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Nepal - Early Paintings of The Goddess in Nepal
Nepal - Early Paintings of The Goddess in Nepal
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EARLY PAINTINGS OF THE GODDESS IN NEPAL
BY PRATAPADITYA PAL
THE MOTHER GODDESS, IN HER MYRIAD MANIFESTA- trations of Sakta themes known to date portray the
tions, continues to enjoy great popularity in Nepal. Seven Matrkas, or Mothers, along with Gane'a (fig.
There is reason to believe that her cult is among the 1). These figures occur on the inside of two wooden
most ancient in that country. Her most common covers now in the British Library.5Their diminutive
appellation is "Bhagavatli," a term almost uni- size notwithstanding, the depictions are excep-
versally applied to any image of a goddess, but in tionally graceful and vibrant. Unfortunately, some
particular to that aspect known as Mahisasura- of the figures are more damaged than others, but
mardini, or "destroyer of the buffalo-demon." those colors which remain have preserved their
Curiously, representations of Mahis-suramardinT freshness remarkably well, considering the age of the
cannot be dated much earlier than the tenth century, painting.
which is also the date of the earliest surviving The Seven Mothers are led by Gan.esa,whose white
manuscript of the DerCimihitmya, a text glorifying figure is silhouetted against a blue aureole and a red
Durga as the destroyer of Mahisasura and other halo. His trunk is outlined in pink; he sits gracefully
asuras.' with his weight partially supported by his gray rat.
For a Sakta, a follower of Devi who is also known This is no ordinary rat, however, but is of gigantic
as Sakti (meaning "power" or "energy"), the proportions. Obviously, the illuminator found it
Devimiihitmya has the same significance as the incongruous to depict a rat of normal size carrying
Bible has for a Christian. It is customary for a devout such an enormous burden. Among Ganes'a's attri-
Sakta to read the text himself or to have it recited by a butes we can recognize the rosary, the battleaxe, and
brahmin. Often, a devotee would also commission a his broken tusk.
manuscript for a special occasion and donate it to a Like Ganesa, each Mother is seated upon her
brahmin. The text is recited every day for ten days respective mount. Mahe'vari and IndrdnTsit with
during the autumn festival of the Goddess. The their legs loosely crossed at the ankles; the others sit
Newark Museum possesses a fine illuminated copy in the more relaxed and graceful posture known as
of a DevTm?ihiitmyamanuscript that was commis- lalitasana, where one leg is pendant. Each goddess
sioned on one of these holy days in 1477 by Prince has four arms; the principal two hands hold a skull-
Rdyamalla, very likely to ensure his success in cup (right) and display the gesture of exposition
battle.2 In the Devimhiihtmya, the Goddess explicitly (left). This particular combination of the attribute
says that the person who reads this text will not and the gesture with the two principal hands is a
experience fear from enemies, robbers, or kings feature common to Tantric images of the Goddess in
(satruto na bhayam tasya dasyuto va na rdjatah// Nepal (fig. 5). It is also rather curious to note that the
chap. 12, v. 6a). Elsewhere we are told that the upper right hand of each goddess holds the same
Goddess protects her devotee from fire, on the object, viz. a damaru, or "kettledrum." The distin-
battlefield, and from great difficulties and disasters. guishing attribute of each is placed in the upper left
A recitation of the text also protects the devotee from hand. Of those that can readily be recognized,
all sorts of psychological problems, from evil Mahesvari holds a trident, Kaumarfiaspear, Vaisnavi
influences of the stars, and from bad dreams. a mace, V5r5hTan elephant goad, Indran.rTa thunder-
Children are protected from evil eyes and from evil bolt, and C5mund- a staff that may be a khatvdhga.
