________________
80
M. A. Dhaky
Taham Dagaba bandha pūna bhusaņa vīra-pañcānga moha-1; 13,
The contemporaneous author Depala, a merited poet of his times, spe. cially wrote a short but charming song in old Gujaration Satruñjaya's selfsame Kharatara-vasahi, wherein be too takes note of the two aforenoted ceilings.40 The poet remarks : '[And indeed] one forgets hunger and thirst while lost in intently watching the pancanga-vira and the nagabandha (ceilings)':
bhukha ana-i trisa visara-i-e Pancānga-Vara nāgabandha nihāļatan. 7
Turning now to the kharatara-vasahi at Girnär, we encounter a specific reference made in a hitberto unpublished]'1 Girnar-cait ya-pari pati of the nagabandha and the pañcanga-vira (ceilings) along with pūtali-S icons of apsaras-nāyika-s in the rangamand apa (theatrical hall) of the selfsame temple :
Rangamandapināgabandha ajhala-u pūtali-e mandapi mana vāla-u Pañcānga-vira vasekhi-j-e mālā-khāça-i maņdapa jāņu, 29
As for the nagabandha (snake-tangle) ceiling, it is obviously derived from the earlier Kaliya-damana type. in Instances of the latter type, the naga-s and the nägint-s are shown in half human form, generally three on either side of the central figure of Kysna trampling Kaliya. But in the nagabandha type, the human-figural representation of the praying nõga-s and nägini-s is subdued and reduced in significance, and it is the 'coils' which receive prominance, forming in many and multiple folds, a inesh or a complex tangle : (cf. figs. 1 & 3). I, at this point, reproduce the exquisite ceiling in the mukhacatuşki (entrance-porch) of the mandapa (hall) of the siva temple at Müla-Madhavapura (ca, early 11th century) for comparison (fig. 5), and this would demonstrate how inside of two to three centuries the changes took place in the details, even when the conception remained unchanged.
As for the significance of the Pancanga-vica ceiling, what its symbolism could be, is hard to guess. Vira is of course a 'warrior' or a 'hero of the battle field.' The dagger in the hand so signifies, just as it explains the motive. But what about the five bodies' ? Does it mean a hero possessing or revealing in battle the strength or prowess equivalent of five men ? Or is be one of the Fifty-two Vira-spirits of the folk tales ? Some explanation of this may be there in ancient literature, but until it is found, it must remain both curious and mysterious !
Notes and References :
1. Cf. author's long paper (written conjointly with J. M. Nanavaçi) covering the entire
issue of the Bulletin of Museum and Picture Gallery, Baroda, namely vols, XVI-XVII, Baroda 1963.
