Hindu Temple Art of Orissa. Vol. 1. by Thomas E.

Donaldson
Review by: Michael W. Meister
The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 46, No. 2 (May, 1987), pp. 428-430
Published by: Association for Asian Studies
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2056049 .
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428 THE JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES

Asia." His analysesare consistentand his canvassingof the economicpossibilities

exhaustive.But herelies theproblem:he triesto coverwhatit would requirea book
to cover. He does attemptto illustratehis pointswithexamples,but each example
is so shortit is hardlymorethanan allusion.Withouta.prettythoroughknowledge
of the literaturethathe cites, the essaybecomesan exercisein logic.
With Ashok Rudra'sessayon "Local Powerand Farm-LevelDecision-Making,"
we returnto a largelyempiricalworld,heretwo groupsofvillagesin West Bengal.
Althougha numberof his statementsabout the way farmers and laborersact are of
much interest,the data in his tables on movementin and out of the villagesdoes
not appear to correspondwithhis statements.The essayis also marredby a model
thatis neitherinternallyconsistent-it is a modelofan isolatedvillagewithentirely
too manyextravillage elements-nor clearlyconsistentwith his empiricaldata. I
finishedwishingthatI could believewhathe said, but not at all surethatI should.
The onlyessaywithwhichI was happywas "Determinants and VarietiesofAgrar-
ian Mobilization"byLloydI. Rudolphand SusanneHoeberRudolph.The Rudolphs'
essayis notso logicallycompleteon thepoliticalside as Herring'sis on theeconomics
side, but limitingthe logic does allow themto illustrateto a greaterextentthan
Herringcould. However,even thoughit is a fineessayon politicalmobilizationin
ruralIndia duringrecentdecades, it does not deal withagriculturalproductivity.
SukhamoyChakravarty's concludingessay, "Power Structureand Agricultural
Productivity,"returnsthe readerto the land of logic. The essayin factaddresses
issuesabout the irrelevanceofbothstandardand Marxianeconomics.It does so well
enough(althoughothershave done better),but not so well as to warrantincluding
it in a book that is specificallyabout South Asia. Throughout,the alternativeto
standardeconomicsis alwaysMarxianeconomics,and as othercontributors, as well
as Chakravarty, makeclear,neitheris satisfactory.One wonderswhyno one entertains
thepossibilityoftryingthesortofinstitutional economicsin whichsucheconomists
in thirdworldstudiesas JohnAdams,GeorgeRosen,JamesStreet(and othersbesides
this reviewer)engage.
SometimeduringthemonthsoverwhichI readthisbook-it does notgripone's
attention-it occurredto me thatthe book suffered fromtoo littleconsideration by
the authorsof how productivity mighthave increased.Until recentyearstherewere
notmanywaysin whichproductivity could havebeenincreased.The listis notmuch
longerthanmoreirrigation,substitution of Persianwheelsformhotes,betterseeds,
morefertilizing, morecarefulinterculture, levelingof land, and (too oftenignored)
moreand betterdrainage.A morethoroughconsideration oftheselimitedpossibilities
(and others,if the authorscould thinkif them)mighthave led to focusingon how
power did or did not affectthe supplyof these inputsor the applicationof these
technologies.
WALTER C. NEALE
ofTennessee
University

Hindu Temple Art of Orissa. Vol. 1. By THOMAS E. DONALDSON. Leiden:

E. J. Brill, 1985. (Studiesin SouthAsian Culture,vol. 12, pt. 1.) xxii, 562
pp. Maps, Charts,Diagrams,Groundplans,Plate-Figures. $95.00.
This massivevolumeis onlythe firstpartof threethatwill make up volume 12
of"Studiesin SouthAsianCulture,"currentlyeditedbyJaniceStargardt.This review,
therefore,
can onlybe a preliminarynoticeofa publicationin progress.The fullset

