Tag Archives: Shiva

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

Breathing life into stone

Why is the genius of the Pallava sculptor not recognised despite numerous examples which stare right at us. Take for example, these two sets of sculptures from the Arjuna Ratha of the famous Five ratha complex ( whoever came up with these fancy names for these rathas!!), we have already seen a masterpiece in the other wall. We take two more such from the other two walls. Each a gem on its own.

While we were discussing the evolution of the Ardhanari image, we postulated on how the sculptor had brought in the Bull mount to balance the composite form. But was it just a freak moment of sheer brilliance or was it an evolution. Today we are going to see that it was not just a convenient introduction but a masterful confluence of two forms of Shiva.

Lets look at the this form of shiva – rishabandhika – Shiva with his mount. This is from the Arjuna Ratha in Mamallapuram.

These sculptures are classic Pallava styling with minimalistic ornamentation, pleasing body lines but spectacular styling.

I know some of you are already asking, whats so great about this sculpture.It looks pretty normal if not falling short. There seems to be something wrong with his torso and especially his chest. Did the sculptor make a mistake or ….?

Ok, Let me explain.

First of all, its a monolith, carved out of living rock, second its a relief sculpture and lastly, it carries the hall mark of Pallava craftsmanship.

Take a look at this angle, you will understand what i mean.

For Shiva is sculpted not facing you but half turned in profile. See how the master sculptor has made use of the available canvas – since he didnt have enough space to sculpt Shiva facing fully out, he has made masterly use of the depth available to sculpt him in profile

Though this is not a good angle ( thanks Ashok for the picture, you always come with different angles! ), but i am showing this to demonstrate his amazing use of depth and perspective. You can also see the angle of shoulders indicating how the torso has been angled to show a sideward pose. How he managed to visualise it in stone and managed to deliver is mind boggling.

Now, you will be able to better understand the Ardhanari evolution as a confluence of this image mingling with the Ardhanari.

As another example of the Pallava sculptor’s superlative stonecraft, we visit another spectacular pose from the other wall of the Arjuna ratha.

For a second, you forget that this is stone.

Not that angle, view it from this angle.

Look at how he has sculpted the Royal couple, the lady is calling her beloved who turns his head to answer her. Just close your eyes for a second, visualise her voice. ” My dear lover, “.. He turns around ” What is it sweetheart ….”

Breathing life into stone, that’s what the Pallava sculptor did!! It just needs some patient viewing and tuning to his frequency and wavelength.

How much would you give in for your better half

How much would you give in for your better half ? Sorry to disappoint you, but we are still talking sculpture here.

We had seen in the previous post how the Ardhanari image evolved including and highlighting stylistic elements of the male and female portions and the necessity of the sculptor to bring in the bull ( Nandhi) to balance the image. We stopped with stone sculptures with a promise to bring similar study into metal/bronze images.

Chola bronzes are really stunning creations of sublime beauty. The lure of such pieces are so great that once you are caught in their timeless charm, its difficult not to fall in love with them. So how better to start this discussion on the evolution of Ardhanari form from stone to metal, but to showcase a stunning bronze – not any bronze but a very very special bronze. ( collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio)

Once again a few line drawings ( tracings) to take you through the stylistic aspects

A closeup first.

Some interesting questions. Note Shiva’s side has two hands while Umai has only one. Read somewhere that its to show the male dominance – how ridiculous. This entire concept is based on showcasing the equality of the two sexes! Why then are the two hands for Shiva? Well lets step a bit back and see the larger picture

The exaggerated curve of the waist for Umai , the tribanga ( triple flexion) all follow the styling in stone to the T. ( lets compare the two)

Notice the splendid work on Umai’s hands. Picture her delicate fingers gently holding a lotus by its stalk! Compare it with Shiva’s hand holding the Ax. They balance out each other in terms of composition. So now to our pet theory.

Lets for a second take out the Bull and the additional hand and see the image for arguments sake.

