nepal - early paintings of the goddess in nepal

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Early Paintings of the Goddess in NepalAuthor(s): Pratapaditya PalSource: Ars Orientalis, Vol. 12 (1981), pp. 41-48Published by: Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institution and Department of theHistory of Art, University of MichiganStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4434248

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EARLY PAINTINGS OF THE GODDESS IN NEPALBY PRATAPADITYAPAL

THE MOTHER GODDESS, IN HER MYRIAD MANIFESTA-tions, continues to enjoy great popularity in Nepal.There is reason to believe that her cult is among themost ancient in that country. Her most commonappellation is "Bhagavatli," a term almost uni-versally applied to any image of a goddess, but inparticular to that aspect known as Mahisasura-mardini, or "destroyer of the buffalo-demon."Curiously, representations of Mahis-suramardinTcannot be dated much earlier than the tenth century,which is also the date of the earliest survivingmanuscript of the DerCimihitmya, a text glorifyingDurga as the destroyer of Mahisasura and otherasuras.'For a Sakta, a follower of Devi who is also knownas Sakti (meaning "power" or "energy"), theDevimiihitmya has the same significance as theBible has for a Christian. It is customary for a devoutSakta to read the text himself or to have it recited by abrahmin. Often, a devotee would also commission amanuscript for a special occasion and donate it to abrahmin. The text is recited every day for ten daysduring the autumn festival of the Goddess. TheNewark Museum possesses a fine illuminated copyof a DevTm?ihiitmyamanuscript that was commis-sioned on one of these holy days in 1477 by PrinceRdyamalla, very likely to ensure his success inbattle.2 In the Devimhiihtmya, the Goddess explicitlysays that the person who reads this text will notexperience fear from enemies, robbers, or kings(satruto na bhayam tasya dasyuto va na rdjatah/chap. 12, v. 6a). Elsewhere we are told that theGoddess protects her devotee from fire, on thebattlefield, and from great difficulties and disasters.A recitation of the text also protects the devotee fromall sorts of psychological problems, from evilinfluences of the stars, and from bad dreams.Children are protected from evil eyes and from evilspirits.3 But perhaps the most important reason forcommissioning, reading, or reciting the text was toexpress piety, thereby securing a place in heaven.It is also interesting to note that the manuscript ofthe Devizm7ihaitmyaor CanEyf, s it is also called) isoften worshipped directly in place of an image of theGoddess. In certain parts of the country, such asGujarat and Bengal, the Goddess is frequentlyworshipped as a book. As the NTlamatapurihna ellsus, "O twice-born, books should be worshipped inthe temple of Durga. "4The earliest and most beautiful manuscript illus-

trations of Sakta themes known to date portray theSeven Matrkas, or Mothers, along with Gane'a (fig.1). These figures occur on the inside of two woodencovers now in the British Library.5Their diminutivesize notwithstanding, the depictions are excep-tionally graceful and vibrant. Unfortunately, someof the figures are more damaged than others, butthose colors which remain have preserved theirfreshness remarkably well, considering the age of thepainting.The Seven Mothers are led by Gan.esa,whose whitefigure is silhouetted against a blue aureole and a redhalo. His trunk is outlined in pink; he sits gracefullywith his weight partially supported by his gray rat.This is no ordinary rat, however, but is of giganticproportions. Obviously, the illuminator found itincongruous to depict a rat of normal size carryingsuch an enormous burden. Among Ganes'a'sattri-butes we can recognize the rosary, the battleaxe, andhis broken tusk.Like Ganesa, each Mother is seated upon herrespective mount. Mahe'vari and IndrdnTsit withtheir legs loosely crossed at the ankles; the others sitin the more relaxed and graceful posture known aslalitasana, where one leg is pendant. Each goddesshas four arms; the principal two hands hold a skull-cup (right) and display the gesture of exposition(left). This particular combination of the attributeand the gesture with the two principal hands is afeature common to Tantric images of the Goddess inNepal (fig. 5). It is also rathercurious to note that theupper right hand of each goddess holds the sameobject, viz. a damaru, or "kettledrum." The distin-guishing attribute of each is placed in the upper lefthand. Of those that can readily be recognized,Mahesvariholds a trident, Kaumarfiaspear, Vaisnavia mace, V5r5hTan elephant goad, Indran.rTahunder-bolt, and C5mund- a staff that may be a khatvdhga.As to their mounts, Brahman.i has her goose,M5hesvari a yellow bull, Kaumari a peacock,Vaisnav1 Garuda, V5r5hi a man, Indranii the ele-phant, and C-munda a man. The complexion ofBrahman. is yellow, MWhesvarTwhite, Kaum5rT,V5r5hi, and C-munda- are red, Vaisnavi dark green,and Indra-ni. range. IndranT.s furtherdistinguishedby the third eye placed horizontally on her forehead;M5hesvari does not appear to have a third eye.Aesthetically, the illustrations are rendered in thefinest Nepali tradition. The outline of the figures isfirmly drawn, enclosing the elegant forms with a soft


