The Art Of Ancient India_11

PART FIVE

LATER SCHOOLS OF THE DECCAN AND THE SOUTH

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C H A P T E RT W E N T Y - O N E

The Cola and RelatedSchoolsof the Tamil south (Mid-Ninth to ThirteenthCenturies)

The Colas were the successorsto the Pallavas as the most prominent south Indian dynasty. However, the distinction between Pallava and Cola art goes far beyond chronological implications, lor while Cola-period rrr revea]s an indebtednessto the Pallavastyle, it is much more than merely a second step in a pallava-Cola chronologicalcontinuum.An imporranrregional disrinctionmusr also be nrade when discussins PallavaversusCola art. The homeland of rhi Pallavas and the region where most of their monuments are found was centered around Kaflcipuram, but the Cola nucleus was further south in the viciniry ofTanjore. Thus, it is likely that disparatelocal'traditions had some efect on the art. It is alsoprobable that the art traditions of lesserknown families, such asthe Pdlrdyas,Muttarayars,and Irukkuvels had some bearine on the formation of the Cola idioms, although much work is yet to be done before the inferaction between these groups is understood. Further509

more, the Colas may have had a long-standing artistic tradition of their own upon which to draw (though nothing remainsofit), for they are known in history as early as the third century n.c. in A6okaninscriptions.Xpigraphson sorneof the approximately one hundred extant Cola stone temples indicate that these monuments replaced earlier brick structures,clearly indicating an art tradition prior to the secondhalf of the ninth century, at which timc it apparently became the practice to either build or rebuild religious structures in stone.l Initiation of the stonetradition is largely associated with the reign of Vijayalaya Cola, who wrested control of Tanjore probably from the Muttarayar chieftains in the middle of the ninth century and thus brought the Cola family into a political and artistic prominence that was to last approximately four centuries. Although most authodties agree tlat a freestanding stone temple at Narttemalai datesfrom

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IATER SCI{OOIS OF THE DtrCCAN AND THI

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approximately the mid-ninth century, thcre is considcrabledisagreemcntabout the patronage o f t h c . t n , c t r t r e( F i g .z r . r ) . A P a n d l r i n s c r i p t i o n of rzz8 reGrs to it as the Vijayalaya Coliivara templc,z a name suggestingthat the nonument was built during the reign of Vijayalaya Cola and rvas perhapspatronizcd by hin.r. However, the tenple difers considerablyin form and style from others that are more firnly cstablishedas early Cola structures.On that basis,aswcll ason other inscriptional evidenceat the site, the teulple is now thought to be a nonurnent of Muti"rny", m".r.,f".tl,re dating fron-r around the middle of the ninth century.3 Thus, while its creation roughly coincides with the rise of the CoJa family and Vijayalaya specifically,it may nor be a Cola tcrnpleper se.Strchscemingconfusion frcquently arisesin the study of South Asian art when dynastic designationsare used to dcfine styles. For example, to be considcred a "Cola" templc, must a ternple have been dedicated by a C61aking, a membcr of his family or

retinue, or one of his subjects,or is it suflicient simply that the templc rvas created during thc period of Colr supremacyand in Cola territorics? Basic questionsof terminology such as this are 'rill widely dircnr.cd uirh reg.rrd to Coh art (and indecd, many other arcasof South Asian art history). It is probably most accurateto consider the Vijayalaya Coli6vara temple a rnonument of Muttarayar patroragc, but onc constructed during the late pre-Co]a or early Cola pcriod, and therefore a fitting subject for study in relationship to early Cola art.a Dedicated to Siva, the Vijayalaya Coli6vara temple consistsof a joined ardhana1lapasrnd tinaxa orientcd to the west and surroundcd by .ub,hrine' (parinralnyas:Fig. zr.z). OF thc.c. six rcnain and there are traces of a seventh, although it is possiblethat originally there werc eiglrt of thern dedicated to thc eight parioaru asis conmon in south deities(astapaivarailerafa), Iudian Saivite tenplcs of this period.6 All these elementswere originally enclosedina rectangular

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2r. r. Vijayalaya Colrsvaraternple fronr west. NarttaDralai, Tarnil Nadu, India. Ca. mid-ninth centuly.

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zr.z. Plen of Vijayalaya CdliSvara tenple. Narttemelai,Tarnil Nadu, India. Ca. mid-ninth century.

ir sufiicient during the r territories? I as this are to Cola art rtl Asian art , ro consider oDument of ructed durperiod, and ir relationa \,ollsvara mdapas and rouaded by of rhe"" a seventh, rhere were ft parivarc on in south -6 All these rectangular

compound, The exterior of the main temple is nearly devoid of figurative sculpture except for the two duarupalas on the wesr(Figs.zr,r, 2t 3), some figures on the upper stoies of the vimaxa, and a seriesof small sculpted panels placed at intervals along the base ofthe ternple,Insread,it is mainly omamented by the detailing of various elementsofthe architectural scheme, including the base (adhisthana),the walls of the first story (tala), and the cornices and other details of the upper stories. The pilastered wall tr€atment rs a typically southem architectural feature, but the lack of niches containing deities (devakostha) is at variance with the usual Cola format, again suggesting that the structure is not of COla manufacture.The pilastershave plain and angu-

21,3. DrAfipAIa to left of west entrance, Vijayelaya Coii3varatemple. N,rttamalai, Tanit Nadu, India. Ca. mid-niuth century.

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lar brackct-typc capitals. The heavy cornice of tbc prastara abovc thc pilastcrcd wall separates thc first ticr (rala)from the secoudrala, which is continuous around both thc llrttaa,r and t]re atdhaua4lapa.However, this is the final level of the ardhamatl/apawith its llat roof while the superstnrcfrrrcof the uittnna cotrtinLtc.in a series of diminishing talas, the next two bcing squarc in plan, the next round, and thcn the rvl.rolctoppcd by a citctir likharc. In contrastto P , l l r v r s r r p e r , t r r t c t u r eusl .t i c h \ c c r ) r t o r i s c directlv out of the walls bclorv, the suPcrstructure of the rirrdzn is rcccsscd.Like the main ternple, tlte parivarrrshrineshave pilasteredwalls and appcar vcry simple duc to thc minimal figLrrative sculpture. These shrincs arc singlestoried, consisting of a gafihaglha, and ardhanapdapa alad a rowd iikhara above the shrine. Tlre entranceto tl'\c dhamar4apaofthe main ter.npleis flanked by a pair of dvarapalas(Ftg. zr.3) that are approxirnately buman-size. These two-arr-nedfigures stand in the twistcd rnanner with one leg turned acrossthe body often seenin southernIndian styles.Each figure rcstson a club and has one hand in the uisuaya, or wondcring, pose. In style, the slendcr bodics are part of the southcrn trxdition visiblc since the Setavahana and Iksveku periods, although detailsof the costur.neand jewelry nay bc indicative of regional or local styles. Witlrin, dre ardhanax/apa has six pillars, arrangcdin two rows of thrcc (Fig. zr.z). In sizc,botlr insideand orLt,the uimaflais larger than the ardhana4dapa and it consistsof two elernents, the garbhagfia propcr and a surrounding passagcr,vay.Perhaps the rnost striking fcaturc of tl.re shrine area is the circular plan of the garhlngrha.The srrrroundingpass.rgcwayis very narrow, suggesting that it rnay not hxve bccn used for circunumbulation by devotees but may h.rvc bccn n functionrl fc.trureserring rs r transition bctlvccn the circular wall of the sl.rine and tlrc rcctanguiar exterior of tl:'e vimana. Thc circular slrrine containsa liiga md a yoni. 'Whether or not tlis temple and others of Vijayalaya's time are truly "Cola" r,vorksis uncertain, but by dle time of Aditya I, Vijayalaya's son, wlro ruled fiom 87r to go7 and extended the Cola holdings to includc former lands of

the Pallavas extcnding to the Rastrakula territorrcs, a Cola stone tradition nust havc been well established.Inscriptional evidence suggests rh.rrAdity.rI rvrsrccpon.ib]c[or thc consrrrrcrion of rows of Siva tcrnplcs that wcrc likc thc "banncrs of his own victorics"-of stonc on thc two banks of thc Kaviri Rivcr.T Onc author has listed r.norc than forty temples belonging to this period,s although it is likcly that some of these were monurnents of thc Muttarayars, Irukkuvels, or other contemporary families. Aditya l's son, Par5ntakaI (r. Sol-SS), was also responsiblc for building a nurnbcr of tcrnplcs, including a funerary tenlrple (pallippadai) over the remains of his fathers and thus, under Aditya I and Par-ntaka I, Cola art as we know it received its first major impetus. Thc surviving templcs of this carly stagc, thc late ninth and first half of thc tenth centuries, arc gencrally small in size,rnade completely of stone (in contrast with later temples, which oftcn have brick supcrstructurcs),and consistof a joited a hana4/apa artd vimdna. Invariably, thesetcn.rplesdisplay exquisite workmanship. A finely preservedexample is the Brahmepuri$vara ternple at Pullar.nangai(Fig. zr.a). Thc tcrnple was clcarly in cxistcnccby 918, asindicated by an inscription datcd in the clcvcnth year of Par-ntaka I, at which timc it had alrcady bccn consecratcd.r0However, construction may have taken placc during the lattcr part of Aditya I's reign or during the first part ofthat ofParantaka I. Dedicated to Siva (the name Brahrnapuri(vara is not original), the temple faceseastand consistsof the ardhama4dapa xtd uinana (Ftg.zt.5), akhough the front portion of the a hama1lapa has been obscuredby the addition of a later mukhanatllapa and tlre superstructureof the vitnata has urtdev gone modi{ication in post-Cola times. The rcmplc i. in a shrllow mrsonrl pit. a "irurtcd fairly common feature of errly Cola temples, apparcntly originally intended to havc bccn filled with water. The lowest member of the tcmple base is carvcd in an inverted lotus design, and thus the tenplc wasprobably conceivedsymbolically as rising fron thc cosmic watcrs on a lotus. Such direct use of water and water symbolism secmsparticulxrly to have been a southem lndian feature, as suggestedin earlier Pallava cavesand

THECO}A AND RELATED SCHOOLS J'J

lrrakrila tersEhave been rnce suggesls construction iere like the : stoneon the re autl-rorhas nging to this ome of these evars, Irukrilies. Aditya , also responrples, includai) over the mdcr Aditya n-e know it rlr' stage,the rr}r centudes, ompletely of opies, which rnd consistof r- lnvariably, rkmanship. A hmapuri Svara . I ne temPle rJicatedby an 'ear of Paranr been consezl have taken ra I's reign or rtaka L Dediriivara is not corrsistsof the . ahhough the rpa has been w*hawa4lapd iaa has underI

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2r.4. Brahmapuri6varatemple, south wall fron southeast. Pullamangai, Tamil Nedu, India. C0la period. Ca. late ninth--early tenth century.

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zr.,s. Plan of Brahnlpuriavara temple. Pullamangai, Tamil N,du, India. Cola period. Ca. late ninth-early tenth century.

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Brahmaon south wall of ardhana4,lapa' -,"*of.. 2r.6. Caneia lndia' Nadu' Tamil Putlamangai' 'Cola ""ii*t, period. Ca late ninth-€arly tmth cenury'

preciseform' temples,although -of not in this anduimara the ardhoma4(opa fir" .*t.rio.t ofbase' are articulatedin the standarddivisions ,op"rrt ucture, althoughtheseelements -"11. "nd from thoseof the Vijayalaya diff", "onrii"t"bly Nentamalai one of the at ,.-pl. Coli6u"." ex-or, oro*inal,, elementsof the base'for comis which (lion$, of yafis frieze a*ple, is rhe The -olt.. Cut" t.-pl"t, bo*t earlyandlate niches pilastered wirh ;;llt ;.. (a*,"eutlnl "ni"ul"t"d that protrude flrom the suface of and it. *.ii, it aoai"g one eachon the south the on one and north sidesof the ardhand4lapo, h I)imana' the of sides .ooth. *"rt, and north olr variants later be to form, thesenichesaPPeu of eariiletPallav" walls asseen'for ail" ,r"*-.n Mi'mallt' example, in the "Arjuna rutho" at (Fiq. 14.23). olu"m t;-;;.?, pro"."diog clockwise around the systematlc temple, rhe /erako5lhas teveal a Ga4eia with i"o.iler"phi. program beginning

(Fig zr'6)' r" irrJ..'r.ft*"tt if rhearihanandapa (now lost) and proceeding with Dak5in:rmUni

on west wall of vifiafid' 2r.?. Litigodbhava comPosition

rempie.Pu)lamangai'Tamil Nadu' i,.li'","1.iit*" p"tiod. C". leteninth-early tenth century' r.rdi". C^ol"

by the or the south wall ofthe airrana(identified Liirgodabove)' tree and scenes ".".t"p-tt"S In th. *.'t of rhe uinana (Fig' t't r,o"i.rutii on the north o{ th< vimdno' and ,rlri,'st"lt"t" p"tga on the north wall of the ari^"tiv zr.8)' As in standardiconodhonlaadapa"(Fig. in Hinduisnr, the placement ;t"ohj; ;'d.; beglnrung ot Jf C"".Si and Dtrrga representthe and obstacles) of *Jti" Ot th. o"ve'coming respecvictory' of religious th" ".ii.rr"-.nt of Daksir'rarnurrt rively.Likewise-the appearance (the "southern Form") of Siva is appropnate appears io the south, while Brahma commonly in southem-style temPles' The ;;';i";,h of the Lingodbhavarnurti in the oi"""t"""t indicates the Saivite dedication i""t,-" "i"ft" and carriesthe implicit suggesuon ofthe temple, over of Sir,"', in{ittit"tt"ss and his supremacy Visnu ' 'ili. and Brahma.

iiig.aUft""" form(Fig'zr'7)isexplained Viqlruand Supposedly' of Pure4as' i" "-""^tit concemBrahm-awere engagedin an aJgument archiprincipal thi *"' ,i"* oi ."" ll-*iti"rt

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6a well of vimAnd, Fi, Tamil Nedu, l)' tenth century.