spirits.3 But perhaps the most important reason for As to their mounts, Brahman.i has her goose,
commissioning, reading, or reciting the text was to M5hesvari a yellow bull, Kaumari a peacock,
express piety, thereby securing a place in heaven. Vaisnav1 Garuda, V5r5hi a man, Indranii the ele-
It is also interesting to note that the manuscript of phant, and C-munda a man. The complexion of
the Devizm7ihaitmya(or CanEyf,as it is also called) is Brahman. is yellow, MWhesvarTwhite, Kaum5rT,
often worshipped directly in place of an image of the V5r5hi, and C-munda- are red, Vaisnavi dark green,
Goddess. In certain parts of the country, such as and Indra-ni.orange. IndranT.is further distinguished
Gujarat and Bengal, the Goddess is frequently by the third eye placed horizontally on her forehead;
worshipped as a book. As the NTlamatapurihnatells M5hesvari does not appear to have a third eye.
us, "O twice-born, books should be worshipped in Aesthetically, the illustrations are rendered in the
the temple of Durga. "4 finest Nepali tradition. The outline of the figures is
The earliest and most beautiful manuscript illus- firmly drawn, enclosing the elegant forms with a soft
42 PRATAPADITYAPAL
but sensuous grace. Very little shading is employed beautiful, does help us to corroborate the date of the
to delineate the form, yet a remarkable sense of pictures arrived at by stylistic analysis (see discussion
volume is achieved solely in terms of line and color below).
contrast. Each deity is set off against a background of In spite of the effaced condition of one of the
a different color. Thus, the yellow Brahmd7ii, red illustrations, it is clear that all three representations
Kaum5ri, green Vaisnavil, and orange Indrdn7iare of the Goddess are identical except for complexion
presented against white; the white Mahesvari and red color; these are, respectively, red, green, and blue.
VTr5hTagainst olive green; while Cmuunda's red Each image is placed within a circular aureole of red
gains added intensity by being placed against a deep flames and is framed by red and yellow borders. The
green aureole. The haloes, too, are painted in space between the edge of the aureole and the yellow
different shades of red, green, and mauve. In border is painted deep blue. In each instance, the
addition, darker hues are applied to reinforce the Goddess is nimbate, has twelve arms carrying
outlines of the aureoles, providing even greater relief identical attributes (mostly weaporns), and stands
to the figures. Thus, a perceptible sense of depth is astride her lion-vdhana and the decapitated buffalo.
created simply by manipulating the various color No human being, however, emerges from the
surfaces. buffalo's neck; instead, in each illustration the
In addition to the rich complexions of the Goddess releases two serpents which wrap them-
goddesses, the use of variegated drapery designs selves around the necks of two asuras. An identical
confers both a sense of volume and an impression of formula has been employed to represent each of the
liveliness upon the various deities. All of these asuras. Their militancy is apparent in their posture.
(except Camunda) wear garments of beautifully Each asura wields a club with one hand and, with the
printed material of diverse colors. C-munda alone other, attempts to loosen the coils of the deadly
wears an exquisitely rendered tiger-skin which is snake. It is interesting to note the way in which the
more suitable to her depiction as an ascetic with an figures of the asuras spill over the frame of the
emaciated body. illustration. In each of the representations, the
The earliest known painted representations of the Goddess wears a fine, transparent dhoti that reveals
Goddess in her Mahis-asuramardini form occur in her firmly modeled legs. In addition, a jacket
three stray palm leaves which may have belonged to a designed like a cuirass hugs her voluptuous body.
DevTmdhitmya manuscript and which are now in The red goddess wears a blue jacket, while the green
the British Library (fig. 2). Only a single sentence is and blue goddesses wear red jackets. On one of the
written on the back of one of the folios (fig. 3), and it folios, a male and female devotee are seen worship-
may be read as follows: ping the Goddess. They may represent the donor of
the manuscript and his wife.
om bhujendra [or bhujahga] kutilakara gajendra kadall-laya tha
salstra-madhye pradhanena likhitah kinna mucyate // This particular formula for representing Ma-
hisasuramardini has remained popular in Nepal.
