Elephant in Indian Painting from Pre-Historic Period to Rajasthani Style

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About the Book In the present book, it has been very methodically, and logically tried to introduce, the mythological and literary content, significance, symbolic and religious meanings and other aspects of representation of elephant form in Indian art. To present a total view of the development of the elephant form in Indian art, with its different connotation, it has been brought here into discussion, how elephant has been depicted in Pre historic art, in the art of Indus Valley, in Buddhist cave paintings, the manner and purpose of depiction of elephants that appear on the Palm leaves of Pala and Jain manuscripts, as also in Mughal and Rajasthani miniature paintings to make the chronological order complete.

The comparative analysis of form and composition, line and colour, technique and treatment of the depiction of the animal (elephant) in each phase in its development in Indian art, have been tried to deal here with special care and minute observation, using appropriate literary references and ample supporting pictorial documents of actual specimens of different Schools and Centres of the country. This gives a clear idea of the symbol and character, philosophy and myth, religious associations and meaning of elephant's representation in Indian Painting, caring of the artistic values.

Preface In India, elephant figure deals with the life of men in its varied aspects and in this regard, has always been regarded as lucky and sacred. It is not confined to any one linguistic group or region. Like other great metaphors and religious symbols of the divine culture, it is constantly cel ebrated and transformed in rituals, songs, stories and art by individual makers and is deeply associ ated with Indian philosophy and myths. It is the amount of gods, it brings victory to the kings. The elephant-headed Ganela is the giver of Perfection. Indra, lord of the sky, mounts the white el ephant Airavata. In the Jatakas, Buddha himself is represented as a white elephant. As a religious symbol, the elephant is purely Asian. It represents royalty, power, wisdom, fertility, and longevity. In countries such as Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, elephants were believed for watering the fields. In ancient India, the animal was considered so sacred that Kautilya prescribed the death-sentence for anyone who killed it. When we research on the various aspects of the elephant, like its physical, mental, and behavioral aspects, we never imagined that this huge mammal could be so complex. The elephant is a most fascinating animal with the largest brain of all land animals and is almost three times larger in the size of the brain of a human. September 22 is Elephant Appreciation Day. The White Elephant plays an important role in Asian folklore and history. In Thailand, elephant fighting contests were held on festivals to entertain the public. The very early Hastyayurveda gives some interesting details regarding elephant's origion. The position of the elephant in regard to art, in all the ages, is one of considerable importance. In architectural sculpture and mural decoration so, the image of the elephant is constantly employed. So, in tribal and urban houses too, the elephant is modeled on walls, or even carved on doors. There may be a vague belief that such representations are symbol of good- luck.

There are at least two species left out of the 350 species of elephant that once roamed on this planet. One African species (Loxodonta Africana) lives mostly in the open Savanna of Africa and the other Asian species (Elephas Maximus) are found in the south-eastern belt of the globe. Thus it was from Asia and Africa,that the Proboscidians (- the proboscis, or trunk) began to wander globally. As a Hindu religious symbol, the elephant is highly favored.In India, which is surprisingly rich in culture, a vast number of myths and legends are interwoven around the elephant. This fascinating subject is a vast one not easily to be compressed into few pages. The main objective of this book is to present a total view of the development of the Elephant form in Indian Painting with its different connotation, caring of the artistic values and have tried to establish me thodically and logically the historical, technical and its aesthetic values as well. All the previous studies on Elephant have been done on its significance in Plastic Art, but not in Painting. In this book, I have focused on how this Elephant form gradually developed in the Pictorial Art from the remote Pre-historic period to the Rajasthani style of medieval period, according to the geography and style of the main schools.

Preface Animals have been important to man in many ways since pre-historic times. In India, its rich flora and fauna, were a source of continuous inspiration to the people and due to their direct contact with nature, his finer sentiments found expressions in literature, and art was no exception. The meslium of painting, like other arts, aided in unveiling the aesthetic responses. According to the Chitra Sutra of Fixmidharmottara Purana.

"Painting, is the best of all arts, and is conductive to dharma (right conduct) and moksha (emancipation)." The awareness of the Indian mind about the world of the animal and plants, inspired him to watch many of them closely, and when brought into use, they revealed the mystery of the strength and power, nobility and usefulness inherent in the genre. In this range, four particular animals appear to have received a very deep and mentionable comprehension, namely the bull, the elephant, the horse and the lion. Of these, the elephant happens to be a phenomenon of primordial nature known, studied, tracked and affectionate appraisal by the Indian psyche from ancient times, having been drawn into mystic association, first with Indra and then with Vedic and Puranic background.

The English word 'elephant' comes from the Sanskrit Ibha, through the Arabic "al pha or from the Indro- Iranian 'pil' through the Arabic al-fil. The proboscis or trunk of the elephant, gives the name PROBOSCIDEA, to this order of mammals.

Due to the physiological difference, there are two species of the elephants in existence-i. e. Asiatic elephant (Elephas Maximus) and the African elephant (Loxodonta Africana).

Asiatic elephants are found in the north-west and south west of Indin, Srilanka, Myanmar, China, Sumatra and Borneo. The latter is distinguished for its great size, enormous ears, lower forehead, and large tusks and especially for their character of grinding teeth. Elephants are the sole survivors of a great assemblage of species which once inhabited on the Earth. No fewer than seven species of elephants and eight different Mastodons are known to have existed in India, during remote geological periods.Indian artists had fascination for the elephant since the remote pre historic ages. By second century B.C., this animal form came to signify a symbolic metaphor in art, as well as in painting.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages