Sunday, January 31, 2010

Madanikas of Chennakeshava Temple, Belur - Part 3

Madanika 12: ..the one with the lizard. Wall 7

Madanika 12 W6
..well, the lore behind this one is not so much about the dancer, but the small lizard that’s at the level of her face.
the lizard is clearly visibly, but what is not is what it’s doing.
Madanika 12a W6


 
 


..the lizard is going after a fly, which is in turn sitting on a jackfruit – supposedly signifying the circle of life.

 

 

 

Madanika 13: with the rudraveena Wall 7

Madanika 13 W7
…no real tale on this one. Just holding a rudraveena. A rudraveena is a type of veena, a stringed musical instrument.







 

 

Madanika 14: with a mirror Wall 7

Madanika 14 W7












Madanika 15:  Wall 8

Madanika 15 W8

Madanika 16: Shooting birds. Wall 8

Madanika 16 W8
This madanika is aiming for some birds.


Madanika 16a W8









If one looks closely, the bird seems to shielding two chicks from the hunter – as the guide will happily tell you of how a mother’s love for her children is dearer to her than her life. 
 

 

 

Madanika 17:  Wall 9

Madanika 16 W9

 This is a drummer with a moustache and a beard – with an almost impish smile.




 

 

 

Madanika 18 & 19: Wall 27

Madanika 17 W27

Madanika 18 W27-28






 

 

 

Madanika 20 & 21: Wall 28

Madanika 19 W28

Madanika 20 W28












This one has a scull sceptre in her hand… and I see a recurrence of this at a few places on the temple. Not sure what that means though.

 

 

Wall Reference:

chennakeshava temple belur wall numbering
Part 2 of this post.

1 comment:

  1. On the narsimha pillar, i also noticed one of the madnikas holding a telescope like instrument and looking upwards towards sky. This is in the top most section of the pillar.

    ReplyDelete