Flinders University Arts of Asia (Sources & Contexts) EDUC9884

1. Flinders University Arts of Asia (Sources & Contexts) EDUC9884

2. Forms of the Formless The Arts in India and South East Asia in pre-Modern times

5. The Role of the Artist The imager, on the night before beginning his work and after ceremonial purification, is instructed to pray: O Thou Lord of all the Gods, teach me in dreams how to carry out all the work I have in mind. Agni Purana

6. With its head to the east, the image should be bathed with water infused with plaksa-fig, holy fig, ficus, acacia, and banyan trees, with plants deemed auspicious, and with sacrificial grass; with mud from the shores of river confluences, anthills, and mud from lotus ponds; with the five products of the cow and with water from holy bathing spots; and with water containing gold and gems along with fragrant perfumes. The bathing should be accompanied by the sounds of many instruments, shouts of best wishes, and the recitation of Vedic hymns Brhatsamhita 60.8-10

7. By you this universe is borne, by you this world is created. By you it is protected, O Devi. By you it is consumed at the end. You who are eternally the form of the whole world, at the time of creation you are the form of the creative force, at the time of preservation you are the form of the protective power, and at the time of the dissolution of the world, you are the form of the destructive power. You are the Supreme Knowledge, as well as ignorance, intellect and contemplation. Devi-Mahatmya

8. Only when Shiva joins with you, O Shakti, can he exert his power as lord. On his own he has not even the power to stir, You are worshipped by Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma and other gods How dare I, meritless mortal, offer you reverence and praise? Saundaryalakiri [Waves of Beauty]

9. Hrim, O destroyer of time! Srim, O terrific one! Krim, Thou who art beneficent! Possessor of all the arts, Thou art Kamala, Destroyer of the pride of the Kali Age …. Mother of Time Thou art brilliant as the fires Of the final dissolution Adyakali [Primordial Kali] Hymn from the Mahanirvana Tantra Devi with sword and severed head Rajasthan c. 18th C Gouache on paper Collection C. L Barany New Delhi

10. Devi Yantra Varnasi Uttar Pradesh India Early 19th C Private Collection

11. Kandariya Mahadeo Chandella Dynasty Khajuraho c.11th C

12. Varaha, Dum Barahi, Kathmandu Valley Varahi, Seated on a Tiger, Tantric Devi series, India, Punjab Hills, Basholi c1660-70 San Diego Museum of Art Her lotus eyes quiver through drinking wine. Equal in glory to a thousand suns. Seated upon a lion with ten arms, In my heart I praise Varahi

13. Devotee as Bhagavati or Vageshvani (Kali manifested in the form of a tiger, Cheruvathue Muchilot Temple, near Payyanur, Kerala) ‘The male form, the female form, any form – all are undoubtedly Her Supreme Form. Gandharva Tantra

14. Indra, lord of the immortals, [gave] a thunderbolt, having pulled it out of his own thunderbolt: The thousand eyed one gave her a bell from his elephant, Airavata. From the staff of death, Yama gave a staff, Varuyna a noose… Coburn, Encountering the Goddess p 41 Durga Mahishasuramardini Above Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu 7th C Left Calendar Print, Patna

15. A heron feather and the bright datura adorn his matted hair. His flame red body is covered by white ash. Over his girdle and loincloth he has bound a tigerskin encircled by lovely snakes. Thus, with anklets ringing, the Lord of Citticcaram shrine comes riding on his bull. Tamil bhakti poet Sambandhar Tr Peterson 1989: 104 Shiva Vrsabhavana Dated 1011 A.D. Sponsored by Kolakkavan for Svetaranyesvara temple, Tiruvengadu, Tiruvengadu.(detail) Rajaraja Museum, Thanjavur

16. Siva Linga, Bhojpur Temple, central India Ekamukhalinga, Udayagiri, cave temple 4 Early 5th C

18. 4-facedLinga Kathmandu Valley Linga and yoni, Kathmandu Valley

19. “I am the originator, the god abiding in supreme bliss. I, the yogi, dance eternally”….”Having said this, the Lord of Yogis, the Supreme God, danced, showing his formidable, supreme reality”… “In the spotless sky the yogis saw him dancing, the Great God who is Lord of all beings, whose maya is all that is here, and who activates the universe” Kurma Upanishad .2.4.33 .2.5.1 .2.5.2-4 Nataraja, Elephanta Is.

20. In a flash taking the mountain as your bow, with a single arrow shot with a roar from the bowstring, you burnt the Three Cities with their banners to a charred ruin Sundar, Hymn 7.9.4 in Shulman (ed) 1990 p 57 in Chola Sacred Bronzes of Southern India RA 2007 Shiva as Tripuravijaya and Consort Bronze c950-60 The Cleveland Museum of Art

21. Vishnu Narayan (Vishnu Anantasayin) Dasavatara temple, Deogarh 5th – 6th Century

22. Rama amd Sita, Ram Lila, Khumb Mela, Prayaga (Allahabad) 1996

25. Vishnu Narayan (Anantasayin) Kathmandu Valley

43. Five Pillars of Faith • The Shahada; • recitation of the “creed” • Prayer • Fasting • Alms giving • (Paying the ‘poor tax’) • Pilgrimage Portrait of Prince Dara Shikoh c1628-1630, Agra or Delhi, India Morgan Thomas Bequest Fund 1940 Art Gallery of South Australia

50. Viewing the Mughal Empire as a fusion of civilizations • The great Mughals can be seen as Muslim but not necessarily Islamic (Akbar’s new religion fusing Islamic Sufism with sun-worship and identification of himself as the rising sun) • The majority of the population of the Mughal Empire was Hindu, not Muslim • The recognition by the Mughal rulers (until Aurangzeb) that stable empires cannot be maintained by violence • Non-Muslims were protected (zimmi) and liable to pay tax (jaziya) • Non-Muslims were incorporated into the ruling structures • Islam in India incorporated local customs and traditions as well as inviting European influence (Jesuits at the court) • Eventual decline of the Mughal empire may have been due to the more ‘Islamic’ policies of Aurangzeb especially