Hindu ‘deśika’-figures

Hindu ‘deśika’-figures

I HINDUTESIKA! -FIGURES Some notes on a minor iconographic tradition H. Daniel Smith The term 'desika' ( 1) in the title of this paper is used to re...

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HINDUTESIKA! -FIGURES Some notes on a minor iconographic tradition H. Daniel Smith

The term 'desika' ( 1) in the title of this paper is used to refer to depictions of human beings in Hindu cultic art . The term is intended to isolate portrayals of human beings and - at least for purposes of iconographic study to distinguish them from 'devata'-images of gods and goddesses and from other celestials, as well as from personifications of sub-human forces, as also from the many animal, vegetative and inanimate forms regularly The term 'desika', utilized as elements of Indian art . then, points to a significant category of figurative art within the Indian tradition, and an impressive variety of Not only human depictions fa l ls within this category . are innumerable babas, ammas, sants, svamis, viras, yogis and other contemporary celebrities included in it whether they be personalities of regional or of pan-Indian prominence - but so also are included the often familiar as well as the occasionally forgotten bhaktas, rsis, tapasas, kavyavacakas and even donor figures of the recent and remote past . What follows is divided into two parts . The first part seeks to demonstrate that there is, in fact, a reasonably consistent code governing the rendition and recognition of 'desika'-figures of historic fame . It will be the task of the first section of this paper to draw upon the iconographic conventions comprising that code in order to differentiate and identify four iconographically similar 'desika'-figures (figures 1-4) . In the course of the discussion of the four figures, considerations evidently familiar to many Hindu sectarians for at least the last half-millenium will be touched upon . It will be the thrust of this part of the presentation to suggest 40

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that a more systematic and comprehensive study of 'desika'figures than can be effected with but a brief treatment of four bhaktas would serve to illuminate not only a neglected iconographic tradition but also many of the manifestations of popular Hindu sectarian art of the past several centuries . The second part attempts to examine four additional figures (figures 5-8), all closer to the present period . The effort in this latter part of the presentation will be to intimate that, by looking at the depictions of leaders of contemporary 'personality cults', we may observe in those recent renditions the tentative statements of a new convention emerging . In those examples it will not be enough merely to observe the creative interplay of standardized iconographic codes with the dynamic of innovative, even inspired, invention : the paramount factor affecting the emerging convention is an immediate consequence of the camera, the photograph . No one has yet studied the relationship of contemporary iconography to photography ; it is hoped that the modest evidence presented in the second part of this paper will stimulate further efforts among students of Indian art and iconography to acknowledge the photograph - and the photographer as crucial among the factors currently creating contemporary cultic imagery .

ICONOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF FOUR HISTORIC BHAKTA-FIGURES From among the various types of 'desika'-figures, it may be useful to focus on but four bhaktas recognized in Tamil Nadu and, to varying degrees, beyond . However meagre this sampling, notice of these four figures should be sufficient to illustrate that the standardization of iconographic details associated with each suggests a minor tradition deserving more systematic attention than has so far been accorded it . In the present context, bhaktas are devotees whose fervent faith or whose extraordinary contributions to the communal religious enterprise causes them to be singled out for celebration in the sampradaya-cult with which they are associated . The four selected here are bhakta-saints who appear to be quite well-known (regionally, at least) and seem to enjoy establishment status in temples and domestic shrines throughout large ranges of South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu but scarcely less so in Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, in which places, however, occasional localisms may be noted - temple images of these four bhakta-saints are honoured in cycles of worship just as the main deity and attendant parivaradevatas ; as well, these same ones are also remembered on

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occasion in small commemorations staged in home shrines . The literature generally available to historians of art and to historians of religions acknowledges such important phenomena ; but the iconography of the bhaktas involved has generally been passed over (2) . Of course it will never be possible to identify the many bhaktas of Hindu cultic art . It appears that, often, renditions of many bhakta-figures were never meant to be identified with a particular person ; if a specific historical individual were intended there seems to have been a calculated effort to preserve anonymity, as it were to testify silently, mutely, that the saintly original had succeeded in losing all identity in divine preoccupation . Thus such models as there may have been for the many figures depicted on the approaches to countless temples - conventionally prostrate, face down - were never intended to be 'known' . In some other cases, however, figures depicted were apparently meant to be known, but today at least they remain nameless because a key epigraph has been lost, or because identifying clues transmitted by subtle conventions of iconography have yet to be recognized . Nevertheless, the specifics differentiating impressive numbers of bhaktas, one from another, are well known to the sectarians who honour them with worship, and are even more established, it must be presumed, among the traditional artisans who portray those figures in distinctive detail . It is to a sampling of such bhakta-figures that attention now turns . First, two seated bhakta-saints will be compared (figures 1 and 2) . Both are shown in 'padmasana'-posture, both display the 'jnana'- or 'upade§a'- or 'vyakhyana'mudra, and both, although apparently 'holy men' in some sense, retain the sacred 'upavita'-cord (3) . Who are they? The upright 'urdhvapundra'-marks on the foreheads and the symbols shaped on the shoulders verify that both are gri-vaisnavas - which is to say that by these marks we are told that these are saints in the heritage relating to Visnu piety, and are not to be associated with the Saiva * or the Smarta communities . The presence of the sacred upavita-cord on both these figures attests to a 6ri-vaisn_ava practice that all regardless of asrama or vocation - maintain throughout their lives a steadfast, serious, worldly concern . The border on the dhoti of one of the figures indicates that he is a grhastha, whatever other role he might function in, while the border on the dhoti of the other figure is missing, indicating that (despite the upavita-cord) he is a sannyasin

