Ayudhapurusha

Ayudhapurushais theanthropomorphicdepiction of a divine weapon inHinduart. Ayudhapurushas are sometimes considered as partial incarnates of their divine owners.

Vishnu'sVaikuntha Chaturmukhaform holding Gadadevi (right hand) and Chakrapurusha in his hands.

The sex of the personified weapon is determined by the gender of the weapon in theSanskrit language.The suffix "purusha" (man) is added to masculine weapons and "devi" (goddess) to female ones.The weaponsShakti,Heti (a Hatchet-like weapon) andGada(mace), especiallyKaumodaki(the mace of Vishnu), Dhanus/Dhanushya ( "bow" ) are women.Chakra,especially Vishnu'sSudarshana Chakra(discus of Vishnu),Shankha( "conch" ),Padma(lotus),Ankusha(elephant goad),Pasha(noose),Trisula(trident),vajra(thunderbolt), Khadga (sword),Danda(a sceptre or club), Bana/Shara ( "arrow" ) and Bhindi (sling) are depicted male.

While weapons are personified in ancientHindu epicslike theRamayanaand theMahabharata,the ayudhapurushas were depicted in sculpture starting from theGuptaera. They might be depicted as humans with the weapons against them or holding the weapon or with the weapon on their head or emerging from it. The most popular ayudhapurushas are associated with the godVishnuand appear in his iconography.

Textual references

The first instance where weapons are personified in Hindu scriptures is in theHindu epicRamayana.Two daughters of thePrajapatiDaksha,Jaya and Suprabha, are married to the sage Krisasva. For the destruction ofrakshasas,Jaya bore fifty sons - powerful divine weapons who could take any form. Suprabha gave birth to fifty invincible sons who were calledSamharas ( "destroyers" ). These magical weapons were known asShastra-devatas– the gods of weapons - and were given to king Kaushika, who later became the sageVishvamitra.The weapons served him and later his pupilRama,anavatarof Vishnu.TheMahabharatastates that at the time of the chakra-mushala conflict, the weapons ofKrishna– another avatar of Vishnu, and his brother,Balarama,appear in human form from the heavens to watch the battle. They include Krishna's Sudarshana Chakra and Kaumodaki, and Balarama's Samvartaka (plough) and Saumanda (pestle). TheDuta-Vakya( "envoy's message" ) of the Sanskrit playwrightBhasa(c. 2nd century BCE – 2nd century CE) describes an episode from theMahabharatawhen Krishna goes as an envoy toKauravas' court to broker peace between them and their cousins thePandavas,on behalf of the latter. However, when the Kauravas try to arrest Krishna, Krishna assumes hisVishvarupa(universal form) and summons his weapons, who appear as humans. The ayudhapurushas include the discus Sudarshana Chakra, the bow Sharanga, the mace Kaumodaki, the conchPanchajanya,and the swordNandaka,elaborate descriptions of whom are found in the text. This is the only Sanskrit play that depicts the weapons on stage as humans. TheRaghuvamsaofKalidasamentions about dwarf-like ayudhapurushas denoting Vishnu's chakra, lotus, sword, bow, and mace.

Textual descriptions

Sudarshana Chakra depicted as an ayudhapurusha and fierce aspect of his owner Vishnu.

Treatises such as theVishnudharmottara Puranaand variousAgamasdescribe the iconography of the ayudhapurushas. Shakti is depicted as a red-hued woman seated on a wolf. The Danda is a fearful black-complexioned man with wrathful red eyes. The Khadga is also a dark and angry man. Pasha is depicted as a male snake with seven hoods. Dhvaja ( "banner" ) is a yellow-coloured strong man with his mouth wide open. The Trishula is a handsome black-complexioned man with lovely eyebrows. The Shankha is described as a white male with adorable eyes. The Bana (arrow) is a red-coloured man with beautiful eyes, however theVaikhaashagamadescribes it to be a black-complexioned eunuch with three eyes, dressed in white clothes and riding on the wind. The Dhanus (bow) is a red lotus coloured female with a stringed bow on her head. TheVishnudharmottara Puranadescribes Chakra as man with a fat belly and round eyes, decorated with various ornaments and holding achamara(chowry) and with Vishnu's left hand on his head. The slim-waisted woman Gada holds a chowry in her hands and is adored with ornaments, with Vishnu's right hand resting on her head.

