ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE
fine smile playing on his face. On the right is shown the donor of the image in the añjalimudrā, and on the left his wife with a pot full of sweets. By their side are seen two gaṇas holding
musical instruments.
..
This image too is unfinished. On its two sides at the top were to be carved two aṅgadevatās in niches, and in the pediment at the top, the ten incarnations of Vishṇu as in several
other images of the mediaeval age. Still, even in its present unfinished condition, this image
can be reckoned among the finest specimens of the age.
..
Siva−In the Śiva-temples the object of worship is the Śiva-liṅga, but images of the
god are affixed to their walls, the principal one being in the niche on the hind wall of the
garbha-gṛiha. In the temple at Ambarnāth this image of Śiva is three-faced. It has been described before.
..
Besides this, other forms of Śiva such as the Ardhanārīśvara and the Kalyāṇasundara are
noticed in the Ambarnath temple.
..
Besides the images of the three principal gods, Brahmā, Vishṇu and Śiva, those of
other gods and goddesses have been found at some places in Koṅkaṇ. Of them, the image
of the goddess Mahishāsuramardinī [1] found at Ṭhāṇā is specially noteworthy.
..
This image is 58 cm. high. The goddess is seen killing the demon Mahishāsura (Buffalodemon). She is in the tribhaṅga pose, with her right foot planted on the back of the buffalo,
whose head is cut off. She wears a kirīṭa-mukuṭa and several beautiful necklaces, bracelets
and anklets. The scarf which half covers her breasts has a knot tied in front. Her raśanā (girdle)
is adorned with small bells, with its pearl tassels hanging in front. She is four-armed. Her
upper right hand wields a sword, while the left one has a shield. With her lower right hand
she is seen piercing with a trident the demon who has emerged out of the beheaded buffalo.
She holds his head tightly with her lower left hand while he is trying to prevent the trident
from piercing his chest. The lion, the vehicle of the goddess, is seen biting off the flesh of the
buffalo. The goddess has a pleasing smile, indicating her inward joy at the ultimate destruction
of the mighty buffalo-demon. This panel is full of action and reaches a high-water mark of
artistic perfection.
..
Karttikēya−In the hills near Chipḷuṇ in the Ratnāgiri District there are finely carved
images of Kārttikēya and Vindhyavāsinī Dēvī. Of the six faces of Kārttikēya, [2] five are seen,
two on each side of the central one. The god is standing in the sama-bhaṅga pose. The image
is 71 cm. in height. All the heads have kirīṭa-mukuṭas studded with jewels. Two of his twelve
hands are now broken, but those that are undamaged are shown holding the arrow, the
mace, the bow, the lotus, etc. He wears the yajñōpavīta and the champaka-mālā reaching below
the knees. The tassels of his elaborately carved girdle are shown gracefully hanging on his
legs. To his left is seen his vehicle, the peacock, and to his right a female chawri-bearer. This
images also is one of the best specimens of the plastic art of the Śilāhāra age.
..
On stylistic grounds this image can be referred to the Śilāhāra age, and this is confirmed by the reference to it in an old Sanskrit work, viz., the Śrī-Vāḍēśvarōdaya-kāvya. [3] This
kāvya was composed by the poet Viśvanātha, a Brāhmaṇa of the Kauśika gotrā, in the Śaka
Saṁvat 1550 (A.D. 1628-29) and so it is nearly three hundred and fifty years old. It is of
the sthala-māhātmya type, its purpose being to describe the construction and importance of
the sacred shrines in and around the village Guhāgara in the Ratnāgiri District. The kāvya
mentions the images of Vindhyavāsinī and other gods and goddesses at Guhāgara. In the
_________________
Pl. U, Fig. 27. Bulletin of the Prince of Wales Museum, No. 9, p. 37.
Pl. V, Fig. 28. See also ibid., pp. 40-41 ; Indian Antiquary, (Third Series), Vol. V, pp. 207 f.
Ed. by A.D. Pusalkar in Indian Thought, Vol. VI.
|