A Unique Image of Yoga-Nryaa from Rjaptn

Author(s): R. C. Agrawala
Source: Artibus Asiae, Vol. 17, No. 3/4 (1954), pp. 235-237
Published by: Artibus Asiae Publishers
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3249056
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 SRI R. C. AGRAWALA, M.A.:
A UNIQUE IMAGE OF YOGA-NARAYANA
FROM RAJAPUTANA

INDIAN SCHOLARS HAVE PUBLISHED MUCH MATERIAL PERTAINING TO THE

stone images of Yoga-Narayana so far discovered in different parts of India.l In such
sculptures, Visnu (a prominent deity of the Hindu
pantheon) is to be seen sitting with his lower hands
in a meditating posture2 while the upper two
hands carry his usual weapons' (dyudhas).
The Sardgr Museumat Jodhpur4 con-
(Rajpiitana)
tainsa blackstoneimage(brought
fromDidawana,5
Jodhpur division) depicting the Yoga-Ndrayazna
device in a unique way.' This sculpture perhaps
belongs to the early mediaeval period,7 somewhere
towardsthe middleof the ninthcenturyA. D. It
measures about 8 inches in height and 13 inches
in breadth and shows happy signs of perfect
preservation.
Cf. T. G. Rao, Elements of Hindu Iconography,Madras,I (i),
pp. 85 ff.; J. N. Banerjee, Yournal of the Indian Society of
A Yoga-Narayanafrom Rajaputana
Oriental Arts, Calcutta, XIII, pp. 89-95; C. Sivaramamurti,
Ancient India (Bulletin of the Archaeological Survey in India), New Delhi, VI, p. 41, plate XII A and B.
2 Also called as
vaddhapadmaisana (or Yogasana) mudra.
3 They usually include the mace, the conch, the lotus and the wheel.
4 The writer of this paper now happens to be the Superintendent of this Museum.

5 Situated in tahsil Didawana of District Nagour.

6 Cf. My paper in the _ournal of the Museums Association of India, Bombay, I953, IX, pp. I04-I05,
plate XXII, fig. 46 facing p. I04. 7 Dr. H. Goetz a
(during personal talk at the Oriental
Conference held at Ahmedabad in November I953) too agrees with thus view.

235
In the sculpture under study, four handed Visnu has the palms of his lower two hands placed
one over the other (between the soles of the feet) in a traditional manner. They cover
the naval portion of the deity altogether. Beneath the legs of Visnu hangs the garland
which rests on the upturned lotus throne. Just below this lotus-throne, two persons
(facing each other) are looking at the deity with their hands folded. To the right and left
of these devotees have been carved the simhavyol4as;and just above them the makara-vyalas,
the asva-vyalas and the gaja-vyalas in a descending order.
Visnu himself wears the tiara (kirztamukuta)on his head, the sacred thread on the body and
ornaments around the neck, ankles, arms, and ears. There is also a srzvatsa mark in the
middle of the chest. Behind the head of the deity appears a halo encircled by 3 hoods of
a snake. On both the sides of the deity appear the flying gandharvas, anxious to garland
the meditating deity seated below.
The most remarkablefeature of the image is the presence of the garland in both the upper
hands of Visnu. The weapons8 usually held by Visnu, are not to be seen anywhere in
this sculpture. That is the reason why the image at the Jodhpur Museum stands unrival-
led in the realm of ancient Indian art. Most of the details of this image are somewhat akin
to those presented by the D. 37 image (of Yoga-Narayana) preserved in the Archaeological
Museum at Mathura.9The garland upheld in the upper hands, however, is conspicuous by
its absence even in the sculpture of the MathuraMuseum. Numerous Yoga-Niaryana images
have been recovered from various parts of Rajputanabut none of them stands in comparison
with the one from Didawana (discussed above).
It now remains to be seen under what literaryinitiative the sculptor of Rajaputanafashioned
this unique image in an untraditional manner?
It is also essential to scrutinize the contents of an epigraph (dated 161 A. D.) from
Nadol (Jodhpur Division). This inscription10refers to a harmonious relationship existing
8 As a matter of fact we even expected any of these weapons either below the lotus throne or in the hands
of the persons seated below.
9 This sculpture has been illustrated by Dr. V. S. Agrawala in Handbook of the Sculptures in the Curzon

Museum of Archaeology Muttra, 1939, Allahabad, Plate XXII, fig. 45; ibid, pp. 56, 60.
- Om svasti sriyai bhavantu vo
10
Epigraphia Idia (IX, pp. 67-68) stating the text of the inscription:
devah Brahma -Srzdhara Sankarad sadd viragavanto ye jina jagati visrutah.

236
between the members of the Jaina community and the followers of Brahmanic faith. This
is evident from the fact that Visnu and Siva"1 have all been called jinas i.e. adherers to
Jaina philosophy. There is no wonder then that the members of the local Jaina and Brah-
manic communities had the image of Visnu fashioned in such a manner as to suit the taste
of all, and to serve the purpose of being worshipped by non-Vaisnavas as well. That may
account for the utter absence of the weapons of Visnu. The image thus might have become
an object of common worship for any devotee who believed in the efficacy of meditation
and idol worship. Nay, it could even prove worthy of adoration at the hands of the staunch
followers of Siva, Buddha etc. But the new device appears to have been invented under
the pressure of Jainism alone which was quite popular in Rajasthanin the mediaevalperiod.
Perhaps the Vaisnavas did not even hesitate in departing from the traditional mode of
carving the Yoga Narayana images. It remains to be seen whether literary texts will support
the carving of images in such a unique manner as that described for the sculpture in the
Jodhpur Museum.

11 Cf. Progress Report of Archaeological Survey ( Western Circle), Poona, I905, p. 55 referring to the fol-
lowing statement: "On the dedicatory blocks of many Saiva temples in Rajapuitana,Siva is figured like
a _3ina. This is an interesting feature of Brahmanical iconography which requires to be carefully and
thoroughly studied". The Indore Museum has got an interesting image (of Siva) which looks like that of
Risabhadeva; cf. Jaina Antiquary, Arrah, XVIII (ii), I952, pp. I-5. Here yogeswara Siva is seated like a
jzina.

237