Indian Iconography and Religious Tolerance

The word ‘Iconography’ originates from the Greek word eikon (image) and graphein (to write) which is specially meant for worship or associated with the rituals connected with the worship of different divinities. Materials for the study of Indian Iconography are of two distinct kinds – archaeological and literary. The primary source for the study of the Brahmanical and the Buddhist as well as Jaina images are archaeological in nature. Which includes not only stone sculptures, terracotta figurines, bronze and metal statues, seals, coins but also inscriptions and numismatics, Literary sources have great corroborative value, The Vedas, the Sutra texts, the epics and the Smrti texts cannot be looked upon as works on iconography, yet they contain some features of different gods and goddesses. In ancient India freedom for the display of thought and feeling through art constituted the very life of all art and the technique of image-making also could not be treated as an exception. The origin of image worship in India has a deep-rooted past. In the age of the Vedas, Puranas, Tantras and the Silpasastras, conception of image making flourished to a great extent, The historical and sociological study of Indian Iconography totally proves that religious practices are always connected with the vast field of Iconography.