Chola Bronzes

The Chola period is a time when we witness a great deal of improvement and refinement of
the Dravidian forms of art and architecture. The Cholas were known for building magnificent
stone temples and elegant bronze sculptures, which had evolved out of Pallava and early
Pandiyan art forms. The Cholas adapted and further perfected the earlier forms developing
their own distinguishable style. Temple bronzes produced under the Chola dynasty of south
India are among the most spectacular works of art ever created in south Asia. During this
period bronze-casting reached a level of unparalleled excellence, and sculptures of masterful
artistry were created. These works exemplify the graceful forms, delicate modelling, and
remarkable technical sophistication of these sculptures and demonstrate the integral role that
they played and still continue to play, in the rich tradition of Hindu temple worship.

For a period of four hundred years, from the ninth to the thirteenth century, the Chola dynasty
was the dominant cultural, artistic, religious, and political force in south India. As
enlightened patrons of the arts, Chola rulers commissioned elegant bronze sculptures and
dedicated majestic stone temples to Hindu deities in order to proclaim the power, wealth, and
piety of the Chola dynasty. During this golden age, the arts – music and dance, poetry and
drama, architecture and sculpture – flourished. Bronze sculptures were a prominent feature in
the Chola worship and temple tradition. These often Depicted deities and saints, they
showcase a combination of the sensuous form with the sacred function of these deities and
saints. The bronzes were created as objects of worship and during processions and festivals
were adorned with silks, precious jewellery, and floral decorations that covered them almost
completely.

Despite the fact bronze casting was in existence in south India long before the Cholas, during
the Chola period we find such images being produced on a much larger scale, which further
attests the importance of the Chola bronzes. When these works of art began to be collected
they were displayed in their unadorned state. Bronzes remaining in Hindu temples continue to
be decorated for worship even today. Most of these sculptures showcase the paradoxical
mixture of the sensual and spiritual aspects of the deities, as is characteristic most Indian art
forms do.

What makes the Chola bronze sculptures especially unique is the method used in making
them. A technique known as the lost wax technique or cire perdue was used in making
bronze sculptures during the Chola period. The Sanskrit Shilpa texts ca;; it the Madhu
Uchchishtta Vidhana. Beeswax was mixed with oil and kungillium (camphor), this was then
kneaded creating a mixture which was then used to sculpt the required figure to the last
minute detail. Once the wax model was completed it was covered in a layer of wet clay until
the mould was of the required thickness. The heavily clay-encased mould is then baked in a
fire pit, melting the wax, which runs out through the small holes made in the mould, leaving a
perfectly detailed hollow clay mould. Specialized metal-workers would then take over,
heating copper with a small proportion of lead and tin (and in earlier times they used small
amounts of gold and silver). This metal alloy of bronze was then heated causing it to melt.
This particular bronze alloy was called Pancha Loham. The molten bronze was carefully
poured into the clay mould replacing the wax. Once the metal had filled all the crevices and
had cooled down, the clay mould was slowly and carefully broken off. Often it took up to two
or three days for the metal to settle and harden. The resulting bronze sculpture was then
cleaned and polished, and finer details were added. Each Chola sculpture was unique and
copies could not be made as the clay mould could only be used once. While the sculptors
worked on the images, at particular times during the process, priests were required to come
and chant scared verses as laid out in the texts. The consecration or bringing to life of a
deity’s idol involved an elaborate ceremony that took on special dates set by the astrologers.

It was believed that when the priests invoked the deity, he or she descended from a state of
abstraction and entered the immovable stone image enshrined in the sanctum of a temple,
where he or she receives the prayers of worshipers. The origin of the bronze images lies in
the urge to carry the deities around during processions in festivities. Around the sixth century
in south India, the deities began to assume an additional role similar to that of a human
monarch due to the changing religious concepts. The deities had to assume certain public
roles, such as being a central part of processions, daily rituals, festivals etc. Since, the stone
sculptures kept inside the temple were immovable, smaller portable metal images were made
out of bronze, which were carried around in processions during big festivities. Embodied in a
portable bronze sculpture and escorted by temple priests, the deity appeared in public to give
audience to devotees and to participate in a variety of festivities. Thus, came into being the
magnificent bronzes of the Chola period. Round lugs and holes can be often found at the base
of these sculptures, poles were put through these in order to carry them around. The bronze
sculptures used for the festivals and processions were beautifully adorned in clothes,
jewellery and flowers.