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42 PRATAPADITYAPALbut sensuous grace. Very little shading is employedto delineate the form, yet a remarkable sense ofvolume is achieved solely in terms of line and colorcontrast. Each deity is set off against a background ofa different color. Thus, the yellow Brahmd7ii, redKaum5ri, green Vaisnavil, and orange Indrdn7iarepresented against white; the white Mahesvariand redVTr5hTagainst olive green; while Cmuunda's redgains added intensity by being placed against a deepgreen aureole. The haloes, too, are painted indifferent shades of red, green, and mauve. Inaddition, darker hues are applied to reinforce theoutlines of the aureoles, providing even greater reliefto the figures. Thus, a perceptible sense of depth iscreated simply by manipulating the various colorsurfaces.In addition to the rich complexions of thegoddesses, the use of variegated drapery designsconfers both a sense of volume and an impression ofliveliness upon the various deities. All of these(except Camunda) wear garments of beautifullyprinted material of diverse colors. C-munda alonewears an exquisitely rendered tiger-skin which ismore suitable to her depiction as an ascetic with anemaciated body.The earliest known painted representations of theGoddess in her Mahis-asuramardini form occur inthree stray palm leaves which may have belonged to aDevTmdhitmya manuscript and which are now inthe British Library (fig. 2). Only a single sentence iswritten on the back of one of the folios (fig. 3), and itmay be read as follows:om bhujendra [or bhujahga] kutilakara gajendra kadall-laya thasalstra-madhyepradhanena likhitah kinna mucyate //

The inscription is written in poor Sanskrit and isdifficult to understand. I am indebted to Dr.Gauriswar Bhattacharjee of the Berlin Museum forthe following comments and translation. It is notquite clear whether the first word is bhuljendraorbhujanga. If it is bhujendra, then it must have beenabbreviated by the author from bhujagendra, the useof which would have disturbed the meter.A tentativetranslation, as suggested by Dr. Bhattacharjee, is asfollows: "[Though] lord of the serpents [yet he has a]shape, [and though] lord of the elephants [yet he has]his resortin the banana plant [which is so weak] [andtherefore the person] who has written the foremost ofthe scriptures, will he not be liberated?"The inscription indirectly informs us that the textmust have been of the DevTmadhtmya, as this textalone would be described as "foremost of thescriptures" by a S-kta. We can also surmise that thetext was written by a literate scribe who, however,was no Kalidasa. The style of writing, which is quite

