Gandaberunda: Aesthetic Representation of the Mythical Bird
Gomathi Gowda
Gomathi Gowda, Department of Creative Arts and Media Studies, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Manuscript received on 15 May 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 22 May 2019 | Manuscript Published on 10 July 2019 | PP: 408-412 | Volume-8 Issue-7C2 May 2019 | Retrieval Number: G10890587C219/19©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open-access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: Indian Art is predominantly decorative in character and birds occupy an important position in plastic and pictorial representation. Birds such as the Garuda, Peacock and others are connected with important mythological stories and in the stories of Jataka, most other birds are carved, painted as an integral part of the design. Of the mythical birds, Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu, is well-represented in medieval records. In south, another kind of mythical bird is noticed in the inscription known as gaṇḍabheruṇḍa. In Sanskrit the word bheruṇḍa means terrific, frightful, terrible, a species of bird while gaṇḍa is understood to imply a warrior or hero. The term gaṇḍabheruṇḍa was adopted as a title by the Chalukyas, Kadambas and the Vijayanagara rulers. There are numismatic representations, literary references, sculptural and artistic portrays of this unique symbol in Vijayanagara art. The ceiling of the Virabhadra shrine at Keladi, and the bherundeshwara temple at Balligavi have the most exquisite representations of the gaṇḍabheruṇḍa .The gaṇḍabheruṇḍa is also the logo of Karnataka State Government and was the royal insignia of the Wadiyars. The paper attempts to analyse the significance of the gaṇḍabheruṇḍa in Karnataka and bring forth the artistic and aesthetic representation of the motif.
Keywords: Gaṇḍabheruṇḍa, Virabhadra Temple, Bherundeshwara Temple.
Scope of the Article: Foundations of Communication Networks