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FIG . 1

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What further distinguishes them one from the other? One (figure 1) is seen to have at his side a staff of three sticks bound together, a tridanda (4) . It bears a banner emblematic of Visnu's presence (reading from left to right : the cakra, the sri-pada-mark, and the sahkha) . The staff serves to tell of an exalted office its carrier may be presumed to hold, since it does not appear to be an ordinary hermit's danda . What the office is, and who its occupants, will be known in a moment . Notice the long ear-lobes ; this mark observed elsewhere in Indian iconography (5) seems to be a feature regularly associated with this figure . Note also that the urdhvapundra-mark on his forehead and on the banner reveals a significant node at its base, identifying it as the 'Y'-shaped symbol of the Tengalai sect of Sri-vaisnavism . Having noted this, it may then be deduced that the imprints on his shoulders - on the right shoulder the stamp of Visnu's cakra, on the left shoulder the shape of Visnu's sankha are the 'tapa'-brands which Tengalai Sri-vaisnavas cause to have burned into their skin during early adult years, symbolic marks they wear thereafter throughout their lives in token that they are upheld by the strength of God's 'grace' . The other figure does not bear the tapa-marks as such, and this is peculiar . For, as a Vadagalai sectarian a matter which is confirmed by the contours of the 'U'-shaped urdhvapundra-marks - he would a a pious adult normally have undergone the 'paricasamskara'-rite, just as would a Tengalai Sri-vaisnava, soon after his marriage (6) . That the imprints are found missing in an iconographic inventory of this second figure may be explained in either one of two ways : their absence may be construed to testify to the Vadagalai belief that a lifetime filled with good works, meritorious deeds, and liberating study is what finally ensures salvation rather than confidence in or dependence upon 'grace' ; or, more likely, the artist may have omitted those arcane, sectarian marks due to design considerations or simply by oversight . In any case, this Vadagalai saint's shoulders are bare except for the upright cosmetic marks on the upper forearm . This seated bhakta ( figure 2) holds in his left hand a pustaka-manuscript, or book, which further disThat book tinguishes him from his juxtaposed colleague . symbolizes not only the learning he has presumably acquired by diligent study but it also stands for the summary of the Vedas from which he taught, and represents the cumulative insight and wisdom of the Vedanta which he

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personifies and offers to devotees who would aspire to follow his example of self-cultivation . _ Both these bhakta-saints were great teachers, or Acaryas, of medieval Hinduism ; the one with the staff (figure 1) is the earlier of the two, namely Ramanuja (7) . He was an eleventh-century theologian, monastic organizer, and the patron saint of the Sri-vaisnava sampradaya who, tradition avers, lived to be 120 years old . In fact, this depiction of Ramanuja - demonstrating, it must be presumed, the Preceptor's 'upadesa'-mudra of initiation is unusual . More usual are depictions modelled after a famous image at Sriperumbudur, the saint's birthplace in Tamil Nadu . In that image he is shown seated with both hands held in 'an- jali'-hasta, the tridanda nearby . Local traditions say that the image was one of'two or three installed during the lifetime of the great Acarya (8), therefore presumably it represents a likeness of the revered saint . And so, utsavaberas, sculptures, and devotional drawings of Ramanuja for puja-purposes are, in fact, more often seen in the 'anjali'-hasta disposition - some details missing, others inconsistently added, and, as often as not, showing the dome-shaped liturgical instrument called the'sathakopa' at his feet (9) . Images of Ramanuja housed in Sri-vaisnava temples throughout South India are taken out in procession on special holidays - as is done regularly at Sriperumbudur on 'guru-pusya' day and on such occasions are afforded liturgical honours in ways analogous to those offered to the deity in the central shrine (10) . The other figure who is seated without the symbol of authority (figure 2), and holding the pustaka-manuscript, is Vedanta Desika (11), the thirteenth-century philosopher and spokesman for the Vadagalai sect of 6rivaisnavism . A prolific writer,"it is not inconsistent with what * he represents to his followers that the gesture of his right hand can be construed as the 'vyakhyana'-mudra of exposition, symbolic of the erudition preserved and passed_ down in his teachings . Although remembered as an Acarya, he never adopted the sannyasin's life, remaining all his days a grhastha . Thus, his more elaborate dhoti . So far, so good (12) . But suppose one comes upon another seated figure also displaying a similar gesture with the right hand and, likewise, holding a pustaka-bundle in the left . Is that also necessarily Vedanta De§ika? By no means . For leaving aside the decorative motifs it has in common with

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figure 2 - simply to look at figure 3 is to realize immediately that in the convergence of various, different elements, there is depicted a completely different The saint depicted in figure 3 is Nammalvar personality . (13), perhaps the most beloved among the Tamil Alvars, poet-singers who flourished from the seventh to the ninth or tenth centuries C .E . Altogether there were twelve of these ecstatics, all famous for praising Visnu in hymns and sacred pursuits . Juxtaposing this picture of Nammalvar with that of Vedanta De6ika, the first thing to notice is a difference in colour . Vedanta De§ika (figure 2) is normally depicted with a fair complexion . That feature in his iconography has more to do, probably, with the legendary purity of his personal life so revered by Vadagalais than with the fact that he was born a highOn the other hand, Nammalvar (figure 3) caste brahmana . regularly has dark skin, a detail which does, no doubt, refer to his varna-origins in the §udra-ranks . Keeping in mind the non-dvija background of Nammalvar, it is quite impossible, then, to construe the thread worn over his left shoulder and under the right arm as the sacred upavita-cord . It is more credibly understood as a 'siruttambu'-thread made up of many small knots and bits . Such a cord, the many knots and bits symbolic of the countless acts of devotion binding a devotee to his master, has apparently been conferred iconographically upon this saint because of the tradition that his whole life was comprised of episodes of devotion and acts of purity which won for him status above whatever was the caste that gave him birth . Precisely because he was a sudra, this popular saint of dark hue personifies to Tengalais their abiding trust and fundamental tenet, which is that all devotees regardless of caste or qualifications of any kind will, God willing, enjoy the blessed vision of and liberating communion with the Lord . The so-called 'Cat-Hold' teaching of the Tengalais, that is, that God's grace is all sufficient, undercuts the typical Hindu dogmas about varna and asrama, jati and karma . No wonder, then, that this dark devotee, said to have been born in samadhi and whose life was the very model of the carefree jivan-mukta, is a hero among the Tengalai Sri-vaisnavas . But he is equally beloved by Vadagalais for reasons quite consistent with their self-help 'Monkey-Hold' theology, and they, too, claim him as their own . For this reason Nammalvar is regularly shown - as here - with an urdhvapundra -mark on his forehead which appears to be neither a distinct

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'Y'-shape nor a clear 'U'-shape ; it is manifestly something in between . Accordingly, just as in the worship of the image of Venkate6vara at Tirupati where a similar 'neutral' urdhvapundra-mark has been adopted, the compromise usage invites followers of both cults to turn to this figure and accord it appropriate sectarian honours . Either a Tengalai or a Vadgalai urdhvapundra on this ( figure 3) is, in any case, an anachronism ; his career flourished long before such sectarian distinctions came into vogue . As for his knotted coiffure, it may be, as some say, an identification of locality ; it is possible also that it represents a vestigial 'usnisa'-bump, symbolic of his status as a jivan-mukta . In any case, the knotted hair appears to be standard to the iconography of Nammalvar . Also common to many renditions of Nammalvar is the presence of a tree . Legend has it that the first sixteen years of his life were spent in divine ecstasy under a tamarind tree in his native village (now called Alvartirunagari in his honour) (14) . The tree _ under which he reputedly stayed is still enshrined in the Adinatha temple there and, if the tamarind tree symbol is omitted, representations of this bhakta-saint include a replica of the main arca-image of the temple, Adinatha .

