I drew today. After a very long time. I am not an artist in any way. I just like to express myself creatively at times and when I want that I mostly code or crochet. Very rarely I draw, do origami or paint.
Today, I sketched. This is a sketch of the carvings carved on the wall of an ancient Hindu temple.
I was in one of those moods today. Mainly because I'd seen the picture of the carvings yesterday and the inspiration from it was brewing in the back of my mind for hours.
I'm going to put a picture of the actual carving here so even you can share in the beauty of those artists hands.
These are all depictions of Hindu Gods and Goddesses carved on the outer walls of the temple. (Lakshminarayana Temple, Hosaholalu)
Each of these carvings were crafted meticulously by human hands and that is what is blowing my mind about this. The detail, the symmetry is astonishing.
I cannot even imagine
the level of skill and hardwork it would take to carve even one of these idols on a piece of stone.
But there are hundreds of thousands of such pieces of art located throughout India.
There are thousands of these Hoysala Architecture Style Temples(Named for the building style developed under the rule of the Hoysala Empire between the 11th and 14th centuries) throught the state of Karnataka in India.
Each of these temples have thousands of these carvings that depict the stories and values that make up the culture and traditions of Hinduism.
Now I'm going to talk the historical & cultural context of these temples and I am a total NERD about this so fair warning, I will ramble.
Temples in our culture, more accurately Sanatan Dharma (the correct term for Hindu culture, traditions, history. The religion stems From this culture and not the other way around) were not only places of worship for gods. They were hubs of knowledge, of art, of safety.
Entire towns were built around temples and ascetics and learned persons traveled from afar to visit and exchange knowledge here. Temples gave people a place to gather together,
to debate different worldviews.
Now what are these carvings on the temples exactly of, you may ask.
They usually included Major Gods and Goddesses, Minor/local gods and other religious stories.
Why? Because stories wre the easiest way to teach people. Teach them about morality, about living a good life, about community and so on.
I'll give you an example. I'll tell you a story right now.
In the above image, look to the figure on the extreme left. The one that looks like a man standing or dancing on top of a multi-headed snake.
That is the God Krishna and the demon snake Kaliya. A bit of a background on Krishna: He is considered to be the 8th avatar of the major God Vishnu on Earth. He has his own tales and is worshipped as a deity in his own right but for this story, this is all the context you need.
Krishna, lived in the village of Vrindavan near the Yamuna River(one of the major rivers of India today). The Yamuna River had become home to the giant, black mutli-headed serpent Kaliya, who had poisoned the water with his venom. His presence was a constant source of fear for the villagers of Vrindavan, as any creature that drank the poisoned water would perish.
One day, young Krishna, along with his friends, was playing near the Yamuna River when he noticed one of the children had fallen into the river. He immediately dived in, despite the warnings about Kaliya.
Kaliya, enraged by Krishna's intrusion, attacked with his venom and fangs. However, Krishna was the incarnation of a god and after a battle, subdued him easily.
Krishna then grabbed Kaliya's tail and danced on his numerous hoods, while playing his flute. The villagers watched in amazement as Krishna (who was amazingly seen holding a universe in his right hand as a symbol of his divinity, also depicted in the image), subdued the serpent. Kaliya, defeated and humbled, was forced to leave Vrindavan and the Yamuna River forever.
This story is basically about the nature of humanity and fighting one's inner demons.
Kaliya represents the ego and negative emotions that can pollute our minds. Just as Krishna purified the Yamuna River, knowledge, truth and bravery can purify our minds by removing our ego.
Every person may fall weak to the demons in their mind like the terrified villagers. But divinity or Ishwar is believed to be in all that exists in the universe and with faith, it manifests in you too, is what the story is saying.
That is the story of One of the carvings. A single temple has thousands. Do you get why I'm so amazed now?
Sure, these carvings are an amazing feat even purely from an Art and Building kinda perspective but with the context?? Knowing that each depiction has a whole stroy behind it makes me itch to uncover and learn it ALL.