The inscription is written in poor Sanskrit and is Several representations in stone and bronze are
difficult to understand. I am indebted to Dr. known. The interesting feature of all these de-
Gauriswar Bhattacharjee of the Berlin Museum for pictions is the convention that shows the Goddess, in
the following comments and translation. It is not addition to killing Mahisasura, invariably attacking
quite clear whether the first word is bhuljendra or two other asuras as well. It is difficult to ascertain
bhujanga. If it is bhujendra, then it must have been whether they depict a particular pair of generals,
abbreviated by the author from bhujagendra, the use such as Canda and Mun.da, or Sumbha and Nisum-
of which would have disturbed the meter. A tentative bha. In such representations, Mahisasura is usually
translation, as suggested by Dr. Bhattacharjee, is as seen emerging from the buffalo's neck, but in these
follows: "[Though] lord of the serpents [yet he has a] particular illustrations, the artist has omitted the
shape, [and though] lord of the elephants [yet he has] human form (as is also the case with another version
his resort in the banana plant [which is so weak] [and of the subject rendered on a gilt-bronze manuscript
therefore the person] who has written the foremost of cover).6At any rate, it seems clear that this particular
the scriptures, will he not be liberated?" iconographical variation, as well as the composi-
The inscription indirectly informs us that the text tional formula, was a peculiarity of the Nepali
must have been of the DevTmadhtmya, as this text artistic tradition.
alone would be described as "foremost of the Although diminutive, the illustrations are re-
scriptures" by a S-kta. We can also surmise that the markably animated and vibrant. They exhibit the
text was written by a literate scribe who, however, elegance of manner characteristic of better-known
was no Kalidasa. The style of writing, which is quite Buddhist manuscript illuminations. They are, in
EARLY PAINTINGS OF THE GODDESS IN NEPAL 43
fact, stylistically comparable to some fine Pani- Although both assume the same militant posture,
caraksii illuminations in the Los Angeles County there are striking differences between the two figures.
Museum of Art (fig. 4). There, too, we notice similar One of the goddesses is double-complexioned (fig.
compositions which depict kneeling figures repre- 7). Her face, torso, shoulders, and upper arms are
senting forces of disease and evil, who tum away as if painted white, but her forearms, hips, and legs are
unable to bear the wrath of the Goddess. In both black. As far as I know, deities with two complexions
manuscripts, the drawing is exceptionally fine and are encountered in the Vajrayana Buddhist pan-
the compositions lively. The donor couple in the theon, but there the two complexions are divided
Dev-m&hiitmya folio is especially engaging. Less along a vertical axis. Because of the damaged
than an inch in size, they are fully modeled figures, at condition of the illustration, it is not clear how many
once dignified and elegant. The details of their arms the Goddess has, but the number appears to be
garments and physical features, as well as the eighteen. In the second of these two images (fig. 8),
offerings before them, are precisely articulated. In the Goddess is uniformly dark and is given at least
general, the luminous colors of these small pictures ten heads and probably an equal number of legs and
reflect the intensity and richness of early Buddhist arms.
manuscript illuminations. The half-white, half-black goddess with her
The most richly illustrated Nepali manuscript of eighteen arms may represent the universal, or
the Dezimdhdtmya is in the Bharat Kala Bhavan visvariipa, form of the Goddess. The DevTmdhdtmya
(figs. 5-15). In terms of both narrative intent and tells us that she is to be worshipped in her eighteen-
iconographic feature, this is the most elaborately armed form despite the fact that she has a thousand
illuminated manuscript known to date. The pic- arms (as!ddasabhujii pu-jya sai sahasrabhuij satU/).
tures, which are generally placed in the center of the The other figure with multiple heads and limbs is
folio, illustrate literally the themes narrated in the almost certainly Mahakll, who is the presiding
text. A few of the illustrations depict hieratic deity of the first part (prathamacaritram) of the text.
