Walking down along Mada Koil Street, the corridor of historical artistic and architectural enchantment at Mahabalipuram, you are sure to be stupefied by a particularly large, open-air bas-relief called Arjuna’s Penance or the Descent of the Ganges.
Measuring a colossal 29 metres in length and 13 metres in height, the Descent of the Ganges is profusely carved with elegant figures ranging from Gods to Godmen and geese to elephants carved on both sides of a natural cleft. Above the cleft was a collecting pool, whence water flowed down, bringing the relief to life!
Provenance of the Ganges Relief
Let us first peep back in time to the 7th century AD, which is when this sculptural treat came into being. The Pallava king, Narsimhavarman the First was flush with funds, having established a booming trade with with East-, South-East Asia and the Middle-East. Further, he had just defeated his western belligerents, the Chalukyas, and added untold wealth to his already bulging coffers by sacking the Chalukya capital, Badami.
In celebration of his success, he sanctioned the construction of the city of Mamallapuram, the present day Mahabalipuram. The Descent of the Ganges forms part of this large cache of monuments.
Legend of the Ganges
According to legend, the forefathers of Bhagiratha, an ancestor to Lord Rama (from the Indian epic, Ramayana), had incurred the wrath of a powerful sage, Kapila, and been immolated. Thus cursed, their souls could not ascend to heaven till their ashes had been washed and purified. Bhagiratha, seeking to help his ancestors, had been told that the only waters pure enough for the task were that of the Holy River Goddess Ganga (Ganges).
Ganga, the daughter of Lord Brahma and beloved of the Gods (Devas), was a resident of the Heavens and in no way inclined to relocate. However, after years of penance, Bhagiratha convinced Brahma to ask his daughter to descend to the Earth.
A cornered Ganga agreed to the request, secretly aware that the sheer force of her fall would destroy the Earth, leaving her free to return to the Heavens. As she cascaded down, the Gods as well as Bhagiratha realised their mistake but could do nothing to save the planet. Bhagiratha then turned to Lord Shiva, who, sympathetic to his prayers, absorbed the impact of her fall on his matted locks and divided her into a hundred smaller streams, in which forms she continues to flow till this day.
The Legend Carved in Stone
The bas-relief in Mahabalipuram depicts this legend in spectacular detail. Figures are carved onto a rock with a natural cleft and water probably used to flow down the cleft from the pool at its top. This was a live depiction of the Descending Ganga. A bearded and famished Bhagiratha stands one-legged, praying to Shiva who stands tall next to him.
As the Ganga descends through the skies, the Devas on both sides of the cleft are overwhelmed by the roar of the River and hold their hands up to their ears. Notice the posture in which they are depicted. Both legs bent at the same time, the front one more than the other, neither walking nor sitting but flying! Also, notice pairs of half-bird, half-human figures, possibly Gandharvas.
Numerous animal figures, especially a herd of elephants exquisite in their life-like detail, show how all life on Earth was anxious about the tumultuous descent of the Ganga. Two lions marking the ends of the relief are especially symbolic. In most ancient monuments, lions are the guardians of the entrance, looking outwards as a warning to potential troublemakers. In the relief, however, even they face inwards, indicating the level of concern amongst living beings about this dramatic and violent state of affairs.
An interesting carving in the relief is that of the ascetic cat about to devour the gullible mice swarming around him. Probably derived from the Panchatantra, it acts as a warning to the populace not to be swayed by people who take advantage of chaotic situations such as the Descent of the Ganga, a warning we could well heed even today!
The Centrality of the Ganga in Indian Philosophy
The relief represents the centrality of the Ganga in historical as well as contemporary Indian thought. Beings of all kinds, be they goose, deer, tiger, lion, elephant, monkey,man, gandharva or God, heed the flow of the Ganga.
Even down in the South of India, thousands of kilometers away from the Ganga, she captures the imagination of Kings and beggars alike, as this relief testifies. On one occasion, the victorious armies of Rajendra Chola, brought thousands of litres of water of the Ganga in golden vessels to the Chola capital, Gangaikondacholapuram (literally ‘The town of the Chola who brought Ganga’).
Even today, the BJP government of Karnataka brings thousands of litres of ‘Gangajal’ and distributes it among the populace on certain auspicious days. The residue of an age-old Northern belief, it probably arose out of gratitude to the River, whose waters were used for irrigation and / or out of fear of her floods.
The Descent of the Ganges, then, is truly a case of the ascent of the Human Mind!
