Art of Mathura�

The Art of Mathura refers to a particular school of Indian art, almost entirely surviving in the form of sculpture, starting in the 2nd century BCE, which centered on the city of Mathura, in central northern India, during a period in which Buddhism, Jainism together with Hinduism flourished in India. Mathura "was the first artistic center to produce devotional icons for all the three faiths", and the pre-eminent center of religious artistic expression in India at least until the Gupta period, and was influential throughout the sub-continent.

Chronologically, Mathuran sculpture becomes prominent after Mauryan art, the art of the Mauryan Empire (322 and 185 BCE). It is said to represent a "sharp break" with the previous Mauryan style, either in scale, material or style. Mathura became India's most important artistic production center from the second century BCE, with its highly recognizable red sandstone statues being admired and exported all over India. In particular, it was in Mathura that the distinctive Indian convention of giving sacred figures multiple body parts, especially heads and arms, first became common in art around the 4th century CE, initially exclusively in Hindu figures, as it derived from Vedic texts.

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Early history�

• Some very early depictions of deities seem to appear in the art of the Indus Valley civilisation, but the following millennium, coinciding with the Indo-Aryan migration during the Vedic period, is devoid of such remains. It has been suggested that the early Vedic religion focused exclusively on the worship of purely "elementary forces of nature by means of elaborate sacrifices", which did not lend themselves easily to anthropomorphological representations. Various artefacts may belong to the Copper Hoard culture (2nd millennium BCE), some of them suggesting anthropomorphological characteristics. Interpretations vary as to the exact signification of these artifacts, or even the culture and the periodization to which they belonged.^[12] Some examples of artistic expression also appear in abstract pottery designs during the Black and red ware culture (1450-1200 BCE) or the Painted Grey Ware culture (1200-600 BCE), with finds in a wide area, including the area of Mathura.
• Most of the early finds at Mathura correspond to what is called the "second period of urbanization" in the middle of the 1st millennium BCE, after a gap of about a thousand years following the collapse of the Indus Valley civilisation. 

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Gupta Empire period �(4–6th century)�

• Following the decline of the Kushan Empire and the occupation of northern India by the Gupta Empire under Samudragupta (r.c. 335/350-375 CE), the art of Mathura continued to prosper and evolve. The Mathura school became one of the two major schools of Gupta Empire art, together with the school of Benares, with Mathura school remaining the most important and the oldest. It is characterized by its usage of mottled red stone from Karri in the Mathura district, and its foreign influences, continuing the traditions of the art of Gandhara and the art of the Kushans in Mathura.
• The art of Mathura continued to become more sophisticated during the Gupta Empire, between the 4th and 6th centuries CE. The pink sandstone sculptures of Mathura evolved during the Gupta period (4th to 6th century CE) to reach a very high fineness of execution and delicacy in the modeling, displaying calm and serenity. The style becomes elegant and refined, with a very delicate rendering of the draping and a sort of radiance reinforced by the usage of pink sandstone. Artistic details tend to be less realistic, as seen in the symbolic shell-like curls used to render the hairstyle of the Buddha, and the ornate halos around the head of the Buddhas. The art of the Gupta is often considered as the pinnacle of Indian Buddhist art, achieving a beautiful rendering of the Buddhist ideal.

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Standing Buddha in red sandstone, Mathura, Gupta Empire period, circa 5th century CE. Mathura Museum.^[

Iconography of Vishnu�(5th century CE)

• Until the 4th century CE, the worship of Vāsudeva-Krishna seems to have been much more important than that of Vishnu.^[210] With the Gupta period, statues focusing on the worship of Vishnu start to appear, in the form of an evolution based on the earlier statues of Vāsudeva-Krishna. Many of the statues of Vishnu appearing from the 4th century CE, such as the Vishnu Caturanana ("Four-Armed"), use the attributes and the iconography of Vāsudeva-Krishna, but add an aureole starting at the shoulders.
• Other statues of Vishnu show him as three-headed (possibly with an implied fourth head in the back), the Vaikuntha Chaturmurti type, where Vishnu or his human emanation Vāsudeva-Krishna is shown with a human head, flanked by the muzzle of a boar (his avatar Varaha) and the head of a lion (his avatar Narasimha), two of his most important and ancient avatars, laid out upon his aureole. A fourth avatar is sometimes shown in the back of the sculptures of Kashmir, showing the avatar Trivikrama, but never in the statuary of Mathura. Recent scholarship considers that these "Vishnu" statues still show the emanation Vāsudeva Krishna as the central human-shaped deity, rather than the Supreme God Vishnu himself.

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Four-armed Vishnu with the attributes of Vāsudeva-Krishna, and a supplementary aureole. 5th century CE, Uttar Pradesh

Buddha Preaching his First Sermon (Sarnath)�

• The Buddha Preaching his First Sermon is a stone sculpture of the 5th-century CE showing Gautama Buddha in the "teaching posture" or dharmachakra pravartana mudrā. The relief is 5' 3" tall, and was excavated at Sarnath, India by F. O. Oertel during the 1904–1905 excavation season of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI); it was found in an area to the south of the Dhamek Stupa.
• A product of the local Sarnath school of sculpture, it has been displayed at the Archaeological Museum at Sarnath, the first site museum of the ASI, from the time of the museum's completion in 1910. It is the best known of the Buddha images showing this subject, a "type considered a hallmark of the Sarnath school of Buddhist art".