representations of the goddess Durga, or Ambika. In She is described as follows:
addition to these, the artist has provided some
I resort to Mahakali, who has ten faces, ten legs and holds in her
remarkably lively renderings of combat scenes. hands the sword, disc, mace, arrows, bow, club, spear, missile,
A typical hieratic representation (fig. 5) shows us human head and conch, who is three-eyed, adorned with
three devotees, wearing dhoti, ornaments, and tiaras, ornaments on all her limbs, and luminous like a blue jewel and
engaged in adoring a white-complexioned goddess whom Brahma extolled in order to destroy Madhu and Kaitabha,
who is seated on a blue lion. The four hands on the when Visnu was in [mystic] sleep.7
right hold a skull-cup, an elephant goad, an arrow, Far more visually exciting are the narrative scenes
and a sword. Those on the left display a shield, a in which the Goddess (or another deity) is seen in
bow, a noose, and the gesture of exposition. combat with various asuras. One of the folios (fig. 9)
Although the image does not correspond to any illustrates a fight between a four-armed deity and
particular description in the text, it may represent two asuras beside a water tank. Menacing serpents
the Goddess as Mah5sarasvati, the presiding deity of coil around the feet of the deity, who has four arms
the third part of the text. The red background is and carries a lotus, a conch, a club, and a wheel. The
strewn with flowers; these are seen in the majority of divine figure is attacked by the two asuras. While it
the illustrations. The three devotees, shown in three- may initially appear that this scene represents
quarter profile, stand or kneel quite naturally. Two Visnu's battle with Madhu and Kaitabha, who
of them may represent King Suratha and the emerged from the god's ears while he was engaged in
merchant Samadhi, for whom the text was narrated cosmic sleep on the ocean, the form of the deity is in
by the sage Medhas. fact unusual. The figure seems to be bisexual. The
In another hieratic representation, two goddesses, face with the third eye (unusual for Visnu) appears to
one white and one black, are shown seated in an be identical with the faces of other images of the
identical manner on a single lotus (fig. 6). The skull- Goddess. There is also a slight indication of a breast
cup and the gesture of meditation are common to on the left side of the chest, although this is not as
both, but the white goddess carries a bow and an fully delineated as it is in the female figures.
arrow and the black goddess a sword and a noose. However, unlike the Goddess, this figure wears a
Once again, the images do not agree with any of the short dhoti, which would indicate that, despite a few
descriptions in the text but are obviously two feminine traits, the figure does indeed represent the
different manifestations of the Devi. god Visnu. The composition is enlivened by the
In two other folios (figs. 7, 8), two very spirited fluid interaction between the figures and the ser-
images are shown being worshipped by devotees. pents, and the ocean is depicted conceptually, using
44 PRATAPADITYAPAL
a formula that is typical of contemporary Indian a chunk from Mahis-sura's shoulder. The demon
paintings. looks around helplessly as he attempts to unsheathe
One of the curious features of the Devzmdhdtmya his sword. The composition, which is characterized
is that the Goddess frequently fights a pair of asuras, by considerable drama and action, continues the
such as Sumbha and Nisumbha, or Canda and basic formula which we have encountered in the
Munda. Another is that the climax of the text is not earlier representations of the theme (fig. 2). Here,
the death of Mahis-sura; rather, it is the destruction however, the human Mahisasura is included, and the
of Sumbha and Nisumbha. two additional asuras are excluded. In a sense,
Can.da and Mund.a, the two generals of Sumbha therefore, the earlier illustrations encapsulate in a
and Nisumbha, spot the Goddess in the mountains single composition all of the various battles de-
and report back to their masters, praising her scribed in the DeviTmdhdtmya.