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As for his right hand, in view of the ecstatic vision of God which transformed Nammalvar from the day of his birth and upheld him all the days of his life, it seems appropriate to interpret the gesture as a 'jnana'-mudra, symbolic of his inner vision . That gesture usually remains constant in depictions of this saint even while other conventions for portraying him may vary . His knotted coiffure usually tips to his left ; but it sometimes inclines to his right . The 'siruttambu'-cord may be missing, unequivocally removing with it any ambiguity concerning his low-caste origins (for which same reason he is normally depicted without an upper cloth) . Nammalvar may or may not be shown holding a book in his left hand . And his foremost disciple, Alvar Mathura Kavi, may or may not be shown at his feet . Such occasional deviations from a standard iconographic code need not surprise those familiar with Hindu iconography . So far only bhakta-figures of the Vaisnava tradition have been noticed_ - Ramanuja and Vedanta De§ika representing Sri-vaisnava Acaryas, and Nammalvar representing one of the twelve Alvars . The Saivas , too, have their bhaktasaints in the persons of various Acaryas _ and Siddhas, and, in addition, 63 Nayanmars who, like the Alvars, also flourished between the seventh and ninth or tenth centuries

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C .E . As the point of this part of the presentation is attempting to make, one may expect to find reasonably standard iconographic traditions associated with each of these many figures of Saiva piety . It will suffice to look at only one of the Saiva Acaryas for illustration (figure 4), the famous philosopher-saint, Sankara (15) . As with the preceding three 'desika'-figures of bhaktas just reviewed, Sankara is normally shown seated in padmasana, is dressed as an ascetic, has one hand usually in 'jnana'- or 'upadesa'- or 'vyakhyana'-mudra, the other one often holding a pustaka-manuscript . What distinguishes him from the others, and how do we know that this is, in fact, a depiction of Sankara? Of course the Saivite tripundra-marks differentiate him from the Vaisnava saints . This is a feature which he has in common with other Saiva saints . The absence of the upavita-cord in his case does not indicate low-caste status - he was born a brahmana ; its absence, balanced by the presence of ascetic garb and the accoutrements of a mendicant, marks him clearly and unambiguously as a sannyasin of the Smarta or Saiva traditions (16) . The single danda is a sign of his high spiritual office, serving in the Saiva Acarya tradition as a sceptre of apostolic authority . The rudraksa-rosary, which Sankara is shown here wearing as one of his necklaces, is another item of importance in saintly paraphernalia among the Siaivas . But, while all these elements converge in the iconography of this particular Saivite 'desika'-figure, what is it that confirms that what is here seen is, in fact, a rendition of Sankara? At this point it is well to recall that 'Sankara' is an epithet for Siva . Although it is likely that this late 8th century mortal received his name, according to Malabar custom, to indicate the constellation under which he was born (17), popular piety asserts that this saintly master is not merely the namesake of Siva but he is, in fact, a latter-day incarnation of the god . Hence it should come as no surprise that the iconography of Sankara resonates powerfully with the symbolism of Siva . Thus the vyaghrya-khala tiger-skin on which he is invariably shown seated becomes significant : even popular oleographs show this . The kamandalu-waterpot may or may not consistently be shown, but when it is present it provides a reiteration of Sankara's (and/or Siva's) ascetic vocation (18) . Other popular renditions as well as sculptures from temples in Tamil Nadu, indicate a consensus that has more or less prevailed historically in the depiction of Sankara .

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It must be emphasized, reflecting on these four as exemplars of 'de§ika'-figures, that however conventional and standardized their depictions may appear there are always variables, exceptions, and irregularities . To be sure the same must be admitted in a survey of selected 'devata'-icons where, despite strict canons enjoined by §i1pa-texts or reflected in 'dhyana-§1okas', regional variations and novel inventions introduced by imaginative artists often result in new forms to 'prove' the rules . In the depiction of 'de§ika'-figures, few are the rules : universally acknowledged 'dhyana-§1okas' are simply not available to guide artists nor are there established §i1pa-texts to preserve antique canons (19) . Furthermore, and most importantly, 'de§ika'-figures represent what are, essentially, regional phenomena ; and peculiar parochialisms are the norm rather than the exceptions in the genre . As well, in the absence of strict canons there are more than the usual discrepancies due to artists' licence to contend with .

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Yet, having said this, it is remarkable the conventions that are discernible . They are sufficient to warrant the term 'a minor iconographic tradition' . For an historian of religions, the correct identification of key 'de§ika'-figures, however cryptic the iconographic details of their rendering may be, is of crucial importance to an understanding of the emergence and development of sectarian Hinduism . Even minor changes and subtle variations within a constellation of approximately equivalent pictographic statements may be of enormous ideological significance and interpretative consequences . The selection of these four 'de§ika'-figures was not random . They were chosen because they shared certain common characteristics - all are bhakta-saints regionally popular in the South ; indeed, each is known to be accorded liturgies of worship which, in turn, indicates they are recognized individually and autonomously by their specific cultic followers ; and all share the iconographic features of being seated identically in padmasana-posture displaying a similar gesture in the right hand, and having the upper body bare, their sectarian marks visible . The purpose served by the congruence was to recognize in it a precision and accord while at the same time to discern the potential for variety and discrepancies . Still, these four examples represent but one sub-type of 'd6sika'-figures - seated bhaktas . Future studies must attempt to examine other types and sub-types, and include examples from other regions ; also it is important to broaden the scope of

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sampling to include depictions of rsis, kavyavacakas, tapasas and other human depictions including donor figures for whatever conventions may be disclosed as having determined their portrayal . It remains, now, to move to the second part of this presentation, and to look at the conventions associated with renditions of popular personalities of more recent times .

