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[Full title: Major Male Divinities (3) Vasudeva-Lokesvara (Fig 5.3)]

An image of Lord Vishnu (as identified), because of its unique six handed composition, is one of the most interesting sculptural specimen available to the site museum at MadanKamdeva. This type of sculptural representation of Lord Vishnu, specially in stone is totally unknown not only to the aesthetic arena of Assam, but even to the Bengal proper also. In metal (Copper) one such image almost of similar iconographical standard is available to the museum of Bangiya Sahitya Parishad in Calcutta. >

102 Thus, exposing its rarity the importance of this sculpture has further been highlighted to its stella, a characteristic feature of Eastern Indian School of Medieval Sculpture. 87 In the site museum, this is the only sculpture to carve on a stella, which on one hand confirmed its independent status to place itself in garbhagriha and on the other it also revealed the technical obligation of this great centre of plastic activities as a whole, to the high sounding EISMA, thoroughly patronized by the great Palas and Senas. The description of Vishnu images are generally found available in the Mahabharata, 88 Brihat Samhita 89 the Vishnudharmottara Purana, 90 the Matshya Purana, the Agni Purana the Kalika Purana 91 etc. All the treatises described him as a four handed deity with his characteristic ayudhas-Sankha, Chakra Gada Padma. 92 These four identical ayudhas of Lord Vishnu in his four hands can alternately be organized in twenty four different arrangement in permutation and combination. Each arrangement represent one peculiar form of Vishnu and accordingly there are 87. 88. 89. 90. Dutta, M. Op-cit, pp. 74-75. Sankha Chakra Gada Padma cario hatat ase mahabhay hare bhakatar ki Ram Ram In the Yajna Parva of Mahabharata a beautiful four handed description of Lord Vishnu however, of his Krishna incarnation has been found. Dutta, H.N.(ed.): Mahabharata (As)(1955), 1993, p.856. This tretise also described him as a four handed deity (58/34) (Tr.) Iyer, N.G. Brihat Samhita, 1987, p. 289. In the Adhyaya 60 Vishnu image described as having one face two arms carrying Gada Chakra. In the adhyaya 85 Vishnu in the form of Vasudeva described as a four handed deity. Shah, P. (tr.): Vishnudharmottara Purana 3 rd Kanda, 1961, p. 141 Sankha chakra gadapadmapani kayah Savaisnava, Kalika Purana 12/31 92. Barpujari, H.K.(ed) : Op-cit, 1990, p.389. 91.

103 twenty four different varieties of Vishnu images, namely 1) Kesava, 2) Narayana, 3) Madhava, 4) Govinda, 5) Vishnu, 6) Madhusudhana, 7) Trivikrama, 8) Vamana, 9) Sridhara, 10) Hrishikesa, 11) Padmanabha 12) Damodara, 13) Vasudeva, 14) Sankarshana, 15) Pradyumna, 16) Aniruddha, 17) Purushottama, 18) Adhokshaja, 19) Nrisimha, 20) Achyuta, 21) Upendra, 22) Janardana, 23) Hari, 24) Krishna.93 Among them, the most popular sculptural exposition of Lord Vishnu in Bengal, Bihar 94 as well as in Assam are generally assigned to his Vasudeva form in which he holds a mace in upper right hand, lotus in lower, while the upper left hand holds the wheel and the lower one, the conch.95 Now iconographical traits and the condition of the sculpture of our concern, in brief, are as follows: extremely eroded a) Condition : b) Length: 107 cm Width - 66 cm c) Posture: samabhanga or samapada sthanaka d) Pedestal : plain e) Hand: six f) Emblems: i) Left upper hand- Chakra ii) Left middle hand- the erosions have made it now quite difficult to ascertain the exact nature of the emblem but still the hand look to be in possession of an arrow, as the opposite hand on the right side have holds a bow. 93. 94. 95. Ibid. Banerjee, R.D.: Eastern Indian School of Medieval Sculpture, 1981, p.102. Ibid. p. 103.

