Some
time in the eleventh century A.D. the Hoysalas, who were then feudatories of
the Later Chalukyas of Kalyani, became independent and founded a dynasty of
their own, with their capital at Dvarasamudra, now called Halebid. There, in
the Karnataka region, they built many temples, the best known being the
Hoysalesvara temple at Halebid, the chenna Kesava temple at Belur, and the
Kesava temple at Somnathpur.
The
Hoysala temples are not noted for their architectural merit, although some
innovations were introduced. But for their sculptural craftsmanship, the
exuberance of their plastic art, they are unrivalled.
The Basic Concept of Indian and Hoysala Art
THE HOYSALAS OF
DVARASAMUDRA
It
is traditionally believed that the founder of the Hoysala dynasty was Sala who
killed a lion (or tiger) with an iron rod on the orders of a saint. This
circumstance is said to have been the source of the family name Poysala (or
Hoysala). According to another tradition, the Hoysalas, like the Yadavas,
claimed descent from the ancient family of Yadu. They were at first feudatories
ruling under the Western Chalukyas or the Cholas. They had a very small kingdom
in Mysore (modern Karnataka).
Vishnuvardhana
(c. 1110-1152 A.D.) was the first notable ruler of the Hoysala dynasty; he was
also a great conqueror. His military successes established his authority over a
large tract of land, comprising almost the whole of Mysore (Karnataka) and some
adjoining districts. He claimed to have defeated the Pandyas, Cholas, Kadambas,
and the rulers of Malabar and South Kanara; and his victorious campaigns
reached as far as the river Krishna. It is, however, difficult to accept the
historicity of all his exploits. Moreover, the Western Chalukya king,
Vikramaditya II, claimed to have checked his further advance. Vishnuvardhana
was a great builder; he founded the city of Dvarasamudra (modern Halebid) and
transferred his capital there from Velapura (modern Belur). He came in close
contact with the great religious teacher, Ramanuja, and was attracted towards
Vaishnavism.
His
grandson, Vira Ballala II (c. 1173-1220 A.D.) renounced the suzerainty of the
Western Chalukyas and defeated a General of Somesvara IV. The Yadava ruler
Bhillama V, was also defeated by Vira Ballala II. But he was defeated by
Singhana who extended the Yadava power beyond the Krishna. The royal power of
the late. Hoysala rulers was weakened by continuous warfare with the Pandyas
and Cholas. The last great king of this dynasty was Vita Ballala III who maintained
the intrigity of the Hoysala power in Mysore (Karnataka). In A.D. 1310, he was
defeated by Malit Kafur and his final defeat was at the hands of Muhammad Bin
Tughluq. He was succeeded by his son who ruled for a short while only, and then
the Hoysalas disappeared from the scene of history, but the Hoysalas are still
remembered as great builders of temples with profuse ornamentation.
ORIGIN AND PURPOSE OF
INDIAN ART
The
tradition of Indian art from the days of Harappa till the end of the creative
age of Indian art was a continuous one, in the course of which it assimilated
new elements, rejected old ones, evolved new styles and conventions, and even
inspired the ordinary, toy-makers with this living tradition. The architects
were learned in the Shilpa-Shastras
and shared in the common heritage of the country of their time. The artisans
who worked under them belonged to certain caste guilds which were patronised by
kings and nobles. And they all belonged to a traditional heritage that in spite
of changes retained a marvellous continuity through the ages.
Indian
art can be traced to the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages and was well advanced (in
the Chalcolithic period. The Harappan art, the first nature-expression of
Indian art, has had probably close contacts with the art of ancient Sumer. A.
K. Coomaraswamy suggests that India possibly was the birth place of art which
later found expression in the richer art of Western Asia. It is equally
possible that the early arts of India Sumer, and Babylonia, were regional
variations of the early Chalcolithic culture which extended over a wide area
from the Adriatic to Japan during 4000 to 2000 B.C.