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Sultanganj Buddha�

• The Sultanganj Buddha is a Gupta–Pala transitional period sculpture, the largest substantially complete copper Buddha figure known from the time. The statue is dated to between 500 and 700 AD (but see below). It is 2.3 m high and 1 m wide and weighs over 500 kg. It was found in the East Indian town of Sultanganj, Bhagalpur district, Bihar^[1] in 1861 during the construction of the East Indian Railway. It is now in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England.
• Over life-size, this is "the only remaining metal statue of any size" from Gupta art, out of what was at the time probably approximately as numerous a type as stone or stucco statues. The metal Brahma from Mirpur-Khas is older, but about half the size. The Jain Akota bronzes and some other finds are much smaller still, probably figures for shrines in well-off homes.
• In Lalitpur, Nepal the Guita Bahī monastery has a copper Buddha about 1.8 metres tall, of Nepali make and style, of about the 9th or 10th century. This remains in place, and in worship, against a wall at the end of a shrine or prayer-hall, and the Sultanganj Buddha was probably originally placed in a similar location.

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Ellora, cave 29, Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa�

• Ellora is an archaeological site in the Indian state of Maharashtra built by the Rashtrakuta dynasty. It is also known as Elapura (in the Rashtrakuta literature-Kannada). Well known for its monumental caves, Ellora is a World Heritage Site. Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture. The 34 "caves" are actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills. Buddhist, Hindu and Jain rock-cut temples and viharas and mathas were built between the 5th century and 10th century. The 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves, built in proximity, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history. It is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India.
• The Hindu caves were constructed between the middle of sixth century to the end of the eighth century. The early caves (caves 17–29) were constructed during the Kalachuri period. The work first commenced in Caves 28, 27 and 19. These were followed by two most impressive caves constructed in the early phase - Caves 29 and 21. Along with these two, work was underway at Caves 20 and 26, and slightly later at Caves 17, 19 and 28. The caves 14, 15 and 16 were constructed during the Rashtrakuta period. The work began in Caves 14 and 15 and culminated in Cave 16. All these structures represent a different style of creative vision and execution skills. Some were of such complexity that they required several generations of planning and co-ordination to complete.
• Ravananugraha or Ravananugraha-murti ("form showing favour to Ravana") is a benevolent aspect of the Hindu god Shiva, depicted seated on his abode Mount Kailash with his consort Parvati, while the rakshasa-king (demon-king) Ravana of Lanka tries to shake it. The depiction is labelled variously as "Ravana Lifting Mount Kailash" or "Ravana Shaking Mount Kailash".

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Ellora, cave 29, Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa

Maya Sita�

• In some adaptations of the Hindu epic Ramayana, Maya Sita (Sanskrit: माया सीता, "illusional Sita") or Chaya Sita "shadow Sita") is the illusionary duplicate of the goddess Sita (the heroine in the texts), who is abducted by the demon-king Ravana of Lanka instead of the real Sita.
• In the Ramayana, Sita – the consort of Rama (the prince of Ayodhya and an avatar of the god Vishnu) – is seized by Ravana and imprisoned in Lanka, until she is rescued by Rama, who slays her captor. Sita undergoes Agni Pariksha (an ordeal of fire) by which she proves her chastity before she is accepted by Rama. In some versions of the epic, the fire-god Agni creates Maya Sita, who takes Sita's place and is abducted by Ravana and suffers his captivity, while the real Sita hides in the fire. At Agni Pariksha, Maya Sita and the real Sita exchange places again. While some texts mention that Maya Sita is destroyed in the flames of Agni Pariksha, others narrate how she is blessed and reborn as the epic heroine Draupadi or the goddess Padmavati. Some scriptures also mention her previous birth being Vedavati, a woman Ravana tries to molest.
• The Maya Sita motif saves Sita – the chief goddess of Rama-centric sects – from falling prey to Ravana's plot of abduction and safeguards her purity. Similar doubles or surrogates of Sita and o

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Elephanta Caves�

• The Elephanta Caves are a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. They are on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri (literally "the city of caves"), in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Mumbai in the Indian state of Mahārāshtra. The island, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, consists of five Hindu caves, a few Buddhist stupa mounds that date back to the 2nd century BCE, and two Buddhist caves with water tanks.
• The Elephanta Caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, mostly in high relief, that show syncretism of Hindu and Buddhist ideas and iconography. The caves are hewn from solid basalt rock. Except for a few exceptions, much of the artwork is defaced and damaged. The main temple's orientation as well as the relative location of other temples are placed in a mandala pattern. The carvings narrate Hindu mythologies, with the large monolithic 20 feet (6.1 m) Trimurti Sadashiva (three-faced Shiva), Nataraja (Lord of dance) and Yogishvara (Lord of Yoga) being the most celebrated.

