pathara kundalam a comparison

A ornamental comparison  & transformation of ear plugs /earrings

( Pathira Kundalam ) made of palm leaf and rosary peas.

Pic1: 7 th century pallva period Mahisasuramarthini sculpture from Mahishasura Mardhini caves in the north wall of the cave contains a relief depicting the battle scene of the two adversaries, goddess Durga and the demon  Mahishasura. The carving is considered one of the best creations of the Pallava period. The war scene Durga appears with eight hands riding a fierce-looking lion.

Pic2: 5th century Sigiriya frescoes paintings of Lovely maidens that reside in the Sigiriya fresco paintings have dressed their hair piled up high to show their oval face of lustrous complexions. They have heavy breasts and their eyes express moods from vivacity to serenity. They wear elaborate jewels on their hair, ears and arms. Large hooped earrings dangle from their ears and they wear armlets as well as bangles.

Pic3: 8 th century Sculpture depicting Jain Yakshini Ambika in standing posture in tribangam  she is the of the is the Yakshi  "dedicated attendant deity" of  22nd Tirthankara, Neminatha at  Kalugumalai, a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district .The temple is believed to have been built during 8th century around 800 AD during the reign of Pandya king Parantaka Nedunjadaiyan.

Pic4: 9th century #Royal_chola_woman sculptures almost in life-size in the niches of the outer walls  of kumbakonam Nageswaran temple built by Aditya Chola .

Pic5:  Paniya woman with her traditional ear plug. Paniya tribe women  are characterized by their large ear plugs made of dry  palm leaves ( thali panaolai )and beeswax. They decorate the central portion with rosary pea ( kundumani / Yanai Kundumani ). The Paniya tribes are the indigenous tribes  of  the southern states of India. Paniyas are mainly concentrated in the northern part of the Western Ghats, Wayanad district, and the eastern regions of Kozhikode (Calicut), Malappuram and Kannur districts. Some are found in Gudalur and Pandalur area of Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu and in southern part of Kodagu district of Karnataka.  Paniyas have there own individual language called paniya as their mother tongue.Paniyas use different writing systems depending on where they reside. Those in Karnataka use the Kannada script, those in Kerala write in the Malayalam script, while the Paniya in Tamil Nadu use the Tamil script.

Pic6: Rani Bharani Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore. She was the sister in law of Ravi Varma.Bharani Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi (1848–1901) was the Senior Rani of Travancore from 1857 till her death in 1901. 

---Ramu.Rm.N