Anantashayi Vishnu, also known as Anantashayana Vishnu (both literally "sleeping on the serpent
Ananta"), is a large open air horizontal
rock relief
A rock relief or rock-cut relief is a relief, relief sculpture carved on solid or "living rock" such as a cliff, rather than a detached piece of stone. They are a category of rock art, and sometimes found as part of, or in conjunction ...
of the
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
god
Vishnu
Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
, carved during the early 9th century in Saranga village, under the Parjang police station, in the
Dhenkanal district
Dhenkanal district is one of the 30 districts of the state of Odisha in Eastern India.
History
Geography
Dhenkanal district is one of the centrally located districts in Odisha. It lies between Longitude: 85° 58' to 86° 2' East and Latitude ...
of
Orissa, India
Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thi ...
. It is located on the left bank of the
Brahmani River
The Brahmani is a major seasonal river in the Odisha state of eastern India. The Brahmani is formed by the confluence of the Sankh and South Koel rivers, and flows through the districts of Sundargarh, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, ...
. It is the largest such exposed rock cut structure in the horizontal position measuring in length, in the whole of India,
while the largest standing image is of
Gomateshwara in
Southern India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
. It is a protected monument maintained by the
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...
,
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...
Circle. Worship is still offered to the four armed reclining Vishnu.
[
]
Location
The Vishnu image, located on the left bank of the river bed of the Brahmani River, is at an elevation of . It is accessible by road over a distance of from Saranga Village in Parajanga Tehsil of Dhenkanal district
Dhenkanal district is one of the 30 districts of the state of Odisha in Eastern India.
History
Geography
Dhenkanal district is one of the centrally located districts in Odisha. It lies between Longitude: 85° 58' to 86° 2' East and Latitude ...
, from Dhenkanal
Dhenkanal is a town and a municipality in Dhenkanal district in the state of Odisha, India.
Geography
Dhenkanal is at . It has an average elevation of 80 metres (262 feet).
Demographics
As per the 2011 India census, Dhenkanal had a p ...
, 23 km from Angul and from Talcher
Talcher, known as the "City Of Black Diamond" in Odisha, is a major industrial coal city and municipality. Talcher is one of the 4 sub-divisions of Angul district in the Indian state of Odisha.
History
During the British Raj Talcher was the c ...
. It is also approached from the National Highway 42 from Cuttack to Sambalpur, on branch road over distance of 3 km. The second natural rock-cut image in parent rock is at Bhimakand in Talcher subdivision of the Dhankal district.
History
The image was carved during the first quarter of the 9th century CE when the Bhauma-Kara that ruled in central part of Orissa. It has been analysed on the basis of its "idiom and crown" and dated to belong to later part of the Bhaumakara reign.[ Historical records also indicate that the Nandodhbahav feudatory rulers, under the Bhaumakara kings, who were followers of ]Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...
(the Hindu sect which worships Vishnu as the Supreme God), were instrumental in getting the carvings of two large rock-cut images of Vishnu - the one at Saranga and the other at Dankal, in the upper Brahmani River valley. The Bhaumakara kings asserted their association with Vaishnavism in the grants that they provided to carve the rock-cut sculptures and temples as recorded on the occasion of the celebrations of ''Vishuvazakranthi'' and ''Devtesvaduadasi''.
It is also reported that the urge to create these carved sculptures with deep expressions of "vigour and vitality" was inspired from the expressions depicted in the rock cut temples at Ellora
The Ellora Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Aurangabad, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 AD, including Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain caves., Quote: "The ...
and Elephanta in Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
, and Mahabalipuram
Mamallapuram (also known as Mahabalipuram), is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of ...
temples in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. Such carvings on entrance gates or central part of regular temple lintels have been noted in the Rajeevlochana temple at Rajim
Rajim is a town which is proposed to be in Raipur district but officially in Gariaband district, Chhattisgarh, India. Rajim is named after Rajiv Lochan Mandir which is the main Hindu pilgrimage temple of Rajim dedicated to Vishnu. There is also ...
and the Lakshmana temple
Lakshmana (, ), also known as Laxmana, Lakhan, Saumitra, and Ramanuja, is the younger brother of Rama in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is considered as an incarnation of Shesha, the lord of serpents. Lakshmana was married to Urmila, and is ...
in Sirpur, which were forerunners for its adoption under the Bhaumakara kingdom.
Description
The Vishnu image, under the open sky, occupies an area measuring in length and in width with a thickness of .[ The image is of the Hindu god Vishnu in a reclining position (''Anantashayana'' in ]Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, literally sleeping on the serpent Ananta). The image is carved out of natural rock of sandstone formation. He has four arms, holding a Chakra
A chakra (; ; ) is one of the various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, part of the inner traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism.
The concept of the chakra arose in Hinduism. B ...
in the upper right hand, a Shankha
A Turbinella pyrum, shankha () has religious ritual importance in Hinduism.
In Hinduism, the shankha called panchajanya is a sacred emblem of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu. It is still used as a trumpet in Hindu ritual, and in the past was us ...
in his upper left hand, a Gada and a symbolic lotus on its lower left hand. The hoods of the serpent Shesha (Ananta) covering the head of Vishnu. The Vishnu image has a sharp chin, distinctive nose and wears a crown on its head, called ''kiritamukuta'' (a tall conical crown, typically worn by Vishnu).[ A lotus design shown sprouting from his navel has the creator god ]Brahma
Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...
, sitting in meditation.[ Another image in the same district also carved in ]sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
in a reclining posture is in Khamkanaga Subdivision, in Angul district
Angul district; also known as Anugul, is one of the list of districts of Odisha, thirty districts of Odisha in eastern India. The city of Angul is the district headquarters of Angul district. A major industrial hub of the state, the district h ...
of length (as against the length of image in Saranga village. The sculptor has imagined the river bank conceptually to represent the Kshirasagara
In Hindu cosmology, the ''Kshira Sagara'' (, ; ; ; Telugu: Pala Samudram) or Ocean of Milk is the fifth from the centre of the seven oceans. It surrounds the continent known as Krauncha. According to Hindu scriptures, the Deva (Hinduism), devas a ...
(cosmic ocean) from which Brahma created the world. The shrine is regularly worshipped by local people. The Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander ...
is renovating this sculpture regularly and has kept it in a good condition. Floods in Brahmani River are the only threat to the image as this is built by sandstone in the river bed, which could erode.[
]
See also
* Reclining Buddha
A reclining Buddha is an image that represents Buddha lying down and is a major iconographic theme in Buddhist art. It represents the historical Buddha during his last illness, about to enter the parinirvana. He is lying on his right side, his h ...
References
External links
images of Anantashayi
{{Hindu temples in Orissa
Hindu temples in Dhenkanal district
Vishnu temples
Archaeological monuments in Odisha
9th-century Hindu temples
9th-century establishments in India
Rock reliefs in India