FOUR PERSONALITIES FROM MORE RECENT TIMES AND THEIR ICONOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS Attention now turns to depictions of figures of more recent fame . The attempt will be to account for such iconographic conventions as may be discerned in four contemporary portrayals . The first personality to note is an octogenarian holy man known most simply as 'the Swami of Kanchi' (figure 5), but whose proper name, with titles, is His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Chandrasekharendra Sarasvati Sri SankarAcarya Swamigal of Kanci Kamakoti Pitha . The titles indicate that his followers believe he is a direct, apostolic successor to the eighth/ninth-century teachersaint, Sankara (figure 4), and that his office was one of five (20) founded by that earlier Advaitin activist . Born 20 May 1894, of Smarta brahmana parents at Kalavai in South Arcot District of Tamil Nadu, the Swami was elevated to his high office in 1907 upon the sudden and unexpected death of his predecessor . He thus became the 68th Acarya of the Kanchi line, and in 1967 his 60th Jubilee year as pontiff was widely celebrated by his admirers and followers . Tinted photographs and colour prints of this diminutive saint have been found for some years hanging prominently in the homes of millions of South Indians . An advocate of social reform, dedicated to educational schemes, and unintimidated by any technology which will yield a better life for all living creatures, he has been over the decades an activist in his preaching and promptings ; at the same time he has provided a model in his life for inner cultivation and for dedication to traditional Hindu ideals . As a result he finds a ready response in the minds and hearts of Indians of many political persuasions and communal loyalties ; he is revered by Smartas, Saivas, and Vaisnavas alike . Like his predecessor Adi Sankaracarya (figure 4), this Kanchi Sankaracarya (figure 5) also is invariably _ shown wearing kasaya-robes adorned with a rudraksamala, bearing vibhuti-marks, and displaying the ekadanaa-staff of his office . While his predecessor is shown only seated,

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the Swami of Kanchi is shown either seated or standing . Sometimes he is shown in a starkly simple setting, other times the traces of pomp and iconolatry are found . His waterpot is sometimes present, sometimes absent . The tiger-skin is sometimes prominent, sometimes replaced by a simple plank . Often the Swami is shown doing something preaching, performing ablutions, holding audience, blessing devotees - indicating his dedication to active, often reformist, pursuits ; occasionally he is revealed in a solitary, contemplative mood . Rarely is he shown without a stubble of white beard ; that detail signifies to many that he is engaged in a spiritual vrata-vow which proscribes shaving for a certain length of time . Some depictions of the Swami of Kanchi are fullfigure, some are half-figure portraits, still others are close-ups of his face only . Indeed, it is his face which seems to be the characteristic and identifying feature by which he is known, even to those who have never seen him in person . This fact is no doubt due to the wide dissemination of his photographs in newspapers, magazines and inexpensive prints . Those who have seen him remark on the penetrating expression of his eyes . But, unlike other 'de§ika'-figures so far examined, there appears to be no conventional disposition of his arms or hands : while the left hand most often is seen grasping the danda-staff, the right hand may be extended in blessing, held over his heart, holding a water-jug, or simply reposing . The fact that there are among the devotees always in his entourage several photographers means that pictures of the Swami of Kanchi are constantly being produced . Usually those published and disseminated have been approved personally by His Holiness himself or by those most concerned with his relation to the public in terms of 'image' . Accordingly, his person and career are richly documented by photographs of him in various situations and moods . These photographs, often retouched and tinted, provide the copy for mass-produced depictions . Because there is such a large repertory of photographs available from which to draw an image of the Swami of Kanchi, no one likeness, let alone one particular type of portrait, has yet prevailed to symbolize his presence, to manifest his personality in two dimensions . But the iconography most clearly associated with him has these elements ascetic garb, vibhvti-marks and rudraksamala ; some token at least of his office, whether it be the danda, the tiger-skin dais, or a simple plank ; his familiar visage with penetrating eyes and stubbled beard - and these

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elements are likely to remain standard in future depictions of the Swami of Kanchi whatever other variables there may be . Another 'desika'-figure deserves attention because of the prominence, not to say publicity, which followers who celebrate his teachings have accorded him in recent years . That figure is Caitanya (figure 6), who founded the sect from which the spreading Krishna Consciousness Movement derives . He was, of course, born long before mass communications and photographic dissemination of imagery were factors to consider . Yet the contemporary currency of his likeness is due in no small part to promotion by a dedicated cadre of devotees who, all the while they acknowledge their revered saint's otherworldly absorption, utilize the technology of colour printing and mass production methods to address themselves to the world . Until the middle of this century Caitanya was a personality little known beyond Bengal, Orissa, and the immediate areas in other parts of India touched by the slim network of Gaudiya Maths ; by the beginning of the fourth quarter of the twentieth century the cult has expanded to cover all continents of the world, and with it has travelled the story and the semblance of this saint . He was born in 1486 (21) of brahmana parents in Bengal, and in his early 20s underwent a profound religious experience . The joy and transforming nature of that godintoxication is symbolized by his uplifted arms - an almost invariable element in this saint's iconography . This also accounts for why he is normally shown as a youth even though he lived late into the fifth decade of his life . Within two or three years of his conversion he took initiation as a Vaisnava sannyasin, for which reason one would expect to see evidence of tonsure (cf . figures 1, 2 and 4) ; instead he is usually depicted with flowing hair . Nevertheless he does often wear an ochre-tinted dhoti appropriate to his ascetic calling, albeit in accordance with Vaisnava practice he wears the upavita-cord (22) . An upper-cloth is a standard part of his apparel but it is usually draped over his extended arms so that his navel and nipples show . Another constant element of his iconography appears to be his stance, raised on the ball of one foot, the other bared foot placed forward - a detail that yields to various levels of interpretation in view of his cultivation of elevated consciousness and of his peripatetic ministry early after his conversion . The shape of the urdhvapundra-mark on his forehead always conforms to Madhva usage ; and, inasmuch as one of his epithets was Gauranga, 'he who has a white

