Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization

296 Pages·1946·37.792 MB·English

by  Heinrich Zimmer, Joseph Campbell (editor)

B O L L I N G E N S E R I E S V I
H E I N R I C H Z I M M E R
(1890-1943)
Works in English, completed and edited
by Joseph Campbell
1946
M Y T H S A N D S Y M B O L S I N
I N D I A N A R T A N D C I V I L I Z A T I O N
(BOLLINGEN SERIES VI)
1948
T H E K I N G A N D T H E C O R P S E
Tales of the SouFs Conquest of Evil
(BOLLINGEN SERIES XI)
1951
P H I L O S O P H I E S O F I N D I A
(BOLLINGEN SERIES XXVI)
1955
T H E A R T O F I N D I A N A S I A
Its Mythology and Transformations
IN TWO VOLUMES
(BOLLINGEN SERIES XXXIX)
H E I N R I C H Z I M M E R
MYTHS AND SYMBOLS
IN INDIAN ART
AND CIVILIZATION
EDITED BY JOSEPH CAMPBELL
B O L L I N G E N SERIES VI
P R I N C E T O N UNIVERSITY PRESS
Copyright i<)./6 by Bollingen Foundation, Washington, D. C.
Published by Princeton University Press,
Princeton, blew Jersey
THIS VOLUME IS THE SIXTH IN A SERIES
OF BOOKS SPONSORED BY BOLLINGEN FOUNDATION
First Princeton / Bollingen paperback printing, 2
Fifth hardcover printing, 19J2
Reprinted 1947, 1953, 196)
Harper Torchbooks paperback edition published 1962
Library of Congress Catalogue Card No. 46-714^
ISBN 0-691-01JJ8-6 (paperback edn.)
ISBN 0-69/-09S00-X (hardcover edn.)
Designed by Stefan Salter
Printed in the United States of America
All rights resented. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means in-
cluding information storage and retrieval systems without
permission in writing from the publisher, except by a re-
viewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
CONTENTS
List of Plates ix
I Eternity and Time
1. The Parade of Ants 3
2. The Wheel of Rebirth 11
3. The Wisdom of Life »9
II The Mythology of Vishnu
1. Vishnu's Maya 23
2. The Waters of Existence 27
3. The Waters of Non-Existence 35
4. Maya in Indian Art 53
III The Guardians of Life
1. The Serpent, Supporter of Vishnu and the
Buddha 59
2. Divinities and their Vehicles 69
3. The Serpent and the Bird
72
4. Vishnu as Conqueror of the Serpent
77
5. The Lotus 90
6. The Elephant 102
7. The Sacred Rivers 109
IV The Cosmic Delight of Shiva
1. The "Fundamental Form" and the "Playful
Manifestations" 123
2. The Phenomenon of Expanding Form 130
VII
3. Shiva-Shakti *37
4. The Great Lord 148
151
5. The Dance of Shiva
6. The Face of Glory ^75
i8
7. The Destroyer of the Three Towns 5
V The Goddess
1. The Origin of The Goddess 189
197
2. The Island of Jewels
217
VI Conclusion
223
Index
249
Plates
VIII
EDITOR'S FOREWORD
It was a great loss when Heinrich Zirnmer (1890-1943) died
suddenly of pneumonia, two years after his arrival in the United
States. He was at the opening of what would certainly have been
the most productive period of his career. Two bins of notes and
papers remained to testify to his rapidly maturing projects. The
lectures that he had been delivering at Columbia University were
roughly typed and arranged for conversion into books; a volume
on Hindu medicine was half completed; an introduction to the
study of Sanskrit had been outlined; a popular work on mythol-
ogy had been begun. Scraps of paper, scribbled in German, Eng-
lish, Sanskrit, and French, were sifted everywhere into the pages
of his library and files, suggesting articles to be written, research
work to be accomplished, even excursions to be made to specific
localities in India after the close of the war. He had quickly
adapted himself to the ways of his new country and was fired
with an eagerness to make his contribution to its intellectual
heritage. Hardly had he begun to find his stride, however, when,
suddenly stricken, he passed from full career to his death within
seven days.
The task of rescuing from oblivion as great a portion as
possible of the abruptly interrupted labors was taken up
immediately, MYTHS AND SYMBOLS IN INDIAN ART AND
CIVILIZATION is a reworking of the lecture course delivered
at Columbia University the winter term of 1942. The typewritten
notes had been supplemented in the classroom by impromptu
amplifications and illustrated by a series of over two hundred
Õ
lantern slides. Their transformation into a book demanded con-
siderable recomposition, re-arrangement, abridgments and
augmentation. Recollections of conversations with Dr. Zimmer
supplied most of the materials for this reconstruction. Where such
help was lacking, I turned to the authorities he most respected.
Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy very kindly supplied a number
of supplementary notes to complete the work. His additions have
