Sambandar

Title
Sambandar
Year/Period
13th century
Region
Late Chola, Tamil Nadu, south India
Material
Dimension
Object size: 41 x 3 cm
Accession No.
1993-00019
Credit Line
Purchased with funds from Singapore Reinsurance Corporation Ltd. and India International Insurance Pte. Ltd

This is a dancing image of the Shaivite saint Sambandar, one of the 64 Nayanmars, devotional (bhakti) saints from Tamil Nadu, South India. The pose is similar to that of Krishna dancing with a butterball (Navaneeta Krishna) or as Krishna dancing on the hoods of the serpent Kaliya (Kaliya Mardana). Both images strike a dance-like pose with a raised leg and a relaxed hand gesture. The pointed right finger in this figure represents kevala gnana (knowledge of the Supreme Being). This bronze in particular is a very beautiful example of classic Chola (9th–13th centuries) art.

 

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