Handa Yama_East and West 1983

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Two Interesting Yama Images from OsianAuthor(s): Devendra Handa

Source:East and West,

Vol. 33, No. 1/4 (December 1983), pp. 53-56Published by: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29756647.

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Two Interesting Yama Images from Osian

by Devendra Handa

Yama, son of Vaivasvata M?rt?nda C) and Saranyu (daughter fTvastr) (2),was the first f themortals thatdied (3). He is the lord ofmen andmanes andhas been identified ith death (4). In the Atharvaveda and later literature,Yama has been associated with the terrors of death (5). He is also equated toand identifiedwith Dharma who punishes thewicked (6). He carries a rod ofjustice (danda)with which also he himself is often identified (7), and a nooseto catch souls (8). Citragupta, Yama's scribe, keeps a record of the good andbad deeds of men and Yama passes the judgement accordingly (9).The Taittirlya ?ranyaka (10)and the?pastamba Srauta S?tra C1) refer tothe golden-eyed and iron-hoofed steeds of Yama, whereas in the Epics, he isdescribed as riding on a car or going afoot (12). The buffalo as his vehicle ap?pears for the first time in theHarivamsa (13). Though two dogs are describedas his regularmessengers (14)yet a bird, either the owl or the pigeon, is alsosaid to be his messenger (15).Yama is one of the eight great godswho protect the eightquarters {diks).He is in charge of the southernquarter (16). In the Brhatsathhit?,he is de

(*) Rgveda X.14.5.(2) ibid. X.17,1-2.(3)Atharvaveda XVIII.3,13.(4) Ibid. VI.28,31 and 43,1.(5)Mac Donell 1971: 172.(6) Ibid.(7)Wilkins 1972: 82-83; Max Muller (1882): 135 and Max Muller (1886): 217.(8)Hopkins 1968: 111 ff.H Wilkins 1972: 82; Hastings 1967: vol. II, 806b.(10)VI.5,2.( ) XVI.6.(12)Hopkins 1968: 116. Cf. Satav?jiyuktam ratham sam?rohita-S?ryakalpam [Harivamsa,Gita Press Ed., Bhavisya Varvan, Ch. LII, v. 30).(13) Ibid.(14)Rgveda X.14,10-12.(15) Ibid. X.165,4. Cf. X.123,6.(16)Hopkins 1968: 108.53

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scribed as holding a staff in his hand and ridingon a buffalo (1T). The Visnudharmottara Pur?na (18), however, furnishes a detailed description of the fourarmed god seated on a buffalowith his spouse Dh?morn? on his left lap, hisrighthands holding a khatvanga and a sword and the leftones a tridentwithflames and a rosary, accompanied on his right by Citragupta dressed as a Nor?therner (udlcya-vesa),holding a pen and a leaf inhis hands and by fierce-lookingKala holding a noose inhis hand on his left.Amsumadbhed?gama (19)describesthe two-armeddeity as holding a sword and a shieldwhile Silparatna (20)de?scribes him as holding a staff and a noose in two hands and a bow in the othertwo. Yama is said to be having terrible tusks (Kar?la-damstravadana), frightful(Kar?la) and possessing fire-coloured eyes {pradlpt?gnivilocana) (21). R?paman

dana (22), a late Rajasthani text, however, describes Yama as riding a buffaloand holding a pen, a book, a cock and a staff nhis fourhands.Very few sculpturesof Yama have been published and illustrated nbookson iconographythough the images of thisdikp?la exist on the southernwallsof many old temples (23). Generally, the dikp?la Yama is represented ias seatedon or standingnear his vehicleMahisa (buffalo) (24) ndholding inhis twohands

(17)Brhatsamhit?, Ch. LVIT, v. 57: 'Dandi Yamo Mahisagah'.(n) 11.51.(19)Rao 1971: 255-256.(20) Ibid., pp. 256-57.(21) Ibid.; Suprabhed?gama refers to Yama as holding a staff, fruit and leaf in hishands - Yamam sudandahast am tu mahis?sana (?) samsthitam / Kar?lam K?lavarnam caphalapallavap?ninam //.(22)Lekhanim pustakam dhatte kukkutam dandameva ca / Mah?-Mahis?r?dho YamahKrsn?nga iritah // (R?pamandana, 11.33).(23)The Hindu concept of the Dikp?las is very old. In spite of the temporal andtextual variations in the number of the guardians of the quarters, we find that by themedieval period their representation on templewalls had grown fairly popular.Incidentally, we may refer here to an image on the south basement wall of the Paharpur temple which has erroneously been identified by Dikshit (1938: Sculpture No. 39)as Yama. Sarasvati (1962: 72, fig. 19), has also accepted this identification but Banerjea(1956: 525) suggested it to be an image of Varuna. Shastri (1969: 143-44, fig. 2) andSahai (1975: 40-41) have followed Banerjea. The figure actually represents Vayu and notYama. What has been described as a long noose passing over the head held by the twohands with the ends hanging down is in reality a scarf. Such representation of scarf isvery common in the V?yu images of Osian. ?b?neri V?yu image of theGurjara-Pratih?raperiod, too, has a similar scarf. Anyway, this and other images of Indra, Agni, Kubera,Candra etc. from Paharpur, however, indicate that the dikp?las began to be represented onthe temple walls in theGupta period in eastern India at least. The culmination, however,was reached in themedieval period when, according toV?stu injunctions, faneswere to havethe dikp?la figures in the fixed corners of the templewalls.(24)To rightor to left, sittingor standing.

