The Antecedent, Diverse Influences on and by Vaishnava Art, as Perceptible from the Times of Copper Anthropomorphic Figures
Joseph Manuel Deputy Curator (Harappan Archaeology) National Museum, New Delhi, India
INTRODUCTION The ‘Copper Hoards’ with its restricted meaning has been known to the scholars since 1822. Amongst these copper objects the anthropomorphic figures have been a subject of debates and hypothesis with greater frequency especially in the last few decades. It was B.B.Lal who for the first time suggested the possible association of Ochre Coloured Ware and the Copper Hoards. The mutual compatibility of the two namely Ochre Coloured Pottery assemblage and Copper Hoard artifacts as part and parcel of a common culture is only being grudgingly accepted over the years. The question of the utility of the anthropomorphic figures, however, remains afloat as there are nearly thirty contentions regarding the possible identity and or use of the object. Way back in 1987 Krishna Kumar had first suggested that anthropomorphic figures represent Indra and published a number of papers over the decades reiterating the same, stating that the copper anthropomorphic images are the images of Indra of the Late Rgvedic Aryans. But for some echoes of endorsements the assertions received scant support from scholars at large. Eyeing nothing less than the Harappan lineage for the Vedic Aryans, Kumar’s scholarly plea fell on deaf ears. However, with the reporting of the presently unique composite anthropomorphic figure from Haryana coherent affirmation for the anthropomorphic figures as Indra is clearly discernible, if later representations of Indra and Vishnu are compared with much earlier ones, including the anthropomorphic figures [ FIGs - 1 & 2 ] . In this article a synthesis has been attempted after a brief enumeration of earlier literature on Ochre Coloured Pottery Culture, the Copper Hoards and none the least regarding