Kashmir Sculptures : An Iconographical Study of Brahmanical Sculptures, Vols. I and II
Contents: Vol. I. Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. 2. Brahma. 3. Siva: i. Linga-vigraha. ii. Mukhalinga. iii. Siva images. iv. Brahmanical triad. v. Trimurti Dattatreya. vi. Mahesamurti. vii. Uma Mahesvara. viii. Gangadharamurti. ix. Ardhanarisvara. x. Tripurantaka Siva. xi. Gajasurasamharamurti. xii. Ravananugrahamurti. xiii. Vinadhara Siva. xiv. Siva-Natesa. xv. Lakulisa-Lord of the Staff. xvi. Bhairava. xvii. Ganesa. xviii. Karttikeya. 4. Matrkas/mother Goddesses: i. Durga/Mahisasurmardani. ii. River Goddesses--Ganga and Yamuna. iii. Snake Goddesses.
Vol. II. 5.Visnu: i. Visnu Vasudeva. ii. Vaikuntha Visnu. iii. Caturanana Visnu. iv. Garudasana Visnu. v. Pancaviras. vi. Narasimha. vii. Balarama. viii. Surya. ix. Vamana. x. Sesasayi Visnu. xi. Vasudeva Kamalaja. xii. Harihara. xiii. Laksmi. xiv. Prabhavali showing manifestations of Visnu. xv. Visnupada. 6. Kamadeva/Maithuna: i. Kamadeva. ii. Maithuna. 7. Miscellaneous images: i. Indra. ii. Candra (Moon-God). iii. Dvarpala. iv. Siddha. v. Salabhanjika. Appendices: 1. Kutbal tile. 2. Names of one hundred and one temples referred in the Visnudharmottara (3.chs 86-88). 3. Sankha, 5th/6th century A.D., Terracotta, Latepur. 4. Destruction of the temples/images during 15 century A.D. 5. Ruins of the Vainyasvamin temple (8th cent. A.D.), Malikpur (Parihasapura). 6. Gold Diadem, 9th century A.D., Kashmir. 7. Mudras referred in the Jayakha Samhita. 8. Erotic images on the Avantisvara Temple (9th century A.D.). Glossary. Bibliography. Index.
"Kashmir occupies a central position in Asia with its borders touching Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and Tibet. This gave rise to the rich cultural matrix in the valley, including religion, philosophy, literature, history, music, fine arts and aesthetics. There has been continuous sculptural activity in the region spanning over a period of thousand years. Despite the rich treasure trove of Kashmiri sculptural images and their most distinctive regional style, a very little research work is done in this area. The present book is an attempt in that direction.
Running into two volumes, it makes an iconographic study of Brahmanical sculptures of Kashmir. Bringing together more than five hundred Brahmanical images of Kashmir from different parts of the world, it demonstrates their enduring themes, iconographic types and stylistic traditions, as well as major influences on them. Also, it highlights their religious and artistic significance while placing them in historical context. The cultural milieu that inspired the creation of these masterpieces in ancient Kashmir has been investigated as well. The book includes sculptural images of Brahma, Siva, Vishnu, Mother Goddesses, Kamadeva and others."
