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Worshipping Breasts in the Maternal Landscape of India

The female breast as a motif has played an important part in Hindu Brahmanical worship and representation since the Indus Valley Civilization. Nevertheless, breasts and their representation as icons in the Brahmanical imagination have been neglected in art historical scholarship, which has tended to focus on the lingam (phallus) and the yoni (vulva) as the archetypal symbols of fertility in the religious imagery of India. This essay will provide an introduction to the role of breasts as independent symbols in Hindu rituals and religious practices. Analyzing a selection of case studies including the breast-shaped Telugu tali pendant, the goddess Sati’s breast and the stanakunda tank at Bajreswari Temple in Kangra, as well as the association of breast iconography with Shaivite symbolism at two temples in Andhra Pradesh, the essay will investigate the representation of breasts in the maternal landscape of India. By taking a contemporary anthropological approach and using visual and archaeological source material, and references to sacred texts, it will demonstrate their role as potent talismans, symbols of maternity, empowerment and eroticism.