GANESA (Ganesha): Images from India and Indonesia

Ganesa is one of the most important deities of Hinduism and there is no dearth of books on this god. Most of these books deal with the origin, antiquity, history and mythology of the elephant-headed god and some with his images in Indian and elsewhere. From Japan to Central Asia where Ganesa images exist. Indonesia is the country next only to India where have been found the largest number of the ancient icons of the god and where the worship of this deity is still a living tradition. The present work, representing the Ph.D. thesis of the author, is the first serious attempt to present a comparative study of the images of the god in India and Indonesia during the early historic and medieval periods. It carries further the work of late Shri C. Sivaramamurti to study the geographical and chronological factors in the iconography of Ganesa in the two countries and traces the origin and development of certain iconographic traits of Ganesa images from the country of their inspiration and the different regions thereof. It covers Ganesa images in different media - stone terracotta and metal and also brings to light many interesting images of the deity from Indonesia for the first time.

About the Author:

I. Wayan Redig was born in Bali (Indonesia) and received his education upto the post-graduation level in that island. The subjects of his study included epigraphy, art and archaeology. After finishing his studies he joined The Udayana University, Denpasar, Bali as a Lecturer. In 1989, he got Government of India scholarship to pursue higher studies in India and chose the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology, Panjab University, Chandigarh to work on 'Ganesa Images from India and Indonesia - A Comparative Study' for his Ph.D. which was awarded to him in 1993. During the course of his research work, he visited most of the important museums in India and Indonesia.

Dr. Redig is an ardent lover of Indian Culture. As a senior lecturer in Archaeology in the Udayana University, Denpasar, he has conducted archaeological excavations in northern Bali. Besides being a scholar, he is an accomplished Balinese folk dancer also and has made culture visits to various places including Japan.

Preface
Transliteration
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Plates

Chapter

1. Introduction
2. Textual References to Ganesa
3. Stone Sculptures : The Early Phase
   (Upto 12th Century A.D.)
4. Stone Sculpture : The Later Phase
   (13th to 15th Century A.D.)
5. Images of Ganesa In Other Media
6. Resume