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AUGUST, 1918) ALLEGED BUDDHIST INFLUENCE IN THE SUN TEMPLE AT KONARAK 215
The Indian sculptors of old never carved their names underneath the works of art coming from their chisels nor desoribed the subject which they represented in the various sculptures. Hindu iconography as a science is still of recent origin. To this may be ascribed the conflict of opinion which is so often noticed in regard to the identification of sculptures by different scholars and sometimes ludicrous mistakes are made because of the partiality or bias towards a particular theory.
Instances of such clashing opinions are by no means uncommon in regard to the Konarak soulptures. Tho well-known “Teaching Soene" has been taken by Mr. Swarup to represent Buddha in the sot of delivering & sermon or imparting religious teaching to some of his disciples (op. cit., p. 86). Dr. A. K. Coomaraswamy, & scholar well learned in Hindu and Buddhistio lore, describes this in his Visvalarma, Part VII, plate 72, as Vaishnava Guru. Any one who has the opportunity of examining this picture carved in chlorite or the beautiful reproduction of it as given by Dr. Coomaraswamy will admit that there is nothing in it peculiarly Buddhistic, which may confirm Mr. Swarup's identification.
There is another representation, known as the "Archery Soene," which Mr. Swarup considers to be the illustration of an incident from Sarabhanga Jataka (op. cit., p. 87). Buddha, though he was without any previous training, is said to have defeated all his compotitors in an archery competition. Among the local people this soulpture is said to illustrate the shooting of arrows by Parasurama. In the Hindu sacred books there is mention of an incident referring to Parasurama's reclaiming land from the Bea-bed by shooting arrows. Whether the mound or projection in the sculpture which the arrows are represented as piercing through is meant for a sea-side cliff or is due merely to a wrong idea of perspeotive is more than what can be assorted with confir dence. As instances are not wanting of representations of purely secular incidents such as hunting soones among tho Konarak sculptures there need be no objection in taking this st loust - * wcalar fout in archery. Among these sculptures some have been identified as pictures of Pauranic incidents such as marriage of Sita and killing of Mahishasure and accepted as such without cavil even by Mr. Bishan Swarup. A numbe of images of Hindu deities such as Bishnu, Sürya, Glanga, Balagopals and Brihaspati, &c., have also been discovered among the ruins. It does not seem therefore probable that among Hindu Pauranic sculptures of this description, illustrations of Buddhist Jätaks stories would also find a place in a scattered disconnected sort of way. Mr. Bishan Swarup identified one of these stone-carved pictures as Buddha with Muoh&linda the Serpent God (op. cit., p. 87) and the two small female figures standing on two sides were declared to be Sujata tho wife of the rich Bresthi, who brought the Enlightened One food after his prolonged abstinence, and her maid-servant Punna. Mr. Swarup's objection to the group being a Hindu Vaishnavite image lies in the fact that ordinarily Vishnu is depicted as lying on the Ocean of Milk with the serpent Sesha or Ananta spreading its hoods over his head.
In the catalogue of exhibits published on the occasion of the centenary of the Indian Museum, 1913, there is a description of an authentic Buddha and Muchalinda image (No. 6290 of the Catalogue). It is noticeable that in this sculpture Buddha is represented as seated on the head of the Serpent God. Serpent hoods are found also on the head of the image of the Jains Tirthankara Parávanátha. It does not seem quite safe, therefore, to classify an image as Buddhistic merely from the accompanying Berpont symbol. In his comprehensive work on Hindu Iconography, Mr. T. A. Gopinatha Rao describes a Vishnu image of the Bhogasthanaka order, in which the god is shown in a standing posture with the serpent's hood over his head, flanked on two