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body', his complexion is always pictured as fair . There are a number of variables, however, in his depiction . He may be shown alone or in company with others engaged in singing God's praises - either convention being perfectly in keeping with the theology of the Caitanya cult and one or more of the figures who accompany him are occasionally identifiable as his close disciples . His mouth may or may not be open in song ; he may or may not have wooden clappers in his hands to mark the hymn's tempo as he sings ; his eyes may or may not be upcast to suggest the transports he so often experienced, the ecstasy his disciples strive so earnestly to emulate . Sometimes he is seen wearing a necklace of tulasi-beads . Although the exact date and circumstances of his death are not known, it is maintained by many that the saint drowned in the sea off the coast of Puri while in a state of religious rapture . That legend merely adds another dimension of interpretation to this figure with upraised arms - as epitome of the soul sinking in the 'sea' of samsara, reaching up in trust, petition, and communication to the Lord on high . But whatever Caitanya's mortal career may have been, the model which has survived the vicissitudes of time and has been resuscitated in our own age is the image of a youth, radiant and totally absorbed, commending self to God with innocent and disarming enthusiasm . A compelling image, indeed, for our youth-oriented times, and one that not surprisingly finds a receptive audience beyond Bengal where it originated! Satya Sai Baba (figure 7), known as 'the Miracle Man' to growing numbers of followers both in India and abroad, was born Satyanarayana Raju on 23 November 1926 . His parents were brahmanas in a small village called Puttaparti in southern Andhra Pradesh, a place where this extraordinary individual has lived most of his life . Although now already in his early 50s his countenance remains remarkably youthful . His most striking feature, perhaps, is his hair, copious in growth and bushy in texture . For some years now he has invariably appeared in public wearing a long, red or orange mukhmal-gown of costly silk ; apart from its distinctive style this has also served to make him seem taller than he is at his plumpish, five-feet height . He preaches a message of universal truth and love, a gospel that is popular and attractive to his broadly-based contemporary audience (23) . But time and again whenever his name is mentioned there recurs an inevitable emphasis on the miracles he is reputed to perform, most especially the

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materialization of objects but also the feats of communicating with the distant or departed, healing, and, in one widely acclaimed instance reported to have occurred in late 1953, raising a man from the dead . 'My miracles', Baba has said, 'are my calling cards . I give the people what they want so that they will later give me what I want, their love of God . Some people may call it advertising, and, if it is, so be it . I am here to serve my devotees the best way I can' (24) . He is certainly not loath to perform miracles, but he professes to prefer transmitting his spiritual powers and life-giving message in the form of elevating discourses and enlightening aphorisms (25) and, occasionally, in spontaneous song . Depictions of Satya Sai Baba feature his immediately recognizable physical traits (26) . So familiar have those become through the medium of photoprinting that in many cases it suffices to show merely a close-up of his face . But, as with the abundance of pictures available for representing the Swami of Kanchi so with images of the Baba, no single depiction has yet become standard . He is sometimes shown full figure, standing ; often he is pictured seated ; occasionally he will be seen reclining . His attitude may appear demure and reserved, or he may be shown occupied and outgoing . Most often he is shown smiling . If his hands are not in repose, one hand will be shown waving, gesturing, or holding an object . The raised left hand in figure 7 suggests the gesture associated with his many miracles of manifestation : he rotates the open palm as he closes his fingers to produce a physical object, usually vibhuti-ashes (27) . When he is shown seated, it is often in an impressive chair, which detail may be construed to represent a throne : Satya Sai Baba claims that he occupies a position of descent from at least one other, earlier spiritual master . About 1940, when he was around fourteen years of age, Satyanarayana began to aver that he was the reincarnation of 'Shirdi Sai Baba', a widely famous Maharashtran saint who died in 1918, eight years before the birth of the present Sai Baba . (He also prophesies that when he leaves his present body he will be born in the adjoining state of Karnataka, where he will be known as Prema Sai Baba .) It is surprising how rarely a picture of the earlier Shirdi Sai Baba appears as part of the paraphernalia presented with Satya Sai Baba . Garlands often festoon his person or place, as is befitting the recognition of a person of prestige and rank . The photograph quite clearly plays a key role in transmitting the image of modern figures to the Indian

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public, and the photographer surely performs a critical function in establishing and disseminating visual cues by which a famous personality may be recognized aside from facial familiarity . A standard posture ; a characteristic gesture ; appropriate apparel, whether conventional or highly personalized - even idiosyncratic ; paraphernalia peculiar to a person's profession or patrimony : these are some of the elements used for centuries in the fashioning and interpretation of icons, and these are the same elements utilized today by photographers to establish recognition factors for the subjects of their photographs . The photographic document, once made, in turn becomes the original upon which copies, sometimes altered by judicious retouching, are based and then circulated to create a contemporary iconography . This phenomenon has been suggested in the case of the Swami of Kanchi, reiterated in the instance of Satya Sai Baba, and will be confirmed in the example of Ramakrishna . Sri Ramakrishna (figure 8) is known to have had at least four photographs taken of him during his lifetime (1834-86) . The earliest of these was taken in Keshab Chandra Sen's Calcutta home on 21 September 1879, and shows Ramakrishna standing, with the support of his disciple it is this photograph which Hrday,'in a state of samadhi ; provides the model for our line-drawing . A more formal, studio portrait was made on 9 or 10 December 1881 ; it shows the saint in secular dress and it has not been much used except for archival purposes . A third picture was taken of him in 1883 or 1884 at the Daksine6vara temple compound, where he had lived and worked'as a temple pujari since 1855 ; it shows him seated in a trance state, facing directly into the camera . When Ramakrishna was later shown a print by one of his disciples he is reported to have said, 'A high yogic state is pictured here . As time goes on this photo will be worshipped in every home' (28) . And that picture has, indeed, gone through many transformations and has provided the model for most seated depictions of Ramakrishna as well as some facial closeups of him . The fourth photograph was that taken on 16 August 1886, as he lay in state surrounded by mourning disciples ; for obvious reasons it has not been utilized for other than documentary purposes . Two of the four - both of them displaying Ramakrishna in ecstasy - have become important clues to the standardization of the iconography for this saint of panIndian prominence . Ramakrishna was born on 20 February 1834, of brahmana parents in the Bengal village of Kamarpukur . His name

