CHENNAI: Religion, tradition and culture form a holy trinity to pitchfork iconography as a subject that is a must study for those seeking to understand India’s civilisation. But it can’t be denied that at the subconscious level, Indians have ingrained the timelessness of ancient sculptures, idols, icons and monuments that shape up our hoary past.
On the occasion of its golden jubilee year, CP Ramaswami Aiyar Institute of Indological Research hosted a two-day national conference on ‘Iconography of the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains’ that turned the spotlight on the growing interest in reviving India’s cultural heritage through an iconographic (study of religious icons or idols) perspective.
During an illustrative lecture on the ‘Origin of Buddha Image’, Professor Ratan Parimoo, director, LD Museum and NC Mehta Gallery in Ahmedabad, cited scholarly dissertations and scriptural evidences to show how Mathura became a Buddhist centre of knowledge. His visual presentation of Buddha statues and idols drawn from various schools of art across the Indian subcontinent over the centuries is a graphical narration on the gradual enhancement of the Lord’s image to fit into the evolving consciousness of divinity among Buddhists.
On a totally different topic, scholar Devangana Desai extrapolated on infant Krishna (avatar of Lord Vishnu) floating on banyan leaf after the pralaya (deluge referring to dissolution of universe). Termed Vatapatrashayi, Lord Vishnu as child is believed to have floated in primeval ocean during pralaya before Recreation. This concept was popularised by Tamil saints Alwars (7-9th centuries) as Krishna devotion was strictly adhered by Vaishnavaites in South India. “There was also this emotional legacy attached to the image of Krishna on banyan leaf which was the creation of Vaishanava mystics from Tamil Nadu,” said Desai.
There is a strong belief at Prayag (in Allahabad) and Gaya (Bihar) that in pralaya Lord Vishnu sleeps on the leaf of an immortal banyan tree called Akshayavata. It is believed that Sage Markandeya had darshan of divine child on the banyan leaf near the tree. “Despite these mythical beliefs, north Indian temples don’t have sculptural representation of the Lord floating on the banyan leaf after the deluge,” he said. In a rare juxtaposition of sculptural themes, infant god on floating banyan leaf is seen along with Sheshashayi (serpent Adhisesha protecting Lord Vishnu in a reclining posture) at a Vellore temple and in the manuscripts of Kalapustaka and Jnaneshvari. CPR Institute director Nanditha Krishna in her welcome speech hoped the conference will bridge the gap in properly evaluating the representations of icons belonging to the three major religions of India.