Ranganatha Temple, Srirangam
These celebrated carvings, from the late 16th century, show humans in combat with animals and with other humans. The figures are approximately life-sized. Despite their furious action, the men's expressions are oddly calm and detached, as if merely posing for the sculpture: it is called Sophrosyne, and symbolizes the triumph of dispassion. In these sculptures, only the animals exhibit emotion and sexuality.
Exotic figures beneath the rampant horses include a man with wounded assistant who is stabbing a lion in the groin; a rampant chimera tugging on a smaller elephant with its trunk; and a Portuguese soldier with assistant, each wearing a European hat and tunic, who is stabbing his foe in the glutes.
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