incomparable beauty. Sumbha sends Sugriva to The background of the Bharat Kala Bhavan illus-
persuade the Goddess to be his wife. In a charming trations is invariably painted red and is speckled
illustration (fig. 10), the Goddess, poised on a rock, with flowers, symbolic of the divine presence. Most
converses with the messenger, who has doubtless just of the figures are modeled by means of outline, with
finished extolling his master's masculine prowess the exception of the buffalo, whose form assumes
and abilities. The Goddess is visualized as a demure greater plasticity due to light shading and the
country girl who is out tending her goats and has met reinforcing of its outline. The figure types have
a handsome young soldier. In a second composition undergone slight modifications. The Goddess is
(fig. 11), we encounter the juxtaposition of two always shown with a naked torso, and her features
different scenes. The seated Goddess appears to be are also somewhat different. Of particular interest,
watching herself or one of her emanations destroy however, are the more convincing (because more
the two asuras who had dared to insult her. Her naturalistic) representations of the battle scenes in
wrath is clearly expressed by the vigorous manner in the Bharat Kala Bhavan manuscript (as opposed to
which she pulls the asura by his hair and simul- their more hieratic depiction in the British Museum
taneously thrusts her trident into his body. The folios). The artist has made obvious attempts to
second asura has already been slain. Other illus- enliven the different battles by showing both the
trations (figs. 12, 13) depict the Goddess engaging Goddess and the asuras in various postures and
two asuras, once with a sword and again with the positions. The compositions, as a result, are more
trident. These conflicts between goddess and asuras variegated, fluid, and visually exciting. Noteworthy,
are quite credible. The protagonists are the same size, too, are the colorful and decorative rocks with their
and the Goddess is shown without her divine cubelike shapes, a hallmark of early Nepali paint-
attributes. She is, in fact, essentially human-a ing.
charming young girl who sometimes has a temper To establish the dates of isolated book covers and
tantrum and kills an asura or two. Not even a nimbus manuscript pages is always a difficult task. For-
is provided to suggest her divinity. tunately, we are on rather secure ground here because
In two remaining battle scenes, however, the of the enormous amount of dated Buddhist material
Goddess is provided with additional arms so that we that has survived and because of the state of the
are left in no doubt about her divine nature. In one of knowledge of Nepali paleography.
these paintings (fig. 14), she is shown impaling the The three isolated folios representing the three
asura Raktablija. Raktabija was a privileged asura: Durgas can be dated with fair certainty on both
every time he bled, another asura would be created stylistic and paleographical grounds. The script in
from each drop of his blood. Durga, therefore, which the short inscription is written is described by
ordered K-arlto stretch her tongue out and lap up the Bendall as the "early hooked Nepalese hand."8 The
blood before it could fall upon the ground. In the paleography closely follows the script found in
illustration, K-arl only her bust is shown-stretches various datable manuscripts in the Cambridge
out her enormous tongue to swallow not merely a University Library, including that of a Kurukullia
drop of blood, but an entire asura. Kalpa, dated to 1179, and the Sddhanamdla--tantraof
The last combat scene (fig. 15) depicts the final 1165.9 As we have already pointed out, the paintings
battle between Durg-aand Mahisasura. The Goddess are stylistically close to the beautiful Paficaraksa
is now equipped with eight arms. She stands astride illustrations of the first half of the thirteenth century
the shoulder of the decapitated buffalo and the (fig. 4) as well as to the painted covers of a
attacking lion-vdhana. With one of her left hands, Sivadharma manuscript of 1139 in the Cambridge
she pulls the buffalo by its tail; with another, she University Library.'0 Thus, a date in the second half
clutches Mahisasura's hair. The lion is about to take of the twelfth century for these three isolated leaves
EARLY PAINTINGS OF THE GODDESS IN NEPAL 45
would not be inappropriate. Stylistically, the covers little doubt that, together, the nine goddesses
with the Seven Mothers are so close to the Durga constitute the Navadurga mandala. The central
paintings that it seems obvious that they were lotus is superimposed on two intersecting squares
painted at about the same time. which produce eight triangles at the corners. These
I have elsewhere dated the Bharat Bala Bhavan triangles and the eight interstices contain sixteen
Devzmdh&tmyapaintings to the fourteenth century. representations of the Mother Goddesses ($odas'a
A more careful analysis of the paleography seems to Matrka). The octagon is surrounded by an outer
favor a date in the first half of that century. The style circle with a flaming perimeter. This circle is
of writing seems generally to conform to that seen in inhabited by the eight guardians of the directions
a manuscript of Riama-nka-Natikia,written in 1360 (dikpala), each seated within a gateway and flanked
and now preserved in the Cambridge University by a pair of goddesses of whom some are dancing, but
Library." However, some of the letters continue to most are seated. The exact identification of this
use earlier forms typical of manuscripts of the group of sixteen figures is uncertain. Beyond the
thirteenth century. fiery fringe, in the two lower corners, are two more
The stylistic elements of the Devzmdhihtmya terrifying goddesses flanked by animal-headed com-
illustrations are closer to the Indian Museum panions. Each goddess stands in pratyadi4ha posture
Astasiihasrika Prajniipiiramita manuscript'2 of 1367 on a corpse; while one is multiarmed, the other holds
than to such mid-thirteenth-century paintings as a chopper and a skull-cup with her two hands.
