Dr. R. Nagaswamy #6B8E23 R.Nagaswamy Dr.Corinna Wessels-Mevissen has drawn our attention to an Image which she has tentatively identified as Dandapani, in her excellent book on “The gods of the Directions in ancient India” published recently by Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin, April, 2001. Corinna’s book is an important contribution to the study of Dikpalas in Indian Art. She lists as many as 21 Dandapani Images from different parts of India ranging in dates from 6th cent to almost 17th cent. In her very cautious note she states “A male deity holding a staff horizontally in both hands over his knees occurs in association with the early Dikpalas at Bhumara, Mundesvari, and Parasuramesvara temple at Bhuvanesvar, It has been tentatively identified as Dandapani. An Association between the Dandapani and the Directional Guardians existed in the 6th-7th centuries but was lost later on. It is not clear whether Dandapani or Dandanayaka as he may have been called was allotted any particular Direction.” (p.107) Out of the 21 images she lists six images have been illustrated. Corinna Wessels Mevissen cites two other scholars K.Deva and S.D.Tiwari who have also identified the representation as Dandapani. V.S.pathak on the other hand seems to identify the image with “Siddhapurusha” (Corinna P.107 fn) Describing the iconography of the image, Corinna Wessels Mevissen writes,  “Dandapani, as far as we know, does not possess any vehicle. He is always shown seated. All early images, which are linked to Dikpala sets, sit on a low throne, with lathe turned feet. In the later case the staff is held in oblique manner. Apart from the generally – horizontally-placed staff, a regular feature   of most of the Dandapani images is a peculiar hairdo. Either the hair hangs down in the form of short curls, strands or it is given the shape of a curly wig..- A crown of braided hair, jatamakuta, appears in one of the Nepal images. (C.p.108) An explanation for the conspicuous treatment of the hair may be in the concept of the god, which has been regarded as identical with Harikesa Yaksha whose name points to a particular type of hair.  Corinna rejects the identification of the image with Yaksha, and states that “His image is not likened to that of the common Yaksha type, which is depicted standing, but it may be regarded as related to the image of Kubera, the Yaksha king, who is similarly shown squatting and pot bellied. (P109) Whom does this deity represent? The clue to the identification of the image seems to be found in CorinnaWessesels Mevissen’s identification of the image with Dandanayaka. The term Dandanayaka is used for the Commander of Army. I have drawn attention of the Scholars to the description of Senapati in Vyapohana-sthava found in the Linga purana. Vyapohana-sthava is included among the Stotra literature and is a very popular text to this day among Saivites who recite it daily as they visit the temple. Particularly it is held sacred in Varanasi. I have shown that the this text is a well structured text giving in order the iconography and dhyanas of the Supreme forms of Siva and his consort including all the retinues of Siva The image of Senapati has been mistaken as Kumara, by the translators of the Linga purana, As Kartikeya has already been described earlier in the text, I have shown that this can not refer to Kartikeya but it refers to Sasta, popularly known as Arya and Ayyanar or Ayyappan in the southern part of India. The description of the image of Senapati occurring in the Vyapohana-stotra of Linga-purana reads “ May Senapati, the son of the Lord of Devas (Siva) dispel my sin. He is conversant with the reality of the teachings of the Vedas, and Sastras. He ponders over all actions; he is richly endowed with all attributes, he is the eldest and Lord of all; he is gentle and has the body of Mahavishnu. He is noble Commander of the army. He is the mysterious suppressor of sacrifice He rides on the elephant Airavata etc. (Ancient Indian Tradition and Mythology.-Linga-purana -Tr.Vol3. Delhi.1973 P 408). That Sasta has the body of Mahavishnu and is the Son of Siva may be noted, combining in himself Saivaite and Vaishnavite forms. Baijnath figure: Among the images of Dandapani, Corinna Wessels Mevissen describes, one image from the Siva temple of Baijnath, Kangra  Himachal Pradesh is very important for the identification of the deity. (Fig.325). The figure is seated with both the legs seated as a yogi tied with a yoga-patta. A upper shawl uttariya goes around both his arms also recalling his yogic posture. He is well adorned with jewels. He is endowed with four hands holding the danda in his front arms rested on the thigh. The rear right holds a trisula and the left a cakra both prominently shown. The deity also has four heads, three visible and the fourth at the back not seen. The front face is benign, the right one has fierce look like that of the Aghora and the left looks like what seems to be wild boar - Varaha. To the right of his right leg is seen a reclining animal, looking like a bull. A seated devotee probably a male is above the goat with a bunch of flowers in adoration. To the left of Senapati are two ganas playing on musical instruments. Above them is a devotee. To the right of trisula is a figure shown above clad in Channavira holding probably a flywhisk. To the left is another figure holding the shaft of parasol held over the main seated figure, indicative of royalty. The Baijnath figure with its Aghora and Varaha faces and also the trisula and cakra, clearly combines in itself the aspects of Siva and Vishnu, as has been pointed out by Corinna. Sasta is known as Harihara-putra combining both the forms of Siva and Vishnu. He is called Deva-devesvara–atmaja, the son of the Lord of Lords and Mahavishnu-tanus svayam, having the very body of Mahavishnu. As he is called Senapati in the Lingapurana the danda he wields is clearly the emblem of the Commander of Siva’s army. That he wears the Yoga-patta associates him with highest knowledge and he is referred to as the knower of Vedas and Sastras, Veda-sastrartha-tattvajna. The ganas portrayed beneath his legs identify him with Gana-natha. The name Sasta applied to him is a pointer to his position as Commander (Sasta i.e. to command or rule). The occurrence of this figure from almost 6th cent to 17th cent shows that Worship of Sasta was popular in Northern part of India as well, though his identity has been mistaken. Some of the characteristic features of Sasta found in Tamilnad may be noticed here. Sasta is shown seated with a yoga-patta around his legs is well known. He holds a vetra, a staff in his hand always is also quite common. That he is endowed with all the symbols of Siva and Vishnu is also known. That he is mostly shown with curly hair also deserves special mention.  