KIRTIMUKHA
For educational purpose Not for commercial use CREDITS Illustrations by- Srushti Dhobley Content- By different blogs and research gates https://medium.com/@Kalpavriksha/ kirtimukha-the-face-of-glory-9ba093dafea1 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Upperpart-of-a-torana-Yatkha-Baha-Kathmanduc-12th-century-CE_fig14_283515953
PREFACE A
ll art in ancient India was spiritual in natural and catered to the
religious needs of the people. Every motif used, every sculpture carved had a deep spiritual meaning, as all art was seen as a divine creation. This close relationship between art and religion manifested itself into all aspects of artistic creation.
This is the reason why you see the same motifs recurring across art forms, from literature to temple sculptures to folk culture. Nowhere is this fusion of art and spirituality more evident than in the figure of the Kirtimukha or ‘face of glory’ that you find in temple architecture all over India and Asia.
Ananda Coomaraswamy has described the nature of Hindu art -
“There is no hard line drawn between the secular and the religious in life; religion
is not so much a formula, as a way of looking at things, and so all the work of life may be done as it were unto the Lord”.
The Kirtimukha first appeared in the Indian art scene as a sacred Shaivite symbol and transformed itself into a decorative element that is seen in all temples everywhere from the threshold of the garbhgriha to the top of the lofty Gopurams.
भोगा न भुक्ता वयमेव भुक्ताः, तपो न तप्तं वयमेव तप्ताः। कालो न यातो वयमेव याताः, तृष्णा न जीर्णा वयमेव जीणार्ः ॥
The pleasures of life are not consumed by us, it is we that are consumed by the pleasures. A penance is not performed by us, we merely suffer the pain of the penance. Time has not gone by, We have been carried away by time (without our consent and away from our goal). Our longings have not been fulfilled or exhausted, we have been wasted by our longings.
Splendid of Self Reflection...........................................................................................................................................1
CHAPTER- 2 Description of Kirtimukha...............................................................................................................................................8
CHAPTER- 3 Impact on Architecture....................................................................................................................................................15
CHAPTER- 4 Metamorphosis................................................................................................................................................................................22
CHAPTER- 5 Contemporary Influences...........................................................................................................................................31
CONTENT
CHAPTER- 1
SPLENDID OF SELF REFLECTION
CHAPTER 1
1
O
nce upon a time, a certain yogi who was a little too proud of
himself arrived to see Shiva simply sitting there.
2
He stared at him, attempting to irritate him. Shiva refused to answer by merely sitting there, so he abused him. When Shiva didn’t react, he prodded him in the chest and added, “You’re merely sitting there because you’re terrified of me.” You have no idea what I know, and you lack my abilities.
3
This irritated Shiva to the point where he pulled a hair from his head and created a monster out of it, telling the demon, “eat eat up this yogi. He has no right to be on this world.” Within minutes, the demon had grown to enormous proportions and was following the yogi.
4
Yogi was afraid, so he ran up to Shiva and cried out, “Please, help me, don’t let this creature eat me.” Then Shiva changed his mind and replied, “All right, just leave and let him go.” The yogi then fled, horrified.
5
But the demon stood there, starving because he was made solely to feed, and he asked, “Now that you’ve released that yogi, what am I supposed to do?” Shiva had already slowed down and ordered, “Eat yourself.”
6
The demon then began to gobble himself up before Shiva could turn around and gaze at him. When he glanced at him, he saw that his entire body had vanished, leaving only his face and two arms.
7
“How quickly did you eat yourself up? You are the most glorious face, you are above all gods” Shiva asked, looking at him. Shiva and other adi yogi recongnised that the one who eats himself up or the one who makes nothing out of himself. He is the most glorious face of the planet because you do not carry this life as a burden.
DESCRIPTION OF KIRTIMUKHA CHAPTER 2
8
K
irti is derived from the Sanskrit root krit, meaning ‘celebrating, praising’.
Mukha means ‘face’. Kirti in Sanskrit also means ‘temple’. The Kirtimukha or ‘Face of Glory’, is a ferocious monster face with protruding eye-balls, huge fangs and gaping mouth found in temple architecture allover Asia. The Kirthimukha is a protector deity, a guardian warding the edifices off all evils.
‘The body of the monster was lean and emaciated, symbolising its insatiable hunger, yet its strength was resilient and irresistible. The Vapparition’s throat roared like thunder; eyes burnt like fire; the mane, dishevelled, spread far and wide into space.’