You can see the torso leaning awkardly to the right, for want of a better example – in a crowded bus, imagine you reaching out to the conductor to buy a ticket – thats the pose. Jokes, apart, is shiva giving into Parvathi’s might or is Parvathi being swayed / pulled by shiva? Anyway, the second hand of Shiva resting on the bull is purely to balance the tilt.

Arvind raised an interesting question. The flexing of shiva’s leg.

Quote: “does the bent knees and the posture of the lower limbs on the male side indicate a longer limb (as much as it does muscular limb, which is pronounced in certain sculptures and visually identifiable).
Given the bend of the limb and also the lean of the hip, though I get a feel of longer limb on the male side”

Welcome viewers views on this. We will study this in similar bronze sculptures of simple ( not composite ) forms in an other post.

Hey, but this was introduced as no ordinary bronze. Whats so special about this bronze?

Its an unique style – a composite icon formed with half a male, half a female, a bull all framed into a Trident. Wow!! If this is not poetry, what is!!!

Tracing the refinement of the Ardhanari Image

An interesting conversation ensued from the previous post on the Ardhanari iconography, not as a direct question from Sri Dev, but as an offshoot. I thought of developing the same and presenting it here. The sculptures have endured considerable damage and hence have tried to present them as line drawings using simple traces.

At the outset, the objective of this post is not to show the differentiation between the male and the female portions of the sculpture, but to reflect the evolution from the shoes of the sculptor ( well he wouldn’t be wearing shoes then anyway !) and how he had ingeniously solved a complicated problem.

The anatomy shows certain basic differentiations between the male and the female forms of the human species. Without getting into the details, the sculptor was posed with a problem when it came to the Ardhanari form. He had to fuse the male and female forms into a single composite image, maintaining the differences between the two sides, while at the same time, making sure the sculpture doesn’t look grotesque but rather as an appealing image. To illustrate this I have chosen a few random samples and focused just on this question or rather just the solution ( for otherwise each of these images need a full post for themselves)

Lets see an early version of the Ardhanari form from the Pallava period ( not stating that this is the earliest form but more for ease of study). This sculpture is from the Dharma Raja Ratha of the Five Ratha complex in Mamallapuram.

To make it easier have traced it, so that we may study it in detail.

You can see the characteristic Pallava touches, in minimal jewelry and simple formation (predominantly linear structure), but what it lacks, is the life, which we usually feel in a Pallava sculpture – This shows this is a early Pallava sculpture, as we see in later Pallava styling, in most cases the subjects are shown in profile and highly fluid forms, they almost seem to be able to give the viewer a sense of movement though cut into stone. This form however, is very rigid and resembles ( for want of better examples) a fly that’s been swat or a toad thats run over on a road. I am a great fan of Pallava stone sculpture and have argued with many about their superiority over even later cholas, but this particular one,I have to put my hands up. Why? was it because the sculptor was trying this composite form for the first time. It does look so. The differentiations between the two halves except for the breast is not much. Below the waist, its so flat that it leaves you quite disappointed.

So, what could the sculptor do? It was obviously not the same sculptor, but lets imagine a school of sculptors who start refining the form.

Lets look at the next sample – please bear in mind that we have not spent time in dating these sculptures to be sure that this is the evolutionary road but just presenting a series for discussion sake .

once again a trace to highlight or focus just on the key aspects of the sculpture.

You see that the sculptor has realised the need to highlight the gender differences and is focusing on aesthetics. He has given the waist on the female portion a good bend and tried to move that side into a tribanga pose. But this causes problems on the male side, so he had had to flex the right knee a bit. He has tried to bring in subtle changes in the hands, the left hand is more graceful while the right hand is more manly – resting on his hips. He has also brought in changes in the apparel, the saree wound around the legs in the lady side compared to kind of tight boxers for the man portion.

Lets progress a bit more into Chola land and see the perfected form.

