Animals are linked in Indian and Southeast Asian art from the earliest times, with animal forms modified into a variety of beings, some real, some imaginary, and some part human and part animal. Certainly the most popular of the part human/part animal beings is Ganesha (Fig. 10), who has the head of an elephant and the body of a corpulent human being. His vehicle is, ironically, the rat. One story of the creation of this adorable god, has it that Parvati has conceived Ganesha alone, as she longs for a son that her husband, the ascetic Shiva, would not help her to produce. Parvati makes Ganesha the guard of her bedroom while Shiva is gone, and when he returns having never seen Ganesha, he becomes angry when denied to his wife's bedroom. There is a fight, and the mighty Shiva severs Ganesha's human head. Parvati is outraged, and demands that Shiva bring Ganesha back to life, which he does by using an elephant's head as a handy replacement. However, this transformation gives Ganesha immense powers, among them the ability to remove obstacles and ultimately grant success.

In the relief of the Seven Mothers (Saptamatrikas), each of whom is a consort of a major god, their respective animal vehicles are evident below each goddess (Fig. 18). Just as Shiva has a vehicle, the bull Nandi, or Vishnu has the bird Garuda, the Mothers have animal vehicles. These animals serve to identify the different Mothers. They further signify the deities' characteristics and powers. In this relief, Kaumari, for example, has the peacock and Mahesvari has, like her consort Shiva, the bull. The presence of animals together with human forms (often as deities) is a constant in Hindu iconography.

Ganesha with his Consort

light buff sandstone                   

11th - 12th century

17 x 12 x 5 inches, North India

(Fig.10) Ganesha, the god with the head of an elephant and the body of a usually portly human male, is one of the most popular deities in both India and Southeast Asia. He cuts across religious boundaries as well, being important to both Hindus and Buddhists. Ganesha's unique role as a remover of obstacles to ultimate success makes him dear to everyone. He sits with his consort, much like Brahma and Brahmani sat in figure 1. Ganesha has something of an advantage here, perhaps, as he can use his trunk to embrace his consort. The combination of animal and human is obvious in any image of Ganesha, and there are many other examples of similar combinations of animal heads with human bodies in the art of India and Southeast Asia.

(Fig. 11) This is a lintel fragment containing four images from a larger sculpture of the Seven Mother Goddesses and Shiva.  These goddesses were popular from the earliest times in India, each being the consort of a major god. The identity of each goddess depends both on her attributes and the animal vehicle with which she is associated. From the right they are: Kaumari, (symbolizing the power of youth, consort of the god Skanda) identifiable by her vehicle, the peacock; Maheshvari, (depicting the power of Universal Dominion, consort of Shiva) holding a trident and seated with a child in her lap and her vehicle, the bull; and Brahmani (consort of Brahma) wearing the girdle of meditation (yogapatta) around her thigh. Rather than an animal vehicle, she sits on a lotus. On the extreme left is the male god Shiva, identified by his matted locks. The missing goddesses are Vainavi, Varahi, Indrani and Chamunda. The mother goddesses are protectors and are associated with the ideals of motherhood and fertility.

Fig. 11

Seven Mother Goddesses (Saptamatrika),

pink sandstone, 10th century                          26 x 44 x 7 inches, Western India

Fig. 12

Image is unavailable.

Balustrade End With Garuda and Naga, buff sandstone, 12 th - 13 th century      44 x 24 x 9 inches                       Cambodia (Angkor, style of the Bayon)

(Fig. 12) This stunning image indicates some of the power of the incredible building projects undertaken by King Jayavarman VII (1181 - 1218 A.D.), the Cambodian king who built more monuments, including Angkor Wat, than his predecessors of the previous four centuries. Garuda is a mythical bird, often depicted like Ganesha, as half animal and half human. Here Garuda shows his combined bird and human natures, with his bird face and human torso and legs, which are, however, covered with feathers.  Behind the figure, a ridge of flame-like feathers at the top are his tail feathers. Garuda holds in his hands the heads of cobras, or nagas, and rides on another multi-headed naga. Garuda, as a bird associated with the sky, is the enemy of the snake, associated with the earth and water. They are combined here in what was the end of a huge balustrade of a stone causeway, perhaps a bridge over water. These long causeways in Cambodian architecture led to temples and symbolized the sky bridge, or rainbow, as the passageway between the earth and the heavens, between men and the gods.