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________________ AN IMAGE OF BUDDHAVATARA OF VISNU AT BADAMI B.V. Shetti At Badami, ancient Vatapi, the capital of the early or western Calukyas (c. mid 6th-mid 8th cent.), is a large lake, locally known as 'Agastya Tirtha'. Under the overhanging cliffs to the southeast of this lake, is a huge collapsed mass of rock leaning against the cliff side. It has so fallen as to form a natural cavern beneath it, the entry to which is obtained by crawling under the rock through a low tunnel-like opening. Inside, upon the cliff-face, is carved a large enthroned image. This image is locally referred to as that of Kostharaya or "leper king'. A legend about this sculpture is current in two versions? among the local people : In olden days, a king of Varanasi was suffering from leprosy. He came to know about the miraculous power of the Agastya Tirtha at Badami which cured many diseases. So he travelled to this place to get rid of his ailment. Everyday he bathed in the lake and eventually was cured of that disease. Subsequently, an image of this king was carved and people used to call it the image of "Kustharaja" which became "Kostharaya" in course of time. (Kustha in Kannada, as in Sanskrit, means leprosy.) (ii) One of the relatives of the Calukya royal family, Govinda, was suffering from leprosy. He sought the holy counsel of the sages performing penance at Badami, and on their advice he bathed in the Agastya Tirtha everyday till he was completely cured. The image represents this royal person who is called "Kostharaya" by the people. On the whole, both the versions are identical except for the royal persons involved and their domicile and period. The first version appears to be fictitious. When the Calukya kings were ruling at Badami, it is unlikely that an image of a royal personage of another kingdom will be carved and be venerated by the local populace. The second version refers to Govinda of the Calukya royal family. Now, Ravikirti's Aihole inscription (A.D.634) states that Pulakesin II defeated some Govinda (and Appayika) at the river Bhima. However, a sculpture of this defeated Govinda was got carved during the time of Pulakesin II, by his successors, likewise seems an improbable reality. H. Cousens was the first person to draw attention to this sculpture and illustrate it. He describes this image as "...seated in Buddha-like attitude, but it is neither a representation of Buddha nor a Jina. It is without doubt, a portrait statue." In recent years, A. Sundara identified this image as the portrait of Kirtivarman I, got carved by his brother Mangalesa, who claimed an unequalled and steadfast devotion for him?
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________________ B. V. Shetti Nirgrantha The image (Plate 1), except for the head, is bejewelled with ear-rings, necklace, armlets, bracelets, rings for the fingers, also chest-band, anklets, etc. It is particularly noteworthy that he wears yajnopavita. The hair is in knobbly curves, but there is no Buddha's typical usnisa-lump on the top of the skull : it rather resembles the Jina head. The figure is sitted in padmasana. Its right hand is raised in abhayamudra; and it holds rosary. The left hand rests in the lap, palm upwards (dhyanamudra). The figure is seated upon a lion-throne (simhasana), the front of which is divided into three compartments, with a lion in each as in many pre-medieval and medieval Jina image-thrones in Karnataka. On either side of him is a male camara-bearer, each wearing a kirita-mukuta and other gemset ornaments, while behind him is the throne-back with the usual terminal vyala and makara figures. Delineated as engraved line-drawing are here deer and sankha to the left and cakra to the right. At present the image has been spoiled due to continual application of oil by the worshippers. The halo behind the head is plain and further behind is the depiction of tree. Beside it, on the rock, a little way to the right of the image, is carved a small bearded sage with a fat body, seated in padmasana on a bhadrapitha. While his right hand is in abhayamudra, the left hand seems to hold a vessel. On his right side is a long staff. Cousens identifies this image as that of a person who had the big one carved, or perhaps the raja's prime minister. To me it appears to be the image of Agastya after whom the lake is named, because of the presence of sage's beard, fat body, and the water-vessel. Annigeri, a second scholar who in recent years wrote on this image, feels that Kostharaya must have been a Treasury Officer connected with the Badami fort who became an ascetic later on. And Carol Radcliffe Bolon remarks : "To me the date and identity of this image remain enigmatics." The head of the main image, plain halo, legs in padmasana, the left hand in dhyanamudra, the throne-back decorated with makaras, and the two male camarabearers are very similar to the Tirthankara carved in a tableaux in the Jaina cave at Aihole: (late 6th century; Plate 2). This indicates that the sculpture under discussion undoubtedly was carved by a sculptor who was accustomed to carving Jina images. All the same, the posture of legs and hands, the tree (which can be interpreted as the bodhi - tree) at the back, and the representation of deer on the throne-back conclusively prove that this is intended to be an image of Buddha. However, the profusion of ornaments and the engravings of sankha and cakra on the throne-back unambiguously indicate his association with Visnu. Considering the total evidence, it would be more correct to identify this image as that of "Mayamoha" of the puranas* or "Buddhavatara Visnu". On stylistic grounds, the sculpture can be dated to c. late 7th or plausibly the first quarter of the 8th century A.D.
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________________ BA 1 Badami. Cave near Bhutanatha group of temples, image of the so-called Kostharaya ("Mayamoha" or "Buddhavatara Visnu").
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________________ 2 Aihole, Jaina cave, main hall, upavarnaka-bay, seated Jina in a narrative-tableaux.
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________________ Vol. 1-1995 An image of... Notes and References : 1. A. Sundara, "Sculpture of Kostharaya in Badami", Archaeological Studies, Vol.III, 1978, pp.66-67. 2. Henry Cousens, The Chalukyan Architecture of the Kanarese Districts, Calcutta 1926, fig. 17, p.57. 3. A. Sundara," Sculpture of Kostharaya.," pp. 69.70. 4. A.M. Annigeri, Badamiya silpakale (Kannada), Dharwar 1958, p.33; Also, A guide to Badami, Dharwar 1960, pp. 45-46; and Cave Temples of Badami, Dharwar 1978, pp. 37-38. 5. Carol E. Radcliffe, Early Chalukya Sculpture, New York 1981, pp.94-95, Ph. D. Dissertation, unpublished. * See in this issue N.P. Joshi's article. -- Editors. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Plate 1 Badami. Cave near Bhutanatha group of temples, image of the so-called Kostharaya ("Mayamnoha" or "Buddhavatara Visnu"). Plate 2 Aihole, Jaina cave, main hall, upavarnaka-bay, seated Jina in a narrative-tableaux. (Both illustrations have been reproduced here by courtesy and kindness, American Institute of Indian Studies, Varanasi Center.) .