those of the Los Angeles Panfcaraksa. While the Presumably, there were two other similar groups in
figures of the hieratic goddesses still retain the soft the upper corners of the mandala.
sensuousness of the earlier representations, the The group of Navadurg-asis described twice in the
subsidiary figures, including the asuras, are not Agnipuriina, once in the Bhavisyapurd-na,and once
quite as elegant as those in the Panicaraksii illus- in the Kiranaigama.14 In all three texts, the nine
trations (fig. 4). The modeling seems somewhat goddesses are said to be identical except for their
more attenuated and brittle, and both the propor- complexions and to possess eighteen arms. The
tions and the facial features have changed sub- attributes and weapons, however, differ in the
stantially. However, the remarkable continuity of different lists. The iconography here seems to
the tradition is demonstrated by the fact that the correspond closely to the description given in
artist has used the same formula for delineating the chapter fifty of the Agnipura-na.
rocks as did his predecessor in the well-known The nine Durgas have the following names:
illustrations of the Astasaihasrikii Prajfnipdramita Rudracan.d, Pracan.d.a, Can.dogra, Candanayika,
manuscript of 1015 in the Cambridge University Candd, Candavatd, Candar-upa, Aticandika, and
Library. 'I Ugracanda-." Of these, Ugracan.da is the principal
A painting on cloth from about the same period is deity and is represented in the center of the mandala.
now in the collection of the Los Angeles County Each goddess stands in alidha posture with the right
Museum of Art (fig. 16). Stylistically, this cloth foot on the lion. With one hand, she pulls the asura
painting does not differ from the numerous Bud- by the hair as he emerges from the buffalo and, with
dhist paintings surviving from this period. It is, another, drives the trident into his chest.
however, a rare art-historical document, for no Nothing is said in any of these texts about the
earlier painting of the Goddess has survived, even in other deities to be included in the mandala. Thus,
India. The painting has been damaged at the top, but apart from being the earliest example, iconograph-
along the bottom are three panels, exactly as we find ically this fragmentary painting represents the most
in Buddhist paintings, which represent the per- elaborate mandala of Navadurgas known so far. In
formance of various rituals by a priest, a lively scene fact, as de Mallmann observed, Navadurga repre-
with dancers and musicians, and a row of donors. sentations are so rare that she could cite only one
The painting represents a mandala consisting of a damaged example now in the Rajshahi Museum.'6 It
central figure of the Goddess destroying Mahis-sura; is also interesting to note that all nine names of the
both are enshrined within the pericarp of a lotus. goddesses contain the word canda, leaving no room
Eight other goddesses, identical except for their for doubt that they are the angry manifestations of
complexions, are portrayed on the outer petals of the the Goddess. And yet, we are told in the Agnipuraina
lotus. Each is given eighteen arms; hence, we can that consecration of the Navadurgas increases sons
surmise that the effaced central figure must also have and other things for the devotee (navadurgaIhsyuh
had eighteen arms carrying different weapons and sthdpyadhputrdddi-vrddhaye).'7
attributes. Each of the goddesses pulls an asura by his Despite its condition, there seems no doubt that
hair and thrusts a trident into his chest. There can be the mandala was executed sometime near the end of
46 PRATAPADITYA PAL
the fourteenth century. Stylistically, it can be placed pre-fifteenth-century India. Most of the extant
somewhere between the Vasudhara mandala of paintings areeitherBuddhistor Jaina. Yet,it would
about 1367 and the Los Angeles Visnu mandala of be difficult to imagine that manuscripts of the
1420.18This becomes particularly clear if we com- Devimhiitmya and the Bhagavatapuriina were not
pare the dancers and musicians in this mandala with copied and illustrated by pious Hindus all over
those in the Vasudhara mandala. In both paintings, medieval India. It would be wrong to assume that
these slim figures are remarkably alike and are Hindus in Nepal were more interestedin painting
characterized by a lively elegance. In general, the thanwereHindusin India.The factthatso fewof the
drawing in the Navadurga mandala is particularly early Hindu illuminated manuscriptshave survived
fine; one can easily surmise how bright and on the subcontinentis no reasonto believethat they
luminous the original colors must have been. did not exist.
