Parijatha Chase and Gajendra Moksha

As we explore Hoysaleshwara temple, in Halebidu, further we see these brilliant relief works on the outside of the wall of the twin shrine (Hoysaleshwara, Shantaleshwara). Shown below on the left is the depiction of Krishna and Sathyabhama plucking (or having plucked) from the Parijatha tree in Indra's garden. Indra and Shachi, on hearing about this are rushing / giving chase, on their mount, Airavata. On the right side is a depiction of Gajendra Moksha, where Vishnu comes to save the elephant, Gajendra, from the crocodile.

Comparatively, this may be as good as any other sculpture / relief carved on the walls of temples, in the Hoysala Empire period. When we explore the work in detail, the nuances really stand out. In this, skill of workmanship probably seems less, but the visualization and imagination are top class.

Let us look at Krishna, Satyabhama and the tree. One can see quite a bit of difference between this depiction of tree, flowers, and fruits, compared to regular creepers and vines that adorn all the carvings in the Hoysala architecture. This stands out, to clearly differentiate the specialty of the Parijatha tree. Once again, the subtleties of the hands, rings, jewels, ornaments, position of legs, toes, etc., are perfect. Garuda is shown carrying Krishna and Sathyabhama here.

The crown of Garuda, the two-sided spear in its hand, the leg of Krishna hanging on one side of Garuda, the position of the toes, etc., are also superbly carved up. Unfortunate that there is quite a bit of damage.

When we observe the legs, dress, and jewels of Garuda, we find that the portrayal is that of it being in flight. The swinging of the ornaments, instead of hanging straight down, gives a clear indication of flight.

I will now dwell on what I felt was important, as also highlighted by the guides at Halebidu. The elephant, Airavata, is on a trot. The indication is that it is probably going on top speed. The front leg is bent to indicate that, while the more telling signs are the bells that have swung back due to the speed. The tail of the elephant is also shown flying up. In all this, the decorative ornaments of Airavata are also clearly carved with attention to detail.

Looking at the ears, the crown jewels of Airavata, as well as the work done on Indra, one can only marvel. Another highlight, which is mentioned by the guides, is that of Shachi shown a bit in the air, and not sitting on Airavata. The guides humorously mention that this is akin to pillion riders in modern 2 wheelers, thrown up by potholes / speed breakers, which has already been thought of by the 12th century sculptors.

For the second portion of this picture, on the right, we see the carving of the final scene of Gajendra Moksha. Shanku-chakra, gadha, bow, arrow and shield held in the 6 hands of Vishnu are done beautifully, as well as the traditional creeper-arch design above.

Garuda and the mid-portion of the single-stone carving seems quite damaged. I wonder how wonderful it would have been when it was pristine! One hand holding Vishnu's right thigh, while another holds his left foot, the ornaments swinging in the air, the detail carving of the jewels (and unfortunately broken portion of the face and beak), the wings, etc., are simply superb.

As we shift our gaze to the crocodile, we see that the sculptor has tried to indicate that this is in a pond - by showing water flowers, fish, turtle, etc., next to the crocodile, though they would not be in the air in this manner. I guess we have to give some leeway for the artistic license for such a method. The depiction includes the chakra (disc) that is seen hitting the crocodile, and a soul (?) praying to Vishnu as it departs from the crocodile (this last part my own additional guess). A small dampener in terms of perfection, but the intent of depiction is nice indeed.

The last highlight in this post will be about Gajendra's depiction, including the lotus bud held in its trunk, the position of the mouth indicating a moan / expression of pain. Again, though this portion may not be as perfect as other works, but within the constraints of a single stone work, these are indeed marvelous.

This portion of the wall of Hoysaleshwara temple, Halebidu, is also shown as part of a 3-dimensional photo uploaded to Wikimedia Commons category of 3-D photos, which gives a surreal feel for the architecture in times of Hoysala empire.