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Sculptures of Krq4a as Nsvaneetachora in Kerala

Ktsl.1a, the 9th avatara

of Visr,ru, is the most celebrated and loved god of the Hindu pantheon. He has been revered as a baby boy and an adolescent with full of pranks, a youth laden with love and a charismatic figure of prominence with wisdom and diplomacy since the days of Epics and purdtas. Devotees of Krsna subscribe to the concept of his lilS or divine play as the cenrral principle of the Universe. KfS+a is dealt very elaborately in a number of ancient and medieval Hindu texts like McLhablta-rata, Harivctrnsha purana, Bhdgavata purana and, Visnu purana. The first two are the oldest sources which give vivid pictures about his eventful life. HcLrivcttitsha purana describes Krs+a as a boy very fond of butter. which he used to steal from any place. where he could lay his hands on. If milk, curd or butter was kept beyond his reach, he resorted to methods of making use of any available household equipment to help him reach ther,. If they lvere in earthen pots suspended in nets (a domestic accessory made of coir or any string to keep vessels of edible articles, known in Malayalam as uri) hung down from the ceilings, he made holes in the pots pelting stones or similar objects to leak them out to consume them. His mother, yasoda, after continuously hearing reports from the wives of cowherds, started catchirry him at such deeds as the 'thief of fresh butter' (navaneetachora). She punished him several times befittingly even by tying him to a mortar. Once on such an occasion when she punished him, he opened his mouth and showed the entire Universe inside. Nav ane e tac

h

ora Sculptures

Navturcetachora has been a fascinating subject for sculptors since the time of Gupta period. The oldest sculpture of navaneetacltorcL belonging to this period was observed in a mutilated panel presently

housed at Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi. It shows K{pqa stealing butter from a jar.r Bharat Kala Bhavan houses another beautiful sculpture of this category belonging to 5th centurv. The panel of the gateway to Mandor belonging to the same period has a depiction of Krishna stealine burter.l There is an 8th centllry panel at Pahdrpur in Bengal showing similar depiction.3 Southern India has more diverse forms of navaneetachora sculptures than the ones reportedly known from Northern India. The Vis!u and Krsla temples of Pallava, Chola, Vijarana_eara and Nayaka periods in Tamil Nadu have many representations of this theme in stone.a The earliest ncn,aneetachora sct"tlptures in Karnataka were noticed in Upper Shivalaya temple at Badami. The State has a number of ternples with the depiction of this theme in stone.s A few temples in Andhra Pradesh. especrally those belonging to the late medieval period, also have presentation of nat,aneetacltorci theme in stone.6

Nuvaneetochora Sculptures

in Kerala

Sculptr"rres of Krsla as navneetachora have been noticed since l lth centurr in stone and wood in Keraia. The earliest one recorded is in stone at Vadakkunatha temple in Thrissur distnct.T It depicts Krqqa standing on a mortar to reach uri. His left hand is inserted in the pot kept in uri and the right

*

Kerala Council for Historical Research, Vyioppilly Samskrity Bhavan Nalantla. Thiruvananthapurarn 69500 1, Kerala.

Kala vol. xvll,

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hand is presented as in action to take butter. Another pot, probably empty, is shown on a mortar. It also shows two ladies standing in wonder seeing the scene. State Archaeology Museum, Trippunitura in Ernakulam district has preserved a l4th century u'ooden panel which represent stealing of butter by Kfq+a in different stages. Anuri is shown at the centre of the panel hanging from a hook in the ceiling and Krishna inserting his right hand into it. A cat is presented sitting below the uri. Right to this scene, there is depiction of Klsla taking butter from the pot. In the extreme right he is shown licking butter got smeared on his right hand. Left to the uri Ya(od5 is shown with a churning stick held in her raised right hand. In the extreme left, she is depicted with the same posture but the left hand is kept in su?/ui

mudr7 indicating that she is scoidrng KtSla for his mischief.

Shrikovil wall of Shasthamkulangara Narasimha temple in Alappuzha district has a beautiful 14th century wooden sculpture of Krsna stealin_e butter from a pot kept in uri. He is shown holding the string of uri with the left hand and taking butter with the right. YaSodd is shown behind him holding a churning stick in her raised right hand. A 16th century stone sculpture located in Sucheendrum Sthanunathaswami temple in Kanyakumari district (erstwhile Travancore) shows KtS4a standing on a coconltt scraper to reach uri. He supports the uri with his left hand and takes butter from the pot kept in it. A small puppy is shown sitting on the blade of coconut scraper.