9
The Kirtimukha is symbolic of our thoughtless
Esoteric meaning
pursuit
of
worldly
possessions and pleasures, and has been placed prominently in places of worship to remind us: “Until you recognize the existence
of this avaricious nature in you and conquer over it, your spiritual quest can not even begin.”
The Kirtimukha is a personification of ‘glory’ aka pride, arrogance, in short, ego. It serves as a reminder to everybody that ego is essentially self destructive. Ego sustains itself by consuming everything in the person it whom it resides.
10
It has been said To represent the cosmic fire that periodically cleanses the world, or to be the emblem of Sun and Death, the pair that generates and destroys everything in the world. The name Kala-Makara indicates that it may be Time, the great destroyer.
The Kirtimukha mask is present in all of us. Spiritual aspirants are reminded of this stark reality and warned about its hidden power by the Kirtimukha image present everywhere in the temples. Kirtimukha is thus a threshold guardian to maturity, to the deepening of wisdom.
In Dharmic cosmology, the asuras (demons) are cousins of the gods, and are created from the same cosmic material. They are demonic however,
“
I shall call you Face of Glory, ‘Kirttimukha’, and you shall shine above the doors to all my temples. No one who refuses to honor and worship you will come ever to knowledge of me.
because they identify the Self with the body. All their power is perverted in finding ways to satisfy their material consciousness.
”
11
Oldest Myth The
oldest is the myth of Rahu. Like
Long ago, the gods arranged with their
Grasa, Rahu means “devourer,” and
enemies, the demons, for their help
both names are identified with the
in churning the oceans.
great devourer, Time. This story is
The churning of the waters would
told in the Mahabharata and in the
produce the nectar of the gods, amrita,
Brhatsamhita.
which would make whomever drank it immortal. This was to be divided between the gods and the demons. After the churning, however, the demons carried off the amrita themselves.
12
They quarreled among themselves, each wanting more than the others. Finally, they entrusted it to the god Vishnu for division, but Vishnu took the cup of amrita and gave it all to the gods. The demon Rahu assumed the
beyond Rahu’s neck, so the moon soon passes through and reappears in the night sky The head of Rahu then chases after it again, causing an
endless
cycle
of
eclipses.
Shiva. Shiva extended his protection,
through his throat.
but this left a problem, for the new
Having drunk the nectar of immortality,
monster had nothing to devour.
however, the head of Rahu could it
has
flown
through the sky, trying to drink again from the cup of immortality This cup is the moon. Every now and then Rahu catches up to the cup and devours it. It is then that we have an eclipse of the moon. But
there
is nothing
lightning,” hair standing on end, and
Rahu threw himself upon the mercy of
head before the amrita could pass
since,
monster with a lolling tongue, “eyes like
to devour Rahu.
him, however, and struck off Rahu’s
Ever
manifested itself as a lion-headed
hunger, which immediately threatened
and he succeeded. Vishnu recognized
die.
of color or a third eye. The energy
an emaciated body, the very spirit of
shape of a god in order to get a drink,
not
that is so often marked with a daub
In
other
story,
the
demon
king
Jalandhara wished to humiliate the god Shiva and sent Rahu to demand that Shiva send Jalandhara his bride, Parvati. Shiva’s answer was to emit a burst of energy from his ajna chakra that power spot between his eyebrows
What, it asked the Lord Shiva, should it now eat? Shivas solution—since he could not annihilate what he had created—was to tell it to eat itself. This the monster readily did, devouring as much of itself as it could reach, all the way to its neck, so that only the face remained.
13
Rahu the eclipse demon of India. Detail of a painting by Indoneian artist I.M Sidigriya. According to one set of myth, rahu drank the amrita, the liquire of immortality. His head was struck off, but because it had drunk of amrita he could not die. Ever since, it circles the sky trying to drink from cup of amrita, which is the moon. When it catches up with the moon, there is a linar eclipse. But the eclipse soon ends, because the moon passes out through the neck. The head of Rahu became the kirtimukha. In other legends Rahu was the catalyst by which kirtimukha
was
formed.
Photograph
Donald F.Trombino, F.R.A.S, Davis Memorial Solar Observatory.
14
“
Shiva named the Hunger Kirtimukha, the immortal face of glory. Shiva, who is Constant Awareness, wants you to be aware of the real nature of the universe, to accept it. To live in the world, is to be aware of that constant hunger, and as always, Shiva or Awakended Consciousness is the only way in which you can transcend it. In Sanskrit the spread of a word is
designated
as
mukha-karna-
parampara, “succession from mouth to ear,” and the expression mukhara, literally “having a face/mouth,” is used to describe resonant thunder or a loud voice because it was believed that the atmosphere has five faces: four faces in the four directions surrounding a face in the center. This view correlates with the concept that the sky is the region where kirti, in the form of the sound voice, blows like wind in all directions.
