Encyclopaedia of Hindu Iconography (Early Medieval) (4 Vols.)

Vol. I Visnu : It was supported by a contingency grant of the ICHR. It contains the results in the literature and field. Monuments of early medieval period all over South India was visited and the literature in Tamil and Sanskrit consulted. Being the first in a series of four volumes, it has a chapter on religion and political background. The results of the monuments surveyed in the field are presented in the third chapter under the sub-heads ‘Upper Deccan’, ‘Lower Deccan’ and ‘Far South’. However, the most important part is the investigation of Tamil sources that is a much-neglected aspect in Indian art historical research. In the present volume, the Tamil quota of thought embodied in the Nalayiram is examined. Vol. II Siva : This is result of the project, supported by the UGC. The field was visited few more times from Elephanta in the west to Vilinam in the Far South. The volume in design is slightly modified. The first chapter presents an examination of the sources in Tamil literature, especially the hymns of the bhakti savants, the Nayanmar, particularly the Tevaram. There are not less than 8000 hymns under vast corpus, the examination of which has inspired western scholars to pay attention to the Tamil sources in the investigation of an Indian iconographic theme. The II-IV chapters examine the Saiva iconographical themes, as they are present in the Upper Deccan, Lower Deccan and Far South. The other chapters attempt an analytical study of the distribution pattern of the iconographical themes and their aesthetic value. Vol. III Sakti Goddesses : This volume is on Sakti Goddesses. The first chapter presents an account of sources in both Tamil and Sanskrit. The Tamil sources examined are those of the Cankam classics and the pre-Pallava Cilappatikaram and Manimekalai. In addition to the Devimahatmyam, some liturgical works (e.g. Lalitasahasranama) and the Mattavilasaprahasana are examined. Chapters II-IV present an account of the iconographical typologies of Devi in Upper Deccan, Lower Deccan and Far South. The distribution pattern and aesthetics of the forms of Devi as they appear in early medieval art are discussed in the other chapters. As in the other volumes, a simple quantitative method is applied to assess the status of Devi within the Hindu pantheon during the period under study. Vol. IV: Part I - Ganapati and Skanda-Murukan; Part II - Brahma and Other Deities : This volume is in two parts. The first part deals with Ganapati and Skanda-Murukan. The second part deals with Brahma and other Deities. The volume is designed in four chapters, the first dealing with sources and the others with iconographical forms found in the Upper Deccan, Lower Deccan and Far South. The chapter bearing on sources discusses the data forthcoming from Tamil and Sanskrit. In an overall perspective, the present series is an important contribution because it has a special bearing Tamil sources dealing with the major and minor deities of the Hindu pantheon.

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