MAI OKI
Kyoto University oki.mai.5e@kyoto-u.ac.jp
THE DESCRIPTIONS OF VIŚVARŪPA VIṢṆU IN PURĀṆAS, ŚILPAŚĀSTRAS, AND PĀÑCARĀTRA TEXTS
Within Indian religious art, we find composite images of the well-known Hindu deity Viṣṇu, which are conventionally interpreted as Viśvarūpa Viṣṇu (Viṣṇu the omniform). Such multi-faced and multi-armed figures have been produced in Hindu art since ancient times. Most examples feature the following iconographic motif: a statue of Viṣṇu is at the center, with multiple animal heads and minor figures surrounding him. This paper provides a thorough analysis of the textual sources of the iconographic descriptions of Viśvarūpa Viṣṇu. Specifically, the focus of this study is the following texts: the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa (c. 7–8th century) and the Agnipurāṇa from Purāṇic scriptures; the Aparājitapr̥cchā (c. 12th century), the Devatāmūrtiprakaraṇam and the Rūpamaṇḍana (c. 15th century) from iconographic manuals composed after the medieval period; and the Sātvatasaṃhitā and the Hayaśīrṣapañcarātra (c. 8–9th century) from the Pāñcarātra texts. By comparing the descriptions, the author examines the reciprocal relationship between text and image in shaping the form of Viśvarūpa Viṣṇu. The conceptual and theological source for the iconography is presumed to be linked to the omniform (viśvarūpa-)manifestation of Kr̥ṣṇa (Viṣṇu) in Chapter 11 of the Bhagavadgītā, included in Book 6 of the Mahābhārata, the Bhīṣmaparvan. The Viṣṇupurāṇa (c. 5–6th century) seems to inherit this trend.