A VERY RARE STONE FIGURE OF BABY KRISHNA LYING ON A BANYAN LEAF, VATAPATRASHAYI, SOUTH INDIA, CIRCA 14TH-15TH CENTURY

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A VERY RARE STONE FIGURE OF BABY KRISHNA LYING ON A BANYAN LEAF, VATAPATRASHAYI, SOUTH INDIA, CIRCA 14TH-15TH CENTURY Masterfully carved, depicted seated in a crouching pose, with the right leg drawn upward, the foot held with his left hand and brought to the mouth. The plump, nude figure, displaying his male attributes, is richly embellished with crisply modeled beaded jewelry around the neck, upper arms, and ankles. His rounded face bears a serene expression, with large almond-shaped eyes beneath gently arched brows, centered by a stylized third eye on the forehead, a broad nose, and full lips forming a subtle smile, all flanked by prominent ears adorned with elaborate earrings. His hair is exquisitely rendered in abundant curls falling over the shoulders and gathered into a short chignon secured by a ribbon. The figure is backed by a large lotus leaf and framed below by a substantial garland suspended across the legs. Dimensions: Height 30.8 cm (excl. stand), 39.3 cm (incl. stand) With an associated metal stand. (2) This subject is known as Vatapatrashayi, ‘the Lord reclining upon the banyan leaf’. During pralaya, the cyclical dissolution of the universe, the manifest world is absorbed into Vishnu and the cosmos is reduced to an infinite expanse of water. The immortal sage Markandeya encounters a radiant infant resting unharmed upon a banyan leaf; the child reveals himself as Narayana, the primordial being who has consumed the universe and from whom creation will arise again. The image therefore deliberately unites apparent opposites: the vulnerability and playfulness of the infant Krishna—expressed by his sucking his own toe—with the limitless power of cosmic Vishnu. The banyan leaf floating upon the waters becomes a symbol of preservation, continuity and renewed creation. The theme was popularized by the Tamil Alvar poet-saints of the seventh to ninth centuries, who repeatedly celebrated Krishna as the “Lord of the Banyan Leaf.” Its earliest known temple representation is at the Nageshvara Temple at Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, dated 886, followed by an example at Pullamangai around 910 and later Chola bronzes of the toe-sucking child. In Karnataka, an especially relevant Hoysala relief (fig. 1) at the Chennakeshava Temple, Belur, dated 1117, shows the infant reclining on the leaf, grasping his right foot with both hands and sucking his toe—the closest published compositional precedent for the present sculpture. The subject was revived under Vijayanagara patronage: it appears at the Krishna Temple at Hampi in 1515, at Bhatkal around 1540 (fig. 2) and on the Vitthala Temple mandapa at Hampi in 1554, as well as in the Lepakshi murals. Sixteenth-century Tamil examples survive at Alvar Tirunagari, Vellore and Gingee. Despite this long history, sculptural representations remained comparatively rare and were ordinarily small architectural reliefs placed on plinths, arches or pillars, making the scale and independent presence of the present figure particularly noteworthy. See Devangana Desai, ‘Vatapatrasayi: Lord of the Banyan Leaf in Temple Sculpture’, in Temple Architecture and Imagery of South and Southeast Asia, 2016, p. 296-304. Literature comparison: Compare a related 14th-century stone statue of Bala Krishna from a temple dedicated to this god in Hampi, Karnataka, now in the Chennai Museum. Compare a related gilt-copper alloy figure of cosmic Vishnu as infant Krishna, India, Tamil Nadu, dated 16th-17th century, 18.4 cm high, in the Walters Art Museum, accession number 54.3081.

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