Ashtadasa-bhuja-dhari Mahishasura-Mardini

$155
Item Code: DL49
Artist: Vibhooti Jha
Specifications:
Madhubani Painting on Hand Made PaperFolk Painting from the Village of Madhubani (Bihar)Artist: Vibhooti Jha
Dimensions 20.5 inch X 28.5 inch
Handmade
Handmade
Free delivery
Free delivery
Fully insured
Fully insured
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
Fair trade
Fair trade
Almost completely line-drawn except a few densely drawn areas, this characteristic Madhubani painting, rendered using black for the main painting part : the figures of the goddess, her mount lion, demon Mahisha and the buffalo the demon emerges from, her ensemble, the demon’s drapery, tentage used for defining the sanctum and the outer border, green for background and deep orange for drawing the inner border, and the flower-motifs, in the outer, represents the eighteen-armed manifestation of Goddess Durga killing the buffalo-demon Mahisha. This form of the goddess is widely known in texts and visual arts as Ashtadasa-bhuja-dhari Mahishasura-Mardini : the eighteen-armed eliminator of demon Mahisha. Though every time her form is conceived anew revealing not only the drama in a different way but also its completely new version using a different palette and a widely different iconographic model, in folk arts, particularly in Madhubani paintings, this eighteen-armed form of the goddess is more often painted than any of her other manifestations, perhaps for finding in it greater scope for ingenuity, dramatics and for creating the rhythm that her other forms do not yield so naturally.

The painting represents the goddess against a background patterned with bricks’ like tiny forms drawn with dots-like green lines representing perhaps the sky that the goddess is believed to pervade. Her figure has been installed under a canopied apex, symbolic of a sanctum which the beautifully draped corners and the centre define. All three sets of drapery adorning the corners and the centre are beautifully designed and patterned using floral and geometric designs. A warrior-like poised the goddess has a robust figure with a massive build : broad shouldered and tall-statured, modeled like the Greco-Roman god Hercules, though in relation to her figure she has a frail narrow neck, almost like a connecting rod, and as disproportionate small face which an oversize nose and eyes dominate. With a small tuft on the back her hair is typically dressed. It trails down the hip height flanking on either side covering the entire backdrop of the figure. She has been portrayed as carrying in her right hands ‘khdga’ – a sword-like weapon with saws, a multi-bladed ‘chakra’ – disc, a pair of arrows, noose, mace, battle-axe, ‘kamandala’ – water-pot, a lance and a trident; in those on the left, she is holding conch, bow, snake, a chopper with a handle, lotus, rod, shield, rosary and bell. Among them the disc, mace and conch are the attributes of Vishnu, ‘kamandala’ – water pot with a handle and spout, and rosary, Brahma’s, and trident and serpent, besides the ‘tri-netra’ on her forehead, those of Shiva. She has in her hands Lakshmi’s lotus, Saraswati’s rosary, and on her breast, Kali’s garland of skulls.

The larger part of the canvas has been occupied by the massive figure of goddess Durga. Her eighteen arms branching from her figure, not merely from shoulders but the entire breast-region, ring around the centre of the canvas creating, especially by the deep black areas of the forearms and elbows conceived as their adornment, the magic of form and great rhythm. She has her mount lion under her but she is not riding it. Rather she lets it free to charge at its target and herself rides the figures of Mahisha : the demon in human form and in the animal form of buffalo. Simultaneous to piercing his breast with her lance and trident, she tramples the demon’s body under one of her feet shot at it a missile-like and with the other, she crushes the buffalo’s figure, completely overwhelming them both. The animal’s decapitated head is lying away and the demon’s ferocious human form with dreadful weapons in hands has emerged out of it, but the alert goddess overpowers it before it did any harm. Her mount lion is as quick in action. Left free to have its role it overpowers the buffalo by its claws, and grabs Mahisha’s chopper-holding hand by its jaws completely disabling it to strike back.

As the mythical tradition has it, a demon by the name of Mahisha, a term that meant buffalo, once ruled the earth. By his great penance it had won from Brahma the boon of invincibility against all males : men, gods or beasts, by which it turned into a highly ambitious and arrogant ruler. After grabbing the entire earth Mahisha invaded heaven and defeating Indra and all his gods evicted them of Indraloka – the abode of Indra. Defeated and humiliated gods under Indra approached Brahma for rescuing them from Mahisha’s atrocities. Brahma revealed to them as to how Mahisha had won the boon of immunity from death at the hands of all males. On Brahma’s advice they decided to seek the help of a female divinity as she alone could kill Mahisha. After due deliberations gods decided to create a female warrior out of their spiritual power and with their own attributes besides bestowing on her absolute divine beauty and female graces, as at need such attributes may also serve in accomplishing her errand. Thus they created the Great Goddess, out of their own powers and with their attributes. The great sage Narada was given the responsibility of apprising her of the gods’ sad plight and the errand for which they created her. The Goddess delightfully accepted the prayer of gods and later in a fierce war killed the buffalo demon Mahisha.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

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