beautiful, does help us to corroborate the date of thepictures arrived at by stylistic analysis (see discussionbelow).In spite of the effaced condition of one of theillustrations, it is clear that all three representationsof the Goddess are identical except for complexioncolor; these are, respectively, red, green, and blue.Each image is placed within a circular aureole of redflames and is framed by red and yellow borders.Thespace between the edge of the aureole and the yellowborder is painted deep blue. In each instance, theGoddess is nimbate, has twelve arms carryingidentical attributes (mostly weaporns), and standsastride her lion-vdhana and the decapitated buffalo.No human being, however, emerges from thebuffalo's neck; instead, in each illustration theGoddess releases two serpents which wrap them-selves around the necks of two asuras. An identicalformula has been employed to represent each of theasuras. Their militancy is apparent in their posture.Each asura wields a club with one hand and, with theother, attempts to loosen the coils of the deadlysnake. It is interesting to note the way in which thefigures of the asuras spill over the frame of theillustration. In each of the representations, theGoddess wears a fine, transparent dhoti that revealsher firmly modeled legs. In addition, a jacketdesigned like a cuirass hugs her voluptuous body.The red goddess wears a blue jacket, while the greenand blue goddesses wear red jackets. On one of thefolios, a male and female devotee are seen worship-ping the Goddess. They may represent the donor ofthe manuscript and his wife.This particular formula for representing Ma-hisasuramardini has remained popular in Nepal.Several representations in stone and bronze areknown. The interesting feature of all these de-pictions is the convention that shows the Goddess, inaddition to killing Mahisasura, invariably attackingtwo other asuras as well. It is difficult to ascertainwhether they depict a particular pair of generals,such as Canda and Mun.da,or Sumbha and Nisum-bha. In such representations, Mahisasura is usuallyseen emerging from the buffalo's neck, but in theseparticular illustrations, the artist has omitted thehuman form (as is also the case with another versionof the subject rendered on a gilt-bronze manuscriptcover).6At any rate, it seems clear that this particulariconographical variation, as well as the composi-tional formula, was a peculiarity of the Nepaliartistic tradition.Although diminutive, the illustrations are re-markably animated and vibrant. They exhibit theelegance of manner characteristic of better-knownBuddhist manuscript illuminations. They are, in


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EARLY PAINTINGS OF THE GODDESS IN NEPAL 43

fact, stylistically comparable to some fine Pani-caraksii illuminations in the Los Angeles CountyMuseum of Art (fig. 4). There, too, we notice similarcompositions which depict kneeling figures repre-senting forces of disease and evil, who tum away as ifunable to bear the wrath of the Goddess. In bothmanuscripts, the drawing is exceptionally fine andthe compositions lively. The donor couple in theDev-m&hiitmya folio is especially engaging. Lessthan an inch in size, they arefully modeled figures, atonce dignified and elegant. The details of theirgarments and physical features, as well as theofferings before them, are precisely articulated. Ingeneral, the luminous colors of these small picturesreflect the intensity and richness of early Buddhistmanuscript illuminations.The most richly illustrated Nepali manuscript ofthe Dezimdhdtmya is in the Bharat Kala Bhavan(figs. 5-15). In terms of both narrative intent andiconographic feature, this is the most elaboratelyilluminated manuscript known to date. The pic-tures, which are generally placed in the center of thefolio, illustrate literally the themes narrated in thetext. A few of the illustrations depict hieraticrepresentations of the goddess Durga, or Ambika. Inaddition to these, the artist has provided someremarkably lively renderings of combat scenes.A typical hieratic representation (fig. 5) shows usthreedevotees, wearing dhoti, ornaments, and tiaras,engaged in adoring a white-complexioned goddesswho is seated on a blue lion. The four hands on theright hold a skull-cup, an elephant goad, an arrow,and a sword. Those on the left display a shield, abow, a noose, and the gesture of exposition.Although the image does not correspond to anyparticular description in the text, it may representthe Goddess as Mah5sarasvati, the presiding deity ofthe third part of the text. The red background isstrewn with flowers; these are seen in the majority ofthe illustrations. The three devotees, shown in three-quarter profile, stand or kneel quite naturally. Twoof them may represent King Suratha and themerchant Samadhi, for whom the text was narratedby the sage Medhas.In another hieratic representation, two goddesses,one white and one black, are shown seated in anidentical manner on a single lotus (fig. 6). The skull-cup and the gesture of meditation are common toboth, but the white goddess carries a bow and anarrow and the black goddess a sword and a noose.Once again, the images do not agree with any of thedescriptions in the text but are obviously twodifferent manifestations of the Devi.In two other folios (figs. 7, 8), two very spiritedimages are shown being worshipped by devotees.

