[INDOLOGY] iconography of an Indian carved wooden panel

[Asko Parpola]

Many thanks to Madhav Deshpande, Manish Rajan Walvekar and Nagaraj Paturi for your comments. I am convinced that the panel represent Viṣṇu as Sūrya-Nārāyaṇa, worshipped by Hanuman and Garuḍa. The lower hands hold reins of chariot-horses. The upper hands seem to hold weapons - triśūla (rather than a plant, which should be lotus) and sword/dagger. 

Best regards, Asko Parpola

> On 13. Mar 2024, at 19.12, Nagaraj Paturi <nagarajpaturi at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> The two elements in the two lower hands are reins of  chariot. horse(s). 
> 
> In Sri Vaishnava temples, it is common to have the shrines dedicated to Hanuman and Garuda on either side of the central  shrine of Vishnu in any form. 
> 
> Vishnu on chariot can be  Suryanarayana or Savitr Narayana. 
> 
> Lotus in the hands of Surya is not uncommon. 
> 
> On Wed, Mar 13, 2024 at 8:32 PM Manish Rajan Walvekar via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
>> Dear Professor Asko,
>> 
>> I discussed this with Dr. Gopal Joge of Deccan College, Pune. He added to Prof. Deshpande's scholarly opinion:- the image appears to be 'Vishnu', but with a typical late period 'Himalayan' style. Similar kinds of wood carving and images can be seen at Devi-Kothi, Himachal Pradesh, India.
>> 
>> Thanks.
>> 
>> On Wed, Mar 13, 2024 at 6:57 PM Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
>>> Dear Asko,
>>> 
>>> This looks like Chaturbhuja Vishnu at the center, flanked by Hanuman and Garuda. In my family, we have an image of Krishna with Hanuman and Garuda at his feet. I have seen this arrangement in some temples in Pune.
>>> 
>>> Madhav
>>> <image.png>
>>> 
>>> Madhav M. Deshpande
>>> Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
>>> University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
>>> Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
>>> Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India
>>> 
>>> [Residence: Campbell, California, USA]
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Wed, Mar 13, 2024 at 5:53 AM Asko Parpola via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info <mailto:indology at list.indology.info>> wrote:
>>>> Years ago my wife acquired in London the finely carved wooden panel a scan of which is attached.
>>>> We are at loss in trying to identify the central figure with vaiṣṇava marks, worshipped by the monkey
>>>> king (Hanuman? Vālin?) and the bird king (Garuḍa? Jaṭāyus?). The worshippers rather point to
>>>> Rāma, but the iconography of the object of their worship is unusual and strange to me. 
>>>> He wears a crown and the upper hands hold a three-leaved plant (?) and a sword or dagger (?), 
>>>> the lower hands hold garlands (?) or reins of chariot horse (?). We look forward to expert opinions.
>>>> 
>>>> Best regards, Asko
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>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Regards,
>> Dr. Manish Rajan Walvekar
>> Assistant Professor (Senior Grade) and Centre Coordinator
>> Amrita Darshanam International Centre for Spiritual Studies
>> Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
>> Bangalore.
>> 
>> || तस्मै पाणिनये नमः || 
>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Nagaraj Paturi
>  
> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
> Dean, IndicA
> BoS, MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, Maharashtra
> BoS Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University, Ramtek, Maharashtra
> BoS Veda Vijnana Gurukula, Bengaluru.
> Member, Advisory Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Bengaluru
> Former Senior Professor of Cultural Studies, 
> FLAME School of Communication and FLAME School of  Liberal Education, 
> Hyderabad, Telangana, INDIA.
>  
>  
>  

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