Hindu Statues

History of Hindu Sculptures and Art

In what is now India, Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan, there was a proto-Hindu civilization living in the Indus Valley, during the third-millennium BC, which had created small statues and figurines of the local deities. Those local gods and goddess shared SOME of the characteristics of some of the later Hindu Gods. For the most part, they were terra-cotta goddess figures, and judging by their appearance, were associated with fertility. Also, phallus statues have been found from this same period, so male gods were also worshiped at that time.

Most historians believe that during the middle of the second millennium BC, a group known as the Aryans swept down into the area from what is now Iran, and brought with them the earliest form of Hinduism. There is a marked decline in the indigenous statues from that time. While there are no surviving Aryan statues or architectural works from this period, they had a rich literary tradition which survives today, most notably in The Vedas, the sacred books that became the starting point for Hindu philosophy and ritual.

The main Gods of the Vedas include Indra, Agni (God of Fire), Varuna (God of Justice), and Rudra (God of Storms), along with a few other deities. However, over time, their importance in Hinduism fades, and they are eclipsed by later Hindu divinities.

Hinduism underwent changes as later religious texts, such as the Upanishads and the Brahmanas, which deal with philosophy and practicalities, became more relevant than the earlier Vedas. In the fifth and fourth century BC, the earliest versions of the Hindu epics the Mahabharata and the Ramayana begin to appear, and the concept of a Hindu God taking on a human form as an avatar begins to gain acceptance.

But it isn't until about 600 years later, in the first and second centuries AD that the familiar Hindu Gods Shiva, Vishnu, and Shakti begin to take their final forms, as a combination of earlier proto-Hindu deities merged with early Vedic gods, and appear more frequently in statue form.

The Hindu religious texts the Puranas and the Agamas, which date from around the same time as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, actually provide suggestions to artists on how Hindu statues are to be crafted, following a detailed set of rules.

Variations In Appearance

Hindu Gods and Goddesses can often have many different forms when represented in statues and paintings. Krishna, for instance, may appear as a mischievous child, then later as a flirtatious cow herdsman, and then finally as a poet warrior. Shiva may be worshiped as a Lingam (in the phallic form), and in one of several anthropomorphic forms (such as a meditating ascetic, or as a dancing figure). This is probably due in a large part to the fact that the Hindu gods have collected many of the attributes of the earlier proto-Hindu and Vedic gods.

But the multiple manifestations are also partly due to the fact that these Hindu divinities have all-encompassing powers, and can appear in different forms at the same time. Likewise, you will often see statues with four or six arms, which help to convey the thought that these Hindu idols have abilities far greater than those of humans.

Telling The Statues Apart

It may be difficult to identify one particular statue from another - in fact, many people have a hard time IDENTIFYING the gender of a god depicted in a statue, as the male Hindu gods can often be seen in flowing garments and with fine jewelry and what some might consider feminine facial appearance.

One common method of distinguishing the different Hindu images is by the weapons that the Divinity is holding - a Trident for Shiva, or a Chakra (discus) for Vishnu - or by the animals that they ride upon (a lion for Durga, an owl for Lakshmi). Hindu statues and art often depict forms of the God Shiva with a third eye in the middle of the forehead, that is vertical instead of horizontal. Likewise, the Hindu Goddess Kali is depicted that way as well.