Although both assume the same militant posture,therearestriking differences between the two figures.One of the goddesses is double-complexioned (fig.7). Her face, torso, shoulders, and upper arms arepainted white, but her forearms, hips, and legs areblack. As faras I know, deities with two complexionsare encountered in the Vajrayana Buddhist pan-theon, but there the two complexions are dividedalong a vertical axis. Because of the damagedcondition of the illustration, it is not clearhow manyarms the Goddess has, but the number appears to beeighteen. In the second of these two images (fig. 8),the Goddess is uniformly dark and is given at leastten heads and probably an equal number of legs andarms.The half-white, half-black goddess with hereighteen arms may represent the universal, orvisvariipa, form of the Goddess. The DevTmdhdtmyatells us that she is to be worshipped in her eighteen-armed form despite the fact that she has a thousandarms (as!ddasabhujii pu-jyasaisahasrabhuij satU ).The other figure with multiple heads and limbs isalmost certainly Mahakll, who is the presidingdeity of the first part (prathamacaritram) of the text.She is described as follows:I resort to Mahakali, who has ten faces, ten legs and holds in herhands the sword, disc, mace, arrows, bow, club, spear, missile,human head and conch, who is three-eyed, adorned withornaments on all her limbs, and luminous like a blue jewel andwhom Brahma extolled in order to destroy Madhu and Kaitabha,when Visnu was in [mystic] sleep.7

Far more visually exciting are the narrativescenesin which the Goddess (or another deity) is seen incombat with various asuras. One of the folios (fig. 9)illustrates a fight between a four-armed deity andtwo asuras beside a water tank. Menacing serpentscoil around the feet of the deity, who has four armsand carries a lotus, a conch, a club, and a wheel. Thedivine figure is attacked by the two asuras. While itmay initially appear that this scene representsVisnu's battle with Madhu and Kaitabha, whoemerged from the god's ears while he was engaged incosmic sleep on the ocean, the form of the deity is infact unusual. The figure seems to be bisexual. Theface with the third eye (unusual for Visnu) appears tobe identical with the faces of other images of theGoddess. There is also a slight indication of a breaston the left side of the chest, although this is not asfully delineated as it is in the female figures.However, unlike the Goddess, this figure wears ashort dhoti, which would indicate that, despite a fewfeminine traits, the figure does indeed represent thegod Visnu. The composition is enlivened by thefluid interaction between the figures and the ser-pents, and the ocean is depicted conceptually, using


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44 PRATAPADITYAPALa formula that is typical of contemporary Indianpaintings.One of the curious features of the Devzmdhdtmyais that the Goddess frequently fights a pair of asuras,such as Sumbha and Nisumbha, or Canda andMunda. Another is that the climax of the text is notthe death of Mahis-sura; rather, it is the destructionof Sumbha and Nisumbha.Can.da and Mund.a, the two generals of Sumbhaand Nisumbha, spot the Goddess in the mountainsand report back to their masters, praising herincomparable beauty. Sumbha sends Sugriva topersuade the Goddess to be his wife. In a charmingillustration (fig. 10), the Goddess, poised on a rock,converses with the messenger, who has doubtless justfinished extolling his master's masculine prowessand abilities. The Goddess is visualized as a demurecountry girl who is out tending her goats and has meta handsome young soldier. In a second composition(fig. 11), we encounter the juxtaposition of twodifferent scenes. The seated Goddess appears to bewatching herself or one of her emanations destroythe two asuras who had dared to insult her. Herwrath is clearly expressed by the vigorous manner inwhich she pulls the asura by his hair and simul-taneously thrusts her trident into his body. Thesecond asura has already been slain. Other illus-trations (figs. 12, 13) depict the Goddess engagingtwo asuras, once with a sword and again with thetrident. These conflicts between goddess and asurasarequite credible. The protagonists are the same size,and the Goddess is shown without her divineattributes. She is, in fact, essentially human-acharming young girl who sometimes has a tempertantrum and kills an asura or two. Not even a nimbusis provided to suggest her divinity.In two remaining battle scenes, however, theGoddess is provided with additional arms so that weare left in no doubt about her divine nature. In one ofthese paintings (fig. 14), she is shown impaling theasura Raktablija. Raktabija was a privileged asura:every time he bled, another asura would be createdfrom each drop of his blood. Durga, therefore,ordered K-arlo stretch her tongue out and lap up theblood before it could fall upon the ground. In theillustration, K-arl only her bust is shown-stretchesout her enormous tongue to swallow not merely adrop of blood, but an entire asura.The last combat scene (fig. 15) depicts the finalbattle between Durg-aand Mahisasura. The Goddessis now equipped with eight arms. She stands astridethe shoulder of the decapitated buffalo and theattacking lion-vdhana. With one of her left hands,she pulls the buffalo by its tail; with another, sheclutches Mahisasura's hair. The lion is about to take

