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GOMMATESVARA STATUE FROM THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL POINT
OF VIEW
A. V. NARASIMHA MURTHY
The statue of Gommate vara at Sravapabelgola, the tallest free standing stone sculpture in the world has given a unique cultural status to Karnataka. It has attracted archaeologists and art historians alike who have made a detailed study of this unique statue. It was R. Narasimhachar who collected all the details about this sculpture and gave a good account of this which is authoritative even to this day. The image is nude and stands facing north in an erect way. The serene expression of the face is remarkable and symbolises the attitude of the saint to the worldly existence. The hair is curled and the ears are long, the shoulders being broad and the arms hang down straight with the thumbs turned outwards. The waist is small. The lower portion, though it looks dwarfish, adds majesty and grandeur. The entire image stands on a pedestal which is in the form of a lotus.
The colossal nature of the statue is one of the points of great importance. One will be overawed by the superhuman measurements of not only the entire statue but even the minor components of the sculpture. Even this colossal nature of the sculpture should be understood not merely as the imagination of the artist but representing the great heights to which he raised. Thus this is a statue in which the size is also symbolic of the greatness of the person involved.
This point becomes more meaningful when we look at the following measurements of this sculpture. Different estimates of the height have been given so far. Buchanan estimated it as 70 feet 3 inches. Sir Arthur Wellesley thought it to be 60 feet 3 inches. 57 feet is the correct height according to the Mysore Archae ological Department experts. The colossal nature can be imagined when we say that the toe and fingers are of unimaginable size. The foot itself measurer nine feet in length. The toe measures two feet nine inches. The middle finges
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