Sembiyan Mahadevi was

Queen regnant A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reignin ...

and empress of the

Chola Empire The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

from 949 CE - 957 CE as the wife of Gandaraditya Chola. She is the mother of

Uttama Chola Uttama was a Chola Emperor who ruled from 973 CE to 985 CE in present-day Tamil Nadu, India. According to Tiruvalangadu plates of Rajendra Chola, Madurantaka Uttama Chola's reign is placed after Aditya II. The latter may have been a co-regent ...

. She was one of the most powerful empresses of the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

empire who over a period of sixty years constructed numerous temples and gave generous gifts to many temples in South

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. She figures as early as, if not before,

Saka The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...

901 during the reign of her son. According to an inscription dated 941, Sembiyan Mahadevi is said to have made an endowment so that a lamp may be kept permanently lit in front of the

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

deity (perhaps not long after the crystallization of the

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...

Nataraja Nataraja () also known as Adalvallaan () is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is called Tandava.''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2015) The pose and artwork are described in many Hindu texts such as the ''T ...

(Natarāja) cult). After her husband Gandaraditya Chola's death, she immediately lost her title as ''Queen and Empress'' and was later known as the ''Widow of Thanjavur'' (Rajamata). She lost all of her power as queen and empress and only wore white which was known as the grief color, setting her self into

mourning Mourning is the expression of an experience that is the consequence of an event in life involving loss, causing grief, occurring as a result of someone's death, specifically someone who was loved although loss from death is not exclusively ...

for the rest of her life. She is also believed to be the re incarnation of goddess

Parvathi Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

The mother of Madhurantaka Uttama Chola

She was the queen of Gandaraditya Chola (''Sri-Gandaraditta deva tam-pirattiyar'') and is always referred to as the mother of Uttama Chola, ''Uttama Chola devarai tiru-vayiru-vaiykka-udaiya pirattiyar Sri Sembiyan Mādeyiar''(the queen who had the fortune to bear

Deva alias the Great Queen of the Sembiyan (Chola))- in the inscriptions in order to differentiate her from the other queens who have borne the title before and after her. From various inscriptions we know that she was the daughter of a Mazhavarayar chieftain. In the beginning, she always refers to herself as the daughter of ''Sri Sembiyan Mādeyiar''.''Early Cholas: mathematics reconstructs the chronology, page 39''''Lalit kalā, Issues 3-4, page 55''

Patron of Art and Architecture

She was very pious and was an avid temple builder and has built numerous temples some of which are at

Kutralam Courtallam is a panchayat town situated at a mean elevation of in the foothills of the Western Ghats in Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu, India. The Coutrallam Falls on the Chittar River is a major tourist attraction. Demographics India cens ...

Virudhachalam Virudhachalam or Vriddhachalam is a Town and taluk headquarters in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The ancient name of this town is Thirumudhukundram. As per the 2011 census, the town had a population of 73,585 of which ...

, Aduthurai, Vakkarai, Anangur, etc.''Śrīnidhiḥ: perspectives in Indian archaeology, art, and culture : Shri K.R. Srinivasan festschrift, page 229'' She has made some of the most lavish endowments of the

empire.''Early temples of Tamilnadu: their role in socio-economic life (c. A.D. 550-925), page 84'' Tiru-Ara-neri-Alvar temple was one of the earliest temples built by her. She bestowed several gifts of bronzes and jewellery to the

Nallur Kandaswamy temple Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil ( ta, நல்லூர் கந்தசுவாமி கோவில் si, නල්ලුරුව ස්කන්ධ කුමාර කෝවිල) is a significant Hindu temple, located in Nallur, Northe ...

in 967-968 CE, including the bronze idol of the goddess of Nallur temple worshipped today, whose style is typical of Sembiyan bronzes.

Honored

From an inscription of Parakesarivarman Uttama Chola, we know that a regular śribali ceremony has been arranged at the UmaMahesvarasvamin temple at Konerirajapuram every month on the day of jyeshta, the natal star of the queen:

Sacred

Sembiyan Mahadevi was a consummate temple builder and a highly respected patron of the arts. During her lifetime, special celebrations marked her birthday in the

(Śiva) temple in the town of Sembiyan Mahadevi, named after her, and a metal portrait of the beloved queen was presented to the temple in her honor, possibly commissioned by her son. As such, it would have been recognized as Sembiyan Mahadevi by its use in processions celebrating her birthday. This highly stylized bronze image is an instance of the blurring of lines between royal and divine portraiture in ancient

Indian art Indian art consists of a variety of art forms, including painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile arts such as woven silk. Geographically, it spans the entire Indian subcontinent, including what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, N ...

. The pose is reminiscent of the goddess

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi i ...

. Indian artists often portray

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

deities with great attention to arm/hand details to emphasize their

omnipresence Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a religious context as an attribute of a deity or supreme being, while the term ubiquity is generally used to describe ...

and

omnipotence Omnipotence is the quality of having unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to the deity of their faith. In the monotheistic religious philosophy of Abrahamic religions, omnipotence is often listed as one o ...

. A variety of hand gestures, known as

mudras A mudra (; sa, मुद्रा, , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ,) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As wel ...

, are used to express the mood and meaning of the images of the gods. For instance, when the palm is raised to face the worshiper, it is the gesture of protection (abhaya), while a lowered hand with the fingers pointing downward signifies a promise to grant the devotee's wishes (''varada''). The contrapposto pose, known in

as ''

tribhanga Tribhaṅga or Tribunga is a standing body position or stance used in traditional Indian art and Indian classical dance forms like the Odissi, where the body bends in one direction at the knees, the other direction at the hips and then the othe ...

'', or triple-bent, was a popular stance; it produced a sense of swaying movement, and most images, whether human or divine, are thus poised.

Visual metaphor

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

in literature juxtaposes two seemingly unrelated things to highlight certain important aspects of one of them. The same is possible in visual art. With all exaggerated features, Sembiyan Mahadevi bronze is not meant to be taken literally. Sembiyan Mahadevi is a visual

yet the most elusive from

neuronal A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. No ...

and

aesthetic Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...

perspective. According to Ramachandran the exaggerated features of Sembiyan Mahadevi are meant to symbolyze specific divine attributes.A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness: From Impostor Poodles to Purple Numbers by V. S. Ramachandran Pi Press (2005) p.40

Notes

References

* Lalit kalā, Issues 3-4, Lalit Kala Akademi * Art & Science of Chola bronzes, Orientations * A Topographical List of Inscriptions in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala States: Thanjavur District By T. V. Mahalingam * Early Cholas: mathematics reconstructs the chronology By Sethuraman * The Indian Antiquary - A Journal of Oriental Research Vol IV - 1925 By C. I. E. Edwardes * Indian antiquary, Volume 54 By Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland {{sisterlinks, Chola dynasty