Indian image-cult must have begun long before
the days of Harappa, by which time the images were .already stylised. But the
end of the Harappan period did not mean a break in the continuity of this art.
It survived in the succeeding Vedi period. Although the Aryans were worshippers
of the sacred fire and of cosmic forces, a fusion of Harappan and Vedic
cultures led to the appearance of many Harappan deities under different names
and different associations. Sculptural remains indicate that the Harappan
culture was in this way indirectly related to the Mauryan period through the
Vedic period and the Shiva-Shakti cult was very primitive in its origin.
One
persistent feature of Indian sculpture from the earliest times is the theme
Shiva and Shakti. Even in the Neolithic period, men looked upon the Linga and
Yoni as symbols of creative power, and this was the early beginning which later
changed into the Shiva-Shakti cult. Iconographically, the Pashupati and the
Mother Goddess of the Harappan culture are the parents of all sculptural
divinities in India, though it is difficult to say whether in the beginning
they were associated with one another. In the next three thousand years they
inspired Indian art, literature, religion and philosphy in innumerable ways.
Shiva
and Shakti gradually emerged as the highest, noblest and most powerful in the
Indian pantheon. They came to symbolise cosmic unity, creation and destruction,
terror and benevolence, beauty and sublimity. Time and again the Shiva-Shakti
theme, in its innumerable variations, has inspired Indian art in many ways. In
course of centuries, Indians have ascribed to these two deities such qualities
as to make them at once so human and to appear to be within our easy reach; and
so supremely sublime as to look like remote unattainable ideals. Many stories
are associated with them which have provided us with magnificent art themes,
like the union of Hara and Parvati and the birth of Skanda, the swallowing of
the Kalakuta by Shiva, the descent of the Ganga, the Cosmic dance of Shiva, the
marriage of Parvati, the domestic life of Shiva and Parvati with their four
children and the triumph of Durga over mahishasura. Shakti as the Mother and
Shiva as the Father of the Universe have received the awe-struck devotion of
Indians through the ages in art and literature, religion and philosophy. They
are the most abiding force of Indian culture and, as such, have dominated
Indian art which is sometimes the catalytic agent of Indian religion.
SOCIO-RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
AND CONSEQUENT CHANGES
The
priestly class based their strength on the knowledge of the sacrificial hymns
(Mantras). By the power of such hymns, the gods (Devas) are made to come down
from their heavenly abodes, accept the food and drink offered by the devotees,
and grant their prayers. Even the king, the centre of all earthly power, is a
supplicant at the priest's door and the priest is often found to make the royal
power totally subservient to him. Above all, the worst fear is that the name
and fame of the royal forefathers and of himself and his family, lie at the
mercy of the priest. If the priest is not appeased, all his glory goes down
with his last breath. Again, the priests used to conduct great sacrifices
(Ashvamedha, etc.) lasting over a very long time. The kings showered count-less
wealth on them and thanks to the mercy of the priests, their names glorify the
pages of history.
The
priestly class, thus, wielded great influence on society, primarily because
they were the depository of Mantras (incantations) which were believed to be
essential for invoking the help of the gods, for their indispensibility in
religious sacrifices, and for their ability to immortalise the exploits of
kings. In course of time, however, Hindu rites and ceremonies became rigid and
a large section of people, like Vaishyas, Shudra: and outcastes were treated
with contempt by the priestly class. This led to protes, movements. The most
outstanding leaders of such protest were Mahavira and Gautam Buddha, the
founders of Jainism and Buddhism respectively.
