Unknown Indian
(active Northern India, Madhya Pradesh)
Buddha, the Ninth Avatar of Vishnu, 11th c. CE
sandstone
35 x 26 in.
SBMA, Gift of K.W. Tremaine
1968.2
RESEARCH PAPER
India is a subcontinent of Asia, approximately the size of Europe without Russia. Its civilization can be traced back over at least five thousand years. Most of the famous cities of the past have disappeared; the towns of today stand on strata over strata of earlier settlements. India has been isolated from other parts of Asia by the forbidding mountain ranges of Afghanistan, Tibet and Yunnan, by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Bengal. This isolation has caused a certain inbreeding of ideas and symbols in India and Eastern Asia.
As a tropical country where the weather alternates between torrid heat and a few pleasant spring like months around the monsoons, man’s relation to nature is much more intimate than in cooler climates. Only rarely is the air clear. Most of the year it vibrates in the scorching heat, or is a steaming mist in which even nearby things look unreal, and distant ones become invisible. To adjust, the best anyone can do is wear a minimum of clothing; and perhaps more ornaments than clothes. The heat sets him dreaming, and lets the most improbable events appear possible. But the coolness of the monsoon awakens an intense sensitivity and enthusiasm for the beauties of life, and arouses an energy snuffed out by the seasons of heat.
In this setting, The Two Torso sculptures were created. They came from Mathura, an ancient city located in the northern part of the country, between Delhi and Agra. Mathura was one of the most holy places of pilgrimage for Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, and a great center of art and learning. It is in Mathura undoubtedly that the earliest entirely Indian representations of the Buddha were made.
It is believed that these two torsos were originally monumental full standing figures that once decorated the exterior wall of a vaushnava temple as two in a set of ten avatars.
Balarama as the 8th Avatar of Vishnu
“Avatar” refers to the earthly form, or incarnation, of a deity. An avatar can be a temporary incarnation or can live a whole lifetime as the epic poem of Rama portrays him in the Ramayana.
Vishnu, “the all pervader”, is one of the three great deities in the Hindu Trinity along with Shiva, the destroyer, and Brahma, the supreme creator. Known as the “preserver of the Universe”, he becomes incarnate whenever the balance of good and evil in the universe is threatened. To his followers he is the embodiment of goodness and compassion.
Vishnu is said to have had countless avatars, but of the ten main ones Krishna, Balarama and Buddha. Often when Balarama is included in that list of ten, Buddha is omitted. Each sect had their own list of ten.
When known as the 8th avatar of Vishnu, Balarama (“Rama the Strong”) was said to be the elder half brother and alter ego of Krishna. The legend is that Balarama came from a white hair of Vishnu and Krishna from a black hair. In the story of Krishna and the cow girls, Krishna became many Krishnas to be a partner and lover for each cow herd. When he became too busy to return to visit them, Balarama came in his place and performed Krishna’s ritual dance in exactly the same magical fashion.
Other stories tell that he once was as a historical figure, who later became the agricultural deity associated with irrigation and viticulture. Therefore described as one fond of drinking, he is usually identified by the wine cup in his right hand.
In other tales, it is believed that Balarama is an incarnation of Ananta, the king of the snakes, and the symbol of the cosmic waters out of which new creations will emerge through endless cycles of time. Then the cup holds water or Balarama is seen emerging from or leaning on a snake.
In this sculpture, he is adorned with elaborate necklaces and arm bracelets and wears a dhoti (long loincloth) skirt. His rather full figure is somewhat exaggerated at the belly region which sensuously overhangs the top of the skirt. The torso is shown in the dancing posture of “the three bends” as is described below, with the torso of Buddha. At the top of the figure there are indications of the original presence of at least three other arms. The many arms of the deities express their many powers.
Buddha as the 9th Avatar of Vishnu
Though an image of Buddha, it is a Hindu statue. The fullness of the limbs and torso convey a sensuality which is a characteristic of Indian sculpture. Typical to the Mathura style, the gossamer fabric clings and clearly reveals the body beneath it. The right shoulder and half the chest are bare, and the robe is arranged in narrow string-like pleats over the bent left hand, enveloping the back. Buddha is shown in the posture of tribhanga or “the three bends”, in which head, torso and legs bend in opposing positions to create a fluid, moving form. Full of vitality and sensuality, it is a posture of the dance and reflects the lyricism of the music.
