Iconography of Southern India

From the time of the oldest historical documents, the Tamils have been called, Brahminical. Their religion is Hinduism, which in the last fourteen centuries has become much modified, and has split up into numerous sects. Eminent teachers have preached ideas of a very exalted philosophy as appertaining to it, but these have only served to increase the differences of cults and dogmas. This work is concerned with iconography, and therefore the matter becomes comparatively simple, for although the Hindus do not ofter agree about philosophical ideas, they have always been in complete accord on the manner in which their gods and religious scenes should be Portrayed. Iconography in Southern India is entirely religious, and as liturgical subjects cannot be treated according the fancy of the artist, extremely strict rules always govern the method of representing the gods and the sculptors chisel is invariably guided with exact precision. Southern India is rather a vague term. In this book it denotes the stretch of country along the Coromandel coast, from the mouth of the Northern Pennar river to cape Comorin. More specifically it is concerned with the iconography of Dravidian Architecture and the Tamil language, which comprise the ten districts of N. Arcot, Madras, Chinglepur, S. Arcot, Salem, Coimbatore, Trichinopoly, Tanjore, Madura and Tinnevelly.