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BOOK REVIEWS-SOUTH ASIA 429

of threevolumes will be divided into two parts: "ChronologicalDevelopmentof

Temples" begins in this volumeand will be concludedin the next; "Stylisticand
IconographicPeculiarities ofSelectFeaturesand Motifs"will beginin thenextvolume
and will be completedin volume 3. Althoughan outlineof contentsforall three
volumesis given in volume 1, the glossary,bibliography,list of inscriptions,and
indexeswill appearonly in volume 3.
This firstvolume cataloguesand describestemplesfromthe sixththroughthe
twelfthcenturiesin admirabledetail. Althoughno publicationcan adequatelyrep-
resentthe richnessof the materialdescribed,it is not quite true to say that "very
littlein the way ofscholarlyinteresthas as yetbeen directedto the studyofOrissan
art"(p. 3). Orissanart-most certainlyits highpoints-has long held international
attention,substantialpioneeringscholarshiphas alreadybeen lavishedupon it (by
N. K. Bose, Stella Kramrisch,K. C. Panigrahi,Alice Boner), and a flourishing
school of regionalscholarshipcontinuesto probeat the detailsand controversies of
its historicalsetting.Donaldson'swork,however,radicallysynthesizes previousma-
terial,adding a depth of photographicand descriptivedetail thatsubstantiallyad-
vancesthe accessibilityof Orissanmonumentsto further study.
Strangely,thetextitselfdoes notcontainplatereferences. A 125-page"Catalogue
of Illustrations"followsthe text,but neitherit nor the figurecaptionsgive infor-
mationon dates assignedto temples,forwhich one must referback to the text's
description.A summarychronologicalchartis givenon pages 19-20, but it is mis-
leadingin detail(theParasuramesvara temple,forexample,is placednextto "c. 650"
on the chart,while the textsuggestsa moreprecisedate of c. A.D. 619 [p. 511).
Most oftheterminology used fordescription was introducedbyN. K. Bose in Canons
ofOrissanArchitecture (Calcutta, 1932). A mixtureofOriyaand now somewhatmore
commonSanskritforms,it is a terminology based, as Donaldson himselfreports,
"on the mostcommonusage in otherbookson Orissanarchitecture and maydeviate
fromthe termscurrentwhenthetempleswerebeingconstructed or employedby the
silpinsworkingtoday" (p. xix). A largerproblemI findwith this terminology
appropriateas it may be forOrissa-is its regionalcharacter,withassonantechoes
ofborrowedSanskrit(jAdghavs.jaiighd,rdhdvs. ratha,bddavs.pdda)and local usages
(gan.di[khanda?1vs. sikhara,j'agamohanavs. ggdhamanapa)that requireconstant
mentaltranslationin makingcomparisonsto elementsof Nagara templeselsewhere
in India. However,thecareful,consistentlayersofDonaldson'sdescriptionbuild up
methodically(like the tonalitiesof Brahms's"GermanRequiem") to an aesthetic
representation of Orissanarchitecture of considerablestrength.
Donaldson is thoroughin drawingon and synthesizing publicationsbeforehim,
althoughthereare momentswhencitationborderson paraphrasewithoutmuch re-
flection.On page 13, forexample,he writesthat
The balanceofthesetwocontrasting superstructures andrekhd-deul}
[pidha-deul is
peculiarto Orissaandgreatly
enhancesthegrandeur
ofthesoaring curvilinear
spire
... evenwhenmodestin size. Thiscontrasts
withotherregionalvariations
ofthe
Nagara(northern) stylewherethesuperstructures
of themandapas(frontalhalls)
prepareand defertheclimaxofthespiresurmounting thesanctum.Evenin areas
wherethespireis closelyrelatedto theOrissantype,as at Osia in Rajasthanas Stella
Kramrischpointsout, the logic of the templecomplexis lost as open pillaredhalls,
whichserveas an airyprelude,detractfromthegrandeuroftheclosedmassachieved
in the Orissan temple.
The citationis to Kramrisch'sTheHinduTemple (Calcutta, 1946, p. 217), whereshe
writes: "The balance of these two contrastedsuperstructures. . . is peculiarto Orissa.

