CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Subject: Wooden Door Jamb. A jamb is the side-post or lining of a doorway. Painted wooden jambs like these also have a decorative function.

Subject: Wooden Door Jamb. A jamb is the side-post or lining of a doorway. Painted wooden jambs like these also have a decorative function.

Subject: Figurine

Subject: Figurine

Subject: Atta Chaki (Rice Mill). This is a stone rice mill. Odisha’s most recognized craft is stone carving. Odisha’s maharanas (stone carvers) sculpt in stones with simple tools by first outlining the figure on a stone block. The outline is incised to mark the shape of the motif and then the figure is carved. Stone carved sculptures are made for iconic sculptures from Odisha’s temples and idols of Hindu deities.

Subject: Jagannatha. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Subhadra. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Balabhadra. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Jagannatha Triad. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Jagannatha. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Subhadra. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Balabhadra. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Jagannatha Triad. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Jagannatha Triad. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Jagannatha. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Subhadra. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Balabhadra. Jagannatha is considered a form of Vishnu. He is a part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra. The icons are carved and decorated wooden stump with large round eyes and a symmetric face and have a conspicuous absence of hands or legs.

Subject: Figurine

Subject: Lion Fragment. This fragment of a lion possibly belongs to the gandi (superstructure) of the temple.

Subject: Kalyanasundara Shiva, Parvati detail: This is a detail of Uma Parvati from the image of Kalyanasundara or The Wedding of the Charming One that depicts the marriage of Shiva and Uma Parvati. The theme of divine wedding has a very special significance in Tamil Nadu. As Minakshi (Fish-Eyed), Uma is the patron goddess of Madurai, the capital city of the Pandyas and married to Shiva. Shiva also has a different name in Madurai-Sundara, or the Handsome One. This is re-enacted there and at other temples each year as part of the annual Panguni Uttiram temple festival, performed with processional icons of the couple.

Subject: Bhairava, detail: Bhairava is considered to be one of the violent forms of Shiva. He is so called as he protects the universe (bharana) and is also terrific (bhishana). He carries sula (trident), pasa (noose), damaru (drum) and kapal in his four hands and rides a dog. He is shown nude with a third eye and hair of flames. This is a detail of the face of the figure.

Subject: Shiva Tripurantaka, back: Tripurantaka means Destroyer of Three Cities. In this posture Shiva stands on a lotus pedestal. The Tripurantaka form of Shiva embodies the concept of the warrior par excellence. Rajaraja Chola (985-1016 CE) personally related to the victorious form of the Tripuravijaya who provided the emperor with a divine archetype whose blessings would ensure him victory. Kulottunga III, in an allusion to Shiva Tripurantaka assumed the title Tribhuvanaviradeva to mark his conquests. During the annual festival, called the brahmotsava, Tripurantaka images are placed on a decorated temple car and pulled along around the four main streets encircling the village. This procession serves to reassure worshippers of the God?s protection. The hole on the inverted lotus was probably intended for insertion of pole used to carry the image during temple festivities.

Subject: Nayanar, detail: Saint Sundarar (handsome one) lived in the early years of the eighth century and acquired the epithets of “insolent devotee” and “the lord’s friend” because of the familiar tone toward Shiva that he adopted in his songs. His mode ranges from gentle ridicule through impudence to almost abusive demand. According to the legends, the youthful Sundarar, born of Brahmin parents, stood decked as a bridegroom when an aged man intervened and stopped the wedding, claiming that Sundarar was his bonded slave. Sundarar responded by repeatedly calling him a madman but when papers confirming his bondage were produced and validated by the village council, Sundarar had no choice but to follow his new master.

Subject: Somaskanda, back view: Somaskanda is the term used to describe a composition that depicts Shiva and his consort Parvati seated on a throne with their infant son Skanda between them. The four-armed Shiva holds a battle-ax and a deer in his upper hands. His lower right hand is raised in abhayamudra (the gesture that allays fear). Parvati sits turned towards Shiva. Her left hand bestows grace using the varada-mudra. This subject was especially popular in shrines of the Pallava period (300-850 CE), and continued to be so in the Chola period (850-1267 CE). Both figures have a projecting disc (siras cakra) at the back of their heads. This was used for hanging garlands during pujas (worship) and processions. Four rings at the lower corners of the pedestal allowed the sculpture to be secured to a platform in order to be carried in processions. The Saiva Siddhanta system as developed in the Tamil land lays great emphasis on the concept of Ammai and Appan (i.e., Mother and Father) for Shiva and Parvati. Large number of Somaskanda images exist, in apart because a range of Agamic texts specify that if a temple does not possess the exact image required for a specific ritual procession, Somaskanda bronze can be used as a substitute.