Sasta is also allotted Southern quarters in village layouts. The Marichi samhita, a Vaishnavite text of considerable antiquity, allots southern quarter as the locale of Sasta. The village Uttarmerur in Tamilnad laid out according to Marichi samhita in the 8th cent by the Pallava ruler Nandivarman II, has the image of Sasta in the village. The image was originally found to the south of the village but removed to its present position. Sasta, though considered a Village god in modern times, is in fact a Vedic deity and is a classical God that deserve attention. Dandanayaka from Kashmir Pratapaditya pal, in his admirable book on Kashmir bronzes, has published a curious composite figure. The figure represents a deity with four heads with two bodies attached to each other back to back. Both sides have two arms. The front figure holds a long trident in the right arm and by its left stands a goat (or a deer?) while the other holds a shaft danda in both the arms. One of the four heads is shown with a ferocious look resembling the Aghora face. Pal has rightly concluded that the deity represented is a Saivite one. Two Addoresed Firgures, Kashmir, 7th Century, H: 81/4 inches (21 cm), Pan-Asian Collection. This curious bronze shows two addorsed male figures sharing four heads. Each head is crowned with tiaras and the hair-style is no longer recognizable. The ornaments consist of necklaces, earrings, armlets and bracelets.In addition, each figure wears the sacred thread (upavita) and a garland that extends almost down to the ankles. Each figure is also clad in a short dhoti. One of thc figures holds a trident with his right hand, and with the left grasps the neck of a goat, or an antelope. The other figure holds what appears to be a staff with both hands. Because the faces are fairly rubbed, it is difficult to determine if there was a third eye on each forehead. Nonetheless it seems indubitable that both figures represent Siva. The trident and the animal are definite Saiva attri­butes and very likely the side with the animal represent Siva as Pasupati or Lord of Animals. The figure holding the staff-like object, however, is more difficult to identify. If it is indeed a staff, the figure may represent either Yama, who is closely associ­ated with Siva, or Lakulisa, the deified teacher, whose emblem is the laguda or the staf? The latter identification seems the better suggestion, especially in view of the fact that the line of an animal skin can be faintly recognized over the dhoti that would certainly indicate a form of Siva. I have discussed in the text (p. 16) how the iconography of figure holding the animal and trident is derived from Kushana coinage. It may further be mentioned that such addorsed figures are also found in Gandhara (cf. Rosenfield [1967], Fig. 21, and Lyons and Ingholt [1957], Fig. 276). Siva is the third member of the Hindu Trinity, the others being Brahma and Vishnu. While Brahma's role is that of the creator and Vishnu's that of the preserver, Siva is considered to be the destroyer. In actual practice, however, Siva and Vishnu remain the two most important Indian deities, and, to the Saivas, Siva is the Supreme Being just as Vishnu is to the Vaishnavas. Published: Pal (1973), Figs. 11, 12. think it is possible to identify this image on the basis of the present study. The figure holding a shaft (danda) is in all probably Dandanayaka Sasta whose sculptures are found in northern India. My identification of this sculpture as Sasta based on the Linga-purana would show that Sasta, the son of Siva and Mohini(Vishnu) was popular in the north as well. The figure holding a long trident with the goat to the left is obviously that of Virabhadra who destroyed the sacrifice of Daksha-prajapati (Daksha-yajna). The figure of Daksha is portrayed with the goat’s head, standing to the left in all the sculptures of Virabhadra found in Tamil nad. When Daksha’s head was cut off and thrown into the sacrificial fire, Siva restored him to life by placing the goat’s head on him. That Sasta was endowed with four heads is seen in the Baijnath sculpture from Himachal pradesh wielding a danda in his hand. The Baijnath figure also shows one of its head as Aghora. That Sasta has four heads including that of Aghora need not surprise us as the Puranas and Agamas say that he should be endowed with all the attributes of Siva and Vishnu. Another point of interest is the peculiar head-dress of the Kashmir sculpture to which Pal draws our attention. Both Virabhadra and Sasta are called the sons of Siva, Virabhadra pillai and Sasta. The Tevaram hymns of Saiva saints call Sasta as the son – Sattanai makanaka kondar. It is interesting to see the two sons of Siva shown in the Kashmir figure as composite figures. That the southern face of Siva is represented as Aghora is well known. Judging from the face, the figure with its right face as Aghora, is identical with Virabhadra who should face the front-east: the other figure with the danda in hand is Sasta – Dandanayaka. There ought to be more such composite figures in the north, a study of which would be rewarding. There is another figure of Saivite pantheon, with a staff in his hand that can be considered. Siva’s foremost attendant is Nandikesvara the main gatekeeper. According to the Puranas, Nandikesvara holds a staff in his hand. The question is whether the image under discussion, like the Baijnath illustration could not be considered Nandikesvara. The Baijnath figure as mentioned has the form of Harihara, the left half appearing as Vishnu with a Varaha face on its left. This portrayal precludes that possibility. It seems that the portrayal is Arya Sasta. Another form of Sasta depicted in northern part of India is Revanta shown on horse back accompanied by hunters. The paddhati text, Isanagurudeva paddhati gives the name Revanta to Sasta prominently. The representation of Sasta in the north Indian temple complex needs further study,