there were a few visitors – couples and some prospective couples, who chose to park themselves in this cave , mistaking its sculpted steps for a chair and the insides for a cozy lounge chair or bed – oblivious to pains we were taking to take in the beauty of this monument while trying our best to avoid capturing their amorous rendezvous. It was not to be so and their patience cum free time cum pursuits cum utter disregard for any count of decency left us with an unfinished portfolio.

Had to wait for Sriram to fill in the blanks. Sadly, even regular visitors ( not the love birds – mean true visitors) look at this monument as a mere pit stop in their ascent to the shrine on top. Thankfully or otherwise the lower cave ( we will see it in a followup post) has just to suffer the ignominy of total neglect alone.

This pallava period multiplex for the less privileged smitten, is a signature contribution of Mahendra Pallava. Known as Lalitankura Pallavesvara Griham, this is the southernmost Pallava cave temple and is one among the ancient sites in the Rockfort complex. Lalithangura was one of many titles of Mahendra and means ‘charming-scion’. Its unique in many aspects – for it consists of an inscription which confirms or rather proclaims that the great Pallava king returned to the faith of worshiping the Linga from a hostile faith !! in his own words. Not sure if these modern day mozarts and Romeos are aware of the jest and pun in the actual verse we shall see in a subsequent post, as we rush on to the sculpture part of the cave to start with.

Iconograhically, there are two signature contributions of the Pallavas – the Somaskanda icon and the Shiva Gangadhara form ( How about Nataraja – check out the post on Seeyamangalam earliest Nataraja form). We are already studying the evolution of the Pallava Somaskanda as a series, but what we are going to see today is maybe the earliest and magnificent Shiva Gangadhara form.

The Tiruchy cave is the southern most cave of the Pallavas – right into Chola heartland – that he came all the way to Trichy to excavate a cave temple in an inaccessible hill is a puzzle ( there is a jain bed also on the hill !!). I am going to take the help of some references from Dr. R. Nagaswamy and Swaminathan sir to explain this series. ” One must try to imagine how this hill would have looked without the Tayumanavar Koil, Uchichi-p-pillaiyar Koil and all the sundry shrines, to wonder how Mahendra chose the site at a height of 200 feet and how his artisans managed the excavation. Like the other Pallava monuments, this cave temple also holds some puzzles” – says Swami sir.

This is a cave supported by four pillars with two pilasters ( half pillars) on each end . The façade is pretty simple and the chunky pillars are early Mahendra style – rather plain, square in cross section at the bottom and top, but eight-sided in the middle. I think its time for us to graduate to learn more about the technical names of these pillar styles. ( thanks to varalaaru.com)

A simple four sided pillar is called a Brahmmakantha ( Brahma – four faced !!)
A eight sided pillar is called a Vishnukantha
A Sixteen sided pillar is called a Indrakantha
A circular pillar is called a Rudrakantha

A pillar can also be a composite of many styles – like four sides on top and bottom + eight sided in the middle.

There are circular low-reliefs on all the four sides of the pillars.

Very interesting to note the brackets above the pillars – which are fluted. Titles of King Mahendra are inscribed on the faces of these pillars, mostly in Pallava Grantha and a few in the Tamil script.

Beyond the pillars is a mandapa (hall), and in the rear the hall is a series of four pillars very similar to the ones in the front.

As we ascend the small flight of stairs, we are greeted by this majestic panel to our left and to the right ( eastern wall) is a now empty rock cut Garba Graha flanked by two cute door guardians.

We shall study this fantastic bas relief in a detailed post shortly. Its got quite a majestic air associated with it and is very special to me personally – for i met two very important people in my sculptural quest, on the very day i was introduced to this Gangadhara form, Sri Sundar Bharadwaj and Sri Dhivakar, for the pre release of Dhivakar sir’s Vichitracittan – work of historic fiction basing on the life of Mahendra, which incidentally features this magnificent Bas relief on its front cover.

Lets take a look at the two beautiful door guardians – one on each side, they are carved in bold-relief.

Both are in semi-profile ( a specialty of the Pallava sculptor !!) , two armed turned towards the shrine-entrance, standing with one leg bent and raised up and the other planted firmly on the ground, carry a massive club, their palms resting on it – they are less bulky than in Mandagapattu. Their attire is fantastically sculpted, but sadly they are much worn.

