05-13-2007, 02:18 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-Bodhi+May 13 2007, 01:18 AM-->QUOTE(Bodhi @ May 13 2007, 01:18 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->
In a more popular case, have you noticed the very famous meditating-cat-figurine on the Vimana of another Chola temple? In this figure, right in the midst of other Yogis and Yoginis, a cat is shown meditating, standing in tAdAsana/vrikshasana with arms raised up in Namaskar mudra and eyes half closed. Some mice are shown being carelessly drawn towards her. The message is, the cat is only pretending to be meditating, while her real intention is to feed upon the mice. Those mice which are not careful would come close, thinking of her as a Yogini, and she would pounce upon them and devour them. There are other such sculpture examples too, in particular in Chola arts.
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Interesting stuff Bodhi - but I quote only the passage above to indicate that visuals of these figurines can be seen in the documentary linked by Bharatvarsh in the Temples thread - which I have cross posted above. The 300 MB download is well worth it - and I intend to burn a few CDs for distribution and posterity.
In a more popular case, have you noticed the very famous meditating-cat-figurine on the Vimana of another Chola temple? In this figure, right in the midst of other Yogis and Yoginis, a cat is shown meditating, standing in tAdAsana/vrikshasana with arms raised up in Namaskar mudra and eyes half closed. Some mice are shown being carelessly drawn towards her. The message is, the cat is only pretending to be meditating, while her real intention is to feed upon the mice. Those mice which are not careful would come close, thinking of her as a Yogini, and she would pounce upon them and devour them. There are other such sculpture examples too, in particular in Chola arts.
[right][snapback]68670[/snapback][/right]
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Interesting stuff Bodhi - but I quote only the passage above to indicate that visuals of these figurines can be seen in the documentary linked by Bharatvarsh in the Temples thread - which I have cross posted above. The 300 MB download is well worth it - and I intend to burn a few CDs for distribution and posterity.