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Title: Identification of a sculpture recovered

from a village pond in Haryana.

Author: Dr. Urmila Duhan. Freelance Researcher.

Email: uduhan@yahoo.com

Abstract:Achancerecoveryofaseemingly

ancientlookingstonesculpturewasreportedby
alocalradiostation.Thesculpturewas
reportedlyexcavatedfromthevillagepondof
villageIkkas(Distt.Jind,Haryana,India.
Geographicallocation:Latitude29.3062,
Longitude76.34215).Aspertheauthors
knowledge,thesculpturehassofarneitherbeen
datednorspecificallyidentifiedbyany
authoritativebody.Theaimofthisarticlewas
to1.Photographicallydocumenttheexcavated
sculpture,2.Proposeanidentificationandan
ageforthesculpture,3.Discusstheacademic
importanceofthesculpture.Theresultsofthe
studyprovidephotographicdetailsofthe
sculpture.Thesculpturehasbeenidentifiedto
beofgoddessParvatifromthePratiharaperiod
inHaryana(10C.E).Theidentificationison
thebasisoficonographicprinciplesandonthe

basisofsimilarfashionedsculpturesofParvati
housedatNationalMuseum,NewDelhi.Based
ontheuniquelysculpteddressanddesignofthe
sculpture,itisproposedthattheexcavated
sculpturewasinitiallypartofalargerscene
showingmarriageofShivaandParvatii.e.,
Kalyansundara.

Introduction:Theauthorheardonalocal

radiostation(year2013)thatwhilecleaning/
desiltingthevillagepondofvillageIkkas(Distt.
Jind,Haryana,India.Geographicallocation:
Latitude29.3062,Longitude76.34215),an
ancientlookingsculpturehadbeenfoundinthe
pond.AformalinquirywiththeArchaeological
SurveyofIndia(ASI,Delhibranch)informed
theauthorthatastonefemalebusthadbeen
recoveredbythevillagersfromIkkasvillage
pond.Aphotoofthesculpture(oneviewonly)
wasprocuredbytheASIandkindlysharedwith
theauthor.Nofurtheracademicinformationon
thesculpture,suchasitsage,identityandits
historicimportancewasavailablewiththeASI.
Whentheauthorinquiredaboutthesculpture
fromtheSarpanch(villagehead),theauthorwas
kindlyallowedaccesstothesculpturefor
viewingandphotographing.Thesculpturewas

keptintheShivatempleofthevillage.Theaim
ofthisarticlewasto1.Photographically
documenttheexcavatedsculpture2.Propose
anidentificationandanageforthesculpture,3.
Discusstheacademicimportanceofthe
sculpture.Asthesculpturewasrecoveredfrom
awaterfilledpondandinabrokenstate,no
definitecluesonitsoriginalplaceof
establishmentsuchasatempleetc.were
available.

MaterialandMethods:Toaccomplishthe

aims,thestonesculpturewasphotographed
insidetheShivatempleofthevillage,using
Apple'siPad(ModelMC707TH).Inanattempt
todateandidentifytheIkkassculpture,the
authorvisitedvariousstateandNational
museums.Asimilarlydesignedcrownona
PrvatisculptureatNationalMuseum,New
Delhi(10thC.E,GujjarkhediVillage,Distt.
Rohtak,Latitude:20.0,Longitude:77.0,
Haryana)wasnoticedinthisregardduetothe
extremesimilarityofitscrownwiththatofthe
Ikkassculpture.Adetailedvisualanalysisof
theIkkassculpturewasalsodoneandthe
stylisticfeaturesofthedress,jewellerydesign,
crowndesignandhairstylewere
iconographicallycomparedtovarioussculptures
ofknownfemaledeitiesfromancientIndia,in
ordertofindamatch.

ResultsandDiscussion:Multiple

photographsofthesculpturefromvariousangles
areprovidedinthisreport.Althoughspecific
dimensionalmeasurementswerenotmadeatthe
timeofphotographing,butthesculptureisabout
60cmhighandapproximately30cmwide.The
crowndesignofthesculpturewasverysimple
yetunique.Itwasthemostnoticeablefeatureof
thesculpture.Thehairdoofthesculpturewas
veryprominentanddecorative.Thesarp
kundals(coiledearstuds)weretheonlypieceof
prominentjewellerybesidesasimplebeaded
necklace.BothShivaandParvatiarealmost
invariablyshownwearingSarpKundalasand
adornahighhairdoinancientIndiassculptures.
Adecoratedveillooselycoveredthebackpart
ofthehairbunofthesculpture.

