Day 106 - Hindu female saint

December 4, 2018

Gallery 240 houses a remarkable collection of small statues, largely copper alloy works from the period of the Cholas, the ruling dynasty in Tamil Nadu between the 9th and early 13th centuries. I remember a number of them from my explorations of these galleries before my trips to India: a standing Hanuman, with his monkey-like face and graceful human body (except for the long tail!) captured in a contrapposto pose; a charming pot-bellied Ganesha; and an unforgettable Shiva Nataraja, whose flying locks convey the energy of his  celestial and timeless dance. I'm also touched by a tender statuette of Krishna being nursed   by his foster mother Yashoda. The rather large child suckles at one of her breasts while tweaking her other nipple between his forefinger and thumb.

I chose today's image because if its physical and psychological oddness. It depicts a female saint, Ammaiyar, who was  a devotee of Shiva and asked the god to take away her beauty so that she attentions of male admirers wouldn't distract her from her worship.  In this late 13th century copper alloy statue, the saint, perhaps 6 inches high, sits cross-legged on a platform about half that height. She has shaved her head, which calls attention to her elongated earlobes, presumably stretched by wearing heavy earrings. In her hands, she holds finger cymbals, an aid to ecstatic singing. But what is most noticeable is that she appears to be nude except for a G-string (okay, loincloth), and her sizable breasts, instead of being rounded, are long and conical. In this way, I suppose she is the antithesis of the standard Indian representation of  the beautiful woman, with her large, high, rounded breasts.  

But would Ammaiyar's unusual appearance really repel men, as she intended? Or would it attract the male gaze even more?  I'm not a male, but she certainly attracts my gaze.