Adhikaranandi ‐ அதிகாரநந்தி

Bronze figure from the Thanjavur Art Gallery.

Description

Adhikaranandi has as usual four hands, the upper with axe and antelope (missing) and the lower folded in anjali, with a flower garland or rosary between.

A high jata-makuta decorated with a chandrakala, serpent, dhattura and flower, siraschakra behind, locks of hair in nine ringlets behind, makara-kundala in the right ear and patra-kundala in the left, flower garlands on either shoulder, streamer (skandhamala) on either shoulder, four necklaces, a yajnopavita of three stands and a fourth strand branching away, ornamental udara-bandha, keyura, baji-bandha, wristlets, ardhoraka with waist girdle, and simha-mukha clasp, and a row of loops with bifurcated central tassels flowing over each thigh, the pleat of the kachcha at the back, padasara and an elaborate row of six anklets for each ankle are the decorative features of this specimen of formalised art of the Vijayanagara artists of the 14th Century A.D.

Devi stands by his side in tribhanga with the right hand in kataka and the left hanging like govala.

A high karanda-makuta with siraschakra (a round flower only) and eight locks of ringlets behind, makara-kundalas in both ears, a floral streamlet on either shoulder, five necklaces – one of wich is the tali, a sash-like yajnopavita, three lines on the abdomen (triveli), highly ornate angada, a simple baji-bandha, three wristlets, padasaras, a highly ornate undergarment with drapery marked and lines incised, makara clasp, pleats of the cloth on the left side, median loop and tasselled edge hanging vertically are the decorative features of this Devi, who has also to be classed as early Vijayanagara.

The palm and the fingers of the left hand are out of proportion. The sculptor has exaggerated the govala specification of the dhyana.

The beak-like nose; the ornate drapery, the high karanda-makuta and the conventional siraschakra, coupled with the three lines on the abdomen, clearly indicate a Vijayanagara period.

The images stands on two separate padmapitham attached to a single bhadrapitham, with tenons, rings and holes for attachment in their processional rounds.¹

Informations

Acc. No.: 48, 49

Century: 14-15th CE

Place of discovery: Tirumullaivasal

Taluk: Sirkali

District: Nagapattinam

State: Tamil Nadu

Country: India

Exhibition Location: Thanjavur Art Gallery

Height: Nandi in Siva form: 91 cm with pedestal, 79 cm without pedestal; Devi: 84 cm with pedestal, 64 cm without pedestal

Breadth: no information about the breadth

Weight: Nandi in Siva form: 39.4 kg; Devi: 25.15 kg (Pitham: 16.675 kg)

Pictures

Adhikaranandi (Nandi in Siva form)

Adhikaranandi (Devi)

Map