Arjuna's Penance
Arjuna's Penance is a rock, sculptured marvelously. It is located at
Mamallapuram or Mahabalipurqam, 58 kms from Chennai, the capital of
Tamil Nadu in Southern India. This extraordinary rock is about 96 ft
long and 43 ft high. Arjuna's Penance was carved in the mid 7th
century and is one of the greatest open-air rock sculptures in the
world.
Mamallapuram or Mahabalipuram, is an ancient port of the Pallava
dynasty who traded with countries of the far east. It is well-known
for its splendid 7th and 8th century art and architecture of the
period. The monumental rock sculptures, carvings, shore temple and
wonderful beaches of this place make it worth visiting.
¤ History
This outstanding edifice is named after the epic Mahabharatha hero,
Arjuna. This skillfully carved monument describes an account from the
Epic Mahabharata. It explains how Arjuna, one of the Pandava brothers,
performed severe austerities in order to obtain Shiva's weapon to
destroy his enemies. There is another legend related to this edifice,
which says that the King Bhagiratha's performed penance to bring the
River Ganges down to earth to purify the souls of his ancestors. The
kings' wish was fulfilled and Lord Shiva sent the Ganges down to
earth. In order to save the earth from the impact of the fall of the
Ganges, Lord Shiva weakened her fall by allowing the water to trickle
through his hair. All the animals of the world gathered in curiosity
to see this strange sight. It is said that the figures of the relief
support both the above stories. Some of the popular fables from the
Hindu Panchatantra books are also portrayed on the Arjuna's Penance.
¤ Composition
The sculptured figures on the rock are carved very skillfully. These
figures include more than 100 figures of gods and flying celestial
creatures, birds and animals including giant elephants, human beings
and saints.
The relief is divided into two halves by a natural cleft. The descent
of the celestial river is represented by this cleft. Most of the
figures of animals and celestial beings are carved either facing or
approaching this cleft and generally with hands folded in worship. The
cleft is filled with a slab sculpted with male and female nagas
(snakes), their hands held together in worship, over which a planned
waterfall is fed from a collecting chamber above. On the left side of
the cleft there is a four-armed deity, believed to be Shiva. He is
holding a weapon in his right hand and the left hand is in a gesture
for granting a blessing. Just right to this deity of Shiva, a little
below Arjuna or Bhagiratha stands on one leg, with arms upraised, in a
yoga posture seeking his blessing.
Below this figure, there is a small simple shrine of Lord Vishnu.
There are figures of sages, a buck, a doe, a lion and disciples
engaged in austerities, standing in front of the shrine. A few animals
are seen resting in their caves to the left. The Upper left portion of
this boulder portrays a mountain, believed to be Shiva's abode in the
Himalayas, where gods and animals are seen intermingled together.
At the right of the cleft in the other boulder, one can see many
celestial beings and animals. The most notable among these are the
life-sized elephants protecting their young ones. There are also
scenes from the Panchatantra fables, such as the story of the cat
doing penance by standing on one leg, trying to trick a group of rats.
Just right of this beautiful relief, on a low platform, there is a
group of carved monkeys preening one another. They are shown here
playing and nursing a baby, which is also outstanding.
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