A trace again to savor the beauty more

You can see the female portion in full triple flexion ( tribanga) and to compensate for it, the right leg of Shiva is bent fully. This causes the male torso to lean at the awkward angle and though the sculpture would look pleasing it would not be aesthetically appealing. So he comes up with an ingenious solution. Make Shiva rest or lean on to something and the readily available option is his mount or vehicle – Nandhi. Presto, problem solved. Add lots of beautiful ornamentation, develop the differences in the dressing style and this perfected model becomes a standard for all Ardhanari images henceforth.

Lets check out our theory, rushing to Elephanta Caves

What a wonderful sculpture, such grace and you can hardly see the two forms merge – the combination is seamless. And our bull is there to give balance as well. Check out the trace. Ofcourse, there are some differences in the ornamentation and styling but the basics stand.

so how sure are we of this, meaning how do we test this theory. Ok, the male and female portions occupy the right and left sides by default, but then there is one particular sculpture which is an exemption, where they switch sides ( why ? need to find out)

What does happen when this inversion happens and how does it support our theory. Watch the bull behind…

He too has been turned around to face left, to support the male half. What do you say about this ?

We must follow this study with a study on bronze figurines and test the concept. Ofcourse the structural engineering side of the image, the volume of stone which would need support, could differ from the raw strength of metal. But thats another post…..

Photographs are from the American Institute of Asian studies archives

No canvas is too small for the Chola Sculptor

The pull of Pullamangai is so strong that we are not able to leave its premises soon. So we return with another splendid masterpiece captured spectacularly by Arvind once again. This is also a request for readers to spend a few more minutes on their temple visits to take photos with an inclination to share with us – a slight shift from the general pattern of posing in front of a sculpture to show people that you have been there and taking it for its artistic value. Thanks to the digital age, it costs nothing but a few minutes, a steady hand and some creative props.

Sri Arvind has done exactly that.

Hi, this is not an advertisement of handphones !! You will realise the need for this picture once you finish reading the post and seeing this remarkable sculpture.

The ardhanari aspect of Shiva – as the half man half women ( maybe wrongly titled hermaphrodite in some sites), its signifies the larger concept of equality of man and women, of equal sharing of everything including the self – such a far reaching concept has been depicted beautifully in stone here.

There are umpteen references to this form in the thevaram verses, but chose this one adds the Lord’s bull mount as well.

http://www.thevaaram.org/thirumurai_1/songview.php?thiru=2&Song_idField=20850&padhi=085&startLimit=7&limitPerPage=1&sortBy=&sortOrder=DESC

when the good natured lady who has breasts like the lid of the casket is one half of his body.the god, Civaṉ who rides on a bull. as he entered into my mind wearing a young crescent which has no comparison and water which reached him. fever, cold fits, the ten vital airs of the body, excessive bile, acts are of such of a good nature as not to afflict us reaching us.
Translation: V.M.Subramanya Aiyar–Courtesy: French Institute of Pondichery / EFEO (2006)

The beauty of this composition is reflected in the masterly craft of the stone sculptor. Its indeed difficult to sculpt the majestic manly pose of shiva in stone, but to merge it with the feminine grace of Parvathi without loosing the form of the figure is indeed masterclass.

Lets look at the two halves separately, you can see how the masculine and feminine aspects have been accentuated to come up with a hybrid composite.

This expertise of the sculptor is seen this masterly understanding of human form and anatomy. Just see his hands sculpt the composite waistline.

The slightly erect shoulders of shiva while compared to the gently curved ones of Parvathi.

Have highlighted his strokes so that you can better enjoy the superlative stonecraft.

The manly stance of shiva brought out by the slightly bent leg to balance the frame as against the sublime grace of the devi’s, in the background – The bull ( Nandhi) with its stance, the folds of its skin, wow.

But we are not finished yet, for the beauty of this sculpture is in its size.

Truely, no canvas is too small for this master sculptor.

