UNTAMED AND DISCIPLINED: CONTEXTUAL ICONOGRAPHY AND THE TRANSFORMATION FROM VINĀYAKA TO GAṆEŚA IN EARLY SOUTH ASIAN SCULPTURE

Ketan Jawdekar

doi:10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i9s.2026.8013

Authors

Ar. Ketan Jawdekar Founder and Principal - Studio K-7, PhD Research Scholar, D Y Patil Agriculture and Technical University, School of Commerce and Management, Talsande, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v7.i9s.2026.8013

Keywords:

Gaṇeśa, Vināyaka, Contextual Iconography, South Asian Sculpture, Elephant Symbolism, Visualisation

Abstract [English]

This research paper re-examines the iconography of Gaṇeśa through a contextual and interdisciplinary framework that integrates textual traditions, archaeological materials, and theories of embodied cognition. Rather than viewing Gaṇeśa solely as a mythological figure, the study investigates how elephant and nāga symbolism, early Vināyaka imagery, and visualisation practices contributed to the development of a stabilised sculptural form. Drawing on examples from the earliest iconographical representations, the paper proposes a contextual methodology for decoding iconography, in which narrative setting, sculptural placement and artistic strategies shape meaning. Particular attention is given to visual narratives depicting the negotiation between untamed and disciplined states of awareness. By analysing attributes such as the pāśa and aṅkuśa alongside narrative motifs of obstruction and transformation, the study suggests that Gaṇeśa’s form reflects an evolving dialogue between scriptural metaphors and artistic practice. The study contributes to South Asian iconographic scholarship by demonstrating how sacred imagery operates as a relational visual language grounded in material culture rather than fixed symbolic interpretation.

References

Aburrow, Y., and Hine, (2022). Queering of Ganesha. https://enfolding.org/on-the-queering-of-ganesha/

Amarsingh. (1925). Amarkosha of Amarsingh (R. B. Paṇdit, Ed. and Trans.). Shri Venkateshwar Steam Press.

Appelbaum, D. (1982). A note on pratyakṣa in Advaita Vedānta. Philosophy East and West, 32(2). https://doi.org/10.2307/1398717 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1398717

Aravinda Prabhu, H. R., and Bhat, S. (2013). Mind and consciousness in yoga-Vedanta: A comparative analysis with western psychological concepts. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(Spec. Suppl.). https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.105524 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.105524

Arnheim, R. (1969). Visual thinking. University of California Press.

Banerjea, J. N. (2016). The development of Hindu iconography (2nd ed.). Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers.

Basu, M. (2004). Book review—The embodied mind: Cognitive science and human experience. Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.29173/cmplct8718 DOI: https://doi.org/10.29173/cmplct8718

Bermijn, I. (1999). An investigation into the fifty-six Vinayakas in Banaras and their origins [Doctoral dissertation, University of London]. School of Oriental and African Studies.

Bhandarkar, R. G. (1913). Vaiṣṇavism, Śaivism and minor religious systems. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111551975 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111551975

Bhikkhu, Ā. (2016). The Uraga verses.

Bopearachchi, O. (1993). On the so-called earliest representation of Ganesa. Topoi, 3(2), 425–453. https://doi.org/10.3406/topoi.1993.1479 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/topoi.1993.1479

Borah, S. (2017). Nagas: The religious pantheon of ancient India. International Journal of Advances in Social Sciences, 5(4).

Brown, R. L. (Ed.). (1997). Ganesh: Studies of an Asian god (1st Indian ed.). Sri Satguru Publications.

Buddhaghosha, and Bhikkhu, Ñ. (2010). The path of purification (Visuddhimagga) (4th ed.). Buddhist Publication Society. http://www.bps.lk

Calì, C. (2024). Rudolf Arnheim. International Lexicon of Aesthetics. https://doi.org/10.7413/18258630142

Chandra, M. (1956). The history of Indian costume from the 3rd century AD to the end of the 7th century AD. Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

Chapple, C. K., and Funes Maderey, A. L. (2019). Thinking with the Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali: Translation and interpretation. Lexington Books. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781978735798 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781978735798

Chari, V. K. (2002). Representation in India’s sacred images: Objective vs. metaphysical reference. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 65(1), 52–73. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X02000034 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X02000034

Chavan, K. (1993). Motifs: Continuity and change in Indian art (Vol. 53).

Chowdhary, S., and Gopinath, J. K. (2013). Clinical hypnosis and Patanjali yoga sutras. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(Spec. Suppl.). https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.105516 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.105516

Coomaraswamy, A. (1928). Ganesha. Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, 26(154), 30–31. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4170104

Coomaraswamy, A. K. (1934). Understanding the art of India. Parnassus, 6(4), 21–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/15436314.1934.11466910 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15436314.1934.11466910

Courtright, B. (1985). Gaṇeśa: Lord of obstacles, lord of beginnings. Oxford University Press.

Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process.

Cunningham, A. (1854). The Bhilsa Topes. Smith, Elder and Co.

De Souza, J. (1964). The Serpent As A Symbol of Life and Immortality. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 26. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44133101

Dehejia, V. (1997). Discourse in Early Buddhist Art: Visual Narratives of India. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers.

Dhavalikar, M. K. (1990). Origin of Gaṇeśa. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 71, 1–4.

