Amruthanga Maya

Amruthanga Maya BY THAMBISETTY RAMAKRISHNA

The art of bronze sculpting is joyously related in a story about a king called Vajra. He was as pious and devout man. One day he found himself standing at the feet of sage Markandeya with a request. “Oh! Great sir, grant me but one wish,” begged the king, “Teach me the art of iconography so that I may make my own idol for worship, using devotion as yet another input”. Though the sage appreciated King Vajra’s sentiment, he was forced to ask him a few questions before handing him the first piece of metal. “Do you know how to paint?” asked the sage. The king did not know painting but requested that he be taught the art if it was a prerequisite to learning sculpture. “But for that you need to know how to dance,” insisted the sage. To learn dancing the king was required to have rudimentary knowledge of instrumental music, which required in turn a foundation in vocal music. So the king had to begin with the octaves to be able to pour his sensibilities into any other material and to make a form! It is no surprise therefore that the beauty of Indian bronzes lies in their efficient capturing of all these artistic forms within the sculpted figure. So close is the association that the different disciplines also share certain common terminology, for example, the word tala. To a sculptor tala means “one measure”. To a musician or a dancer it refers to “one beat”. This is the essence of aesthetics (PP 38, Hindu Temples in North America – A Celebration of Life, Mahalingum Kolapen, Hindu University of America, 2002).