Iconography, Art, Religion and Culture: Visualizing the Past

Although there are several works on the Hindu iconography,art and culture of India in general and Andhra in particular, still there is a growing need and scope for making further research on the subject in view of the existence of vast untapped art historical resources as well as to offer either new interpretations or to present the historiographical critique on the earlier studies. The book includes twenty five research papers that focus on rediscovering the past through the study of icons, sculptures, mural paintings, epigraphs and material remains of the past. Through systematic and intensive field research the author has cast light on previously unknown information about some monuments and paintings. The volume reveals the complexity of Hindu religion and its mythology, the attitudes of the devotees and the way in which it has resulted in creating the new types of icons of the Hindu gods. The studies on the images included in the volume demonstrate that the image works not only as a powerful tool to propagate the religious ideas but also can critically reflect the socio-religious changes in course of historical processes in South India. It also throws a welcome light on the mural paintings of Srirangam with Telugu labels and on the context and meaning of the episodes. The book explores new insights into the past such as interests of the royalty in duel fights, the types of gardens and the crops grown in medieval Andhra, a rare sculpture of Karaikkal Ammaiyar in Andhra and the socio-religious significance attached to the number Eight. As a picture has tremendous power and is worth a thousand words in visualizing the past, the book is copiously provided with several line drawings and photographs to substantiate the theory and arguments discussed in the work.