Indian Art Icons: Revealing Some Glaring Glimpses

In most of the cases the religious images are made in accordance with their norms codified in silpa texts or in their stories and episodes available in religious myths. But in some art icons we find certain unusual, uncommon and unique features, which are sometimes against the textual injunctions. The present book Indian Art Icons : Revealing some Glaring Glimpses itself makes it clear.

The book present in-depth study of some stone and terracotta figures individually like Karttikeya-Subrahmanya, Karttikeya and Kaumari, earliest Vaikuntha Visnu, Nirrti, Laksmi with Ganesa and yaksas, Laksmi with cock or monkey, Laksmi anointed by eight elephants, the so-called Indrani, the so-called Kinnara-mithuna, and some sculptures awaiting proper identification. Some chapters are devoted to the class of a deity collectively like Somaskanda, Suryani, Ksemankari, Ulukarudha Camunda, etc. Novel information is also provided about some less known aspects of Brahma, various categories and identification of Kinnaras, Mahapurusa-Laksanas of the Buddha including Srivatsa symbol on his chest, etc.

Indian Art Icons: Revealing Some Glaring Glimpses throws ample light on the original and thought provoking research. Each individual sculpture or class of a deity as a whole has been dealt with its iconographic and aesthetic features corroborating with literary evidences and textual parameters.

Contents: Preface. I. Brahmanical: 1. Some rare and unique Mukhalingas. 2. Sadanana-Karttikeya-Subrahmanya. 3. Somaskanda: sculpture and concept. 4. Kumara Karttikeya and Kaumari. 5. Earliest Vaikuntha Visnu image. 6. Kusana Visnu: a change find. 7. Some less known aspects of Brahma. 8. Early Surya images. 9. Suryani: images and workship. 10. Nirrti: history and sculpture. 11. Disas, Dikpalas, Dikpalapuris and Diggajas. 12. Laksmi with Ganesa and Yaksas. 13. Laksmi anointed by eight elephants. 14. Laksmi with cock. 15. Ksemankari : a riddle. 16. Ulukarudha Camunda images. II. Buddhist: 17. The Mahapurusa-Laksanas of the Buddha. 18. Lumbini: a Buddhist place of pilgrimage. III. Jaina: 19. Anointing elephants with Tirthankaras. 20. The so-called Indrani at Ellora. IV. Miscellaneous: 21. Kinnara Dvividhah Prokta. 22.The so-called Kinnara-mithuna. 23. Some sculptures awaiting proper identification. 24. Some unique Brahmanical images of Chhattisgarh. Bibliogrpahy. Index.