16 Mämallapuram. Great Penance Panel

Transcription

1 16 Mämallapuram Great Penance Panel The Penance Panel, a great carving in relief, was created by the Pallava king, Mahämalla (Narasi ha-i), in the mid-seventh century, A.D. It is the largest of its kind in India, more than 30 meters long and 12 meters high. It covers the rock surface of a cliff on the eastern flank of the hill at Mämallapuram. A vertical cleft in the center of the carving divides the panel into two huge sections. On both sides, rows of gods and demigods are depicted flying effortlessly past mountain slopes, toward the cleft. Just to the left of the cleft, more than half-way up, an ascetic is standing on one leg, with arms up-raised and fingers interlocked above his head. And to the left of this figure stands the god iva, who indicates with outstretched hand that he is granting a boon to the ascetic.

2 The Great Penance Panel 17 iva and the ascetic

3 18 Mämallapuram There has been a great deal of controversy over the interpretation of this scene. Like so many other monuments at Mämallapuram, the great carved panel has been associated with the story of the Pä Ãava brothers. It is popularly thought to portray Arjuna s Penance. But early in the 20th century, the scholars V. Goloubew and G. Jouveau-Dubreuil rejected the popular belief that the figure standing on one leg represents Arjuna. According to these scholars, the penitent figure is King Bhagïratha, and the central cleft represents the path of the river Ga gä as it flows down the mountains from heaven in response to Bhagïratha s request. A.H. Longhurst, an archæologist, discovered how the Pallavas had arranged for water to cascade down the central cleft from a cistern above to the tank below. The cascading water would represent the descent of the Ga gä. And all the heavenly beings would be flocking toward the central cleft to witness this descent of the most holy of rivers. A brief account of the stories of Arjuna and Bhagïratha will help to give perspective to the controversy. The Story of Arjuna s Penance The great epic, Mahäbhärata, relates how Arjuna, the third of the five Pä Ãava brothers, at the request of the eldest, Yudhi±ªhira, took his bow and sword and went to

4 The Great Penance Panel 19 a high Himalayan peak to carry out an extreme penance. The object of this asceticism was to obtain the incredibly powerful weapon, the Pä upata, from the god iva. With this weapon, Arjuna and his brothers would be assured victory in the war against their usurping cousins, the Kauravas. The Penance At the beginning of his penance, Arjuna ate only fruit at lengthening intervals of days. After the fourth month, he ate only the wind. He wore a garment of grass and an antelope skin. He kept his bow near him. He was standing motionless on the tips of his toes, with arms upraised, and his penance was so intense that he radiated a burning energy which caused the surrounding area to go up in smoke. The great sages, nearby, were so disturbed by Arjuna s penance that they went in protest to iva. The Great God assured the sages that he would grant to Arjuna the boon which he desired, and his penance would end. The Trial iva, however, first wished to test Arjuna s bravery. The god assumed the appearance of a hunter (kiräta). His consort, the goddess Umä, also disguised as a forest dweller, accompanied him with a retinue of women.

5 20 Mämallapuram As iva approached Arjuna, a rakshasa (demon), named Müka, who had taken the form of a gigantic wild boar, charged at Arjuna. The Pä Ãava prince, disturbed in his penance, took up his bow, strung it, and, declaring his innocence, took aim at the boar in self-defense. iva, disguised as a kiräta, tried to restrain Arjuna, calling out that the boar was his own quarry. But Arjuna disregarded the kiräta s warning and let fly his arrow at the boar. At the same instant, the kiräta also sent an arrow at the boar. Pierced by the two arrows, the demon was killed. Arjuna was infuriated with the kiräta. He accused him of interfering, taunted him about his retinue of women, and threatened to kill him. The kiräta laughed in scorn and said that the fault was Arjuna s because the boar was rightfully his own quarry, and that it was his arrow which had killed it. The kiräta then declared that he would kill Arjuna, and he challenged him to fight. Arjuna sent showers of arrows against the kiräta, but with no effect. His arrows exhausted, Arjuna attacked the kiräta with his bow, striking the hunter on his forehead. The kiräta merely seized the bow. Arjuna then struck the hunter s head with his sword. But the sword shattered. Finally, Arjuna attacked the kiräta with his bare fists, and then grappled with him in a wrestling match. But the god squeezed the breath out of Arjuna, and the warrior fell down unconscious. When he regained consciousness,