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was to be Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya (or Chatterji) for the first twenty years or so of his life ; it was not until he was at his post as priest in Daksine6vara that he received his other, more famous name . As a child he was frail, and from mid-childhood he was subject to attacks of what appears to have been epilepsy but which soon came to be interpreted, and generally accepted, as ecstatic trances of union with the Divine . He identified the Divine with all things but especially found its presence in the worship of the fierce goddess, Kali, whose devotee he became and whom he approached lovingly as 'Mother' . Sri Ramakrishna was not out of touch with the intellectual and social forces of his day - an assessment in sharp contrast to the notion some romanticized accounts of his life seek to promote . As a matter of fact, he was particularly aware of the various religious alternatives available as options to Hindus in a pluralistic world, and he experimented with the spiritual disciplines enjoined at the time by various traditions . In his experience of them, the methods all yielded the same end, God-consciousness . Accordingly, he preached that the different faiths were like different paths ascending the same mountain, all leading eventually to the same peak-experience . In such a context Hinduism seemed to him as valid and spiritually rewarding as any other religion ; and he served as a living witness that Hindus need not defect from the faith of their fathers in order to obtain the blessedness of salvation (29) He was also aware of the contemporary agitation around him to liberalize caste rules and to liberate women from their servile roles . Accordingly, he 'broke caste' in countless acts of cunning symbolism and, as well, condemned caste and status repeatedly as 'evils' . Throughout his life he took great pains to treat all women as if they were his own mother and an embodiment of the Goddess . Soon after 1855, when he accepted his post as pujari at the Kali temple just outside Calcutta, he married in accordance both with Hindu custom and his mother's plan . He was twenty-three . The match was to a five-year old girl who was later to be known as 9arada Devi . Their marriage was never consummated ; indeed, Ramakrishna remained a celibate up to his death of throat cancer in 1886 . 6arada Devi did live with him later on, attending him as a devoted wife the last twenty years of his life . She survived him by almost 35 years (30) . Throughout her association with Ramakrishna and his disciples she was regarded as the Holy Mother, incarnation of the Divine 6akti, the Eternal Feminine . And so it is surprising that

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the two are not depicted more often together, as in figure 8 . Demonstrably, photography has determined the two chief modes in which Ramakrishna is remembered and recognized by his admirers and devotees . He is regularly shown either standing or seated, more often the latter, in depictions derived respectively from the two photographs already identified . When standing he is recognized by the samadhi pose recorded of him on film, his bared feet slightly apart, his right hand raised above his head in the 'karana'-hasta of accomplishment, the right hand held in front of his heart in a modified version of the 'a§carya'-hasta of wonder . His moderately bearded face is wreathed in a smile, his vision turned within . He wears his dhoti in the Bengali fashion, and the upper part of his body is covered by a white jibha . Sometimes the faithful Hriday is painted out so that the Master is _ left standing, unassisted, in solitary bliss . If ~arada Devi is shown with him, she is placed to his left, seated slightly behind him at his feet in padmasana (recall that a subordinate position on the left is the place usually accorded the Lord's primary saktimanifestation in depictions of 'devatas') . She, too, is shown as in her photographs : her long black hair flows out over her right shoulder from under the edge of a sari that covers her head and body . Her hands rest in her lap, the fingertips touching . Her eyes are slightly closed . When Ramakrishna is shown seated, the convention follows the 1883/1884 photograph precisely, although a background may be painted in to recall a sylvan setting or to represent the Daksine§vara temple-compound, or to provide him with a 'lotus-seat' . Sometimes an antelope skin is painted in underneath him to provide another suitable ground-cover on which to sit . Occasionally in both standing or seated portrayals a halo is added to Ramakrishna's figure . In neither type _ of depiction is there ever revealed any trace of an upavita-cord .

The figures inspected in this presentation - 'desika'figures both historic and of more contemporary times - all seem to be portrayed according to discernible iconographic conventions . To be sure, there are variations to be encountered ; but these are fewer than might be anticipated under circumstances where textual traditions are virtually absent . The standards observed borrow hastas and mudras, postures and attitudes, paraphernalia and ornamentation from the classical canons of iconography ; but innovation is freely introduced and accepted to provide cues which will

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serve to relate the figure as unambiguously as possible to its historic context and sectarian setting . The effect is to create images that are consistently rendered and recognized within the Hindu communities to which they belong even if familiarity of all Hindus with any given figure may prove far from universal . In closing, one convention maintained in the depictions of all 'desika'-figures must be mentioned ; it is so obvious that it could conceivably be overlooked! And that is, a so-called 'desika'-figure_ differs most crucially from the representation of a 'devata'-deity in that it is rarely, if ever, shown with multiple bodily parts . The normal physique - two arms, one head, a pair of legs, etc . seems to serve as but an innocent reiteration in visual terms of the earthly origin, human nature, and mundane virtues the rendered figure is intended to immortalize .

NOTES * This paper was first presented at the July 1977 Lancaster Religious Studies Colloquium, 'Image and Iconography East and West', held to mark the centenary of A .K . Coomaraswamy . Some inconsistencies in spelling certain terms of Indian origin will be noted . This is because in some places they have been transliterated directly from the Sanskrit or vernaculars according to established rules, while elsewhere these same terms have been used simply as English words with phonetic spellings . The author begs indulgence from the reader for whatever confusion these inconsistencies may generate . 1 The term derives from desa, ' place, land, region, province, kingdom, country' . 'Desika' was preferred to the alternative term 'desaja' by Indian informants because while the latter connotes one born in a particular place, a 'native', the former carries not only that meaning but also connotes familiarity with that place of origin, and signifies both literally and figuratively, a guide, an extraordinary inhabitant, hence may be construed to mean, also, a spiritual teacher or guru . 2 There is no extended treatment of 'desika'-figures known at present in English . If depictions of humans are treated at all, it is u sually only such 'bhaktas' as the _Vaisnava Alvars and Acaryas, and the Saiva Nayanmars, - Acaryas, and Siddhas. T .A . Gopinatha Rao, Elements of Hindu Iconography, Vol . II, pt . 2, ch . xiv,

