114
SOUTH-INDIAN IMAGES
against the bull and is not mounted on it, the Kāsyapa-Silpa calls him Vrishava-
Hana. Vrishavāhana. In this case the elbow (kūrpara) of the right hand of Siva rests on the head of the bull as in the illustrations (figs. 70 and 7l). [1] The Mayamata also gives the same description, but adds that the bull stands behind the seat on which the god and goddess sit. The right lower hand of Siva holds the trident while the two upper hands hold the axe and the deer.
XIII
Sēkhara-
MūrtiChandrasēkharamūrti [2] (the crescent-crested lord) may, according to the Kāsyapa-Silpa of the Amsumat-Tantra, be represented in two different forms, either alone or in company of the goddess Gaurī. When alone, he stands on the pedestal with level feet (samapāda), holding the antelope and the kettle-drum (or, axe) in his back arms and presenting the abhaya and the varada postures in the fore-arms. The crescent decorates the jatāmakuta of the god, either on its right side or on the left. In other respects the image is a pleasing representation (fig. 72) of the general form of Rudra described above. When accompanied by the goddess he may also be seated (fig. 73). The right lower hand shows the abhaya posture and the left lower passes round the back of the yielding goddess and touches her breasts. Some Agamas do not permit the hand to be stretched so far, but only up to the left arm of the goddess. The illustration from Bāgali (fig. 74) answers to this description but holds the trident and the kettle-drum in the upper hands instead of the axe and the deer. The goddess also with her right hand touches the right side of the waist-band of the god from the back and holds a flower in her left. She may also be seen passing her hand over his shoulder. Such figures of Chandrasēkhara are called Ālinganamūrti or the embracing form. They are also known as Pradōshamūrti, since in all well-maintained Siva temples,
- ↑ The illustrations given show two and four hands respectively for Siva, who standing with his legs crossed and leaning against the back of the bull, has the kūrpara of his right hand placed on the head of the bull. A fine image from Ceylon figured as No. 29 in Part II of Visvakarma is evidently one of Vrishārūdha as described in the Mayamata. The trident in the right lower hand, the bull and the goddess are missing.
- ↑ The great Chōla king Rājarāja I is represented in the Tanjore inscriptions to have been devoted particularly to this form of Siva. The figures of the king and of Chandrasēkhara receiving worship from him, were set up by the manager of the temple before the close of the 29th year of that king, i.e., before A. D. 1013-14.
