The Concept of Durga in Mahabalipuram

Dr D. R. RAJESWARI

The very conception of Durga in Indian religious literature is very idealistic. She combines with two antithetical ideas, i.e., delicacy and energy, beauty and ugliness, Saumya and Raudra, It is said that She is Tripurasundari. Her celestial beauty is uncomparable among the three worlds and also She is terrible and hideous. Her name Durga itself signifies that she is unconquerable or unassailable one. For the Sakti worshippers, She is all in all. She creates, preserves and destroys. She is Adisakti, the supreme consciousness and powerful above all others. It is by Her grace that all the gods are manifested and even the supramental Isvara comes into manifestation through Her. The Nirvanatantra says that all the gods came from Her and disappear in Her like lightning, i.e., produced by clouds, disappears within the clouds. This concept of Durga is successfully illustrated by the Pallava sculptor in Mahabalipuram where a number of Durga figures appeared. It seems the Pallava artist specialised in carving Durga figures as most amazing and delightful specimens of the pallava conception of feminine beauty. They are slim and slender and most of them are in beautiful Tribhanga pose.

The Durga figure is carved in relief on the southern side of the Adivaraha cave temple. She is eight-armed and she stands in the Tribhanga posture on the head of Mahisha. She holds in three of her right hands the wheel, sword and bell respectively and in corresponding left hands the conch, shield and bow. The front right hand holds a cup or Sreephala but it is not clearly visible. Her lower left hand is at the waist (Kati) and a parrot perched on the wrist, as she is praised as Lilasukapriye. She is adorned with a necklace, Patrakundalas in her ear-lobes and crown on her head. Behind her there is a trident, probably it represents Saktidhvaja. In the top corners of the panel there are two flying figures, on the right, the head of a lion and on the left the head of an antelope have been carved. Below on either side of Durga figure two female attendant figures are shown standing, the right one with a sword and the left one with a bow. Both the figures are slender, yet they exhibit their amazonian strength. Similarly on either side of Durga two devotees are shown kneeling, the right one is piercing his left hand with a dagger and the left one holds a sword in his arm-pit. All the figures in this composition are arranged beautifully and harmoniously. The figure of Durga looks fine with Her subtle and rhythmic body. Her face is very elegant with a tranquil smile on her lips as described in the Devimahatmyam.

“Slightly smiling, spotless resembling the full moon orb, beautiful as the choicest gold and lovely was thy face.”

While this description is noticed in the sculpture of Durga in Mahabalipuram, we encounter an interesting detail associated with Durga. The stag in addition to the lion is suggesting clearly that the stag or antelope served as Durga’s vehicle which is a feature very rare in iconography and peculiar to the sculptures in Mahabalipuram. This feature we find in all Durga figures except in Mahishasuramardini panel in Mahishasuramardini Mandapa. In vedic literature we have the goddess Sri represented as a golden antelope adorned with garlands of silver and gold in Devisukta. But there are no literary or monumental representations of antelope as vehicle of Durga. Durga is described as Lakshmi in Devimahatmya.

In Gayatrisahasranama Durga is called Yajushi and Yajnarupini. She is Yajurveda and she is the form of Yajna or Yajna herself. It is also said that she is Agni. In the Devimahatmya of Markandeyapurana, Brahma invoked her as Svaha and Svadha. Svaha and Svadha are considered to be the eyes of Agni. That means She is Agni. The deer symbolises Vedas and also Yajna. Satapatha-Brahmana and also Taittiriya-Brahmana describe that Agni hides in the forest when the Devatas searched, it has been found in the form of a deer. So it is called Agnimriga. This Agni is herself. In Gayatrisahasranama she is called Sarabha, who is the form of a deer. The lion symbolises strength, power, courage and force, the deer symbolises speed. Keeping in mind all these points they carved the head of an antelope symbolically.

Another feature of this Durga panel is that she is associated with Vishnu cave temple. All the Durga figures are associated with Vishnu. We can take the instances of Mahishasuramardini, She is seen along with Anantasaivishnu in Mahisha Mandapa, Durga in Adivaraha Mandapa, Trimurti cave, etc. All these Durga figures are having conch wheel, bell, trident, bow and sword which are Vaishnavite and Saivite as weapons. From a very early period she was mythologically associated with Vishnu. Durga Stotras of Mahabharata, Aryastava of Harivamsa describe Her as the daughter of Yasoda. (Yasoda garbha sambhutam...Nanda Gopakula jatam) She is the younger sister of Krishna. Devimahatmya of Markandeyapurana also gives us the same information in its Narayini Stuti. There She is described as Vishnu’s energy boundless in her valour (Tvam vaishnavi saktiranta virya visvasya bijami paramasi maya). She is also styled as Vishnumaya (Ya devi sarva bhuteshu Vishnu mayeti sabdita) Probably these ideas were faithfully followed by the Pallava sculptor.