As is to be expected, there is abundant material for The recentacquisition by the Simla Museumof a
the study of paintings related to the Goddess after the richly illustrated manuscript of a Devimiihdtmya,
fifteenth century. But the early paintings described purportedlybelonging to the sixteenthcenturyand
above are particularly important, not only for their painted in the Panjab hills, is a case in point.'9
rarity, but also because they push the history of such Simply because no example of sixteenth-century
paintings back to at least the twelfth century. When paintings from that hilly region had come to light
taken together with other known earlier examples of previously, scholars interested in the field were
Hindu paintings that have survived in Nepal, it is almost convinced that painting originated in the
evident that the tradition of mandala paintings and area only in the seventeenthcentury,very possibly
manuscript illumination was not confined only to due to Mughal influence. Such assumptionsare, of
the Buddhists. Meager though they may be, these course,absurd.20It would be worthwhileforscholars
early Nepali paintings have particular relevance for of Indian painting to takea closerlook at Nepal. It is
the study of Indian painting. this areawhich may provideinterestingclues to the
Few paintings depicting Hindu themes, either in lost history of early Hindu painting in India.
manuscript form or on cloth, have survived from
EARLY PAINTINGS OF THE GODDESS IN NEPAL 47
patacitras, which confirms the suggestion made above that painting (among other objects) as suitable images for the
painted images of the Goddess in India must have existed worship of the Goddess (pustakasthiim mahiidevi piaduke
much earlier than the present evidence indicates. Another pratimaisu ca / citre va trizikhe khadge jalasthaim vapi p2u-
passage in the text prescribes both a manuscript and a jayet // vv. 93, 105). See also n. 4 above.
PLATE 1
PAL
I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~P 7-
'~ ~ Jw .\ * gv4'.'~
Ai
FIG. 1. Covers with the Mothers; colors on wood. Twelfth century. The British Library.
PAL PLATE 2
I10U'_w __:
1 14
FII. 2. Folios representingIMahisisuramardini; colors on wood. Twelfth century. The British Library.
b_a
~~~~~~~~M
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4 t w _
PAL PLATE 3
4t
-4i~~~~~~
F. 44
Rvre an AoliceHermn
Th.3 Nas ecCollewthincrition.
i rl_ _ A r- 'n I T v %A<__r
...... r, A-p
.%1|J~4 ? :;j
PAL PPLATE 4
FIG. 5. Mahisarasvati (?), folio from a Devimihitmya ms.; colors FIG. 6. Durga and Kill (?),same ms. as fig. 5.
on palm leaf. Fourteenth century. Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi.
Photographs of figs. 5-15, courtesy, American Institute of Indian
Studies, Varanasi.
4MG.
8
FIG. 7. Universal form of Durga, same ms. as fig. 5. FIG. 8. Maha-k1il, same ins. as fig. 5.
PLATE 5
PAL
I77U
wilw~~~~T~
sI~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i~~~~~I
FIG. 9. Visnu fights Madhu and Kaitabha, FIG. 10. Devi conversing with Sugriva, same ms. as fig. 5.
same ms. as fig. 5.
FIG. 11. Devi destroying asuras, same ms. as fig. 5. FIG. 12. Devi destroying asuras, same ms. as fig. 5.
PLATE 6
PAL
~-I- 1
tAuI
FIG. 13. Devi- destroying asuras, same ins. as fig. 5. FIG. 14. Devi- and Kal11fight with Raktabi-ja, same ms. as fig. 5.