The vertical wooden panel in the shrikovii wall of Thirunakkara Shiva temple in Kottayarn district has the depiction of navrmeetochorcL in three tiers. The lower two tiers show Krsrra stealing butter from uri hung at his height and the top tier shows KtS+a standing with butter ball in his right hand. The sculpture belongs to 16th century. Srikovil wall of Kaviyur Shir,a temple rn Pathanamthitta district has a 17th centur),panel of Krs7ri in wood stealing butter. K{Sr}a is shou'n standing on his toes at the extrenre right to steai butter from the uri. Another form of the same episode is depicted left to the above sculpture, which shows KtSqa standing on a kneeltng Gopa in the process of stealing butter. He catches hold of rri with his left hand while YaSoda is depicted at his right, hoiding back his right hand and raising the churning stick held in her right hand as if she were to prevent him frorn stealing butter and ready to beat him for his rnischief. A 17l1Sth century representation of this episode in Puliyur Visnu temple in Alappuzha district in wood shows him standing on his toes to reach the uri in order to steal butter. The uri hangs frorn a nagacchcttra and the entire sculpture is shown below it. A boy is shown below the uri holding it with his right hand and eating butter from the left. A cat is shown below licking part of the butter fallen on the ground. A 17ll8th century sculpture in wood present in Vettikuiangara Bhagdvati temple in AlappLrzha district depicts KtS4a taking out the pot from a closely woven uri by sitting on the shoulder of a Gopa who in turn sits on a stool placed on another peedha. A pot is shown fallen down with butter rniik pouring fiom it. Ya(oda stands rvith a big churning stick in her left hand and her right hand is held in suchi mudrascolding KfSna.A cat sits belorv the uri in expectation of butter dropping from the pot kept in ttri. Kuttunbalarn of Harippad Subrahamanya temple in Alappuzha district has a panel in wood belonging to 18th centur\/ r'ividll,depictin,u the pranks of Krsna (Fig.i).Kfqna is shown as falling down in the process of reaching the uri hung from a big rod attached to the ceiling. A mortar and a stool are shown fallen apart conveying horv KfSqa reached the nri. A Gbpa sits below the uri licking his butter smeared fingers. Ya6oda is deprcted standing in astonishment. In the extreme right of the panel Ktqfla is depicted as standing on a kneeling Gbpa and taking the pot from uri. Cats are shown below the Ltri. There are a few temples in Kerala having representation of &q+a holding butter in his hands. A 13th century sculpture in stone in Rajarajeshwara temple at Talipparambus in Kannur district depicts KfSla standing with butter balls in his both hands. He is shown nude except the belled girdle arortnd

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the waist. Sucheendrum Sthanunathaswarni temple shorvs I!'Sna in siurilar way. This stoncr sculpture is assigned to 16th century AD. A 17th century stone sculpture present in TirLrppatisaranr Visnu tenrple in Kanyakumari district depicts a stout KfqUa standing with bLrtter in his both hands (Fig.2). A 14/ 15the century stone sculpture preserved in State Archaeology Museum. Kozhikode depicts Krishna with btrtter in his right hand. The left hand is held in katl,avalantbilri. PerLrvanam Shiva temple in Thrissur district has a l5th centLrry wooden image of Krsna inclashuyutar-a series in the hrackets ol'the shrikovil wall. Here he is represented in four handed form. The lower right hand is kept in kttuliti mudrd and the lower left with butter ball. The attribr-rtes in the upper tu,o hands are brokcn.

