The Radiance
Innumerable degrees of bliss & serenity are expressed in the faces of celestials; The Gods. Their radiance reflects the features of the people who worship them, and perhaps who had carved them; having learned the style of work from seers of a particular tradition. These are proportioned accordingly (thence the answer to the question – who the sculptors were?) varying with the prevailing aptitude of realisation of their supreme Bliss. And Peace.
These faces of The Gods always shine – a silent radiance in which the lips say nothing, the eyes never smile. The eyes gaze into the unknown distance without & into the Depth within under taut eyebrows raised in perennial wonderment. They do not perceive, these aren’t any sensory organs, but a place of meeting of the inner and the outer worlds.
On these limbs, the outside light and the air touch upon and are met with the light, life, pulsation & breathe of within. Gods are thus created by human who is created by Him.
Shaping the Gods
This brings us to a more physical side of the entire truth. How exactly those Yogi-Sculptors created Them; The Gods. What their standards were? A miniscule peek from this elaborate science, is being provided here.
Metaphysical realisation to which the images give shape requires the shape of man as its reference. Made by art in wood or stone. The measurement of the frame is derived in the perfect proportions of a human body.
Body is equal to the nine face lengths; sometimes ten face lengths for main Deities such as The Lord Vishnu, Brahma or Lord Shiva. Each face is equal to twelve finger-widths (angulas). But for the Dwarf incarnations it is seven face lengths. Indian Iconometry knows of nine verities in creating these. The length of the face, neck, torso, thighs, knees, calf and feet everything is prescribed and was followed as such. At Angkor, one notices that these and many more such regimens were followed in letter and Spirit by the masters.
That is how they could create these full of life incomparable masterpieces in Pure Sattvic Traditions.
Om, Sweet Home
White House, Buckingham palace, a certain Mar-a-Lago or a humble apartment where multitudes like me live, home is home. We want it blessed by His benign presence; every one of us without any exception. Howsoever humble, we try and live in peace & harmony; try & lead a life of contentment & bliss. He provides us all, for sure, one such space.
Gods are no different. In the realms of Sacred Architecture, Gods love such places where there is plenty of water, trees blow gentle wind, flowers enrich air with sweet fragrance, where swans play with lotuses, there are snakes and curleys and tigers and cows; our Gods love to rest there and play. Although one is not blessed enough to have been born about a thousand years earlier to have witnessed the true grandeur of Angkor, it requires one to pore over with a pure mind and closed eyes to imagine a vibrant Angkor, which apparently it was and still remains, such a place. A Place worthy to be called the Home of The Gods. Sweet Home of The Gods. Their Sacred Space. Offered unto Him by Humble Man.