Dhavalikar, M. K. (2016). Gaṇeśa: The God of Asia. Aryan Books International.

Dika, (2017). Interactive Digital Art: Visual Motifs and their Meaning. Logos Berlin. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317549194_Interactive_Digital_Art_Visual_Motifs_and_their_Meaning

Duran, J. (1990). The Nagaraja: Symbol and Symbolism in Hindu Art and Iconography. The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.2307/3332783 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3332783

Eliade, M. (1957). The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion (W. Trask, Trans.). Harcourt, Brace and Company.

Farias, M., Brazier, D., and Lalljee, M. (Eds.). (2021). The Oxford Handbook of Meditation. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198808640.001.0001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198808640.001.0001

Fergusson, J. (1910). History of Indian and Eastern Architecture (J. Burgess and Spirers, Eds., Vols. 1–2). Gyan Publishing House.

Gadamer, H.-G. (2006). Truth and Method (2nd ed.). Continuum.

Ganvir, S. (2010). Representation of Naga in Buddhist Art of Amaravati: A Sculptural Analysis. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 71, 1063–1071. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44147573

Getty, A. (1971). Gaṇeśa: A Monograph on the Elephant-Faced God (2nd ed.). Munshiram Manoharlal.

Goswami, M., Gupta, I., and Jha, (2005). Sapta Matrikas in Indian Art and their Significance in Indian Sculpture and Ethos: A Critical Study. 9, 51.

Hammersley, J. M. (2015). Dialogue as Practice and Understanding in Contemporary Art [Doctoral Dissertation, Cardiff Metropolitan University].

Huntington, S., and Huntington, J. (1985). The Art of Ancient India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain. Weatherhill.

Iliopoulos, A. (2019). Material Engagement Theory and its Philosophical Ties to Pragmatism. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 18(1), 39–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-018-9596-5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-018-9596-5

Jayawickrama, N. (1977). A Critical Analysis of the Sutta Nipāta. Pali Buddhist Review, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v1i2.13812 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1558/bsrv.v1i2.13812

Joge, G., Dandekar, A., and Kothari, (2021). Journey Towards Divinity: A Case Study of Early Terracotta Medallion of Ganapati. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 98, 91–100.

Johns, J., and Rani Nag, J. (2021). Muchalinda Buddha: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Reinterpret the Depiction of the Buddha with Muchalinda Naga. Journal of Archaeological Studies in India, 1(1), 140–157.

Koshalee, K. V. J., and Bogahawatta, C. (2018). Gaṇapati in Early Buddhist art of Sri Lanka: An Explanation of the Elephant-Headed Figure at Mihintale Kaṇṭaka Cētiya. Than Hsiang Buddhist Research E-Journal, 5(Special Edition), 74–86.

Kramrisch, S. (1954). The Art of India: Traditions of Indian sculpture, painting and architecture. Phaidon Press.

Krishan, Y. (1985). Evolution of Gaṇeśa (Vol. 4, No. 1). Haridas Mitra.

Krishan, Y. (1990a). Is Gaṇeśa a Vedic God? Annals BORI, 61–70.

Krishan, Y. (1990b). Is Gaṇeśa a Vedic God? Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 61–70.

Krishnan, Y. (1981). The Origins of Gaṇeśa. Artibus Asiae, 43(4). https://doi.org/10.2307/3249845 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3249845

Krishnan, Y. (1999). Gaṇeśa: Unravelling an Enigma. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.

Law, B. C. (1939). Mind in Dhammapada. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 19(1), 90–92.

Leuba, J. H. (1919). The Yoga System of Mental Concentration and Religious Mysticism. The Journal of Philosophy, 16(8). https://doi.org/10.2307/2940488 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2940488

Malafouris, L. (2019). Mind and Material Engagement. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences, 18(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-018-9606-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11097-018-9606-7

Malafouris, L. (2020). Thinking as “Thinging”: Psychology with Things. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(1), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419873349 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721419873349

Manu. (1891). Manusmṛti: The Ordinances of Manu (E. Hopkins, Ed.).

Maxwell, R. W., and Katyal, S. (2022). Characteristics of Kundalini-Related Sensory, Motor, and Affective Experiences During Tantric Yoga Meditation. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.863091 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.863091

McGraw, J. J., and Krátký, J. (2017). Ritual Ecology. Journal of Material Culture. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359183517704881 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1359183517704881

Meena, (2025). A Comparative Study on Swasthavṛtta and Aṣṭāṅga Yoga in the Context of Mind-Body Harmony. Journal of Swasthavritta and Yoga, 2(1), 10–17. https://doi.org/10.33545/30787157.2025.v2.i1.a.7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33545/30787157.2025.v2.i1.A.7

Michael, S. M. (1983). The Origin of the Ganapati Cult. Asian Folklore Studies, 42(1), 91–116. https://doi.org/10.2307/1178368 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1178368

Mubeen, N. V. (2014). Ganesh Cult. https://www.lkouniv.ac.in/site/writereaddata/siteContent/202003281457067948piyush_A_Study_of_Ganesha.pdf

Narain, A. K. (1997). Gaṇeśa: A Protohistory of the Idea and the Icon. In R. L. Brown (Ed.), Ganesh: Studies of an Asian God (p 19–48). Sri Satguru Publications.