Varäha-II Cave-Temple

Transcription

1 52 Mämallapuram Varäha-II Cave-Temple The path by the Ga ë a Ratha leads, on the left, to a cave-temple which has been carved out of solid rock in the area behind the Penance Panel. This cave-temple, excavated by King Mahämalla, has in modern times been named Varäha-II (the second of the Varäha caves at Mämallapuram). From the earliest times, porch-like structures called ma Ãapas were ordinarily built in front of shrines or temple sanctums. Pallava cave-temples, like Varäha-II, reproduce in solid rock the pillars and inner details of this porch structure. At the back of this ma Ãapa is carved the façade of the shrine proper. A door in the shrine s façade leads into the sanctum sanctorum, a windowless chamber which is the innermost excavated part of the cave-temple. This sanctum is treated in the manner of a royal chamber, with door guardians posted on either side of the entrance. These doorkeepers are often anthropomorphic forms of the emblems or weapons of the enshrined deity. In this cavetemple, the guard on the left of the entrance has a discus carved at the top of his headdress, and the one on the right, a conch shell at the top of his. Therefore, though the sanctum of this temple is now empty, we can be certain that it was meant for Vish u, as the discus and conch are Vish u s insignia.

2 Varäha-II Cave-Temple 53 Varäha-II Cave-Temple The inner walls of the sides and back of the ma Ãapa of the Varäha-II cave-temple have large relief carvings on them. To the left, as one enters, is a representation of Vish u, in the form of Varäha (the Boar), lifting up the Earth Goddess from the watery depths where she was submerged by the deluge. On the back wall, to the left of the sanctum, is a carving of the goddess Lakshmï. She is seated on a lotus throne and is being ceremonially bathed by two elephants pouring water on her from pots carried in their trunks. On the back wall, to the right of the sanctum, is depicted the goddess Durgä. And on the right side of the ma Ãapa is a carving of Vish u as Trivikrama.

3 54 Mämallapuram Varäha Panel The Varäha panel depicts Vish u in his Boar Incarnation (Varäha Avatära). The god Vish u is portrayed here in the form of a man with a boar s head, having just plunged to the watery depths to rescue the Earth from the deluge. Varäha s right leg is raised up, his foot resting on the snake-hood of the Nägaräja, ruler of the watery deep. With two of his four hands, Varäha supports the Earth Goddess on his right knee, and nuzzles her breasts with his tusked snout, as she sits there bashfully, her breast-band having slipped down across her lap. The god Brahmä stands to the right of Varäha. One of Brahmä s three visible faces has been damaged, but the remaining two are intact. Three of Brahmä s hands are in various mudräs (gestures). The fourth, his lower left hand, holds a gourd water vessel. To the right of Brahmä, with his back to the spectator, is a bearded sage holding a vï ä (lute), its tuning pegs clearly visible. Above the sage is a flying celestial. On the left side, next to the humbled Näga king, is his queen, fully anthropomorphic. She also salutes Varäha deferentially. In back of the Näga queen, to the left, is a second sage.

4 Varäha-II Cave-Temple 55 Up in the left corner, above the sage, is the bust of the Sun God, Sürya. Behind Sürya s head is carved the disc representing the sun. Just next to Sürya is another emblem of the sun, the discus, held in Varäha s upper right hand. In his upper left, he holds the conch shell. Varäha Panel, Varäha-II Cave-Temple

5 56 Mämallapuram Gaja-Lakshmï Panel In the adjacent panel, on the back wall of the ma Ãapa, Lakshmï, the goddess who represents good fortune and the fertility of the earth, is portrayed as a lovely young woman sitting on a lotus, which is her throne. The two elephants (gaja) bathing her are conventional artistic symbols for clouds carrying life-sustaining rain. The goddess is flanked by two royal ladies on either side. They are bringing pots of water for the bath.

6 Varäha-II Cave-Temple 57 Gaja-Lakshmï Panel, Varäha-II Cave-Temple

7 58 Mämallapuram Durgä Panel On the other side of the sanctum, a figure of the goddess Durgä is carved on the back wall. The Goddess of Victory stands straight, a lotus under her feet. She has four arms. Her two upper hands hold the discus and conch, Vish u s emblems. She is considered to be Vish u s sister in the Bhägavata, the Dëvï-Mähätmya, and other texts. Two worshippers kneel on either side of Durgä. The one on the left is about to sacrifice himself by cutting off his own head. He grasps the hair of his head with his left hand, and with his right, he holds the blade of a sword against his neck. This type of self-sacrifice actually occurred in the past. Literature and inscriptions testify to this fact. Two animals are associated with Durgä in mythology and art. One is the lion, a symbol of bravery; the other is the deer or antelope. The head and front part of a lion are carved in the upper left corner of the panel. The head of an antelope appears in the upper right.

8 Varäha-II Cave-Temple 59 Durgä Panel, Varäha-II Cave-Temple

9 60 Mämallapuram Trivikrama Panel On the adjacent side wall is a panel portraying Vish u as Trivikrama ( Three-Strider ), an eight-armed giant, who with three steps strode across the three worlds (earth, heaven, and the underworld). Vish u assumed this form in the climax of his Dwarf Incarnation (Vämana Avatära). According to the accounts of this avatära, Bali, a powerful king, ruled over the earth. So great was his power and prosperity that even the king of heaven, Indra, felt threatened. Indra sought Vish u s help. Not wishing to crush outright such a king, Vish u resorted to a cunning scheme. Taking the form of a dwarf Brahmin, Vämana, he visited Bali s kingdom at the time the king was performing a horse sacrifice. When Bali was offering gifts to Brahmins, Vämana modestly asked the king for the land he could cover in three steps. Despite the warning of his advisor, King Bali granted the request. Immediately, the dwarf Brahmin became transformed into a mighty giant, Vish u, who with one step crossed the entire earth, and with a second step traversed the heavens. Vish u/vämana then asked King Bali where he could take his third step. Not able to respond, the humbled king bowed, and Vish u s third step, on the king s head, plunged him down to the underworld. Bali then became the ruler of the nether region.

10 Varäha-II Cave-Temple 61 The Trivikrama panel depicts Vish u as he takes his second stride up through the highest heaven. His left leg soars up well beyond the moon, which is shown here as an anthropomorphic figure being thrust aside at the level of Vish u s waist. King Bali and his men are seated on the ground. Trivikrama Panel, Varäha-II Cave-Temple

11 62 Mämallapuram On the other side of Vish u, at the same level as the moon, there is a figure of the sun, also anthropomorphic. Both the Moon and the Sun gods have large discs carved behind their heads. In the upper left corner of the panel, above the Sun God, is a small image of iva with four arms, seated on a lotus, witnessing Vish u s heroic feat. In the upper right corner is a figure of Brahmä, seated on a lotus, pouring water on Vish u s sacred foot. In the mythological account illustrated by this panel, the water poured by Brahmä on Vish u s foot becomes the source of the heavenly Ga gä. In the space between Vish u s crown and Brahmä is a figure of Jämbavän, a bear, beating a drum in jubilation. Jämbavän and Brahmä

12 Varäha-II Cave-Temple 63 Namuchi Below Brahmä, there is a figure dangling in space. This is the demon Namuchi, who, opposing Vish u, and grasping at his left leg, was flung sky high when the Lord raised his leg to measure the heavens with his second stride.