Figure of the saint Chandikeshvara
On display
South Indian bronze sculpture reached its highpoint of artistic and technical achievement under the Chola dynasty (9th–14th centuries). Many of the finest works from the period are standing or seated images of the major Hindu deities, each one a unique creation as the lost-wax casting method requires the individual mould to be broken. The Chola rulers venerated Shiva in particular, and images of the god and his family entourage were made in considerable numbers and installed as permanent icons in temples. Being portable, these images were also often carried out in ritual processions on festival occasions.
This refined bronze depicts the youthful saint Chandesha or Chandikeshvara, who is venerated in south India as Shiva’s foremost devotee. Born into a Brahmin family – the caste from which Hindu priests are drawn – the pious boy was so single-minded in his devotion that on one occasion he used up the village’s milk supply in anointing linga images of Shiva that he had made from sand. When his father, chastising him, kicked one of the lingas, the boy is said to have thrown a stick which became an axe and cut off both his father’s legs. Shiva himself then interceded, blessing both son and father.
In this tenderly observed and finely modelled image, Chandikeshvara stands in an attitude of humble devotion to Shiva, a faint smile on his lips and his hands joined in the gesture of respectful salutation. His body sways slightly in its triple-flexed (tribhanga) posture, and his axe rests in the crook of his arm.
Details
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Title
Figure of the saint Chandikeshvara
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Associated place
Tamil Nadu (place of creation) -
Date
2nd half of the 12th century
Chola Period (AD 907 - 1053) -
Material and technique
bronze
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Material index
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Technique index
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Object type
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Dimensions
58 x 22 x 23 cm max. (height x width x depth) -
No. of items
1
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Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of an anonymous benefactor, in memory of Dr J. C. Harle, 2005.
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Museum location
First floor | Gallery 32 | India from AD 600 -
Museum department
Eastern Art
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Accession no.
EA2005.90
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Further reading
Nagaswamy, R., Masterpieces of Early South Indian Bronzes (New Delhi: National Museum, 1983)
