Wonder That Was Himalayan Art
This paper mainly attempts to highlight the Himalayan contribution in the aesthetic expression and artistic creativity which is so enormous but unfortunately until now it has not appropriately been surmised. Throbbing with the naivety and solemnity, Himalayan Art in its medieval epoch reached the soaring heights and prompted many art styles in Central Asia and Tibet. This paper reasonably focuses western Himalayas since it occupies liaison between South Asia and the West, which has strong bearing on the material culture and art. Most of the material evidences supporting the hypothesis have been discovered by the author during his three decades long fieldwork in the remote region.
Himalayan Mountains are the icon of India’s glorious entity. High aesthetic concept of Indian society is interwoven with Himalayas. Himalayas are source of naivety; austerity and spirituality from the very outset of Indian civilisation Himalayas have commanded a significant position in cultural life of the people of Indian subcontinent. Himalayas have provided India a natural rampart for protection from north at the same time offered safer liaison between India and the western world. Himalayas have witnessed mass exodus of people from both the sides and preserved the evidences of rich material culture as remains of Diasporas. Especially the Transhimalayan region of Ladakh, Zanskar, Lahaul‑Spiti and Kinnaur forming a frontier districts of India on International boundary with Pakistan and Peoples Republic of China, popularly known as cold desert of India or Land of Snow are rich repository of art heritage about which very little is known. The region has been once the part of Western Tibetan Empire including Guge, Zhang‑Zhung Purig, Demehok, Rudak and Purang, all presently being part of Tibet the autonomous region of PRC. (Frarncke 1914: 94‑95). The history of Western Tibet prior to the tenth century is not known only Ladakh is often mentioned as a border post in peripheral manner in the history of India. References of the Buddhist missionary activities in Ladakh during the period Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (Waddell 1895: 43) and Kushan King Kanislika (Cunningham. 1970: 31757) are known through scattered inscriptional evidences reported from the Ladakh and Karakoram region and also from Buddhist text. Unfortunately, much about the state of Buddhism in the region prior to the tenth century is not known. Similarly, no particular indigenous art tradition seems to have existed in Western Tibet prior to the second spread of Buddhism. The earliest relics of religious art, the colossal relief sculptures of Buddhist deities are found at Mulbek and Parkatse in Ladakh region, they date from the seventh century and reflect distinct features of Kashmiri tradition.
After the collapse of Central Tibetan power, Skyid Nyimagon (920 C E),a prince of the Yarlung dynasty escaped the political turmoil of Lhasa and established a new kingdom in the region of Kailash Manasarovar in the western part of Tibet bordering ancient kingdoms of Kashmir and Kangra. The crowned princes of this newly established Western Tibetan Empire (tib. gNaris Khorsum) in the tenth century felt an urgent need to reform socio-political and cultural affairs of the landlocked country by re‑establish Buddhism and close cultural contacts with Kashmir-the most developed and living centre of Buddhism of those days. This contact brought a new visual culture in the inner Himalayas banking on Kashmiri aesthetical paradigms and art prototypes initially and later matured into an expression appropriately ascribed as Indo-Tibetan.
The period of revivalism of Buddhism from tenth to twelfth century in attributed as the renaissance in Western Tibet when under the royal patronage of king Yesheod (950 – 1040 CE) and spiritual guidance of Rinchenzangpo (958 – 1050 CE) a vital movement of temple building and translation of the Sanskrit texts into Tibetan language started (Francke 1914: Part I, 50 ff; Tucci 1949: vol.1, 272). Tibetan chronicles record that novices from Western Tibet used to go to Kashmir for education in Buddhist theology. Rinchenzango, the translator (Tib. Lotsava), was sent to the Buddhist centres of Kashmir for education where he spent seventeen years. On his return to Western Tibet he brought with him a group of forty-two gifted Kashmiri artisans including painters, sculptors and carpenters for construction and decoration of the temples (Tucci 1949:vol.1, 272). It is said that Rinchenzangpo constructed about one hundred and eight temples and decorated them with beautiful art objects, for this he obtained the services of the Kashmiri artisans who introduced the art of painting, sculpting, casting and carving of their own Kashmiri tradition of the period in Western Tibet (Tucci and Ghersi 1935: VIII). His biographies mention construction of twenty one important temples and renovation of many as popularly counting up to the auspicious number of hundred and eight.
