vyala

▪ Indian art motif

also called  sardula 

 popular motif in Indian art, consisting of a composite leonine creature with the head of a tiger, elephant, bird, or other animal, frequently shown in combat with humans or pouncing upon an elephant. Essentially a solar symbol, it represents—like the eagle seizing the serpent—the triumph of the spirit over matter.

      Occurring in a relatively naturalistic form in the earliest monuments, notably the great stupa at Sanchi (c. 50 BC) and in the Kushan (Kushān art) sculpture of Mathura (1st–3rd century AD), the vyala assumed a definite stylized form about the 5th century. From the 8th century onward, it was constantly employed in architectural decoration, being repeated, for example, on the walls of temples.

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