The garba graham itself was locked – which was funny in a way, but rather a sign of the times !!! For its empty today ( no bas reliefs or Somaskanda in the back wall – to remind our readers – none of the Mahendra caves have this feature outside of Mallai ) – yet the barred gates are testament to sad plight of such monuments – and the shanty respect shown on it – as a heritage site or at least as a shrine / sanctum. It does hold a puzzle as well – for it has two pits excavated into the floor – one might have held a movable stone Linga ( Pandya caves have as a contrast monolith lingas ) but there is a second pit to its right !! possibly the only cave with this feature.

Some frustrated souls seem to have found a way to tear up the mesh and finding the pits – mistook them for garbage bins and dumped their plastic waste into them. You can see the two pits coming into view towards the bottom of the photo.

We shall continue exploring the beauty of this cave and its spectacles in the next part.

Kanchi Mathangeshwara Temple + Somaskanda Evolution Part 5

Today we are being treated to an excellent travelogue by Arvind – on a little known attraction in the well visited Kanchipuram environs. Arvind is a Software professional with a fanatic interest in sculpture 🙂 and is currently working on bringing out an online catalogue of sculpture. He is a enthusiastic and voracious reader on sculpture apart from many other interesting passions…Read on…

Visiting Kancheepuram was a long pending item on my to do list. Though I made few visits in my school and college days, I had not visited this treasure trove for long.

The interest to visit was rekindled during my conversations with a good friend. Finally last week, made an impulsive decision to visit the place. I also gave myself the whole weekend to visit as many places as I could.
My good friend Gopinatha Srinivas readily accepted to join me for the trip.

As we were temple hopping, drunk in the beauty of the sculptures, battling the heat, we could cover Kailasandhar Kovil, Katchepawarar Kovil, Kamatchi Amman kovil and Ulagalantha Perumal Kovil on Saturday. We called it day then.

Next morning we wanted to cover as many as possible by the time the temples closed in the afternoon. We started with Ekkamabareswarar Kovil and moved on to Vaikunda Perumal Kovil. Ekkambareswarar Kovil, though huge did not have as many interesting sculptures proportionate to its size. While Vaikunda Perumal koil, was a riot. Every panel there is exquisite and was forcing us stay put.

Interestingly there are panels with Huang-San, replica of Mahabalipuram shore temple (in the Nandivarma Pallavamalla’s ascend to the throne). The panels on the praharas were filled with various coronations of the Pallava Kings. The priest there was kind enough to tell us the other temples we need to visit in the vicinity.

Mathengesawar Temple is just 200 meters away from Vaikundaperumal Koil. This should be the most well hidden temple I had come across.


The directions given to us was to take the 2nd right from where we had parked at Vaikunda perumal koil, the second right was a small lane, as we entered it, we could see a gopuram and our eagerness soared, but there was no approach from the lane we had taken. We reversed and went the next right, which happens to be a main road. As we moved along the road looking for the temple, it never came to our sight. We parked our car and started to walk back to check again, if we had missed the temple.

As we retraced our route, we caught the little ASI board and an adjacent narrow lane, which was the entrance to the temple. This lane is about 30 feet, leading to open clear space. The whole temple complex should be less than 4000 sq.ft. There is single shrine which is well elevated from the ground level. There is a nandhi opposite to the shrine and a banyan tree adjacent to it. From the looks of it the Banyan tree attracts more visitors than the temple.


10 steps lead to the corridor of the shrine, which are quiet steep.


Central shrine houses the linga with a backdrop of Somaskanda panel, which is exquisite. Which styling is this?

The three walls of the the shrine on the outer has some brilliant sculptures, the sandstone had lent itself for some intricate carvings.

Small and very beautiful temple, the sculptures here stays in my eyes now, and hope it would for ever. If not, I can go back to these photographs or back to Kancheepuram to see the beauty again.

Wait for part 2 – for more beauties from here and more history about it….

Tracking the Evolution of the Somaskanda – Part 4

Thirukazhukundram or Thirukazhugukundram, would bring back fond memories for most Chennaites. For, invariably it would be the place where schools would take you for excursions. Can’t blame them, the choices were not great – toss up between a 99% humidity, baking sun @ 42 deg, thrown in the beach sand – Mahabalipuram, a lecture on bovine mechanics – Madhavaram Dairy , a supposedly bird watch while you end up seeing just monkeys and a few specs of white (couldnt afford decent binocs and the pooled Rs 3 cheap plastic one was dismantled even before we paid up – not that it could magnify anyting anyway ) – ok the white specs were to be cranes travelling XXXX kilometers and so the teacher went on to justify the educational tour tag – what the heck, my backyard had more birds anyday than @ Vedanthangal, last but not least it was the umteen time we got to see the shaggy cross between a cow and a deer, a python so lazy that it didnt move for like 3 years, even the chameleons were bored seeing us, the crocs were thrown into what looked like a community toilet and there was absolutely no venom left in the poor cobra to milk @ Guindy Snake Park. The graduation to the next level would be Sengi fort.