Another important feature is the devotees offering flesh and blood to the goddess. This is also a regular feature in all the Durga panels. Probably this indicates the sacrificial rituals which symbolise the self-immolation at the goddess’s feet, by piercing their Ragadveshadi guna, so that they can get Her blessings. It seems that the left hand rituals were in practice at that tine which inspired the artist also. Kalikapurana describes this type of offering as the Navakhandavidhi. Devirahasya Tantra says that she will be satisfied by the sacrifice of animals like buffalo. Devipujakalpam says that she will take Madhu and Mamsam. Devoid of these two among the offerings, the worship is fruitless. She will not be satisfied. So all these ideas are symbolically illustrated by the Pallava sculptor at Mahabalipuram.

The next remarkable and unique sculpture in Mahabalipuram is the war between Durga and Mahisha in the Mahishasuramardini Mandapa. The style reaches its highest watermark in plasticity, elegance and vividness in the representation. This is the most original work as though the sculptor has a spiritual vision of the whole battle. It proves that the Indian artist enters a plane of contemplation in order to conceive the mental picture before he executes it on the stone. It is said that Valmiki, before he began writing Ramayana, first visualised in Yoga the entire Ramayana. The characters appeared in his vision living and moving as though in real life. So it seems that the Pallava sculptor also got the vision of the battle in his Dhyana and illustrated on the stone following his inner vision.

The literary meaning of Mahishasuratnardini is one who crushed the buffalo-demon–the personification of evil forces, i.e., Agnana, Avidya, and the violent egoism, devourer of the world. On the other hand Durga is Cosmic energy. Mahavidya and enlightenment are of the valour or powers of all the gods together. She rescued the Universe from the tyranny of the demon Mahishasura which became a favourite theme for the Indian artist. The details of the story have been given in the Devimahatmya of Markandeyapurana probably written in fourth century A. D. and in the Devibhagavatham also.

According to Markandeyapurana “the pile of light which was collected by all the gods transformed into a woman, illumining the whole world by her lustre.” The gods bestowed upon her all their weapons.

In this panel she is riding on her lion with erect and firm grace. She is drawing the bow string, yet the arrow is not carved. She appears in such a firm and concentrated pose, drawing the bow string we feel that both are there. Three other right hands hold a sword, bell and wheel and the three left hands hold a dagger, noose and conch. One of her Ganas holds a royal parasol and another a Chouri. Her elegant body is really illuminating. She is delicate like a flower. Her face is charming like a moon with a proud smile of triumph. She is advancing along with her Ganas. The final triumph is not depicted, yet it is suggested. All her Ganas are in joyful mood and are taking the battle very lightly as if they are conscious of their association with primal energy. Mahishasura is waiting for an opportunity to war upon her. He is represented with human body and buffalo head. He is described in Devimahatmya as Ardhanishkranta. His face and postures are suggesting of his firmness and brutal force. One of his servants is holding a royal parasol. It seems both the Sura and Asura forces are equally strong. The entire grouping of the figures and the depiction of the incident is forceful and graphic. Though it is vigorous, yet it is gentle in representing the brutal dramatic scene of the battle. Probably the artist followed the Devimahatmya description. The description of Devimahatmya is as follows: when Mahishasura heard the terrific roar of the goddess, he rushed towards that sound. Then He saw the Devi filling the three worlds with Her splendour bending low the earth with the force of her strides, scratching the sky with her pointed diadem, shaking the nether worlds with the twang of Her bow string and standing there filling the ten directions of space with her thousand arms. Then ensued between the Devi and the Asuras a battle by the free use of weapons and missiles which made the quarters set on fire. In the words of H. Zimmer “in this perennial primeval female all the particularised and limited forces of their (the gods’) various personalities were powerfully integrated. Such an overwhelming totalisation signified Omnipotence. By a gesture of perfect surrender and fully wild self-abdication, they had given their energies to the primeval Sakti, the one force, the fountainhead, whence originally all had stemmed. And the result was now a great renewal of the original state of the universal potency. When the Cosmos first unfolded into a system of strictly differentiated spheres and forces, life energy was parcelled out into a multitude of individuated manifestation. But these now had lost their force. The Mother of them all, life energy itself as the primeval maternal principle had reabsorbed them, eaten them into the universal womb. She now was ready to go forth in the fullness of her being.” She is the eternal light and energy. She was born from the Tejas of the gods.