A

13th century stone image on the balikkctl of Talipparan-rbu Shiva temple in Kannur clistrict depicts KfS+a seated rnvamalalitosono with butter balls in his both hands. A 16th ccntur\ image frorrr Sucheendrum Sthanunathaswami temple in Kanyakurnari district and a lTth centLrrv image f'ronr Tiruppatisaram Visfu temple in Kanyakumaridistrict, both in stone, show Krsna crawling on hi\ l\nees and left hand, and eating butter from the right hand held up. Sucheendrunr Sthanunathaswanri terttple in stone dirncing u'ith bntter in the ri-qht hand and holding thc tip ol shows two sculptures of -Kr-prta uttareeyo in the left. He is depicted in urclltra.j.lnr postllre riith ri-sht le-u raised in one sculptule artd left leg raised in other. Wooden panels having depiction of Krsna shorving triloko in his lrouth are noticL'(i in a 1er.v temples of Kerala. For example, the 14th century scr-rlpture in Shasthanrkulangara Narasiurha tenrple in Alappuzha district, 17th century sculpture in Kaviyur Shiva ternple in Pathananrthitta clistnct ancl 1Sth century sculpture in Harippad Subrahmanya temple in Alappuzha distnct. The u'ooclen sculptur-e in the irikbvil wall of Shasthamkulangara Narasimha ternple illr"rstrates KtS+a standing in ttt'orrtctnclulu karna posture widening his opened mouth by pulling it apart with his inserted fingers ancl shou,ing triloka inside (Fig. 3). Near to KtSna stands YaSodi in wonder pleading KfSla with her right liancl tct shut his mouth. The wooden panel in the irikovil wall of Kaviyur Shiva ternple has similar clepiction. Here Ya6oda, standing with her right hand in akimbo, persuades KISIa with her left hancl to close his similar-ly lrut Yaiotia, mouth. The rvooden sculpture of Harippad Subr6hmanya temple presents -KrS+a faint in Klsna's mouth (Fi-e. -i). Hcr seeing the Universe standing next to him, is depicted as about to right hand is in akimbo and the left hand's gesture indicates her t,isntcL)tcr.

Discussion are found in India presented in three wavs (a) Krsna stcalirtg Sculptures of navaneetachora -KlS+a (b) in his hands and (c) Kt;qa showing trilokct in his nrouth. In nor-tltcrn Kfpqa with stolen butter butter Indianavaneetachora sculptures are not as commoll as in southern India and they mainly represent ortly the first category, KfSqa stealing butter from the churning pot while worlen churrring the Lruttermilk.

KfS+a stealing butter is first reported in southern India in 6/7th century. They also shou,ccl Krsnit stealing butter from churning pots.e NavannetcLchorolheme was depicted in later centurics ilI s()Lrthcl'n India presenting Krgr.ra stealing butter frorn the pot kept in uri.10 In Kerala arr becante an ilttcqral component of the depiction of navaneetachara. Sculptors in Kerala have used all possrble cortte xts t()

show Krsna stealing butter ftom uri, for example, by standing on coconut scraper (Sucheenclrum Sthanunathaswami temple), on mortar (Harippad Subrahmanya temple), shoLrlder or back ol'knccling Gopas (Vettikr"rlangara Bhdgavati temple). Scr"rlptures of Krsna stealing br"rtter from rirl have not bccn reported frorn northern India though a few of them have been foLrnd in southern h'rdia.l1 Interestinglv. sculptures depicting KtSla stealing butter from churning pot is harcily' foLrncl in Kerala though there itrc good examples of this depiction in Tamil Nadu,12 Andhra Pradeshl-r ancl Karnataka.rr Sculptr:t'es of Kf;+a with stolen butter in his hands are rarely reported fi'om northern India thor,rgh tltere arc sculptut'cs

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depicting this scene in southern states of Tamil Nadu,ls Andhra Pradeshl6 and Karnataka.lT In Tamil Nadu, they are very common and majority of them are depiction of Krgla sitting or crawling with butter in his hands. In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka such depictions are a few. There are many sculptures of this category in Kerala depicting KlSLla with butter in his hands standing (Talippararnbu Rd.jErajeSwara temple, Thiruppatisaram Visnu temple and Peruvanam Shiva tempie), sitting (Talippararnbu Rajarajeswara ternple), crawling (Sucheendrum Sthanunathaswami temple and Thiruppatisaram Vislu temple) and even dancing with happiness (Sucheendrum Sthanunathaswami templel. Sculptures of navaneetachora showing triloka in his mouth are distinct from other sculptures oI tlavaneetochora in the sense that this category manifests divinity in baby Kflqa. Such sculptures are not reported from northern india and are extremely rare in southern India. However, in Kerala they are not uncommon but they are observed only in wood (Sasthamkulangara Narasimha temple, Kaviyr'rr Shiva temple and Harippad Subrdhmdnya temple). Sculptors are capable of showing this divine aspect of Krsna stmply by presenting a young KfS+a with wide opened mouth, depicting Ya6oda with bewildered facial expression and telling gestures of her hands to close his mouth immediately. Though this depiction is generally associated with novaneetachorathere is another version in Bhdgavata (1Oth skanda) which narrates that this incident happened not when KtS4a stole and consumed butter but when gopis con-iplainecl Ya6oda that Krsr]a consumed a handful of mud.18 It may not be out of context to mention thatLtllukalbandhana incident, a punishment irnposed on Krsna by YaSoda for stealing butter, also shows divine aspect of young &S+a as it resulted in givrng rttokslta to Ydmalarjuna.