Buddhism
derived its strength and vitality from the monastic orders and to des-troy the
monastic order was to practically destroy the religion. The monasteries were,
so to speak, the garrisons which kept the banner of Buddhism floating high in
the neighbourhood. As soon as they fell, Buddhism almost vanished from that
area, and on account of the central situation of the monasteries, their
splendour and magnificence, they always proved to be targets of attacks by
foreigners. Thus, whereas the Huna incursions and the later Islamic invasions,
spelt utter ruin to the Buddhists, other religious sects were not so much hard
hit. To these may be added the internal dissensions caused by the rise of
numerous sects, the spiritual decay brought about by the spread of abhorrent,
licentious practices in the Buddhist Church, and the renovated vigour of its
rival Brahmanical Hinduism. Unlike Buddhism, Jainism made considerable progress
under the patronage of the Early Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Gangas and
the Kadambas in the Deccan plateau. But from the seventh century A.D. Jainism
began to decline in South India under the onslaughts of Shai-vism and
Vaishnavisui. Thus the priestly power again revived in the form of Neo-Hinduism
by Kumarilabhatta (c. 700 A.D.), Shankaracharya (c. 788-820 A.D.), Rama-nuja
and others. They tried to rebuild its structure on the fall of Jain and
Buddhist adversaries. They laid stress on Faith (Shraddha), Knowledge of
Reality (Jnan) and Devotion (Bhakti) as a prime mover of religions. Again, for
the elaborate ritual prac-tices, simple structures were built for propitiating
the gods and gaining their favour. It opened the gates of personal worship of
the images of the Supreme Deity (Vishnu or Shiva) in temples dedicated to them.
And there arose hundreds and thousands of Hindu temples, which in grandeur and
magnificence far surpassed even the sacred structures associated with Jainism
and Buddhism. Moreover, there was a great swing back to ancient lore.
Commentaries on the Vedas, translations of the Epics, dramatizations of the
many Puranic themes and heroes became the fashion of the day. There was a
tremendous urge to revive and popularise the ancient literary and religious legacy
in new literary forms. Treatises on the ancient Hindu heroes like Rama, Lakshmana,
Krishna, Venu-Gopal, Balarama, Hanuman, Yudhisthira, Karna, Arjuna, Bhima, and
a host of others,were to serve as models for the people to emulate.
Thus a growing and renewed interest was shown
to reassess the values of the classical exploits of the Epic and Puranic
heroes, to revitalise the Hindu population against the socio-religious
challenges and threats from external cultures and religions. And this great
urge to revive and popularise oid Epic and Puranic myths and legends seem to
have animated the sculptures and paintings of the Pandas, Pallavas, Hoysalas,'
Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Cholas, ChandeIlas, Gangas, and many others in South
and Northern India. Never before was the plastic art dominated so much by Epic
and Puranic themes except perhaps under the Hoysalas.
HOYSALA TEMPLES AND MITHUNA
SCULPTURES
"Sex
as conceived in Hindu mysticism has three aspects: the Passive and the Dynamic
and the Emotional. The phenomenal world is said to be born of the Union of the
inert Male Principle and his Shakti (Energy). Before the union took place,
there was Kama (Desire)." A peculiarity of Hindu mystic conceptions is
that the static is always conceived as male and the dynamic as female. Shiva
without his Shakti (consort) is said to be Shava (corpse), yet the static Shiva
is the main stay (core) of all dynamics. As there is a static point at the
centre of the axis of a rotating wheel without which the wheel cannot move, the
main principle inspires all movements which remain unaffected by the motion.
The core is of the wheel though not sharing its motion. Similarly, both the
static and dynamic principles are of the same reality, though appearing
contradictory. The two principles are unemotional, merely representing the
forces of becoming or regeneration which in itself is a moral. What relates the
two is Karna (Desire) and this emotional principle appears in the world as
sex-love. The static male principle is represented in sex cults as the Lingam
(the phallus), the female principle as Yoni (the female organ) and the
emotional principle as the sex-love that unites the two.
