Navratri: Tracing The Historic Trails Of Feminism

Nine nights of invoking the Goddess through Worship and Wisdom!

Mind and Words are Powerless
To encompass your glory
Whose extent is as immeasurable
As that of cosmic space

â€“ Subrahmania Bharati, invocation to Mahashakti

A creator and nurturer, the divine feminine is at once both esoteric and familiar. Navratri, literally meaning nine nights, is the festival to entreat the divine feminine into the conscience. It's a festival that embraces femininity. Navratri recounts the emergence of Devi as the slayer of demons. The roots of feminism date back to Hindu Shakti worship which has embodied boundless feminine power. As the legend (from Devi Mahatmya) goes, the demon king (Mahishasura) received a boon from the creator God Brahma, making him undefeatable by any man, god or demon. When Brahma asks the demon if he wanted to be exempt from defeat by a female as well, the demon's inflated ego puffed up with pride. To the demon, battling a woman was an easy win, and so he declined. The power of Devi was the only force that could withstand and crush the egoistic male pride of the demon king who undermines the power of a woman.

The upcoming line up of objects from our collection showcases the profound confluence of Devi worship and wisdom: forces that selflessly nurture, and fiercely protect.
The present portraiture with immense detailed rendering and accents of gold and silver, glorifies Devi Lalita Maha Tripura Sundari, one of the ten Mahavidya Goddesses.

Lalita Maha Tripura Sundari
Mandi, style of Sajnu, circa 1810
Opaque watercolor heightened with silver and gold on paper
Image: 9 1/8 x 5 7/8 in. (23.2 x 14.9 cm.)
Folio: 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (29.8 x 21 cm.)

Provenance:
Royal Mandi collection.
Acquired by the present owner on the UK art market.

The majesty of this supreme shakti is perfectly captured by this finely decorated Pahari composition. Her beauty, as her name indicates, transcends the vast Tripura (three demon citadels) within which she is believed to have defeated many demons. For she is the transcendent form of the supreme Devi Parvati and rules over the Trimurti (divine triad) of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Thus, she is also known as 'Raja Rajeshwari,' meaning the 'Queen of all Kings and Rulers.'

The mahavidhya's power is not only captured by her elaborate enthronement and godly ornamentation, but also by the ethereal gaze the artist rendered so well; her wide and bright third eye clearly visible in this rendering of the deity in profile. Her identity is revealed by her red skin and her four arms, two of which hold an elephant goad and a lasso.

Her identity is corroborated by a small painted image, pasted within the border atop the painting folio depicting the Parvati yantra: a six-pointed star within an eight-petaled lotus surrounded by a square with gates in the four cardinal directions. It is typical to find such an associated yantra as the worship of shaktis always incorporates these diagrammatic mystic charms. Such worship consists in throwing kumkuma (vermilion powder) over the yantra while speaking aloud the many epithets of Lalita Maha Tripura Sundari.

The present subject is rare among published paintings, however, one example can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum, though it is currently identified as Kali (acc. CIRC.660-1969). The present painting, however, differs quite distinctly in style as it can be attributed to the style of Sajnu, the master artist who is credited with bringing the sophistication of Kangra and Guler paintings of the time to Mandi. Her profile, in particular, resembles many subjects executed by Sajnu (see Archer, W.G., Indian Painting from the Punjab Hills, Sotheby Parke Bernet, London, 1973, Mandi no. 43).

Here, Lalita appears enthroned atop the terrace of a marble palace; a pietre-dure arch between two marble pillars frames the goddess. The black margin with floral petal and leaf scrolls in white and gold meets a red-speckled yellow border. This follows, as Sajnu is known for the use of spandrels to frame his compositions and an exquisite use of florals.