been introduced in square brackets and initialed AKC; un-
doubtedly they would have met with the approval of Dr. Zimmer.
I am indebted to Dr. Coomaraswamy, also, for the print of Fig-
ure 55, and for many indispensable emendations throughout the
length of the text.
Since Dr. Zimmer had no need to fill his private papers with
such annotations, credits, and references as are necessary to a
published volume, a complicated task confronted the editor
when it came to tracking down the sources of the numerous
myths and illustrations. For valuable assistance I wish to thank
Dr. Marguerite Block of Columbia University, who helped select,
arrange, and identify the pictures, and who read an early draft
of the manuscript; Mr. and Mrs. Nasli Heeramaneck, who
enabled me to discover the sources of many of the photographs;
Dr. David Friedman, formerly of the University of Leyden,
whose suggestions guided me to the Sanskrit originals of several
of the myths; and Mrs. Peter Geiger, who performed a large por-
tion of the actual work of research, labored on the manuscript and
proofs, and took charge of a cumbersome burden of details.
Swami Nikhilananda opened his library and aided with advice.
Mrs. Margaret Wing reviewed the last two drafts of the manu-
script, prepared the index, and assisted with the proofs. Without
the generous co-operation of these friends, the work would not
have been accomplished. ^
New York City, October a8,194J
LIST OF PLATES*
1. Indra; veranda relief, Vihara at Bhaja, c. 200 B.C. (Johnston and
Hoffman, Calcutta.) See pp. 53, 120.
2. Indra; Jaina cave temple at Elura, c. 800 A.D. (The inlaid eyes,
etc., are additions of a later period.) See p. 56.
3. Vishnu reposing on Ananta; temple at Deogarh, c. 600 A.D.
(India Museum, Calcutta.) See pp. 6o, 66, 96.
4. Naga (Serpent Prince); among ruins of Buddhist university at
Nalanda, c. 600 A.D. See p. 62.
5. Naga (Serpent Prince) as door guardian; at Ruanweli Dagaba,
Anuradhapura, Ceylon, V-VIII centuries A.D. See pp. 65, 66.
6. Krishna (Vishnu) with Shri-LakshmI and Sarasvati; bronze, 9
feet high, from Bengal, c. 825 A.D. See p. 88.
7. Buddha protected by the Serpent Prince, Muchalinda; Cambodia,
XIV century A.D. (Photo: R. Gauthier, Paris.) See p. 66.
8. Nagakals (votary tablets with serpent forms); at Anekal, Mysore;
XVII-XVIII centuries A.D. See p. 72.
g. Garudas and Nagas; balustrade from Siam, XII-XIV centuries
A.D. See p. 76.
10. Assur on animal-vehicle; relief from Assyria, c. VII century B.C.
See p. 70.
11. Sacrificial goblet of King Gudea of Lagash, showing twined ser-
pents and bird-monsters as door guardians; Sumer, c. 2600 B.C.
(Louvre, Paris.) See p. 73.
• The sources for a number of Dr. Zimmer's photographs could not be ascer-
tained. The Editor regrets that these have to be presented without due credit.
12. Vishnu's Boar Avatar (varaha avatara) rescuing the Earth God-
dess; colossal sandstone relief at Udayagiri, Gwalior, 440 A.D.
(Burgess.) See p. 79.
13. Vislinu Avatar: The Deliverance of the Elephant King; relief in
temple at Deogarh, IV-VI centuries A.D. (Burgess.) See p. 77.
14. Krishna (Vishnu) conquering the Serpent Prince, Kaliya; Rajput
painting, Kangra, late XVIII century. (Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Nezu York.) See p. 85.
15. Padma (the goddess "Lotus") with attendant elephants; decora-
tion from ruined Stupa at Bharhut II-I centuries B.C. See pp.
1
92, 103.
16. Winged Goddess; terracotta from Basarh, III century B.C. See
P- 92·
17. Ganga (the goddess "Ganges") ; black steatite image from Bengal
(partial view) , XII century A.D. (Rajshahi Museum; Photo
Kramrisch.) Seep. 110.
18. Padmapani (the Bodhisattva "Lotus in Hand," or Avalokitesh-
vara) ; copper image from Nepal, IX century A.D. (Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston.) See p. 97.
19. Tree Goddess (vriksa-devata) ; from ruins of Stupa-balustrade at
Bharhut, II-I centuries B.C. (Indian Museum, Calcutta. Photo:
India Office.) See pp. 69, 70.
20. Prajnaparamita; Java, c. 1225 A.D.; (Ethnographic Museum,
Leyden: Photo, van Oest.) See p. 98.
21-23. Seals in steatite, showing animal forms and undeciphered in-
scriptions; from Mohenjo-Daro (Indus Civilization), 3000-2000
B.C. (Archaeological Survey of India.) See p. 94.
24. Nude Goddess, terracotta (height 4 inches); Mohenjo-Daro
(Indus Civilization), 3000-2000 B.C. (Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston.) See p. 96.
25. Stone Lingam from Mohenjo-Daro (Indus Civilization), 3000-
2000 B.C. (Archacological Survey of India.) See pp. 96, 126.