a chunk from Mahis-sura's shoulder. The demonlooks around helplessly as he attempts to unsheathehis sword. The composition, which is characterizedby considerable drama and action, continues thebasic formula which we have encountered in theearlier representations of the theme (fig. 2). Here,however, the human Mahisasurais included, and thetwo additional asuras are excluded. In a sense,therefore, the earlier illustrations encapsulate in asingle composition all of the various battles de-scribed in the DeviTmdhdtmya.The background of the Bharat Kala Bhavan illus-trations is invariably painted red and is speckledwith flowers, symbolic of the divine presence. Mostof the figures are modeled by means of outline, withthe exception of the buffalo, whose form assumesgreater plasticity due to light shading and thereinforcing of its outline. The figure types haveundergone slight modifications. The Goddess isalways shown with a naked torso, and her featuresare also somewhat different. Of particular interest,however, are the more convincing (because morenaturalistic) representations of the battle scenes inthe Bharat Kala Bhavan manuscript (as opposed totheir more hieratic depiction in the British Museumfolios). The artist has made obvious attempts toenliven the different battles by showing both theGoddess and the asuras in various postures andpositions. The compositions, as a result, are morevariegated, fluid, and visually exciting. Noteworthy,too, are the colorful and decorative rocks with theircubelike shapes, a hallmark of early Nepali paint-ing.To establish the dates of isolated book covers andmanuscript pages is always a difficult task. For-tunately, we are on rather secureground here becauseof the enormous amount of dated Buddhist materialthat has survived and because of the state of theknowledge of Nepali paleography.The three isolated folios representing the threeDurgas can be dated with fair certainty on bothstylistic and paleographical grounds. The script inwhich the short inscription is written is described byBendall as the "early hooked Nepalese hand."8 Thepaleography closely follows the script found invarious datable manuscripts in the CambridgeUniversity Library, including that of a KurukulliaKalpa, dated to 1179,and the Sddhanamdla--tantra f1165.9 As we have already pointed out, the paintingsare stylistically close to the beautiful Paficaraksaillustrations of the first half of the thirteenth century(fig. 4) as well as to the painted covers of aSivadharma manuscript of 1139 in the CambridgeUniversity Library.'0Thus, a date in the second halfof the twelfth century for these three isolated leaves


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would not be inappropriate. Stylistically, the coverswith the Seven Mothers are so close to the Durgapaintings that it seems obvious that they werepainted at about the same time.I have elsewhere dated the Bharat Bala BhavanDevzmdh&tmyapaintings to the fourteenth century.A more careful analysis of the paleography seems tofavor a date in the first half of that century. The styleof writing seems generally to conform to that seen ina manuscript of Riama-nka-Natikia,written in 1360and now preserved in the Cambridge UniversityLibrary." However, some of the letters continue touse earlier forms typical of manuscripts of thethirteenth century.The stylistic elements of the Devzmdhihtmyaillustrations are closer to the Indian MuseumAstasiihasrika Prajniipiiramita manuscript'2 of 1367than to such mid-thirteenth-century paintings asthose of the Los Angeles Panfcaraksa. While thefigures of the hieratic goddesses still retain the softsensuousness of the earlier representations, thesubsidiary figures, including the asuras, are notquite as elegant as those in the Panicaraksiiillus-trations (fig. 4). The modeling seems somewhatmore attenuated and brittle, and both the propor-tions and the facial features have changed sub-stantially. However, the remarkable continuity ofthe tradition is demonstrated by the fact that theartist has used the same formula for delineating therocks as did his predecessor in the well-knownillustrations of the AstasaihasrikiiPrajfnipdramitamanuscript of 1015 in the Cambridge UniversityLibrary. 'IA painting on cloth from about the same period isnow in the collection of the Los Angeles CountyMuseum of Art (fig. 16). Stylistically, this clothpainting does not differ from the numerous Bud-dhist paintings surviving from this period. It is,however, a rare art-historical document, for noearlier painting of the Goddess has survived, even inIndia. The painting has been damaged at the top, butalong the bottom are three panels, exactly as we findin Buddhist paintings, which represent the per-formance of various rituals by a priest, a lively scenewith dancers and musicians, and a row of donors.The painting represents a mandala consisting of acentral figure of the Goddess destroying Mahis-sura;both are enshrined within the pericarp of a lotus.Eight other goddesses, identical except for theircomplexions, are portrayed on the outer petals of thelotus. Each is given eighteen arms; hence, we cansurmise that the effaced central figure must also havehad eighteen arms carrying different weapons andattributes. Each of the goddesses pulls an asura by hishair and thrusts a trident into his chest. There can be