They all had a commonality – all within a couple of hours drive, cheap ( aka no entry fees) and relatively deserted on weekdays – so kids wont get lost. Tirukalukundram scored a vital point as it had ( till recently) the added attraction of the avian visitors – two vultures who turned up at the appointed hour to partake in the brunch. ( its thiru Kazhugu – vulture – kundru – hill lock and Pakshi theertham – bird sacred water – literally translated !!!).

Off we went – neatly packed like sardines in the rickety old school bus and then paired with your best pal or if you are too mischievous or talkative with a girl ( ultimate punishment till we realised that it was not, but which time we were too old to sit in the same bench as them – so much for co education !!) and make the torturous climb up the steep and unforgiving stairs – they don’t seem too steep when you are young and a ` few kilos’ lighter.

So its no surprise that this most sacred of sacred places – maybe one of the very few temples which have been sung by Appar, Sambandhar and Sundarar, is not top of the list for many. Though its just a short detour 14 kms from Mahabalipuram, not many make the trip once they start wearing colored clothing of their choice ( out of school i mean – no more navy blue i swore till i realised that it was part of corporate dressing)

When Arvind suggested a quick drive down ECR to visit this site, i quickly wound up and parked near tiruvanmiyur temple tank ( free parking !!) and hit ECR. As we passed Mahabs, seeking directions – the road turned pleasantly good and green on either side. Just as we took the last diversion ( mean the last curve to avoid) we could spot the majestic hill come into view.

As our luck could have it or otherwise, we hadn’t done our background reading well and skipped the all important Pallava Rock cut cave – Orukal Mandabam ( one rock cave) and attempted to climb to ” the temple on top of the hill“. There is considerable debate on these two shrines and hence i used the italics. We will jump to that debate in a later post when we cover the rock cut cave.

Enough of the ramble ( must be the after effects of staying up all night and reading Chetan Bagat in one go ) I am going to depend very much on Sri K. R. Srinivasan’s Cave Temples of the Pallavas henceforth, and attempt to post on the topic of the post.

After a steady ( meaning stopping every five steps and almost coming close to having a heart attack twice) – we reach the summit blaming it on the heavy lunch…we were disappointed by a a very small stone structure. All this trekking for this !!! It was some auspicious day and looked like the whole village had turned up in all their finery to have darshan of the lord – vedagirirswarar. We tried our best acrobatic moves, attempted to outdo the leaning tower and managed to fit our heads inbetween the nandhi’s ears while our torso was a full 4 feet away – to just get a peak of the moolavar. Just as we came around,we noticed that the surrounding corridor had deep clefts – where we could see the base rock and in it – pay dirt. Atlast some Pallava sculpture – relief panels at that and SOMASKANDA !!

We were all eager to check what was its styling. Classic Pallava relaxed styling despite all the wearing of the stone – you can always spot a Pallava art work. Its got a certain laid back styling and freedom in it – and a poetry that runs through it. Next question – Pre Rajasimha or post Rajasimha

Just then, we heard some commotion, a road side hero – self professed custodian of the hindu temple arrived, showering the choicest of abuses on us and accusing us of not knowing Hindu culture ( maybe it was our bermudas and camera bags) – despite our best attempts to educate the romeo that we were not taking the Garba Graha nor were these panels under worship – he was more inclined to show of his new found role to his fellow tribesmen. Pretty soon we had a whole village assembly around us with all sorts of mustached elders passing judgments. not withstanding that we had paid a hefty camera fee and there was no photography board !! It was plain ridiculous, stupid, atrocious….and if not for the fact that we were inside a temple precincts, would have asked them to just … off. All my focus was on the reminder of the two panels – one was a very wonderful Shiva seated stylistically on rishaba – now you know what i mean by classic pallava styling.

I did shoot it but then it was close to delirium and we had to give up the last one.

Anyway, surprisingly the somaskanda capture, despite the poor light and emergency shot, is good enough to attempt a detailed study

Brahma and Vishnu are inside the panel

Shiva is in his usual pose, Parvathi /Umai – well will let you decide

A snug baby skanda with his characteristic head dress.