The splendor of Pullamangai – Brahmapurirswarar

Friends, today we are in for a feast. A real Sculptural feast..for we are to witness today the imagination and expertise of the chola sculptor running riot in Pullamangai – the famed Brahmapuriswarar Temple. The temple itself is treasure trove of stone art, but sadly forgotten by most. This is our humble attempt to showcase this magnificent edifice of Chola Art. Thanks to Satheesh and Arvind Venkataraman for taking the time to visit this temple, actually there was selfish motive behind sending them there, so that we may all drink in the sheer brilliance of that place – thanks to our two contributors again for patiently getting the lovely photos

Normally, i would start posts with long shots and then move closer. But today we are going to attempt the reverse for maximum effort. Once you read the full post, am sure you will understand what i mean.

We are going to see a series of four panels – hailing the birth of Muruga. Kumarasambhava and a few amazing Yaalis ( my personal favorites)

To start with will show you the yaalis.

How to describe these in words. Such brilliance lends credence to the thought that these are not there just for ornamental value !!

Hmm, well that’s not the post, here is a lovely Vyaala as well.

Ok, I talked of the birth of Muruga and am showing you nothing of it….ok, here they come.

Here we see, the amazing dance of Shiva and Parvathi. Splendid depiction of the synchronised dancing. The masculine grace of Shiva and the feminine charm of Parvathi is a delight to watch. and watched they are by a resurrected Kama ( manmadha) and his wife Rathi.

The next panel we are going to see is a lovely depiction of Shiva wooing his consort.

See the shy stance of the maiden and the stylish pose of Shiva.

The next panel, shows Shiva embracing Parvathi.

This is a very beautiful depiction of the sense of fluid motion that a sculptor manages to bring into stone. Just watch the right hand of Shiva. He is shown with two right hands, one resting nonchalantly on nandhi behind him – but imagine for an instant that he is moving his hand towards parvathi – the next act – the moving arm is portrayed by the second right hand. Can you sense it

And see the expression of Umai, tender love lorn shyness.

The sculptor is not finished yet, see the detailing on Nandhi.

and the two Ganas on the top and the lady attendant below

Lastly we see shanmuga being born and held by the six mothers, Karthigai Pengal.

Not clear is it, lets explain a bit. A seated Shiva is shown lovingly holding one of the babies who is reaching out to his cheek. While the other five are being held by the mothers.

I am sure some of you are already commenting on the quality of the photographs and sculpture ( both positive and negative comments for sure)

Hang on, let me show you the reason

We are not finished yet

Now for the long shot, it shows how easily we can miss these little bundles of beauty

Now, you know why i went reverse order for the zoom!!

By the way, did i mention ` little’

A creator’s creation creates his Creator’s likeness – then who is the creator

Today we head back to Pullamangai – Brahmapurisvarar temple. A treasure trove of miniature panels and we are going to see a whole ….lost for the right phrase to describe it!! Want to say something that will sound – like when Steve Irwin lands up on a viper’s nest or a pool filled with crocs. Isn’t she a beauty! Crickey, she’s a fiesty one!! How else to describe these. One particular sculpture, where the master sculptor – the master creator that he is, has tried to create the creator likeness. Well, if a creator creates his creator’s likeness – who is the creator. Read on to understand why i say this.

A very important legend is sculpted into these panels. The legend of Shiva – the one without an end or a beginning, the omni potent and omni present, the legend of Lingothbhava. This is a very important sculpture and a concept that was entwined into later temple building canons to occupy a permanent position on the the Shivaite temple architecture – into the Vimanam, positioned on the rear of the sanctum.

The objective of this post is not to hurt anyone’s sentiments, but just a simple reproduction of the legend as required to explain the sculpture.

There are ofcourse umpteen things to notice in this panel.

To start with we see the whole composition from far. There are 4 different parts of this sculpture and we will take each one in detail to view and study.

The main Lingothbhava sculpture.

