[INDOLOGY] Many-armed gods

Sat May 18 10:20:50 UTC 2024

Dear François,
if we consider pictorial language under the social-historical  aspects, a further reason for the multi-armed Mediaeval Hindu gods becomes evident.
In this regard, you can see:
Giovanni Verardi, The Gods and The Heretics, Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi 2018;
Tiziana Lorenzetti, ‘Political and Social Dimension as Reflected in Medieval Indian Sculpture: Confrontations, Antagonism, Identity’. In  ‘J. Hegewald (ed.) In the Shadow of the Golden Age: Art and Identity in Asia from Gandhara to the Modern Age, (SAAC), University of Bonn, 2014, pp. 287-308.

Best Wishes, Tiziana Lorenzetti

> Il 18/05/2024 10:47 CEST François Voegeli via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info> ha scritto:
>  
>  
> Very interesting indeed.
> 
> Many thanks to all who have answered my query on this subject, which proves to be, after all, not so trivial or easy.
> 
> FV
> 
> 
> On 18.05.24 07:03, Nagaraj Paturi via INDOLOGY wrote:
> 
> > Purusha Sukta has the 1000 headed , 1000 eyed, thousand legged Purusha description. 
> > 
> >   Bhashyas for example Saayana Bhashya to Veda mantras etc. is an example of traditional premodern literature where 'explanations' for such features can be looked for. 
> > 
> > In fact, certain Brahmanas themselves provide such explanations with the  explanatory principle परोक्ष प्रिया वै इव हि देवाः Devtas love to be described indirectly being mentioned at various such explaining occasions. 
> > 
> > --------------------------------------------
> >  
> > There is a popular phrase नाम गुण रूप लीला संकीर्तन used while talking about what in Bhakti leads to the spiritual  benefits to Bhakta. 
> >  
> > Many doctrinal works take the position that ultimately  नाम रूप लीला संकीर्तन end up being  गुण  संकीर्तन only.and it is the repeated meditation on the kalyaana gunas that leads to the punya, chittashuddhi and other spiritual benefits accruing in the meditating mind. 
> > 
> > The reasoning in the above includes the reasoning that  रूप is an expression of  गुण. 
> > 
> > ------------------------------------------------
> > 
> > Sthapatis even today are trained to give rupa to gunas. 
> > 
> > Even when they are commissioned to create a sculpture of a real human person , generally contemporary to the time of creation or described from the memory of the commissioning person, Sthapatis tell me that they are asked not to create a photo real replica of the actual person but to collect the gunas of the person , meditate on them and give a visual form to the gunas as per the stylizational artistic aesthetics combined with shilpa shaastra principles of metrics. 
> > 
> > ----------------------------------------
> > 
> > It may be important to remember that the feature of  more hands, heads, eyes etc., than in normal natural beings  is found in the Raakshasa and other non Devata characters and figures also. 
> >  
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > . 
> > 
> > On Sat, May 18, 2024 at 3:05 AM Harry Spier via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info mailto:indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> > 
> > > This feature is mentioned in brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa 3.43.70. (From GRETIL which is a transcription of the Bombay edition of Venkatesa Press)
> > > 
> > >  brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa 3.43.70
> > > 
> > > atrinetraḥ śivaḥ sākṣād acaturbāhuracyutaḥ /
> > > 
> > > acaturvadano brahmā śrīguruḥ parikīrtitaḥ //
> > > 
> > > "Shri Guru is said to indeed  be  Shiva without three eyes,  Vishnu without four arms and Brahma without four faces".
> > >  
> > >  
> > > Harry Spier
> > > 
> > > On Fri, May 17, 2024 at 8:04 AM Rolf Heinrich Koch via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info mailto:indology at list.indology.info> wrote:
> > > 
> > > > 
> > > > One theory resulting from my fieldwork: Remodeling.
> > > > 
> > > > According to a Sinhalese mansucript, a handbook for artists in non-standard Sanskrit ślokas, I read e.g. Viṣṇu has to be modelled with two hands for his two attributes. The artist used the existing sculpture depicting an earlier two armed god. He added two arms for the Viṣṇu-Attributes. Now we got Viṣṇu with four arms.
> > > > Later, new Viṣṇu-scuptures are modeled with four arms.
> > > > 
> > > > Best
> > > > 
> > > > Heiner
> > > > 
> > > > Am 17.05.2024 um 13:20 schrieb François Voegeli via INDOLOGY:
> > > > 
> > > > > Dear Members of the List,
> > > > > 
> > > > > A friend recently asked me a rather disconcerting question (for me at least): why do Indian gods have so many arms?
> > > > > 
> > > > > My understanding was that these arms bear attributes of the god (trident, discus, severed head, etc.) to remind the devout of some parts of the god's gest, but I have not seen such explanation in Indian litterature.
> > > > > What is the Indian literature exactly saying about this quite remarkable feature and where (Purāṇas, Śilpaśāstras, or elsewhere)?
> > > > > 
> > > > > Your input will be very much appreciated.
> > > > > Thanks in advance.
> > > > > 
> > > > > François Voegeli 
> > > > > 
> > > > > 
> > > > > _______________________________________________
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> > > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > --
> > > > Dr. Rolf Heinrich Koch
> > > > http://www.rolfheinrichkoch.wordpress.com
> > > > 
> > > > 
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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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