The beauteous Devi Rajarajeshvari is seated on a throne of intricately engraved gold. She is the Tripura Sundari, the greatest beauty (‘sundari’) across all three (‘tri’) settlements (‘pura’, which may refer to anything from the three realms of existence or ‘loka’ to the three constituent elements of being or ‘guna’); the painting that you see on this page testifies to this truth of the Shakta texts.
A saree of shimmering gold colour clothes Her graceful figure. Adornments of gold and pearl and ruby complement the make of the crown on Her head. In the anterior pair of Her four hands, She bears a bouquet of fresh blooms and a sugarcane, indicative of the sweetness and the freshness of Her persona. The back of Her throne is upholstered in vivid vermillion velvet, the colour of youth and fecundity.
An archway in the foreground of the painting resembles a traditional temple entrance. The ubiquitous patterns of inlaid rubies and emeralds are symbolic of the otherworldly glamour of Rajarajeshvari. The gesso and the 24K gold embellishments complement each other superbly, wherein lies proof of the skilled Tanjore artisan. A painting as superb as this would add to the auspiciousness of your home or office.
A scene of true devotion is depicted in this Tanjore painting, where an idol of Lord Shiva in cerulean stands in contrast to the dramatic, red backdrop. Kannappa, as he was called, was a forest hunter by profession. On one of his excursions, he saw Lord Shiva’s idol among the trees and began to offer his prayers daily. He would make a garland of forest flowers and hunt forest animals to bring to his lord. However, a priest who was taking care of the temple started feeling uneasy about the way the temple was handled by the hunter and he complained to the lord about it. The Lord replied that Kannapa was a true devotee and told the priest to come again another day to witness his prayers. Kannapa came to make his prayers while the priest hid behind a tree and watched him. Ruby red droplets of blood formed on the idol and began to fall from the lord’s eye. Kannapa blinded himself so Lord Shiva could see better. His love was so overwhelming that the lord appeared before him and embraced him with love. This Tanjore painting is studded with stones and etched in gold, the gleam of them adding to the sanctity of this scene.
The glamour of the Nataraja as He dances: the all-annihilating tandava, the avidya-roopi (ignorance personified) Apasmara trampled underfoot. The Tanjore-style iconography of dancing Shiva that you see on this page features a softer, fuller physique, contorted into a particularly difficult stance. He is the ashtabhujadhari Nataraja, the one possessed of (‘dhari’) eight (‘ashta’) arms (‘bhuja’), with a leg raised as high as the posteriormost arm.
Maa or mother is the simplest yet the most powerful address to the divine female energy, Shakti, the great goddess in Hindu culture. She begins life as Saraswati, sustains it as Lakshmi, and annihilates to bring a balance in creation as Kali. In between these three potent forms, she takes innumerable incarnations to fulfill the needs of Srishti or creation, just as a mother plays every role for her child. Maa Shakti is the sole Dayini, provider for her devotees, who call upon her to nurture them with her life-affirming benevolence. This roopa of the mother goddess can be best envisioned as Devi Annapurna (she who provides Anna or food grain), an expansion of Parvati Amman, the wife of Shiva and the divine manifestation of Prakriti (primeval feminine energy). Hindu textual sources tell the story of Devi Parvati, who enraged by Shiva’s disregard for food as a figment of Maya, a divine mirage that runs the universal order, disappeared from Srishti, leaving gods, humans, sages, and other life forms ravaged with hunger. The might of Mahamaya, Maa Parvati who is the source and end of all illusions was realized by Shiva who then paid a visit to his wife residing in Kashi as Annapurna, distributing her affection and food to anyone who came to her door.
This exquisite painting displays Krishna’s childhood pastime in the traditional Tanjore style. The precision with which it has been made and the use of vibrant colors make it appealing and breathtaking. Lord Krishna being the Supreme Lord, appeared just like an ordinary child in Vrindavan but His naughty and uncommon activities were always astonishing for all the inhabitants of Vraja including Nanda Maharaja and Maa Yashoda and His bodily features are even sweeter than honey.
The majestic and authentic Tanjore paintings, that draw their roots from a small village in South India, are famous for their use of vivid colors and gold coating. Here, the presiding deity of Tirupati Temple, Lord Venkateshvara, also known as Balaji, is portrayed in a magical way. He is consisidered to be a form of Lord Vishnu, who descended on the earth in Kaliyuga from His divine abode Vaikuntha to establish Dharma. This portray is different from any other artwork and exclusively shows the rich culture of the Thanjavur village.
Devi Rati is the complement and the constant companion of Kamadeva, the deity of love and its expression in desire. In the painting that you see on this page, the sumptuous Tanjore idiom captures the luxuriance of Rati’s beauty. She is seated on the back of Her vahana (divine mount), the parrot, a recurring faunal motif in the romantic imagination of the Indian psyche.
In the traditional lalitasana stance, the fair limbs of Rati are drawn quite wide apart. As the Devi of amorous intimacy and everything it entails, such a stance conveys Her suppleness and agility. She is clad in a choli (blouse) that reveals the curves of Her shoulders; Her ghagra (skirt) is short. Her long, lithe limbs are exposed to view, clasped in studded gold that has the same lustre as the complexion of Her body.
The painting features ample gold embellishment, in keeping with the traditional Tanjore style as well as the nature of the subject. Every bit of the Devi’s attire and adornment is fashioned from inlaid gold. The same applies to the adornment of Her vahana and its plumage. She looks delicately into a shiny silver mirror, the neck tilting forward from the weight of the bun behind Her head.
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