While the Sudarshana Chakra is depicted as a subordinate figure with Vishnu, in many South Indian Vishnu temples, the Chakra as an ayudhapurusha is worshipped in its own shrine attached to the central temple. Here, the Chakra is regarded as an aspect of Vishnu and calledChakra-rupi Vishnu– Vishnu in the form of the Chakra. In the outline of the ordinary circular Chakra with a hexagram inscribed in it (shat-kona-chakra) – stands the personified Chakra in fierce form generally with eight arms. Often,Yoga-Narasimha,the lion-man ferocious aspect of Vishnu is depicted on the back of the Chakra sculpture. TheShilparatnadescribes that the fierce Chakra-rupi Vishnu should hold in his hands gada, chakra, a snake, a lotus,musala(a pestle),tramsha,pasha and ankusha. He is depicted as radiant as the sun and with protruding tusks from the sides of his mouth. Another description describes the Chakra as a sixteen-armed fierce form of Vishnu. He holds a chakra, shankha, bow, parashu, asi (sword), arrow, trishula, pasha, ankusha, agni (fire), khadga (sword), shield, hala (plough), musala, gada and kunta. Three-eyed and golden-coloured with protruding tusks, the Chakra stands in theshat-kona-chakra,with Narasimha on the reverse of the sculpture.

Sculptural depictions

The Sudarshana Chakra is depicted against the Chakra (right) and the Kaumodaki holding a gada (left), while goddessLakshmi,Vishnu's wife, seated pressing his feet.

Chakra (centre) and Shankha (right) with the weapons on their head.

An ayudhapurusha is generally depicted as a two-armed figure, prescribed to shown with a karanda mukuta (conical crown).An ayudhapurusha may be depicted as a dwarf, concurring with Kalidasa's description in theRaghuvamsa.Such icons are present inRajgir,MahabalipuramandBadami.They may be depicted as normal humans as inUdayagiri Cavesand in theSheshashayi Vishnupanel of theGuptaera (320–550 CE)Deogarhtemple. At Deogarh, the Sudarshana Chakra is depicted against the Chakra/wheel and the Kaumodaki holding a gada. In another instance, the ayudhapurushas are depicted without their weapons, thoughC. Sivaramamurtiopines that there is enough evidence to identify them as ayudhapurushas. The human Chakrapurusha depicted against the Chakra is seen on thechakra-vikramacoin of the Gupta rulerChandragupta IIwhere the Chakrapurusha – here denoting the wheel of sovereignty – is dedicated bestowing the three pellets of sovereignty to the king. The Gupta era and medieval sculptures often depict the ayudhapurushas in normal human proportions.CholaandChalukyasculptors continued the trend, mostly focussing on the Sudarshana Chakra in a fierce multiple-armed human form.Sometimes, the ayudhapurusha is depicted emerging from the associated weapon.

In another variation, the ayushapurusha stands besides the deity with folded hands (inanjalimudra posture) with the weapon depicted on the head as part of the crown or the weapon mark on the forehead. The Sudarshana Chakra with the Chakra on his head in Deogarh and Chola era bronzes of Chakra and Gada in similar fashion are some illustrations.

In the last variation of the ayudhapurusha iconography, he/she holds the associated weapon. Common examples are the Sudarshana Chakra, the Shankha-purusha and Kaumodaki, mostly found inUttar PradeshandBengalart. Sharanga with the bow in his hand and Nandaka with the sword as in Deogarh are other examples.

In some cases, the weapon may be depicted as in both anthropomorphic and their true form. While the central icon of Vishnu may hold the weapons, the ayudhapurushas of the same weapon may stand at the feet of the central icon.

References

• Rao, T.A. Gopinatha (1914).Elements of Hindu iconography.Vol. 1: Part I. Madras: Law Printing House.
• C. Sivaramamurti, C.(1955). "The Weapons of Vishṇu".Artibus Asiae.18(2). Artibus Asiae publishers: 128–136.doi:10.2307/3248789.JSTOR3248789.