2I.8. Durgi on noth wall of a hanu1lapa, Btehmapuriivara temple.Pullamangai,Tardl Nadr:, India. Cola period.Ca. lateninth-eariytenthcentury.

dentfied by the rbove),Lingodhs uinana (Fig. the dmana, rr'd ;all of the arsrandardicono, the placement he beginning of and f obstacles) ncoryJ resPecrf Dakgiqamnrti r is appropdate nmonly appears e temples. The ramfrti in the ir-ite dedication plicit suggestion tuPremacyover

tect of the universe when a giant liiga appearcd before them. Brahma took t}rc form of a goose (hathsa),or rode upon his hathsarahana, to seek the top of the linga, whlle Vi94u took the form of a boar to find the bottom. When neither could find the end of the lihgo they realized that they were in the presenceof something greater than themselves,namely Siva, and they began to pay devotion to it, at which time Siva manifested lrimself in the liiga. (According to some versionsof the text, Brahma did not admit that he had not found the end of the liiga arrd, becauseof this lie, was doomed to have no temples dedicated to him-a modification undoubtedly intended to explain the almost total lack of Brahma temples in South Asia.) hr the Pullamangai relief, the central niche contains Siva appearing in the liiga while Brahma flies above and Vigqru furrows below. In the side niches, Brahma. (left) and Visqru (riglrt) pay

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This format, in which a central niche containing the principal subjectis flanked by subsidiary

pilasteredniches, is used not only in early Cola ternples such as this, but also is found in later monuments. Gaqre6a, in the south niche of the (Fig. zr.6), for example, is accommdhanandapa panied by gazas(he is lord of rhc ganas.as one of his names, Gar.rapati,implies) and his mouse u7hana appearsat the upper right. The Durga group on the north side of the a hamatl(apa (Fig. zr.8) similarly contains the main figure of the goddes standing atop the head of the defeated,decapitatedMahisa, and she is flanked by representationsof her lion, deer, and male devoteesin the side niches. The composition of the Durga group recalls the Durga rclief in the Varaha cave at Memallapuram (Fig. r4.rz), including the devoteewho is about to decapitate himself at the lower left. Above each sculpture group at Pullamangai is a decorated tympanlrm dclicatcly carvcd with foli,rteand othcr moriG thar carricsout minor aspectsof the templc's iconographic program. Stylistically, the figures revcal a debt to Pallava art in the relaxedposturesand naturalisticstances. A slenderbody type prevails,asis generally true sinceSatavahana-Iksvtkutimcs in the southeast regions, and the high headdresses and detailing of the jewelry and garments further reveal ties to Pallava and other south Indian styles. l n a d d i t i ' n t o t h c r n c i n i c o n i c6 g t r r eg r o r r p s . the temple is adorned with numerous, smaller, sculptcd vigncttcs, including standing figures within small pavilionlike forms that project fiom the upper portion of the wall of the temple above the empty pilasterednichcs fanking the iconic niches. These omate architectural forms add a great deal ofvisual interest to thc extcrior of the temple and consist of pilastered nichcs surmounted by candtolalas.A lively figure in a naturalistic pose adorns each of these pavilions. In addition, the baseof the temple is dccorated with morc than sixty small panels located beneath thc pilasters of the wall (Fig- zr.9), including representationsof aspectsof Siva and Visnu, episodesftorr. the Ranayapa, and other subjects. Another temple approximatcly contemPoraneous with the Brahmapuri(vara temple at Pullamangai is the Nege(varasvami tcmple at Kunbakonam, which hastraditionally beenheld

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2r.9. Detail, basc of Brahrnapuriivarx tcmple. Pullamangai, Tanil Nadu, India. Cola period. Ca. latc ninth-early tenth ccnlury.

2r.ro. PlaD of Nascivarrsve ti ter11ple. Kunbakonarn, Tanil Nadu, India. Ca. lateninrh exrrhtenth century-

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to be a Cola tenple from the reign of Aditya i or Par-ntaka I.1r It has rightly been noted tlut if this templc were not obscured by thc many Iater additions and surrounding buildings oflatcr

date (which makc it difiicult to photograph), as well as by stucco accretions ro the original structure, it would indeed bc one of the finest of all South Asian artistic crcations.As is typical of this period, the original structure consistedof an adhana4lapa and a vimaxa (Fig. zr.ro). The beauty and elegancc of this period's sculpture style is nowhere more clear than in the figures that adom the pilastcred nichcs on the exterior walls of the temple. These include deities in the principal niches, such as a higlly naturalistic and rclaxed reprcscntation of Siva as Bhiksttana on thc norrh side of the temple (Fig. zr.rr). In this form, which was extremely popular in south Indian art, Siva becomes an asceticin order ro atone for his sin of having cut of one of Brahma's headsin anger. Forbidden to wear clothing, Siva is adomed only with ornamcnts, including a snake around his hips.

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THE COIA AND RELATED SCHOOLS

Xumbakonatn, snih century.

tr of Aditya I :n noted that bv the manv ldingsof later photograph), rhe original of the finest . As is typical of e consisted . z r .r o ) . this period's clearthan in ed nicheson theseinclude r.as a hig,hly mon or )rva rf the temple rasextremely becomesan in of having oger.Forbidrd only with rnd his hips.

2r. r r. SivaasBhiksetanaon north wall of NageSvarasvami temple. Kumbakona0r, Tamil Nadu, Ildia. Ca. late ninth-carly tenth century.

zr.rz. Femalefigure o1INagejvarasvani temple.Kun1bakonam, Tamil Nadu, India_ Ca. late ninth,early tenth centuty.

In addition, he holds a skull cup in his front left hand, representing the skull of Brahme, wirh which Siva begged for food. Secondaryniches on the temple walls contain representationsof standingfi gures,eachapproximately human-size, some of which may depict charactersfrom the (Figs. zr.tz-t4)-rz Theseare so lifelike Ranaydt-16 and naturalistic in pose, facial Gatures, and individualization of form that it is possiblethat the representations are based on specific individuals. Such a tradition is unusual but not unknown in south Indian art, and may be traced at least to the Pallava period. The naturalism of the figures indicates a predilection rhat was maintained in the south at least since Iksvaku times. Again, the slender body type with the narrow ankles, wrists, waist, andjoints prevails, except in specific instances where fuller forms suggestthe requisites of the subject marter, as seenin one ofthese niche figures (Fig. zr.14). Many ofthe figures appearto be almost totally 2r.rj. Male figure on NageSvarasvenitcmple. Kumfiee from the niches,and convey the appearance bakonam,Tarnil Nadu, India. Ca. late ninrh-early tenth of truly standing within them rarher than being cenrury.

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TATER SCHOO1SOF THE DECCAN AND THB SOUTH

tcmPle.Kum21.14.Male figurc on Nageivarasvani tcn'h bakonan,Tamil Nadu,India.Ca.lateninch-early

attached to then. One autho. has correctly remarked that COla sculPturesare best seen in the architectural settings for which they were intended,rl due to the dynamic interaction createdby the relationship of the figure and the niche. In spite of the naturalism, even in the facial features,the figures fall within what must be consideredto be the stylistic parameters of south Indian sculpture and reveal a clear tie to earlier traditions. Thus, the face of the sculPture in Figure zr.r4 looks remarkably similar to the f"cesof maoy early imagesfrom Andhra Pradeslr, particularly those seen on Buddha {igures frorn ihe Satavahanaand Ikgvaku periods; it is also possible that the garment falling over the left ihoulder is derived frorn Buddhist styles of the K61ra River region. Thus the earlier Andhra traditions may have perrneatcd the south and persistedin the later style developments.How!ver, it is an intriguing possibility that the Colas or Cola artists had actually seen some of the Andhra region Buddhist remains, for inscriptional evid-encereveals that the Great Stupa at

Anardvati was in good condition at least until A..D. rz34 and it is known that the Co]as were active in this very region at certain trmes. Another important monument from this early phase of Cola art is the Koranganatha templc at Srinivasanallur,which may have bcen buili during the reign of Aditya I or that of Parentaka i (fig. zr.r5).ta On the exterior, the temple's division lnto thc a hanan/apa ar'd ,inino ^pp" rs typical. However, within, a vestibule or antcchamber (antarala) separatlng thc pillarcd hall from the shrine is a very unusual addiiion to the carly Cola temple plan (Fig. z r . r 6 ) . A : i s g c n e r ailn C o l r - p e r i o da r c h i t e c t t t r e . rlte ardhana4dapais flat roofed wlrile thc rirraaa risesin ticrs (rala),in this case,two (/r,ltala),and is then cappcd by a square gritla (neck) and likhan. Made of brick rathcr than stone, the of thc vinata apparcntly'uffqrqd supcrrtructtlre danrrge ,nd has bcen rcpaired l hcrcfore. the cxterior dctailing of this portion of the temple cannot be studied as a reliable index of the orisinal form. The cntire temPlc is situatedin a rnaionry-lincd pit and the lower moldings of the base includc a nassive double lotus, again in an apparentattenPt to suggestthat the temPle ariseson a lotus from thc cosmic waters A plank acrossthe fiont of the moat enablcsthe devotee to enter the templc rvithout rvalking in the watcr. Circunambulation of the structure was undoubtedly performed on the outer side of the moat. Thc carved dccoration of the exterior of the tcmple ranks anong thc best of this period A yali lriezealotlg tlte ba'e i. frrrclycrrvcd. con.i'iinq of .rnirnacedforms of lions. r' wcll as rnd evcn .onte figtrrc5.The main "l"ph.,ntr. icorrographicprogr'rrrr oI tl'e tcrnple is carri"d o.tt ty approxin.ratelyhuman-sizcfigures in pil:rsterednichcs on the cxrerior wajls oI rhe 'arr)haunndapa and uinana in rhe couth Indian to the Pallava period. A decotra;eablc pattem , r , " d r v - p " n u - ( F i g s .u r . r 7 . z r . r o ) w a sp l a c e d ,bou.'.".lt principJ ti.h.. ,ltlrotrgh thar on

2r.16. Plar of Koransanatha ternplc. S Div3sanallur, Tanril Nadu, India. C61a Pcriod. Ca. tate ninth-+ar1y tenth centurY.

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: .: plan (Fig. - .uclitecture, ; the lirlana dtitala), al'd ; (Iieck) and :lrn stone, thc i.:(-ntly sufi-ered Thercfore, the ..f thc temple rnclcx of the :i siturtedIn a :: moldings of : ; lotus, again :-r.rrthe tcr-t-rple . ..rcrs.A piank - :. tl-redevotcc :lking in the : rlrLlclule .was rLrter sidc of -:..:rriorof thc ':.ris p c r i o d .A cirvcd, con::.. as rvell as :-,. The rrrain : i:r:Plc is car: -,:2.'figurcsin '..,rlls of the . .outh lndian '-::.,J.A deco:, ..-aspllced - ',:gh rhat on

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LATERSCI{OOLSOF THE DECCAN AND THE SOUTH

2r.r8. Fcnlale frgure on rvcst !r-a1l of /i,rira, KoranNadu, Indix $nath:r tenlple. Sriri\':tsanallllr, Tlllil Cola period. Ca. latc ninth-early tcDth cenlury.

the north is missing. The niche on the south of the adhama4/apais empty but thc n.rainniche on the soutlrofthe yilrbra containsr representJtion of Siva Dakginamurti (Fig. zr.r7) accompanied by animals and seatedhuman devoteesarranged in tiers in the fanking niches as well as large, standing malc attcndants in separatcnichcs on eithcr sideofthe main composition. 5iva, beautifully carved, sits in a peaceful attitude. Thc central deuakasthaon the west of the temple is empty, the in.nge having been lost, but it is flani<ed by a pair of Gmalc attendants in the pilasteredniches to either side (Fig. zr.I8). Like others at this temple, the figures in tlis group display a great degree of refinement in the carving and in the vcry naturalistic poses and attitudes, and seem to be situated comfortably within their narrow niches. The figures are perhaps rnore omately decorated rvith jewelry than hasbeen scenin the preceding nonuments, posibly an indication ofa stylistic direction. Thc highly ornate, iloriated tympanun.r above the niche on tl:e west (Fig, zr.r9) carriesa representation of Varaha holding the earth goddess, a subjectwhich may be important in deterrnining

THB CoLA AND REIATTD SCHOOIS

Jzt

,t.17. Si.'" Dakgiqamiirti or south wall of rimana, Kot^tganatha temple. Snnivasanallur, Tamil Nadu, India. Cola period. Ca. lateninth-+arly tenth century.

2r.r9. Tympanum on west, Koranganttha temple. Sriruvasanaltur, Tamil N.du, India. Cdla period. Ca. late ninth-early tenth century.

n the south of main niche on rePresentaaron ) accompanied iotees arranged rvell as large, ,rate niches on n. Siva, beautianitude. The I rhe temple is lost, but it is iendants in the ig. zr.i8). Like s in this group oement in the listic poses and eJ comfortablY tre figures are d rvith jewelrY trq monuments, c direction. The rum above the ic a representaLrth goddess, a in determining

the identification of the now lost image of a deity originally placed in the niche below.15 The deeply cut forms and delicacy ofthe carving testify to the skill of the craftsmen. On the north side of the uimdna, the main nicbe contains an image of Brahma, asis common in Cola-period he too is fanked by standing att"-il"r, "od vakasthanrche ot the temple, tendlants.The last ,y'e that on the north wall of the ardhawa1(apa, containsa seatedrepresentationof Siva. A pair of tludrapalaswere probably originally placedin the now empty niches fanking the enrrance ro the temple on the east.In contrast to the Pil.stered and-figured exterior walls of the temple, the interioi is starkly plain except for the pillars and pilasters;although it is possiblethat the walls were originally painted. (Traces of paint are found at Narttemalai on the flat walls and this may document what may have been a comrnon practice.) The next phase of architecture and sculpture following the reigns of Adirya I and Parantaka I has been called the Sernbiyan Mahadevi phase, named after the queenof Gar.r{araditya(949-57), who died early; his surviving queen became a great patron of the arts through her religious devotion. It is thought tlat her influence on art was felt for a period ofabout sixry years,during which time she founded and patronized numerous establishments.Inscriptions clearly testify to her activities from the time of Parentaka I

duough the reigns of her son Uttama I (ca. 969-8j) and the first part of the reign of the greatRajarajaI (085-ror4).During the Sembiyan Mahadevi phase,numerousolder brick temples were rebuilt and "almostovemightreplacedby thosein stone."16 The monuments of the SernbiyanMahadevi phase mark a departur€ from the grace and delicacyof the earlierCola and relatedtemPles, somethingof the naturalismin which preserved the figure style and poseof figures that had existedsincePallavatimes.Instead,figurestook on anticipatingthe forms a stiffer, drier appearance, to be found on later Cola monurnents.In this parallelmany way, the south€rndevelopments of the trendsin other parts of SouthAsia,for by about the late tenth and early eleventh centuries many other regional schools also underwent a sort of "stylistic dessication"in which imagesoften seemedto be l.iGlessrepetitions of earlier, livelier formulae.In southIndia, as in other parts of the subcontinent,this may have been Dartlv the result of codification of of greateradhericonic typeJand'development enceto textualorescriptions. Many of the monuments of the Sembiyan somehave Mahadeviperiodhavebeendamaged, forms are that the original refurbished so been andothersareofmediocre difiicultto distinguish, of or poor artistic qualiry. A rePresentation ruche of north wall devakastha Durga in tle

