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CHRONOLOGY OF GUJARAT
characteristic features of the classical Gupta Art. There is aesthetic sobriety in the treatment of drapery, ornaments and other elements of decoration. The transparent drapery marked with schematic folds enhances the loveliness of the modulating lines of the figure, and conceals the body of the flesh. The sparseness of ornaments imparts a graceful touch to the body which is so restful to the eyes. But the slightly still treatment of legs and the right arm show a decadance of the Imperial Gupta style of late 6th Century A.D. --(M. R. Majmudar, Bharatiya Vidya, Vol. XV, No. 1, 1954).-(Plate XXXIX ).
Valā Mahisamardini :-The sculpture of Goddess Mahişāsuramardini from Valā, with thin drapery and the self-same loop at the waist is shown in the act of the triśülathrust and evinces a happy blending of physical energy with spiritual grace and beauty. (U. P. Shah ).- Plate XLIV a).
The other two sculptures recovered from Valā, done in the self-same style and of the same period of Maitraka rule, can be passingly remembered here. One is a mutilated figure, which has an attendant by his side, possibly some divinity. The other is a portraitsculpture of a young warrior or prince which has been retouched by modern hands. The head-dress of the figure is, however, remarkably antique.
Vaisnava Sculptures-Krsna-Lilā from Mandor : The two massive stele from Mandor (old Māņda vyapura ) near Jodhpur, about 9 feet high and two feet broad ( since removed to the Jodhpur Museum ) contain the panels of incidents from the child-sports of Śri Krşņa viz., the lifting of Govardhana, the upturning of the cart, the fights with Cāņura, Dhenuka, Kesi, and the like. What may have been the actual location of these stele, and the person who got them installed cannot be known.
These are the earliest sculptural remains of Krşpa-worship in Western India, eventhough the early reference to Vasudeva and Sankarşıņa worship in Western India is known from the Ghosundi inscription of c. 150 B.C. from the old Madhyamikā Nagari, near Jaipur-(Vide c. 150 B.C.). These were first noticed by D. R. Bhandarkar (ASWI, 1905-06). They are assigned to the end of the 5th Century A.D. The early style in the treatment of human figures and animals is noteworthy-(Plate XL).
Vişņu from Bhinmal : Vişnu (four-armed) from Bhinmal wears an ekavāli of an early type, obtained on Gupta sculptures. The broad heavy shoulders are reminiscent of the early Kuşāņa sculptures. The armlets worn near the shoulders also suggest an earlier tradition. The crown is a high cap, richly decorated with two ornamental straps, crossing each other, in front with a beautiful rosette in the centre at the crossing-point. On two sides of the cap-like crown are the flames, suggesting Vişnu's association with the Adityas or the Sun-worship. The lower garment with elegant wavy lines indicating folds, suggests the waning of the Gupta Age tradition. The thick rope-like scarf running across the thighs is in the style of the Mathura Sculpture of the Kuşāņa age. The Scythian influence in Western India is fully borne out by the long Kşatrapa rule in the first three centuries of the Christian era.-(Plate XLI). *
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