little doubt that, together, the nine goddessesconstitute the Navadurga mandala. The centrallotus is superimposed on two intersecting squareswhich produce eight triangles at the corners. Thesetriangles and the eight interstices contain sixteenrepresentations of the Mother Goddesses ($odas'aMatrka). The octagon is surrounded by an outercircle with a flaming perimeter. This circle isinhabited by the eight guardians of the directions(dikpala), each seated within a gateway and flankedby a pair of goddesses of whom some aredancing, butmost are seated. The exact identification of thisgroup of sixteen figures is uncertain. Beyond thefiery fringe, in the two lower corners, are two moreterrifying goddesses flanked by animal-headed com-panions. Each goddess stands in pratyadi4hapostureon a corpse;while one is multiarmed, the other holdsa chopper and a skull-cup with her two hands.Presumably, there were two other similar groups inthe upper corners of the mandala.The group of Navadurg-as s described twice in theAgnipuriina, once in the Bhavisyapurd-na, and oncein the Kiranaigama.14 In all three texts, the ninegoddesses are said to be identical except for theircomplexions and to possess eighteen arms. Theattributes and weapons, however, differ in thedifferent lists. The iconography here seems tocorrespond closely to the description given inchapter fifty of the Agnipura-na.The nine Durgas have the following names:Rudracan.d, Pracan.d.a,Can.dogra, Candanayika,Candd, Candavatd, Candar-upa, Aticandika, andUgracanda-." Of these, Ugracan.da is the principaldeity and is represented in the center of the mandala.Each goddess stands in alidha posture with the rightfoot on the lion. With one hand, she pulls the asuraby the hair as he emerges from the buffalo and, withanother, drives the trident into his chest.Nothing is said in any of these texts about theother deities to be included in the mandala. Thus,apart from being the earliest example, iconograph-ically this fragmentary painting represents the mostelaborate mandala of Navadurgas known so far. Infact, as de Mallmann observed, Navadurga repre-sentations are so rare that she could cite only onedamaged example now in the Rajshahi Museum.'6 Itis also interesting to note that all nine names of thegoddesses contain the word canda, leaving no roomfor doubt that they are the angry manifestations ofthe Goddess. And yet, we are told in the Agnipurainathat consecration of the Navadurgas increases sonsand other things for the devotee (navadurgaIhsyuhsthdpyadhputrdddi-vrddhaye).'7Despite its condition, there seems no doubt thatthe mandala was executed sometime near the end of


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46 PRATAPADITYA PALthe fourteenth century. Stylistically, it can be placedsomewhere between the Vasudhara mandala ofabout 1367 and the Los Angeles Visnu mandala of1420.18This becomes particularly clear if we com-pare the dancers and musicians in this mandala withthose in the Vasudhara mandala. In both paintings,these slim figures are remarkably alike and arecharacterized by a lively elegance. In general, thedrawing in the Navadurga mandala is particularlyfine; one can easily surmise how bright andluminous the original colors must have been.As is to be expected, there is abundant material forthe study of paintings related to the Goddess afterthefifteenth century. But the early paintings describedabove are particularly important, not only for theirrarity, but also because they push the history of suchpaintings back to at least the twelfth century. Whentaken together with other known earlierexamples ofHindu paintings that have survived in Nepal, it isevident that the tradition of mandala paintings andmanuscript illumination was not confined only tothe Buddhists. Meager though they may be, theseearly Nepali paintings have particular relevance forthe study of Indian painting.Few paintings depicting Hindu themes, either inmanuscript form or on cloth, have survived from

