University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering
Electrical & Computer Engineering

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Back To: Rao's Faculty Bio

N. Narayana Rao

Favorite Sculpture: Arjuna Wijaya Statue


The Arjuna Wijaya Statue was unveiled in August 1987, near the Air Mancur intersection on the southern tip of Jalan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta near the Monas Square. The following is taken from the item "Koki's Corner," printed in The Indonesia Times newspaper dated August 4, 1987.

The statue depicts Arjuna going to war in a chariot driven by God Krishna. The chariot is driven by eight strong horses. It brings to mind the famous Sanskrit poem the Bhagawad Gita (Song of the Lord) which is incorporated into the great Mahabharata epic. The Gita (as it is often called) is the major devotional book of both popular and devotional Hinduism. It consists of a long dialog between the God Krishna and Arjuna, a son of Pandu, the father of the famous Pandawa brothers, just before the great battle of Kurukshetra. Arjuna sees many of his kinsmen and friends in the ranks of the opposing Kaurawa army and is horror-stricken at the thought of the impending bloodbath. He declares that he would rather die than kill those he loves, but Krishna, his charioteer, states that man's soul is immortal and independent of the body; it neither kills nor is killed. The soul partakes in neither the actions nor the sufferings of the body. Gradually Krishna develops a series of approaches to life and destiny, alternate paths to human salvation, the most important of which is the karma-yoga (salvation through the selfless performance of action appropriate to one's station in life). Convinced by Krishna, Arjuna joins the battle and destroys the enemy. The Gita, with its almost universal appeal, has been much translated. The Rp. 300 million statue is made of ceramic and has been donated by a private ceramic industry. 404 Page Not Found | Electrical & Computer Engineering | UIUC

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Grainger College of Engineering
Electrical & Computer Engineering

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