纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 068湿婆与雪山女神像（1）（在线收听）

068：EPISODE 68 - Shiva and Parvati Sculpture 湿婆与雪山女神像

Shiva and Parvati sculpture (made in twelfth or thirteenth century). Stone statue; from Orissa, IndiaThere are many surprises about working in the British Museum, and one of them is that we occasionally find offerings of flowers or fruit reverently placed in front of the Hindu sculptures. It's a touching demonstration that religious objects don't need to lose their sacred dimension when they move into the secular museum, and it's also a reminder that in the census of 2001, nearly five per cent of the population of England and Wales stated that their family origins were in the Indian subcontinent.

It's all part of a long shared history that has sometimes been violent and conflictual, and always been intense. For centuries the British have been fascinated by the cultures of India, and they have struggled with greater or lesser success to understand them. For the eighteenth-century European, the most intriguing mystery of India was Hinduism, a faith that confusingly seemed to advocate both world-denying asceticism and riotous physical pleasure. Why were some Hindu temples, unlike English cathedrals, richly decorated with erotic sculpture? Where the Christian god endured unbearable suffering, Hindu gods seemed to rejoice in sex. But around 1800, one man, Charles Stuart, decided to explain to the British that Hinduism should be seriously studied and greatly admired. As part of his campaign, he collected and displayed pieces of ancient temple sculpture - and one of those pieces is the object of this programme.

"This Maharaja Chitraketu was passing by, and he thought it was very funny that Shiva himself was sitting there having a class on spiritual life and detachment, with his wife sitting on his lap, a very attractive wife, with his arm around her. And he just . . . he laughed!" (Shaunaka Rishi Das)

"Hinduism is about joy, but it never forgets the struggle." (Karen Armstrong)

湿婆与雪山女神像

石制雕像，来自印度奥里萨邦

公元一千一百年至公元一千三百年

在大英博物馆工作总会遇到很多惊喜，其中之一便是，我们时常会发现在印度教雕像前恭敬地摆放着鲜花或水果。这样的场景总是很动人，它表明宗教物品虽然被送进了世俗的博物馆，却也未必会丧失神圣性。这也让我们想起，在二一年英格兰及威尔士的人口普查中，有接近5%的居民声称他们的家庭出身于印度次大陆。

这是一段悠长共享的历史中的片段，在这段历史中，虽然暴力时有发生，但联系一贯密切。数个世纪以来，英国人一直为印度的文化着迷，并通过努力多少了解了他们。对十八世纪的欧洲而言，印度最大的奥秘是印度教，因为这种宗教一方面鼓吹否定世界的禁欲主义，一方面提倡放浪的肉体欢愉，令人困惑不已。为什么很多印度教寺庙有别于英国的基督教堂，遍布带有色情意义的雕像？基督教的耶稣承受着剧烈的痛苦，而印度教的众神却沉溺在肉欲之欢中。1800年左右，一个名叫查尔斯·斯图亚特的英国人决心向国人证明，印度教应该受到广泛尊崇与认真研究。

收集和展示古印度寺庙中的雕像也是他行动的一部分，其中之一便是本节要介绍的文物。