Sculptures of deities

Though the temple at Aralaguppe is smaller than Beluru and Halebeedu, the same sculptural extravaganza continues here. One of the horizontal bands has sequences of Ramayana and also stories of Krishna. Below are a few reliefs of Ramayana. While we can identify some of those reliefs, others need interpreting.

According to the research by Rangaraju, N. S, the Ramayana sequences that can be found on the wall reliefs are thus:

King Dasaratha is seated in the court, the putrakameshti sacrifice, Rama and his three brothers are born and suckling; the boys learn archery, the depredations of Maricha and Subahu, Visvamitra seeks Rama and Lakshmana, Rama and Lakshmana slay Tataka near her hill, Rama Lakshmana and Sita live on the banks of Godavari, they cut off the nose of Surpanakhi, Rama pursues the golden deer, then Ravana carries off Sita, Jatau is slain by Ravana, Rama sends out Hanuman, Hanuman brings news to Rama, Ravana is a multi-headed figure, coronation procession of Sri Rama,

The larger sculptures depict several forms of Vishnu all along the external wall. From the research of Rangaraju N.S., there are 86 sculptures on the surface of the wall, and twenty-four of them are beautifully carved and signed by the sculptor, Honoja.

Some of the important deities are [3]:

Lakshmi and Amaranrayana seated on the coils of Adisesha, Dancing Ganesha, Mohini, Harihara with the sculptor's name inscribed as Honoja, Six handed Hariharesvari, Kesava, Venugopala, Lakshminarasimha, Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, , Six handed Lakshmi and Vishnu, , Varadaraja, Dancing Sarasvati, Kalki, Trimurti, Janardhana, Mohini dancing uplifted Cobra, Balarama, Parasurama, Eight handed Harihara, Vishnu standing in Yogamudra, Kalingamardhana, Garuda, Eight handed Vishnu, Vishnu as Venkatesha, Lakshminarayana, Eight handed Vishnu dancing and Lakshmi on left.

Vishnu : Vishnu is seated on Adisheha, the seven-hooded serpent.

Dancing Ganesha : Ganesha is one of the few sculptures in this temple outside of the Vishnava faith.

Mohini : Mohini is a female avatar of Vishnu who lures the elixir, Amritha, out of the hands of demons and serves them to the Gods.

Harihareshwari: Although the lute in the Goddess's hand suggests Saraswati, the other hands do not carry the objects that identify Saraswati, such as a book, Japa mala (garland), and a pot of water. Instead, her top right hand appears to carry a damaru - a small drum symbolic of Shiva and the top left hand a conch shell that is symbolic of Vishnu. That is a typical iconography of Harihara - half Vishnu and half Shiva. Since this is a female deity, it can be identified as Harihareshwari.

God Vishnu is identified by the four primary attributes held in his hands, namely, Shankha (conch shell), Chakra (discus), Gada (mace), and Padma ( lotus flower). In most Vaishnava (Vishnu-centric) temples, Vishnu is shown in his original and incarnated forms. However, in Aralaguppe, except for sculptures of Krishna, there are no depictions of Vishnu in his other well-known incarnations, namely, Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, and Vamana. In Aralaguppe, Vishnu is depicted with uncommon objects - some of the example objects being sugarcane, mortar, and weapons like a mace and noose.

P.S: Please click on the image for a description of the sculpture.