Balarama
Sculpture
about 958 to 964 (made)
about 958 to 964 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A four-armed deity stands on a single inverted lotus pedestal with right leg stiffly planted and the left leg, slightly forward, is bent at the knee in an expression of ease. His lower garment is tied with a girdle at the waist and pleated at the centre. Besides a scarf is tied to the garment above the thighs. There is a five-hooded snake canopy behind the head of the deity signifying his association with the primordial snake Sesa or Ananta. He wears various ornaments, such as a crown (kirita), necklaces, bangles, armlets, a sacred thread (upavita) and a long garland of flowers (vanamala) like that of Vasudeva-Krsna or Visnu. In his two front hands he holds a sankha (right) and a cakra (left). This as an earlier stage of sculptural development, that is why his back hands are still lowered down and shown holding a pestle (musala) and a ploughshare (hala), no doubt showing his connection with agriculture. (The object in his proper right lower hand also seems to resemble a club or gada, which is also associated with Balarama). The pitha (pedestal) is plain rectangle with two vertical columns over which is placed a cross-bar. Behind his head is a halo (sirascakra) with a design of flame and a jewel (mani) at the apex. Above the crossbar, behind and above Balarama's head, is a five-hooded snake canopy encircled by a thick border of flame tips with a mani (jewel) at the apex. Below at the right (proper) corner of the pedestal a tiny figure is shown, perhaps the donor of the image, holding a garland.
Object details
| Object type | |
| Title | Balarama (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze |
| Brief description | Balarama, Bronze, Bihar, Eastern India, c. 958AD or 964AD |
| Physical description | A four-armed deity stands on a single inverted lotus pedestal with right leg stiffly planted and the left leg, slightly forward, is bent at the knee in an expression of ease. His lower garment is tied with a girdle at the waist and pleated at the centre. Besides a scarf is tied to the garment above the thighs. There is a five-hooded snake canopy behind the head of the deity signifying his association with the primordial snake Sesa or Ananta. He wears various ornaments, such as a crown (kirita), necklaces, bangles, armlets, a sacred thread (upavita) and a long garland of flowers (vanamala) like that of Vasudeva-Krsna or Visnu. In his two front hands he holds a sankha (right) and a cakra (left). This as an earlier stage of sculptural development, that is why his back hands are still lowered down and shown holding a pestle (musala) and a ploughshare (hala), no doubt showing his connection with agriculture. (The object in his proper right lower hand also seems to resemble a club or gada, which is also associated with Balarama). The pitha (pedestal) is plain rectangle with two vertical columns over which is placed a cross-bar. Behind his head is a halo (sirascakra) with a design of flame and a jewel (mani) at the apex. Above the crossbar, behind and above Balarama's head, is a five-hooded snake canopy encircled by a thick border of flame tips with a mani (jewel) at the apex. Below at the right (proper) corner of the pedestal a tiny figure is shown, perhaps the donor of the image, holding a garland. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | Gorakshkar had read and translated the incription in the following way:
sri rajyapala deva rajye samvat 37 sri rahagrha
visaye bhata jivala grama vastavya ta (ma...maksa)
suta devadharmmaya balabhadra (murti) pratipaditasyah / ("Inscription: On the reverse of the image a donative inscription is engraved in Sankrit and in the Gaudiya script. The inscription records a important date of the Pala ruler Rajyapala. So far it was known that Rayapala ruled for 32 years, but this image inscription informs us that he ruled at least for 37 years. It is quite interesting to note that the inscription is written on the back side of the image in the fashion similar to the bronze or metal images of the Jaina Tirthakaras.
There are certain omissions and mistakes in Gorakshkar's reading, we refer to trascribe in the following way:
siddam (symbol) sri-rajyapala-deva-rajye samvat 37 sri-rajagrha-visaye bhata-jivala-grama-vastavya-{tamravaya}-somosthi-suta-devadhammoya va (1)labhadra-suti patipaditasyah//(2)
It appears from the text of the inscription that the writer had no knowledge of correct Sanskrit.
(1) It has to be pointed out here that in eastern India at this period ba was replaced always by va.
(2) Visarga is wrong after sya. D.C.Sircar has suggested that the visarga sign in these cases may be a part of the punctuation mark.
About the date of the inscription: Gorakshkar has equated the regnal year 37 with 944 A.D., following the chronology of the Palas given in N.R. Ray, K.Khandalavala & S.Gorakshkar, Eastern Indian Bronzes, Bombay 1986, p.91. But in this list both the genealogy and the chronology are now outdated, after the discovery of several new copper plates of new rulers of the Pala dynasty. As for the correct chronology of the Pala dynasty we have to admit that it is still a desideratum, but for the correct genealogy, see G.Bhattacharya in Cl.Bautze-Picron, The Art of Eastern India, Berlin 1998, p.123.
The bronze balabhadra (Balarama) has been published in Eastern Indian Bronzes, 1986, p.132, no.133, figs.133.320."
Gauriswar Bhattacharya 13 July 2006.
Note: Dr. Dragomir Dimitrov (Assistant Professor, Indologie und Tibetologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg) gives Rajyapala's regnal dates as circa 927–964 (email correspondence, 17 May 2010). In this case the date of the figure is c.964.)
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| Gallery label | BALARAMA
Copper alloy
Rajgir, Bihar, Eastern India
Pala period
Mid-10th century
IS. 38-1971 (25/09/2000) |
| Object history | Purchased from Spink and Son Limited for £1600 |
| Historical context | Balarama probably has his origins as an incarnation (avatara) of Visnu, although usually worshipped in association with his half-brother Krishna. He holds attributes associated with agriculture, including a plough (hala) and a pestle (musala). An insctiption cast on the reverse of this image records that it was a gift of a resident of Rajagriha (Rajgir) district in the 37th year of the reign of the Pala king Rajyapala, equivalent to c. 957 A.D or, according to recent scholarship, 964 A.D. |
| Production | Rajgir, Bihar, India |
| Subject depicted | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.38-1971 |
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| Record created | February 13, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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