The legend first – For the uninitiated, Hinduism’s basic trinity play a big role here – The creator ( must be five faced before this episode) Brahma, The preserver Vishnu and the destroyer Shiva. The story goes thus, once there arose an argument between Brahma and Vishnu, as to whose role / job was bigger and thus who was numer uno. As they kept on arguing, a huge pillar of fire emerged in front of them and a heavenly voice declared that whoever can find the start or end of the pillar is the best. Brahma took the form of a Swan and flew upwards to reach the summit and Vishnu took the form of a Boar and started digging down to find the base. They continued for ages without any success, when finally Vishnu gave up. Brahma on the other hand, noticed a flower falling down. He asked where was it coming from and the flower replied that it was falling down for ages from the top, not wanting to give up, Brahma convinced the flower to lie and brought it as proof to Vishnu to state that he had won the wager and collected the flower from the summit. At this point, from inside the fiery pillar Shiva burst forth and plucked out the lying head of Brahma ( he became 4 faced henceforth), and since he had lied, made a ruling that henceforth he wasn’t fit for worship ( so you generally don’t see Hindu Shrines dedicated to Brahma in India). Incidentally the said flower was also made unfit for worshiping within temples henceforth.

Both Brahma and Vishnu accepted that their ego had made them not realise the obvious that it was Shiva in front of them and he was Aaadhi andan ( endless, no beginning , no end). Now we return to the sculpture to view the characters.

Brahma flying upwards, Vishnu as the Boar boring down. Shiva (sadly badly mutilated) bursting from inside the pillar.

To the left and right, of this main panel – we see amazing sculptures of Brahma and Vishnu.


The facial features of Brahma are so exquisite – despite the legend, the sculptor has not once missed to shape the creator’s likeness – So, if a creator creates his creator’s likeness – who is the creator

Hey, this is not a movie or play, to end with the title. We have more beauties to take notice and enjoy.

We have some spectacular miniatures below the main panel, which we will see one by one. The panels first

We have already seen the famous Chandesaanugrahamurthy sculpture from Gangaikonda cholapuram. He is a pint sized beauty of the same. Shiva is shown fondly bedecking a flower garland on Chandesa’s head.

The next is Vishnu lying down on the coils of Adisesha with Lakshmi and another attendant.

This looks like Shiva and Paravathi – The posture seems to resemble Shiva as Gangadhara

The other side, we have three attendants, heavenly beings or royal persons


Next to them, is a very interesting miniature again – Shiva as Maha Sadhashiva. or is it Brahma??

Down below, we come to the last miniature in the panel ( there are of course some lovely Yaali rows which we will see in another subsequent post)

This has Shiva and Parvathi , kind of sitting on a throne with one leg bent ( upto the Knee) and kind of casually put on the throne. Its so amazing that they could sculpt to this detail in this scale. There is a cute Shiva Ghana by the side as well. Well inorder to truly appreciate the greatness of this we got to give you our signature photo – a scale comparison.

Satheesh’s masterstroke …another miniature from the same temple but with a car key by its side.

Picture courtesy’s are for our inhouse specialist Satheesh and Varalaaru.com archives.

A Sculpture Monalisa

This is an amazing sculpture of Shiva as Gajasamhara murthy ( gaja – elephant), samhara ( vanquish) ins sanskrit or Yaani uri porthia murthy ( yaani – elephant, uri – skin, porthia – cover or clad in) in Tamil. This beauty was brought from Darasuram to Tanjore museum.

We have seen many sculptures of this episode before, so whats so great about this one? you might ask. Well when i met one of my mentors Shri. Kudavoil Balasurbramaniam, i asked him about his favorite pieces. ( incidentally the same one was picked up by master sculptor Sri Umapathy in our recent interview – will post it – he is trying out a new form of showcasing these beauties in plates !!)

Well, K Balu Sir explained to me the splendor of this creation. At first glance, i did not pick the amazing details of this sculpture. There are many repetitions of this pose in later chola temples and also in other places, but the chola style is unique. Here is one from Chidambaram.

Chandra of course will pick the Pullamangai sculpture we saw earlier as his pick – since its a miniature and the delightful baby skanda jumping off parvathi’s hands.