During Chola times, Thanjavur was a centre of bronze image production, with several
workshops and artisans. Inscriptional records speak about Rajaraja’s great temple at
Thanjavur, completed in the year 1010. The inscription also mentions that this royal temple
was gifted a total of sixty bronze images of deities, of which about one-third were given by
the emperor himself, one-third were gifts from his family (his sister and his queens), and the
remaining third were given by his officials and nobles. These included the iconic sculpture of
Shiva in his avatar as Nataraja.

The early medieval period saw political patronage to art and architecture on an unprecedented
scale, and the Cholas in particular were great patrons. While it was Vijayalaya who founded
the Chola dynasty in 850 CE, it was Aditya I (871 - 907) and his successor Parantaka (907 –
947) who were actually responsible for patronizing and formulating a set of features,
architectural as well as sculptural, that combined to produce the distinctive Chola style. These
rulers commissioned elegant temples and sculptures that were among the most beautiful in
South India and are certainly a testimony to the mastery of the Chola stone and bronze
carvers. The rulers made a strong statement by commissioning a project and the political
symbolism is mirrored in the sculptural ornamentation and painting at the temples. Another
Chola ruler who actively patronized arts was the queen Sembiyan Mahadevi. She bestowed
several gifts of bronzes and jewellery to the Nallur Kandaswamy temple in 967-68 CE.
Among these was the bronze idol of the goddess of the Nallur temple which is used in
worship even today.

The bronze images were and still are closely associated with the temples and its functioning.
The walls and niches of temples were adorned with bronze decorations also. The niches
contained large carved bronze figures. The sculptural embellishment was quite elaborate,
with a deeply carved frieze that is decorative and also serves as a separation between the
vimana from the base of the temple. One such example can be found at the Brihadisvara
temple in Tanjavur, devoted to Shiva.

Chola sculptures are known for the elegant and the graceful poses of the figures. These
sculptures are mostly devoid of intricate designs and ornamentation as compared to later
Vijayanagara and Nayaka periods. Facial expressions, posture and hand gestures (mudras)
were used to convey the meaning behind these images. Since the Cholas were Shaivites most
of the sculptures commissioned by them feature Shiva and his consort Parvati. The bronzes
frequently depict Shiva with Parvati and Somaskanda. Another frequent depiction was
Shiva’s marriage with Uma/Parvati. Other bronze figures include – Shiva as Bhikshatana,
shown as an enchanting mendicant or as the fierce tripurantaka, the destroyer of the forts of
the three demons. The most common depiction of Shiva were the images of Nataraja, where
he is shown performing the cosmic dance of creation and destruction. Besides Shiva and
Parvati, Vishnu, Ganesh, Murugan, Nandi and various saints also feature among the Chola
images often.

Shiva
Shiva was the most important deity especially because the Cholas were fervent worshipers of
Shiva. In his most supreme aspect, Shiva can neither be seen nor worshiped, but he
graciously takes various corporeal forms so devotees can comprehend him and pay respect.
The sanctum of a temple devoted to Shiva invariably enshrines the linga - his most common
representation. Shiva’s human manifestations are usually embodied in a given temple’s
festival bronzes as well as in the stone sculptures decorating its outer walls.

The god Shiva is always portrayed with a vertical third eye (indicating fiery energy) in the
middle of his forehead. His matted locks are knotted together and piled elegantly upon his
head and adorned with the crescent moon, a female personification of the river Ganga, a
skull, and wild cassia blossoms. He is often shown with serpents, which he uses as belt, hair
ornament, scarf, necklace, armlet, and wristband. His other attributes include the trident, a
deer companion, and the battle-ax, while his vehicle is the bull Nandi. Shiva is often depicted
in heroic guises, destroying forces of evil that threaten the world. Other times he is portrayed
as the loving husband of the goddess Uma and father of two sons, the elephant-headed god
Ganesha, and the warrior-youth god Skanda.

