|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 25 July 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Siva and Parvati reunited by Sirinimal Lakdusinghe H. C. P. Bell discovered some Siva bronzes at two Siva Devales (No 01 and No 05) at Polonnaruwa in 1907 & 1908. This collection is displayed in the Colombo National Museum to date. After fifty-five years, Dr. C. E. Godakumbura discovered another collection of Hindu Bronzes at Siva devale (No 05 at Polonnaruwa). This collection of bronzes was displayed at the Anuradhapura museum. Amongst the bronzes discovered by Godakumbura, there is a statuette of a seated male deity. This statuette measures 21 inches in height. The figure is shown in the lalitasana attitude with one foot hanging down and the other resting on the seat. He carries in his upper right hand an axe (parasu) and in the left a buck (migra). The lower right hand is held in the re-assuring attitude of abhayamudra, while the lower left hand is in varamudra granting a boon. This figure is seated on a rectangular pedestal, which has obviously been meant for more than one statuette. It is fixed on to the right side of the seat leaving enough room on the left for one or two other statuettes. Hence, this image represents a member of a group of statues forming one murti namely Somaskanda. Evidence such as a spot on the seat and space just enough for another statuette between Siva and Paravati prove that the missing image is that of the infant Skanda. Hence these group consisting of Siva, Uma and Skanda should be understood as Somaskanda Murti collectively. Statuette Godakumbura states that the seated consort and son of this murti were missing. Even others who studied these bronzes were of the same opinion. In our research on the Hindu sculpture in Sri Lanka we succeeded in identifying and locating the female statuette of this group. Among the collection of bronzes discovered in 1907 and 1908 there is a seated statuette of a female. Bell called it a "figure of seated Parvati" Sir Ponnampalam Arunachalam who wrote a catalogue of this collection of Polonnaruwa bronzes, did not pay much attention to this statuette. Dr. A. K. Coomaraswamy published two photographs of this figure and described it as; "Sakti perhaps Parvati: right hand with blue lotus bud, left hand in vara mudra." This figure is seated in lalitasana, with the right foot folded on the seat while the left drooping. There is no separate seat for this image. This indicates that it was meant to be seated on a common seat with other images. i.e. Siva and Skanda. Godakumbura found all these bronzes solely from Siva devale No. 05. It should be noted that the female figure we are now dealing with was also found in Siva devale No. 05. There are some special features and characteristics, which are common to both these figures. In comparing these two images it becomes apparent that there is a similarity in the modelling and bodily treatment of the figure and in their ornaments. The facial expression is similar in both. The way in which the nose, the lips and the ears are shown is also similar. Special attention should be paid to the ear lobes, the holes of which are wider than those of other south Indian bronzes. The details of the jewellery enhance the fact that these two figures belong to one murti. The motif of the keyura or the armlet is the same in both figures. Another striking feature of the jewellery is the long necklace. This ornament has to be a rudraksha-mala. Nevertheless the way it has been delineated as a string instead of as one made of rudraksha-beads is peculiar and entirely different from that of the other Indian sculptures. It is very interesting to see such a peculiar feature occurring in both these figures. These iconographical details which point to the fact that the sedate female deity deposited in the Colombo Museum is the consort of the sedate Mahesvara kept in the Archaeological Museum at Anuradhapura. To support our hypothesis there is another interesting point, which is rather technical. The technique that the sculptor has adopted in a characteristic manner to keep the figure tied to the pedestal is the use of a set of rings attached to the figures as well as to the seat. These are two sets of rings on the space of this pedestal meant for the female figure. It is very interesting to note that the female image, which is in the Colombo Museum, has two rings on the either side of its back and they fit exactly with the sets of rings on the seat. These two images which belonged to two institutions, the Department of Archaeology and the Department of National Museums, were brought together as one murti - Somaskandamurti in an exhibition held at the National Museum held in connection with the National Archaeological Congress of 1966. Thereafter they were exhibited at the exhibitions held Zurich, Paris, London, Brussels, Washington and Sydney confirming that our identification of the two images as parts of one ensemble called Somaskandamurti is correct. However, when the bronzes were returned to Sri Lanka after international exhibitions they were again separated and kept under the custody of two institutions that possessed them formerly. It is, in fact, a quite appropriate procedure. One would ask why. The answer will lead us to a separate discussion on Museological procedure. The author Retired Director of National Museum of Sri Lanka and the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology (University of Kelaniya) |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
