As Cynthia Packert-Atherton has discussed in her 1997 book, The Sculpture of Early Medieval Rajasthan, Harshatmata temple was originally dedicated to Vishnu in his Vaikuntha aspect. It may have been reimagined as a temple to the divine feminine Durga in later years. The iconographic details of its surviving sculptures have left scholars puzzled and divided.
Who built it? Was it the great Gurjara-Pratihara king Nagabhata II? Or, did the Chahmana ruler Guvika I patronise it? When did it fall to ruin? History leaves us with no definite answers to these questions. But its ambitious architectural expanse and unsurpassable sculptural finesse clearly suggest a royal patron of substantial power and prestige.
Defying the ravages of time, and oblivious to changes wrought by intervening centuries, the Abhaneri lovers continue to revel in an everlasting utopia of pleasure. Their regal bearing, attire, gesture and posture, the presence of dancers and musicians, assisting figures and other accoutrements distinguish them from the usual mithuna-couples seen on early medieval temples in Rajasthan and elsewhere in India. These elite young men in the company of accomplished and beautiful women of refinement, appear to be conversant in the etiquettes and conventions of a king’s court or palace (photo).
Looking at them, one is transported to vivid descriptions of vasantotsavas in texts like the 7th c. Ratnavali of Sri Harsha and the 11th c. Vikramacharita and Kathasaritasagara. Leona Anderson has written about multiple Indian spring festivals known variously as anangotsava, phalgunotsava, chaitrotsava, madhutsava and more in her 1994 book, Vasantotsava: The Spring Festivals of India – Texts and Traditions. The king’s role in celebrating rites of spring was considered auspicious for the prosperity and fertility of his kingdom. An ideal king was expected to balance the values of dharma (righteous conduct), artha (prosperity, abundance, economic welfare), and kama (ambition, desire, love).At Abhaneri, handsome young men of regal bearing are seated on ornate seats in a garden of pleasure. They are engaged in attitudes of intimacy with their beautiful beloveds – gazing at each other’s faces, caressing, playing a musical instrument, and more. Attendant figures enthusiastically aid the intensity of love’s ardour. These sculptures appear to be inspired by royal garden festivals held during springtime.One of the niche panels portrays a youthful figure wielding a bow. He is accompanied by three women holding blossoms (photo). Seated in a posture of ease (lilasana), the handsome youth prepares to strike with his arrow. This is Kamadeva, so central to rites of spring in all literary elaborations of vasantotsavas. He sits beneath a canopy of blossoming mango trees and strikes the chutankura (mango-bud blossom) dart that is known to herald spring.
Interestingly, a kama-yoga ritual is described in some Vaishnava Pancharatra texts. This fits well with the depiction of Kamadeva and the celebration of spring on Harshatmata temple, as it was originally dedicated to Vaikuntha of the Pancharatra Vaishnava religious system. But none of the other well-known Pancharatra temples have such an elaborate portrayal of springtime love.
For us living in a land of diminishing trees and gardens, one fears that in a not-too-distant future, such joyful celebrations of spring may only remain etched in stone, painted in pictures and exalted in literature.
The writer is professor of art history, University of Delhi