Monday, October 1, 2012

Poetry in Stone - 13

This is thirteenth in the series on the rich cultural heritage of ancient temples in India.  They are richly carved and they behold ones attention for their craftsmanship. Some of these temples have carvings of Goddess Lakshmi in various forms. Each of these sculptures are marvel stone in their own right.


In the Brihadeeshwara Temple at Gangaikondacholapuram on the exterior walls there is a magnificent larger than life sculpture of Lakshmi. On the Lotus flower in the sitting posture with 4 hands every minute details have been beautifully carved.


In the Kailasha Temple at Ellora, there is a beautiful sculpture of Lakshmi surrounded by elephants. Here she is known as Gajalakshmi.


There are many more such sculptures of the Goddess in the various temples decorating the exterior walls. Here we see some of those sculptures. First one is at Brihadeshwar Temple at Tanjore. The second one again the larger than life sculpture is at Kailasha Temple, Ellora. The third one is at Srirangapattana Temple where Laksmi is sitting at the feet of Vishnu. I shall feature more such sculptures as I discover them. 

41 comments:

Al said...

I love seeing these Indian carvings, and craftsmanship is an understatement.

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Classics!

http://joshidaniel.com/ said...

looks great :)

Jeevan said...

Lovely captured the sculpture of Lakshmi! Wish to visit the Gangaikonda... some day.

Vineeta Yashsavi said...

Beautiful pictures with informative write up...

abhinavr said...

Informative with amazing pictures!

Liz said...

Beautiful sculptures.

Liz @ YACB

Anonymous said...

Beautiful :)

Unknown said...

wow,picture collection of the ancient temples...thanks for sharing!


YMM#2: Yellow Flower

Fashion Momma said...

Very intricate artwork.

My MYM.

EG CameraGirl said...

Exquisite carvings.

Sylvia K said...

Another wonderful look at your world, Rajesh, with its incredible temples! Wonderful captures as always!!

DeniseinVA said...

Magnificent! I always find your posts very interesting, thank you Rajesh!

Unknown said...

Again stunning!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Carver said...

Wonderful art. I like the poetic stonework so much.

eileeninmd said...

India must have the most amazing sculptures and carvings. Great shots!

Indrani said...

Great captures of these amazing stone works.

Anonymous said...

Such beautiful stone carvings -- like poems!

magiceye said...

Exquisite work indeed! Beautifully captured!

Leovi said...

Excellent and beautiful sculptures. No doubt they are very artistic, India has a treasure.

Ramakrishnan said...

Marvelous and amazing pics. Thanks for sharing.

Roger Owen Green said...

LOVELY deity.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

photowannabe said...

The carvings are amazing.

carol l mckenna said...

Amazing and creative stone work ~ Wonderful photography ~ (A Creative Harbor)

Anonymous said...

Lovely architecture

PhenoMenon, ABCW Team

MaR said...

So very beautiful!

ABC Wednesday

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Poetry in Stone is the perfect title for your posts featuring these amazing and intricate carvings. The Goddess Lakshmi is beautiful and I also think the elephants are wonderful.

Alice said...

Interesting and educational to learn so much history and cultures of the temples and sculptures from your blog. Have a nice day.

Mina Menon said...

Belur N halebid are a treasure trove for these sculptures carved from stones!

Hazel said...

wow... wish I had that body shape (first photo)

Magia da Inês said...

Muito bonitas!
Tenha um lindo dia!
Beijinhos.

彡♪♫°¸.•

R Niranjan Das said...

Wonderful architecture. Nice post.

http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

Joy said...

Lakshmi looks very serene in the first, the simplicity of the surroundings adds to the effect.

Meoww said...

It is amazing what people could do with the meager implements. Sweet!

P.N. Subramanian said...

The Lakshmi at Gangaikondacholapuram looks amazing.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Another interesting and fascinating sculptures!

Catching up with ABC. Got busy the past couple of days and just now have the time to visit entries.


Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed the sculptures. Thank you.

YOSEE said...

Gangaikondachozhapuram is one of my most fav. haunts when i travel south. Can never tire of its awesome beauty.
Loved the pics.

Rajesh said...

Thank you all for appreciating this wonderful craftsmanship.

The Author said...

Another Beautiful Post of a wonderful series !!

Anonymous said...

They are really very amazing.. :)