The Ten Incarnations of Vishnu (Matsya Avatara)

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The other myth has wider acceptance from the Vedic texts to the twentieth century's Hindi epic Kamayani of Jai Shankara Prasad, of which main theme is the Great Deluge and Manu's escape from it. As the myth has it, while bathing in river Kritamala in course of penance, a tiny fish appeared before Manu and prayed him to protect it from larger fishes as it was afraid of them. Manu lifted it on his palm and brought it to his palace and put it into a pot. In two-three days it grew larger to the pot's size. Manu transferred it to a larger pot but in next two-three days that pot too failed to contain it. Manu now put it into a tank but in another few days it grew to a size larger than the tank. Now, Manu shifted it to the Ganges but as before Ganges too fell short to its size. Finally, the fish revealed to Manu that within seven days the world would have a great flood. Hence, he should make a large boat, board it along with Sapta-rishis - seven sages, Brahma's spiritual sons, and their wives and escape. The fish promised him to help. As advised by the fish, Manu made a boat and when the Great Deluge began enveloping the world boarded it along with Sapta-rishis and their wives and with the help of the fish paddled it to safety. In the Mahabharata the Himalayan peak where Manu's boat moored has been named as Naubandhana, while in other texts, as Navaprabhanshana, one meaning 'where the boat was moored', and other, 'which rescued the boat'. The Matsya Purana alludes to Manu as the ruler of Dravinda, and the mount where his boat reached as Malaya, not Himalayas.

Significantly, world literature, to include Greek, Latin, European, Babylonian, and South Asian among others, abounds in tales of Great Flood with someone like Manu escaping it under Divine commandment. The Holy Bible (Genesis, Chapters 6, 7 and 8) in Noah's episode seems to recount an identical flood and emergence of God instructing Noah to make an ark with given length, breadth and height to protect him his wife, sons, wives of his sons, males and females of different species of animals and birds, creepers, and vegetables - seeds of life in all its shades and kinds for He was going to flood the world to destroy it along with all flesh which was dirtied by so much of violence. Noah acted as commanded and was instrumental in protecting the seed of life and recreating its all forms. Except a different name of the place where the boat lands and such details of species which Noah is commanded to take with him, this Biblical story is repeated almost verbatim in the Holy Koran (11.3, 25-49). In Matsyavatara, Vishnu, God manifest, acts as fish, from swelling His body-size for causing the flood to securing re-emergence of life; in the Holy Bible, God Himself, not through an incarnated form, does it.

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Sculpting Serenity: Unveiling the Art of Crafting Wood Statues

Wood has been a preferred material for sculptures and statues since ancient times. It is easy to work with than most metals and stones and therefore requires less effort to shape it into any desired shape or form. The texture of the wood gives an element of realism to the sculpture. The selection of an appropriate wood type is necessary for carving. Woods that are too resinous or coniferous are not considered good for carving as their fiber is very soft and thus lacks strength. On the other hand, wood such as Mahogany, Oakwood, Walnut wood, Weet cherry wood, etc., are preferred by sculptors because their fiber is harder. A wood sculptor uses various tools such as a pointed chisel in one hand and a mallet in another to bring the wood to the desired measurement and to make intricate details on it. A carving knife is used to cut and smooth the wood. Other tools such as the gouge, V-tool, and coping saw also serve as important tools in wood carving. Although the wood carving technique is not as complex and tough as stone carving or metal sculpting, nonetheless, a wood carver requires a high level of skills and expertise to create a stunning sculpture.

1. Selecting the right wood

The process of wood carving begins with selecting a chunk of wood that is required according to the type and shape of the statue to be created by the sculptor. Both hardwoods and softwoods are used for making artistic pieces, however, hardwoods are preferred more than softer woods because of their durability and longevity. But if heavy detailing is to be done on the statue, wood with fine grain would be needed as it would be difficult to work with hardwood.

2. Shaping the wood

Once the wood type is selected, the wood carver begins the general shaping process using gouges of various sizes. A gouge is a tool having a curved cutting edge which is useful in removing large unwanted portions of wood easily without splitting the wood. The sculptor always carves the wood across the grain of the wood and not against it.

3. Adding detailing

When a refined shape of the statue is obtained, it is time for making details on the statue using different tools. This is achieved by using tools such as a veiner to make and a V-tool to create decorative and sharp cuts.

4. Surface finishing

Once finer details have been added, the sculptor is ready to smoothen the surface and give it a perfect finish. Tools such as rasps and rifflers are used to get a smooth surface. The finer polishing is obtained by rubbing the surface with sandpaper. If a textured surface is required, this step is skipped. Finally, to protect the statue from excessive dirt accumulation, the sculptor applies natural oils such as walnut or linseed oil all over it. This also brings a natural sheen to the statue.