Sculptures of the Cham Kingdom

I was already in Hoi An – one of the prettiest cities I have ever been to – for over 2 weeks.

Two days before I was to leave, Mr. P, who had seen the wovensouls gallery online, wrote to me for the first time, asking about some scrolls. As we chatted on whatsapp, I mentioned that I was in Vietnam in Hoi An. He asked if I’d seen the museum – and I had been so busy being un-busy and just absorbing the city that I had failed to check out the museums there. So he suggested I visit the Museum of the Cham Sculptures in Danang. The depth with which he wrote about the Cham culture made it all sound very interesting. And so, the next day I made my way there.

What a coincidence to receive his message just in time!

Now I had already been to the archaeological site called ‘My Son’ when I had just arrived in Hoi An. Since I had not read up before going to My Son, I was a bit surprised to see the Hindu influence in the ruins, but quickly recovered when I remembered the large temples dedicated to the Brahma – Vishnu – Shiva in Prambanan, Indonesia and the Hindu temple reliefs in neighboring Cambodia.

When I reached the Cham museum I was prepared and did expect to see some Hindu artifacts.

Here is the first thing I saw as I entered: A majestic Shivling!

And though I feel no attraction for stone sculptures, the sight of the X-large Shivling gave me a sense of anticipation and excitement…a wonderful afternoon was about to unfold.

As in every museum, there were large figures in stone, staged in isolated niches for effect. Some I recognised, as Durga and Brahma. Others were unknown to me. The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the CSVSM and the Elephanta Caves in Mumbai, the Kailash temple in Ajanta, the ruins in Martand, the outdoor rock carvings in Kargil, India and in Sri Lanka are all well populated with fantastic sculptures / stone carvings. But at this museum I noticed something more. Maybe what I saw this time this was indeed something new to me. Or maybe, in the past, I was just too untutored and unexposed to notice these things.

In this particular museum, the main deities or gods were large – at least 4-5 meters tall and placed on large stone platforms. And the figures were indeed detailed and impressive.

But the part that I found unique this time and took all my energy that afternoon, were the bases of these platforms – that were just 3-4 feet tall. I present photos taken that afternoon, beginning with the figures and ending with the most interesting part – the base panels. (Click on each image to see the larger version).

At the entrance we have sculptures of Lord Ganesh.

And then the others follow:

Garuda and others below:

The next figure is something I know nothing about. Many faces, many arms, snake tails…?

ChatGPT said this is probably Durga in her Mahishasura form – but that would require the presence of the Buffalo demon which is absent here. Further the snake tails remain unexplained. Maybe this is some other story …

And a few decorative elements that are just pretty and deserve to be noticed:

The next – the men adorned with snakes are intriguing to me.

I have no knowledge of these characters in mythology and the museum notes did not explain much. Shiva is known to wear a snake around his neck but these characters have snakes on their waist, feet, arms, ears, and wrists.

Further, what is the animal at his feet? A Tortoise? Is that his tongue that has been tied up so neatly? Why? And then on the head of the tortoise, are those little fingers holding something?

Anyone who knows the answers will find my questions very naive and comic …. apologies – please ignore my words and enjoy the photos.

In the next figure again we have an animal that looks like a bull / ram, the tongue of which has taken the form of a human?

ChatGPT says that this is likely a form of Shiva after vanquishing a demon. But does not offer more detail.

Cannot wait to find out what the story and the philosophical lesson behind this is. For, the best way to describe Hinduism is ‘a set of philosophies’. And if you look deep enough, every single story contains an abstract axiomatic idea or a scientific concept. So assuming these sculptures are all from the Hindu school of thought, there has to be something important in it. And therefore it is worthwhile pursuing the question all the way to the roots.

This is the just the beginning of things I did not understand at all (like much of life these days it seems to me!) On that museum visit, this list comprised of the base panels of the complete sets.

First the complete room sets with the main deity seated on the platform, with guards at the entrance.

And now a look at the intriguing small panels that could be seen on all the sides of the base platform:

Within these bases, there were dozens of scenes being enacted. Of music. Of wrestling. Of horse carriages. Of yoga & seva & reading! Of actions I could not comprehend. There was so much going on in these bases – it was almost like life itself was being showcased at that level and the gods were placed at the higher level.

Is that what it was?

Now as I write about it, I remember that Khajuraho temples have similar panels – I’d visited in 1985 and have no photos – just a faint memory. And if I remember correctly even the Konark temple (see the link below) has similar action-packed panels.

The Konark Sun Temple – Celebration of Life

Why were these ‘life scenes’ placed in these platforms? Why did they select these particular scenes of ‘wrestling’ and ‘polo’ (as described by the museum)?

So many questions – all waiting for answers.

And so, as usual, these works of art that have introduced me to a whole new stream of study – or rabbit hole – of Cham culture and its relationship to Hinduism.

Will I ever complete all these studies? Probably not.

But with this long list of incomplete or rather “incompletable” studies, my mind is assured of being entertained for a long long time!

Other Vietnam notes to follow soon

• My Son Archaeological Site
• Marble Mountain Caves
• Rehahn Museum of Ethnology
• Ao Dai Museum

***

Thank you Mr. PD for your perfectly timed suggestion!

jaina mishra

May 2026