ARTICLE
Ravananugrahamurti
Ravananugrahamurti reliefs are also found in the somewhat earlier Lokeshvara or Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal, dated to the eighth century. In this relief, the inhabitants of Kailasha are shown shooting arrows and throwing stones at Ravana, further amplifying the conflict of the demon’s mountain shaking. Several reliefs depicting Ravananugrahamurti are found in Pallava temples in Mahabalipuram (present-day Mamallapuram) and Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, also dated to the eighth century.
Ravanagruhamurtis were produced under the Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty from the eighth through the eleventh century, with reliefs found at Jodhpur, Jaipur, and at multiple sites in Madhya Pradesh. These depictions often replace the tenth head of Ravana with a donkey head; he is frequently accompanied by an attendant holding a sword, and the compositions usually include a lion and Nandi in the form of a bull.
The Ravananugrahamurti image continued to enjoy popularity in the late medieval and early modern period. Reliefs depicting the scene are found in the Lakshmana temple in Khajuraho, (eleventh and twelfth century), in three panels at the Darasuram temple in Thanjavur (twelfth century), and at the Chennakeshava temple and Kedareshwara temples at Belur and Halebid, Karnataka (twelfth century). The subject was also featured in late medieval paintings from the Kangra school (c. 1780) and pata painting from Puri, dated to the nineteenth century.
Bibliography
Cummings, Cathleen Ann. A Study of the Iconographic Program of the Lokesvara (Virupaksa) Temple, Pattadakal. PhD Dissertation. The University of Ohio, 2006.
Huntington, Susan L. “Dynasties of the Middle Period.” Art of Ancient India: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu. London: Weather Hill, 1985. 348–350.
Rao, T A Gopinatha. “Anugrahamurtis.” Elements of Hindu Iconography Volume II, Part I. Madras: Law Printing House, 1916. 203–220.
Sharma, Brijendra Nath. “Ravana Lifting Mount Kailasha in Indian Art.” East and West 23, no. ¾ (1973): 327–338.