”
IMPACT ON ARCHITECTURE CHAPTER 3
15
Impressed by the creature’s ability to endure pain and to sacrifice itself, Lord Shiva addressed the creature as Kirtimukha, and blessed him with the boon that the ‘Face Of Glory’ would be present on the threshold and lintels of all Shiva temples to devour the sins of the devotees who visit the temples. Hence the Kirtimukha began to be carved on the lintel of doorways to Shiva temples and on the threshold of the door leading to the Garbhgriha.
16
Kirtimukha in Temple Architecture Initially meant to adorn the threshold and lintel of temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Kirtimukha soon became a popular decorative motif in temples dedicated to all deities. The kirtimukha is depicted as a fierce lion like face with stylised horns, a gaping mouth with protruding fangs, frowning eyebrows, bulbous eyes, matted hair flowing in all directions and fan-shaped ears.
17
The Kirtimukha is also known as Kalamukha, as it symbolises time that devours everything. According to O. C. Ganguly, in iconography, the Kirtimukha began
to
appear
first
in
Siva’s
jatamukuta or crown of matted hair as a protective motif. By sixth century CE, the motif became so popular for its perceived power to bestow protection and ward of evil-eye that it began to be carved on the top of the aureole or prabhavali of sculptures of all deities.
18
In śilpaśāstra texts like the Mānāsara, the Kirtimukha is described as a protective motif that can be carved on all parts of the temple like the pillars, the Shuknasi and the layers of the jagati. Sometimes, the Kirtimukha is
associated
with
the
makara
(crocodile) motif, especially in SouthEast Asia and Odisha. Before entering, worshipers always pay their respects first to the Face of Glory by sprinkling it with water. If it is located on the floor, they are careful not to step on it.
19
In
Dravida
temple
architecture, the Kirtimukha is found on the door-lintel of the main shrine, on the vimana,
at
the
base
of
the pillars as well as on a separate layer of Kirtimukhas at the base of the outer walls of the temple.
20
In Kalinga architecture, the Kirtimukha
In Hoysala temples particularly, you
motif is known as vajra-mastaka and
see
is depicted on the gandi or spire of
everywhere, from the base of the outer
the temple. In Kalinga architecture
layer of the temple to the Shuknasi, or
as seen in the temples of Odisha, the
beak like projection at the base of the
Kirtimukha motif is depicted with pearl
Shikhara of the temple.
or Rudraksha strings dripping from its mouth, a symbolic representation of the wealth and devotion of the king who is building the temple.
the
Kirtimukha
motif
carved
21
The motif is often found on the lintels of the gates, at the corners of the pillars, surmounting the pinnacle of a temple tower or in the iconography of a deity. It is present in all forms of Asian art.
METAMORPHOSIS CHAPTER 4
22
As a result, we no longer witness a cloudscape but an image of a real snake or snakes with erect hoods.
In
accordance
with
this
new interpretation, the kirtimukha gradually
turned
devouring snakes.
A
s discussed the serpentine motif at length because understanding
its significance is closely related to the
metamorphic
development
of
kirtimukha in medieval Nepal. A wooden work from Yatkha Baha, Kathmandu shows both the cloudfoliage motif and the serpentine motif emerging from the pair of makaras’ mouths and linking to kirtimukha at the apex of the arch.
Although
this
is
not
the
earliest
example, it clearly shows that the serpentine motif (actually a real snake with a scaly exterior) has now become part
of
kiritmukha’s
iconography.
This development paved the way for the next step of evolution, in which the original concept related to the serpentine
cloudscape
forgotten or ignored.
was
either
into
Garuda
23
Just a few decades later the snakes
It shows kirtimukha with wings and a
Most important, the cloud foliage
began to appear as a naga and
beak like nose, which indicate that
seen in the seventh and eighthcentury
nagini, personified male and female
kirtimukha is now in the process of being
Nepalese stone sculptures representing
serpents.
artistic
interpreted as Garuda. This sculpture
an arch can still be seen here, albeit
development was in harmony with
can be dated stylistically to either
on a diminutive scale,immediately
the preexisting popular concept that
the ninth or tenth century because
below the serpentine motif. We can
a snake devouring Garuda appears
the serpentine motif, emerging from
detect the birdlike development of
in the clouds. A transitional stage of
the mouth of the makaras, does not
kirtimukha not only in Nepalese works
development is a rare stone sculpture
curve like a crawling snake as it does
but also in the contemporaneous art
found in the vicinity of Bhuvaneshwar
in later periods, but retains the original
of the Tibetan tradition. An example is
temple, about two blocks west of the
undulating, voluminous shape.
a ninth or tenth-century wooden book
famous
Incidentally,
Pashupatinath
Kathmandu.
this
temple
in
cover showing horned Garuda with outstretched wings holding the stems of lotus vines that turn into the tail of the outward-facing makaras.