522

LATER.SCHOOLSOF THE DTCCAN AND THE SOUTH

the temple must be classified as innovations, that is, they are more than simply the next step in a continuum of artistic developments from earlierperiods: the sizealonewas unprecedented. Thus, while it is by no meansthe only surviving temple from the reign of R.jaraja I, it is indeed the most comrnanding and the supremeexample of what might be calledthe late Cola phase. The Great Temple is also called the Brhadc6vara (Great Lord), in rcfercnce to Sirr"'s gre"tness. Furthcr, it was called Rajarajefuaraafter Rejareja I himself, in with the """ord"tr.. common practice of naming the lirig,zenshrined in a Saivite temple after a famed individual or the king or patron. RajarajaI, "King of Kings," as he named himself upon his coronarion in 98J, nust have cnlistedcraftsmenwbo had been working at other projects in thc empire in order to create his great monumenr, for it was built in approximately seven yeafs, from roo3 to roro, a significant achievemcnt for such a vast 2r.2o. Durg: on north wall, Agastyeivara. remple. undertaking.l? It was thus the product of a Anangur,TarnilNadu, India. Cola period.Scmbiyan unified, concertedbuilding efort, conceived and Mahtdevtphase. Ca.A.u.979. executed nearly at the sxnle time, and although additions and modifications were made in the following centuries, it should be considered the Agastye6varatemple at Anangur (Fig. 2r.2o) largely a product of the reign of Rajaraja I and suggestssomething ofthe style change,however, a testimony to his greatnessas a king. and contrasts sharply with female {igures of a Rajaraja I's rise to powcr was facilitated by slighdy earlier date (Fig. zr.rz). The temple was the fact that the Raslrakutas had been overbuilt by Sembiyan Mahadevi around 979, powercd by the Later Calukya Taila II in 98o. demonstrating that by the late tenth century, Thc kingdom he had inherited was rather the figure style had lost the gentle countenance small due to the blow that had been dealt the that had characterized much of earlier south Colas by the Ragtrak[1aKlsna III at the Battle Indian art. of Takkolam during the reign of Parentaka I. If size alone was the cdtedon for quality of However, under him, the empire grcw to be art, there is no doubt that the Great Temple at strong, well organized, and wealthy, having Tanjore (Tafijdviir) would stand among the considerableinfuence not only in India but in foremost architectural creationsproduced in the Southeast Asia as well. Rajarrja I naintained world prior to the twentieth century. Indeed, a large navy and invaded Sri Lanka, making at the time it was built, it was not only one of Polonnaruwa a provincial capital. In addition, the largest buildings in South Asia but in the he gained Nolambavadi and Gangavadi, which world. Ir seemsto representa moment in ancient furthered the conflict with the Later Calukyas, lndian history when the apogeesof both the who had taken over the forrner Rastraklga political and artistic realms coincided, for the lands. size and grandeur of the temple are an eloquent The Rajaraje(varatemple is contained within expressionof the extent and power of the Cola an enolmous rectangular enclosure(Figs. zr.zr, empire under Rejaraja I, the creator of the zt,zz). Prcceding the temple on thc castare two monument. Many ofthe architecturalfeaturesof temple gateways (gopuns; Figs. zt.zr, 2r.23,

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THE COIA AND RIIATTD SCI]OOTS 52J :.:.ovatlolls, ::::il1ts fron1 :::lccdented. '. survlvlng

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2I.2r. Rejarajelv:ra tcmplc fron rvcst looking northcast. Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, India. Cola pcriod, rcign ofRajaraja L C:r. roo3-ro.

524

LATER SCHOOIS OF THE DECCAN AND THE SOUTH

zr.zz. Plan of Rajarejcivara templc. Tadore, Tamil Nddu, India. Cola period, reign of Rejaraja I. Ca. roo3 ro.

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THT COLA AND RXIATED SCHOOIS ::::i1 Nadu, : :':sn of Ra-

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52b

LATER SCTTOOTS OF THE DTCCAN AND THr SOUTH

zr.2+). Gopuras{e not a new Gature at this time in south Indian architecture, for formauve examples are knom as earV as the Pallava period. However, the forrn and emphasis given to them here marks a departure from earlier tradition and paves the way for the ultimate development of the south Indian gopura into the dominant architectural Gature of the temple comolex. In later sourh Indian temples. thi creation of gopurusis intimately linked wirh the construction of additional enclosure walls (Tnaharas) b'alt successivelyaround the main temple. Ultimately, as many as seven concentric prakards were b.ullt around some tenples, each having one or more monumental goprras. Usually, the gopuras farthest from the center of the temple, that is, the latest ones, tended to be largest in size.Because ofthis, it has often been suggestedthat over the centuries, architects and Datrons became more ambitious and technically berter able to create monumental forms and that the laree size was thus a sign of the later date. While t"his,nay be partially true, it is clear that a precedent for such sizedifferentiation existsit the two gopuras of the Rajarajeivara temple, where it may be {irmly establbhed that both gateways, though different in scale, are of the same date, both having been completed by ror4 as known from inscriptional evidence.l8Therefore, another, but still unknown, reason must explain the deliberate change in size between the gopuras. The form of the Rajaraje6vara golnrcs camot be explainedasan outgrowth ofearlier entranceways alone, in spite of their functional link with such structures. Harle has clearly shown that the form of these gateways is based on the form of the vimana itself in terms of methods of construction, disposition of elements, and even iconographic patterns, a fact verified by an examination of Hindu architectural texts, which reveals that new instructions were nor devised for the building of goputas,but rather, instructionsfor the zlnarcwere "pirated" to serve in the new building.le A major modification, of course, is the creation of a passagewaythrough the gateway to allow novement through it. Although the basements of the Rajarajeivara gopurasare made of stone, the upper storiesare brick, a combination that becomes the norm

2r ,25.Drardpald o\ eastface,innergopura, Rejarijeivara temple.Tanjore,Tamil Nadu,India.Colaperiod,reign of RajarajaI. Ca. roo3-ro.

in south Indian gopura architecture, and that served the practical purpose of rninimizing the weight of the superstructure. The superstructures of the two gateways are similar, although that of the outer gopwa has {ive tiers, while that of the inner has three. Each is topped by a barrelroofed iala. The exterior of the gateways are elaborated with pilastered niches, and some sculpture, including a pair of monumental dvarupalasflenking the eltranceway on the outet face of the ir.ul,ergoputa (Eig. zt.z5), which are approximately two and a half tines human-size. Each standswith one leg thrust acrossthe body in a_manner not unlike contemporaneous images of Siva as Nataraja (Fig. 2r.34). The four-armed, fanged, dvarapalas are strikingly different in style from figurative carvings of the earlier phasesof Cola a!t, for they are heavier in body build and more elaborately omamented- In addition, in spite of their presumed dynamic

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THE COIA AND REIATTD SCHOOTS 527

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:::e. and that :rnimizing the ,:!arstructufcs .:.rhough that '''.'hilethat of : bv a barrel:alelvays are l.. and some nonunental '. -.n rhe outer r_r, rvhich are .--human-size. :.ris the body .:raorlsitnagcs .:oUl-armed, iiFerent in : ,:he carlier :r ier in body :=lented. In '':j dynarnic

2I.26. Detail, lowcr iier of rinrfla wall, Rajaraje6vara renlplc. TanJore, Txmil Nidu, India. Cola pcriod, rcign ofRajara.jaL Ca. rooj_ ro.

poses, the figures are remarkably static in appearance,almost totally lacking the scnseof spontaneousmovement within the architcctural context so often seenin earlier Cola and Pallava works. Aligned with the two gopwas on thc cast within the compound. is the main templc _-1 1 ;. :. , dedrcxrcdro Sivr. The Sivl rcmplc is prcceded by an enormous monolithic reprcscntation of Nandi measuring nearly six metcrs in lcngth, now housed in a pavilion of a later date. The main temple consistsof a pillared porch, rwo largc pillared nat/apas (mukhanaxdapa and. ardhanaxdapa),ar atltdrala (vestibule), and thc shrine area, all aligncd on an axis fron.r east to west (Fig. zr.zz).In addition to the starrcase on the east,a monumental set of stairs grvcs access to the anturalaon both thc south and north sidcs of the temple. Although based on earlier C61a forms, the

extelior treatmcnt of the walls o{ thc uinata with its hcavily reccsscdand projccting nichcs, dceply carved pilastcrs, and huge, carved-inthe-round figures creatcsa very differcnt efect on thc viewcr (Frg. zt.z6). The schemeis much more elaborate rhan that of carlier ternples, consisting not only of the major der.'akasthas but intermcdiary pillar and vase motifs (&arr6&a paijara).Tlrc deeplycarvedyali fiiczc5cp.rraring the base of the temple (which is carved with iengthy inscriptions) fiom dre wall area further enlivcns the wall surface. Thc lower ticr of nichcs on tlte vimdxa wall contains mainly representationsof differcnt forms of 5iva, inciuding sevcral dancing icons (Fig.2r.26). Dancing Siva forms arc cspeciallyprominent in rhc later Cola period and appcar commonly in metal sculpture (Figs.2r.33,2r.34)In this case,thc figure on thc right danccs the kalantukadance, thc dance of time and cternity, whilc that on thc lcft performs

J28

TATXR SCHOOIS OF THE DECCAN AND THT SOUTH

the morc well-known anarda tan/aua. In the more hardencd treatment of detail and the less spontaneousand naturalisticposeand expression, the figures differ greatly from carly Cola and Pallava works but arc typical of thc later Cofa phase. The upper tier of figures on the vimanq, anturala, and mukhamandapa walls bears thirty representations of Siva in his Tripurdntaka (Destroyer of Threc Cities) form, in which he vanquishesthrce powerful demons by destroying their thrce citadcis with a single arrow. Thc popularitv of this theme at tlis temple suggests that it had a special importance ro Rejaraja I and may have servcd as a symbol of his military strength and irrperial authority.zo Perhaps the n.rost impressivc aspect of thc Rajarajeivaratemple ts thc uinfina, wlic]r reaches a h e i g h to f a p p r o r - i r n . r r esliyx r yr r e l c r se n d m r y have been lhe taile\Lsrructrrrein Sourh Asia at the time it was built (Fig. zr.zr). Consisting of the base noldings, a two-tiered rvall, "nJ a superstructurerising iu a scries of fourtecn diminishing tiers, thc r.vhole is capped by a monolithic ill/iara repured to weigh eighty tons: it is traditiollally hcld that this ji&fiara was set into its prescnt position aftcr iraving been hauled up an inclined plane about six kilon.retcrs long, the lcngth neccssaryto make the slope gradual enor-rghfor the stonc to be movccl. Thc tower is pyrarnidal and straight sided in profile, in contrast to thc curved shape of northernstyle superstructurcs,and it is ciearly based on earlicr south lndian prccedents, consisting of a multiplication of elementsrather than creation of a new form. Accessto the anturald and garbhagrhaof the tenlple is rcstricted ancl no photographs of these arcas havc been publishcd. Thc liiga enshrincd in thc sancruilry is said to be one of the fincst in all ofsouth Asia, and like rhc renlplc tlr.rt hou.c' it. colossrl in rj2q. [.r rhe uppcr cylindrical stone alone mcasurestluce netcrs i n h e i g h ra n d r r r o r ct h r n . t v e n r n e r c r ri r r c i r cLrmfercnce. Surrounding the sinctLrm 1s a circulnambulatory passage,within which are threc colossal sculpturcs of Siva, ouc cach on the south, wcstr and nofih sidcs of the passageway, aswcll as a scricsof paintings on the walls. These paintings arc of great interest for they

representrhc only major body of COla painting known, having been discovered in r93o when a later layer of painting of the Nayak period began to f:rke off Only portions of the Cola paintings have been published, but they show a great lelationship to sculptural idioms of the timc. A pair of malc figures that have been identified, perhapswithout foundation, as Rajaraja I hirnself and his grrr Karuvlr Devar (Pl. 33), shows that the dark line used to outline the figures and the details of their hair, jewelry, and facialfearure\cre.rtcs:r configurarionquire sinilar to what one might expect if a drawing was made of a typical Cola sculpture of this date (compare F\g. 2r.26, right). The alrnondshaped cyes, the straight noses, and eveir the shapes of the faces arc stylisdc features that must have becn products of specific aesthctic and/or iconograpllic concernson the pat of the artists. In contrast with earlier Indic paintings, such as thosc of Ajante, outline plays a much more dominant role in delineating the forms, and color is applied in a 1lat, rather than modulated rnamrer so that thcrc is iittle suggestionof light or three-dimensionality created by the color. In gcncral, this conforns to the developments occurring within painting styles all over South Asiil at dis titrre. It is seen,for example, in Pala nranuscripts, and western Indian Jain paintings of r slightly later date, and continues to bc the trajor artistic modc in later south Indian paintings as wcll. Tire palette includes prinadly cath and nineral colors, relating thc painting styles to those of the Dcccan as se€n under the Rasrrakiitasat Ellora or carlier under the Vekatakasat Ajant-. The Rajarajcivaratcnple at Tanjorc marked a dcparture from thc carlicr soLrthlndian temples, which hacl becn smallcr in scale,morc personal in fccling, and sin.rplerin form, and simtltancously pavcd the way for futurc strrlctLuesalso of grand scale. Such inlluence was fclt altrost immecliately,for RajarajaI's son, Rejcndra I, soon followed his fathcr's cxaruplc and constructed titc Cre.rr Tcrnplc. rlso crllcd Brlr.rdcivrra.ar Gar\gaikondacolaputarn (Fig. zt.z7). ln totz, Ralrrijr I h.rd nr:rdeRijcnJr:r rlrc yuvardja.or heir apparent,in keeping with thc general Cola practicc, arld by ror4, Rajcndra lvas on d1c

