A sadhu.The J. Allan Cash Photolibrary
Brian K. Smith
Vasudha Narayanan
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Cultural expressions: visual arts, theatre, and dance
The structure of Indian temples, the outward form of images, and indeed the very character of Indian art are largely determined by the religion and unique worldview of India, which penetrated the other provinces of culture and welded them into a homogeneous whole. Moreover, the art that emerged is highly symbolic. The much-developed ritual-religious symbolism presupposes the existence of a spiritual reality that may make its presence and influence felt in the material world and can also be approached through its representative symbols.
The production of objects of symbolic value is therefore more than a technique. The artisan can begin work only after entering into a state of supranormal consciousness and must model a devotional image after the ideal prototype. After undergoing a process of spiritual transformation, the artisan is believed to transform the material used to create the image into a receptacle of divine power. Like the artisan, the worshiper (sadhaka, “the one who wishes to attain the goal”), must grasp the esoteric meaning of a statue, picture, or pot and identify his or her self with the power residing in it. The usual offering, a handful of flowers, is the means to convey the worshiper’s “life-breath” into the image. Types of symbols
If they know how to handle the symbols, the worshipers have at their disposal an instrument for utilizing the possibilities lying in the depths of their own subconscious as well as a key to the mysteries of the forces dominating the world. Yantra and mandala
The general term for an “instrument [for controlling]” is yantra, which is especially applied to ritual diagrams but can also be applied to devotional images, pictures, and other such aids to worship. Any yantra represents some aspect of the divine and enables devotees to worship it immediately within their hearts while identifying themselves with it. Except in its greater complexity, a mandala" class="md-crosslink">mandala does not differ from a yantra, and both are drawn during a highly complex ritual in a purified and ritually consecrated place. The meaning and the use of both are similar, and they may be permanent or provisional. A mandala, delineating a consecrated place and protecting it against disintegrating forces represented in demoniac cycles, is the geometric projection of the universe, spatially and temporally reduced to its essential plan. It represents in a schematic form the whole drama of disintegration and reintegration, and the adept can use it to identify with the forces governing these. As in temple ritual, a vase is employed to receive the divine power so that it can be projected into the drawing and then into the person of the adept. Thus, the mandala becomes a support for meditation, an instrument to provoke visions of the unseen.
A good example of a mandala is the shrichakra, the “Wheel of Shri” (i.e., of God’s shakti), which is composed of four isosceles triangles with the apices upward, symbolizing Shiva, and five isosceles triangles with the apices downward, symbolizing Shakti. The nine triangles are of various sizes and intersect with one another. In the middle is the power point (bindu), visualizing the highest, the invisible, elusive centre from which the entire figure and the cosmos expand. The triangles are enclosed by two rows of (8 and 16) petals, representing the lotus of creation and reproductive vital force. The broken lines of the outer frame denote the figure to be a sanctuary with four openings to the regions of the universe.
Another kind of mandala is seen in the grid drawn on a site where a temple is to be built. Here, the “spiritual” foundation is provided by a yantra, called the mandala of the Vastu Purusha (spirit) of the site, that is also drawn on the site on which a temple is built. This rite is a reenactment of a variant of the myth of the Vastu Purusha, an immortal primeval being who obstructed both worlds until he was subdued by the gods; the parts of his body became the spirits of the site. Lingam and yoni
One of the most common objects of worship, whether in temples or in household worship, is the lingam, a symbol of Shiva. Often much stylized and representing the cosmic pillar, it emanates its all-producing energy to the four quarters of the universe. As the symbol of male creative energy, it is frequently combined with its female counterpart, the yoni, the latter forming the base from which the lingam rises. Although the lingam originally may have had no relation to Shiva, it has from ancient times been regarded as symbolizing Shiva’s creative energy and is widely worshipped as his fundamental form. Visual theology in icons
The beauty of votary objects is believed to contribute to their power as sacred instruments, and their ornamentation is held to facilitate the process of inviting the divine power into them. Statues of gods are not intended to imitate ideal human forms but to express the supernatural. A divine figure is a “likeness” (pratima), a temporary benevolent or terrifying expression of some aspect of a god’s nature. Iconographic handbooks attach great importance to the ideology behind images and reveal, for example, that Vishnu’s eight arms stand for the four cardinal and intermediate points of the compass. A deity’s four faces may illustrate the concept of God’s fourfoldness, typifying his strength, knowledge, lordship, and potency. The emblems express the qualities of their bearers—e.g., a deadly weapon symbolizes the forces used to destroy evil, and many-headedness symbolizes omniscience. Much use is made of gestures (mudras); for example, the raised right hand, in the “fear-not” gesture (abhaya-mudra), bestows protection. Every iconographic detail has its own symbolic value, helping devotees to direct their energy to a deeper understanding of the various aspects of the divine and to proceed from external to internal worship. For many Indians, a consecrated image is a container of concentrated divine energy, and Hindu theists maintain that it is a form taken by the deity to make himself accessible to the devotee.
Vishnu on the serpent Shesha, Badami, India.Frederick M. Asher
The arts
Religious principles in sculpture and painting
Like literature and the performing arts, the visual arts contributed to the perpetuation of myths. Images sustain the presence of the god: when Devi is shown seated on her lion, advancing against the buffalo demon, she represents the affirmative forces of the universe and the triumph of divine power over wickedness. Male and female figures in uninterrupted embrace, as in Shaiva iconography, signify the union of opposites and the eternal process of generation. In Hindu sculpture the tendency is toward hieratic poses of a god in a particular conventional stance (murti; image), which, once fixed, perpetuates itself. An icon is a frozen incident of a myth. For example, one murti of Shiva is the “destruction of the elephant,” in which Shiva appears dancing before and below a bloody elephant skin that he holds up before the image of his consort; the stance is the summary of his triumph over the elephant demon. A god may also appear in a characteristic pose while holding in his multitudinous hands his various emblems, on each of which hangs a story. Lovers sculpted on temples are auspicious symbols on a par with foliage, water jars, and other representatives of fertility. Carvings, such as those that appear on temple chariots, tend to be more narrative; even more so are the miniature paintings of the Middle Ages. A favourite theme in the latter is the myth of the cowherd god Krishna and his love of the cowherdesses (gopis). Religious organization of sacred architecture