Belur Chennakeshava Temple: Flute playing male musician

Flute playing male musician

Flute playing male musician
This beautifully carved sculpture depicts a flute-playing male musician standing with the tribanga pose (bent in three places, knee, waist, and neck), typically performed in traditional Indian dances like the Odissi, Bharatanatyam, and Kathakali. Accompanying him are the two musicians, a lady musician is playing the tāla on the bottom left, and a male musician is playing the flute on the bottom right.

As you can see, all the figures are standing on a disc-like base, mounted on a lotus pedestal. Engraved into this base is an inscription, written in the Halegannada (Old Kannada), likely inscribed by the sculptor to describe himself and his work.

This sculpture is one of the three male figures out of 38 bracket figures mounted on the exterior wall surrounding the Navaranga (covered hall in front of the garbhagriha). Each sculpture is attached to a bracket placed at an angle just below the eaves, with its base mounted on a pillar just below the pillar’s capital.

Check the Navaraga Layout page for the locations of the bracket figures. This bracket figure is mounted on a corner pillar (figure number 11).

Read more about this and other bracket figures at: Belur Chennakeshava Temple: Bracket Figures.

Other Male Bracket Figures
– Narthaka – Davane playing male dancer
– Davane playing male musician

Shilābālikes – Female Bracket Figures
– Darpana Sundari, Sukha Bhasini, Nātya Sundari, Gāna Sundari, Kesha Sundari, Tribhangi, Nagna Sundari, Kapāla Durga, Koravanji, Nātya Mohini, Betegārthi