THE ColA AND REIATED SCHOOTS J29

C : painting c :;3o when \."'-k Period s :: rhe CO]a ':: rhey show ::ioms of the r-:: have been ;:ion, as Raja;ur Devar (Pl. seJ to outline : hair, jewelrY, .uuration quite r if a drawing llpture of this I nc almonornd even the : teatures that rcifrc aesthetic the part of the ndic paintings, plays a much ing the forms, rer than modui!- suggcstionof reated by the ro the develoP: stl'les all over r. for example, :rn Indian Jain r. and continues in later south ;.rlette includcs ..r:. relating the )eccan as seen ..r carlier under .:r]orc marked a . ir.lian tcmPles, :. nrore personal . ;nd simultaner:r.rcturesalso of s ilt almostimR:'endra I, soon -,,J aonstauatad at tsrhade6vara, ::.:7). In rorz, :.-: )rttratajo,ot ::.: gcneral Cdla .a. ..4, ot th"

templc from southeast.Gairgaikorllacofapurarn, zr.r7. Bghade6vara Tamil Nadu, India. Cola period, reign of Rajendra I. Ca. third decadeeleventhcentury.

throne, ruling until ro44. RajendraI extendedhis father's empire even furthcr, making it perhaps the most extensiveHindu stateofthe period.Durwere sent to China (ro16 ing his reign, embassies and ro33), and he made victorious crmpaign' into northem India and broughc water from the holy Ganges River back to south India, thus "sanctifying" the Cola lands.Becauseofthis, hc called himself conquerer of the Ganges and founded a new capital, Gangaikondaco]apuram (City of the Cola who conquered the Ganges) to comflemorate the event.zl Rajendra I's monumental temple at his new capital was obviously modeled after his father's temple at Tanjore, although the later structure is much more uneven in terms of the quality of its workmanship. It is possible that the temple was begun even beforc the Ganges expedition (wlrich musr have taken place before toz3. as it is mentioned in an inscription of that year) and was possibly named only after his victory. An inscription from rozg refers to a king's palaceat

Gangaikon{acolapuram, and it is likcly that the site had bcen consccrated before that timc. However, the temple was probably primarily a product of the third decadc of the eleventh century. Much of thc tcn.rplccomplex is now in ruins and some parts wcre apparently nevcr completed. The main structure has a doublestoried basemcnt, as had thc Tanjore templc, b:ut the uimonaiscs only in eight tiers to a height of over fifty metcrs. In contrast to thc Tanjore towe!, the Gafrgaiko4dacolapuen'\ ltilafla l1as an inwardly curved rather than straight profile and the storiesseem to decreasemore abruptly. Greatercrowding ofthe walls ofthe rimana with sculpture than at Tanjore also occurs but, in typical Cola fashion, figures are displayed in nicheswith accompanying scencs. Perhapsone of the finest sculpturesfrom this temple is a represcntationof Cande6Snugrahamorti (Fig. 2r.28). Siva'spower to give grace to a devoteeis calledarugraha.lrt tlis case,he grants favor to a young boy named Can{eia, and

S3O

IATER SCHOOLS OF THE DTCCAN AND THE SOUTH

2r.28. Siva confeEing grace on Caqdc(a, Brhadc(vara tcmple. Gangaiko4dacolapuran,Tarnil Nadu, India. Cola pcriod, reigr, of Rijcndra I. Ca. tbird decade eleventhccntury.

of Si,r" is called Caqdcitherefore this foranugraham[rti- Car.rdeia was a resident of the Cola country and a devotec of Siva. When he tended cows, they gave so much milk that he

usedthc excessin his worship of Siva by pouring it over liigas he made of sand. Thinking drat Car.r{eia was being wasteful, iris father kicked dorvn one of the liigas, whereupon Candeia, without even looking up from his devotions to seewho had done this, chopped of his father's leg. Becauseof Ca4deh's devotion, Siva granted graceto thc boy.In this rcliet, Siva,who is accompanicd by Parvati, placesa wrcath (symbolizing victory) atop thc head of thc seatedboy. It has that this dcpiction may have a bccn suggestcdz2 double meaning,perhapsreferdng to thc victorics won by Rajendri I through the g.".. of Siva ,s well. Stylistically, the broad, full forms of thc bodies anclthc lack ofarticulation ofthe muscles and bones suggests ties to Deccan sculpture schoolsrather than to strictly Tamil schools.It is

possiblethat Rajendra l's northward expeditions had some effect on thc art. By the latc Cola period, the basicconponcnts ofthe devcloping south lndian temple were well established,and included the principal templc, grtcways, and subsidiary stluctures. In contrast rvith many north lndian developraents,in which tenples n-ray be discussedas single structures, the devclopcd south Indian temple must be seen as part of a large conplex, as in thc cascof the Saivitc tcmple at Cidan.tbaram. Largely a product of the rcign of Kulottunga I23 (ro7o thc templc rr22) and his immediate succcssors, was founded much carlicr and is even meirtioned in relationship to certain Pallava kings. The templc compound consistsof a serics of four enclosurcsthat are arrangedin a rectilinear plan, surrounded on all four sides by extremely wide streets used by temple carts (radas) on procession days. Thc strcets of the town have been laid out in such a way that they seem to be extensions of thc plan of the temple itself. lndced, the temple was thc doninant focus of the town as well as its symbolic center. Covcring an area of about fifty-five acres, the tenplc neasures more than 3Jo meters by about 3r5 fifteen meters along the outer (fourth) prakara.zaThe fourtlt prakan, which may be the product of a later building period, defines thc tcnple boundary, but it is at the third enclosure, which has thc highest wall, that the sacred precinct of thc tcmple properly begins. Much of the ternple has bcen rnodified in later tincs, including thc two rnain shrines, which are apparenrlylergcly rnodcrn. One of the'c i' dedicatcd to Siv, ;. NrtareJa.Lord of Dance, in corrnemoration of Siva'ssupposedpcrformance of his cosmic dance at thc sitc. Thc other contains an "cther" (akaia) liigq, onc offive liigas, each made of one of the five clcmcnts of Indic cosmology, enshrincd in south Indian tcrnples. It hasbeensuggestcdthat some ofthe irrcgularity of thc ovcrall plan of the temple cornplex may ofthc two sl-rrines. be due to the accon-rr-nodation 'fhe tltrd one of which of the prakara, gopwas and thc Nr'tf4 (Fig. is illustrated here zr.zg), thlr takes the form SaLLa(dancchall), a rna4(apa latcr temple cart (Fig. are ofthc Cola ofa zr.3o), pcriod.

THE COIA AND RTIATED SCHOOIS

5?T

r]rd expeditions anc components r:lrple werc well incipal templc, ::c:. In contrast :r.nts, in which :rgle structures, :-J n-rustbe seen . :he caseof the -': rr

T -.^-l.,

-

Tz3 /rarru

i!.:s. the temple €\'en mentioned ;:'a kings. The : leries of four rr'crilinearplan, '-...-,.-,-^t,, 2l-.s (lathas)on :be towr have ::ar they seem -i

rh"

t" -.1"

rhe dominant i mbolic centcr. ii--five acres, _ijo meters by .:-outer (foufth) :rc: may be the rri. defines thc :ird enclosure, ::r the sacred tregins.Much rn later times, '.'.hich are aprheseis dedioi Dance, in ej performance Tre othcr con: of fivc liigas, :::ents of Indic Lrjian temples. -:re irregularity : --omPlex may :1: rrvo shrines. . .,ne of which =--i thc Nrttc : ::kes the form : ilre later COla

zr.zg. SottthgopuraftoDr insideSiva ternple Icompound. Cidanbararn, Tamil Nadu, Indi.r.Complcrcdb) r272.

The thrd prakarais not perfectly rectangularin shape. Its folu gopurasare not arranged to be opposite each other; their positions may have been determined by the location of already existing structures in the compound. The west and eastgopurasare placed south of ccnter on their sides, possibly to align thern with the central s]uines, which are off- center from the thitd prakarc- Harle has shown that all four gopuraso{ the thnd, prakara werc conceivcd at one time, were part of an overall schemc, and are relativcly close in date. Thc west gopura, tlte earliesr, and that on rhc casrv ere in exisrence by rz5o, and the south gopura(Fig.2r.29) was completed by o7z-25 The north gopura, o{ten considercd to be a product of the Vijayanagar period because of an inscription and portrait statue of the Vijayanagar king Krsqadevaraya, was probably startedin the same pcriod as the others, although it was possibly completcd by Klsnadevaraya in the sixteenth century (closely

following the pattern of the othcr gateways).26 In plan, design,form, style, iconography, and to some extent size,there is an undcrlying unity to the fow gopurqs.Each is built of stonc up to the main cornice, above which the structure is of brick and plaster. Although the sizc of the towers vades slightly, each is about forty raeters in height and has a seven-story supersrrucure consisting of -ialas,pavilions, and other features that were by this time comn-ronto both uimaxas rnd gopurasand is capped by a barrel-vaulted iala {Fig. zt.zg).Thc straight-sidedprofiles ofthe towers and the double-storied basemcnt recall tlr.euindna of theRajarejc(varatemple at Tanjore (Frg. zr.n), supporring Harle's contcntion that the form of the goputa is indeed basedon that of a pimana.At the cntranccway to eachgopura, a seriesofpilasters is subdividcd into rcctangular units that contain sculpturesof dancc posesillustrating thc dance texts known as the Natyajastras, evidently as a corollary to the dedi-

532

LATEE. SCHOOLS OF TIIE DICCAN AND TIIB SOUTII

cation of the temple to Siva asLord of Dance (Nataraja). Iconographically, the sculptural programs of the fow goyurasof the third prabara presenta. kind ofmicrocosmof Saiviteiconographyofthe Cola period, for virtually every forrn of ttat deiry known at that time is presentedhere.Many of the imagesare identifiedby inscribedlabels and thereis almostno repetitionof imageson a $ven gopura.Although the schemeof the west gopan dlffers from that of the other tbree, in general,the programsare similarexceptfor the necessary modificationsmadefor correctplacement of directional figures, the dikpalas, since theseinvariably facethe cardinalpoint of which *rey are regent. Gar.re3a is invariably placed in the first large niche on tte outsideof the facade to the dght of the entrance and Gairga and Yamunearealways{ixed in the sameprescribed place.The imagesare of the matureCola style, which apparentlychangedlittle after the tirne of RajarajaI. The deeplycarvedfiguresare very three-dimensional, an effectpartially createdby the deep nichesinto which thev are ser. Afteithe twelfth century, thego?r/4 surpassed the vimanaasthe most dominantvisualelement of the southIndiantemolecomolex.While the uiflafn tower was the most prominentel.ment of the Rejarajeivaratemple at Tanjore (Fig. zr.zt), clearly overshadowing the still monumental and tmpresive gopuras,at Cidambaram and in later templesthe emphasisis increasingly placedon the gateways.A full explanationof thisphenomenon is yet to be made,althoughthe additionof extrafrAkArasandgopwaswasprobably simply the result of a desireto add to alreadyexistingholy shrines.The increase in sizeremainsa przzle, and as suggested earlier, cannotsimply be ascribedto greaterambitiousnesson the part ofthe makers. Another featurethat beganto be prevalentin sourh Indian temples of the twelfth and thirteenthcentudesis the transformationof maxdapas into cartlikeforms. The Nrtta Sabhd. at Cidambaram,posibly built during the reign of Kulottunga III (1178-rz16),is an elaboratelycarved hall distinguishedby the presenceof carved wheelsandhorses,which suggestthat the entire structareis a rdtha,or templechariot(Fig.zi.3o).

Examples of this metaphor in temple architecture exist since at least the early twelfth century, and it is apparently a southem irurovation, although its origin is still obscure. Its appearaoce in the Sun temple at Konarak (Fig. 19.28) is likely to have arisen from southem iniuence. Piobably, the symbolism is associatedwith the concept ofportable imagesofdeities, often pade of metal. which were carried in procession in wooden temple carts, the form of which was translated into stone to suggestthat the immobile ma4lapa of the temple was such a transporter of the gods. Such portable metal images,in fact, comprise a major corpus of artistic remains from the Cola period, and a study of Cola-period art is hardly complete witbout discussion of them. A great deal of work needs to be done before the full implications of chronological, regional, and workshop distinctions are known, for most of the images survive from the period of Rajaraja I and later, after which the Cola figural sryle changedbut little. As in the caseof the study of Cola temples, the problem of dre artistic debt to the Pallavasis yet to be solved. Metal images generally lack inscriptions that provide information about their place and date of manufacture, and since there is no reason to presume that an image found in a ternple was necessarily made in a local workshop due to the potability of such iurages,great confusion ariseswhen attempting to &scussthe schoolsofcasting. A great technical proficiencv is visible in the vast majority of C6la-period rnetal images, which, along with their great iconographic variety and rnultiplicity, suggeststhat either an important but unl<nown earlier tradition existed, or that Cola craftsmen quickly developed their idiom in responseto favorable circumstanceswithin that period. The production ofmetal imageson a large scale implies great wealth in the empire, since metals have an intrinsic value and could also be used for jewelry, coins, weapons, and other items. It is interesting that the Cola florescencecoincideswith the intense production of metal images in Bihar and Bengal under the Pdlasand Senas,and one wondersif new deposits of ore were discovered at that time, leading to the burgeoning.

:r,-aa -\-r!, Cidlnba-rr Ciir Fic Eda.tuge :aCr &ir.Er

Taajore. cf metal ir ako work *at tbe T &c maly Raj"taj"it saiptions r Iodiar ia: 6e norrl s are solid botl are c posedly, x :llo;- of fir as coPPel sit! the r regions-zi rie draper the work iruge und which the a dare sele god r,r'as" rhe god- C lugs or hol be carried the i,n.ge:

THE COLA AND ITELATTDSCIIOOTS JJJ

E-: :- architec-i : ::]l centuly, ,.-.i^-

^t

r- ,:: :lPPearance - : t . r 9 . 2 8 )i s ::.::r iduence. :.-.=redwith the :::,.. o{ten made i lrocession in ..t s'hich was :i rhe immobile .: lranspoltcr of : iact, comprise ::ins from the . ---i^l

^-.

:^

r ion of them. :e dolre before .-,--

.-^i^-^l

: -.lr n, for most :::too oI t(aJa: : irgural style

2r.3o. NI/ra SablZ, Siva ternpte. Cidanbararn, Tamil Nadu, India. Cola period, posibly rcign of Kulottunga IIL Ca. late tweifthcarly thirtccnth century.