Surely a post Rajasimha panel. The throne is pretty standard, but the vessel here is quite different from what we have seen in other such panels – its not the standard vase but more like a high bowl. Another interesting variation!!

So,now is the tricky problem. Obviously, since the temple was sung by the trio – they are dated to Mahendra’s period – 630 AD around. But Rajasimha was three generations later, so how do we explain the presence of a stylistically later dated panel in an older temple – quite simple – the temple on the hill was existing prior to this panel being sculpted. The confusion arises since the lower cave ( which we will see subsequently) has not been sung – none of the caves of Mahendra have been sung upon, while this temple on the hill has been specifically sung. So the conclusion ( book ref given earlier) is that there must have been some sort of temple structure that existed earlier – then later pallava – Rajasimha or post him did some renovation and created the current structure by standing 3 stone slab -megalithic style shrine – on which these ( hopefully i can get you the third panel via friends shortly).

More on this interesting theory with inscriptional support which lends a new angle – when we see the Pallava cave in the base of the hill shortly.

Mallai Trimurthi cave – a puzzle

An interesting sculpture chat !! ( Thanks to N for allowing me to post bulk of the conversation with some minor enhancements)

N: Hi vj, visited Mallai yesterday

Me: just seeing ur album, thanks for the credits.

N: Please do put in your comments to the photos

me: will do. a trick question for u, since you have posted the trimurthi mandabam photos, can you identify the deities in each of the 3 shrines

N: Brahma vishnu shiva

me: hahaha, pl look carefully and confirm sir,if it were so easy would i ask you

N: hmmm

me: how do identify a deity inside a shrine. In pallava times, you use two methods, if the deity is present – look for its attributes, if not present try and see the attributes of the door guardians. since both are present, check each shrine for this

N: i want to use Friend Help :-/ Can u tell me

Me: no sir, u try first, its important – for you to spend some time viewing

N: the middle one is shiva, where the linga is

me: s, you can see the Axe of shiva in his right hand. The left hand seems to be holding a rosary. The Linga seems to be a later implant !!

N: the lady outside is Mahishasuramardhini

me: s, Durga. The ornate work on top of her is spectacular

N: the god with tall crown is vishnu
The other is one is Brahma

me: hmm, Vishnu is simple – you can see the conch and discus. how do you say the other is brahma

N: Trinity is completed by Brahma .. That is y thrimurthi isnt it VJ

me: haha, mallai is full of puzzles. What is the most characteristic feature of brahma images?

N: 3 heads

me: can you see 3 there

N: no

me: what is the right door guardian holding in his hand ( left hand)

N: Not Clear

me: do you notice anything unique in the dress of the inner deity

N: X shaped belts

me: have u seen this anywhere for brahma??

N: and kind of lion cloth, No … i didnt

me: do you notice anything different about the crown

N: it has kind of horn

me: i think i can make this chat conversation into a post by itself

N: what is the peculiarity, tell me Vj

me: can i make this as a post, this chat conversation?

N: Yes
But dont disclose my name B-) 😉

me: N, doesnt disclose right!!

N: Yes, i dont want extra fame 😉 it is pointed in form

me: haha, the right door guardian is holding a Shruk(a long handled laddle)used for pouring ghee in a sacrificial fire, connected to vedic sacrifice /ritual. The left holds a flower /bud. So the assumption of yours – that is denotes brahma is partly correct.The door guardians are rishis, elderly men with beards, all go well with the brahma concept, but inside the deity is not bearded, but a young one

N: yes, Tell me

me: further the conical head dress, the x belts – are features of a warrior god who is said to have taught the vedas to brahma

N: Skanda

me: Can you look closely at the photos and see what the two flying ganas are holding?

me: its skanda – in his brahma sasta form

N: brahma sasta form means

Me: I am no expert, but this wonderful article and photos will clarify the head dress and the X pattern.

Murugan research article – all credits to the site

“The deity is shown wearing a short conical basket-like head-gear (karanda-makuta) with a thick giralet of flowers (kannl) around the base. According to ancient Tamil tradition, kannl was the attribute of the warrior.8 The deity also wears the double shoulder-string (channavīra), another attribute of the warrior. Both the attributes, found mostly in the earlier sculpture of the Pallava period, emphasise the fact that Murukan was essentially a warrior-god. “

The site listed above is a fantastic resource of Skanda/Muruga and would recommend a serious read for everyone.

