Essay name: Purana Bulletin
Author:
Affiliation: University of Kerala / Faculty of Oriental Studies
The "Purana Bulletin" is an academic journal published in India. The journal focuses on the study of Puranas, which are a genre of ancient Indian literature encompassing mythological stories, traditions, and philosophical teachings. They represent Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit and cover a wide range of subjects.
Purana, Volume 12, Part 1 (1970)
65 (of 240)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
Download the PDF file of the original publication
Jan., 1970] VAMANA-TRIVIKRAMA IN INDIAN ART 51 aspects of the god are shown in one frame and those in which this
incarnation is shown in a row of all the ten incarnations. This is
usually sculptured on the frame of the stela surrounding images of
the "primary" form of Vish峁噓, or above figures of the
Ananta-
Sayana form of Vish峁噓. In these only the Vamana shape of the
god is shown. Less common are those images which show only
V膩mana, in the form of a cult image for worship.
Among the earliest preserved sculptures of the dwarf--giant
form of Vishnu is a fragmentary lintel from a tora峁嘺 gateway
excavated from Pawaya (now Madhya Pradesh) by M. S. Garde in
1924-25. This gateway was perhaps part of a Hindu temple.
From the style of the carving in this lintel, as on other stone
sculpture fragments and from the brick mouldings of the structure
excavated, it has been dated in the early Gupta age by its
excavator.4
In one compartment of the relief (of which the sizes are not
mentioned by Garde) the first part of the myth is shown. Bali
pours the sacred water into the dwarf's hand. The Dwarf, whose
hair reaches his shoulders, is standing, a water bowl in his left
hand and the sacred water poured by Bali in the right. From the
indifferent quality of Garde's reproduction and of another it is
difficult to see whether the dwarf is in the nude or wears a short
loin-cloth, though apparently he is in the nude.
Standing behind Bali are two persons, evidently both nude,
both with one arm raised. Their attitude is ambiguous, and
suggests either that they are hailing the act of the gift, or that they
are dissuading Bali from making it; if latter, then one of the two
men must be Sukr膩c膩rya. A horse shown in a corner identifies the
scene further as the place of the performance of Bali's sacrifice.
Another early sculpture of Vamana, now in the Allahabad
Museum, comes from the 5th century A. D., in which he is shown
by himself, without the Trivikrama (Fig. 1).
V膩mana, with a fleshy body, stands in a hollow niche. He is
two-armed carries a rudr膩k峁 ring in his right hand and a water-
4. ASI AR 1924.25, pp. 165-6; Pl. XLIII, c.
5. S.V. Sohoni, in The Journal of th: Bihar Research Society, XL, 1954,
facing page 321.
