Belur is a sleepy little township in the heart of Karnataka. It is perhaps the biggest receptacle of the finest temple sculpture that you can feast your eyes on. The leit motif of the art is the 42 or so bracket figurines called Apsaras or Madanikas that are on the exterior of the temple. Carved out of soapstone that is great to use your chisel and file on, the figurines have perhaps the most intricate carvings on them with exemplary details and story telling that the sculptors manage to convey to the world. The Apsaras depict the fine art of ancient Indian yogic traditions and the nine sentiments or 9 rasas.
Belur is about 220 kms away from Bangalore and the presiding deity or Godhood is that of Vishnu, a part of the triumvirate of Hinduism and is the one who creates, protects, and transforms the universe.
The temple was built in the 12th century AD by the Hoysala rulers to commemorate their victory over the Chola dynasty. The figurines are about 2.5 feet each and are finely carved and situated at an angle just below the eaves.
The most famous Apsara purely on sculpting merit is the Darpana Sundari ( The Mirror Beauty ) appearing in the comments herein. The lenses tend to distort and foreshorten the figure but then there is no way to shoot it “front on” to showcase the proportions and the dynamic nature of the sculpture.
In Hindu temple carvings “shringar” or getting the makeup on or getting ready is the first of the nine navarasas and is a forbearer of love and erotic ponderings. The figurines generally remain in dance mudras with sinuous legs or hip thrusts and more than ample display of breasts.
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The tri junction of knees hips/waist and neck form the most of the theory of dancing for all the sculpture of the apsaras on display at the temple.
it would appear that the sculpture has gone through some depradations and the right hand stands truncated while the left hand is intact with the parrot sitting on the back of the palm.
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