Western Himalayan region as considered the hub of geo-cultural activities only made noticeable presence in the realm of real Himalayan art style with the second diffusion of Buddhism that too under the guidance of Lotsava Rinchenzangpo of Guge. He himself was an artist probably painter and contemporary of Kshemendra the famous poet of Kashmir. It is documented that many associates of Kshemendra were commissioned in western Tibet for translation of Kashmiri texts (Tucci 1980: 36-47), as the name of several are found in dedicatory inscriptions on the commemorative metal images (A K Singh 1994:106-10). The image of Padmapani(Plate. 2), a unique art work rediscovered by the author in 1988 represents aesthetic classicism of Kashmir that was brewed by Kshemendra in poetics and rendered in plastic form by the contemporaneous artists.
The growth of Buddhism in Western Tibet offered better prospects and opportunities to the Kashmiri artists when in their own homeland needed patronage declined day by day. The early temples in Western Tibet yield Kashmiri prototypes in abundance. This attests the tremendous demand of the Kashmiri artists particularly between tenth to twelfth centuries to fulfil the vacuum of ritual art objects as by then no ready local artists were available. Tucci's discovery of Mangnang wall paintings in ninety forties is an outstanding achievement which opens up new vistas of the Kashmiri paintings of bygone centuries, about which our knowledge was too little until the discovery of wall paintings and illustrated manuscript from Western Tibetan Temples. These paintings are attributed to have been created in the tenth‑eleventh century by Kashmiri painters (Tucci 1949: Vol.1, 272). The date assigned to paintings seems very reasonable as the paintings show further development continuation of the Kashmir tradition that 'was characterized in the painting 'on the, book covers of Gilgit manuscripts dated to the ninth century. (Banerjee 1968:117). Stylistic study of the Kashmiri art objects dating from 9th to llth‑12th century represents a commingling of late Gupta tradition of Eastern and' Western India with the indigenous local elements largely based on Gandharan tradition.
The parallel examples of the Mangnang paintings are found in the temples of Alchi and Mangyu in Ladakh, Sumda Chenmo in Zanskar, Tabo and Lhalung in Spiti and Nako in Kinnaur. In general all the examples belong to one and the same tradition and period with slight variation of execution. Most possibly, it is due to various hands employed at works.
The miniature wall paintings in the old temples of Alchi resonate with the same mediaeval Kashmiri tradition that is characterized in the paintings of Mangnang. Murals of Alchi can be ascribed as the best specimens of medieval miniature painting since there are many valid reasons to believe that Kashmir played an important role in the formation of Mughal miniature school. Painting of the goddess Prajnaparmita(Plate.1) displays excellence of draftsmanship, rendering of plastic form, meticulous execution of fine details and lucid expression what designates this type a superb style. The figure exemplifies a peculiar Kashmiri penchant for slim, well proportionate but sensuous bodily forms with illuminating the contours‑some times through the tight fitting and translucent costumes. Another important typical Kashmiri feature lies in the delineation of abdominal muscle and slightly corpulent belly by skilled modelling with naturalism which is distinct in the examples under discussion. The facial type in this period appears ovaloid and slightly chubby with slightly exaggerated double chin, high arched eyebrows, summarized but full lips and prominent nose.
In the paintings we observe the projection of one eye from the profile of half turned faces. This appears to be a. characteristic feature of the mediaeval Kashmiri paintings like elsewhere in Indian paintings. The eyes, in the Kashmiri art of post Karkota period are depicted always narrow and slanting. Apart from anatomical details meticulous rendering of very fine and naturalistic details of costumes and ornaments observed in the Kashmiri art examples of tenth and eleventh century is perhaps matchless.
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One of the examples of wall paintings from the temple of Nako in Kinnaur (formerly a province of Western Tibetan empire) in Himachal Pradesh is being produced for the first time. The painted figure represents Bodhisattava Manjushree. Stylistically, this figure belongs to the same tradition discussed above. The painting suffers a severe damage, yet it presents beautiful examples of immense modelling of body with fair naturalism. The painting may be dated to the eleventh century.
