Rani-ki-vav's monumental women

AHMEDABAD: The beautiful, gracefully poised apsaras who accompany deities on the stone temples of India’s richly carved heritage, are not just aesthetic appendages, reveals a new book by a Gujarat scholar. Dr Gauri Parimoo Krishnan, curator with the Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore, has turned a five-year research and PhD thesis into a scholarly volume which has numerous examples of how the sculptural motifs of celestial women, commonly known as ‘devangana’, ‘surasundari’ and ‘apsara’, are not just decorative add-ons but have deeper interpretations.
‘The Power of the Female: Devangana Sculptures on Indian Temple Architecture’ is believed to be the first-ever attempt to study the meaning of the sculptural motifs of celestial women, from the context of semiotic analysis and the Dhvani theory of Indian aesthetics, extensively discussed by Indian aestheticians around the same time when these images were being carved on the temples.
“It attempts to address the role of these semi-divine beings who lend auspiciousness to a monument, protect it like the dikpalas (directional deities) and interprets various typologies to uncover their meaning. It will be useful in Indian cultural or architectural studies and dance history,” says Krishnan, who belongs to Vadodara, Gujarat and is currently the director of Indian Heritage Centre, Singapore.
The author has analyzed attributes, postures, gestures and iconography of these devanganas and identified more than 16 types. The study encompasses Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh between the 8th and 12th century. Interestingly, Krishnan has identified several in Rani-ki-Vav in Patan, which recently got the status of Unesco World Heritage Site. “There is an efflorescence of devanganas here. The cover of my book has two such women from Rani-ki-Vav; one is a Khatvangadhari and the other is a Sarpadhari, both of which belong to the Veera category - brave, fierce and individualistic,” she explains.
Rani-ki-Vav is unique
About devanganas at Rani-ki-Vav, Krishnan says, “In Patan, the Kharjuravahaka or the motif of a woman that has a scorpion clinging to her lower garment and Vasanabhramsha that has her garment slipping off exposing nudity, are seen combined in a single woman.”
Other interesting motifs are of Svastana Sparsha, depicting a woman touching her own breast and Keshanistoyakarini who is seen squeezing water droplets from her hair while a swan catches them. “They are unusual, because they combine in themselves iconographies of several other imagery types to create a unique combination that is not repeated at any other site. This suggests that the sthapati, patron and the master craftsmen at Rani-ki-Vav may have worked together to create these beautiful celestial female images inspired from court poetry, devadasi tradition as well as ritual practices,” she says.
Devanganas most misunderstood
Usually, most scholars make a token reference to the apsaras as decorative appendages and relegate them to be minor images of semi-divine nature, erotically charged and supposed to offer a titillating thrill when seen on the walls of temples. Puranic literature has also depicted them as alluring men, rishis, and gods from their path of righteousness and spirituality. “They have to be seen in relation to the whole monument, the directional deity they are flanking as well as the meaning they convey which may range from ‘ascetic’ to ‘erotic’ and ‘creative’ to ‘emotive’.”
For instance, the Svastana Sparsha, depicted as touching her own breast doesn’t illustrate erotica, it could mean playfulness or even motherhood.
Multiple meanings
The Sun temple in Tusa, Rajasthan, has a principal wall with Surya in the form of ‘Aditya’ carved out, holding lotuses, seated on a chariot driven by seven horses. According to Vishnu Purana, different apsaras accompany Aditya in each season. “There are large standing images striking the alasa and kanduka-krida poses flanking the Aditya which I interpret as suggestive of the play of ball and the play of emotions as implying the movement of time, movement of sun, movement of destiny and play of emotions in humans. This way, a conventional text has been interpreted from dance as well as semiotic perspectives leading to multiple levels of meaning on a temple wall.”
Yakshis, apsaras are similar
The book is full of descriptive photos, most of which have been reproduced from the archives of the American Institute of Indian Studies, Gurgaon. Many show a close resemblance between ‘Yakshis’ (of Buddhist or Jain literature) and apsaras. “I have traced many individual iconographies of yakshis and devanganas on Buddhist, Jain and Hindu architectures over a period of 2,000 years; both symbolize auspiciousness, good luck, fertility and beauty. They also appear wielding weapons, combating with dwarf sized enemies and animals, often in sexually explicit poses revealing an aspect of their personality which is bold and aggressive,” says the author.