-i 'h" .t"1., ^f

-.' ,rrtistic debt . \,Ietal images ::ovide infori:rc of manu-i:r to Ptesume '...:s necessaflly ::le portability ::rrcs rvhen at- :ie vast tr1a---:lcs. which, :

..--;^,.,

^-l

::r inlportant s:.icrl, or that ,::hcir idiom .::nces within

--:: and could -.'.'.iPons,and --.- Cola fore::..duction of :. .urder the

Tanjore, Rajarajat capital, was a major center of metal image production, although therc were also workshops in outlying regions. It is likely that the Tanjore workshops produced somc of the many images given by Rejaraja I to thc Rajarejeivaratemple at TanJorc asdescribedin inscriptions on the baseof the templc. The south Indian images differ tcchnically from those in the north since,by and large, south Indian imagcs are solid rather than hollow cast, although both arc created by the lost-wax proccss.Supposedly, south lndian images were made of an alloy offive metals,the paiicaloha(usually given as copper, silver, gold, tin, and lcad), in contrasr with the octo-alloy traditional in thc northern regions.z?Finishing details, such as elcments of the drapery, were oftcn done by chasing after the work had been cast, and in particular, the image underwcntan eyc-openingccremony,in which the details of the cyes wcrc added, on a date selectedby asrrologen, at which time the god was "awakened" and the sculpture became the god. Often, south Indian metal imagcs have lugs or holes in thc pcdcstalsthat :rllow thcn.rto be carried with poles in processions(invariabiy, the images would be clothed and would not

appear ungarbed as tbcy arc displayed today in muscums). Metal images were oftcn considered "proxies" for the "immovablc" deity within the sanctum of thc ternplc, and would be carricd in processions and in circumambulation of the templc. South lndian metal imagcs,like thcir northern counterparts, often form part of iconographic groups or scts. A typical group consistsof a male dcity, his consort, and various attendant figures, sometimcs enacing a spccific subject. For example, a group of figurcs, four in ail, r,cpresentsKalyanasundara,or the Marriagc of Siva and Parvati (Fig. zr.3r). Thc group is from Tiruvcnkadu and posibly datcs fron the carly elevcnth celtr]ry, that is, from thc pcriod of Rajareja I- The figures appcar in hicrarchic scale.Siva, tl.Lelargest,holds thc hand ofparvati, who is approximetely equal in sizc to Visnu. Laksmi, the consort of Visnu, is proportionately thc samesizc in relation to Visnu that Parvati is to Siva, the appropriate scalcLetwccn god and consort. The prescrvAtion of this figurc group a s a r r n i t p r o r i d c sa n o p p o r r u n i t yr o e \ d n r i n ( lour figurerofdiffcrcut god. rluc rie ofrlrc sanre datc and workshop, and thus cstablisha certain

5J4

I-ATER SCHOOTSOF THE DECCAN AND THE SOUTH

2r.3r. Marriagc of Siva and PtNatr (Katyenasundarannrti).Fronr Tiruvenkadu, Tanil Nadu, India. Cola period, possibly rcign of R,jar4a L Ca. cerly eleventh cenlury. Bronze. H: 9J crlr. (Siva)Tanjore Art Gallery, Tanjore.

stylistic control. Too often, scholarsattemPt to anallzc 'tylc by studying figuresrh rt .rreiconographically dissirnilar,in which cascit is diltrcult to difl-erentiatc stylistic charactcristics flom iconographic Gatures. In gcncral, for example, fcmale {igures are shown in a rclaxed posture while Visr]u is normally shown frontally and stiffiy posed. An analysis of "style" based on rclativc relaxation ofpose, a valid index in sorne cases,would thus be inappropriate in such an instance.Stylistically, the facial featuresand thc treatmcnt of the garments and ornaments find close parallels with contemporaneous stone ,culptrrrct.this i' also clcarJyte.n in an inrrgc Bhiksatana (Figl zr.3z) also frotr of Sin" ", Tiruvenkadu in the Tanjore district clatingfrom ,bout rhc mid-elevcnrhcentury.(An inscription dated to the eguivalcnt of a.n. ro48 may rcfer to this image.z8) Compared with the carlier example of the samc subject on the Nage(varasvemi templc (Fig. zr.tr), which rcvealed

the heritage of Pallava-type naturalism, this {igure more closcly parallelsstone images fron the time of Rajareja I and later in the full forms of the body, broad shoulders, and the rather crisply delincateddetail. of the Colt Perhaps the subject par excellence pcriod is the form of Siva known as Nataraja, Lord of the Dance, of which a vadety of types of Sppear in Dretal sculpture. Dancing forms Siva (literally, (ttd murti) were not new at tlis time, but the Cola patronageof the Cidambararn temple dedicated to Siva as Nataraja and the production of numerous representations of Nataraj:r during dre Cola period signify that the icon had a spccialmeaning in Cola tin.res.Siva's dancing forms appearin both angry and pacifrc aspectsand depict individual danceshe perforrned on specific occasions,the most famous ofwhich was the danceto dcstroy thc universein ordcr that it could be rebon again. ldentification of the dancedependson both hand and lcg positionsand

THE COLA AND RLLATED SCHOOIS

ruralism, this r images om ',le fulI forms ni the rather e of the Cola r as Nagar5la, riery of types ing forms of )t new at this : Cidambaram raraja and the sentations of 3nify that the a tirnes. Siva's n- and pacific rhe performed :lous of which ;e in order that iedon of the r positionsand

(?{

zr.tz. Siva as Bhik:alana.From lrruvenkrdu. T.rmil Nedu, India. Cdla pedod. Ca. mid-eleventh centuy, possibly ro48. Bronze. H: 89 cm. TaIljore Art Gallery, Tanjore.

zr.3 3. Siva Nalaraja in catwa pose.From Tiruvarangalam, Tamil Nadu, India. Cola period. Ca. mid-tenth century. Bronze. Hi 7z cm. National Museum, New Delhi.

on subsidiaryor accornpanyingelements.One of the earliestknown Cola Naqarajabronzesis from Tiruvarangalam,probablydatingfrom the mid-tenth century, which shows Siva in the catwa pose cltaracterizedby the two bent legs with the right leg bearing the weight of the body andthe left posedwith the heelup andthe toeson the ground(Fig.2r.33).(A reversalofthe leg positionswould indicatethat Siva was in the lalirc pose.)His four arms are gracefully posed;the front left is h the da4fuhastaposition ('ttaflhand"; sometimesalso calledgajahasta the trunk or "elephant-hand"sinceit resembles of an elephant);the back left holds a flame; the back right holds a drum ((anaru); and the pose.Sivadanceson front right is in the abhaya the back of the dwarf Apasmdra(Moya!aka), ignorance. This image.in rerms who symbolizes of its graceand the lilting effect of the pose, is surpassed by none in South Asian art, and shares,with stonesculpturesof the early Cola

period, a senseof inner liG and naturalisrn. A more commonlv depicted form of Siva Natarajafromthe Coli period showsthe god with his left leg thrust acrosshis body performing the dnandatatllava (datce of blis$, alsocalledthe nadanta,zsas seenin a large image dating from around the twelfth century (Fig.2r.34). The nad'anta is believedto have been performed by Siva at Cidambaramafrer vanquishinga group of heretical ruiJ. According to some textual sources,Siva had taken the form of Bhiksatana, the wandering ascetic,and was accompaniedby Vipqu in the form of Mohini, the Gmale seductress,when he went to visit the rji.t to test them. However. the rgrs attempted to desrroy Siva by creating {irst a tiger, then a serpent, and then a dwarf (Apasmtra or Mriyalaka), each of which Siva overcame in turn. These creatures symbolize the threefold bonds or Gtters to be overcome by the r;is, with the tiger representinq their beast-natureor untamed minds, the

536

LATER SCHOOIS OF THE DTCCAN AND THX SOUTH

snake denotirlg such evil traits as cgoism, and the dwarf, thcir ignorance.It is possiblethat the three creaturessymbolize the tirrcc "miseries," the fear of which Siva is saiclto dcstroy during his dance.3oThe dancc, thcn, reprcsents thi heretics'ovcrcoming of their inherent characteristics, which were obstaclesto their realization (and recognition) of Siva and rhe rcsultant end to thc cycle of rcbirth. Coomaraswamy, in his classicessayon the dance of Siva, says that the "Esscntial Significance of Shiva's Dance is threefold: First, it is the image of his Rhythmic Play as the Source of all Movcment within the Cosmos . . . Secondly,the purposc of his Dancc is to Releasethe Countlcsssoulsof men from thc Snare of Illusion: Thirdly, the Place of the Dance, Chiclambararn,the Centre of thc Universe, is within the Heart."3l As in the casc of most religious icons in SoutL Asia, a profound meaning as wcll as a narrative or cxotelc one is thus in.rplied. ..In, the typical nadann itrLage(Fig. zr.3a), )lva s arms are arranged rn the same nannef :ls in the preccding inagc and hc holds the same attributes. The drum, according to one text that Coomaraslvarnyconsulted,s2 syn-rbolizes creation, and as a musical instrunrcnr is cspecially appropriate to the dancing modc. The fire, according to the srme soLlrcc,represcntsdcstruction, whilc tlre abhayanndra deirotesreleascand the gajahastaposepoi:iLts to thc,lifted foot, thc refrrge of thc sor-rl.Typically, Siva clancesupon the dwarf rvhour he has just vanquished, and he wexrs thc clcfcated snake as all orn:rnent. ln textual clescriptions,Siva is said to wear the skin of thc tiger that had been crcatcclby the rsrsas vu'ell, although this is often absent in bronze images.Horvevcr, sinceit is invariably depictccl in paintings, it nay have been includetl as an a c r u a cl l o t l r f o c o m p l (t c r l r c b r o n z ei r r r . t g c .a.n obvious suggestion, sincc invarirbly the metal imageswere drcssedwith clothesand aclornncnts during their worship. Thus, the tluee bcasts createtiby thc rslsto detcr Siva would have been an integral part of thc total imagc. A ritr of firc surrounds the ccntral image, and this element has becn vrriously intcrpretcd by differcnt authors. On one level, it may be suggesteddrat the rim of fire may syrnbolize thc purifying

2r.34. Si"" Natarejapcrforning the natJaa. Fron Tanii N:du, India.Colaperiod.Ca. twetfth century. Brorrzc. H:96 crD.NationalMuscum, New Delhi.

cremation fire through which thc individual is relcasedfron.r this world. The burning ground, according to Coomaraswamy, is not thc place wherc our earrhly bodics are cremated, but in the hcarts of Siva's lovers, thc "placc where the ego is destroycd [thc crematorium] signi{ies the statewherc illusion and deedsare burnt away."33 Siv^'sjatus (hair) fow outwarrl roward the rim of flane and bcar a representationofrhe goddess Ganga, an allusion to the desccntof the Ganges and pcrhaps hcrc a symbol of purification as wcll. Other elen.rentsof tire irnage such as the earrings and othcr adornments also have synbolic meaning, rendering the image a complex assemblageof ideas. Ako popularly represented in Cola metal irrrageryarc depitions of rhe Krrna incamarion of Vis4u- Krsna is sornctimesshorvn as a young boy dancingupon thc serpentKaliya (Fig.2r.35), who had bccn contaminating the waters of a pond at Vrindavana, wherc Krsna lived as a child. By dancing on the hoods of the serpent,

THE COIA AND REIATED SCHOOI,S JJ7

:-rividual is -

.L- ^t^^-

: :ld, but in -:--.'rr herc the ,::nifies the j a:ri a1vay."33

..:rJ the rin.L : ::r.' goddess : :he Ganges ::::rcationas : ,:rch as the ' rave sym:- l complex Cala metal ::ncarn2tloll ---rs a young : Fig.2r.35), '.'.aters of a , iived as a

2r.35.Krsnaon Kaliya.Fron TamilNadu,India.Cdla pcriod.Ca. terrh century.Bronze.H: 59cDr.Natioual Museum,New Delhi.

2r.36.KaraikkalAmnaiyer. FroDlTanil Nadu,India. C0laperiod.Ca. twelfrhcentury.Bronze.H: 4r.5 crn. NelsonGallcry-AtkinsMuseurn,KansasCiry (Nelson Fund).

he rcduced Kaliya to helplessness, causing the serpent ro repeni. It is tempting to draw r parallcl to the Nataraja imagery, although the Krsna icon is lcss complicated, for herc Krsna deGan Kaliya, whosc namc is a variant of the word kala, mcaning rine. In this act, thcn, Krsna is thc ovcrcomcr of time, and hencc the provider of ir.nmorality, and his dcGat of KaJiy.r may bc contparcd botlr ro Durga's delcarof Mahis.rnnd Srv,'. derrrucrionoflhe triple fctters by his dance. The image shown datesfiom around the tcnth century.34 In addition to representationsof deitics and deiry groups in Cola bronzes, a number of human devotecs and saints arc also popuiarly portrayed. One of the most dramatic of such images shows the female Saivite saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar, whose ernaciatedform and hideous appearancetestify to the severity ofthe penances and dcvotions shepcrformcd in order to scethe beatificvision of Siva dancing (Fig. 2r.36). Twoarncd, as is general for human devotces, she

holds a pair ofcyurbals and appcarsabsorbedin her dcvotions. Her boly body, scant garb, and fangs suggestthe negation of physical beauty in favor ofthe vision ofthe divine. Another mctal imagc shows the saint Maqikka Vasahar (Manikka Vachaka), who is believed to have practiced austcritiesat Cidambaram ancl miraculously to havc given the gilt of speech t o t ) r cn r r r t ed . r r r g h r corf c C o l ak i n g ( f i g . - z r . 3 z ) . Thc image datcsfrom about the twclftl.r ccntury, although thc issue of whcn thc seint himself actually iived is debatecl. Manikka Vesahar's devotional appeal is among the strongestof the Tamil Saivite saints,possibly becauscthe hyrnns he composed givc great importance to the expressionof emotion. In one verse, for example, he implores Siva's blessing: O Siva wreathed with honeyed blossours, "When shall comc rhe monr When Thou wilt grant Thy grace to me?" I cry with anguish torn.s5

5-td

rATER SCHOOLSOr THE DECCAN AND THE SOUTr{

2r.37. Manikka Vasalur. From TarDil Nadu, India. Cola period. Ca. twelfth cenrury. Bronze. H: Jr cn. National Museun, Ncrv Delhi.

