Lord Shiva adorning Parvati

This large painting with a canvas size of31 X 41 inches from Kishangarh, one of the known seats of great medieval art in Rajasthan, is a marvellous work of art with all essentials of erstwhile days. It has caught spring when it is on its peak and the Parijata, the legendary tree of Lord Indra's Paradise, is in full bloom. Lord Shiva, closeted inside a cluster of flowering trees in the valley below the mount Kailash, is adorning Parvati by dressing her hair with garlands of Parijat flowers known never to wither. The painting has inscribed on its top a couplet from Kumarasambhava, the great ancient Indian classic by the known Samskrit playwright Kalidas. As demands the couplet, a fully absorbed Shiva is delightfully adorning Parvati with flowers of Parijat and Parvati, who is unparalleled in beauty and beyond comparison, with her lotus-like eyes cast below is enjoying the supreme bliss.

Usually the legends devoted to this great divine couple do not assign to Shiva a role like that of adorning Parvati. Shiva, known, worshipped and depicted mostly as an augharh , the one who was not cast to anything like a formalism, seems to have blended here in his personality the cult of Krishna. Kishangarh, where this painting has been rendered, was essentially the seat of the ) Pustimarga, a cult of Krishna's worship. Hence, Krishna was not only the prime and sole deity of Kishangarh dynasty and people but also the prime theme of Kishangarh artists. Again Krishna adorning Radha was a popular subject of the medieval paintings. Hence, this Kishangarh artist, an inseparable part of Kishangarh art tradition, visualised Lord Shiva and Parvati much like Radha and Krishna.

The entire back-drop has reflections of Kangra valley and Kangra art style. The beautifully clustered trees with thick foliage painted using various tones of green and superimposed with colourful flowers or variedly coloured leaves remind of Himalayan perspective, an arrangement followed later as a convention in Jaipur and other schools of Rajasthan. Howsoever fine and small in size each leaf has its own distinction. Sharp features, elongated eyes, slim build, high necks, projected breasts, recessed waists and tall figures are characteristic features of Kishangarh art which the artist has combined with the beauty concept of Kalidas who when portraying Parvati visualises her with thick long hair, lotus petal-like delicate lips, co-ca nut like tough and projected breasts, slender waist and deep navel.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of ancient Indian literature. Dr Daljeet is the chief curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the National Museum of India, New Delhi. They have both collaborated on numerous books on Indian art and culture.