24
The face of Garuda distantly echoes
Buddha
on
This becomes evident if we juxtapose
kirtimukha, but the crescent moon of
kirtimukha/vanaspati with a prominent
two Nepalese works separated by a
the Nepalese kirtimukha is interpreted
beak
The
millennium. In the seventh-century
by the Tibetan artist as the horns of
identification of the subject of these
Nepali example of kirtimukha described
the bird known to followers of the Bon
sculptures has been controversial for
above , we see cloud foliage emerging
religion as khyung. Indian and Nepali
many decades.
from the face and mingling with the
Shakyamuni
and
extended
standing wings.
foliated tails of the outward-facing pair
Garuda is devoid of horns. In contrast, horns,
Cultural and artistic changes in South
of lions. Compare this stone sculpture
frequently appears in early Tibetan art.
Asian art quite often take place without
with a late seventeenth-century Nepali
Thus, one can argue that the transition
replacing earlier elements, Garuda did
painting in which we find the continuity
from kirtimukha to the big bird may
not supersede kirtimukha at a particular
of iconographic elements such as the
have taken place in the art of the
point in time. Rather, the multiple
grotesque face with crescent moon on
Tibetan tradition.
Phases
the head, the cloud foliage, and the
khyung,
with
its
prominent
of
the
kirtimukha/Garuda
motif’s transitional development were We should not, however, insist on this
retained in overlapping fashion for
point because we find kirtimukha
many centuries.
changing into Garuda not only in the Himalayan region but also in Southeast Asia, an early example being a series of well-known stone sculptures showing
lions.
25
new
The metamorphic development of
With careful observation, one can
features are the outstretched wings of
kirtimukha is reflected in the etymology
detect in some examples the eyes,
the birdlike kirtimukha and the green
of certain ancient Newari words. As
nose, and mouth of kirtimukha hidden
snakes. Such images of kirtimukha/
mentioned
thecloud-foliage
in the cloud foliage of the “head pouch”
Garuda cannot be found earlier than
motif (meghapatra or abhrapatra)
motif. This may be the reason that
the ninth century.
was known to the Newars of the valley
the Buddhist author preferred to call
as
Likewise,
kramasirsa “the culminating head.”
in
their
Even after kirtimukha metamorphosed
chyampvo,
into a bird, the Newar artists kept the
The
immediately
noticeable
lapvo,
earlier,
“water
kirtimukhawas artistic
pouch.”
designated
terminology
as
“head pouch.”
Newari nomenclature with a different
A Buddhist author, perhaps a Newar,
spelling: chempu or chepu. The original
translated the Newari word into Sanskrit
meaning and etymology of chyampvo
as kramasirsa, “the culminating head.”
was forgotten, and in art kirtimukha
At the apex of a torana, or niches of the
had already turned into a bird.
Nepali chaityas, in multiple examples, we find a cloud motif that looks like a lotus rather than kirtimukha. It is this apex cloud motif which is known to Newars as “head pouch.”
26
Therefore, in modern Newari, Chempu
In a seventeenth- to nineteenth-
mythical bird.
century drawing depicting Buddha’s
According to one story, Chempu is
related to the story, is represented as
not exactly Garuda but his brother.
an auspicious phenomenon of the
I have found that this story is more
atmosphere, and a label inscription
popular among the Newar family
given in the latter identifies the bird
of artisans and artists than among
as Garuda.
or Chepu became the name of a
regular Newar households, perhaps because both lapvo and chyampvo derive from artistic technical terms. Newar mothers and grandmothers try to divert the attention of crying children by directing them to watch Garuda rather than chempu fighting with snakes in the cloud formations.
century painting and a nineteenthlife, a flying Garuda, although not
27
• In Bali, the motif is today called Bhoma and has has the same function as the Javanese Kāla as a guardian spirit of the temple. In Bali, the head of Bhoma is carved both at the temple gate which marks the entrance to the holiest part of the shrine (paduraksa) and at the base of the padmasana, the holiest and most central shrine in Balinese temples. When located at the bottom of the sacred padmasana, Karang Bhoma is a guardian spirit of the shrine, which also symbolizes the forest at the foot of the mountain. • In China it is a dragon form with a python’s body and a demon head, known as taotie (‘Monster of Greed’).