The wall paintings in the temple of Vairochana in Sumda Chenmo village of Zanskar appear to be painted by the same group of artists who painted at Alchi. Local tradition asserts that the temples of Sumda Chenmo were built contemporary with Alchi. The general style of the painting at Suinda Chenmo presents a very close affinity with that of Alchi. Although, Sumda Chenmo is not as grand as Alchi and paintings are in poorer state of preservation. The figure of flying Apsara bears a distinct relationship with the same figures of Alchi in her stylistic delineation.
Besides the wall paintings, the temple of Avalokiteshvara in Sumda Chenmo yields important wooden statues and carvings. One of the best survived examples of carving is a pillar capital of front porch of the temple. The capital is adorned with a tiny figure of Maitreya who is easily identified by his attribute, the water pot. Similar type of wooden objects from Tholing Tsparang, Tabo and Alchi have been published by Dr. Francke, Tucci and later by Snellgrove and dated in the 10th‑11th century. The scholars have indisputably accepted these wooden carvings and sculptures to have originated from the Kashmir School of tenth‑eleventh century.
The most interesting item acquired from the temple is a three feet high figure of a Bodhisattva. The image is missing its both the arms and part of nimbus. The well‑proportionate body of the deity is carefully modelled with natural treatment. The figure is shown standing with suggestive flections of body on a lotus pedestal. The anatomical details as modelling of chest and abdominal muscles and facial type relate this work to the mediaeval Kashmiri tradition perceptible in the Kashmiri bronzes of ninth to eleventh century (Pal 1977: Plates 45, 52; Tucci 1973: Plate 128).
The most imposing group of wooden statues was discovered by me in the debris of a ruined Bodhisattva temple in Sumda Chenmo village of Zanskar valley. This group contains ten badly damaged wooden sculptures of Buddhist deities varying in size from one foot to nine feet in height. The figures are lying in open air and left to face hazard of severe climate of the Trans Himalayas. The plastic quality, refinement in chiselling and naturally sinuous contours of the sculptures imparts an indisputable indication of their origin from the mediaeval Kashmiri style as the prototypes can be seen evolving right from the time point of Ushkur and Akhnoor until Avantipura. In all probability the timber images might have been imported from Kashmir region since it has been a throbbing centre of wood working during medieval period in the western Himalayas (Goetz 1955:112).
Decaying treasure of Sumda Chenmo and the size of images suggest that the Kashmiri wood carvers with other artisans were commissioned to work in Sumda Chenmo. Local tradition informs that the temple of Sumda Chenmo was built by Rinchenzangpo prior to the construction of Dukhang and Sumtsek temples of Alchi. Typologically, the wooden sculptures sow strong affinity with those stuccoes and carvings dated to eleventh century at Alchi, and elsewhere in western Himalayas e.g. Bharmaur, Chhatrari, Tabo etc.
One of the examples clipped up in the paper presents a figure about three and half feet in height, standing in slight poised posture, holding long stalk lotus and water pot (Plate. 3). This figure can be identified as Maitreya an identical representation in better preserved art piece is polychrome wooden image of Padmapani(Plate. 4) from the Buddhist temple of Ropa in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh(earlier part of western Tibetan province). The image previous is badly defaced yet it preserved some fine details. The identification of the image with Bodhisattava Maitreya is corroborated by a little stupa adorning his crown. All the four arms of the deity are missing or damaged. The facial type of the figure confirms its origin in the Kashmiri tradition. The plastic quality and refinement of carving reinforced by the artisans in the statues suggest as they were done in the stucco medium.
The figure of Padmapani presents a sturdy and sound built of bodily form with natural modelling of the chest and abdominal muscle. Stylistically, this figure belongs to the same Kashimiri traditional of tenth‑eleventh century or it may be dated slightly earlier in the eight‑ninth century on the basis of its close affinity with the Karkota idioms. From the above discussion it can be concluded that since the time of introduction of Buddhism in Western Tibet. Kashmir was the source of religion and its art. Later in the time of resurgence of Buddhism during the tenth to twelfth century western Tibet was almost totally dependent on Kashmir. From first century of Christian era Kashmir seemed to establish its cultural and political hegemony in western Himalayas which culminated during the regime of Karakot and Utpala dynasty. It was mediaeval Kashmir which provided teachers, artists, and ritual‑objects even material to cater the religious and cultural needs of far-flung areas in Himalayas and even beyond in Tibet and Central Asia and acclaimed supper culture power in the Himalayan world.
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Department of History of Art
BHU
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