Later Pallava Doorguardians – Mathangeshwara Kanchi

To continue the thread on the Door guardians – we proceed today to a very innocuous looking temple lost midst all the developments in Kanchi. Arvind had a tough time spotting this temple and many thanks again for his untiring efforts to get us these images from the shrine – The Mathangeshwara Temple ( will feature its twin the Mukteshwara shortly as well).

The dating of this temple is not clear and we will discuss that more once we see Mukteshwara as well, however, stylistically it placed between CE 700 – 800 – in the reign of Nandhivaraman II Pallavamalla. A king with a very interesting ascension, rule n exile – who inspired the Nandhikalambagam to be sung in his praise.

Without diverting from our focus, lets step inside.

The lion pillars are obstructing our view of the door guardians.

how do they compare with the early Pallava door guardians – Mahendra style? They do look a lot more terrifying – the earlier ones had a mocking look on them. See for yourself.

Mandagapattu

Seeyamangalam

Dhalavanur

We need to study Mathangeshwara more closely.

Left door guardian

The Horns seem a bit more horn and less prongs of a trident ( can’t spot the centre spoke !)

Right door guardian

Is this a variation of the Axe blade – earlier it was vertical and here it seems a horizontal blade !

The most important variation however is the additional two hands – both the door guardians are four armed.

So now comes the trichy question – Vikramaditya II invaded Kanchi around 745 AD, got inspired by Kailasantha Temple, took back the chief sculptors and went about building temples in Pattadakkal. The horns / trident were certainly Pallava features, but what about the additional set of hands of the door guardians ? Was it a Pallava variant or a Chalukyan Variant that reverse flowed into Pallava styling. For that we need to study the Mathangeshwara Icons ( including its twin Mukteshwara ) for stylistic dating comparing with say the Vaikunta Perumal temple – where we have clear timelines established.

A Chalukyan “Horned” door guardian – Pattadakkal

Door guardians are the least noticed even today and no exceptions for these mighty but neglected gentlemen and ladies in sculpture – infact it pains me to see men made to stand like statues in popular resorts mocking them !. They are a eclectic mix of emotion and styles and they are dear to me ( as to a few friends who helped this post come up). So was surprised when i came across a book reference in another book – what struck me was the title of the book – THE CULT OF WEAPONS. THE ICONOGRAPHY OF AYUDHA PURUSHAS, by Sri. V. R Mani.

We had been discussing door guardians and horned door guardians and its been my wish to bring out a dedicated series on them, so we rushed to grab a copy (me, satheesh and Arvind) – It was not a large book ( was a bit disappointed) – for if you leave out the plates, bibliography – it was just 45 pages. But the book more than made up for its lack of volume with quality of content. One particular focus on a Chalukyan door guardian, from Pattadakkal, caught my eye. We had earlier carried a series on the Pallava horned door guardians based on an article by Dr. Gift Siromoney, which was more like a theory or a postulate – saying the door guardians could be the personifications of the weapons – ayudha purushas. But this sculpture, a beauty at that, leaves us in no doubt. ( Thanks Kathie – cant imagine what i would do without your help for the image!!)

A very very splendid relaxed stance, leaning slightly to his right, bending his right leg and balancing his weight on his club / mace. The snake on the mace is lively as well.

lets take a closer look at the head dress – our point of interest.

He is four armed ( early Pallava door guardians were two armed – reminds me to do a post on Arvind’s visit to Kanchi for later Pallava door guardians !) , what he holds in his upper right arm is not clear , but his upper left arm is holding his own attribute – a differently shaped trident or trishool. His lower hand postures are relaxed and go with the overall composition ( again, reminds me to do a series on the hand mudras !!). But the major find for us is the trident sculpted behind his crown!

However, this particular line in the book is a topic for further discussion.

” This depiction in addition to the trident held in his upper left hand, reveal his identity as trisulapurusha. The endowment of this new character to to the door guardian is a distinctly Chalukyan contribution to Hindu Iconography. In later examples from both Chalukyan areas and regions south of it , one can find the development of this tradition “

Now, no early pallava examples are studied in this work and the fact that Pattadakkal was constructed to honor the victory of Vikramadtya II over the Pallavas ( between CE 732 – 742 ), cast doubts on the above claim – and in most probability it was Mahendra, Mamalla and Rajasimha’s Pallava traditions that were worked on by the Chaluyan stylists – given the close stylistic resemblances to the Kanchi Kailansatha temple to the monuments in Pattadakkal, it must have been the same artist guild that was used ( taken ?) to construct them.

What do you say?

