Viswakarma or Brahma?

Viswakarma or Brahma?

Who is this elegantly dressed young prince? He and his two female companions stand upon lotus, a sign that they are divine beings. The museum asks us “Is this a sculpture of Vishwakarma, the Architect of the Universe?” Throughout history, artists have tended to break the rules to show their own creativity but have also had to defer to their customers to earn a living. As a result, the identity of many works of art are fiercely debated by art historians. You have to do a lot of detective work, a lot of research, and even then, can never be entirely sure of your conclusions.  

This contemporary puja print has been identified as both Vishwakarma and as Brahma. But the addition of the tools of craftsmen around the back of the throne clearly indicate that the artist meant for this to be an image of Vishwakarma.

In this puja print, identified as Brahma, he is showing the same objects in his hands as are held by the print meant to be Vishwakarma. The important difference is that in this print Brahma has three heads but no swan on which to ride.

This contemporary stone sculpture for a Brahma Society in Karnataka, from which the Sena dynasty of Bangladesh originated, depicts Brahma with three heads and the rosary and sacred book in his two upper hands.  Does the fact that he is inscribing on a large stone tablet like the Sena sculpture in the Varendra museum mean that the Varendra sculpture is really a sculpture of Brahma and not Vishwakarma?

Let’s look to see how Vishwakarma and Brahma were depicted during the same 11^th and 12^th centuries when the sculptor was creating our handsome young architect.

The Cholas invaded Bangladesh resulting in the Sena dynasty from South India overthrowing the Pala dynasty. This 12^th century Chola sculpture depicts Brahma with three heads and holding the begging bowl and rosary in his two upper hands.

This sculpture of Vishnu on the left, Shiva in the middle, and Brahma on the right was carved in Bihar when Bihar was a province of the Pala Empire. Here again, Brahma has three heads, holds the rosary and begging bowl, and, in this sculpture, is accompanied by the swan on which he rides.

. This Varendra sculpture has only one head not three. He has only two hands and neither a rosary nor a begging bowl. At the base of his sculpture is a horse, not a swan, on which to ride.He is definitely not Brahma, and neither does he fit the description of Vishwakarma as depicted and known to the general public in contemporary art. Our young prince in the Varendra collection is inscribing a stone tablet and Vishwakarma is best known in the ancient Hindu literature for designing the palaces for Vishnu, Krishna, and Indra, the King of Heaven.

By the process of eliminating other alternative identities, and his unique depiction as an artist inscribing a stone tablet, we can identify this prince as a unique depiction of Vishwakarma. This11^th century Sena dynasty Vishwakarma is a handsome, beardless, elegantly dressed young prince as he would have appeared at the Sena court presenting his design for a new temple or palace. The Sena kings came from South India and ruled Bangladesh during the 11^th and 12^th centuries. They were great builders of massive temple complexes and held artist and builders in very high regard. Perhaps this Vishwakarma was modeled on a Sena king’s favorite young architect.

Last updated by admin at 11 September, 2020