The Nataraja sculpture is one of the most iconic Chola bronze figures. The concept of
Nataraja arose out of the dancing Shiva imageries. However, the Chola Nataraja is
iconologically different from all other variants of a dancing Shiva. The Chola nataraja is a
integration of the Puranic narrative of Shiva’s dance as well as the Tamil legends which
project Shiva as a divine entity who controls of time and space through his dance. The
Nataraja sculpture shows him in a dancing pose with a circle of flames, representing the
universe whose fire he holds in the left rear hand. His left front arm crosses his chest parallel
to his raised left leg which symbolises liberation. Beneath his right foot is the demon
Apasmara signifying that Shiva is trampling ignorance and his right hand holds a drum.

Goddess Uma/ Parvati

Uma is considered to be the great goddess and consort of Shiva. She is invariably portrayed
as a slender, sensuous woman of great beauty. Multiple images of Uma form part of the
assemblage of bronzes in any sizable temple and are created either to stand alone or to
accompany Shiva in one or another of his manifestations. For instance, according to an early
Chola inscription in the temple at Tiruvaduturai, six of the temple’s twenty-three bronzes
were depictions of Uma. All sculptures of the goddess are similar in iconography and show
her standing in a graceful tribhanga (triple-bend) posture with one hand raised to hold a lotus
blossom and the other resting at her side. Each image is addressed by a distinct name dictated
by its placement within the temple’s ceremonial context. Without her constant presence, the
ritual cycle is incomplete. In the south Indian belief system, Shiva acting alone may perform
acts of cosmic significance and protect the world from evil, but it is only in the company of
Uma that he can bestow grace upon an individual soul.

Uma is the name given to the goddess in her role as wife and mother. In her own right, she is
the protective warrior goddess Durga, destroyer of demons, believed in south India to be
Vishnu’s sister. She is also Kali, the fierce protector, adorned with snakes and skulls, and
holding a noose and skull-cup.

Vishnu
The sanctum of a Vishnu temple invariably contains a stone or stucco image of the god in
human form in addition to its bronze sculptures. Typically, Vishnu is shown with his
attributes—the discus and the conch shell—in his two rear hands; one front hand is raised in
the gesture of protection while the other rests on his hip in a gesture of ease. He is usually
shown wearing a tall crown and abundant jewellery, and is often accompanied by his wife
Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and fortune. Since Vishnu is the eternal husband and support of
fortune and the earth, Hindu monarchs have always likened themselves to Vishnu. Even the
Chola kings did so, though most were devout worshipers of the god Shiva.

Vishnu is associated with a doctrine of ten avatars, one yet to come; he is born on earth in one
of the avatar forms whenever evil arises. Vishnu’s most popular avatars were those of
Krishna, who is portrayed as an infant, a youthful lover, and a wise monarch, and Ram, the
prince of Ayodhya.

The Tamil Saints

Between the sixth and ninth centuries, a series of Hindu saints traveled across the Tamil
countryside, stopping at temples to sing the glories of the deities enshrined within. There
were twelve prominent saints devoted to Vishnu, while those holy men and women who
dedicated their lives to Shiva were consolidated into a group of sixty-three saints. These
saints came from a variety of social backgrounds and included men, women and even one
child. Within the temples, the saints are honoured in a manner similar to the gods, and their
hymns are chanted on a variety of occasions including their birthdays, which are marked on
Tamil calendars.

The Chola bronzes are often seen as the epitome of Indian metal art. These bronzes produced
during the almost four and half century long reign of the Chola kings are known for their
beautiful artistry and sophistication. The technique through which these bronzes were made
only adds to their peculiarities. They were closely associated with the temples and played a
central role in the worship taking place the temples. While, some of these bronze images are
still found in temples many of them can be found in museums around the world. Many times
Chola bronze images are smuggled out and end up in the private museums of art collectors.