Sculpture language in the image of the sacred bull Nandi at Cat Tien archaeological site

The statue of the sacred bull Nandi was discovered at the Cat Tien archaeological site.

The belief of Hinduism - a pantheistic and polytheistic religion that appeared in the late first century of the first millennium BC - holds that Nandi is the vehicle of Shiva (the destroyer), along with Vishnu (the preserver) and Brahma (the creator), the three supreme gods in Hinduism. Nandi is also the attendant of Shiva and the guardian deity of Kailash - the abode of Shiva.

In most of the temples of Shiva, there are statues of the sacred bull Nandi. Besides the duty of protecting the abode of Shiva, Nandi also has the function of carrying the soul of the dead across the river, preserving the soul of the deceased during the journey to heaven to merge with the great soul of the world of bliss.

The sacred bull Nandi is also considered by Hindus as a deity, bringing luck, wealth and peace. At the Cat Tien archaeological site - a complex of architectural ruins of temples and tombs bearing many Hindu cultural elements, through excavations from 1994 to 2006, archaeologists found many statues with carved images of Nandi. In 2022, archaeologists from the Center for Archaeology - Institute of Social Sciences of the Southern region unexpectedly discovered a statue of the sacred bull Nandi at the architectural ruins of mound No. 4.

A carved statue of the sacred bull Nandi was discovered at the Cat Tien archaeological site.

Using a single block of stone, ancient artisans depicted Nandi in a lying position, with a comfortable, natural appearance. The statue's body is 34.5 cm long, 16.5 cm high, and 11 cm wide. The statue stands out with its high cow hump, its forehead protruding from its head, much higher than its ears. The eyes, mouth, nose... of the sacred bull Nandi were carved by ancient artisans, revealing a resting, relaxed look. The tail is carved to the left, the back is round, full of strength. The Nandi statue at the Cat Tien archaeological site does not show the details of the pair of horns and the detail of the third eye in the middle of the forehead.

Through what the ancient artisans expressed in the language of sculpture, archaeologists believe that this is a calf, not an adult Nandi bull. Previously, archaeologists also found many statues carved with the image of the divine bull Nandi at the Cat Tien archaeological site. Specifically, at mound 1A, archaeologists discovered a pair of statues carved with the image of Nandi and a statue carved with the image of the divine bull Nandi at mound 4.

One thing that is easily noticed in these statues is that the size of the statue is small, the way Nandi is shaped is quite stiff and rough. The details that require sophistication are lacking, especially the detail of Nandi's third eye is not clearly carved.

Besides, the details such as: hump, neck folds, eyes, ears, horns, hooves... of the Nandi bull have not been described in detail by the artisan. Furthermore, the carving of Nandi's muscle bundles is quite stiff, the movement is not flexible and soft. Not to mention, the material used to carve the Nandi bull is not the best gold.

From the above analysis, archaeologists concluded that this is most likely a local characteristic of Cat Tien: simple shapes, lacking sophistication in detailed shapes. "It seems that they were all created by a group of local craftsmen who did not value aesthetics," archaeologists hypothesized. Many scientists also hope that this local characteristic is an open direction to solve the mystery of who is the owner of the Cat Tien Archaeological Site?!

According to TRIEU KA (LD online)

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/ngon-ngu-dieu-khac-trong-hinh-tuong-bo-than-nandi-o-khu-di-tich-khao-co-cat-tien-post327124.html