Krishna Pedestal, Tra Kieu, Champa, Vietnam

The work of Cham religious art which scholars conventionally call the "Tra Kieu Pedestal," but which might more descriptively be called the "Krishna Pedestal," consists of a square base carved with scenes from the life of Krishna as recounted in the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana, upon which are mounted an ablutionary cistern and, at the very top, a lingam representative of Siva. Formerly, a circular decorative element carved with representation of female breasts separated the base from the cistern and lingam. The pedestal dates from the 10th century A.D., and was found near My Son and Da Nang at the village of Tra Kieu, the probable site of a medieval Cham citadel called Simhapura. Today the pedestal is housed in the Champa Museum of Da Nang, Vietnam.

Scholars have distinguished a number of historical styles in the art of Champa. One such style, which flourished from the 10th to the 11th century, has been called the "Tra Kieu Style." According to scholar Emmanuel Guillon, "It is an art of dance and movement, of grace, and of faces which sometimes wear a slight, almost ironic smile, as though surprised by their own beauty." The Tra Kieu Pedestal exemplifies this style.

Each of the four sides of the pedestal's base is carved with a separate scene from the life of Krishna. On one side, Krishna encounters the hunchback woman Kubja. When she provides him with sweet-smelling unguents, he is pleased with her, and as a reward straightens her back. On another side of the pedestal, Krishna is depicted drawing the mighty bow of his evil uncle Kamsa until it snaps in twain. A third side shows the seated Krishna receiving gift-bearing merchants. The fourth side of the pedestal shows celestial dancers or Apsaras dancing in honor of Krishna and in celebration of his deeds.

At the beginning of the 10th century, Champa was at the height of its power, and held a strategic position along the maritime trade routes leading from India and Indonesia to China. Champa benefitted from the boom in international trade due in part to the disintegration of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and the later rise of the Song Dynasty. Important centers of Cham civilization were located in the area of modern Nha Trang (in the southern central region of Vietnam) and the area of modern Da Nang (farther north in the central region). Champa stood in close cultural contact with Java and Cambodia, and the southern regions suffered several documented raids from Khmer armies in the course of the 10th century. Northern Champa, which included urban centers at Tra Kieu, Dong Duong (a Buddhist monastery and city known as Indrapura that flourished toward the end of the 9th century) and My Son (the largest extant collection of Cham ruins), found itself in a constant state of conflict with the Dai Viet of the area around modern Hanoi in northern Vietnam. The Viet had obtained their independence from China in the 930's. In 979, a Cham naval expedition was scuttled by a tempest as it closed in on the Viet capital of Hoa Luu. In 982, a Viet army sacked the Cham capital at Indrapura. Sustained pressure from the Viet caused the Cham to relocate their capital southwards to Vijaya in modern Binh Dinh province around 1000.

* Art of Champa http://angkorblog.com/_wsn/page18.html

Bibliography
· Ngo Van Doanh, My Son Relics (Hanoi: Theo Gioi Publishers, 2005)
· Emmanuel Guillon, Hindu-Buddhist Art of Vietnam (Connectict: Weatherhill)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Krishna
• Champa
• art
• Vietnam
• Hinduism
• linga
• apsara

[ScionT2B]

Is that Cham music in the background?

[DeschKaschperle]

No, the music in the video is not Cham.

[ScionT2B]

than what is it?

[DeschKaschperle]

There are three different improvisations. The first I think is a variation on Michel Berger's "Diego libre dans sa tete." The other two I don't know. My movie making software allows me to match these improvisations with movies and still pictures.

[EDEBOYZ]

cham is hindu not muslim



[Tomstered]

vietname stole cambodia land and the Champa land shame on them

[MrFiroz143sarah]

this video where made i dont know but most villag in vietnam look like indian and food all so same Eat and talk defarnt than vietnam now i am in daklak provens in vietnam i like to know moor about vietnam and india i jast want can you tell me where this made video thank you

[princeofwinter]

@kundyavaraman

It was a Hindu Empire convert to Muslim by foriegn Arabs traders later on :)

[teriyo2]

after the invasion from vietnamese they change religion cham used 2 be hindu

[ORIGINSPLANET]

Dravidians in india came from mu so did many from south east asia.

[kundyavaraman]

bonjour merci pour la vidéo je prends :)

it's very strange chams peoples are muslin musulmans and arts styles are hindis

or mixed styles ?

Why ?

Les chams sont musulmans mais leurs arts sont hindous...

Pourquoi ?

Est ce ne sont-ils pas influencés par l'arts khmers?

[dejempoi]

cham peoples are one of malayo polinesia tribes which is can divided to sub group. they are same with other malay archipelago tribe whose come to their land thousand years ago before invaded by dai viet.

[adambuonya]

nguoi Cham` ....

[daoduytu]

Chàm dance movements similar to Indian dance movement today.