🔆 Chola Sculptures vs Pala Sculptures (UPSC Mains 2020) 🔆 📍 Chola Sculptures (9th–13th Century CE) | 📍 Pala Sculptures (8th–12th Century CE) ✅ Region & Period • Tamil Nadu, South India 9th–13th century CE • Bengal and Bihar (India) 8th–12th century CE ✅ Material • Bronze using lost-wax casting (Cire-Perdue) for intricate detailing • Black basalt stone, bronze, and terracotta ✅ Themes • Hindu deities, especially Shiva in various forms, Vishnu, Parvati, and Lakshmi • Predominantly Buddhist, featuring Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Mahayana, and Vajrayana deities • Iconic Shiva Nataraja, symbolizing creation and destruction • Some Hindu deities like Vishnu and Shiva, reflecting religious coexistence ✅ Posture & Composition • Graceful and dynamic postures • Static figures with symmetry and proportion • Frequent use of tribhanga (three bends posture) for elegance and fluidity • Buddha depicted in dhyana mudra (meditation) or bhumisparsha mudra (earth-touching gesture) ✅ Iconography & Detailing • Intricate jewelry, clothing, and serene facial expressions • Ornamental detailing of jewelry, robes, and facial expressions • Precise anatomical features like slender limbs and well-proportioned bodies • Delicate carving on Buddha statues, showing calm and serenity ✅ Symbolism • Spiritual elements like the flame of knowledge in Nataraja • Elaborate back-slabs (Prabhavali) with floral motifs, divine beings, and narrative elements • Symbolizes divine power and grace through gestures, weapons, mudras ✅ Temple & Ritual Use • Processional icons for festivals and rituals, representing the living presence of the deity in the community • Primarily ritualistic Buddhist art, influencing Southeast Asian and Tibetan traditions ✅ Famous Examples • Shiva Nataraja (Lord of the Dance) • Bronze Figure of Parvati • Vishnu as Anantasayana • Ardhanarishvara • Seated Buddha from Nalanda in bhumisparsha mudra • Vishnu Image from Bengal, showing Hindu coexistence • Bronze Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara from Nalanda ✅ Artistic Legacy • Pinnacle of bronze casting in Indian art, blend of religious devotion and artistic innovation • Artistic excellence with deep religious devotion, influenced Southeast Asian and Tibetan art traditions