TheunidentifiedIkkassculptureisofa

femaleasevidencedfromprominentbreasts.
Thestoneisofahighlyporousvarietyand
seemssomewhatfragile.Thesurfaceisofa
roughtexture.Theroughnessandporosityof
thesurfaceofthesculpturemayhaveincreased
duetobeingsubmergedunderwaterformany
years,perhapsevencenturies.Thefemale
figureissculptedwithaprominenthairbunthat
extendsupwardsfromthesurfaceoftheheadin
anaestheticallypleasingmanner.Thehairbun
hasbeentastefullysculptedwithstringsof
beads.Asimpleandrelativelyunornamented
crown/encirclestheforeheadofthesculpture.
Presenceofacrownindicatesthesculpturetobe
eitherofaroyalorofadeity.Theeyesofthe
sculpturearelarge,openandsomewhat
protruding,addingcalmandpeacefullooktothe

face.Thenoseappearstobewellformedbutis
nowchippedoff.

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Thephysicalfeaturesofthesculpture,such

asanelongatedandraisedshapeofthe
eyebrows,thesereneandaestheticallypleasing
countenance,theartisticallycurvedfulllips
breakingintoagentlesmile,theconfident
aristocratictiltofthefacetowardsoneside,the
extremenaturalnessandconfidencewithwhich
nakedbreastsarecarriedbythesculpture,the
threeauspiciousskincreasesontheneckall
pointtothesculpturebeingmodelledasper
ancientsculpturingpattern(i.e.,Guptaperiod
(4thC.Eandperhapsalittleafterthat)(Photo
PlatesoftheIkkassculpturelabeled17).
Interestingly,aveilovertheheadisnotseenin
femaledeitysculpturesfromthatperiodandnot
untilaftertheendofmedievaltimeperiod
(personalobservation).Aspertheauthors
knowledge,femaledeitiesfromancientIndiaare
nevershownwithaveilcoveredheadexcept

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Parvatiandthatalsoonlywhensheisshownin
amarriagescenealongwithShiva.

Whileresearching,theauthorcameacrossa

stonesculptureobtainedfromvillage
Gujjarkhedi,Rohtak,Haryana(districtRohtak
andJindaregeographicallyadjacent)which
showsgoddessParvatiwearingasimilarly
designedcrownandwearingsarpkundals(photo
providedinPlates811).ThisGujjarkhedi
sculptureishousedintheNationalMuseum,
NewDelhi.Thisparticulardesignofthecrown
oftheIkkassculptureisthehallmarkofParvati
fromthePratiharaperiodofHaryana(10thC.E).
Duetostrikingsimilarityofthecrowndesignof
theIkkasandGujjarkhedisculptures,itwasused
todateandidentifytheIkkassculpture.

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Arthistorianshaveusedpresenceand

designofcrowntodemarcateeras.For
example,before10thC.E,Buddhaimagesare
notshownwithacrown.ButafewBuddha
imagesdatedtobeyond10thC.Eareshown
withanelaboratecrown(reference:Buddha
sculpturesdisplayedintheNationalMuseum,
NewDelhi).Henceforacademicpurpose,a
Buddhasculpturewhenshownwithacrown,is
likelytobedatedto11thC.E.andlaterand
certainlynotbeforethat.Similarly,Shiva
ParvatisculpturesofthelateGuptaand
Pratiharaperiodlookverydifferentbothintheir
dresssense,expression,andtheexecutionofthe
imagebythesculptorascomparedtotheir
sculpturalimagesfrommedievalperiod
obtainedfromthesamegeographicalregion.

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Specifically,forthePratiharaagesculptures,

whenParvatiisshownwithaheadveil,it
invariablyishermarriagescenei.e.,
Kalyansundara.TheShivaParvatimarriage
scenesarealwaysstandingposes.Manysuch
KalyansundarasculpturesfromthePratiharaera
(obtainedfromNorthRajasthan,CentralIndia,
Haryanaetc.)showParvatiwithaheadveil.No
otherfemaledeityfromthatageandupto
almost18thC.Eorsoappearswithahead
coveringveil.Forthisreport,twosculptures
fromBharatpur,RajasthanandMadhyaPradesh
(Pratihara,9th10thC.E)havebeenphotographed
tohighlighttheacceptablecustomofshowing
Parvatiwithaheadveilinhermarriagescene
(PhotoPlates1215).TheIkkassculpture
(proposedtobethatofParvati)isalsoseenwith
aheadcoveringveil.Thusonvariousstylistic
grounds,theIkkassculptureisthatofgoddess

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Parvatiandwassculptednotlaterthanthe
Pratiharasrein(10thC.E).TheIkkassculpture
waspartofalargerscenedepictingShiva
Parvatimarriage.Therestofthemarriagescene
hasbrokenofffromtheIkkassculptureand
cannotbeseen.ThetiltofParvati'sfaceinall
Kalyansundarascenesisinvariablytowards
Shiva.IntheIkkassculpturetoo,Shivamustbe
shownstandinginthedirectionofthetiltof
Parvatisface.

