Yogi cat and his devotee mice - shree limn arts
Cat praying for their prey
Title : Meditating cat
Medium : Stone
Date : Pallava Period 7th century
Finding Site : Mamallapuram
Size : 3 ft
Artist : Unknown
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The picture of a cat and mice are just a few of many mythical, human, and animal figures that grace the face of two massive boulders measuring an astounding 88 feet wide and 30 feet long panel of Arjunan penance or Bhageerathan penance is one of the main attractions. The sculptor has shown a sense of humour by adding a hypocritical cat in the serious penance of Arjuna/Bhageertha. (Allen, 1991, p. 140).
Titled "The Descent of the Ganges" (7th-century) , the carving depicts the famous Hindu myth of Shiva saving the earth from destruction by taking the full force of the Ganges River on his head as the goddess associated with the holy body of water descends from heaven.
It's interesting to note that the cleft between the boulders acts as a channel through which rainwater flows like the Ganges. The carving is part of the great Mamallapuram temple complex in Tamil Nadu built by the Pallava King Narasimhavarman I, popularly known as Mamalla ("Great Fighter", r. 630-668 CE) (Subramanian, 2003, p. 31-34). 
The site is famous for its numerous examples of Pallava architecture and rock-cut base reliefs.Scholars were debating whether the sculpture panel was about Bhageeratha’s penance or Arjuna’s penance. Bhageeratha was one of the earliest engineers of India. He diverted the course of Ganges towards the Bay of Bengal and made India fertile
One of the Sangam works, Paripatal (19-50), refers to the beautiful paintings in Tirupparankundram near Madurai. It was a painting that existed 2000 years ago. The painting shows Indra running in the guise of a cat after molesting Ahalya. May be this episode was the origin of the Rudraksha cat story.
The cat (called Rudraksha Cat) and mice are situated to the bottom right of the aforementioned cleft (just under the tusks of a nearby elephant), making it appear as if the feline is standing next to the Ganges river. This is a clear reference to a story told in the 160th chapter (Ulukadutagamana Parva) of the great Hindu epic the Mahabharata (circa 4th-century BCE). 
The story tells of a cat who takes up yogin ascetic practices right next to the holy river. Animals normally considered its prey, such as birds and mice, come to pay homage to the feline, the latter even asking the yogi to take them under his protection. The cat promises to save them from danger (presumably through magic powers gained from his austerities), but asks only that a small group of them come every day to move his weak body to the river's edge (and presumably back again).
The story tells of a cat who takes up yogin ascetic practices right next to the holy river. Animals normally considered its prey, such as birds and mice, come to pay homage to the feline, the latter even asking the yogi to take them under his protection. The cat promises to save them from danger (presumably through magic powers gained from his austerities), but asks only that a small group of them come every day to move his weak body to the river's edge (and presumably back again). This, however, is a clever ruse because the cat eats the mice who come to fulfill their sworn duty. He grows fatter and fatter as the mice population gets smaller and smaller. The rodents finally realize what's happening and flee the area, leaving the cat to return whence it came. This story is used as a moralistic tale against deceptive behavior (Dutt, 1895, pp. 219-220)
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Author: unknown
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History of art in India
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To be continue
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