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| Home > Types Of Sculpture > Icons and Imagery > Functions of Icons
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| | Functions of Icons
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The functions of employing icons in the of Indian art is very much important.From this, one might conclude that the Indian art was nothing but theological metaphysics. Many authors have written to illustrate this effect. But instead of this it would be more correct to say that a major branch of Indian art was constituted with the art of religious iconography. For the developed sculpture of India, really an autonomous kind of language is found to be followed, in which all kinds of topics could be presented in feelings and `value judgments`. It is completely true & important that sculpture was basically used to present many other kinds of subject matter that were prevailing in some specific time apart from the religious or metaphysical content.
But it has found that a major effort in Indian sculpture or a primary objective for its production was the propagation of the sense of the numinous, of the eternal and the cosmically immense.It is the basic function of using icons. The sculptural means or techniques of achieving this aim were unique to India, as it was the original intuition.
In fact, the whole of Indian thought and life as reflected from art is dominated by this intuition. At the time of its appearance in starting period, it was seen as the achievement of the speculative thinkers of the Upanishadic epoch (c. 1000-600 BC). Theologians of this period saw the apparent multiplicity of forms or the infinite unity of Being behind this intuition. Most of these theologians were from Brahmins, who had abandoned the world to live an ascetic life and meditate upon this infinite unity of Being. Many theologians had attained a legendary fame and a status with the power that was virtually divine. But the world that consists of an ordinary people was in existence. And the depiction of their world can also be marked from sculpture. So, Indian art is believed to have two aspects of functions,, partly produced as a kind of accident of history. The first functional aspect that is more dominant, is of religious.
Though, this aspect is more dominant as it seems, the other aspect should not be overlooked. Mainly because this second aspect has such a profound effect on the first aspect itself. Surely, the images of the divine or supernatural power have been deeply connected with sensuous and erotic appreciation. In fact, it is believed that the special achievement of Indian sculpture has been to present the intuition of the immense ground of Being in forms that are invested with beauty and desire.
During the sixth and fifth centuries BC in the northern side of India a number of large cities comparing with before age came in existence. The population of these cities primarily depended upon trading business. There were many merchant families and the members of landowning families with the ordinary man in the cities.
Eroticism and icons
Some of the sculptural icons at Khajuraho or at many other places in India are considered as a erotic sculptures. These sculptures are mainly depicting scenes from Kamasutra. The function or presentation of these sculptures are as natural as religious deities are presented.
In India, especially during the Middle Ages, pleasure was regarded as a normal or irreproachable aim of human being. Private pleasure was not considered as endanger to the security of the state. All these cities were guarded by far-sighted kings with pleasurable atmosphere in the cities. Even numerous licensed prostitutes were in picture that used to bring revenue to the royal exchequer. Therefore, the western frenzy regarding the guilt on the name of physical enjoyment was very much unknown. The populations of these cities were enjoying the Kamasutra and the Ratirahasya, as these were composed manuals of happiness in love for them. And at the same time, the highest reaches of the spiritual life were also held in this period itself. But this is accessible only to those who conserved all their materialistic wealth for many centuries, which is a flourishing secular art devoted solely to the cult of pleasure revived in more recent times. Considering aesthetic theory of India, this fact is very much important.
Therefore, the religious art of these cities had employed the same language of form as they consider it as secular one. In fact, it can be seen that secular work that was produced in vast quantities during the time was by the same artists. The artists who yesterday were carving and painting amorous scenes siting inside some citizen`s paneled rooms were busy today in carving and painting religious scenes for some shrine. Even it can also be possible that they would be back at their work related with images of pleasure on tomorrow.
If carefully observed, most of the works of religious art is made from stone known as stone sculpture and still preserved in use to a large extent. So many scholars hold an opinion that the expensive effort of stone carving was unnecessary for such secular art. An important achievement in the stone carving can be marked in the ornamentation of a shrine where one of the important beneficial numina of the countryside dwelt, would certainly need the services of the skilled carvers. This fact suggests that the local guild of ivory carvers, for example, had some connection with gateways constructed near the Buddhist shrine at Sanchi. Similarly, many other early year`s stone religious monuments found in India bear enigmatic figures and couples, emblematic of the life of pleasure in its carving.
