Lalitasana in the context of Sailendra Dynasty


Lalitasana in the context of Sailendra Dynasty

⭐ Core Definition: Lalitasana

Lalitasana is a pose or mudra in Indian art and the art of dharmic religions in other countries. It is often called "the royal position" or "royal ease" in English, and is a relaxed pose typical in royal portraits and those of religious figures whose "kingly" attributes are being emphasized. The figure sits on a throne with one leg tucked inwards on the seat and the other hanging down ("pendent") to touch the ground or rest on a support (often a stylized lotus throne). Usually it is the proper right leg that dangles, but the reversed image can be found. Bare feet are normal. Asana is a general term for a seated pose, from Sanskrit: आसन āsana "sitting down" (from आस ās "to sit down"), a sitting posture, a seat.

Some sources distinguish between the lalitasana posture, as described above, and the "royal ease" (maharajalilasana or rajalilasana), where the right leg (usually) is bent, and the foot rests on the same level as the sitting body, and the extended arm is placed on the raised knee. With all variants the technical phrasing describes a figure as being "in" the pose: "seated in lalitasana". Other sources regard the two as synonymous.

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Lalitasana in the context of Sailendra

The Shailendra dynasty (IAST: Śailēndra, Indonesian pronunciation: [ʃaɪlenˈdraː] derived from Sanskrit combined words Śaila and Indra, meaning "King of the Mountain", also spelled Sailendra, Syailendra or Selendra) was the name of a notable Indianised dynasty that emerged in 8th-century Java, whose reign signified a cultural renaissance in the region. The Shailendras were active promoters of Mahayana Buddhism and covered the Kedu Plain of Central Java with Buddhist monuments, one of which is the colossal stupa of Borobudur, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Shailendras are considered to have been a thalassocracy and ruled vast swathes of maritime Southeast Asia; however, they also relied on agricultural pursuits, by way of intensive rice cultivation on the Kedu Plain of Central Java. The dynasty appeared to be the ruling family of the Mataram kingdom of Central Java, and for some period, the Srivijaya Kingdom in Sumatra.

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