The Identification of the God Kārttikeya and His Supplantation by the Iconography of Skandakumāra in the Buddhist Monasteries of Sri Lanka

Le résumé fourni par la source

In this article, a tutelary god of Sri Lanka is introduced whose depictions have not yet been documented and are now being made accessible for the first time. The numerous reliefs and paintings that represent this god can be found exclusively in monasteries built or restored until the nineteenth century in the south-western region of Sri Lanka, where also the popular pilgrimage site Kataragama is situated. Sinhalese textual sources and iconographic details suggest that this god is Kārttikeya, who is also known as Mahāsena. He served as the tutelary god of the South and was widely revered in this region until the end of the nineteenth century. He was venerated at his main shrine in the village of Kataragama during that time, and the inhabitants of Sri Lanka com-monly referred to Kārttikeya by the name of this village. Several images presented in this article provide evidence for the assumption that since the late nineteenth century depictions of Kārttikeya have been gradually supplanted by representations of Skanda-kumāra, the tutelary god of the northern Kandy Highlands. This contradicts the prevail-ing consensus that an identification of both gods occurred already centuries ago.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.