Boundaries & Transformations

OUTER AND INNER

The moment of transformation between secular and sacred space is explicitly indicated in the architecture of India by an emphasis on the doorway or gateway. The threshold or doorway is the point of transformation between the outer, mundane world of men and the holy inner world of God. Often the doorways are elaborately carved and flanked by freestanding sculptures. The wooden doorway from Karnataka in India (Fig. 26) is decorated with a lotus design and is most significant for the figure of Sarasvati. Sarasvati is the Goddess of Knowledge and Learning. Her image can be identified by the vehicle on which she rides, the peacock. She stands for the sacredness of knowledge, especially spiritual knowledge, perhaps here denoting the knowledge that lies on the other side of the door versus the outer, profane world with its material and sensual pleasures.

Fig. 26. Doorway with Sarasvati, wood, 18th - 19th century, 96 x 7 5 x 7 inches, South India (Karnataka)

(Fig. 26) Doorways are of the greatest importance for structures in India. They represent points of entry from secular and public space to religious or private space, and are places where danger from outside can enter the safe interior areas of the gods or the family. This wooden doorway probably once graced a Hindu shrine or possibly even a private home. It consists of a jamb decorated with lotus buds. Above, in the center, is the figure of the Goddess of Learning and Fine Arts, Sarasvati, to whom the shrine must have been consecrated. Seated on her vehicle, the peacock, she holds a manuscript signifying knowledge and the vina, a stringed instrument that symbolizes the arts. Below her Brahma is her spouse, who is depicted holding a kamandalu or water pot.

For both Hindu and Buddhist movements, one of the most popular decorations on the outside of door and gates is the loving and erotic couple, such as those depicted on the stone doorway (Fig. 27). These couples (mithunas) show men and women in various stages of affection and symbolize auspiciousness and joy. They indicate to the worshiper the fecund power of the temple, or stupa, while at the same time symbolizing the profane world of pleasures to be left behind when entering the structure. On the outside is the domain of numerous gods, humans, animals and individual souls. Inside is the domain of the great soul, often symbolized by a solitary icon.

The two contradictory notions of a secular outer and a sacred inner are applied to spaces other than those of religion and architecture in Indian art. For example, the Gandharan relief depicted Buddha's Great Departure, illustrates the moment when he decides to leave his worldly life of luxury as a prince. Gautama rides his horse out of the palace and into the countryside (Fig. 28) where he dismounts and removes his princely attire in exchange for that of an ascetic. Again, the moment is that of renouncing the secular life and its outward symbols of jewelry and rich clothing for that of the sacred inner path of meditation and understanding symbolized by asceticism and renunciation.

Fig. 27) This stone fragment consists of two sections. The lower part depicts the River Ganga personified as a female and identified by her vehicle, the crocodile-like makara. On her left is a Shaivite guardian figure who holds the Khatvanga (a banner with a scull) often carried by Shiva. This indicates that the temple in which the door originally belonged was a Shaivite temple. Above, a series of narrow, vertical spaces (shakhas) depict the creeper, the chain and bell, the pot and foliage, the erotic couples, the naga creeper, and the lotus design. The outer world is symbolically represented by the four loving couples. This is a motif frequently used by Indian architects to decorate doorways on the exterior side. They indicate that the world of sensuality, the outer world, is to be left behind when entering the sacred world of the gods inside.

Fragment of door jamb

Fig. 27. Fragment of door jamb, reddish sandstone, 10th - 11th century, 61 1/2 x 16 x 3 inches, Western India

Fig. 28. Departure of Shakyamuni, schist, 2nd -3rd century, 7 x 10 x 3 inches, Gandhara (presently Pakistan)

Shakyamuni, after living a pampered and luxurious life, decided to leave his home and take up the life of an ascetic. It was an important step toward his enlightenment, portraying his abandonment of the luxurious outer life for that of the spiritual inner life. This relief shows Shakyamuni still clothed as a prince as he rides his horse out of the palace. Its hooves are held up by demigods so as not to make noise during his departure. He is accompanied by his protector, Vajrapani, the bearer of the thunderbolt. The elegantly dressed figure in front shown raising his hand and holding an umbrella, is Mara, the God of Karma. He is attempting to stop Shakyamuni from moving forward, literally on his path toward enlightenment. Of course, Mara cannot stop the inexorable momentum of Shakyamuni, who will in another six years reach enlightenment and share his understanding with all mankind.

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