Praise, Politics, and Language: South Indian Murals, 1500-1800 Anna Lise Seastrand Submitted in ...

376 Pages·2013·19.3 MB·English

by  Anna Seastrand

Praise, Politics, and Language: South Indian Murals, 1500-1800

Anna Lise Seastrand

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

2013
© 2013
Anna Lise Seastrand
All rights reserved
ABSTRACT

Praise, Politics, and Language: South Indian Murals, 1500-1800
Anna Lise Seastrand

This study of mural painting in southern India aims to change the received narrative of
painting in South Asia not only by bringing to light a body of work previously understudied and
in many cases undocumented, but by showing how that corpus contributes vitally to the study of
South Indian art and history. At the broadest level, this dissertation reworks our understanding
of a critical moment in South Asian history that has until recently been seen as a period of
decadence, setting the stage for the rise of colonial power in South Asia. Militating against the
notion of decline, I demonstrate the artistic, social, and political dynamism of this period by
documenting and analyzing the visual and inscriptional content of temple and palace murals
donated by merchants, monastics, and political elites.
The dissertation consists of two parts: documentation and formal analysis, and semantic
and historical analysis. Documentation and formal analysis of these murals, which decoarate the
walls and ceilings of temples and palaces, are foundational for further art historical study. I
establish a rubric for style and date based on figural typology, narrative structure, and the way in
which text is incorporated into the murals. I clarify the kinds of narrative structures employed by
the artists, and trace how these change over time. Finally, I identify the three most prevalent
genres of painting: narrative, figural (as portraits and icons), and topographic. One of the
outstanding features of these murals, which no previous scholarship has seriously considered, is
that script is a major compositional and semantic element of the murals. By the eighteenth
century, narrative inscriptions in the Tamil and Telugu languages, whose scripts are visually
distinct, consistently framed narrative paintings. For all of the major sites considered in this
dissertation, I have transcribed and translated these inscriptions. Establishing a rubric for analysis
of the pictorial imagery alongside translations of the text integrated into the murals facilitates my
analysis of the function and iconicity of script, and application of the content of the inscriptions
to interpretation of the paintings. My approach to text, which considers inscriptions to be both
semantically and visually meaningful, is woven into a framework of analysis that includes ritual
context, patronage, and viewing practices. In this way, the dissertation builds an historical
account of an understudied period, brings to light a new archive for the study of art in South
Asia, and develops a new methodology for understanding Nāyaka-period painting.
Chapters Three, Four, and Five each elaborate on one of the major genres identified in
Chapter Two: narrative, figural, and topographic painting. My study of narrative focuses on the
most popular genre of text produced at this time, talapurāṇam (Skt. sthalapurāṇa), as well as
hagiographies of teachers and saints (guruparamparā). Turning to figural depiction, I take up the
subject of portraiture. My study provides new evidence of the active patronage by merchants,
religious and political elites through documentation and analysis of previously unrecorded donor
inscriptions and donor portraits. Under the rubric of topographic painting I analyze the
representation of sacred sites joined together to create entire sacred landscapes mapped onto the
walls and ceilings of the temples. Such images are closely connected to devotional (bhakti)
literature that describes and praises these places and spaces. The final chapter of the dissertation
proposes new ways of understanding how the images were perceived and activated by their
contemporary audiences. I argue that the kinesthetic experience of the paintings is central to their
concept, design, and function.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Figure List iii

Note on Transliteration and Translation vii

Major Sites: Names, Dates and Style Groups viii

Acknowledgements xii

Chapter 1 – Historiography, Style, and Plan of the Dissertation 1

Historiography of Nāyaka Painting 2

Proposal of Style Groups 6

Historical Background 18

Patronage and the Nāyaka temple 24

The Nāyaka Temple : Space, Place, and Practice 30

Plan of the Dissertation 35

Chapter 2 – Style, Typology, and the Role of Text in Nāyaka-period Murals 41

Painting Typologies of the Nāyaka Period 42

Narrative 44

Figures: Iconic and Portrait 59

Topographic 76

Text 97

Conclusions 99

Chapter 3 - Visual Narratives and Nāyaka Murals: Talapurāṇic, Bhakti, And Hagiographic
Texts 102