But the beauty of this creation – standing at almost 6 feet, the sculptor really used the proportions to bring out at sculptural marvel.

Inorder to fully appreciate the greatness of this magnificent piece, i requested my good friend Mrs. Lakshmi Sharath who was going to Tanjore to get me some closeup pictures. ( Kathie also helped with her snaps!!!)

We have already seen the episode in detail in the earlier post, however the dynamic post, quote from Sri Vidya Dehejia’s book – Art of the Imperial Cholas

Also from Darasuram is a dynamic relief carving of Siva’s jubilant dance of triumph after killing the elephant demon Gajasura. Having flayed the elephant, Shiva held its skin in his outstretched hands and danced a tempestuous dance. The exaggerated twist of his body dramatically conveys his frenzied movement. One cannot but appreciate the sentiment of Saint Manikkavachakar, who described Shiva as a madman:

i shall call you
madman draped in elephant skin
poison throated madman,
madman dancing
amid the trees
of the burning ground,
madman clad in tiger skin,
madman who enslaved
even me.

But the beauty of the piece needs more elaboration. He has four hands on each side – look at how his fingers have torn into the elephant hide and protrude out. Oh! such splendid detailing.

Look at the ornamentation on the hands, legs, neck. The elaborate headdress, flowing locks forming a crown held back by a Skull shaped diadem, his knotted waist cloth swaying in the power of his dance. Exemplary art. But what is his lower left hand doing, its pointing the viewer towards the extreme left of the sculpture ( right as you view it).

Well well well, we see Parvathi in a kind of sidewards stance – her right shoulder is slightly pushed up, as though she is shielding someone, Oh!, there he is, baby skanda, cocooned by his mother, who doesn’t want him to witness the gory scene.

Here lies the magnificence of this sculpture. As you bend down and look upwards from the position of baby skanda, parvathi’s body would block the action of Shiva totally. But we return to the face of Shiva now, for the final flair of the artist, as a singer would finish off his masterful composition with a delightful alapana. Look closely at the face of shiva.


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The side facing away from Paravathi and Skanda – the right side ( left as you view it) – eyes brows are arched in anger, while the other side is more gentle

Patanjali – the snake bodied saint

We have already seen the interesting post of the Tiger legged saint Vyagrapadhar. Today we are going to see his contemporary – The snake bodied saint – Patanjali. There are many versions and legends associated with this interesting person again liked to Chidambaram and the Dance of Shiva.
( Thanks to Mrs. Geetha Sambasivam for the excellent narration in tamil and Picasa contributor Ms. Komilla for the stunning pictures)

The dating of his time is difficult – some say its from time primordial. Legends associate him as an incarnation of Adhi Sesha, the mount of Vishnu with an interesting anecdote. Some say when Vishnu took the different incarnations, Adhi Sesha took to the earth as a Rishi- as he fell, he was found as though prostrating at the feet of a pious women and hence the name – Paadha – feet, anjali – oferring salutation. There is another interesting anecdoate – Once Vishnu was resting on Adhi sesha he was able to visualise the cosmic dance of Shiva in his dreams. As he smiled in his sleep, Adhi Sesha also realised the weight of the Lord increasing. When He asked the Lord for reasons for the same, Vishnu beautifully explained the delightful dance of Lord Shiva, hearing this Aadhi Sesha was filled with desire to personally witness the dance of Shiva, and hence Vishnu directed him to go to Chidambaram to wait to see the performance! I due course Adhi Seshan was born as the son of Rishi Athirki and Anusuya.