Tracking the evolution of the Pallava Somaskanda – Part 3

We are proceeding with our analysis of the Somaskanda froms in Pallava period today. We had earlier seen the one in the Dharamaraja Ratha ( to be correct we should be called it Atyantakama pallavesvara griham ) and compared it stylistically with the one in the Shore temple – Rajasimeshwara Shrine. We also looked at the outlines of the chiseled out Somaskanda panel in the Ramanuja Mandabam.

Recapping the questions that were posed based on the 2 parts of the series seen so far:

1. Between the two styles seen so far, which could be classified as the prototype / earliest and which is stylistically more evolved.

2. What are the stylistic and inconographic differences that can be spotted among the two.

3. Basing on the above, the panel in the Ramanuja Mandaba belongs to which style.

While we are waiting for viewer responses, lets proceed to another splendid example of the Pallava somaskanda, in the tiger cave complex. We have already seen these ( not one but three somaskandas) and the reason for them being there, when we studied evidence of the presence of three shiva lingas in the Atiranchanda Mandabam.

Lets look at the central shrine of this cave first. Multiple views to give you an idea of its beauty.


Do you see the Somaskanda Panel etched behind the shiva linga. Dont worry, we will take you closer.

A trace to further assist you.

Now, we step back to view the other two somaskanda panels.

The two Panels now

and their traces

Questions for readers:

1. What style are these Somaskanda Panels?
2. Are all three somaskandas attributable to the same period?

We continue our journey in subsequent posts

Tracking the evolution of the Pallava Somaskanda – Part 2

In the previous post, we saw stylistically the earliest and latest somaskanda images.

Today, we are going to see why the Somaskanda Panel in the Dharmaraja Ratha is the earliest available panel of this form.

Lets take a look again at the Somaskanda panel from the Dharamaraja Ratham and the sketch.

To compare it with say a typical Rajasimha style Somaskanda – we have a beautiful almost perfect specimen from the Rajasimeshwara Temple in the shore temple complex ( the shore temple is a complex shrine comprising of an earlier Vishnu shrine buttressed by two shiva shrines – the Rajasimeshwara and Kshatriyasimeshwara shrines – the Kshatriyasimeshwara too has a Somaskanda but we will see that in a subsequent post)

A sketch to assist you in finding the differences. Lets see if you can point out the characteristic differences between the two Somaskandas.

A further twist to the various puzzles that abound in Mallai, the Ramanuja Mandaba is the most complete of the structures but due acts of vandalism – its like a slate that’s been wiped clean. Someone has chiseled out the door guardians, the three relief panels inside as well.

But as they say no crime is perfect, the chiseled out panel does leave an outline. The central shrine clearly shows the outline of a Somaskanda

Lets try and trace that and see what style is it – the Dharamaraja Ratha style or the Rajasimeshavara style.

To assist you, i am giving some additional outlines of the Shiva and Umai sides of the Dharamaraja Ratha Somaskandar

Hope you dont need any further clues. Lets test your observations skills.

Images courtesy:

Varalaaru.com. and Mr Ashok

Tracking the evolution of the Pallava Somaskanda – Part 1

Friends, thanks for following the posts and offering your encouraging words. Please note these are not thoroughly researched or expert opinions, but merely our path of learning which we are sharing with you. We do not want to say that this is correct, but this sharing is more to inspire many more to walk this path. We try and take care to make sure that we do not publish something that is grossly wrong, but if and when mistakes or another reading is there, we encourage readers to enlighten us as well. Why this long disclaimer for this post, you may ask, well the post is like that.

Today, we are to see part one of a series on the evolution of the Pallava Somaskanda icon. At the outset, we offer our thanks to Dr Gift, whose online resource is heavily relied on in this series.

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

This series is aimed at asking questions and find simple yet logical solutions, but the puzzle is indeed big. So without scaring you away, lets jump into the introduction of this series. The Pallava Somaskanda.

The basic argument which will be used in this series is evolution and see how the sculpture evolved into its current form. What is its current form? Borrowing these beautiful bronzes to show the form in its final evolved iconography


To study their features and compare we will also show you tracings ( copies) as line drawings

This is current day bronze. But do we have the first first / earliest or atleast earliest surviving prototype. Yes, we do have. Its in the upper tier of the Dharamaraja Ratha of the five ratha complex in Mamallapuram.


Since this is an intro post, we just let it sink in. In the following posts of this series we will travel around the region, and try to find a logical sequence to the evolution of this image.

Photo credits:
Special thanks to www.Varalaaru.com and www.exoticindiaart.com for the images