The texts: Talapurāṇam, Bhakti Poetry, and Guruparamparā 103

Sites and Saints at Tiruppuṭaimarutūr 113

Position 2 116

Position 7 119

Position 10 120

Position 15 122

Texts and Temples in the Nāyaka Period 124

Talapurāṇam and Maṭam Patronage at Maṭavār Vaḷākam 126

Talapurāṇam and Hagiography at Āḻvār Tirunakari 140

The West Ceiling 146

The North Ceiling 146

The East Ceiling 148

Conclusion 157

Chapter 4 - Patrons and Portraits 160

Defining South Indian Portraiture: Text and Image 161

Āvuṭaiyārkōvil – Royal Patronage 164

Kanchipuram Kāmakōṭi Kāmākṣi Amman Temple 167

Kailasa 175

Maṭavār Vaḷākam – Maṭam Patronage 179

Nattam – Merchant Patronage 184

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Donor Inscriptions 186

Portraits 189

A Royal Goddess and her Devotees 192

Conclusion 200

Chapter 5 – Topographies: Representing Space and Place 204

Bhakti at Āḻvār Tirunakari: Divya Desams and Divya Prabhandam 207

Networks and Patronage: pāṭal peṟṟa talams and Tēvāram at Avuṭaiyarkōvil 214

The Cosmic Body of God: a Unique Viśvarūpa at Atiyamāṉkōṭṭai 224

Svarga - Celestial Space 227

Prithvī – Terrestrial Space 231

Pātāla – Subterranean Space 240

Conclusion 245

Epilogue: Murals as Performance through Participation 248

Works Cited 257

Figures 276

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FIGURE LIST

Figure 1. Vīrabhadra Temple, Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh
Figure 2. Chennakesava Temple, Somappalle, Karnataka
Figure 3. Vīrabhadra Temple, Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh
Figure 4. Cennakeśava Temple, Somappalle, Andhra Pradesh
Figure 5. Figure detail, Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 6. Courtly figures, Vīrabhadra Temple, Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh
Figure 7. Tēṉupurīsvara Temple, Paṭṭīccaram
Figure 8. South prākāra wall, Tēṉupurīsvara Temple, Paṭṭīccaram
Figure 9. Vēnukōpāla Pārtasārati Temple, Ceṅkam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 10. Cennarāya Perumāḷ temple, Atiyamāṉkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 11. Rāmānuja cries hearing Yadavaprakasha's explication; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 12. Ramalingavilasam, Ramanatapuram, Tamil Nadu
Figure 13. Piḷḷais, Kanchipuram Kamakshi Temple, Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Tirupperundurai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 14. Naṭarāja Temple, Citamparam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 15. Aḻakar Kōvil, Tamil Nadu
Figure 16. Vijayanagara Empire at its greatest extent, mid-16th century; Image credit:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vijayanagara-empire-map.svg
Figure 17. Map of sites
Figure 18. Rāma and Tāṭakai; Cennakeśava Temple, Somappalle, Andhra Pradesh
Figure 19. Tāṭakai, detail; Cennakeśava Temple, Somappalle, Andhra Pradesh
Figure 20. Rāma and Tāṭakai; Rāmalingavilasam, Rāmanathapuram
Figure 21. Tāṭakai, detail; Rāmalingavilasam, Rāmanathapuram
Figure 22. Maṇikkavācakar Narrative Panel; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimarudūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 23. Māṇikkavācakar narrative, detail; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 24. Māṇikkavācakar narrative, detail; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 25. Māṇikkavācakar narrative, detail; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 26. Māṇikkavācakar narrative, detail; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 27. Māṇikkavācakar narrative, detail; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 28. Rāmāyaṇa narrative; Pirakatāmpāḷ Temple, Putukkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 29. Rāmāyaṇa narrative; Pirakatāmpāḷ Temple, Putukkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 30. Rāmāyaṇa narrative; Pirakatāmpāḷ Temple, Putukkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 31. Rāmāyaṇa narrative; Pirakatāmpāḷ Temple, Putukkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 32. Rāmāyaṇa narrative; Pirakatāmpāḷ Temple, Putukkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 33. Gajalaksmi; Tēṉupurīsvara Temple, Paṭṭīccaram
Figure 34. Bhairava; Tēṉupurīsvara Temple, Paṭṭīccaram
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Figure 35. Ñanambikai; Tēṉupurīsvara Temple, Paṭṭīccaram
