Monstrous Animals on Hindu Temples, with Special Reference to Khajuraho
Issue: Vol 7 No. 1-3 (2013) Vol. 7, No. 1/No. 2 (Double) 2013
Journal: Religions of South Asia
Subject Areas: Religious Studies Buddhist Studies Islamic Studies
Abstract:
This article discusses the role of imaginary composite animals on medieval Hindu temples, with special reference to the vyālas at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. These monsters are frequently sculpted on temples in the company of women, but are scarcely mentioned in texts. They are subsequently replaced in other parts of India by images of ascetics. An attempt is made to elucidate their role and meaning, within the wider context of Indian religion and culture, by positing that they may express a so to speak subterranean power of sexuality.
Author: David Smith
References :
Caldwell, S. 1999. Oh Terrifying Mother: Sexuality, Violence and Worship of the Goddess Kali. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Cohen, S. 2000. ‘The Scorpion Apsaras at Khajuraho: Migrations of a Symbol.’ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay 74: 19–38.
Cunningham, A. 1994. Four Reports Made During the Years 1862–636465. Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi: Rahul Publishing House (reprint).
Dhaky, M. A. 1965. The Vyala Figures on the Mediaeval Temples of India. Varanasi: Prithivi Prakashan.
Dijkstra, B. 1986. Idols of Perversity: Fantasies of Feminine Evil in Fin-de-Siècle Culture. New York: Oxford University Press.
Geer, A. E. van der. 2008. Animals in Stone: Indian Mammals Sculptured through Time. Leiden: E. J. Brill. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004168190.i-462
Ghosh, M. (ed.). 1967. Nāṭyaśāstra. Calcutta: Manisha.
Kramrisch, S. 1976. The Hindu Temple. 2 vols, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass (reprint).
Krishna Deva. 1990. Temples of Khajuraho. 2 vols. New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India.
Lorenzetti, T. 2000. A Guide to the Appreciation of Indian Sculptures in the Archaeological Museum of Khajuraho. Varanasi: Indica Books.
Smith, D. 2011. ‘Facial Expression in the Erotic Art of Khajuraho. A Preliminary Investigation.’ Warsaw Indological Studies 4: 115–33.
Smith, W. 1994. Review of Vishaka N. Desai and Darielle Mason (eds), Gods, Guardians, and Lovers: Temple Sculptures from North India A.D. 700–1200. Art Journal 53(2): 94–97.
Sütterlin, C. 1989. ‘Universals in Apotropaic Symbolism: A Behavioral and Comparative Approach to Some Medieval Sculptures.’ Leonardo 22(1): 65–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1575143
Woodward, H. W. Jr. 1989. ‘The Lakṣmaṇa Temple, Khajuraho, and Its Meanings.’ Ars Orientalis 19: 27–48.
Zhu, X. 1997. ‘Les Vyāla dans l’art de l’inde.’ 2 vols, Unpublished PhD dissertation. Paris: Université de Paris Sorbonne.