6 The Great Penance Panel 21 the bewildered Arjuna sought refuge in the Lord iva by forming a li ga out of earth and worshipping this with a garland of flowers. To his great amazement, the garland appeared miraculously transposed onto the head of the kiräta. Then, Arjuna realized that his opponent was none other than the god he worshipped. The combat between the Kiräta and Arjuna. Sandstone panel, Kailäsanätha Temple, Kanchi.

7 22 Mämallapuram The Boon Arjuna fell at iva s feet. The Great God was pleased and praised the Pä Ãava. Arjuna then beheld iva in the form of Mahädëva, the Lord of the Mountain, with his consort, the goddess Umä. On his knees and with his head bowed, Arjuna praised iva and begged forgiveness. iva laughed in pleasure and embraced Arjuna, and, after complimenting him, asked what boon he desired. Arjuna told him that he desired the Pä upata weapon. iva then gave Arjuna the dreadful weapon which had the appearance of the god of death. Finally, iva, along with Umä, departed for heaven, and Arjuna rejoined his brothers. Such is the story which is popularly believed to be portrayed in the Great Penance Panel at Mämallapuram. But two very serious objections to this interpretation have been raised. Problems with the Arjuna Interpretation The first objection to the Arjuna s Penance interpretation raises the crucial question of what exactly is the object of the attention of the multitudes flocking toward the central cleft. If it were Arjuna in penance, then all the gods, demigods, humans, and animals should be intent on witnessing iva granting the boon of the Pä upata weapon to Arjuna.

8 The Great Penance Panel 23 But why then is there a Gandharva couple, near Arjuna s feet, flying by with their backs to iva and Arjuna? And why are two geese almost wagging their tail feathers against Arjuna s arm as they move away toward the cleft? And why would a monkey and a Näga couple, down below, have their backs to iva and Arjuna? The central cleft area, Penance Panel

9 24 Mämallapuram In fact, all the creatures have their attention focussed on the central cleft. This fact of the central importance of the cleft is made clear in the Minor Penance Panel (near the lighthouse), where iva and the penitent figure are isolated in the upper left corner of the relief, and all the creatures of the three worlds all the animals, humans, and divine beings, which are portrayed under them and to their left, have their attention focussed on, and are moving toward, the cleft to the right which represents the course of the descending Ga gä. Minor Penance Panel

10 The Great Penance Panel 25 The second objection to the Arjuna s penance interpretation is that iva does not appear and grant the boon to Arjuna while the Pä Ãava is standing on one leg in penance. On the contrary, iva comes disguised as a hunter. Arjuna s penance is then disturbed by the attacking boar. Arjuna never returns to a one-legged stance. iva grants Arjuna the boon he desires only after Arjuna is defeated in hand-to-hand combat and resorts to forming a li ga of earth to worship iva, and finally recognizes the kiräta as the god iva. Let us then turn to the more plausible interpretation of the great relief carving. The following account is also found in the Mahäbhärata. The Story of Bhagïratha s Penance King Bhagïratha s great, great grandfather, King Sagara, wished to perform the horse sacrifice, the a vamëdha, which would establish him as a King of Kings. The sacrificial horse was released to wander at will. The territories where it roamed unchallenged were territories which acknowledged the sovereignty of King Sagara. To hinder the horse s free movement or to capture it would be a challenge to Sagara s sovereignty, and would provoke a war. However, the god Indra mischievously stole the

