Caturvyūha
The "Four emanations"
Caturvyūha or Chatur-vyūha (
Concept and evolution
The four earthly emanations, or "
Originally, several of these earthly deities, particularly
The heroes would then have evolved into Vaishnavite deities through a step-by-step process: 1) deification of the Vrishni heroes 2) association with the God
Kushan Caturvyuha (2nd century BCE)
By the 2nd century CE, the "avatara concept was in its infancy", and the depiction of Vishnu with his four emanations (the Chatur-vyūha), consisting in the Vrishni heroes minus Samba, starts to become visible in art at the end of the Kushan period.[4] Starting with the art of Mathura, Vāsudeva (avatar of Vishnu) fittingly appears in the center of the sculptural compositions, with his decorated heavy mace on the side and a conch shell in the hand, his elder brother Balarama to his right under a serpent hood and holding a drinking cup, his son Pradyumna to his left, and his grandson Aniruddha on top.[2]
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Vasudeva with ornate crown and flower necklace, making the Abhaya Mudra
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Samkarsana-Balaramaunder his snake hood holding a cup
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Vasudeva's mace held by one of his supplementary hands
Possible Bhita Caturvyuha (2nd century BCE)
An ancient statue from
The main figure is bigger than the others, wears a crown and earrings, as well as an ornate necklace and bracelets, and raises his hand in "
This sculpture of the Caturvyuha shows the Vrishni heroes, but already associates them with their animal form.[14] This seems to prefigure the Vishnu Chaturmurti, in which Vishnu, crowned with a halo, is also flanked by the images of Narasimha and Varaha, with Kāpila in back as seens in the examples from Kashmir.[14]
The general style of the figures is quite similar to that of the early Yakshas, and it has been suggested that their role might have been understood as parallel: just as the Yakshas are considered as emanations of the Supreme deity Brahman, the four Vyuhas are similarly emanations of Narayana.[1]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-10758-8.
- ^ JSTOR 29756891.
- JSTOR 29756891.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9.
- ISBN 978-81-8424-568-4.
- ISBN 978-1-315-43263-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0.
- ^ ISBN 90-04-06498-2.
- ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0.
- ISBN 978-90-04-06498-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0.
- JSTOR 20111096.
- ^ JSTOR 20111096.
- ^ JSTOR 20111096.
- ISBN 978-0-300-06217-5.
- JSTOR 29755743.