In the earliest Western Indian Buddhist caves, at Bhaja which is supposed to be carved in second century BC, are rock-cut sculptures of wooden buildings, showing amorous couples looking out of the windows. At Karle cave, the fabulous amorous pairs are cut on a colossal scale. At Bodhgaya, which is the shrine of the Buddha`s enlightenment has depiction of erotic dance scenes. Whereas on the Jain and Buddhist monuments of Mathura from the first century AD onwards, among the scenes that were taken from religious texts, images of intensely sexually desirable girls, amorous couples with rich clothing and scenes of the dance are seen. And from the second century AD onwards it becomes canonical for the place of the shrine to have around the doorway to its holy of holies rows of little framed reliefs of amorous couples. And from the sixth century onwards, beginning of the appearance of the numerous scenes of love and pleasure on Hindu temples was noted, which are so much famous.
But these images represent the life of the heavens, as per the modern concepts. So, the images which accompanying with the life of sophisticated pleasure led mainly by the inhabitants of flourishing North Indian cities have become the common idea of the imagination for all Indians. The life of the gods is imagined as being carried on in the splendour of royal cities.
It is natural that splendour consists of all the sensual delights, which the mind can conceive. Because, the respected deity himself is always considered as a paragon of beauty, whose body shines like gold; his courtiers are beautiful and as wise as Brahmins: he is attended by an infinity of celestial musicians so that there is no silence; he is clothed in the splendid dyed and embroidered with muslins of heaven & adorned with magical jewels.
Perfumed flowers were spread upon the cloud-borne terraces of his (God) palace, and his world called as heaven is full of gorgeous girls perpetually longing for love. If he comes down to earth can be easily recognized by mortal men because he stands four inches above the ground, his flower garlands never wither, he neither blinks nor sweats. The god is supposed to be a sublime projection of the human king. It is a product of imagination of what he wants to be. So, the king of a city strives to create his own city as the splendour of the palaces of the gods. Therefore, in sculptures of the gods at every level in their heavens, the images of heavenly power and human delight are intimately combined together.
But, it is said that the Indian mind was captivated by its ancient concept of the immense, the infinite ground of Being. Once the images of the gods had created, followed by the creation of their legends that was mainly recognized for their limitations. Almost all the greatest gods were ultimately mortal. After enjoying of divine happiness, each god would feel the sweat break on his forehead and his garlands seen as withered. That is indication of the time for his action had come soon. The colossal cyclic process of the cosmos was also claiming even on him. He may have enjoyed his heavenly kingdom for a lifetime but, he too must return to the state of nothingness, to primal chaos, the womb of Being, to start all over again.
India had experienced the notion of colossal number in the past, long before the western astronomy suggested it to us. It was connected with our concept of continuous transmigration of souls from one body to another. This implies that each human being had behind him an endless series of births as insect, bird, animal and man. And before his birth the vast possibilities of reincarnation extended far into the future.
The escape from this infinite cycle of rebirth was considered as the blissful condition of release and it can be gained after hard efforts. Because this stage is nothing but a consequence of identifying himself completely with the ground of Being beyond all form.
In this process, his transcendent patterns were the gods, the last stage of attainable form, which entities its immense .It is so immense and so sublime that they were only one transform from the formless into form. Various legends in India may not intelligible if considered one by one, but in combination all are definitely meaningful. They illustrate the concept often with apparent inconsistency. To win heaven by piety means or to become a god, one has to move in the formless state. Because one may win release by asceticism, but if we are unlearned we may be persuaded to attempt to win a place in heaven by legends of its sensuous splendour.
As per one of the main ways to attain spiritual fulfillment is by passionate devotion to the sublimely beautiful person of a great deity. Therefore, Numen and pleasure were blended with each other in the classical style of Indian imagery from about AD 600. And the vision that was deeply embodied in this imagery has remained as the inspiration for the whole Indian culture into modern times. So, sculptures are important, as they have played a leading role in formulating it. The main aim or purpose of the classical sculptural styles has been to express an extraordinary combination of a sense of immense- Being beyond form with a deep sensuous and emotional appeal.
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