A  R  T  

Virupaksha’s Phallus
A Unique 4th Century Shiva Image at Pashupatinath
By Don Messerschmidt

Much of the early religious art of Nepal is associated with Shaivism, the veneration of Lord Shiva. And, much of it is found in and around the great Hindu temple of Pashupatinath, on the banks of the Bagmati River, on the east side of Kathmandu city. One of the stone sculptures Bangdel saw there and later studied in depth, and documented and dated, speaks to Hindu devotees of that unique future moment in time when the era in which we live, the Kalu Yuga, will end. The image is known as the Virupaksha Shiva, and it is unique in its location and form and posture: it is entirely naked, stands deep in mud and, though mute, tells a unique story.

Shiva, also known as Mahadev or Maheshvara, is by far the most popular of the Hindu gods. He is renowned all across the Himalayas, and is believed to eternally dwell with his consort Parvati (or Uma) on Mount Kailash in western Tibet. According to folk traditions, he has visited many other locations throughout the land.

The worship of Shiva in South Asia dates to the Indus Valley civilization as far back as the third millennium BC. In Nepal, the cult of the yogi Shiva as pashupati, Lord of the Animals, is centered on Kathmandu’s sacred Pashupatinath religious complex.

Ancient images of Shiva are seen mostly in two forms - in his human likeness (which art historians call ‘anthropomorphic’) and as the more well known phallic shaft or lingam (called ‘aniconic’). There are thousands of Shiva linga in the Kathmandu Valley and across the nation. There are fewer anthropomorphic sculptures, though those that exist are quite exquisite. One common theme among them depicts Shiva with Parvati, the divine couple, known together as ‘Uma-Maheshvara’. Sometimes they are accompanied by Nandi, the sacred bull.

Of the statues of Shiva standing alone, one of the most well known in the Kathmandu Valley is at the Ganesh temple in the hilltop Newar town of Kirtipur, and another is on the banks of the Bagmati River, at Aryaghat, adjacent to the Pashupatinath temple. That one is known as Virupaksha.

Of the Virupaksha Shiva image, art historian Bangdel has written that “The dating of this tantalizing image is difficult”. One scholar has put it in the sixth century, but from his own studies Bangdel felt that late date to be highly unlikely on both stylistic and iconographic lines. By the sixth century, Bangdel points out, the sculptural art of Nepal had achieved far greater sophistication than this one shows. He also noted that one scholar “strangely” mis-identified it altogether as the statuesque portrait of a “nobleman”.

The Virupaksha image is “softly modeled”, Bangdel goes on, with sensitively carved lips, nose and eyes. The torso is bare, decorated only with two threads around the neck but without the god’s sacred thread. The earrings are analaka (literally, ‘bulbous shape’). The hairstyle resembles “a judge’s wig”. An almost identical hairstyle is found on at least two other images in the valley, which suggests to Bangdel that it was “a common stylistic trait that evolved within the framework of their own tradition among indigenous craftsmen”. Furthermore, the image is marked with a distinctive third eye in the forehead, confirming its identity as Shiva in his form as Virupaksha. This form is sometimes also called the Shiva Trilochana, ‘Shiva with Three Eyes’. Finally, as is typical of many standing Shiva images, Virupaksha’s most outstanding feature is his erect phallus. For this, art historians classify him as “ithyphallic”. A more recent sculpture of an ithyphallic Shiva is at Vishalnagar, in Kathmandu, dated to the seventh or eighth century.

It’s around Virupaksha’s phallus that the story of the end of the current era revolves. Where the statue of the naked Virupaksha stands along the riverbank, it is partly covered by earth and mud. It is the solemn duty of devotees visiting Pashupatinath to bathe Virupaksha’s torso, pouring water over it to keep it clear of mud and ensure the continued exposure of the phallus. This pious act is thought to assure the continued passage of time, for it is believed that the moment the phallus is completely submerged and covered by earth, time as we know it, the age in which we live, the Kalu Yuga - the last cycle of time before Shiva destroys the universe and creates it anew - will end.

This story is adapted from Lain Singh Bangdel’s research, described in his biography Against the Current: The Life of Lain Singh Bangdel - Writer, Painter and Art Historian of Nepal (2004) by Don Messerschmidt. Lain Singh Bangdel (1919-2002) was Nepal’s premier art historian. His account of the Virupaksha Shiva sculpture is found in several of his well-respected books, including Early Sculptures of Nepal (1982) and Inventory of Stone Sculptures of the Kathmandu Valley (1995). All photos are by Lain Singh Bangdel.

The author is a freelance writer and contributing editor to ECS Nepal magazine. He may be contacted at don.editor@gmail.com.

Meet the artist
Looking at the valley
Julien Solé’s way
By Scott Berry

The French artist Julien Solé, whose one-man show at Siddhartha Gallery that will run for three weeks from 26th February, has wandering in his blood. His father, a journalist and writer, is originally from Egypt, and when Julien was growing up, overseas postings kept the family on the move. His earliest memories are of Italy where he spent his first six years. The next three years, the family lived in Washington DC before moving to France. Just to add to the confusion, he went to a French school in the US, and in Paris attended an international school. And, of course, in addition to French, English and Italian, he also speaks some Arabic.

With a background like this and with all these languages, it is hardly surprising that he spends much of his time traveling. “I’ve always found France confining. For a while Marseilles was alright, but now I can’t even work there. I need to get out and about.” But not only is he a wanderer, he puts down roots wherever he happens to find himself, and gets involved with local people, especially children. This kind of involvement helps him capture the spirit of wherever he happens to be, and he has drawn, painted and exhibited in Morocco, Egypt, Ethiopia, India and now Nepal, often at the invitation of the local Alliance Franciase.

His first trip to Nepal was last spring, and wanting to live in the heart of Kathmandu, he rented a room in Chibakhel, the old Pig Alley of the hippie days, where he quickly became friends with just about everyone. Since Julien had already made himself a part of the local community, Chibakhel’s under-construction Buddhist Vihar and community centre was the ideal place to exhibit his work. Through this building, local residents, with no help from foreign aid agencies or NGOs, are attempting to revive a traditional neighbourhood blighted by a filthy river, industrial-size slaughterhouses and road construction.

And so, at the end of last May in a day-long celebration of art and music, the long-suffering neighbourhood was treated to a rare moment of beauty. It was not only Julien’s own work that was on display, but that of the community, especially the neighbourhood kids who really enjoyed the chance to show off their talents. The talented teenagers, who serenade the square every night, provided the music while the local tea shops did the catering. The reaction of the local kids, as they went around looking at, and even discussing the paintings, shows just how well they respond to a little stimulation.
Since Julien’s return to Kathmandu, he has become a familiar figure on his bicycle and in the streets around Basantapur and increasingly in Bhaktapur, where he is particularly taken by the Potters’ Square and the Dattatreya area.

His infectious enthusiasm for the best of the Kathmandu Valley carries over into his work, and his drawings and water colors, not only of people but of buildings and statues as well, have a rare life to them. You probably walk past statues of guardian lions and Garudas, or Pancha Buddha chaityas every day, but you have never seen them spring to life like this. Sometimes Julien gets so exuberant that he just keeps going on long strips of paper, and these he is fond of displaying with a roller, as if the viewer is looking at a film. Great fun for young and old alike!

Living here and coping with traffic jams, bandhs and various kinds of pollution, we all occasionally get a bit jaded. Julien’s new and original look at the Valley may be just the sort of thing we need to make us remember why it has that special place in our hearts.