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430 THE JOURNAL OF ASIAN STUDIES

In the otherprovincesthe superstructures of the Mandapas prepareand deferthe

climax of the Sikharaof the Prasada." She adds in a footnotethat "in Rajputana,
Osian, etc. the Sikharais closelyrelatedto the Orissa type. The logic of the form
of theentiretemplehoweveris absent.There,openpillaredhallsare an airyprelude
but detractfromthe grandeurof the closed mass of an Orissantemple."
Donaldson's truelove and contributionis an analysisof detail, decorativeand
iconographic.Fromtempleto templehe revelsin foliageforms,mithunas, carving
techniques,the riseof womenas iconographicmotifs;he even suggests,withsome
plausibility,a definition
of "hands"workingon relatedmonumentsand theirinter-
action. His eye forsuch detail is sharpand his affectionforit infectious,so that
studentswho use thisbook shouldcome awaywitha senseof the textureofOrissan
craftsmanship unavailablefromothersources.
Donaldson focuseson monumentsin Bhubaneswarbut does full justice to the
diversityof regionalmonumentswithinthe Orissanstyle.A majorquestionraised,
ifnot settled,is thatofthe independenceand interaction ofsuch regionalsubstyles.
Donaldsondiscussesstrainsof"archaism"withinOrissa'sconservative traditionsbut,
forme, does not make themechanismclear,especiallyin relationto the "influence"
fromotherregionsand the "innovation"withinthe Orissantraditionthat he also
discusses.One exampleis his intriguingdiscussionofinteraction alongtheMahanadi
River betweenDaksina Kosala and westernOrissa. Since he followsthe currently
commonOrissan conventionof placing Kosala templeslater chronologically than
CentralIndianistscurrently place them,he leavesmostofhisdiscussionofthisthorny
and criticalpoint to Chapter4, "Temples of the 10th-ilth Centuriesof Interior
Orissa" (pp. 188-200). Yet he continuesto date templesat Sirpurto the seventh
century,at Kharod,Rajim, and Phalarito theeighthcentury(p. 19), and to admit
thatat least one motifon the Vaithal Deul in Bhubaneswar(whichhe dates to the
finalyearsof the eighthcentury,p. 95) alreadywas "mostlikelyinfluencedby ...
templesof Daksina-Kosala"(p. 103). Delayingdiscussionof the issue to a chapter
on tenth-and eleventh-century templesmakestheeclecticismand innovationofthat
period seem perhapsoverstatedand the jump fromthe Muktesvaratemple(which
Donaldsondatesc. A.D. 950) to,thedefinitive styleoftheBrahmesvara (inscribedc.
A.D. 1058) and Liingaraja templesperhapstoo great.
In spite of theirextraordinarynumber(1,237), the plates are a bit of a disap-
pointment.Two to six photographshave been placed on a single plate-page,and
with Brill's conventionalwide marginsreducingeach figurefurther,much of the
aestheticimpactof Orissa'sart is missing.Perhaps,eventually,laser-discstorageof
imageswill be able to compensateforthe limitsthatthe cost of productionplaces
on even an extravagant publicationlike this.
MICHAEL W. MEISTER
University
ofPennsylvania

India's Foreign Policy. By V. P. DUTT. New Delhi: Vikas PublishingHouse,

1984. x, 447 pp. Index. $35.00. (Distributedin the U.S. by Advent
Books, New York, N.Y.)
This bookattemptsto explainIndia'sforeignpolicybyanalyzingitsmajorfeatures
from1966-76, when Indira Gandhi as primeministerwas the main architectof
domesticand foreignpolicy. The finalchapterdeals briefly
withdevelopmentsfrom
1977 to 1984. Accordingto theauthorthe "perimeters" ofindependentIndia's for-

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