Essay name: Scythian Elements in early Indian Art
Author:
Swati Ray
Affiliation: University of Calcutta / Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture
This essay studies Scythian Elements in early Indian Art鈥攁 topic that has not garnered extensive scholarly attention. Although much research has focused on various aspects of Saka/Scythian culture, such as politics and numismatics, their contribution to Indian art remains underexplored. This essay delves into archaeological evidence, historical texts, and art forms from Eurasian steppes to decipher the Scythian impact.
Chapter 6 - Scythian (Saka) elements in the Later Art of India
21 (of 42)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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of grotesque animals and geometrical motifs,鹿 including the comma motifs
and the stylized antlers or S-shaped motifs. The motifs make one think, in
terms of an impact of Saka/ Scythian art. The 艢aka/Scythian motifs are not
new in the architectural d茅cor of India. The individual components of
Kirttimukha, where both human and animal motifs are fused together, have
been frequently used in Hindu temples.2 These are similar in style to the
horned Kirttimukha as found from Sirkap, Taxila. A head of a Siva image
from Mathur膩 dated in the third-fourth century A.D. has a K墨rttimukha as a
headdress. A similar one is depicted on the headdress of Siva of the
Da艣膩vat膩ra cave, Ellora. The 艢aka/Scythian influence can also be traced in
the 膩malaka of the temple. Its solid shape is that of a ring stone. The
naturally perforated ring stone is the prototype of the many carved stone
discs found in various sites of Taxila鲁, 艢ankisa, Kosam and Patna.
Kirttimukhas have been abundantly used in Khajuraho temples, and in
other temples of Northern Gujarat and Rajasthan even in the eleventh
century A.D.
1 Ibid., Pl. 20.
2 Stella Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, New Delhi, 1976, Vol. II, p. 323.
3 Ibid., Vol. II, p. 323.