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a danda (orKhatv?nga) and a p?sa (noose). Two interesting images of Yama fromOsian (25) have come to the notice of the author and are published here.Harihara Temple No. 1 at Osian is the earliest extant quincunx {Panc?yatand) templeof India. It is dated in the eighth centuryA.D. (26). In thesouthern ^w^-niche of this temple exists an image of Yama (Fig. 1) seatedgracefully in sukh?sana on crouchant buffalo to left. Yama wears a singlestringed necklace (ek?vali), ear-ornaments, armlets, wristlets and the nethergarment. He is two-handed. The right hand is broken but the dispositionof the arm indicates that itwas placed on the respective knee (27). The face ofthedikp?la is placid but his ferocity s indicatedby the frizzled locks on thehead. The ferocious nature of the deity gets further confirmation from theKhatv?nga held in the lefthand. The danda portion of theKhatv?nga is os?seous,with a slightcurve, joined to the human skull (partially amaged) throughits foramen. Of unusual interest, however, is the depiction of a cock on thebody of the buffalo justbelow the left foot of the deity. Cock, no doubt, isassociated with Yama as one of his attributes in some texts, but nowhere do wefind any referenceto the depiction of the kukkuta (cock) on the very personof his vehicle. This is thus a unique feature not seen in any other sculpture.The second image (Fig. 2) represents four-handed Yama (28) standing on alotus pedestal in a pillared niche on the southern all of aDevakulik? (chapel)to the west of the Mah?vira Temple at Osian. Mahisa, the vehicle, stands torightbehind thegod who holds a khatv?nga in theupper righthand and a bird(which looks like a pigeon) in the upper left,thenaturalhands holding respect?ively a stylus and a leaf. Yama wears a karanda-mukuta, a pearl necklet, earornaments, armlets, wristlets, anklets, a long wreath simulating a vaijayantim?l? (29)and a dhoti having a graceful fold on the thighs,bound with aksa-s?traat thewaist, with stringeduruj?lakas and pendants hangingbelow. The godis shown as bearded {harisma'sru), frightful, possessing round open eyes {pradipt?gnivilocana) (30). But for thepigeon in theupper lefthand which may represent

(25) Osian is an important medieval temple-town situated about 65 km. north-north-westof Jodhpur in Rajasthan. See for detail Bhandarkar 108-09: 100-115.(26)Brown 1959: 115.(27Cf. The two-armedYam a image on the southernmain niche of the Sun Temple

onthe hill (adjacent to the Saciy? M?t? Temple) wherein the god is shown as resting his lefthand on the left knee.

(28)Two ninth-century four-handed Yama images are now preserved in theKota Museumalso. One of these,with all the four hands damaged, was found at Vil?s in Kota districtand the other fromAtru in the same district shows the deity as holding a mace, cock,noose and kamandalu. See the Catalogue 1960-61: 30, Nos. 301 and 312.(29)Cf. Hartvamsa, Bhavisya Varvan, ch 52, v. 32b: (Hiranmay?n?m Kamalotpal?n?mm?l?m manojan?mavasajya kanthe'.(30)Cf. arunadh?mranetrah [Ibid., v. 33).

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an old tradition from Rgvedic times, the sculpture conforms to the descriptionof the R?pamandana. It may be dated to c. eleventh century A.D. And thisincidentally indicates thatMandana saw some such examples in Raj as than beforewriting his R?pamandana. Depicted on the JainaDevakulika, this icon is im?portant for its artistry and attributes.We thus see that both these Yama images, besides many others, are in?teresting examples of the iconographic treasures of Osian.

References

Banerjea, J.N. (1956) The Development of Hindu Iconography, Calcutta.Bhandarkar, D.R. (1908-09) The Temples of Osia, ASIAR.Brown, P. (1959) Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods), Bombay.Catalogue (1960-61) Government Museum, Kota, Jaipur.Dikshit, K.N. (1938) Paharpur, MASI, LV.Hastings, James (Ed.) (1967) Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, New York.Hopkins, E.W. (1968) Epic Mythology, Varanasi-Delhi.MacDonell, A.A. (1971) Vedic Mythology, New Delhi.Max Muller, E. (Ed.), (1882) The Sacred Books of theEast, Vol. XIV.Max Muller, E. (Ed.), (1886) The Sacred Books of theEast, Vol. XXV.Rao, T.R. Gopinath (1971) Elements of Hindu Iconography, Vol. II, Part II, Delhi.Sahai, Bagwant (1975) Iconography ofMinor Hindu and Buddhist Deities, New Delhi.Sarasvati, S.K. (1962) Early Sculture of Bengal, Calcutta.Shastri, A.M. (1969) India as Seen in the Brhatsamhit? of Varahamihira, Delhi-Patna-Varanasi.

Wilkins, W.J. (1972) Hindu Mythology, Varanasi-Delhi.

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Fig.-ama,outhernallfariharaempleo.,sian.C.thentury.

^^^^ HH^B^^^^^BHHP^^?ig.-ama,outhernallfevakulik?nheah?viraTempleomplex,sian..1thentury.

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