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 redspeckled yellow border. This follows, as Sajnu is known for the use of spandrels to frame his compositions and an exquisite use of florals.