utkuTika

[Peter Wyzlic]

On Sat, 11 Mar 2000, Benjamin Fleming wrote:

>     I was hoping someone might be able to affirm or deny the following
> question regarding the iconography of narasiMha.  The *utkuTika* pose (legs
> crossed with heels touching the ground) is a pose exclusive to the
> yoga-narasiMha mUrti.
>     There is supposed to be some reference to this in the VaikhAnasAgama
> (patala 58), but I do not have access to this work presently.  Any help or
> further references would be most appreciated.

The term utkutuka (or derivations, like utkutika) occurs also in
Buddhist Vinaya texts, see e.g. Edgerton's Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit
Dictionary, s.v. utkutuka. A note on utkutukasana (u.tku.tukAsana) and
garudasana (garu.dAsana) in Buddhist Tantric literature and iconography
can be found in R. O. Meisezahl: Geist und Ikonographie des
Vajrayana-Buddhismus. Hommage à Marie-Thérèse de Mallmann. Sankt Augustin
1980, pp. 241-243 (die Hocksitze utkutukasana und garudasana).

Peter Wyzlic

-- 
Peter Wyzlic
Indologisches Seminar, Universitaet Bonn
Regina-Pacis-Weg 7
D-53113 Bonn