This
highly idealistic conception supplies the philosophic background for
sex-worship in India. It manifests itself in different forms among the various
castes, sects and tribes. Among certain aborigines and lower castes, it assumes
crude forms such as fertility rites with their attendant vulgar and obscene
practices, while among others, it takes the form of sacramental Maithuna (
sexual union), and is a transcendental mysticism. The idea is no doubt linked
with the Sankhya philosophy in which the Purusha (Male) is conceived as
positive and Prakriti (the female), as dynamic. In the Advaita philosophy too,
the Atman is conceived as Nirguna (without attributes), while the attendant
Maya (illusion) is active and feminine.
The
conception of sex as god is also responsible for the religious art of some of
the temples which depict Maithuna figures in various poses of love-making. This
art should be viewed against the background of these conceptions in which sex
appeared to its devotees not only as a natural function but also the tangible
expression of those mysterious forces of creation that operate in the Universe.
After its worship was incorporated into Hinduism, the Lingam became the most
popular symbol of Shiva. Not only in India, but also in all countries to which
she sent out colonists and trans- planted Hindu culture, the cult of the Lignam
flourished extensively. Thus, in Champa and Cambodia, on the islands of Java,
Sumatra and Borneo, Shiva was worshipped in the form of the Lingam just as in
almost all Shiva temples in India.
Another explanation can also be given for
erotic sculpture. The values of human life and society were fully realised by
the early Indians in their art, literature and religion. They had accepted all
the socioreligious and cultural norms in their gross physical and metaphysical
aspects. Thus, they did not pretend to hide amorous relationship between men
and women but expressed it through the numerous Maithuna figures on the
temples. They had the courage to accept the facts of life without importing any
extraneous moral principles into them.
Unlike
the sophisticated moderns, early Indians gave recognition to the importance of
sex in human life, and consequently they preferred early marriages. 'They
expected many children during their life-time. The birth of a child was
welcomed by all, who used to share in the joy of the parents and join the
festivities. This is quite different from the social practices of the modern
age, when the world is suffering from over-population and food shortage. As a
result of this, the behaviour pattern of adult men and women has changed
remarkably and unguarded sex behaviour among adults is treated as a social
crime. But the modern socio-economic factors were not present in ancient India.
There was a general cry for "empty and hungry land", and the growth
of population was very much encouraged by the state and society through
religious and secular literature.
Another
social concept was the idea of a complete and full man with masculine vigour
and energy and life; he must have a spouse having equal health and energy. All
the social and religious rites must be performed jointly with his wife. Hence
the numerous art expresssions of men and women together, gods and goddesses,
and other exhibits of health and energy; and they are all equally matched
together. The popular concept of "health is wealth" was just rooted
to the idea of health and mind; they enjoyed their lives to the fullest degree
through their unsophisticated sex-behaviour and in that way they could attain
Chaturvarga, i.e. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha. Based on that concept, all
the Hindu gods, goddesses, and hermits in the hermitages had their wives and
children.
The
basic concept of human life was, thus, a family life. In ancient India, the
husband was greatly venerated and the old Hindu ideal of husband was
"Shivam-Satyam-Sundaram" and the wife was the very soul of domestic
life and happiness, "Grihini-Griham-Uchchate (the lady is the house). The
birth of a child was recognised as the perfection of the wife's womanhood. But
men with their diverse activities in and outside domestic life, without any
such supreme centres of affection, were not recognised as capable of attaining
such perfection.
We
can further add another explanation here. A sanctuary and its environment are
altogether a separate socio-religious world complete in itself. A popular deity
dwelt in it, surrounded by both good and
evil; but the emphasis was always on the good. The worshippers have to choose
between the two alternatives. If one
chooses the evil and thereby goes astray, he becomes spiritually incapable of
worshipping the deity. And the idea behind a religious establishment is that
by rejecting the evil one should follow the noble path and worship the deity.
Thus, the erotic sculptures on the outer walls of Hindu temples have their own
justification.
Moreover, most of the Hindu temples were
constructed out of the funds donated by wealthy people, for a lot of money was
required to build them. Then, besides many wives, the rich also had a good many
concubines. They, thus, preferred Maithuna figures on the outer walls of the
temples, at least for their visual satisfaction. It is a fact that from time to
time they used to sit before the temple for idle gossip, along with their
soothsayers and flatterers. And those so-called obscene sculptures served as an
additional stimulus to their chatter and enjoyment.
