Unknown Indian
Indian (active South Indian, Tamil Nadu)
Processional Image Chandesvara, a Shaiva Saint, 13th c. CE, late Chola period
bronze
21 1/2 x 6 1/4 in.
SBMA, Gift of Lewis Bloom
1981.24
RESEARCH PAPER
INTRODUCTION
A fine example of the late Chola Period (862-1310CE) bronze tradition in Southern India, the SBMA Chandesvara is one of sixty-three deified devotees of the Hindu god Siva or Shiva. This sculpture would have been dressed in jewels and flowers and carried in processions during religious ceremonies or displayed as one of the ritual objects in the temple.
THE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT
The Chola family first appeared as a ruling family in the first two centuries. It reappeared in about 850 CE when a Chola chieftain named Vijayalaya captured Tanjavur and established the reign of the Cholas (862-1310CE) in Southern India. During their reign architecture and the arts blossomed.
Fanciful and visually complex temples were created which far surpassed those of the northern Gupta Period (320-647CE) both in height and area and in richness of the surface detail.
The sophistication of bronze casting techniques in this Chola Period made it possible to create sizable, but also portable images of the deities. In this new form, the deity could both participate in the religious rites in the temple but also be carried in the many religious processions. It also became possible to make distinct replicas of many others of the Hindi saints/devotees, like Chandesvara, rather than just the main gods Shiva and Vishnu and their consorts and avatars (or reincarnations). These deities or saints were then added to the pantheon of religious images and became important parts of a far richer temple iconography.
Chandesvara was one of the sixty-three Shiva nayanmars or leaders/devotees of the Hindu god Shiva, worshipped by Shiva’s followers for their special spiritual qualities. Recorded in stories and poems during the 12th century, these nayanmars lived in Southern India from 6th to the 9th centuries and interestingly, to express the universality of Hinduism, they came from all walks of life including some who were outcasts. Typically an image of Chandesvara would have been placed in the north of the main sanctuary of a temple, and as a form of devotion to this image, worshippers are supposed to snap their fingers or clap their hands to attract his attention.
According to a legend, Chandesvara was a Brahmin, who noticing that the cows were being neglected decided to care for them himself. While tending them, to express his great devotion to Shiva, he used some of the milk to set up sand in the shape of lingas. These pillar-like symbols of Shiva’s phallus are said to embody the energy supporting all existence, which has not yet materialized into nature: the beginning and the ending of every cosmic process.
When told by the villagers of his son’s strange behavior and wasting of the milk, Chandesvara’s father Datta came to Chandesvara while he was deep in devotion to Shiva, and kicked apart one of these devotional forms. Chandesvara picked up his staff and struck his father across the leg. But Shiva intervened and turned the staff into an axe, cutting off his father’s foot.
Shiva then appeared to Chandesvara and Datta, blessed Chandesvara for his great devotion, promised to be his father and demonstrated his great power by healing Datta’s leg.
THE STYLE
The SBMA Chandesvara is a fine example of the rich bronzes of the late Chola Period.
Skillfully modeled, he stands on a lotus base in a gentle triply bent posture with his hands joined in front of his chest in the gesture of salute, holding an object of offering. He is shown here as a short, humble youth, subservient to his Lord. Like Shiva, he is crowned by jatamukuta (or crown of matted locks). He wears a dhoti (loincloth) and is adorned with various ornaments.
The exaggerated facial features such as the open loti(?)form eyes, the arched eyebrows and the sharply pointed nose and mouth are meant to suggest he is in that entranced repose in which his father found him. Also, to remind us of the story, the protrusion on his upper left arm, suggests he once held an axe/staff in the crook of his arm. The idealized smooth body surface, the leonine torso, and supple limbs are meant to suggest the concentrated inner vitality that is the very embodiment of the “intense devotion” intended for such figures.
ARTISAN, MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE
Working in workshops, much like guilds, the Chola bronze casters made many types of images including portrait images of Rajaraja, the great Chola leader, as well as the various Hindi gods and their devotees. Once these bronze images were made, royalty, nobility and landowners and rich merchants gave generous gifts of jewelry made of gold and gems to decorate them. Inscriptions were often added on the bottom to signify the precise type and quality of gems and weight of the gold that was donated to adorn it.
Because of the great number and opulence of adornment of these many deities, the Rajaraja’s royal temple required a large staff just to attend to the regular ritual needs of caring for them. The needs included having dancers, and musicians perform and various poetry and drama readings there at various times of the day to show respect: because without the rich music to enliven your senses, worship is considered incomplete.
The lost wax process was used to make sculptures like the SBMA Chandesvara. First the original image was made in all its detail in hard beeswax combined with a local resin. Then, it was encased in two layers of clay and fired in a kiln. The wax ran out of tubular outlets and left a hollow mould. Molten metal was poured into the mould and once cooled the mould had to be broken to expose the solid bronze sculpture. Since the mould had to be broken to release it, each sculpture is totally original.
Hollow castings were then made in the standardized forms to produce the two parts of the traditional lotus base and of the rectangular pedestal and were joined together. The figure was then welded to these bases before the gold patina was added. This golden patina is done to suggest the depth of meaning it has for its patrons and devotees, and not done as a display of wealth. Even the jewels and gold that were added to adorn the sculpture are simply signs of even greater reverence. But of course, with its dedication to the temple, the patron receives blessings as well.
This refined, richly detailed and patinated sculpture can be compared to the simpler earlier Chola bonze figure, “The Dancing Krishna”, also often on display in this gallery.
Prepared for the SBMA Docent Council by Terry David, September 1995 with additions by Asian Focus Team 2004-2005.
Typed for the Web by Bernice Gelberg, November, 2004
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Anna L. Dallapiccola, Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend
London: Thames and Hudson, 2002
SBMA Docent Council paper by Terry David, September 1995.
Vidya Dehejia, Indian Art, London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1997
Pratapaditya Pal, Desire and Devotion; Art from India, Nepal and Tibet: In the John and Berthe Ford Collection Baltimore, MD: Trustees of the Walters Art Museum with Philip Wilson Publishers, 2001
SBMA CURATORIAL LABELS
Chandesvara, a deified devotee of Shiva, was worshipped for his unequivocal devotion to his god. He is regarded throughout southern India as the guardian of Shiva temples and their possessions. Like Shiva, this saint crowned with matted locks, stands on a base of lotus petals, his hands joined in a gesture of adoration and holding an object of offering. Bronze figures such as this and the Dancing Krishna were often used as processional images for religious ceremonies.
- SBMA Gallery Label, 2012