Page:A Handbook of Indian Art.djvu/313

Rh condition of Northern India must have driven many Brahmans and craftsmen from Aryāvarta to take service under the powerful Hindu monarchs of the south. The few classic examples at Elephanta, Ellora, and elsewhere are several centuries earlier. In the south, also, the traditions of the Saiva temple images survive to the present day, whereas in Northern India the Saivas, probably under the compulsion of Muhammadan rulers, generally substituted the lingam for iconic symbols of Siva. It should be remembered, however, that the traditions of Saiva art in the south are attributed, even by the craftsmen of the present day, to the teaching of Indo-Aryans from the north.

We have already observed that the principle of the design of Saiva or Dravidian temples is derived from the stūpa. The two leading types of Buddhist imagery, the Yogi and the Bodhisattva king, also appear in Saiva sculpture, with this difference, that, even when absorbed in meditation, Siva is never shown in temple images without the royal tiara. The Great Yogi is represented in the sculptures at Elephanta, and is thus shown as a crowned king; but in Saiva sacred literature he often appears in the ordinary guise of a Brahman ascetic.

The Bodhisattva types already given will be recognised again in the fine bronze figure of Kālāri-mūrti, or Siva as the Conqueror of Death (Pl. LXIV, ), from the great temple of Tanjore, representing the perfection of Chola art in the tenth and eleventh centuries. A touching legend is told in explanation of this conception of Siva. A famous Rishi who was childless prayed to the Great God that he might be blessed with a son. Siva appeared to him and gave him the choice of having many stupid sons who would live long, or one exceedingly clever who would