In this image, asin others of saintsfrorn thc late Cola pcriod, sometling of thc naturalism and grace found in early Cola-period art seemsto pcrsist,for the figure standsin a rclaxed (though standardized)pose and thc artist has taken great care to emphasize the smooth contours of the body. Buddhist metal imagcs, though less well knorvn than those of the Hindus, wcre also prociucedduring the Cola period. At Nagapagtinam in the Tanjore district, which had been an irnportant tsuddhist site at leastsincethe Pallava period, numerous mctal imagcs of the Cola period were found in hoards in the monastery

2r.38. BodhisattvaMaitreya. From Negapattinam, Tamil Nadu,India.Colaperiod.Ca. eleventhccnrury. tsronze,I:l: :9 cm. MadrasGovcrnmerltMus€um, Madras.

area and near the Chinesebrick pagoda.soMany of the images show a striking similarity in style to contemporaneousHindu sculptures,as demonstratedby a figure of Maitreya (Fig. 2r.38). This imagc shows the bodhisattva holding a rosary in his upper right hand; his upper left hand may once have held. a nagal<esara flower, whilc the lower left hand is in urada mudra, and the iowcr right is in thc abhaya mudra. He rs recognizcd by the stupa in his headdress.In the treatment of thc facial featuresand details of the costume and jewelry, the sculprure strongly resemblc Cola Hindu images of about the eleventhcentury.

CoNcrusror.r The COla period may be seenas one ofconsiderabie artistic unity, yet a great deal ofrichness and diversity is alsopresent.Within the Cola period, south lndian art underwent a major alteration.

Whilc works fiom the early Cola period maintain something of the simplicity, naturalisn, and more personalizedscalethat were characteristic ofearly south Indian idioms, as those of the

THE CdlA AND R.ELATED SCHOOTS Jrg

Pallavasand other dynastids,later Cola works are often rnarked by a greater formality in the depiction of figures and by monunentaliry and ambitiousnessin the architecturalschemes,such as the tall vimanasar'd.gopurasof temples.By the late Cola period, the Hindu pantheonmanifested

century. ,\4useum,

36Many in' in style as dem2 r . 38 ) .

holding a upper left o fower, eudra, and

He is In the ils of the srrongly about the

maut-

raturalism, c-haracter-

of the

in art had gready expanded and many forms that had not been seen earlier began to appear. In contrast vr'ith a number of contemporary art schoolsin the north, virtually no ,uLi..t "roti" appear in Cola art.

THB Co[A AND RELATTD SCHOOLS

Pallavasand other dynasdirs,later Cola works are often marked by a greater formality in the depiction of figures and by monurnentality and ambitiousnessin the architecturalschemes,such as rhe taTlyimanasandgoputasof temples.By the late Cola piriod, the Hindu pantheonmanifested

36Many

in style as dem(Fig.2r.38). holding a upper left fower, madrn,and He is In the &tails of the strongly about the

main-

naturalism, character-

&ose of the

Sjtg

in art had greatly e*pandedand rnany forms that had not bean seenearlier began to appear.In contrast with a number of contemDorarv arr schoolsin the north, ,rimr"lly no eroic subl""ts appearin C6!x ert.

:!-::

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D e t a i lo J , , . 2 1 .

CHAPTER TWENTY-Tvr'O

Later DeccanSchools

Although rlrauy of the most fanous and important monulnents of South Asian art are located in the Dcccan, the artistic dcvclopr.ncntsof tl.rc region as a whole, from the earliestto dre latcst periods, arc rarely discussedand poorly undcrstoocl.At lcast sincethe time of tl.rcEarly Wcstern Calukyas, rltonurrrerrtsin purely northern and southern styles lvcre built in tl.rc Dcccan, a fact that is rlot surprisillg considering the geographic position of the region. In addition, many temples were built that bore Gatures of both nordrern and southern typcs at oncc along with individualizing characteristics that defy traditional classification.These temples belong to what nust be considcred to be a broadly based "Deccan style," within which, of course, there is considerable variety. It is likely that the Deccan style encompassesthe uesaraform described in textual sources.l Frequently, these texts descdbe the three major architectural typcs of ancicnt India as tagarc, drauila, ar'd uesara.Ndgaru,which literally means"pertaining to the city" (posibly indicating the origins of

the form), is rvidely acccptedas referring to the temple types lnost commonly found throughout northerlr India; &avi/a, as thc namc implies, rcfers to the southcru, or Dravidian, style; uesaraliterally rrcans "rn e" and, by irnplication, a hybrid, and thus might be an apt descdption of the mixed arclitcctural forms of the Deccan. However, it is difficult to apply the tcrn-r to specific examples instead of just to a generic typc, although thc aesaradesignation is usually assumedto be most appropriatc to the buildings of dre Later Calukyas of Kalyar.riand the Hoysalas. In spite of tlre mixed character of Deccan a.t, to view it as simply a bridge between the northem and southcm styles or as no ll]ore than a con.rbinationof those two better understood stylc groups lvould be to overlook the significant devclopnents in both tcmple building and sculptllre that are preservcdin the Deccan. Within this geographic area, nLrmerousformal distinctionsmay be made, at leastsomc of which are depcndcnt upon regional factors. Late

540

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:: :he ihre -irE.

are r

:ecicrions. inn1arll\'( iis disrincr Inporrar ralher e\!e

elrhough n

ano. ln _qe or studicd perhaps be and can'in

IATER DtrCCANSCHOOTS 541 sculpture styles of the western Dcccan, for exanple, tend to depict a full-bodicd, robust figure typc, probably rcllective of earlier traditions in that arca sLrchas that of the Vakarakas. Conversely, in thc cast, following the carlicr patterns establishcdundcr the Satavehanasand Iksvakus, sculpted figures tend to bc lcan and

slender. The full raruifications of thc stylistic developmentsof the Deccan are yet to be nrade known and it is posible at this time only to providc a bricf outlinc of the major developments. As in othcr rcgional styles, religious patronage and other factors had great beadng on the evolution of the forms.

THE IVESrERN GANGAS oF TAIAKID

:::rring to the -: rhroughout ..,,.,....,t-. :

...

i,---li-^

: r:nrs of the :,. rpply d1e ri -just to a - :'iiqrlatioois -':irtc to thc \.LLrini.rnd :: oi Deccan , :a!\l een the .:i t10 n1(Jre

_::rer unclcr', rrlook the :..:re br-rilding ' :t:a Dcccan. :::.rlrs fotmal ::; ofrvhich : : : a o 1 5 .L a t c

From the sccond to the eleventh centruy A.D., kings of the so-callcd Ganga line rulcd ovcr parts of r,vl.rat is now Karnataka (formerly Mysore) statc, usually as fcudatories of more powerful ruling families. Onc branch of this family, the hstcrn Grngas, came to be powcrful it Orissa rnd, as 1vc bave seen,clistinguishcd thcr-nsclvcsthlough the impressivc nlonllneDts rhcy built. The Wcstcfn Gxngashad their capital at Talakad and \4'cre pron.rincnt pxrticularly in the tcnth ccntury. This fanily playcd an important rolc in thc polidcs of the Dcccan during tl.re last period of Rastrakuta mle bur wcrc subjugatcd in roo4 when the Colas captured Talakad. Historical and political information about the Gangas survivcs in thc nun-reroushero stoncs (r,trag,r/s) ploduccd to commcnorrtc the deaths of warriors and m.:n-rbcrsof the royal linc in keeping with a prxctice that s.as prevalcnt throughout the Deccan sincc carly tilles. Onc cxar.r.Lplc, fron.rl)oddrhundi in I{arnaLakr,shorvs the dcath of thc Western Garisr kins Nitimarga (lI) and dates lrom arould 9zo (Fig. zz.r). Reclining on a couch, thc king is attended by t$''o mxlc figurcs. Thc rathcr aninated forlDs of tl.rethree figures, inciucling that of thc dying king, are typical of Wcsteru Ganga hero stonc d e p t c t r o n sJ. s a r e t h e c o s t L , r n c rc. o n . i . t i r L g primarily of loincloths, and thc hairstyle, rvitb its distinctive topknot. Important Wcstcrn Ganga renains are found rathcr cxtcrlsivcly at their capitxl city, Talakad, "ltl'oug1m ' . r n yo f t l r c r r r o n r r r r . n t... l c i r r r u i r ) . aocl,in general,none havc beenrniclcly published or sttdicd. Instead, the Western Gangas arc pcrhaps best known fot a nunlber of sffucturcs and carvings at thc ,Jainholv sitc of Sravena

(TlNrIr

Crlrruqy)

ez.r.HerostoneshowingdcathofKing Nitirnarga(II). Frorn Do{{ahundi, Kernataka,India.WestemGdlga period.Ca. 92o.Granjle.H: r46.Jcrr. StatcArchaeologicalMuser.rm, Bangalore.

lSelgolain Kamalaka, a center rcputcd to have been irnportant at lcast since thc tir-r-reof the Maurya dynasty. ln 982, thc ministcr of thc Westcrn Ganga king Rajan:rlla IV, Clnunda Raya, dcdicated an inpressive Jain terrple at Sravana Belgola, commonly known as the Camunda R-ya ,aJli (Fig. zz.z), and at thc samc place in the loilorving year, 983, he dedicated thc colossalstrtue of Behubali, popularly called Gommaqe(vara(Fig. zz.3)., A dcvout Jain,

J42

LATERSCHOOLSOF THE DECCAN AND THE SOUTH

22.2.C^tu]\da Rayatemplefrom southeast. Sravalra Belgola, Karnataka,India. Western Ganga period. Dedicatcdin 982.

22.3. Behubaii (Gornmate(vara). Sravana Belgola, Karnataka,India.Westen Ganga period. Dedicatedin 983.H: ca. r8 m.

Cdrrrund.rl(ayr was a distinguishedgcncral.a Lnowledge:rblc gcnrlemrn *h"o kncw a nrrmber of languages,and the author of the Canunda Rayn Pura4a.a work dared 978 in rhe I;l Kannada language. The granite temple (6asrl) is cssentiallysouthern in form, as secn in the tiered superstruct[re over the shrine and the pilasteredwalls. The absenceof figure sculpture between thc pilasters or in nichei in the walls is a feature often found in Jain ternples in the Deccan and the south, although is not exclusivc to them. Such treatment continues one trend visible at lcastsinccthe time of the Early Western Calukyas(Fig. r5.r). The colossal statue of Gommateivara (Fig. zz.3) said to be the largesr free-standing _is_ monolithic sculpture in the worid, reaching a height of abor.rteighteen meters. By virtue of its location on top of a hill, it can bc seen for great distancesaround. In form, the figure is cluractcrized by high, squarc shoulders, curly hair, a flat nose, thick lips, and a small waisi.

::: -

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LATERDECCANSCHOOLS J 4Ji As in thc casc of many other Jaln ln-tagcs,a stiffnesspervades the statte. This, however, is not a stylistic or artistic deGct but rathcr rcflccts the communicative content of thc imagc. It might be suggestcd that thc dry, sometimes lifcless,effcct ofJain art is due to the fact that thc Jain saints and ttrthaikarasare consideredto bc bcyond the material, sensualworld and its attachments. Instead, they represent the realnl of pure objectivity. Gommate6vara, thc son of Rsablranadra,the first tirthaikara, was a Jain

THE LArER Caruxvas

::i:ast. Sravana -:nga period.

-. : ^----^l " ::: .r' a nulnbet : ::te Camu4(a ::n the local :. seen in the ---:rne and the :::re sculpture ,, in the walls ; :.ot exclusive -.s onc trend ::rly Wcstern

:iee-standing -

--"-l-i-^

-

Br- virtue of ::. be seen for

. small waist.

saint who stood so long in meditation that vincs grew up around his unnoving body. His posture is a spcci{ic standing meditation pose known as kayotsarga,which is characterizedby the firmly planted fcet, unbent knces and arms, and thc positioning of the arms so that they do not touch the body. The slight smile on thc face of the saint indicates his inner tranquility, and it docs not interrupt the senseof concentration that tbe inage convcys.

o F K A L v A N i ( 9 7 3r o c a . r r 8 9 )

In approximately 973, the Rastrak[gas,who ]rad dominated the Deccan for norc than two hundred years,were finally overtbrown by Taila II, founder ofthe Later Calukya line, ruling from Kalyani in what is now Andhra Pradesh. This family claimed dcsccnt from the main line of the Early Western Calukyas of Sadami. nxcept for a brief interregnum of approximately twenty-five years, when their Kalacuri feudatories wrested control frorn thcm, thc Later Calukyas of Kalya4i remained in power until around rr89. Thc Later Calukyas of Kalyani are irnportant not only politically and artistically, but alsobecauseone oftheir kings, Vikramaditya II, was the patron of thc famous poet Bilhar.ra, author of tlre Cawapaicalika. The art of the Later Celukyas of Kalyani is often seen as a kind of link between thc art traditions of the Early Western Calukyas and those of thc Hoysalas. This is suggcsted by the fact that sorne of their earlier monLrncnrs are built in sandstone,continuing the earlier tradition, while thc later ones arc invariably made of a finc-grained chloritic schist that lcnt itself to finer carving and greater detail and pavcd the way for the intricacy of Hoysala sculpture. However, Later Calukya art and architecture is more than just a link between two other art schools;it repr€sentsa ra'idespread tradition that had important effects on Deccan art. More than fifty extant temples havc bccn identified as belonging to the Later Calukya period, ranging in location from Andl.rraPradesh in thc eastto Karlataka in thc wcst, with many

of then.rconccntratcd in the vicinity of Gadag, nor lirr From rhe Early Wc'tern C.rlrrkyasices of Aihole and Badami. Unfortunately, few of thcsc temples have receivcd rnuch notice, and none has been fully studied and intcgratcd into the body of knowledge concerned with south Asian artistic developments. Further, Kalya4i, the dynastic capital, which undoubtcdly containcd some of the most important art rnonuments, is largely in ruins and has not been reconstructed.Thus, though the importance of Later Calukya art is evident, it is not fully understood. Howevcr, the Mahadeva tenplc at Ittagi, near Gadag, cxcmplifies the developed style of t h e l - r t e r C e i u k y r . o I K a l y a n r( F i g .z : . a ) . B u i J r by Mahadeva,a military oflicer of Vikranaditya VI, and callcd "emperor amoug tcmpies" (deualaya ukrauarti)in ir' forrnd.rtioninscriprion. the ternple was dedicatedin Saka ro34 (a.o. rrrz).3 Thc main structluc faceseastand is thc central unit ofa group ofstructures on a tenacc. It consistsof a pillared hall wit]r a porch on each side of it, an antechanber, and shrinc (Fig. zz.5). A pillared na4dapato thc eastof it complctes the temple schemc.Thc antechanber located bctwccn thc pillared hall aud thc shrine is not visible fron.r thc cxtcrior except that ir is demarcated above by a projecting elemcnt of thc superstructurcatop the shrinc.The supcrstrlrcture is ticrcd in typicaily southcrn fashion although thc uppermost portions have becn rebuilt and their original appcarance is not known. Increased elaboration in the trcatment of the

544

LATER SCHOOLSOF THE DECCAN AND THE SOUTH 22.6. I)etall, wall treatnen! of Mahadevatemple. Illagi, Karqataka, India. Period of Later Calukyas of Kalyani- Dedicated in Sakacra ro34 (A.D.rrr2).

