Rama in vanavasa and more
It was an era without any modern technology or was it? Whatever they had was modern enough for them to come up with the most amazing story telling method. With so many nuances included into every frame of story telling, we can be teleported into their world with ease. It is not that these artisans lived during the times of Ramayana and Mahabharata. But they got their ideas and inspirations from somewhere and poured it all out on the stone so impressively.
Frame 1 -
Rama, Sita and Lakshmana are sitting in their modest accommodation in the forest. Their seat is just made up of small rocks piled together and Sita is pointing out to the golden deer, pleading with Rama and Lakshmana to get it for her. The deer of course is the demon Mareecha who has shape shifted. Yes, the same one Rama had defeated earlier. Mareecha is seen jumping teasingly and enticingly over the simple wall of their hut.
Frame 2-
The end of Mareecha by the hands of Rama is depicted beautifully here. The arrow is through the deer's neck and Mareecha is on the ground. As Mareecha is killed, he calls out 'Oh Sita, Oh Lakshmana' in Rama's voice. The whole action filled frame, also shows Lakshmana, who has been asked to guard Sita, rushing to the rescue of Rama at Sita's behest.
All those who know of the stories from Ramayana would also know that all this was played out at Ravana's command in order to kidnap Sita. The once defeated Mareecha had a choice of being killed by Rama in the process or be killed by Ravana for refusing to obey his command. The only answer to this conundrum for Mareecha was to obey Ravana and be killed by Rama.
Frame 3-
With Rama and Lakshmana away from the scene, dealing with Mareecha, Ravana approaches Sita in the guise of a sage. Here he is pulling Sita roughly with both hands as she steps outside the 'Lakshman Rekha', or the three lines of protection drawn by Lakshmana to keep Sita safe while he went on the lookout for Rama.
Not noticeable to many, there are three small dots in the left bottom corner. It is broken, but that was to indicate the Lakshman Rekha. This is one of the many nuances in the artistic depiction of Ramayana.
Frame 4 -
Jatayu, the magnificent bird and a staunch devotee of Rama on seeing Ravana kidnap Sita, comes to the rescue.This frame fascinated me a lot for a number of reasons. Ravana is now in his original form, ten heads and twenty hands, each holding a different weapon. I must have counted the hands twenty times too, just to be sure.
Two hands are holding onto the 'Pushpaka Vimana' where Sita is sitting, while Jatayu, the brave winged warrior is almost on the ground warding off Ravana's sword.
I have always been intrigued by the 'Pushpaka Vimana' or the flying house/palace, the aerial mode of transportation for the gods. The entire thing cannot be a figment of imagination. So how was such an incredible mode of transportation even possible? And if it was there in those days, why did we have to traverse centuries to invent the modern day plane?
Hope some other temple provides more answers for these questions.
Frame 5-
During the search for Sita, Rama met Sugreeva. Since Sugreeva needed proof of Rama's strength, Rama sent his arrow piercing through seven Sal trees and then through the earth before returning back to his quiver. The snake is the depiction of the arrow hitting it underground. The Vanaras (monkeys) on the tree seem to be clapping in appreciation at Rama's powers.
Frame 6 -
Sita has to be rescued from Lanka now, so the entire Vanara Sena or the army of monkeys are busy at work in building the bridge across to Lanka. Carrying rocks with both hands, the monkeys are hard at work while the water is filled with crocodiles, tortoises, fish, crabs and some other strange creatures. Sita is seen sitting across on the other side of the water.
Frame 7 -
One of the panels that I found most amusing was this one, where there is a humongous effort on to wake up the giant Kumbhakarna, Ravana's younger brother, who had the curse of sleeping for six months. Kumbhakarna is depicted to be so huge that there is an elephant running rampant on him to wake him up, yet he seems to be blissfully asleep. The other asuras or demons are trying their best to wake him with drums and trumpets.
Frame 8-
After being successfully woken up, the gigantic Kumbhakarna is off to war with Rama's army, accompanied by his own troop of asuras. I did notice that the depiction of shields are rectangular and bent. There are some images in the article about Veeranarayana temple, where the rectangular shields are clearly depicted. However there are some panels on the Mahabharata side that have shown circular shields. Considering that this temple was built over 42 years, it will be incredible to see what changes that took place over time has been captured here.
Frame 9 -
Arrows are flying in the air and horses are clashing, while Rama and Ravana are engaged in fierce battle from their chariots. I was particularly attracted to the way the wheels seem to be attached to chariots. A clear indication of the kind of changes the wheels have undergone over the ages. The way the arrows are flying reminded me of how these arrows were depicted in the TV series on Ramayana. Inspired from here?
Though I would have loved to go on with a lot more images, I would have to leave some for future visits too. So ending the Ramayana series here and we will visit a bit of Mahabharata and Krishna's birth in the next article. Do stay with me.
Location map:
1 comment:
Very nice
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