The cluration between l6th and 1Sth centuries marks the golden period of u'ooden and stone sctrlptures in Kerala.le It is quite natural that nctt'aneetachora sculptures are found in good number dr.rring this period. But compared to stone, more dir,erse and more dramatic depictions of this therr-re are found in wood. It could be seen that popularization of Krsla in literature happened during this period throu-eh the works of Malayalam poets like Cherusseri Narnbutiri (14ll5th century AD), Thunchat Ramanujan Ezhuthachan and Melpathur Narayana Bhattatiri (161171h century AD) and the events expressed in these works naturally found expression in sculptural art of the state.20 Stone sculptures of novaneetachora found in Kerala are mainly monoscenic representations of the event but those in wood show paneled representations which narrate different scenes from this event. Interestingly, sculptors have depicted the events with a touch of realism as many kitchen utensils used during that time hke uri, coconut scrapers, churning sticks, mortars and stools have been part of their presentation. Similarly, animals like cats and puppies intimately associated with the rural life and commonly found in and around kitchen also find place in the depiction of navaneetachora. A1l these animals are presented in such a way that they are waiting to enjoy the fruits of the efforts of rl(tvaneetoclzoru. Such presentations have added dramatic appeal to the scenes. Another interesting point is that Krsna is represented as a baby in rlavaneetachora sculplures found in India but in Kerala he is shown at various leveis of age starting from a baby to an adolescent. Presentation of Gopas as subordinates in these depictions emphasizes the leadership of Krsla in the act of stealing butter, besides the fact that it used to be, on many occasions, a collective attempt by Kfqqa and his Gopa friends. Sculptors have brought out remarkable diversity in the depiction of coiffure, ornaments and garments of navaneetachora. He is presented with a top knot, with loose hair, wearing lalatopatta or ktritn mukttfa. When navaneetachora is presented as a baby boy he is shown with a caupina. In sculptures showing him as adolescent he wears dresses apt for a prince. The most common ornament seen on navaneetachara scuiptures of Kerala is the broad, multi belled girdle. He is also depicted with

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ratna kundala, makara kul/ala or patra ku?dala.In some sculptures of novaneetachora grIva, hara, udarabandha, bhujdvalt, keydra, kankana and pddvalay, the typical ornaments of Vislu, are noticed. Yajfropavita is very rarely seen on them.

An

assessment of navaneetachora sculptures precisely shows that sculptures of this category found in Kerala are much more diverse and more dramatically depicted than those found elsewhere in

lndia. References :

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

K. S.

af Vip4u. Abhinav Publications, New Delhi, p.126. Banerjee, P. lgg4 (Reprinted). The life of Krishna in IndianArr. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, p.169. Desai, K. S. op. cir., p.126. Banerjee, P. op. cit., pp.132,134. Desai,

1973. Iconography

Padigar, S. V. 1996. Visqtu culr in Kanrutakct. Department pp. 215.216.

of

Archaeology and Museum, Mysore,

6.

Raman K.

7.

Preeta Nayar, 2000. Yaishnava lconography of Kerala. Unpublished PhD thesis, MS University of Baroda, Vadodara, p.128.

V. 1993. Sculpture Art of Thirumala Tirupati Temple. Thirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati, pp.93,94.

M.R.D. 1974. Chitrakalayum Pratima Shilpavum. Kerala Charithram, Vol. 2, Kerala Histroy Association, Cochin : 909-948. p.936. Padigar, S.V. op. cit., pp. 215,216. Raman K.Y. op. cit., Plate.76. Padigar, S.V. op. cit., Plate. 64. Banerjee. P. op. cit., p. l3l. Raman K.Y. op. cit., Plate.76a. Padigar, S.V. op. cit., Plate. 71,74. Banerjee, P. op. cit., p. 131. Raman K.V. op. cit., Plate. 77. Banerjee, P. op. cit., Fig. 51. Vettam Mani, 1995. Puranic Encyclopaedia. Current Books, Kottayam. p. 322. Preeta Nayar, op. cit., p. 211. Ibid.. p. 7. See Dathan,

g. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

I6. 17. 18. 19.

20.

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Scutptures of Ktqla as Navaneetachora in Kerala Preeta Nayar

Figure-l : Krisluru stetlirtg bttitar, *'ood, lEth cetfiur\r AD, l1x 28 r:nr, Kutttunbolonr cei!ittg lteuitr, Httripltuti Sultrulun{uttu rettrltle, ,\ltrplttr:hu tiistriL.l.

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