His contemporary is said to be Pusha Mitra ascertained to BC 3 rd C, so he is also dated to that period by some. Others ascertian him to be a contemporary of noted Siddhar Tirumoolar – one of the 18 Siddhars. Some others opine that Tirumoolar’s Tirumanthiram is the translation of the sanskrit work Maha Bhasyam of Patanjali. All these are theories and its very difficult to pass judgements on them. Lets see what Tirumoolar writes about him

Patanjali was born to Athiri maharishi and Anusuya. The Rishi had desired to have the three main gods of the Hindu trinity – and hence were born Thatatreyar, Durvasar and Patanjali. Also was born Arundathi who later married Vashistar. About 100 kms from Coimbatore is a place called tirumurthi hills, is ascertained as his birthplace ( in days of yore this area was referrred to as Southern Kailash). Athiri Rishi prayed to the Amanilingeshvaram shrine there and he counts Patanjali as one of the 18 Siddhars.

He also mentions that Patanjali along with his 7 friends learnt Yoga under the direct tutelage of Nandhi.

One of Siddhar, Bogar 7000 writes thus about Patanjali. In his quest for ultimate enlightenment through Yoga, he is led to the right part of Kundalini Yoga and asked to study the path set by Patanjali, Vyagrapadhar, sivayogi Munivar. There are many more references to patanjali in Bogar’s 7000.

The Patanajli who authored the dance scriptures and the one who authored Yoga scriptures along with the one who wrote the Maha Bhasyam – are they one and the same or different individuals. Is a questions that is difficult to answer.

It is said that since Patanjali’s very breath was toxic, he always tutored his pupils from behind a screen. However, one day, one of pupils had just left to answer natures call outside his class, when the rest got the best of human curiosity and lifted the veil – and were all destroyed. The only surviving pupil was the one who had gone out and he brought out the texts and since he missed part of the lecture there are missing infos!!

Here is an interesting anecdote on him: The very first people who witnessed the cosmic dance of Shiva are Patanjali , vyagrapathar but nandhi always claimed that he was the foremost to witness the divine spectacle. He had watched it standing by the side and it got to his head. Similarly Vyagrapahar also felt a bit heady that the feet of the tiger that the Lord gave him to fetch the fresh blooms even before the sun rose, made him resemble the lord who wore the Tiger skin as his garment. Further the tiger legs also gave him swifter speed to match the dancing steps of the Lord. So both of had great pride in themselves and looked down at Patanjali.

Further during the special days of Pradhosham, the Lord danced within the two horns of Nandhi – Nandhi visualised this eternally and even heard the ringing of his ankle bells and rhythmically shook his head often to keep the beat. Oneday, Shiva decided to introduce a new form of dance and there was a huge audience gathered comprising of Devas, Patanjali, Vyagrapadhar – Nandhi was standing with his Drum.

Nandhi started talking to Patanjali and Vyagrapadhar on he witnessing the Lord cosmic dance in Chidambaram. Vyagrapadhar sang the praise of his tiger legs and how with their benefit he too could match the Lord, and hence he is the one who enjoyed the dance more. And since he was watching, the Lord too showed his entrordinary prowess in dance on that day ! Hearing this Nandhi laughed, dismissing Vyagrapadhar claims, he talked of the special dance of shiva during Pradhosa days, for he dances specially for him. so saying both of them look down at Patanjali – belittling him, for he has no horns or tiger legs. Patanjali felt really sad and for once tought that maybe since he had a snakes body and a human head he could not fully appreciate the dance of Shiva.

Just at that time Shiva entered with tremendous fanfare, having known of the banter of Nandhi and Vyagrapadha, and wanting to teach them a lesson, he tells Patanjali – that he should set the rhythm and the song for his new dance. The specialty would be that there would be no horns or legs in the song ( pun – in tamil – the long vowels are written with additional marks – which are called horns and legs) – so Patanjali was filled with joy and gleefully composed a song without any long vowels. Thereby teaching both his learned friends a lesson in humility

We now see an interesting mural from Tanjore big temple corridor – The Lord of dance blissfully dancing away with Vyagrapadhar and Patanjali in rapt attention.