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 Trimurti�

• The Trimurti is considered a masterpiece and the most important sculpture in the caves. It is carved in relief on the south wall of the cave facing the north entrance, along the north–south axis. It is also known as Sadashiva and Maheshmurti. The image, 6 m (20 ft) in height, depicts a three-headed Shiva, representing Panchamukha Shiva.
• The three heads represent three essential aspects of Shiva: creation, protection, and destruction. As per another version, the three heads symbolize compassion and wisdom. The right half-face (west face) shows him holding a lotus bud, depicting the promise of life and creativity. This face is symbolism for Brahma, the creator or Uma or Vamadeva, the feminine side of Shiva and creator.^[The left half-face (east face) is that of a moustached young man. This is Shiva as the terrifying Aghora or Bhairava, the chaos creator and destroyer. This is also known as Rudra-Shiva, the Destroyer. The central face, benign and meditative Tatpurusha, resembles the preserver Vishnu. This is the Shiva form as the "master of positive and negative principles of existence and preserver of their harmony".

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Trimurti Shiva flanked by the dvarapalas.

Marriage of Shiva and Partvti�

• Kalyanasundara also spelt as Kalyansundar and Kalyana Sundara, and known as Kalyanasundara-murti ("icon of the beautiful marriage"), Vaivahika-murti (वैवाहिक-मूर्ति, "nuptial icon") and Panigrahana-murti ( पाणिंग्रहण-मूर्ति) ("icon related to panigrahana ritual"), is the iconographical depiction of the wedding of the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati. The couple are often depicted performing the panigrahana ("accepting the hand") ritual of a Hindu wedding, where the groom accepts the bride by taking her right hand in his.
• The couple, depicted in the centre, are accompanied by a host of divinities and other celestial beings. The god Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi are often pictured as giving away Parvati to Shiva. The god Brahma is shown as the officiating priest.
• The Kalyanasundara icon is not the object of popular worship and is usually used only in the celebrations of the divine marriage in annual temple festivals. However, Kalyanasundara scenes are found across India in caves, sculptures and on temple walls.

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Kalyanasundara scene, Ellora Caves

Descent of the Ganges �(Mahabalipuram)�

• Descent of the Ganges, known locally as Arjuna's Penance, is a monument at Mamallapuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Chengalpattu district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Measuring 96 by 43 feet (29 m × 13 m), it is a giant open-air rock relief carved on two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. The relief is more of a canvas of Indian rock cut sculpture at its best not seen anywhere in India. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mamallapuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

Mahishasuramardini Mandapa�

• Mahishasuramardhini Mandapa (Cave Temple; also known as Yampuri) is an example of Indian rock-cut architecture dating from the late 7th century, of the Pallava dynasty. It is a rock-cut cave temple located on a hill, near a lighthouse, along with other caves in Mamallapuram. Mamallapuram, also popularly known as Mahabalipuram, is a small village to the south of Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is part of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1984. This Cave Temple has many interesting architectural features of which three exquisitely carved reliefs on the cave walls of three sanctums are prominent. One is of Vishnu reclining on the seven hooded serpent, Adisesha, another of Durga, the main deity of the cave temple Durga slaying the buffalo headed demon Mahishasura, and the third sanctum also has a sculpture of Shiva.

Durga as Mahishamardini - slaying the demon Mahishasura. The relief that grants the mandapa its name.

Standing Parvati

• Parvati is the consort of Shiva and mother of the elephant-headed god Ganesha. This magnificent statue is one of the finest Chola representations of Parvati found outside India. The genius and obvious skill of the sculptor produced a timeless image of the goddess as well as a female figure of surpassing beauty and grace. Her lyrical, rhythmic carriage and the soft yet firm lines of her body suggest the ideal of the divine and eternal female.

Nataraja�

Nataraja  is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called Tandava. The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts such as the Tevaram, Thiruvasagam in Tamil and Anshumadbhed agama and Uttarakamika agama in Sanskrit and Grantha texts, the dance murti featured in all major Hindu temples of Shaivism, and is a well-known sculptural symbol in India and popularly used as a symbol of Indian culture, in particular as one of the finest illustrations of Hindu art.

The sculpture is symbolic of Shiva as the lord of dance and dramatic arts, with its style and proportions made according to Hindu texts on arts. Tamil Devotional texts such as Tirumurai (The twelve books of Southern Shaivism) speaks that Nataraja is the form of Shiva in which he does Creation, destruction, Preserving, Maya and Blessing. Thus Nataraja is considered one of the highest forms of Shiva in Tamil Nadu, and thus sculpture or Bronze idol of Nataraja is kept and worshiped in almost all Shiva temples across Tamil Nadu. It typically shows Shiva dancing in one of the Natya Shastra poses, holding various symbols which vary with historic period and region, trampling upon a demon shown as a dwarf (Apasmara or Muyalaka who symbolizes spiritual ignorance.

Thanks

• Dr. Shailender Kumar
• ( Assist. Prof.)
• Fine Arts Dept.