ID t

a

.-'-

22.4. Mahadcva ternple, rear sectionsfron llorrh. Illagi, Kar4,!aka, India. Pcriod of Later C,lukyas of Ka1ya4i.Dedicated in Sakaera ro34(A.D.rrr2).

re lr l

.l

z.:.,s. Plan of Mahedeva tenple. Ittagi, Karnataka, India. Period of Later Calukyas of Kalyani. Dedicared in Sakaera lol4 (A.D.rrr2).

-

IATER DECCAN SCHOOTS 54J .ll Eealment of rel="nofollow"> le. hlagi, Karnaenod of Later haDi. Dedicated (-LD.r 112).

6ple, rear Iqragi, Kard oi Later - Dedicated rt12).

exterior wall surfaces,moldings, and superstructure indicate a departure from Early Westem Calukya traditions and anticipate the Hoysala developments.Wall treatment includespilasters, deeply carved niches (rnany of which have tower forms above them as repetitions of the main forrn of the viuarc ttself), ar.d figurative sculpture (Fig. 22.6). Becauseof the projecting bays on the limafla especially,the form of the structure appearsto be scallopedratkr than simply rectangular.The large na4d.apato the eastof the temple odginally contained morc than sixty pillars. Many of them, like some on the exrerior porches of the temple, are so perfectly shaped that it is sometimes said that they were latheturned, a claim also made regarding many other pillared structuresin the Deccan. Like almost all temples of the Later Calukyas, this structure does not have an interior passagewayfor circumambulation.

An approximately contemporary or perhaps slightly later example of a Later Calukya monument is the Dodda Basappatemple at Dambal, also near Gadag (Fig. 22.7). Unlike orher structures ascribed to the Later Calukyas, this temple has a stellate plan (Fig. zz.8), similar conceptually to a type frequently seenin Hoysala monuments (Fig. 22.38). However, it differs from even the Hoysala examples, in which only the uimina is stellate,for here both the matl/apa ar.d vimana are stellate.In this casc,thc sanctuary is based upon a twenty-four pointed star and the mandapdupon a thirty-four pointed star, although the actual number of points is smaller, since some are omitted due to the juncture between the separatehalls and the addition of entry stairs into the natl(apa. The angles of the stellateplan are right, not acute, indicating that the design ofeach star was formed by rotating a square around a central point. Stellate temples were not an innovation at this time, as exan-rples are known from much earlier periods of Indic architecturc. However, the complexity and richnessof the form is characteristicof the late style to be brought to culmination under the Hoysalas.Temples such as this and the previous example clearly suggestsomething of the combination of northern and southem elernents that characterizesmuch of Deccan architecture and may represent the ,esara type. The tiered treatment of the superstructureof the vimana, for example. is clearly .ourhern in origin. yet the profile created by the diminished n.rasonry coursesand delicatc carving suggeststhe typical northen-style iikhara (Fig. zz.7). In particular, this superstructure has a soaring and vcrtical profile, reminiscent ofnorthern forms. The wall pattern, consisting of pilasters,niches, and other repeating architectural elements, but generally lackingfigurativescnlpture.indicates as5ociarions with southernIndian architecturalstyles. The sculpture style of the Later Calukyas of Kalyar.ri evolved over tirne and was subject to regional variation, just as was the casein other important art traditions of South Asia. An example offigurc sculptureis found in a carving fiorn Jalasangaviin Karnataka, which datesfrom around t roo and depicrsa womJn wriring a Sanskrit inscription in the Kannada soipt (Fig.

J46

LATER SCHOOLSOI THE DTCCAN AND THE SOUTH

'

':

': ]

_-_\;

22.7. DoQll Basappatemple. Pambal, Kerrr.Fkr, Indir. of LaterCalukyasof Kall anr. Early twelfth centurl.

::.9.-Wonlan lndia. Period Stone. i\'luser Resesrch lnsll

Fo_ .Q

ro F

rp

5q 1,5

6lr Za

22.8. Plan of Dodda Baseppl temple. Dambal, Karnalaka, India. Period oflater Calukyasof Kaly,rli. Early twelfth century

IATXRDTCCANSCHOOLSJ47

Kar4llaka, 22.9.-WonunwriliDg. Fron Jalasangavl, India.Periodof LaterCalukyasof Kalyeti. Ca. rroo. Stone.Museun of Arc and Archaeology,Karura{a University,Dharwar. Rcscarch Institute,KarDetaka

22.9).lntcrestingly, the inscription itsclf mcntions the nanre of King Vikramaditya Yl$o76 ttz6) of the Crlukya family and thereby provides the approximate date. Undcr Vikramaditya VI, during whose reign thc Mahadeva temple at Ittagi was built, the Later Calukyas were said to have cxpcricnced a florescencc in art and literature. This sculpture, with its epigraph cleverly intcgratecl into thc composition and story, demonstratcsthc skill ofthe Later Calukya artist in rcpresentinga figurc in a twistcd, complicated pose. Thc gcncrous body proportions suggcst tics to other $.estern Dcccan styles of carlicr pcriods, as seen in the round hips and thighs, br.rtthe aimost contortcd pose and profile view of the facc suggest associations rvith northern sculpture styles of thc Solankis or

C.,ndell.rs.Hervily laden with ornanrentation r n d r j e r o e l e dg i r d l e .r h ef i g r r r er n t i c i p a t ensr a n y of thc carvings of the Hoysala dynasty. The downfall of thc Latcr Celukyas was facilitatcd by thc risc ofthe Kalacurisof Kalyanr, ,r,ho were scions of the Cedi Kalacr,rris(Haihaya$. These later Kalacuris seized control from the Calukyas of Kalyani fiorn about r 156 to rr8r, and by rr89, the Calukyashad been weakenedsuficientJyto aJlow two other families to rise to power: the Yadavas, in the northern part of thc cmpirc, and the Hoysalas, in thc south. A third dynasty, that of the Kakatryas, had alreadyclaimedscmeofthc easternrealmsof thc Calukyas.The Kalacuri interregnum, though brief, v'as important culturally sincc tbis fan.ily patronized the so-called Lingayat or Vira6aiva religious n-rovement.In particular, a rcvival of this religious group r''asled by one Basava(r rz57o?), r ho became primc ministcr under the Kalacuri king Bijjala (rt56-68). Still a popular religious forcc in this rcgion of India today, the Vira(aivas arc ardcnt devoteesof Siva who may have exerted what might be considered a "negative" influence on templc building and art in tiris region, since they do not believe in building temples or in worshiping in thcm. Instead, cach devotee wcars a iiiga in a small case:lroLlndhis ncck and thus cach carricshis own sign of thc god. In somc rcspccts, the Vira(aivas nay havc been influenced by the Islamic rcligion, r'hich had dccply penetrated portions of hrdia by thc twclfth ccntury. For example, in contrast to the usual Hindu practice o f c r c m r t i o n .t l r e V r r . t ' . ' i r a sb r u y t l r e j r d c r d : in additiol, thcy do not beJievcin a castesystenl or in thc privilcgc of the brahnans,3ndthey belicvc in thc unity of a single god, Siva. Further, thcy rcject traditional rit.rals and Hindu forms of worship. It is possiblc that thc iconoclastic conccpts of drc Muslims were known by the Vira(aivas and ied to thcir anti-tcnple and antiimagc practiccs.While it is of coursenot possible of to talk ofViraiaiva art or arcl tecturebecause this, in the context of lndic art, such a rcligious sect is important as a rcninclcr that thc material objccts that wcrc originally produced and those that reurain providc only a partial picture of cultural life in ancient India.

54d

IATER SCHOOTSOF THE DECCAN AND THE SOUTH T H E Y a D A V A s o F D E V A G T R (Ti r 9 i t o r 3 r r )

Upon the collapse of the Later Calukyas of Kalyar.ri,the Yadava line was founcled in rrgr, taking over the northern part of the former Later Calukya lands. The Yadava capital was at Devagiri (Daulatabad) in Maharastra in the westem Deccan. At timcs, thcir powcr was vcry great, for they rnade conquests to thc north in Gujarat, thus augmenting thcir holdings. Many of the tenples found in the regions of thcir control bear similarities to other

rcgional sryles,such as those of Gujarat and the Deccan CSlukya rypcs. Howcvcr, perhaps the most characteristicof the Yadava temple types is thc so-callcd Hcmadpanti style, namcd after Hemadra, a minister to the last two Yedava kings, Mahadeva (rz6o 7r) and R-macandra (rz7t-t 3t r), who reigned until the Muslins conqucrcd them, Hen.radra is credited with having had three hundred such templcs built. Hemadpanti-style temples are characterizedby

jSyertrGe,!€!::,

l ro, zz.ro. Siddheivaratemple. Lilnpangron, Mahtrtgfra, India. Period ofYadavas ofDevagiri. Ca. late thirteenth ccntury.

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9r

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t zz.rr. Plan of Siddhcivara temple. Linpangaon, Maharaglra, India. . r . l J r e I l r i r ( e e n r h( e ' , r u r ) . P c r r u du f Y a d r r r s o f l - r e v " g i r i C

LATIRDECCANSCHOOLSJ4g

l-: irdt and the ::. PcrhaPsthe : rcnlPle types :. named after : |\1'o Yedava : Remacandra :hc Muslin.rs ::l.lited with :rnrplesbuilt. :,::acterizedby

their heary form and by the fact that thcir extedon are nearly totally dcvoid of sculptural embellishment. This undccoratcd style apparcntly gained widespread popularity, replacing the much more elaboratcstmcturesthat had been built previously. Such a rcversal in thc general trends of Indic art and architccture during this period deservcs an explanation beyond rhe uually hcld view that thc ncw form rcsulted from cconon-ric constraints. It miglrt bc suggested, instead, that the popularity of drc Hemadpanti style may be linked to the facr that the Yadava kingdorn was increasingly tlrrcrrened by Mu'linr lorces cornirrg rnto western India and the Deccan and that the style was chosen since the plain extedors right help deter the usual iconoclasticfervor of thc Muslim attackers.Templcs without figure sculpture on the exterior were not ncw at this timc, since a popular style in the Deccan and portions of drc south was characterizedby pilastcrcd walls or othcr simple exteriors. The Hemadpatti styie, r h e n .s l r o u l dn o r b c v i c u c d r s r o t : r l l yj r r r r o v a r i v c . but rather a rcvival or increasedpopularity of and vadation on earlicr architcicturaltypes.

An excellentexan.rplcofthe Hernadpanti type of tcmple is the Siddireivara temple at Lin.rpangaon, probably a product of the late thirteenth ccntluy (Fig. zz.ro). Although thc roofing may be a replaccmcntofa later date and the original forrn n.ray havc hacl grcater heiaht, the overall appcaranccof thc main temple and t h e d c r : c l r e .Nl . r n d p r . r ri l i o n p r c c c d i r rigr i ss q r r . r r and heavy. Extcrnal clecoration is confincd to string courses, moldings, pillars, and to thc picrced window scrccnswith primarily gcomet r i c r l c s i g n :r h J l u h i l r r . r r c l 'yn g g c s l. r s s o c i r t i o n s with Early Wcstem Calukya monulr.rcntssuchas the L-d Kh.n temple at Aiholc (Fig. i5.23).The sinplc plan(Fig.zu.rr), consisting ofthc dctachcd Nandi pavilion, a small porch, wrde nnndapa with four central pillars, an antechambcr, and the shrinc itself elso suggcsts tics to earlicr architectural nrodcs. The tectrtgriar u andapa, with fat cxtcrior walls,and the treatmcntof the extcrior of tl.rcsirrinewall, rclievcd only by trvo projectionson cachside,is alsounusualcomparcd to templcs of a comparably latc date in otircr parts of South Asia.

THE KAKATiyAs or HaNallroNol aNo WinaNcar (ca. Mrl-ErrvrNTH CENTURy ro ca. r3:5)

Profiting from thc wcaknessof both thc latcr C e l r r l y , " o f K a l y e n i. r r r dr l r e C o l . , s .t h r K . , k a tiyas rosc to prominence in thc clcvcnth century. Their cnpire, rvith its capitalsin Andhra Pr:rdcsh, first at Hanamkonda ancl llter ar Waratrgal, n b o t t rs i x k i l o r f l c t c r . . r w i l y . . l r \ g r c i c \ r e x tendcd as {ir south as I(anciprrram, thc old Pallava capital. Tltn, r'hilc thc Yadavasgainccl the northcrn part of the later Calukya lancls, the K-katiy:rs were the inhcrirors of the eastern rcalms. Horvevcr, during the time of Sultan Ghiyas-ud-DinTughluq (r. r3zo z5), thc Kakat r 1 , L sJ. i L c r r . , n y o t l r c r H i n t l r r d 1 n l t i c , . w c r c forced to submit to thc Mus]irn rulers. This casternDeccan dynasty, holvcver, has lcft anple remains of architcctLlrc, sculpturc, and cvcn son-rcpainting, enabling us to reconstruct rrany ofthe najor artisticdcvclopmcntsofthis period. Ties to thc artistic sty)esofthc castcoastofsouth-

crn India, with tl.reir charactcristically slelclcr fiqure typc traccrblc fronr thc period of the Satevahana:urd Iksvaku clynasticsthrougl.rthe arr of the Pallavas,Colas. ud othcrs, are hiehly visiblc in drc art of the Kakatiy:is,indicatingtJLc pcrsistcncc of a strouglocaltraclition.In addition, similariticsto othcr late Hindu stvlcs of rhc Deccannray alsobc sccn,perhrpsrcflectingthc political ties of thc Kakatiyas r,vith other Dcccan ruling fanilies sr-rchas the Later Calukyas of Kalyani, whosc hcgcmony hacl rcached into the Andhra Praclcshrcgion. In contrast to rnosr othcr Indic art schools,a surprisingly largc numbcr of Kakatiyanronlrnlcntscrn bc rclcrred to by specificclatcsby inscriptionalcvidcnce. Bccauscof this, and the frct tlut rclatively fcu, of them havc bccl lully studiccl, Kakatiya tcrrplcs xrc ripe candidatcsfor future study, as it is cxpcctcd that they could providc a very

550

IATER SCHOOTS OF THE DTCCAN AND THI SOUTH

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z.z.rz. Detached na4lapa, "Tho'tsand-Pillarcd" tcrlplc, from north. Hanarnkonda, Andhra Pradesh, India. Kakatiya period, reign ofRudra I. Buik in r162.

well documented sequenccof Dcccan buildings prirnarily of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the greatestperiod of building .rcriviry. In general,Kakatiya templesare eithcr single'1 shrine or rriple-slrrinc(rrilrira) in plrn. hc so-callcd Thousand-Pillarcd tcn.rpic at Hanamkonda, (Figs. zz.rz-t6), the carly Kakatiya capital, displays thc til
on both thc plinth and walls. While not devoid of figurative sculpturc, the main motifs consist of .rrchirecruralforms including miniature tcrnple spires.suggesringsinrilaririesto many other Deccan styles. Unfortunately, the superstructuresover all three shrinesarc missing and their original appetrance is not known, It is in the intcrior, however, that the carvrngs arc richcst, for there, virtually every stone surface has been carvcd and polished to creatc highly intricate and rcfincd pattems. A view into the central man/apaofthe main temple, from which the tbrec shrincs radiate, fiom the entrance porch (Fig. zz.14) shows the ornateness of thc carvings. In particular, the pillar designs, typical of nrany Deccan subsrylcs.are .rn irnportant elemcnt. Likc many temples of the various northern stylcs, and those following the tradition of thc Early Western Calukyrs in the Deccan, the ceilings arc also ciaborately carved in prinarily gcon.rctricand foliatc pattcms (Fig. zz.r5). Sone ofthe most beautifulcarvrngsarc those of the entrancewaysto the tlrrce shrincs (Fig. zz.r6), crch of which hasan outcr pilastcrcd portico lcading to its own rnteciramberarrdthen the door to thc shrine itself. Ample )ight is

rATER DECCAN SCHOOTS I51

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22.13. Mein structure, "Thousand-Pillared" temple, from west. Hanamko4da, Andhra Pradesh, India. Kakadya period, reign of Rudra I. Built in 1162.