Pullamangai, Shiva as Ardhanari – A guest post by Satish Arun

Today we have a new addition to our team. An art enthusiast transforms into a writer in our columns. Mr. Satish Kumar Arunachalam, a software professional, crosses the border from being a silent appreciator of art, literature and spirituality to share his wonderful experiences with us. We look forward to many more such post from him. Over to satish

Those who have been following Vijay’s Posting in this space, will be very much familiar with Pullamangai. Pullamangai is a treasure trove; A masterpiece, created by sculptors, 1000 years back. This temple which has numerous miniature panels, which are just the size of the stretched palm, is a treat to watch.

The following piece will make the readers to recollect Pullamangai. ( vijay’s favorite tiger belly shiva ghana )

Though the miniature panels are the specialty of Pullamangai, in this article, we are going to see another masterpiece , located on the ‘Vimanam’ of Pullamangai temple.

There are many songs sung in praise of Lord Shiva in different forms and the form in which he shares his left part with ‘Umai’ is no exception.

Thiru Gnana Sambandar sings in Tiruchirapalli as,

nandrudaiyAnai theeyadilAnai naraivellE
rondrudaiyAnai yumaiorubaga mudayanai
chendraiyAdha thiruvudaiyAnai chirApalli
kundrudaiyAnai kUravennullang kulirume’

(when I talk about Civaṉ who has two holy tanks, naṉṟuṭaiyāṉ and tiyatillāṉ who has a spotless white bull who has Umai on one half who has wealth unlike the wealth that people get as a result of their virtuous acts done in previous births who has the hill of cirāppaḷḷi as his abode my heart is comforted

Translation: V.M.Subramanya Aiyar–Courtesy: French Institute of Pondichery / EFEO (2006)
Courtesy – www.thevaaram.org)

and Appar sings in ThiruKodika as,

‘pUnara vArat tane puliyuri araiyinAnE
kAnilven kOvanamung kayilOr kabAlamEndhi
UnumOr pichchaiyAnE yumaioru bagaththAnE
kOnalven piraiyinAnE kOdika vudaya kOvE’

(one who wears a cobra in the form of a garland one who wears on his waist a tiger`s skin when we see him one who has as his food a small amount of alms, holding in the hand a skull, and tied a white loin-cloth one who has as his half Umai one who has a curved white crescent king of kōṭikā!

Translation: V.M.Subramanya Aiyar–Courtesy: French Institute of Pondichery / EFEO (2006)
Courtesy – www.thevaaram.org)

We are going to see the form of Shiva, which these great saints have praised and sung quite often in their padigams.

The form in discussion is known as the ‘Arthanaareeswaran’ aka ‘ammaiyappan’ (mother and father) aka ‘umai oru pagan’ (umai on one side of his body) etc.

One half of the body is in male form and the other half is in female form. The right half is male and left half, female. The significance of this form is that, the female power is equal to the male and without the female or the Shakthi, the male power cannot function. Please refer to the link for the purana linked with this form of Shiva



Left side of the sculpture gleams with feminism

Right side portrays the majestic male look. A single face with two different expressions, when looked from different angle. One cannot stop wondering the artistic skills of the sculptor.

I have heard Dr.Kalaikovan speak about Chola art. He says, ‘Chola artists knows the anatomy well’. No other proof is needed to validate this statement, other than the ‘ammaiappan’ sculpture we are looking at.

Umai’s slender waist, and the beauty with which she carries herself; the Lords masculine shoulders and the majestic pose with which he places his hands on the Rishabam; – a thousand words cannot describe the beauty, which the sculptor has brought before our eyes.

I was fortunate enough to visit this temple and see this masterpiece along with the varalaaru team (www.varalaaru.com). One of the elderly gentleman in the temple, observing our groups interest in the sculptures, came forward and helped us to get a ladder, with which we climbed the vimana to have a closer look at this ‘arthanaareeswaran’ sculpture. After enjoying the beauty till it was dark, we started to the railway station and before we left, thanked and asked this gentleman his name. Even after getting into the train, we could not come out of the melancholy caused by his name. He told us that his name is ‘Ammaiappan’.