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The Somaskanda theme originated when the Pallava kings of the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. made a distinct effort to integrate the worship of Siva with that of the Devi cult and the Murugan cult. In the Somaskanda panels carved in relief on stone, and in later Somaskanda bronzes, these three deities are shown as a family group. Siva and Uma are portrayed sitting on a throne with their son, Murugan, in the form of the young child, Skanda, between them. The term "Somaskanda" (sa-Uma-Skanda), translated into English, literally means, "with Uma and Skanda".
Ordinarily, in Saivite temples, where the main object of worship is the linga, no anthropomorphic form of the deity, either in painting or in carving, appears in the sanctum. However, in the Pallava period the custom was different. The carved Somaskanda panel is commonly found on the back inner wall of the sanctums of their Saivite temples. This practice was not continued by later dynasties. So as a rule of thumb, we can say that, if a Saivite temple has a sculptured panel in its sanctum, almost certainly it is a temple of the Pallava period.
In earlier articles ("Sunday Standard", Feb. 14 and 23, 1971) we have, on the basis of an analysis of the dress and ornaments of sculpted figures, established two distinct styles for the Pallava Somaskanda panels. The earlier style we have called "pre-Rajasimha" and the later style "Rajasimha", after the eighth century Pallava ruler whose identified temples have a total of around forty Somaskanda panels in them.
We know of only two examples of the pre-Rajasimha style Somaskanda. One of them is found in the third-level sanctum of the Dharmaraja Ratha, at Mahabalipuram. The other, which is on the back wall of the central cell of the Ramanuja Mandapam cave temple, has been destroyed. Only a rough outline of the figures remains.
The Somaskanda panel in the third-level shrine at the Dharmaraja Ratha, therefore, is unique in that it is the only well preserved Somaskanda which is of a distinctly pre-Rajasimha style. Therefore it is the earliest extant Somaskanda.
There are some interesting details of the Ratha's Somaskanda. In this panel, Siva, as indicated by his attitude, is imparting words of wisdom, and Uma is bending the tip of her right ear with her fore-finger so as to catch every word. There is a figure of a bird which is carved in light relief immediately above Siva's upper left hand. This is most probably the cock standard of Skanda, but the details are indistinct.
Some of the characteristics which distinguish this earliest of Somaskanda panels from all of the later ones of Rajasimha-style are as follows:--
In the panel, above Siva and Uma, hover two ganas (a male and a female) holding fly-whisks. In separate niches on either side of the Somaskanda panel, Brahma and Vishnu are shown standing in respectful poses. Uma is seated in profile facing in Siva's direction with her back against the side edge of the panel's border. She has her left hand in front of her, holding Skanda's waist. Siva sits in a royal pose, his left leg resting horizontally on the throne, his right leg down. His lower left hand rests clenched on his thigh, and his lower right forearm is held vertically, close to his chest, with fingers in the position of holding an object, such as a flower, though the carving is indistinct in this respect.
Rajasimha style
On the other hand, more than forty examples of the Rajasimha-style Pallava Somaskanda panels have survived. One of the finest of these, and one which is easily accessible to the public, is the panel in the west-facing sanctum of the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram. In all of the Rajasimha-style panels, with virtually no exception, the following characteristics can be seen and each of these characteristics is different from its corresponding one in the Dharmaraja Ratha's pre-Rajasimha style Somaskanda:
Uma has turned to the front and, therefore, she now supports her body gracefully with her left arm. Because she has turned to the front, her back does not rest against the niche's edge. Siva's lower left hand rests in his lap. This is a meditative pose. (The Buddha is shown most commonly with both of his hands in this "dhyana mudra".) Siva holds his right forearm horizontally away from his body with his fingers In the position of holding something, though no object is actually shown. Siva's left leg is down, which becomes a standard feature of all the Rajasimha-style panels. The hovering ganas of the Ratha's panel are replaced in all of the Rajasimha-style Somaskandas with Brahma and Vishnu who appear in the panel standing directly behind the throne, just above Siva's upper arms.
