The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India

"The Sensuous and the Sacred" focuses on the exquisite temple bronzes produced during the Chola period, a time of unparalleled creativity in the history of the Indian subcontinent. By the beginning of the tenth century, Hindu devotees began to visualize their deities as having public personas not unlike those of human monarchs. Worshipped as living entities, the deities participated in a variety of daily, weekly, monthly, and annual rituals and festivities; to fulfill these functions, portable images were required. Thus were created the spectacular temple bronzes of south India. For more than four hundred years, from the ninth to the thirteenth century, the Chola dynasty was the dominant cultural, artistic, religious, and political force in south India. During the golden age of Chola rule, music and dance, poetry and drama, philosophy and religious thought, and the arts of sculpture, bronze-casting, jewelry-making, painting, and architecture reached new heights. The temple was the center of all activity, and the Cholas built and decorated some of the most impressive temples in south India. These were primarily Hindu, though Buddhist and Jain shrines were also supported by Chola royalty. Vidya Dehejia holds the Barbara Stoler Miller Chair in Indian Art at Columbia University. Other contributors include Richard H. Davis, R. Nagaswarmy, and Karen Pechillis Prentiss.

Vidya Dehejia

Richard H. Davis

R. Nagaswamy

Karen Pechilis Prentiss

Arts & Photography

Amer Federation of Arts

Kancipuram was the important capital of north Tamil Nadu for a long period -- from the first-second century ce to the end of the seventeenth century. It was a beautiful city laid out in the form of a lotus, according to the poem Perumbanarrupadai. It was admired by the world as a place famous for its festivals and noted for its temples. Through the ages, it has been the abode of many religious leaders who devoted their lives to the religious uplift of the people.\nThis well-illustrated work presents a history of the Vaishnavite temples of Kanci, focusing on the history of the ancient temples from the Sangam Age onwards, the many legends, myths and other accounts that refer to it, and its location and building. It provides a detailed account of some major temples of the city supported by numerous pictures of the temples that cover various aspects of each -- the entrance and other parts of each temple structure, its architecture, and its artistic engravings particularly its sculptural beauty. It delves into the Vaishnava tradition for concepts and ideas underlying the construction of the sanctum and the sub-shrines, and portrayal of divine forms on the walls, pillars and other parts of the temple. There is a detailed study of the sculptures in the main walls of the temples and the main deities in the shrines. It also examines the many inscriptions found in the temples to offer insights into the historical, religious, social and cultural value of the temples.\nThe volume is bound to interest a host of readers, particularly scholars and students of Indology involved in the study of the cultural traditions of south India and its religious art and architecture.

Vishnu Temples of Kanchipuram

D.K. Prinworld (P) Ltd.

The Great Temple at Tanjavur is a visual representation of Cosmic power on earth that remains, according to the pious wish of the builder, so long as the sun and moon lasts. The God who inhabits this abode is said to be seated with his consort on the summit of the metaphysical mountain surrounded by a circle of peaks in which the divine power descends in diminishing potency as it comes down gradually and takes his abode at the peak of the circle, appropriate to his direction and also the relative importance in the hierarchy. So each peak is a virtual temple. This metaphysical mountain is called the great meru- Mahameru, which forms the basic concept of the Brhadisvara temple of Tanjore. Meru, the mythical mountain is said to be a golden mountain. True to its nature, Rajaraja covered the superstructure of this temple with gold, that made this loftiest golden temple at that time. The images one sees on the upper tiers represented with bow and arrow in their arms are the innumerable Rudras called Sata-rudras, who are said to move in the upper spheres and represent the sun's rays, a representation unique to this temple. This temple also portrays the five forms of Panca Brahmans, Tatpurusa, Aghora, Sadyojata, Vamadeva and Isana, in individual sculptural forms and enshrined in the lower niches. With four sides of the sanctum provided with openings and its height exactly double its width at the base, the lofty tower fulfills all requirements of the Meru type of temple architecture. The Brhadisvara temple locates for the first time in Indian history, the 108 forms of nrtta karanas on the upper story around the sanctum wall in sculptural form and reflects the concept of cosmic space in which Siva's dance takes place. The available karanas are discussed in this volume for the first time in the light of Abhinavagupta's commentary and also the views of modern scholars. Every structure in the temple is dated with the help of inscriptions. The story is taken through the centuries and its change in meaning and ritual are brought out in this volume which points out what a Hindu temple mean when in full form and through the centuries. The personality of the builder, the role of Rajaguru in planning and guidance and also the names of architects who designed and carved the sculptures and executed the lovely paintings are also furnished in this volume which makes it an invaluable work on the temple.

Brhadisvara Temple: Form and Meaning

Aryan Books

Bhutan Diplomatic Handbook - Strategic Information and Developments

Timeless delight: South Indian bronzes in the collection of Sarabhai Foundation = Utsavamūrtināṃ rasāsvādanā

Ira Nakacami

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by R. Nagaswamy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by R. Nagaswamy

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by R. Nagaswamy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India

Vishnu Temples of Kanchipuram

Brhadisvara Temple: Form and Meaning

Timeless delight: South Indian bronzes in the collection of Sarabhai Foundation = Utsavamūrtināṃ rasāsvādanā