HOYSALA ART AND INDIAN
MUSIC AND DANCE
Among oriental countries India has a great
heritage of a well-developed musical system extending over two thousand years.
Besides interesting and varied examples of music pertaining to Art music,
sacred music, dance music and folk music, there are many operas and dance
dramas in India. India possesses about five hundred musical instruments and the
concept of Raga in Indian music is quite interesting Every Raga (or Ragini) has
an aesthetic personality and any person with a trained ear can perceive it. For
instance, in the Vasant Ragini of Dipak, milk-maids enjoy Holy
(colour-festival) with Radha and Krishna. The spring season is intoxicating.
The mango grove is in full blossom. The spring has sparked a feeling of
dalliance. The colour-festival is in full swing with a rapturous sway; and such
is the Ragini of Vasant. In the Gunakali Ragini of Malkos, the heroine
converses with her maid about her loving hero. She can think only of him and
converses about him with her maid. She displays a taste for art, is dressed
daintily in perfumed garments and is bedecked with golden jewellery, and such
is the Gunakali Ragini of Malkos. Again, in the Madhumadhavi Ragini of Hindol,
the heroine is frightened by lightning. The youthful handsome heroine, gaily
dressed in sky-blue garments and a yellow blouse, is standing on the terrace,
biding the charms of love. Scared by the flashes of the lightning, she enters
the palace, casting a searching look behind for her lover; thus is the
Madhumadhavi Ragini of Hindol expressed. Another interesting note is the Lalit
Ragini of Bhairav which has the tone of a departing hero and the grief-stricken
heroine. As the hero gets ready to depart at sunrise, the heroine is struck
with the pangs of separation. She grieves and sighs and has eyes full of tears.
Noting her condition the departing hero casts a longing look behind.
Connoiseurs recognise this as Lalit Ragini of Bhairav. Thus, the basic concept
of Indian music is that only the love-laden soul can infuse life and spirit
into the permanent melodious note.
Moreover,
within the framework of a strict melody system, India has utilised all the
subtleties of musical note, inclusive of semi-tones, quarter-tones, one-third
tones, delicate tonal shades, nuances and curves. Each composition in
Indian music lays bare the various facets of a Ragini (or Raga) which is
carefully expressed through the lips of numerous singing and dancing Madanikas.
Besides
music, dancing played an important part in the temple life of the Hoysalas.
There are a good number of images of the Mahanata Shiva along with his dancing
and singing attendants; there are also numbers of Ganesha, Saraswati, Lakshmi
and Gandharvas and Kinnaras in different dancing and singing poses. But the
most remarkable are the dancing Madanikas in large numbers at Belur, Halebid
and Somnathpur. Especially under the direction of the queen Shantaladevi, who
was herself a famous dancer and singer; she had some abiding influence on her
husband for the figurisation of the Madanikas on the above temples. In order to
understand the rhythm and pose of dancing of the Hoysala sculptures, we must
say a few words about the Indian concept of dancing which is as old as the
Himalayas.
Bharata
in his Naoashastra has given detailed analysis of the Angika-Abhinaya Rasa,
Karanas, Tandava-Lakshanam along with the entire theatrical performance (from
Prasthavana to the Jahanika). But A.K. Coomaraswamy has popularised the subject
of Indian dancing in his publication, The Mirror of Gesture. Independently,
Rabindranath Tagore inspired many scholars and artists to revive forgotten
schools of dancing. Vallathol through the Kerala Mandalam revitalised the old
tradition of Kathakali dance." Thus, the age-old traditions of dancing are
symbolized through he temple sculptures of Belur, Halebid, Somnathpur and many
others in southern and northern India.
STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
Most
of the Indian temples including Belur, Halebid and Somnathpur are based a) the
trabeated System of construction, that is, the use of columns and beams in a
hort span's A stone beam, the basic structural material, could not span more
than distance of about 4.6 meters (15 feet). As such, we find the interior
space is crowded with many columns. The Navaranga, the central spacious hall,
is supported by four massive columns with the largest span of beams for musical
and religious performances. It was expected to accommodate a large number of
devotees and others.
The
roof of the Navara.nga is formed of stone corbels turned into a domical shape.
The square roof supported by four columns has been given an octagonal shape by
means of eight secondary beams over the main beams; and then it was turned into
a sixteen-sided formation to support the magnificent dome over it. Here, it is
important to note that during the time of Hoysala architecture the use of
concrete domes was unknown. The corbels have however been used very elegantly
in a circular succession gradually reducing the opening in every layer and
ultimately terminating into a central keystone. The keystone, which has been
beautifully carved as a banana flower (in Somanathpur temple), lotus,
Narasingha, etc., acted as a vital structural support of the corbelled dome.
Again, after the rough completion of the domical structure ornamentation work
was carried out in situ, so that the total dome looks like a monolithic unit.
Moreover,
the brackets supporting the corresponding beams have been carved into human
figures, as if the figures themselves were holding up the beams with their
hands or shoulders. This is one of the unique features of Indian architecture,
where we find a perfect synthesis of a structural system and the sculpture.
The
circular columns are so regular that it is difficult to believe that they have
been carved out by human hands. At first glance, one can say that some
mechanical means have been used for making them, perhaps a crude lathe. As J.
Vergusson rightly points out, "they were in fact, set vertically in a sort
of pit and turned, probably in water, giving them a very smooth surface and
chasing out the very fine mouldings with an accuracy and uniformity that could
hardly have been otherwise attained. However, the use of a mechanical device
did not produce identical structural members; no two columns of these temples
arc similar, and that was another beauty concept of the Hoysala artists.
Regarding
the structural system, Fergusson makes a comparative study of the Greek and
Hoysala architecture. The Parthenon is the best example we know of pure
refined intellectual power applied to the production of an architectural
design. Every part and every detail is calculated with mathematical exactness;
and executed with a mechanical precision that never was equalled... The Halebid
temple is the opposite of all this. It is regular but with a studied variety of
outline in plan, and ever greater variety in detail. All the pillars of
Parthenon are identical, while no two facets of the Indian temple are the same;
every convolution of every scroll is different. This dissimilarity, thus,
totally breaks the monotony of the structural system and the ornamental
decoration of Hindu temples which look so graceful and sober to the eyes of the
beholder.
DAILY LIFE OF A TEMPLE
(BELUR)
On
many occasions in olden days the royal dignitaries and their ladies with a host
of attendants used to visit the temple on elephant backs, in chariots,
palanquins or by other vehicles with their appropriate paraphernalia,
accompanied by a troupe of dancers and musicians. A host of other temple
servants used to, and still do, wash the god, anoint him with sandal paste and
decorate him with the flowers, clothing and jewellery which were presented by
the royal guests, chieftains and other rich devotees. But the most important
duty was performed daily by the chief priest of the temple. He first used to
purify himself with baths and prayers early each morning. He then had to open
the doors of the sanctum and gently awake the deity (of Aditum), who was
supposed to be in sleep, by chanting hymns in praise of him. After worshipping
the guardian deities, he would wash the feet of the deity, bathe the image,
clothe it properly, decorate it with jewellery, sandal paste and flowers,
waving incense and lamp in front of him and then would offer cooked food
(Naivedyam) with betel leaf and nut. And in the evening he was similarly
worshipped with fruits, flowers, incense, etc. On my last visit, the caretaker
and Curator of the Belur temple told me that even today they have kept up the
age-old tradition of worshipping Vishnu (Vijaya-Narayana) and I also witnessed
the above rituals and partook of offerings along with other devotees.
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