BÒ THẦN NANDIN TẠI MỸ SƠN

In Hinduism, the image of sacred animals is always associated with gods. They are both mounts and legendary animals with symbolic meanings. Each culture receives Hinduism in different ways to suit the indigenous religious beliefs. Mỹ Sơn temple complex, since its construction, has been the center of Shiva worship of the Champa kingdom. The image of Nandin is always associated with the god Shiva, worshiped mainly in Mỹ Sơn valley. Nandin is both a loyal mount, devoted attendant, and a guardian god, a connection between the god and the believers so that they can ask for blessings from Nandin before going to worship Lord Shiva. The name Nandin or Nandi means uprightness/morality/justice. Nandin is a symbol affirming the solidarity between indigenous religions; At the same time, Nandin is also the military leader of the 18 alliances and has the merit of finding the elephant head for the god Ganesha.

1. Nandin in daily life

Cows are familiar animals in agricultural societies, even chosen to be domesticated and raised the most because cows not only provide a source of nutritious food for humans such as milk and butter, but also are effective assistants for farmers in maintaining durable traction to plow and improve soil in cultivation and used to pull carts to transport goods and other production purposes. In addition, cows also provide a large part of the necessities such as organic fertilizer for agriculture and as year-round fuel for residents of some West and Southeast Asian countries. In societies where people do not follow the belief of worshiping cows, cows also have great value in creating various by-products and handicrafts that are useful to humans.

2. Nandin in the temples in Mỹ Sơn

Before the French discovered Mỹ Sơn and began to research, treasure hunts had taken place here, causing many artifacts to be dug up and scattered everywhere. The impact of humans, wars and many times of oblivion, Mỹ Sơn became ruins and no longer practiced the original beliefs. For the above reasons, the Nandin Bull statue is mostly no longer intact and is no longer in its original position in front of the temple (Anatarala) as before, the reliefs and corner decorations with the image of the sacred bull also suffered the same fate, they are no longer attached to the door frames of the building or placed on the corners of the Mỹ Sơn temples.

The image of Nandin in Mỹ Sơn is associated with round statues, tympans carved from sandstone, and some made from terracotta. Regardless of the form and material of the sculpture, the ancient Cham people showed their talent, intelligence and ingenuity through carving the image of Nandin. The forms of Nandin are expressed in a variety of vivid ways, placed independently in front of temples and facing the main temple as the guardian god of the door or the reliefs with the image of Nandin associated with the god Shiva.

The sculptures of Mỹ Sơn cows are almost realistically and boldly depicted like the image of native cows in a gentle appearance, big round eyes, vividly described ears, nose and mouth with large size, soft hump in front of the chest, high tumor in the middle of the back is a characteristic of the majesty, strength and robustness of the bull, four legs in a position almost kneeling, or legs and body almost lying close to the ground, gentle face, joyfully looking up at the supreme being. The meaning of this posture shows the worship and respect for the god Shiva - the king of gods and more specifically, we see the third eye in the middle of the forehead in most Nandins as a manifestation of the characteristic with the god Shiva with the power of creation and destruction. Later, the sculptures of the Nadin bull in Mỹ Sơn became more obscure until the 13th century, when there was almost only the focus on the main gods' statues made of sandstone, while Nandin only seemed to appear on the tops of the towers made of terracotta at that time .

The sculptures of the Mỹ Sơn bull compared to the bull statues in other Champa relics, in addition to the common points described above, also show distinct characteristics. In addition to the image of the bull on the sculpture of the tower's pedestal (currently displayed in front of D1 Mỹ Sơn_03MSD.271) showing us the decorative necklace around the neck, the rest of the Mỹ Sơn Nandin seemed to not pay attention to jewelry or bracelets and the bulls culpture clearly shows the male gender. If we compare the Nandin sacred bull of Mỹ Sơn  in particular and Champa in general with the Nandin sacred bull of India or Khmer to find similarities and differences, we will see that the Nandin Khmer sacred bull has rough features, a large head and curved horns, without decorative patterns, but in general, it has a style similar to the Nandin Champa sacred bull. The majority of Indian bulls are sculpted in white because Nandin, according to the Indian concept, is a male bull with snow-white fur and a very large size. Besides the bull, the Indians also worship the cow goddess (that is, worship the cow) as "Mother Earth"; and there are structures dedicated to cow worship such as the Dodda Basavana Gudi temple, which is considered the largest temple to worship the Nandi god in the world.