11 26 Mämallapuram horse and hid it in the underworld, near the hermitage of the great sage, Kapila. When the horse was reported missing, 60,000 sons of King Sagara set out to find it. When these sons finally located the white stallion near Kapila s hermitage, they suspected the sage of having stolen it and rushed at him. Disturbed in his meditation, and enraged by their insult, Kapila gave them a blazing glance with fiery eyes, and in a flash, the 60,000 rash sons of Sagara were burnt to ash. When Sagara learned what had happened, the king sent his grandson, A uman, to try to find the horse. A uman made his way to Kapila s hermitage, and, because he politely asked for the return of the horse, the great sage obliged him. In those days, the ocean had been swallowed up, and the sacred river Ga gä was located in the heavens and had not yet come down to earth. There was, on earth, no holy water with which to bathe the ashes of Sagara s 60,000 sons. As a result, their souls could not go to heaven. In vain, Sagara practiced austerities in order to persuade the holy river-goddess Ga gä to descend to earth and purify the ashes of his sons. After Sagara died, his grandson, A uman, did penance. And then A uman s son, Dilïpa. But they all failed. Finally, Dilïpa s son, King Bhagïratha, was destined to succeed.

12 The Great Penance Panel 27 The Penance King Bhagïratha deputed his prime minister to govern his country in his absence, and then he departed for the Himalayas in order to practise austerities. He began the most frightful penance and subsisted only on fruit, roots, and water for the immensely long period of a thousand celestial years. The river-goddess Ga gä then appeared before him and asked what he desired. The king answered that he wanted her to descend to earth so that his ancestors might at last attain heaven. The goddess agreed to do what Bhagïratha asked, but she warned that her unbroken descent from heaven would destroy the earth. She said that the only one who could support the crushing force of her descent and thus protect the earth from destruction was the Great God, iva. She suggested that the king practice further austerities so as to please iva. The Boon Bhagïratha then began further penance to win iva s protection at the time of Ga gä s descent. In response to his penance, the Great God, accompanied by his retinue of ga as (goblins), appeared before Bhagïratha and agreed to grant him the boon.

13 28 Mämallapuram Description of the Penance Panel The Ga gä descended from heaven to earth in two stages. The first stage was the precipitous fall from heaven onto iva s head. The second stage was the more controlled flow from iva s head down mountains, across plains, into the dry ocean bed, and finally down to the underworld. The water cascading down the central cleft of the Penance Panel during rainfall and at certain ceremonial occasions in Pallava times would have represented the Ga gä during the second stage of its descent, when it flowed down the Himalayan slopes. The multitudes are flocking from both sides to witness this stage of the Ga gävatära a (the coming down of the Ga gä). The penitent Bhagïratha and iva, with his retinue of goblins, form an independent scene which represents an earlier episode in the story. Therefore, all of the other creatures, including those with their backs to this group exist in another time frame.

14 The Great Penance Panel 29 The Pallava artists chose to represent iva at the very moment he appears before Bhagïratha to assure him of the boon. This event precedes the episode in which iva takes the form of Ga gädhara (breaking the fall of the Ga gä on the locks of his hair). In the Penance Panel, the Ga gädhara form is skipped over, and the grand climactic event of the Ga gä reaching the earth (with a provision for real, cascading water) is shown. iva, along with his ga as, granting the boon to King Bhagïratha

15 30 Mämallapuram In the cleft are carved figures of three snake people (Nägas), one above the other. In the Indian tradition, generally, the Nägas are associated with water. On those ceremonial occasions when the Pallavas released water from the cistern above, a splashing curtain of water would have partially veiled these figures from the spectator s view. Half-way up the cleft is the snake-king, with a man s body above the waist, and a snake s sinuous body below. Spreading over his crown from behind his shoulder is a serpent s hood with seven heads. Below him is his queen, with a three headed snake-hood. And below her, an ordinary looking snake. The Nägaräja and his queen, facing directly out from the panel, have their hands together in a salute of adoration. They are, in fact, worshipping the sacred Ga gä which would be falling over them and in front of them in a foamy curtain. On either side of the Näga queen is a couple depicted in full human form. They are distinguished as Nägas only by the snake-hoods spreading over their heads from the back a five-headed hood of the male to the left, and a three-headed hood of the male to the right. Their consorts sport only a tiny, single-headed hood above their headdress.

16 The Great Penance Panel 31 The Nägas

17 32 Mämallapuram Kinnara Another type of half-animal/half-human creature, the Kinnara, is depicted in the panel. The upper half of the Kinnara is human, the lower half, a bird s body with wings. They are the heavenly musicians of mythology. In the great panorama, two couples are carved in the panel on the left, and four, on the right. They are singing and playing musical instruments. The males are playing the vï ä (lute), and the females are keeping time with miniature jälra (cymbals).