pre-fifteenth-century India. Most of the extantpaintings areeitherBuddhistorJaina.Yet, t wouldbe difficult to imagine that manuscripts of theDevimhiitmya and the Bhagavatapuriina were notcopied and illustrated by pious Hindus all overmedieval India. It would be wrong to assumethatHindus in Nepal weremore interested n paintingthanwereHindus in India. The factthatso few of theearlyHindu illuminatedmanuscriptshavesurvivedon the subcontinent s no reasonto believethattheydid not exist.The recentacquisition by the Simla Museumof arichly illustratedmanuscript of a Devimiihdtmya,purportedlybelonging to the sixteenthcenturyandpainted in the Panjab hills, is a case in point.'9Simply because no example of sixteenth-centurypaintings from that hilly region had come to lightpreviously, scholars interested in the field werealmost convinced that painting originated in theareaonly in the seventeenthcentury,verypossiblydue to Mughal influence. Suchassumptionsare,ofcourse,absurd.20twould beworthwhile orscholarsof Indianpainting to takeacloser ook atNepal.Itisthis areawhich mayprovide nterestingclues to thelost history of early Hindu painting in India.


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Notes1. The manuscript is preserved in the National Library inKathmandu. In an article written in 1966,1 pointed out thata manuscript of the Devimiahdtmyain the museum, which Idated to ca. 1400, was the earliest known illustratedmanuscript of the text. See my "Paintings from Nepal inThe Prince of Wales Museum," Prince of Wales MuseumBulletin, no. 10 (1967), pp. 4-6, figs. 4, 5. In view of theevidence brought forward by the present article, the date ofthe Prince of Wales manuscript must now be movedforward to the sixteenth century.2. For a detailed discussion of this manuscript, see my TheArts of Nepal, 2 vols. (Leiden, 1974-78), vol. 2: Paintings,pp. 33, 60; fig. 12.3. Swami Jagadiswarananda, Devi Mdhdtmya (Madras, 1953),p. xiv. The verse is as follows:

agnina- dahyam-nastu satrumadhyagata- rane /visame durgame caiva bhaya-rtahsaranam gata-h //

Most of chapter twelve of the Devr-mdhdtmya s devoted tothe benefits derived from chanting the text in the words ofthe Goddess herself.4. Ved Kumari, The Nflamata Purina (Srinagar, Jammu,1968), p. 164. durgagrhe pustakana-m pija- kairya- atha-dvija. Also, lingstha-m puijayeddevrmpustakastham tath-aiva ca, from the Yoginitantra, in Brhattantrasa-ra,ed.Krishnanda Agamvagish (Calcutta, n.d.), p. 425.5. The photographs of these two covers, as well as those forfigures 2 and 3, were kindly supplied by Mr. SimonMathews of London. The illustrations are rarelymore than

two inches high.6. Pal, The Arts of Nepal, vol. 1:Sculpture, fig. 14. The tyingof the asura with a serpent by the Goddess is described in theDevfpurina (tarjjamianam hatam murddhni nagapa-s'enavestitam // chap. 32, v. 37).7. Jagadiswarananda, Devi Maihatmya, p. 2.8. For a discussion of the paleography of Nepali palm-leafmanuscripts, see Cecil Bendall, Catalogue of the BuddhistSanskrit Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge(Cambridge, 1883), Introduction.9. Ibid., Table of Letters. Mss. ADD. 1686 and 1691.2.

10. Pal, The Arts of Nepal, vol. 2, fig. 54.11. Bendall, Buddhist Sanskrit Catalogue, Table of Letters, Ms.ADD. 1409.12. Pal, The Arts of Nepal, vol. 2, figs. 28, 29.13. Ibid., vol. 2, figs. 14, 15.14. For a description of the Navadurgas, see Marie-Therese deMallmann, Les Enseignements Iconographiques de l'Agni-Purana (Paris, 1963), pp. 147-49. The Devzpurina (chap.42, v. 10) lists an important place of pilgrimage calledNavadurgasthala but says nothing about the shrine of theimage, except that the goddess was called Trimunda.15. A different list of names of the Navadurga-s s found in theMa-rkandeyapurana (see Jagadiswarananda, Devi Mahat-mya, p. xiv). They are: Sailaputri, Brahmacarini, Can-draghanta-,Kusmanda, Skandamata, Ka-tya-yani7,alara-tri,Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri.