28
• In Java, Sumatra and Cambodia, it is called Kāla or sometimes Banaspati (‘King of the Woods’). The Kāla with the Makara-Torana sprouting from it is found in Java and Sumatra as the Kalamakara Torana. Many gates in Javanese traditional buildings feature Kāla. In Borobodur, the gate to the stairs is adorned with a giant head, making the gate look like the open mouth of the giant. • In Tibetan Buddhism, the Kirtimukha are the Buddha’s guardians.
29
• In Javanese mysticism, Kāla is the
In
cause of the solar and lunar eclipses
(Vanaspati) is the king of the plant
and is the consort of Durga.
kingdom. The name Bhoma came
In temples, the passage to the most
from the Sanskrit word bhauma, which
holy courts is only possible through
means “something that grows” or “is
the open mouth of the Kāla. This step
born from earth”.
is meant as symbolic death and as cleansing for anyone wishing to get closer to the gods and to Shiva.
Java
and
Bali,
Banaspati
30
Kirtimukha is described in the Skanda
• In India the Kirtimukha is generally a
Purana, where Shiva ordered it to be
lion form, sometimes known as Simha-
represented at the lintel of the sanctum.
mukha. In Orissa, they are called
It is thus prescribed in famous manuals
Rahur-Mukher-Mala. In Gujarat, the
of architecture such as the Manasara.
Kirtimukha is often called Graspati.
Kirtimukha
is
also
found
above
sculptures of deities, forming an arch of vegetation erupting from his mouth and from his crown chakra. It is then interpreted as the deity of vegetation and of forest which grows in the soil and obtaining water.
CONTEMPORARY INFLUENCES
CHAPTER 5
31
Kirtimukha in Indian Art and Crafts Because of its perceived powers as a guardian deity that wards off evil, the Kirtimukha is a very popular motif in jewellery as well as in paintings of a religious character like the pattachitra of Odisha and the Thangka scroll paintings of Tibet, Sikkim and Ladakh.
32
Kirtimukha in Literature There are many references to the Kirtimukha According
in to
Sanskrit V.S.
literature.
Agrawala,
the
Kirtimukha was believed to be the motif that makes the temple structure stable, and its destruction in any manner would cause the collapse of the whole edifice. In the PadmaPurana, Prabhu Shri Ram is advised to break the Kirtimukha that crowns Ravana’s palace in Lanka with his bow in order to bring down the whole edifice.
33
Kirtimukha as trend In recent years, the Kirtimukha has proved to be a very popular motif in body tattoos as it is believed that the Kirtimukha tattoo will protect the person from any harm and keep him/ her safe and healthy. Kirtimukha motif has also been used in Kosa sarees woven in Chattisgarh state.
34
CONCLUSION Ancient Indians believed that words are sounds. Kirti
is
not
“mysterious or
glorious
exactly
“glory”
but
regarding
the
atmospheric
words
sound
achievement of a person” that spread through space like a resounding voice. Kirtimukha
was
also
known
as
pancavaktra, “a creature with five faces or mouths.”
Pancavaktra is also a word for a
lion because the creature, due to its resonant roar, is believed to have five
roaring mouths, thus symbolizing the atmospheric phenomenon of sound.
In Indic art, atmosphere is regularly
The cloudscape looks sometimes like
or head, preferably that of a lion,
serpent.
represented by a grotesque face which tallies with literary statements
a lotus vine, sometimes like a crawling
regarding atmosphere.
The significance of the serpentine
The symbolic identity of kirtimukha
motif became a real serpent;
with
the
atmosphere
is
always
indicated by a stylized cloudscape
emerging from either a face or a mouth.
Kirtimukha began to appear at the
apex of Gupta/Vakataka and postGupta-period makara toranas
because the entrances represent the cloud gate of heaven.
motif was quickly forgotten and the thus kirtimukha turned into Garuda.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author takes great pleasure in expressing his gratitude to the authorities of the government and to Dr. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Director, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Samgrahalaya. I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to them, because of their wisdom on such topics encouraged me to work on Kirtimukha. It was a great opportunity to spread awareness on defunct indian motif.
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