3. Nandin in Champa

Due to the profound influence of Hinduism and indigenous elements in the minds of the people of this land, the image of the sacred bull Nandin appears in literature, architectural art, sculpture, and in the religious beliefs of the Cham community. They chose the bull Nandin as a deity to worship and associated with the god Shiva as his confidant. In folklore, Nandin also has another sacred name, Limoaw Kapil or Kapil, associated with ancient stories and legends. In the spiritual culture of the Cham people, more precisely Cham Ahier (Cham Balamoon), until today, although they have changed to harmonize with current beliefs and life, they still retain the mark of worshiping the god Shiva, worshiping the bull god and customs related to the sacred bull Nandin (Kapin) such as funeral customs, Kut ceremony, worshiping the bull as a powerful being and abstaining from eating beef. Although today's worship only exists in Cham communities in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan. In Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam, and Da Nang, there are also Cham communities, who still retain the Cham surname but no longer maintain traditional customs due to living together with the Kinh people for many generations and having cultural exchanges.

At the Po Rome tower cluster (XVII) in Ninh Thuan province, this is one of the most famous and intact tower clusters of the ancient Panduranga region. This temple worships King Po Rome, the last independent king of Champa; in addition, there are images of two divine cows, one side is the Nandin bull (which has been offered and worshiped since ancient time) as a loyal attendant of the God Shiva and the other side is the image of a cow (possibly offered by Cham people to the temple later) worshiped in front of the temple. If we consider all the cow statues or cow reliefs in the periods when the Champa kingdom still existed, we can hardly see the shadow of a cow. This image allows viewers to feel the change in the concept of worship, emphasizing the male and female elements as evidence of fertility beliefs, the wish for reproduction. Through this, it is clear that, although still maintaining the ancient indigenous beliefs of their ancestors, in the process of existence and development, the Champa residents of this land have transformed and harmonized to become a unique and distinct worship custom and practiced over time to ensure that it is suitable for the local people's consciousness. In any case, we see that the image of the Divine Cow associated with the god Shiva is always of interest to the community for worship, and the Mỹ Sơn heritage site is still somewhere in the consciousness and concern of the Champa community when remembering their origins.

4. The image of Nandin in civilizations

In fact, due to the closeness and important role of cows in people's daily lives, not only Champa but also many countries from East to West, many great civilizations in the world such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India... and many religions such as Christianity and Islam, Buddhism... have depicted the cow symbol on religious architecture, raising the image of the cow to a great god (cow god) and worshiping it. According to Buddhist teachings, the cow has the ability to make dreams come true, for this reason many Buddhists do not eat beef... In Indian culture and some Southeast Asian countries influenced by this civilization, the image of the cow is depicted boldly, vividly, authentically and is mostly associated with the religious beliefs of the indigenous people. In mythology, the cow (female) is considered a sacred animal, a symbol of “Mother-Earth” and the bull is the mount of the Hindu god Shiva. In addition, Nandin is the god who protects all four-legged animals. In India, people also dedicate noble temples to worship the Cow god as well as in most paintings and statues depicting the god Shiva, the Nandin cow often appears with the god or if not complete, it can be the cow's head shown next to it.

Cows from everyday life enter the religious beliefs of many countries and cultures in a gentle but profound way and leave an unforgettable cultural impression on those who feel and admire it. Particularly at the Mỹ Sơn temple complex, the image of the cow expressed through sculptures at the Mỹ Sơn Hindu temple is diverse, the image of Nandin is expressed very impressively whether it is a standalone round statue or a relief sculpture associated with the god Shiva or a decoration on the top of the temples... Through many historical changes, under harsh weather conditions and the destruction of war, the statues and reliefs with the image of the sacred cow Nandin in My Son are not many left, even if they are still broken, it is difficult to regain their original shape. However, the remaining artifacts, whether fragments, or statues, or sculptures that are not intact, also contribute to truly reflecting the religious life, beliefs and aesthetic thinking of the Cham people. In each different period, the aesthetic elements and the art of sculpture have their own characteristics, but in terms of physical morphology, the Mỹ Sơn Cow sculpture has reached a high level of art; and is one of the important evidences reflecting the continuous historical development and inheritance of ancient Champa art in the historical period lasting nearly 7 centuries(from the 7century to the 13century). The Nandin bull sculptures at Mỹ Sơn have diverse forms of expression, are typical evidence of sculpture, contributing to shaping the art style and determining the age and historical context in which it was formed. At the same time, it further affirms the role of Shiva in Mỹ Sơn valley, the most powerful god and worshiped almost throughout the historical periods, reflecting the beliefs, faiths and religions of the Champa royal family. Therefore, the image of the Nandin bull in the sacred animals worshiped at Mỹ Sơn temple complex has an extremely important position in Champa culture in general and Mỹ Sơn temple complex in particular

Tranlated by Vo Nhut