THE PURUSHAMRIGA IN THE HISTORY OF INDIAN ART
The earliest textual reference to the sphinx of India is found in the
Yajur Veda.
The earliest known depictions in stone of sphinxes are found in central and north-west
India and date to the 1st century BCE till the 2nd century CE. They are found
among the decorations of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain shrines. And they show
distinct Hellenistic influences especially in that they often have wings of the type
typical of Greek sphinxes.
The earliest dated example of a sphinx in southern India is found among
the sculpture in Mamallapuram. In the
6th and 7th century kings of the Pallava
dynasty experimented in the vicinity of this ancient port with various
architectural and sculptural forms.
The domination of the Pallavas was eclipsed in the
9th century by the Chola kings, whose
centre of power lay in the delta of the Kaveri river. The Cholas dominated
southern India for over four centuries and made generous contributions
towards
the temples and towards the arts, generating some of the greatest treasures of
human civilization. It was in the temples constructed and supported by them
that we find many of the early sphinx sculptures.
In this period the main characteristics
of the purushamriga are lion bodies, with mane, and only a human face, with
elongated ears. A few are depicted
crouching, and in pairs. Most are striding or jumping. During this period we
also see occasionally purushamriga that have the lower body of a lion, with
the upper body of a human being, and are shown half up-right. Often they are
engaged in the worship of the Shiva Linga with a lamp and a bell. Many of the
depictions are narrative panels relating the story of the chase of Bhima by the
purushamriga from the Mahabharata.
After the fall of the Chola dynasty various dynasties dominated different
parts of Southern India, till the kings of
Vijayanagara, modern Hampi in Karnataka,
became the emperors of the South. In temple architecture of this period we
also find many depictions of the purushamriga. By this time most scultures
show the Indian sphinx with the lower body of a lion and the upper body of a
human being. They are depicted as rishis or seers, as described in the
Mahabharata story. With long matted hair knotted on top of their head.
Moustaches and long beards, elongated ears with disks. Many are shown
worshipping the Shiva Linga.
The final phase of artistic development in southern India took place under
the
Nayakas. This was a dynasty that owed
alliance to the emperors in Vijayanagara, but ruled from Madurai.
Their sculptors developed the concept
of the sphinx-human beast into a fully upright man with lion’s hips, legs and
claws. These imposing life-size sphinxes are also depicted as rishis.
In other parts of India we also find sphinxes depicted in the various local
artistic idioms. In the temples of Orissa,
for instance in Konarak, Banpur and
Garudipancana, besides the half upright lion-human sphinxes, we find the
sphinx also as an upright being with a human body, lion’s claws for legs, feet
and hands, and human head with fangs. Here they are called
Nara-virala.
Among the sculpture of the terracotta temples of
Bengal we find the half-upright
human-beast sphinx-type.
Temples build during the medieval period in central India have depictions
of the sphinx with lion body and human head.
Sri Lanka is also included in the
cultural sphere of the South Asian subcontinent.
Sphinxes have been found among the artifacts included in the foundation
deposits of Buddhist shrines and have been depicted on banners belonging to
various religious institutions. They are also found among the sculptural art of
the island.
One final appearance of a purushamriga worth mentioning is found in one
of the courtyards of the 18th century Prasad Phra Thepidon palace at
Wat Phra Kaew, Bankok, Thailand.
It is in form reminiscent of some of the
purushamriga lamps used in Shiva temples for the ritual with the lamp.
This one is female and is called a
Nora Nair.
Besides stone sculpture we also find metal, wooden and ivory forms of the
purushamriga. The metal forms are the purushamriga lamps used for the daily
rituals in Shiva temples. Purushamriga carved from wood include the vahanas
or vehicles used for the processions during festivals. I have also found carvings
of purushamriga among the sculpture of several temple chariots, which are
used for processional rituals during temple festivals. Ivory throne legs from
Orissa, exhibited in the Museum für Indische Kunst in Berlin, include
purushamriga among the many
animals depicted.
On the basis of the materials I have collected so far, the conclusion
that presents itself at this stage of my research is that the sphinx-purushamriga
was part of the doctrines and the
art in India from Vedic times onward. Within the various art styles,
three basic types can be
distinguished. The crouching sphinx
with mane and elongated ears. This
possibly belongs to the earliest depictions in the specifically
Indian artistic idiom.
Striding and jumping sphinxes
with only human faces also belong largely to
early phases. The half upright lion-human figures
generally seem to belong to
somewhat later to much later phases of development.
The fully upright life-size purushamriga
represent the final phase of the artistic development of the
sphinx in Indian art.
After the early stages of art in north and central India, there is
no further
evidence for Hellenistic influence. It is therefore possible to conclude
this influence
was temporary and only relevant with respect to the style of depiction,
and did not pertain to
or reflect on the concept of the sphinx as such.
