Every Baluchari is set apart by the embroidery on the endpiece. The theme is usually a popular episode from any of the itihasas. In a twist of the contemporary, this one comes with simple apsara motifs. Zoom in on the panels to appreciate the attention and precision with which the heavenly beauties have been depicted in the midst of their music-making, dance, and shringar routines. More of the apsaras are sparsely woven onto the field of the saree. Team this Baluchari with the best of your mother’s gold and jewel hand-me-downs.
Fashioned from karuppu kal (black granite), the process involved is time-intensive and speaks volumes about the skill and temperament of the sculptors. Multiple rounds of stenciling and chiselling call for the attention of up to 50 craftsmen on a single work of art such as this one. Note the graciousness of the curves at each juncture of the deity’s roopa, the dynamism of the silhouette - these are the hallmarks of the region’s devotional handiwork.
The trishool in His hand contrasts sharply with the sweet-sounding conch in Hers; the nakedness of His raised leg, with the pleats of Her dhoti; the musculature of His torso, with the sharp curve of Her waist; the fierce-hooded snake, with the shringar of Her kundalas. A single lotus-engraved halo behind the head matches the double-tiered lotus pedestal on which the tandava is taking place.
This batik composition features a colour palette that is characteristically vivid. The mandapa that houses the central Devi figure is painted with brilliant orange brushstrokes, such that it gives off a realistic dimensional effect. A deep blackness permeates the space within, which is the colour of sattvaguna. The gaze of the Devi Mahishasuramardini has all the determination and invincibility of the wife of Lord Shiva, as She clutches the vanquished Mahishasura by the hair. Note the severed head of his vahana, the buffalo, lying at Her feet.
There are plenty of giveaways in this composition when it comes to its delta-style handiwork. The broad, multi-spired crown; the white and red saree draped after typical Bengali fashion; and the pastel-coloured chaandmala (garland of moons) that She holds in one of Her hands. Hints of green and red and strategic infusions of white add to the glamour of this painting.
Lord Shiva is in His characteristic tigerskin loincloth. A bunch of snakes is His only adornment, besides the multitude of rudrakshas on His arms and torso. In one of His hands He holds a dotted kamandalu, without which no picture of the ascetic is complete. His wife, the beauteous Devi Parvati, is in a silk dhoti and gold shringar. She holds in Her delicate hand the lotus of compassion as She looks on at the realm of existence beneath Her heavenly abode. While Her hair is parted in traditional style down the centre and held back with a classical tiara, His is gathered in coils on the top of His head in keeping with the conventional iconography of Lord Shiva.
The couple is standing on a lotus pedestal carved with great finesse. It is in full bloom, its spaced-out petals engraved with dense lines along the edges and centre.
Setting off the unusual tint of green is the flaming scarlet endpiece. The entirety of it has been embroidered with dense proportions of the Banaras-famous zariwork (gold thread embroidery) and finished with a thick brocaded border of matching diamond-weave. The border along the rest of the saree is a gold-coloured one interwoven with sweet purple flowers. Hints of a pale, feminine pink emerge in the endpiece as you motion it against the light. A saree such as this deserves the best of your diamonds.
The mudra of His hands stand for the cyclical (chakra) nature of dharma. In fact, whilst delivering the historic Sarnath sermon, He had assumed the dharmachakra mudra to convey its gravity. The calm, seated figure is flanked by a pair of miniature stupas, which contain a world of blessings and prayers already answered.
The pedestal the Lord is seated on is engraved with lotus petals. The symbol of compassion, each petal and the space between petals have been carved with skillful attention to detail. It is propped up on three-tiered legs that resemble the shape of Tibetan Buddhist stupas. From the Lord’s halo emerges a plethora of snakes, the viciousness of their presence neutralised by the gentle hamsas on the edge of the aureole. The gorgeous latticeworked aureole, with its curvaceous tendrils and leafy protrusions, completes the composition.
His skin is an arresting scarlet colour. Each of His three heads bears a five-spired crown and kundalas dangling from earlobes lengthened by lifetimes of sadhana and accumulated wisdom. His characteristic sword cuts through clouds of avidya (ignorance) and in one of His six hands He holds a manuscript of the Prajnaparamita. The pastel-coloured silks that clothe the Bodhisattva, the tender pink lotus of the pedestal, and the ice-blue fire-spewing creature He is seated on, make for a signature thangka-style colour palette.
At the ends of His aureole sit His two wives, the fairest, most well-endowed beings of the Buddhist paraloka. Across the aureole itself is painted a world of mythical creatures, culminating in a cherub of the tantric world. The peach-coloured lotuses peeking out from the edge of the aureole and the deep blue sky beyond, serve to tone down the aura of these creatures.
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