We will suggest that it was Rajasimha's father, Paramesvaravarman I, who actually initiated this style, and that two important Somaskanda panels can be attributed to Paramesvara. But as such claims touch on a controversial subject, we have chosen to name the style of these panels after Rajasimha because the vast majority of them can be securely dated in his reign.
The obliterated Somaskanda panel of the Ramanuja Mandapa at Mahabalipuram is also pre-Rajasimha style. A summary of several key characteristics will show why we take the Ramanuja panel to be pre-Rajasimha. These characteristics all agree with the Dharmaraja Ratha panel and differ from the many Rajasirnha-style panels of later periods. Uma sits in profile with her back resting against the niche's edge. Siva's lower left hand rests on his left thigh--it is certainly not in 'dhyana-like mudra'. Finally, two ganas hover above Siva and Uma and Brahma and Vishnu do not appear in the panel.
The Ramanuja Somaskanda relief has been levelled off, but the outline of figures remains, enough to allow one to deduce the characteristics which are listed above.
Besides the Ramanuja and Dharmaraja Ratha panels, all the other Somaskanda panels at Mahabalipuram are in the Rajasimha style. In addition to the "Rajasimhesvara", the west-facing shrine of the Shore Temple, its east-facing shrine, the "Kshatryasimhesvara" also contains a Somaskanda panel. It is not well preserved though. Then there is the huge Somaskanda of the Mahishamardini Mandapa, a much smaller one in the Mukundanayanar structural temple, and three in the Atiranachandesvara rock-cut temple at Saluvankuppam. In this cave temple, in addition to the Somaskanda in the sanctum, two other Somaskanda panels are carved on the rear wall of its Mandapa.
All these Somaskanda panels are in the Rajasimha style, as any summary of their characteristics would reveal. Indeed, we will give here a description which is not only common to all of these Somaskanda panels at Mahabalipuram, but common to practically all of the Rajasimha-style Somaskandas of the Pallavas.
Left: Pre-Rajasimha style
Right: Rajasimha style |
Siva and his family are seated on a royal throne. Of Siva's four arms, his lower right arm is extended horizontally to the side with his hand in the position of holding something, such as a flower, though no object is actually shown. With his upper right hand he holds a snake by its tail. His lower left hand is in the ardha-dhyana mudra. His upper left hand is near his shoulder as though holding a rosary or akshamala. Siva's left leg is down. Both of his ear ornaments are fashioned in the form of the mythical animal, the makara, which has a fish-like body and an elephant-like snout.
Uma is turned to the front, facing us, and is not sitting in profile. There is a royal umbrella above her head. She has two arms and leans on her left one. Her left leg is down. Her ear ornaments are both the circular ones called patra kundalas. Her hair is piled high in a tall crown-like fashion, with a turban-like portion at its base made up of thick ringlets covered with jewels. The turban-like portion is pinched in the middle by the weight of one of these ornaments.
Little Skanda has the same type of head-dress that Uma has.
There are no ganas in the upper part of the panel. Instead, Brahma and Vishnu appear in the panel immediately above Siva's upper hands. Brahma is above Siva's right hand, Vishnu above his left.
In addition to the Dharmaraja Ratha and Ramanuja Mandapam the only other temple which could boast of a pre-Rajasimha style Somaskanda was the famous Vedagiriswara structural shrine on top of the hill at Tirukkalukundram. It was with great interest therefore, that we visited it some time ago and had a look at the three carved stone slabs which form a major part of the inner back and side walls of the sanctum sanctorum
The inner structure of the sanctum dates from the time of the Pallava king, Paramesvaravarman I, the father of Rajasimha. It is not generally appreciated that this ancient Pallava shrine is completely encased within a later Chola vimana. It is a temple within a temple.