18 The Great Penance Panel 33 There are fourteen Gandharva couples flying from both sides toward the central cleft. Five of these couples are on the left side, and nine couples, on the right. These demigods in human form, both male and female, possess superhuman powers, including the ability to move at will through space. Gandharva couples

19 34 Mämallapuram On the extreme right of the panel, flying just above the female elephant, are two pairs of Siddhas. These are sages who have attained supernatural knowledge and miraculous powers. Siddhas

20 The Great Penance Panel 35 Chandra (the Moon) and Sürya (the Sun) Above iva s head is the Moon God, Chandra, shown here in anthropomorphic form. Behind Chandra s head is the large disc of the moon. A much smaller disc also representing the moon rests on top of iva s hair. Just opposite the Moon God, on the right side of the cleft, is Sürya, the Sun God. Sürya has a large disc behind his head, representing the sun s orb.

21 36 Mämallapuram There are three pairs of male and female dwarfs depicted in the right section of the panel, and two pairs, in the left. These couples are shown sitting, watching, with peculiar hoods (with flaps over the ears) covering their heads. One couple, seated just to the left of iva, might be considered part of his group, along with the four ga as, who surround him. Dwarfs

22 The Great Penance Panel 37 The ga a standing between iva and Bhagïratha has a stomach formed into the fierce face of a lion-like creature.

23 38 Mämallapuram iva is shown holding the shaft of a tri üla (trident) with his lower right hand. His lower left hand is in the boon-bestowing pose, the varada mudrä. His upper left hand holds the para u (axe), and his upper right hand grasps the tail of a cobra, which loops down behind his right side and reappears, with its three-headed hood, just next to his lower right hand. iva and his insignia

24 The Great Penance Panel 39 iva wears in his left ear the patra-ku Ãala, a cylindrical type of earring. And in his right ear, the makaraku Ãala ear ornament. This difference of ear ornaments has no special significance in this period. It only reflects the style of the times: up until the latter part of the seventh century, it was common for both men and women to wear different types of ear ornaments in the right and left ears.

25 40 Mämallapuram Ordinary mortals are seen in the panel to the left. Four woodsmen are moving toward the cleft, carrying staves or bows. A fifth, with a hatchet, is depicted high up, just to the left of the Moon God. Below Bhagïratha is a small temple with an image of Vish u inside. Seated near this shrine is an elderly ascetic, bent over in deep meditation. It has been suggested that this sage is Kapila, who was a well-known devotee of Vish u. Below this sage is another person practising yoga, and two disciples seated near him. The heads of these three images have been broken off. Just below these seated persons, four more disciples are portrayed standing on the river bank. One is wringing out a wet cloth, another has a

26 The Great Penance Panel 41 pot of water on his shoulder, a third is saluting the Ga gä, and the fourth is performing the ritual of gazing at the noonday sun through the slits of his interlocked fingers. Hermitage on the banks of the Ga gä

27 42 Mämallapuram On the other side of the cleft, just under the tusks of the big bull elephant, there is a humorous portrayal of a cat imitating King Bhagïratha and pretending to practise austerities. This cat is standing erect on one leg, with his front paws up-raised. There are several accounts in Indian tradition of hypocritical old cats who pretend to do penance on the banks of the Ga gä. The cat in the Penance Panel is surrounded by mice who do not suspect his treachery. One mouse is even worshipping him with paws pressed together in salutation. Hypocritical cat

28 The Great Penance Panel 43 Various types of animals are portrayed. The two great elephants have six little calves playing around their legs.

29 44 Mämallapuram Then there are fifteen lions and other large cats and two little cubs, ten deer and antelopes, mountain goats, four monkeys, a hare, an iguana stalking an unsuspecting bird, one boar, a tortoise, two jungle cocks and two hens, and geese. Lioness with cubs Deer

30 The Great Penance Panel 45 Antelope Monkey, hare, and iguana

31 46 Mämallapuram Antelope and boar Jungle fowl