104 g) Peculiarity: iii) Lower left hand- Indistinct, but may have in possession of a sankha iv) Right upper hand- mace v) Right middle hand- bow vi) Right lower hand- indistinct, but there may be a sign of Padma on the palm which is again in Varada mudra. a cylindrical stella with half rounded top. It is almost plain in nature with slight inflammation that have been seen on the border range of the stella, might have referred to a bead like decoration Thus, if we leave aside the two middle hands of the image, it appeared to be an imitation of Lord Vasudeva in its stand. But, the introduction of two extra hands with bow and arrow have made the matter bit more confusing in nature. Further, it should also be remembered that no major god of Hindu pantheon ever had six handed composition with same ayudhas. Hence, to get out of this problem we have found no other alternative but to abode ourselves to the Buddhist iconography where this type of composition specially of Lokeshvara images (of Mahayana sect) are more frequent to observe. In Buddhistic ritual the different species of Bodhisattava are divided according to the five divine or dhayani Buddha.96 Avalokitesvara or Lokesvara in the Mahayana Pantheon is emanating from Dhayani Buddha Amitabha and his Sakti Pandara.97 One of the 96. 97. Ibid., p.87. Bhattacharyya, B. : Indian Buddhist Iconography, (1924), 1985, p.32.

105 I well known authority on Buddhist iconography Binoytosh Bhattacharyya have claimed that there are 108 different form of Lokesvara and of them, at least 23 have beared six handed sequences in their composition. Encouraged with this fact when we tried further to analyse the similarities existed between Vishnu and Lokesvara images particularly in terms of their ayudhas, a strange but an interesting phenomenon came to the desk that all the ayudhas of Vishnu except mace are popular enough, to the entire varieties of Lokesvara images. The bow and arrow are also two commonly available ayudhas to the those images of Buddhist pantheon. Thus, to solve the very problem of its identification we now have made an unrest attempt to mingle the two concept, Vasudeva and Lokesvara into one and accordingly proposed it as being a diety of Vasudeva Lokesvara instead of being recognized it simply as an idole of Vishnu. The main encouragement behind this proposition however be derived from some of the Bengali sculpture where this type of amalgamation of the older Bhagavata class of Vaisnava and Lokeshvara of later Mahayana school of Buddhism 98 have rearly been shown in their execution. In this connection it should also be remembered that this type of sculptural execution of Vasudeva Lokeshvara as in Madan-Kamdev however, totally unknown (uptill now) to the aesthetic arena of Assam proper. Now coming to the point of ornamentation, no major incorporations are there, the sculptor still have showed their 98. Banerjee, R.D. . : Op-cit, 1981, p. 96.

106 preference to the scanty amount of ornamentation 99 as well as to diaphanous habiliment as in case of other sculptures available to this great centre of plastic activities. The most interesting innovation to this sculptural composition however, is the stella with almost of a half round curvature, the top of which is decorated with an unidentified devise (Probably a lotus). At the same time the surviving inflammation at the border range of stella again have referred something about the chronological status of this composition. 100 The age long erosions have made the physiognomical analysis of this sculpture bit more difficult in nature, still it is interesting to observe that the sculpture have beared marked similarities to the Siva Vishnu relief of 9 th century froin Goalpara. The only difference between these two sculptural composition is that the Goalpara sculptures are more static and rigid in their execution where linear rhythm dominates the entire composition, while Vasudeva-Lokesvara image from Madan-Kamdev is in much more lighter in volume, rhythmic, over and above, the sinuous projection however, to some extent have successfully degraded the beauty of linear rhythmic movement in its execution. Secondly, the portion below the level of chest as well as the limbs of the sculpture, specially the arms are being executed with slightest 99. Among the ornamental item-kiritamukuta (conical karna kundala, two tired necklace (one of them is composed of beads) wrist bengles, armlets, waist gridles and urudamas are the most prominent items to observe. 100. This type of stela are being generally prone to 10 th century sculpture of AssamDutta, M. Op-cit, 1990, p.76.

107 possible impression of elongation. 101 and accordingly a new technique looked to be evolved around this sculptural composition. Thus, the sculpture can better be referred as a product of a transitional period when a new aesthetic technique seem to have gain its ground. The flesh to the hips 102 and to the thigh is an another physiognomical features of this sculpture. Though there is no clear cut projection of knees, but still the attempt to carve the same is an important physiognomical feature of the sculpture to observe. The erosions have made it quite difficult to ascertain the exact nature of the facial portion of the image but the betal leaf shaped face of the image look to be in smiling countenance with bulging open eyes pointed nose and normally curve eyebrows. The persisting shallowness is an another important physiognomical feature of this sculpture to observe. Thus, the physiognomy as well as the nature of the stella have duly referred it as being a product of 10 th century A.D. more specifically it can better be said as a product of a period stretching from the last part of 9 th century A.D. to the first half of 10 th century A.D..