Stone Gallery At Madras Museum

Namma Mylapore’s Geetha Iyengar organized a tour of the stone gallery at Madras Museum in Egmore, as part of the Madras Day 2014 celebrations. Chithra Madhavan was our tour guide and boy was she knowledgeable! She made the entire session a total pleasure. She had answers to most questions and unlike folks I’ve encountered in the past, she had no issues with not knowing (esoteric?) bits of information and didn’t make up stuff AFAIK. As Chithra described it, the tour was just a taste of the vast number of exhibits in the stone gallery of the Madras Museum. So, this blog post would be a teaser trailer of the tasty morsels served up. In the various sections we visited, I only took a couple of pictures. So, these serve as a teaser to folks reading this post which should encourage them to visit the museum at leisure, multiple times to take in everything. I’d recommend going with a guide like Chithra. You can contact Namma Myalpore via email and they ought to be able to get you setup. So here goes.

Sanchi Stupa Miniature

This miniature is a replica of the Great Stupa at Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh. Sanchi’s about 50 km from Bhopal. A stupa is a place where relics of the Buddha or his disciples are stored and worshiped. The Great Stupa at Sanchi was commissioned by Ashoka The Great in the 3rd century BC. As usual, more details about the actual Sanchi Stupa at Wikipedia.

Sculptures from various periods

Shiva with his bull, Nandi; Biccavolu, E. Godavari Dist, Andhra Pradesh; Early Eastern Chalukya Period (625 – 900 AD)

Yoga Dakshinamurthi; Kaveripakkam, N. Arcot Dist., Tamil Nadu; Pallava Period (600 – 850 AD)

Vishnu; Pallava Period (600 – 850 AD)

Tripurasundari; Kodumbalur, Trichy Dist., Tamil Nadu; Early Chola Period (850 – 1100 AD)

Krishna and Rukmini; Chidambaram, S. Arcot Dist., Tamil Nadu; Early Chola Period (850 – 1100 AD)

Mahishasuramardini; Kidaramkondan, Tanjavur Dist., Tamil Nadu; Vijayanagara Period (1350 – 1600 AD)

Ranganatha; Villupuram, S. Arcot Dist., Tamil Nadu; Later Chola Period (1100 – 1350 AD)

Ranganatha, Sridevi, Bhudevi; Villupuram, S. Arcot Dist., Tamil Nadu; Later Chola Period (1100 – 1350 AD)

Vishnu; Karathalur, Coimbatore Dist., Tamil Nadu; Vijayanagara Period (1350 – 1600 AD)

Part of a niche; Tadpatri, Anantapur Dist., Andhra Pradesh; Vijayanagara Period (1350 – 1600 AD)

Garuda; Kodur, Chengalpet Dist., Tamil Nadu; Modern Period (From 1600 AD)

Sridevi; Modern Period (From 1600 AD)

Sridevi and Srinivasa; Melkovalavedu, N. Arcot Dist., Tamil Nadu; Modern Period (From 1600 AD)

Parvati; S. Arcot Dist., Tamil Nadu; Modern Period (From 1600 AD)

Virabhadra; Ayyampet, Chengalpet Dist., Tamil Nadu; Modern Period (From 1600 AD)

Subramanya; Uttarakosamangai, Ramnad Dist., Tamil Nadu; Modern Period (From 1600 AD)

Hoysala – Kakatiya Period (1100 – 1350 AD)

Part of an entrance door way; Hoysala – Kakatiya Period (1100 – 1350 AD)

Kubera; Hoysala – Kakatiya Period (1100 – 1350 AD)

Warrior and Chourie Bearer; Hoysala – Kakatiya Period (1100 – 1350 AD)

Dikpalakas – 1; Hemavati, Anantapur Dist., Andhra Pradesh; Nolamba Period (900 – 1000 AD)

Dikpalakas – 2; Hemavati, Anantapur Dist., Andhra Pradesh; Nolamba Period (900 – 1000 AD)

Dikpalakas – 3; Hemavati, Anantapur Dist., Andhra Pradesh; Nolamba Period (900 – 1000 AD)

Umamaheshwara; Panukonda, Anantapur Dist., Andhra Pradesh; Nolamba Period (900 – 1000 AD)

Sarasvati (Dancing); Anantapur Dist., Andhra Pradesh; Nolamba Period (900 – 1000 AD)

Vishnu; Bihar; Medieval Sculpture of Pala Sena

Dancing Ganesha; Manda, Rajashahi Dist., Bangladesh; Medieval Sculpture of Pala Sena

From Left to Right: 1. Dancing Ganesha; 2 & 3. Vishnu, Kanaipara, Mushirabad Dist., West Bengal; 4. Surya, Niyamatpura, Rajashahi Dist., Bangladesh; 5. Brahma, Manda, Rajashahi Dist., Bangladesh; All are Medieval Sculptures of Pala Sena

Tara; Bihar; Medieval Sculpture of Pala Sena

Umamaheshwara; Niyamatpur, Rajashahi Dist., Bangladesh; Medieval Sculpture of Pala Sena

Fragment; Barhut; 150 BC

Crossbar from railing; Barhut; 150 BC

Adoration of Buddha’s Feet; Amaravati, Guntur Dist., Andhra Pradesh

Buddha; Peshawar; Graeco Buddhist Sculpture (50 BC – 300 AD)

Votive Stupa; Sarnath; Gupta Period

Memorial Stone of a Royal Couple; Kambaduru, Anantapur Dist., Andhra Pradesh

You can find lots more information in the Hindu Sculptures and Jain Sculptures sections of the official website.

 Surya

Snake Stones

When a married couple fail to beget children, the killing of a cobra in this or the previous existence is regarded as the probable cause. To expiate the sin, a naga stone has to be set up beneath a pipal tree, preferably at Rameshwaram. These are stones on which one or more nagas are carved, sometimes entirely in snake form, sometimes half-snake / half-human. Sometimes two snakes are shown coiled together and sometimes Shiva’s phallic emblem, the Linga, or Balakrishna the baby God, who blesses barren women with children, may be introduced. In many parts of South India, the cobra is considered symbolic of Subrahmanya.

Snake stone; Bellary Dist., Karnataka

Nagakkal; Kadambaru, Anantapur Dist., Andhra Pradesh

Left: Naga, Unknown; Middle: Nagakkal, Arjunamedu, Periakolari, Chengalpattu Dist., Tamil Nadu; Right: Nagakkal, South India

Nagakkal showing Nagini; Joti, Cudappah Dist., Andhra Pradesh

Copper Plate Grants

Chola Karandai Tamil Sangam; Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu

Copper Plate Grants Seal; Rajendra Chola Period

Copper Plate Grants Seal; Rajendra Chola Period

Copper Plate Grants

Copper Plate Grants; Rajendra Chola Period

More information is available in the copper plates section of the official museum website.

Amaravathi and Other Buddhist Sculptures

Translation of the begging bowl of Buddha to the heaven; 150 AD; Amaravathi Collection

A man and a boy standing on a brick platform; 100 BC; Amaravathi Collection

Some scenes from the life of Buddha; 150 AD; Amaravathi Collection

Amaravati Stupa Model

Lots more pictures and info in the Buddhist sculptures section of the official museum website.

Finally, our hosts