From the outside, only the Chola structure is seen. The inner shrine, belonging to Paramesvara's reign, therefore is the oldest structural temple under worship in South India. There is another temple of Paramesvara's time at Kuram, but only the basement of the original structure remains, and no regular worship is conducted there. When we saw the carved stone slab fixed into the back inner wall of the sanctum of the Vedagirisvara temple we immediately recognized it as a typical Rajasimha-style Somaskanda of impressive dimensions. It was Paramesvara who actually initiated the style we have called after Rajasimha. The pilasters framing the Vedagirisvara Somaskanda panel and the portion of the wall above it are clearly brick, not stone. On the inner side wall, facing north, is an equally large relief of Ardhanari. Ardhanari, holding a veena and other emblems, is seated on the bull, Nandi. To the upper right (proper) of Ardhanari in this panel is a small bust of Brahma with three of his faces showing. To the upper left (proper) is a small bust of Vishnu, wearing a krita makuta.
On the inner side wall facing south is a panel showing a four-armed figure seated by itself on a royal throne, in almost the same pose and regalia which Siva has in the Somaskanda panel. We shall call this figure "Rajamurthi". In this panel of Rajamurthi, above and behind his throne, on either side, are two ladies of royal appearance in anjali mudra. There are no other figures.
On the outer sides of the sanctum walls in deeply recessed niches there are similar but slightly smaller and very badly worn panels. The unusual depth of the niches is due to the fact that the Pallava shrine with its panels is encased within the later Chola structure. These outer panels duplicate the inner ones. That is, on the back wall of the sanctum, outside, facing west, is a second Somaskanda panel; on the southern wall, facing south, is a second Ardhanari; and on the northern wall, facing north, is a second Rajamurthi flanked behind by two ladies in anjali mudra.
Later Addition
In the courtyard of the shore temple in Mahabalipuram, there is a big stone block which has panels carved in low relief on its four sides, two of which are similar Ardhanari and Rajamurthi panels. These panels, much more modest in size and execution, with variations of emblems and asanas, nevertheless, reflect the style we see in the earlier and bigger panels of the Vedagirisvara temple.
The Somaskanda in the sanctum of the Mahendravarmesvara shrine in the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram is in every respect typically Rajasimha in style. But the Somaskanda in the main sanctum of the Rajasimheswara is a diminutive panel which in no way can be considered the work of Rajasimha's period. It is certainly a later addition.
Anyone who has first seen the large and magnificent Somaskanda panel of the Vedagirisvara temple the sanctum which is of modest dimensions (187 cm. length by 170 cm. breadth approx,) would naturally expect, an even more imposing panel in the Kailasanatha temple, whose main sanctum is considerably larger (265 cm. in length and 273 cm. in breadth, approx.). But this is not the case. The Vedagirisvara panel is roughly 160 cm. high and 122 cm. broad (a vertical format). Whereas the Rajasimhesvara panel is only 94 cm. high and 115 cm. broad (a horizontal format).
But it is not just the small size of this panel which is unexpected. The details of the figures themselves are completely at variance with the usual Rajasimha style of Somaskanda, of which there are twenty-nine such examples in this temple alone. In particular, the main sanctum's aberrant panel has Siva holding the axe in his upper right hand and the deer in his upper left. His right leg is down. Siva's lower right forearm is not held horizontally away with the 'chin' mudra (his lower left arm, unfortunately, seems to be broken off). Brahma and Vishnu are not included in the panel. There are no ganas above, either, nor any umbrella. Uma is seated with both legs drawn up on the asana which itself has lost any resemblance to a royal throne. Skanda is standing on the asana between Uma and Siva.
A further analysis of details in dress and ornaments is impossible because the panel has a thick coating of plaster on it.
One more anomaly is that whereas the panel in the Mahendravarmesvara sanctum shows Siva and his family seated on a throne in the façade of a shrine or pavilion which is carved in relief with the side pillars and kapota, there is no indication of such a facade in the Rajasimhesvara sanctum. However, such a facade is found framing the Somaskanda panels of Rajasimha-style in all of the structural temples-in the sanctums sanctorum. The only possible exception is the Vedagirisvara sanctum where the side pillars framing the panels are distinctive in both form and material (brick) and where there is no kapota.
Where then is the original Somaskanda? Hidden behind an added wall and this later panel? Removed as a war trophy many centuries ago by the Chalukyas, for example? We feel, however, that the answer to this change in Somaskandas lies in the study of the evolution of the linga cult in the early Pallava temples.