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devotes less than ten pages (pp . 473-81) to 'Bhaktas', giving but a perfunctory treatment . Gopinatha Rao does observe (p . 473), however, that such figures ' . . .are seen invariably in Saiva and Vaishnava temples in S . India', and he provides 5 plates there, and one or two others elsewhere, of illustrations . T .N . Srinivasan, Handbook of South Indian Images, offers a brief treatment of 'Rishis and Bhaktas' as Ch . 7 (pp . 114-16), noting that ' . . .images of these saints are very commonly seen in our temples' (p . 114), and he provides 5 plates of indifferent quality . J .N . Banerjea, The Development of Hindu iconography, offers only this observation (p . 319) in concluding a_ footnote on quite another matter : ' . .. images of the Alvars and Nayanmars . . . are frequently given important positions in South Indian Vaisnava and Saiva shrines respectively .' D .N . Shukla, Vastu-Sastra : Vol . II, has two pages on 'Rsis and Munis' (pp . 353-5) and two paragraphs on bhaktas ( pp . 283, 355) . E .B . Havell, A Handbook of Indian Art, acknowledges (pp . 184-5) the tradition of portraying bhaktas as important, but gives only two examples, both drawn from 6aiva cultic art . More informative data are given in F .H . Gravely and T .N . Ramachandran, Catalogue of the South Indian Hindu Metal Images in the Madras Government Museum (pp . 8-10, 14-15, 96-8, 130-5) and in P .R . Srinivasan, Bronzes of South India (passim) . One looks in vain for any treatment at all in A .K . Coomaraswamy's History of Indian and Indonesian Art, in L . Frederic's The Art of India . . ., in R .S . Gupte's Iconography of the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, in B . Rowland's The Art and Architecture of India . . ., or in H . Zimmer's The Art of Indian Asia . Nor is any help found in The Encyclopaedia of World Art, nor in the 1975 edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica . In all fairness it must be pointed out that these omissions are surely due not to oversight but rather to principles of selection and to criteria of evaluation which quite reasonably deem extensive treatment of 'desika'-figures as neither important nor necessary to include in a general survey . 3 The Vaisnava tradition dictates that sannyasins retain vestiges of their worldly involvement, a position in keeping with the trend of Vi§isthadvaita philosophy which underlies their position and generally informs their behaviour and hopes . Thus, dvija-ascetics in this tradition retain the kudumi-tuft, the sacred thread, and more than a mere semblance of commitment to nityacara-routines (e .g ., sandhyavandana-prayers, tarpana-offerings, etc .) . They remain householders . By contrast the sannyasins of Saiva and Smarta traditions,

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informed by the idealistic Advaita philosophical position , enter into the sannyasa-state by renouncing all vestiges of worldly attachment : they ritually remove the kudumituft and the sacred upavita-cord, and no longer thereafter perform their brahmanical nityacara-duties . They are, of course, celibates . The three sticks comprising the tridanda-staff carried by Vaisnava Acaryas are said to refer to the three realities of Visisthadvaita philosophy . Sometimes, less convincingly, they are said to symbolize the '3' gunas which constitute the material world in which we are all Still again, the in this life so inextricably involved . '3' are said to refer to controls of thought, word, and A sectarian interpretation is that deed saints perfect . the '3' bound as one becomes the Banner of Victory (of Visisthadvaita) over rival (Dvaita and Advaita) schools . The Saivas and Smartas who adhere to the Advaita teaching that Brahman is the sole reality - a teaching promulgated and popularized by Sankara (figure 4) - have no such problems with ambiguity ; to them, the single (eka-) danda their successive Acaryas bear is said invariably to symbolize the insight, 'Truth is one' . Elongated ear-lobes are seen on the Buddha and on Jain Tirthankara figures, on whom they seem to have symbolized royalty, spiritual superiority, or both, whatever else may have been their occult meanings . In the period nearer Ramanuja's time, elongated ear-lobes were associated with the influential Natha cult and, through it, with the Kanphata (kan + phata, 'ear-split') yogis ; but there is no reason to suppose that Ramanuja had any association with these cults . A current understanding among some Sri-vaisnavas is that the long ear-lobes have to do with Ramanuja's long lifespan . Perhaps they are the 'laksanas' associated with great beings ; and, to be sure, traditional accounts of Ramanuja's birth aver that he was endowed with all 'auspicious marks' . See the documentary film 'The Hindu Sacrament of Surrender (prapatti)', part of the series Image India : The Hindu Way, written and directed by H . Daniel Smith and filmed on location in Tamil Nadu, depicting the 5-part 'pancasamskara'-sacrament of initiation as performed by a Tengalai Sri-vaisnava Acarya to a newlymarried non-brahman couple . This 8-minute colour film is distributed by The Syracuse University Film Rental Library, 1455 E . Colvin Street, Syracuse, New York 13210, USA ; it is also available for rental from a number of regional film centres in the United States and abroad . Traditional dates 1017-1137 C .E . Born a brahmana in

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Sriperumbudur ; Tamil Nadu, and given the name (in Tamil) Ilaiya Perumal, this saint is also known under several aliases : Yatiraja, Yatindra, Ethiraja, Emberumanar, Bhasyakara, Ilayalvar, and Udaiyalvar . He is known, as well, by the epithets Laksmana, and Sesa . Similar images were installed at Tirunarayanapuram near Melkote in Mysore, and at Srirangam . 'Sathakopa' is construed to mean 'that which is incompatible with wickedness' . Surmounting the dome-shaped Sathakopa are replicas of sandals, symbolic of the Lord's Holy Feet . Devotees who submit to the touch of the Sathakopa-dome on their heads and shoulders signify their willingness to serve as but the humble footstool of God . 'Sathakopa' is also a name for Nammalvar (see note 13, below), in which case the term is construed more fancifully to refer to the breath (Satha) which he had conquered . See the documentary film 'Pilgrimage to a Hindu Temple', part of the series image India : The Hindu Way, written and directed by H . Daniel Smith and filmed on location in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, depicting among other temple routines the procession of Ramanuja's image from the temple through the village streets and back to the temple again . For information regarding distribution of this 14-minute film, see note 6 above . Traditional dates 1268-1369 C .E . Born a brahmana in Kancipuram, Tamil Nadu, and given the name (in Tamil) Tuppil Pillai, this saint is also known as Venkatanatha, Vedantacarya, Nigamantamahade§ika, Kavitarkikasimha and Kavitarkikasimhasarvatantrasvatantra-§rinigamantamahade§ika . Some scholars date his death 1371 C .E . It is not difficult to confuse depictions of Vedanta De§ika with those _ of Madhvacarya, another thirteenthcentury Vaisnava Acarya, founder of the Dualistic Dvaita school of Vedanta . Both are shown in padmasana, the left hand holding a pustaka, both with shaved heads . What distinguishes Madhva from Venkatanatha is a distinctive urdhvapundra, the kartari-hasta of his right hand, and his rosary-necklace . Nammalvar means 'Our Saint' . He lived probably in the first half of the ninth century C .E ., although J . Gonda places him late ninth/early tenth century . He was born a Sudra in Kurukur, or Alvartirunagari, Tamil Nadu, and given the name (in Tamil) Maran . His best-known aliases are : Sathakopa (see note 9 above), Sathari, Sathojit, Paranku§a, Kulapati and Vakulabharana . His most enduring legacy is the fourth d i vision of the socalled 'Dravida Veda' of the Sri-vaisnavas . He was a prolific writer, and other stanzas survive from his pen

