Near
to this pillar there is another depicting an image of Siva called Harihara. God's left
half is Vishnu and the right half Siva. Accordingly on the left side we see the conch,
pearl necklace, and other Vaishnavite marks and the brilliant carvings of the features of
Vishnu. On the right are the deer, snake and other marks of Siva. The moral is the
oneness, of both Hari and Hara, a synthesis between Vaishnavism and Saivism.
Gajaharamurti is shown in another pillar. The elephant was a demon sent by sages of
Darukavana to kill Siva for seducing their wives as Bhikshatana. Siva killed the elephant
and opened his head.
In another pillar the marriage of Meenakshi with
Sundareswara is depicted, where Vishnu is standing to the right ofMeenakshi and pouring
sacred water over the joined hands of the bride and the bridegroom. The bowed head of,
Meenakshi reveals the characteristic shyness of Hindu women. The features are most
realistic. In another pillar Siva is standing in a chariot about to kill the giants
who arerepresented in the opposite pillar. Siva assumed this form to kill three demons of
Tripura and to destroy their magic cities. During this campaign the earth is said to have
served as a chariot, the sun and the moon as its wheels, the four Vedas as the horses, and
the Upanishads as the guiding reins. The right leg is firmly placed on the pedestal and
the left is bent in an attitude expresive of great energy." |
