Kirātārjunīyam in Indian Art (With Special Reference to Karnataka) by M. S. Nagaraja RaoReview by: Michael W. MeisterJournal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 102, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1982), p. 236Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/601203 .

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236 Journal of the American Oriental Society 102.1 (1982)

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Bailey, Sir Harold W. 1975. "Indian Sindhu-, Iranian Hindu,- BSOA S 38.6 1 0-1 1.

Bright, William. 1980. "Archaeology, linguistics, and Ancient Dravidian," 2nd International Conference on South Asian Languages and Linguistics, Hyderabad.

Fairservis, Walter A., Jr. 1975. The roots of ancient India. 2nd ed. Chicago.

Knorozov, Yuri V., et al. 1972. Proto-Indica. Moscow. Mahadevan, Iravatham. 1980. 'Study of the Indus script: A

bi-lingual approach." 2nd International Conference on South Asian Languages and Linguistics, Hyderabad.

Parpola, Asko, et al. 1968. The decipherment of the Proto- Drax'idian inscriptions of the Indus Civilization. Copen- hagen.

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Kirdtdrjunivam in Indian A rt (With Special Reference to Karnataka). By M. S. NAGARAJA RAO. Pp. xvi + 122 (including appendices, index, and list of illustrations). 64 plates. Delhi: AGAM KALA PRAKASHAN. Rs. 275/ $55.00.

Nagaraja Rao's study of the story of Arjuna's penance and his conflict with Siva in the form of a kirdta (hunter), as it appears principally in the art of Karnataka state (of which Dr. Nagaraja Rao is Director of Archaeology and Museums), began when he was a museum trainee at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and discovered a small stone carving of this theme which eventually was purchased by the museum. Since then, Nagaraja Rao has been collecting examples from extant monuments in Karanataka and elsewhere, and going through the literature, starting with T. N. Ramachandran's study of 1950 (Journal of the Indian Society ot Oriental Art,

XVIII) which argues that the great relief at Mahabalipuram must be identified as representing the Kiratarjunlyam theme. The result is a rich archaeologist's book, not merely collecting examples but also attempting to place them in a context.

Nagaraja Rao begins by reviewing his theme in both Sanskrit and Kannada literature, of which the Mahahhrata version and that by Bharavi (referred to in Pulikesin's Aihole inscription of .Alf). 634 as giving to the poet the distinction of Kalidasa himself) seem clearly pre-eminent. A brief second chapter, however, points out that "a different version of the story based on a local tradition in Karnataka and probably in Andhra" was used as the source for most sculptural represen- tations in both regions. Certain local places (Koppal in Raichur, Safikaragudda range near Aynfir in Shimoga district, a hill near Bezwada in Andhra Pradesh) are identified as Indrakila in local tradition, reflecting the importance placed

on the theme in the region; in addition, a village tradition recorded by Nagaraja Rao at Halebidu suggests that Siva tested Arjuna in the forest in order to satisfy Parvati's desire to see an auspicious mark on Arjuna's back which made him invincible to all. According to this version, Siva picked a fight with Arjuna, then contrived to fall so that Arjuna would come on top of him, thus revealing his back to Parvat! who stood disguised as a kirdat. It is versions of this scene which Nagaraja Rao finds throughout early Chalukya, Rashtrakuta and Hoysala sites in Karnataka. (His chart, Appendix C, suggests that in the Vijayanagar period, and in later paintings, artists returned to the Mahabharata version.)

The main body of the book catalogues twenty-six sites (and six painted versions) from Karnataka which offer examples of his theme, and twelve representations from elsewhere in India (only those not already presented by Ramachandran) to add perspective. Appendices describe the Kiratarjuniyam relief in the Metropolitan, provide a chronologically arranged list of known representations, and chart versions of the story fol- lowed by artists of the representations discussed. Numerous plates are provided, printed clearly (though without using microdot blocks) by Agam publishers. Two color plates somewhat less clearly present painted versions of the theme.

Nagaraja Rao's efforts provide us with material of the Kiratarjunlyam theme in the production of art over a wide region, the relation of Arjuna (Nara), Indra, and Siva in the narrative (which begins by Arjuna approaching Indra to acquire weapons) and the shift toward emphasizing Siva's dominance over Arjuna rather than Arjuna's act of devotion to Siva, which one finds in the local version, the repetition of the theme and its persistence within a Saivite context, all are intriguing. By providing us material and a context for this single theme, Dr. Nagaraja Rao had done us a service. The context for the temples themselves, on the walls and pillars of which these representations for the most part survive, is enriched by such studies.

MICHNEL W. MEISTER UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

NVepalese Temple A rchiteture, lths Characteristics and Its Relations to Indian Development. By ULRICII WIESNER. Pp. 115 (including bibliography and index), Figs. 46, Pls. 16. (Studies in South Asian Culture, Vol. VIII, ed. by J. E. van Lohuizen-de Leeuw) Leiden: E. J. BRILL. 1977. 68 guilders.

This thoughtful book represents a study undertaken for the Ph.D. from the University of Cologne, supervised by the editor of this series of studies. Much of it obviously has depended on published sources; thus mistakes and misinter-

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