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also, many of which even today are lovingly recited by pious Sri-vaisnavas during the worship of God both at home and at the temple . The place is listed as Kurukur in Census of India 1961, Vol . IX, Part XI-D, 'Temples of Madras State', section v, pp . 430ff . There is considerable difference of opinion concerning his precise dates, but it is generally agreed Sankara lived late eighth/early ninth century . He was born a Nambudiri brahmana in Kaladi, Kerala . See note 3, above . See N . Ramesan, Sri Sankaracharya, Ponnur, Sri Bhavanarayanaswami Temple, 1959, p . 33f . The waterpot, in addition to its value as a symbol of the wandering ascetic, has also the function of reminding devotees of Sankara of one of the miracles attributed to him . In that legend, the saint is said to have placed the kamandalu-jug on the ground to make a flowing river of water * to recede ; thus the waterpot became a 'container' beyond its mere mundane function . And, in a subtler sense, that meaning coincides with the arcane valence of the sannyasin's powers to 'contain' the floods of infinite being as well as the chthonic powers associated with the deep . See, however, H . Daniel Smith, A Sourcebook of Vaisnava Iconography according to Pancaratragma Texts (Madras, Pancaratra Parisodhana Parisad, 1969), Ch . 1, sections 24-8 . Smith's forthcoming in Annotated Index to Selected Topics Found in the Printed Texts of the Pan`caratragma (Baroda, Gaekwad's Oriental Series, supplement to Vol . 85) indicates considerable attention is paid to bhaktabimbas in this corpus of sectarian Sri-vaisnava writings ; references to such passages will be found under entries 'pratimalaksana', 'pratistha', 'prapanna', 'bhakta', 'bhaktabimba', 'bhagavata', etc . It may be assumed that similar passages may be found in Saivagama texts describing Saiva bhaktas, the same for other sectarian texts ; but easy access to such materials has not yet been provided in published form - so far as the present author knows . There is considerable controversy whether Sankara founded the five pithas, as followers of the Swami of Kanchi insist, or but four as tradition elsewhere throughout India has generally affirmed . The four most generally acknowledged are at Badrinath in the North, Purl in the East, Srngeri in the South, and Dvaraka in the West . Partisans of the Kanchi pitha advance their claim for authority by citing the legend that when Sankara retired to Kanchi before his death he made it the fifth centre .

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The various 'gahkaracaryas' who have headed the four or five - different pithas have, through the centuries, been more or less prominent in their own rights . Some have maintained a low profile, serving as sedate spiritual teachers, guides to others in their pursuits of quiet mastery of the life of the spirit ; others have been colourful and widely hailed as popular teachers with messages for the masses ; a few have even been known as political activists, engaging themselves and involving their offices in secular and pseudocultural causes . Whatever may be the ambiguities of the claim for Kanchi's apostolicity, there is no doubt that the saintly life and timely teachings of its elderly 68th pontiff have won for him wide recognition as an authentic and beloved spiritual master . Some authorities give 1485 as the year of his birth . Variant forms in which his birthplace appear are : Nuddea, Nadia, Navadvipa, Navidvipa - all in 'Bengal' . His given name was Vi§vambhara Mi§ra, but he took the name Sri Krsna Caitanya upon initiation as an ascetic in (?) 1510 . He was also known to his followers by the title Mahaprabhu ('Great Master') . See note 3, above . 'The Lord can be addressed by any name that tastes sweet to your tongue, or pictured in any form that appeals to your sense of wonder and awe . You can sing of him as Murugan, Ganapati, Sarada, Jesus, Maitreyi, Sakti, or you can call on Allah, or the Formless, or the Master of All Forms . It makes no difference at all . He is the beginning, the middle and the end ; the basis, substance, and the source .' This quotation was found in a pamphlet translating from Telugu into Tamil and English some of Satya Sai Baba's teachings . This quotation is taken from A . Schulman, Baba, New York : The Viking Press, 1971, p . 138 . Satya Sai Baba's counsels are often framed in aphoristic mottoes, sometimes in rhymed doggerel, and these are displayed prominently wherever his mission is received . 'Why fear when I am here?' and 'Money comes and goes, morality comes and grows' are but two examples . Curiously, a mole on his left cheek - surely a distinctive feature - is not usually incorporated into his iconography . If permissible, the author here coins a term for this An instance of his gesture, 'vibhutidana'-hasta . miraculous materialization of vibhuti has been captured on film, in the last ten minutes of the documentary Hinduism and the Song of God (16mm ., colour/sound, 28'), produced and distributed by Hartley Productions, Inc .,

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Cat Rock Road, Cos Cob, Connecticut 06807, USA . Quoted by C . Isherwood, Ramakrishna and His Disciples, New York : Simon and Schuster, 1965, p . 339 . This is the most readable account of the nineteenth-century saint, but unquestionably the authoritative, eyewitness account remains the massive Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by Mahendra Nath Gupta ( t rans . b y Swami Nikhilananda), New York : Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1942 . 29 Ramakrishna's witness was particularly poignant in the context of the Christian evangelical missionary enterprise, on the one hand, and a secularized western educational establishment, on the other, both of which freely condemned Hinduism as 'heathen' and 'retrograde', respectively . 30 Her 'mahasamadhi' occurred in Calcutta shortly after midnight on 21 July 1920 . 28

A NOTE ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS : all the illustrations for this paper are original drawings . Figure 1 was rendered by V . Ganapathi (Superintendent cum-Master Sculptor, Government Training Centre, Mahablipuram) to serve as one of the 21 line-drawings he contributed to A Sourcebook of Vaisnava Iconography according to Pancaratragama Texts, Sanskrit Texts compiled and arranged with commentary in English by H . Daniel Smith, K .K .A . Venkatachari, Sanskrit Editor, Madras, Pancaratra Pari§odhana Parisad, 1969 (p . 13) . Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are adapted from illustrations K .S . Ramu is providing for a visual introduction to Hindu devotionalism in South India, the manuscript for which is under preparation by M . Narasimhachary and H . Daniel Smith with publication expected in the early 1980s . All rights to figs . 1-8 reserved by H . Daniel Smith .