But the monastic robe and the gesture suggested by his right arm bending up high next to his chest with his hand poised so that were it joined by the now missing left arm and hand it would complete the gesture (or mudra) of “teaching”. This is the sign that identifies this figure as the historical Buddha Sakyamuni.
Around the 5th century A.D. the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni was incorporated into the Pantheon as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu. This assimilation led to the final triumph of Hinduism as the principal religion of India by the 10th century.
MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE
These works were carved in buff colored sandstone. As in carving other media, the artist endeavors to free the form within the block with hammer and chisels. Sandstone, however, requires special treatment. It is typically riddled with hidden voids and cracks that could instantly change the shape of the work if the material was stressed at the wrong place.
Working very carefully from front to back, the sculptor often has to renew his chisels from the stock prepared each day in a charcoal furnace in order to keep the instruments pointed. In contrast to wood carving, his chisel just pecks at the stone rather than slashes into it and in this way he can prevent fractures and vibrations cracks which would come with heavier and repeated blows. As he works, he sprinkles water on the surface to separate the dust from the chips so that he can always see the texture of the stone’s surface.
This method of chipping gradually breaks down the surface until it is nearly at its final shape. Then, the sculptor uses only strong abrasives to rub the stone into its final form: the form having almost been caressed into shape seems to heighten the sensuality of the work and entices the viewer to want to touch it.
In India, artists can only inherit their vocation as it has been assigned only to certain families in the caste system from primordial times. Artisans start training early in their childhood and though they may become great masters of their art, their names are unknown. Because of the belief in the transmigration of souls, an artist has no reason for identifying himself individually by signing his work. He is just one temporary cycle of a never ending life-force moving to nirvana.
Only the beauty of the work and the pleasure it conveys to the viewer are important! If it stimulates your senses, jars you from this corporal world and helps you feel the presence of the divine, then it is truly beautiful!
Originally written by Terry David for the SBMA Docent council: Prepared for the Web site by Deanna Major, 2005.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barnard, Nicholas. Arts and Crafts of India. London: Conran Octopus, 1993.
Dallapicccola, Anna L. Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend: London: Thames and Hudson, 2002,
Forman, George and B. Indian Sculpture, Masterpieces of India, Khmer & Cham Art Photographs, text by M. M .Denech., London: Spring Books, 1962.
Goetz, Hermann. The Art of India (5,000 Years of Indian Art) 2nd ed.. New York: Greystone Press, 1964.
Mills, John W. The Technique of Sculpture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1965.
Younger, Paul. Introduction to Indian Religious Thought. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1972.
The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Edition, Volume 27, pp. 695.
SBMA CURATORIAL LABELS
The monastic robe and the remnant hand gesture of teaching identify this figure as Vishnu’s ninth avatar, the Buddha. Together with the adjacent sculpture of Balarama, they form part of a group of ten avatars that once decorated a temple to Vishnu. In contrast to the typical symmetrical and self-absorbed representations of Buddha, this figure projects a lively dynamism through its pronounced “triple-bend” pose ("tribhanga"), characteristic of the portrayal of Hindu deities.
This assimilation of Buddha as a Vishnu avatar led to the ultimate triumph of Hinduism as the principal religion in India around the 10th century, while Buddhism all but disappeared until recent years. This merging of iconography demonstrates how Hinduism spread via progressive absorption of other belief systems and their followers.
India, Southeast Asia, and Himalayas, 2022
Vishnu, the Preserver of the Hindu pantheon, enjoyed great popularity during the Medieval period (9th-14th centuries) in northern India. In order to maintain the balance between good and evil in the world, Vishnu assumes many forms, or avatars. The most generally accepted avatars number ten, two of which are rep- resented here, Buddha Sakyamuni and Balarama. These two images likely belonged to a larger group of figures that once decorated a temple of Vishnu.
Around the 5th century, the historical Buddha Sakyamuni was incorporated into the Hindu pantheon as the ninth incarnation, or avatar, of Vishnu. By the 10th century, this assimilation led to the final triumph of Hinduism as the principal religion of India. The monastic robe and the gesture of teaching, identify this figure as Buddha Sakyamuni. In contrast to the more typical, controlled representations of Buddha, this figure projects a lively dynamism through its pronounced “triple-bend” pose (tribhanga).
- SBMA Gallery Label, 2012