This striking 2-metre-high stone sculpture shows the Hindu god Shiva and, nestling in his arms, his wife Parvati. They are wearing ceremonial jewellery and are preparing to greet worshippers. The carving, which dates from around 1300, would once have stood at the entrance to a Hindu temple in Orissa, India.
This ornate carving has layers of meaning for Hindus with the different elements and figures each carrying special significance. But for those of us who are not of the Hindu faith, is there any wisdom, and even inspiration, we can draw from this beautiful work of art?
Two things in particular stand out to me. Firstly, the sculptor has carved Shiva and Parvati in full relief, giving them a strong sense of being present when you stand before the carving. This sense of the physical manifestation of the image is used in Hinduism as an aid to focussing the mind on worship. The sculpture would have had a strong impact on a worshipper entering the temple. In the same way, many Hindu families have shrines in their homes. As well as being a focus for daily prayers, the shrine is a reminder of the presence of their gods in their homes, and a reminder that they should act and behave in their homes as they would in the temple.
As Christians, many of our churches do not include carvings or statuary to help focus our thoughts. Most of us do not, I suspect, have such visible symbols of our faith in our homes. It may do us no harm to reflect on ways we can be reminded that God is present with us at all times and in all places, and to be prompted to carry this thought with us in our daily lives.
The second thing that particularly strikes me is Parvati herself. Her presence, so close to her husband, both honours and celebrates intimacy and closeness between a husband and wife in a way rarely seen in Christian art and tradition. But more importantly than that, in Hinduism Shiva needs Parvati. She embodies the female aspect of God; she provides the balance to Shiva. In Hindu tradition, Parvati is a good wife and worshippers should give respect to Parvati first before they approach Shiva. Importantly, she sits alongside Shiva, as his equal.
As Christians, worshipping a single God, the concept of a god who has a female aspect may appear unsettling. But also in our Christian faith, we know that the example set by Jesus towards women is an inspiring, inclusive and positive one. Jesus included women within his inner circle of friends, he showed them respect and love, he revealed some of his most important teaching firstly to them, and he challenged the hypocritical way that many were treated by a patriarchal society. The subsequent history of the Christian church has not, to its shame, always shown such reverence, respect and value to women, and it has been all the poorer for that.
This carving now resides in the British Museum where it is still visited by Hindu worshippers who occasionally leave gifts of flowers or fruit beneath it. It continues to be a focus of reverence for them and, I hope, an inspiration and a challenge to many more. It certainly is to me.
Philip Clarke
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