llustration to a Ragamala series: Bhairavi Ragini

Dateca. 1775

MediumOpaque pigments and gold on paper, laid down on a buff album page with gold ruling

DimensionsImage: 8 × 5 1/8 inches (20.3 × 13 cm);
Overall (folio): 11 3/4 × 7 3/8 inches (29.8 × 18.7 cm)

CultureIndia, Hyderabad

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineAcquired through the George and Mary Rockwell Fund

Terms

Paintings
Indian

Object number2018.017.001

Label CopyIn this night scene cast with silvery moonlight, a woman performs a puja devotional ceremony to the Hindu god Shiva, represented in the form of a lingam that symbolizes his creative power. The woman calls the divinity with the sound of a small pair of clappers, while beside her are other accoutrements of worship: fruit and flower offerings, garlands, water and a lighted lamp. Surrounding the shrine is a lotus pond and a sacred peepal tree, with a white palace visible in the distance. A waterspout in the form of Shiva’s vehicle, the bull Nandi, circulates water to the pond. This painting comes from a dispersed Ragamala (Garland of Musical Modes) series of paintings. The most common configuration of ragamala comprises thirty-six musical modes: six male modes, called raga, and thirty female modes, known as ragini (five "wives" for each male). Each connotes a particular mood, season and time of day.

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