Figure 36. Dakṣiṇāmūrti; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimarudūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 37. Daśāvatāra; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 38. Bhadrakali and Ardhanarisvara; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimarudūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 39. Nammāḻvār; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 40. Viṣṇu teaches the Prabhandam to Nammāḻvār and Madura Kavi; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari,
Tamil Nadu
Figure 41. Nammāḻvār; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 42. East wall; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 43. Rāma Enthroned;Vēnukōpāla Pārtasārati Temple, Ceṅkam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 44. Rāma Enthroned; Cennarāya Perumāḷ temple, Atiyamāṉkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 45. Rama Enthroned; Rāmalingavilāsam, Ramanatapuram
Figure 46. Rāma Enthroned; Tāṇumālayaṉ temple, Suchindram, Tamil Nadu
Figure 47. Rāma Enthroned, detail; Tāṇumālayaṉ temple, Suchindram, Tamil Nadu
Figure 48. Rāma Enthroned, detail; Tāṇumālayaṉ temple, Suchindram, Tamil Nadu
Figure 49. Siva Talams, Floor 1; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 50. Jampukēśvara Temple; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 51. Nellaiyappar Temple; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 52. Kuṟṟālanātar Temple; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 53. Mīnākṣi-Cuntarēśvara Temple; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 54. Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 55. Topographic image of Aḻakar Kōvil; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 56. Topographic image of Tiruvānaikkā; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 57. Topographic image of Tiruvānaikkā; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 58. Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Tirupperundurai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 59. Schematic topographic image; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 60. Schematic image of Madurai Mīnakṣi Temple; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 61. Schematic image of Citamparam; Naṭarāja Temple, Citamparam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 62. Schematic image of Citamparam; Naṭarāja Temple, Citamparam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 63. Schematic image of Tāyumānavar Temple, Tiruchirappalli; Rāmalingavilāsam, Ramanatapuram
Figure 64. Devottee; Rāmalingavilāsam, Ramanatapuram
Figure 65. Gopura Interior; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimarudūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 66. Māṇikkavācakar narrative, detail; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 67. Māṇikkavācakar narrative, detail; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 68. Campantar Narrative; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 69. Siva Talams;Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 70. Srī Raṅkam Temple; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
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Figure 71. Siva Talams; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 72. Sri Vedapurīśvara Temple, Tiruvottūr; Nārumpūnātasvāmi Temple, Tiruppuṭaimārutūr, Tamil Nadu
Figure 73. Scheme of Murals Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 74. Mt. Kailas; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 75. Sūrya Tiruviḷaiyaṭal; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 76. Sūrya Tiruviḷaiyaṭal; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 77. Sūrya Tiruviḷaiyaṭal; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 78. Sūrya Tiruviḷaiyaṭal; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 79. Durvāsa Tiruviḷaiyāṭal; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 80. Durvāsa requests the boon of peace, Durvāsa Tiruviḷaiyāṭal; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam,
Tamil Nadu
Figure 81. Durvāsa Tiruviḷaiyāṭal, detail; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 82. Raising a festival flag, det.; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 83. Maṇṭapa crossing with festival procession mural