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and 22.14. View into certral ma4lapa, 'Jrain structure, "Thousand-Pillared" ternple, from entrance porch, Hanamkonda, Andhra Pradesh, India. Kakatiya period, rcign of Rudra I. Built in r16z.

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552

LA'TEII.SCHOOLSOF THT DECCAN AND THE SOUTH

I 22.16. Entrance to one of the shrines, main temple, "Thousand-Pillared" temple. Hanamko4{a, Andhra Pradesh, India. Kakatiya period, reign of Rudra I. Built in r 162. I

ll

admitted into the central mat.tdapaof the temple by porches at the junctures between the three shrhes and the entrance porch. At Pelampet,about sixty kilometers northeast of Hanamko4da, further important remains of Kakatiya builders rnay be found. Today, Palampct is simply a small village, although during the Kakatrya period, it was a vital center of considerable importance. An inscription dated in the year rri5 (Saka), equivaleni to A.D. r2r3, on a pillar at Pelampet revealsthat the city was founded by Recerla Rudra, a general for the king, Gar.rapati(r. 1198-rz6r).5 Rudra's inscription also revealshis gift ofa temple at Palampet, the renowned and justly celebrated Ramappa temole (also called Rudreivara after Rudra hinrsel{-with .an intended double play on the word as the temple is dedicated to Siva as Rudra). Often said to representthe high point ofDeccan architecture of this period, though it is not fully

typical of Kakatiya structures, the Ramappa temple is a single-shrine temple within a large, walled enclosurethat also contains a number of smaller structures.(Fig- zz.q). The temple faces east and consists of a pillared ma4dapa with large projecting porcheson three sides,an antechamber, and the shrine proper, all of which rest upon a large plinth that repeatsthe roughly cruciform shapeof the combined sectionsof the temple. From the exterior, the porches and ua4lapa appert sharply angular with their projections and fat roof, in contrast with the uimaxa with its brick tower on the west. Like other Deccan examples,the tower revealsties to both northem and southem forms, having the tiered arrangelnent of southem towers but the complexity, detail, and overall shape of northem lihharus. One of the most notable Gatures of this temple is the quality of the carvings on the exterior and interior of the monument, particularly those on the porches and under the roof. Ultimately a continuation of the Early Western Calukya practice of using bracket {igures, the Pelampet temple bears a series of delicately carved, finely 6nished, and highly polished brackets with rampant lion and female figures, many of which are nearly life+ize (Fig. zz.r8). By this tir.ne,the motif of the beautiful woman had been codified into the so-called.AlasaKanye or "Indolent Maiden" type. The Silpa Prakaid, an architectural text probably forrnulated by this tirne, treatssixteen of the most inportant of thesc, including types well known in earlier artisticcontexts,such as a majdcn ;n a lora1l or do.rrway (Fig. z.r). a girl holding a mirror, the inage of a mother, a dancer, and a girl playing, with a parrot (Fig. 8.28). According ro the Si1p4Prakaia, the Alasa is vital to architecture, for lvithout the image of a woman, the temple will bear no fruit. (This concept does not necessarily explain the presence of such figures on earlier monuments.) The example from Palampet (Fig. 22.18) shows the typical vitality of the figures, each of which is lxtraordinarily slender(following the Andhra region stylistic preference)and has very smooth skin, which is played off visually by the detail of the ornamentation and garnents. Many of

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22.17. Rlmappa temple frorn northwest. P:lxnpct, Andhra Pradesh, India. Kakatiya period, reign of Ga4apati. Early thirteenth centory (before Saka cra r I3J, or ,{.D.r2r3).

the {igures are in very contorted positions, suggesting affinities to other highJy stylized modes currcnt in South Asia around the same tirnc, The figures are generally accornpaniedby extremely detailed floriated bowers or vrnes, revcaling an interest in detail typical of the Kakatiya carver. An interesting fcature of the interior of the temple is the presenceof benches with small shrinesplacedalong them at intervalsaround the perimeter of the pillared nandapa(Fig- zz-ry). One miniature sbine contains a representation of Gar.re6a,another of Durge as Mahisasuramardinr (Fig. zz.zo). ln style, thesefigures bear resemblanceto the carvings of the bracket figures, although as is generally true in the caseof icons rather than subsidiary figures, they are stifer in appearance.In contrastwith many earlier depictions of Durga Mahisesuramardini,this example shows the bull asa very minor element

zz.r8. Fernalebrackct figure, Raruapparernple.PalampatJ Ardhra Pradesh,India. Kakatrya pcriod, reign of Ge4apati. Early thirteenth centrry (bcfore Saka era rr3j, or ,\.D r2r3).

JJ4

TATTR SCHOOTSOF THE DICCAN AND THE SOUTH

ofthe overallr the, dominates arch behind k a numberof I{ it is decorate

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22.19. Inte or, 1rdl4ap4,ftorn south, Rama?patemple. PalanpEt, Andhra Pradesh, India. Katatiya period, reign of Ganapati. Early thirteenth century (beforeSakaera rr3J, or A.D. r2r3).

22.20. Du:rgz Mahigasuramardiniin srnall shrine in ma4lapa,P(lnzppa temple.Pelampet,Andhra Pradesh, India. Ktkatiya period, ,reign of Ga4apati. Early thirteenth century (beforeSakaera rr35, or A.D. t2r3).

22.2r. Ceilirg, nafdap|, R m ppa temple. PalampEt, Andhra Pradesh, India. Ktkatlya period, reign of Ge4epeti. Eerly fhirteenth century (before Saka era r13J, or A.D. r2r 3).

Upon the co Kalya4i, their duee portions be ruled by th realm, which Kakatiyas; aD were claimed Dorasamudra family had be prior to the fz imperial indel rr9z, when claimed hims own era of d on rrgo ifftea Geological ruled by the 1 plateau, Yet Hoysalas are growth of D( northem and highly distin Deccal templ multiple shrir three, four, ar temples use a a feature fou.n krrorvn ass'el expected whe is knonn thr, eramples, no used to de6r Hovsala teml -.he fint bein I-ater Caluli EOte ornate ! ire "ornate s -.\eir simpler even a major: Hc-rrr-erer.sin

IATER DTCCANSCHOOTS 5J5 ofthe overall design,while the victorious Durga dominatesthe composition. The angular,pointed arch behind her head is a form which apoearsin a number of Kakatiyasculptures, althoughofren it is decoratedrather than plain. The rich carving

is also seen in the ceiling of the ma4dapa(Fig. 22.2r), The "lantern roof" convention is well known in northern-style architecture from an early date, though the richness of the carving typifies the later style.

T H E H o y S A L A So r S o u r r r r r w K A R N A T A K A ( c a . r o o 6 r o r 3 4 6 )

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rple. P:lampEt, :od, reign of rore Saka era

Upon the collapse of the Later Calukyas of Kalyani, their empire was essentiallysplit into three portions: the northern part, which came to be ruled by the YadavasofDevagiri; the eastern realm, which came under the control of the Kekatiyas; and the southern territories, which were claimed by the Hoysalas, who ruled from Dorasamudra (modern Halebid). The Hoysala Family had been prominent for some rime even prior to the fall of the Later Calukyas, but their imperial independence v/as not proclaimed until rr9z, when Ballafa II (r. ca. tt73-rzzo) proclaimed himself emperor and commenced his own era of dating (which was based,however, on rrgo insteadof rrgz). Geologically, the southem Kar4ataka region ruled by the Hoysalasis not part of the Deccan plateau. Yet the art styles fostered under the Hoysalas are most properly viewed as an outgroy/th of Deccan styles,showing a mixture of northem and southern elements, while beine highly disincrive as well. Like many orhei Deccan temples, Hoysala structures often have multiple shrines; exarnples are known with two, three, four, and even five shrines. Many Hoysala temples use a stellateplan for rhe uimana, again a feature found in other Deccan art schools.and known aswell in northem India. But, asmay be expected when describing an art tradition that is known through a large number of surviving examples,no single set of characteristicsmay be used to define all Hoysala works. In general, Hoysala temples rnay be classedinto two rypes, the first being a rather logical development of Later Calukya forms, the second, a much more ornare style. Although Hoysafa temples of the "ornate style" are much better known than their simpler relatives, these do not comprise even a majority of extant Hoysala monuments. However, since the style seemsoriginal to the

Hoysalas,and was not apparently used by other dynasties,it may be considered, properly, the "Hoysafa sryle." An interesting Gature of the individual carvings on many Hoysala temples is the fact that many of them are signed works by specific altists. Although this phenomenon of signing works of art occurs in other Indic art schooll nowhere does it appear with such regularity or with so much seeming pride on the part of the artist as in the Hoysala tradition. Some altists are known to have worked on several Hoysala ternples.Uftimately, it may be posible to closely.study the sculptural styles as artists progressedtrom monument to monument. on the basis of a purely stylistic analysis, it has proven impossible thus far to distinguish the work of one anist from that of anolher. Issentially, here, and in other Indic art schools, craftsmen, though perhaps proud of their own achievements,worked in what rnust be called a collective rather than individual style, although differences in skill and expression undoubtedly occurred. The ancestralhome of the Hovsalas was at Sosdvir,where Sala.the first chieFrain oIthe Iine, is reputed to have killed a tiger, using only a dagger, to protect an ascetic (perhaps a Jain). Supposedly, the ascetic shouted "Poy, Salar' (Srrike.Sala),henceproviding rhe nameHoysala (Poysala) of the lineage. A number of early Hoysala artistic remains are found at Sosavir, However, it was not until the reign of the king Bittideva (ca. rro8-42), better known by his Vaisqavite religious name, Visr.ruvardhana,that Hoysala art, religion, and history become understood. Inscriptional recordsclearly show that Visquvardhana, his wiG, ofiicers, and ministers generously patronized the construction of temples and other structures.Of the eighty or ninety

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extant Hoysah temPles in Karnagaka, several irnportant oneshave beenidentified asbelonging to the reign of Vis4uvardhana on the basis of inscriptional and stylistic evidence. An example of a Later Calukya style Hoysala temple is the Lak;midevi temple at Do4da

Gaddavalli, a monLunent of Visltuvardhana's reign dating from rrr3 accordingto inscriptional evidence.oIt is a cruciform, quadruple-sluine temple (Fig. zz.zz) consisting of a pillared tna4fapa shted by the four separateshrines, each of which also has an antechar.nber.En-

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22.23. \Vesr side of LaksDdcvi temple ffom northwest. Dodda Caddav;l!i,Karlalrka. Indir. Hoy"rla periud(LJrerCatukla "ryie). reign of Visnuvardhana.Dedicaredin rrrr.

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trancesare placed on the east and west sidesof the ten.rplebetween the nq(dapa ^1ad, the northem shrine. The temple is enclosed in a rectangular conpound and there are subsidiary shrincsiu each of the four corncrs, as well as a smrll rcrnplededic.rtedro Blrair:rvr.a rerrifying erpect ol Siv.r. to rhc norrheasroF thc rnain structure. Within the main shrines of the templc are images of Laksn.rideviin the cast; a linga calIed,Bhiitanrtha on the wesr; Kah, a fierce iakti of Siva, in the north; the south was probably originally dedicated to Visnu (since Garuda appearson thc pedestal, although the irnrge has bcen lost). As is cltar.rcreri.ricin Later Calukya inspired tcmplcs, the Laksmidevi temple doesnot have an encloscdcircumambulatory Passageway. In contrast to Hoysala temples of the ornatc style, the Laksnidevi temple lacks thc sculpted friezes and figurative carvings so characteristic of those rtonun-reqts.Instead, the treatraent of the bnrc. w.rli. .'nd .upcrsrrucrure(Fig. z.z.:j) may be compared to Later Calukya suucrures, 'Lrchu' rhc Dodde Br.appa tenrple(Fig. z-2.7).

Both structures are highty embellished with numerous projections and moldings; however, the_ decoration consists primarily of purely architcctural designs,not the figurative r.u\,tur., found ubiquitously in the Hoysala ornate style. Since this temple was created only four years prior to the highly ornate Ke6ava temple at Belnr (Figs. zz.z4-3t), it is evident rhat this is not due to an "earlier" stylistic mode; rather, this temple shorvsa clcar associationwith othcr Deccan schools, especially those creatcd under the Yadavas and Later Calukyas, indicating the Dcccan/Calukyan heritage of Hoysala art. The superstructures consist of dirninishing tiers capped by a iikhara and,kalaia and are basedon southern forns. While the temple lacks the sculptnral decoration of tlte dnanq seenin the ornate-style Hoysala tcn.rples, its individual sculptures,such as the duarap1lasto the shrines, rcvcal thc same love of omamentanon scen throughout Hoysala lvorks. Perhaps thc nost il'nportAtlt monumcnt of Visquvardhana's reign is thc Ke(ava (or Ccma Kc(ava) templc at Belur, an cxample of the