The first Prakasha or section of the Indian text Shilpaprakasha, a treatise on architecture and sculpting talks about a popular element in Indian temple art- beauteous young women, in different postures and forms adorning the walls and other parts of the sanctum with their grace. These enchanting maidens are called “Alasya Kanya” or idle women, a name derived from their laid-back attitude and bodily posture in which their allure is best displayed by the sculptor.
According to the Shilpaprakasha- “As a Vaasa (home) and Kreeda (playfulness) is incomplete without the presence of a young woman, so is art without the imagery of the feminine, fruitless and devoid of pleasure.” The numbers of Alasya Kanya are 16 or 32 or even more, but the essence of these stunning female icons is one- the artistic exaltation of fertility and auspiciousness possessed by women.
This large wooden Apsara or lady with an umbrella resembles the Vinyasa (well-groomed) Alasya Kanya described in the Shilpaprakasha. She stands amid growing vegetation and life forms as the materialization of the universal feminine powers of fecundity and its ability to create life. Flora and fauna in Hindu art are used to represent the emergence of life on earth and the lady with an umbrella in the center of this lushness fits perfectly in the imagery with her exquisiteness.
A long curving set of vines spurt from the right side of the Vinyasa Kanya creating a warm abode for the multitude of monkeys and birds perched on it. Birds with their head curving sharply, and monkeys with their children engaged in playful activities make this wooden lady with umbrella statue a lively celebration of fertility and auspiciousness. With multiple layers of branches delineated, the artist has succeeded in presenting an animated, three-dimensional image.
The Vinyasa Kanya stands on a lotus platform in a posture that befits her fame as the leisurely female figure (Alasya). Her hair is tied in the Dhammila style, with elaborate jeweled strings creating a rich hairdo and she wears lovely ornaments that enhance the allure of the bare beauty. Measured polishing, incised lines, and carving of the wood add an aesthetic fleshiness to the lady with the umbrella.
A miniature female near the left leg of the Vinyasa Kanya, dressed beautifully is in a dancing posture and carries two monkeys in her arms. The monkeys childishly gaze at her as she embraces them affectionately. This whole woodwork is imbued with the powers of the maternal, feminine energies that are at the core of all auspicious life we see around us.
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