Figure 84. Plan of Nammāḻvār shrine and wall images Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 85. Plan of Nammāḻvār shrine and wall images Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 86. Nāthamuni visits Śrī Raṅkam; East ceiling, Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 87. Nāthamuni and the ācāryas, East ceiling; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 88. Rāmānuja and Kanchipurna, East ceiling; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 89. Rāmānuja studies with the ācāryas, East ceiling; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 90. Rāmānuja gives the Tiruvāymoḻi to Yadaprakasha, East ceiling; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil
Nadu
Figure 91. Nammāḻvār gives a text to Rāmānuja, East ceiling; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 92. Madura Kavi, North Wall; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunākari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 93. Tēvāram order of temple paintings; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Āvuṭaiyārkōvil
Figure 94. Kanchipuram Kamakshi Temple; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Āvuṭaiyārkōvil
Figure 95. Ascetics, Kanchipuram Kamakshi Temple; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Āvuṭaiyārkōvil
Figure 96. Toṇṭaimān Rājas, Kanchipuram Kamakshi Temple; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Āvuṭaiyārkōvil
Figure 97. Piḷḷais, Kanchipuram Kamakshi Temple; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Āvuṭaiyārkōvil
Figure 98. Rishis, Devas, Apsaras, and Rājas Praise Kailasanathar; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Tirupperundurai, Tamil
Nadu
Figure 99. Apsaras; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Tirupperundurai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 100. Inscription of Rajas' names; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Tirupperundurai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 101. Donor Inscription, Register 1; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 102. Donor Inscription, Register 2; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 103. Donor Inscription, Register 3; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 104. Donor Inscription, Register 4; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
Figure 105. Donor Inscription, Register 4; Vaittiyanātar Temple, Maṭavārvaḷākam, Tamil Nadu
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Figure 106. Scheme of Mural Paintings; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 107. Political elite and paṇṭāram; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 108. Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 109. Cokkalinga Naidu Sada…; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 110. Ramachandra Sadasiva; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 111. Goddess and devotees; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 112. Portrait figures; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 113. Royal Portraits; Ramalingavilasam, Ramanatapuram
Figure 114. Goddess with ceṅkōl; Kailasanathar Temple, Nattam Kōvilpaṭṭi, Tamil Nadu
Figure 115. Mīnākṣī gives the ceṅkōl to Mangammāḷ; Mīnākṣī-Cuntarēśvara Temple, Madurai
Figure 116. Rajarajesvari; Ramalingavilasam, Ramanatapuram
Figure 117. Rajarajesvari gives the ceṅkōl to the Setupati raja; Ramalingavilasam, Ramanatapuram
Figure 118. Māliruñcōlai; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunakari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 119. Arimēya Viṇṇakaram; Ātinātar temple, Āḻvār Tirunakari, Tamil Nadu
Figure 120. Tēvāram order of temple paintings; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Tirupperundurai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 121. Mount Kailasa; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Tirupperundurai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 122. Śiva on Kailasa; Ātmanātasvāmi Temple, Tirupperundurai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 123. Viśvarūpa, Cennarāya Perumāḷ temple, Atiyamāṉkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu. Taken from Neena Ranjan,
Vishvarūpa : Paintings on the Cosmic Form of Krishna-Vāsudeva. New Delhi: Aryan Books International,
2008. p. 120-121.
Figure 124. Scheme of cosmic paintings; Cennarāya Perumāḷ temple, Atiyamāṉkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 125. Svarga, detail; Cennarāya Perumāḷ temple, Atiyamāṉkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 126. Prithvī; Cennarāya Perumāḷ temple, Atiyamāṉkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu
Figure 127. Pātāla; Cennarāya Perumāḷ temple, Atiyamāṉkōṭṭai, Tamil Nadu

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