The Brahma from Mirpur Khas is a famous bronze image of

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...

made in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

, in modern

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, dated to the 5th or 6th century, during the

Gupta period The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...

. It is the earliest known metallic image of

and the only known representative of the school it represents. It has been described as "an immense artistic creation" of the Gupta period. It was found in a field near Mirpur-Khas as first reported by Henry Cousens in 1929. Some report it as having been found at Brahmanabad.

Description

The four-headed Brahma bronze statue has a height over 3 feet. Brahma is shown standing with two hands, wearing a

dhoti The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the ...

and a

yajnopavita ''Upanayana'' ( sa, उपनयनम्, lit=initiation, translit=Upanāyanam) is a Hindu educational sacrament, one of the traditional saṃskāras or rites of passage that marked the acceptance of a student by a preceptor, such as a ''guru'' ...

but without any ornaments. Vasudeva Sharana Agrawala calls it "an exceptionally good specimen of the art of metal-casting in this period". Śrīrāma and Śaṅkara Goyala term is "true memorial of Gupta metalsmith's artistic genius". It is said to the best example of Gupta art in Sindh. The object suggests that Sindh was a major center of metalworking. It is displayed at The National Museum Karachi.

Comparison with related art

Brahma from Mirpur Khas has been widely used by art historians for comparison with other artwork of historical significance.South Asian Archaeology 1975: Papers from the Third International Conference of the Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe Held in Paris, J. E. Van Lohuizen-De Leeuw BRILL, 1979. The image of the Brahma from Mirpur Khas is on the cover. https://books.google.com/books?id=H2GW1PTHQ1YC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brahma, Mirpur-Khas Pakistani art Hindu gods in art Sindhi culture Gupta art Bronze sculptures

Description

Comparison with related art

See also

References