TheIkkassculptureofParvatistandsoutfor

possessinghighdegreeofsculpturalclarityin
variouspartsofitscrown,forshowingthe
intricatelyfashionedhighhairbunandinits
aestheticallypleasingdecorations.Itisindeeda
beautifullysculptedwork.

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AspertheaccountofthevillagersofIkkas,

thevillagehasancientrootsfromthetimeof
Mahabharata.BeforeitwascalledIkkas(i.e.,a
twistedpronounciationoftheprakritwordikkis
i.e.,twentyone),thevillagerssayitwasknown
asAjitpur.Itisquitelikelythatanancient
Shavitetempleexistedinthevillageanditgot
destroyedasisthecasewithsomeancientHindu
temples.Butbyluck,someofthetemple
sculpturesmayhavefoundtheirwayintothe
pondandtherecoveredsculptureisoneof
them.Itisthuspossiblethattheremaining
Kalyansundarascenemayalsobefoundinthe
samepond.Evidenceofanyremainsofancient
templemustbecollectedifavailable,tobetter
highlightthehistoricalimportanceoftheIkkas
village.Eventoday,asmall,modernShiva
templeexistsonthebanksofthevillagepond.
Whetheritwasbuiltontheremainsofanold

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templeneedstobeinvestigated.Thehistorical
importanceofJindareafromthepointofview
ofancientIndiahasbeenwelldocumentedand
highlightedbytheHaryanagovernment
(http://jind.nic.in/history.htm).Anearbyvillage
('PanduPindara')hasawellknowntempleand
asthenamesuggests,ithasconnectionto
Mahabharata.

Conclusion:Inconclusion,theidentification
ofgoddessParvatiwasmadeonthebasisof1.
Crowndesign,2.HighHairdo,3.Sarp
Kundalas,4.HeadCoveringVeil.These
stylisticfeaturesofGoddessParvatihavebeen
retainedthroughmanyagesandoveravast
geographicalarea.Onstylisticgrounds,itis
proposedthattheIkkasvillagesculpture
recoveredfromthevillagepond

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isthatofgoddessParvati.

wassculptednotlaterthanthePratihara's

reinintheregion(10C.E).

waspartofalargerscenedepictingShiva

Parvatimarriage.Therestofthemarriagescene
hasbrokenoffandcannotbeseen.

hadbothShivaandParvatiinstandingpose

asisthecaseinKalyansundarascenes.

hadShivastandingonthesideinwhich

Parvati'sfacetiltpoints.

Acknowledgement:Theauthorwishesto

thanktheArchaeologicalSurveyofIndia
(Delhi)throughDr.S.KMittra(Director,
Archaeology)

PhotoPlate1:Ikkassculpture(Angle1).

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PhotoPlate2(Ikkassculpture.Angle2)

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PhotoPlate3:

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PhotoPlate4(Ikkassculpture.Angle4)

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PhotoPlate5(Ikkassculpture.Angle5)

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PhotoPlate6(Ikkassculpture.Angle6)

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Gujjarkhedisculpturephotosofgoddess

Parvati.Plates78.

PhotoPlate7(Gujjarkhedisculpture

showingParvati'sheadcrownsimilartoIkkas
sculpture).Angle1.

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PhotoPlate8(Gujjarkhedisculpture

showingParvati'sheadcrownsimilartothe
Ikkassculpture).Angle2.

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KalyansundarasculpturesfromPratihara

period.(Plate912)Twophotosfrom
BharatpurareaandonefromMadhya
Pradesh)

PhotoPlate9,(ParvatiinKalyansundra

scenewithaheadcoveringveil.Pratihara,9th
C.E,Bharatpur,Rajasthan.Angle1)

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PhotoPlate10(ParvatiinKalyansundra

scenewithaheadcoveringveil.Pratihara,9th
C.E,Bharatpur,Rajasthan.Angle2)

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PhotoPlate11,12.ParvatiinKalyansundra

scenewithaheadcoveringveil.Pratihara,10th
C.E,MadhyaPradesh).Angle1.

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