Kattikeya Vs Bodhisattva
God of War versus Bodhisattva of Compassion
Art 3
Asian Art History Survey
Two cultures, Hindu and Buddhist, which have many differences and produce so many different forms of art, are a little difficult to compare. Let alone comparing the cultures, but to compare two artworks can be a little bit of a challenge. These two cultures’ artworks are highly centered on their religious beliefs and their traditions.4 The artwork I have chosen from Hinduism is titled: Kattikeya, God of War, Seated on a peacock. To compare to the statue of the God of War I have chosen a similar in size figurine produced by the Buddhist culture titled: Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion. Both artworks, being of two different cultures, two different mediums, and two different types of dietes: one being a god of war and the other a bodisattva of compassion will be examined in this paper and the religious meaning, symbolic meanings, technique, and cultural value …show more content…
This figurine stands at about 60 inches tall and is carved out of basalt. Karttikeya, the god of war figurine probably came from the Nadanapalle region of Andhra Pradesh.5 According to Richard Blurton, this statue was carved so that Karttikeya is sitting in the neck riding the peacock, which is the commander of the god, is shown with six heads (shanmukha) and twelve arms, ten of which hold a whole bunch weapons. Blurton also went more in depth to write that “the multiple arms and heads of the Hindu dietes usually denote their superhuman power” A lot of Hindu art is primarily devotional, encouraging them to acknowledge the presence of a god or gods.1 According to the legend re-told by Blurton, Karttikeya was born from the split seed of the Hindu divinity Shiva. He developed his six heads in order to nurse from his six mothers, the Pleiades, a constellation of
Art 3
Asian Art History Survey
Two cultures, Hindu and Buddhist, which have many differences and produce so many different forms of art, are a little difficult to compare. Let alone comparing the cultures, but to compare two artworks can be a little bit of a challenge. These two cultures’ artworks are highly centered on their religious beliefs and their traditions.4 The artwork I have chosen from Hinduism is titled: Kattikeya, God of War, Seated on a peacock. To compare to the statue of the God of War I have chosen a similar in size figurine produced by the Buddhist culture titled: Avalokiteshvara, Bodhisattva of Compassion. Both artworks, being of two different cultures, two different mediums, and two different types of dietes: one being a god of war and the other a bodisattva of compassion will be examined in this paper and the religious meaning, symbolic meanings, technique, and cultural value …show more content…
This figurine stands at about 60 inches tall and is carved out of basalt. Karttikeya, the god of war figurine probably came from the Nadanapalle region of Andhra Pradesh.5 According to Richard Blurton, this statue was carved so that Karttikeya is sitting in the neck riding the peacock, which is the commander of the god, is shown with six heads (shanmukha) and twelve arms, ten of which hold a whole bunch weapons. Blurton also went more in depth to write that “the multiple arms and heads of the Hindu dietes usually denote their superhuman power” A lot of Hindu art is primarily devotional, encouraging them to acknowledge the presence of a god or gods.1 According to the legend re-told by Blurton, Karttikeya was born from the split seed of the Hindu divinity Shiva. He developed his six heads in order to nurse from his six mothers, the Pleiades, a constellation of