16. Mallmann, Enseignements Iconographiques, p. 149.17. Agnipurina, chap. 50, vv. 10-12.18. Pal, The Arts of Nepal, vol. 2, figs. 1, 72.19. This manuscript was discovered in the autumn of 1977andstill awaits publication.20. That mandalas were painted and manuscripts written andperhaps illuminated by the Hindus prior to the eleventhcentury is evident from the Devipurdna, a text of immenseimportance for the Sakta religion. In chapter ninety-three,in connection with the worship of the goddess Nandadevi,Siva says the following about religious paintings on cloth:

patasya laksanam vaksye yatha sidhyanti sddhakdh /granthikesavihi-ne tu ajtrne samatantuke // v. 148asphitite achidre tu sthalenaiva samalikhet /mangalaruipini karya jayddyaih parivarita // v. 149vrddhena bhavate vrddho vyadhite vyadhito bhavet /kuriupenakurupastuimuirkhena tu na puijyate// v. 150lekhakasya ca yadruipamcitte bhavati teidrsTam/ v. 151I shall now tell you the characteristics of patas or clothpaintings with which the adept achieves his goalsimmediately. The cloth for the painting should have noknots or loose threads [literally, hair] and it should notbe old; all the threads should be smoothly woven. Oneshould rest it on a place without cracks or holes and thenpaint the images of the auspicious Nanda along withJaya and other attendants. If the painter is old, then theimage also looks old; if he is indisposed, then the imagelooks ill; if he is ugly, then the picture is without beauty.One should never worship a painting drawn by a fool.The form of the image will always reflect the conditionof the artist's mind.

In an earlier chapter (ninety-one), the author of thepurana discusses the importance of donating books tobrahmins. A detailed discussion of this chapter must bepostponed for another occasion, but some of the informa-tion is relevant for us. Rather than quote the original text, Iwill briefly summarize the pertinent portions. We are toldthat the manuscript should consist of palm leaves andshould have two wooden boards, to be tied together witheither red or black thread. One should write verycarefully,making sure that the letters do not crowd one another andthat the writing is legible. When finished, the manuscriptshould be placed on a decorated cloth and worshippedalong with the painting of the deity invoked in the text.Although we do not know the exact date of the DezT-purina, that chapter ninety-three is earlier than 1050 isevident from the fact that almost the entire chapter isquoted by Hema-dri and Laksmi-dhara,both of whose datesare known. It is probably earlier than the Kalikapuriana,which is usually dated to the eleventh century, and wasprobably compiled in its present form sometime betweenthe sixth and tenth centuries. In both chapters ninety-oneand ninety-three, the word pustaka ("book") has been used.This is a loan word from Old Persian and could not havebeen introduced before the sixth century, as it is notincluded in Amarasim.ha'sAmarakosa, generally regardedas a sixth-century lexicon.In any event, these references to both painted images andmanuscripts are among the earliest in Sanskrit religiousliterature. Especially significant is the discussion of the


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48 PRATAPADITYAPALpatacitras, which confirms the suggestion made above thatpainted images of the Goddess in India must have existedmuch earlier than the present evidence indicates. Anotherpassage in the text prescribes both a manuscript and a

painting (among other objects) as suitable images for theworship of the Goddess (pustakasthiim mahiidevi piadukepratimaisu ca / citre va trizikhe khadge jalasthaimvapi p2u-jayet // vv. 93, 105). See also n. 4 above.


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PAL PLATE 1

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FIG.I1. Covers with the Mothers;co o wFIG. 1. Covers with the Mothers; colors on wood. Twelfth century. The British Library.


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PAL PLATE 2

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1 14

FII. 2. Folios representingIMahisisuramardini; colors on wood. Twelfth century. The British Library.~~~~~~~~M_a_ .*, _ .. s * t se, ,. W~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Z- ..ex ' t' 's , iv \.,,,e, S;tMr

| E [ S ' \ L i 4s 5, 4 t w _|~771


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PAL PLATE 3

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FIG. 3. Reverse of a folio in fig. 2, with inscription.F. 44

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Th.3 Rvreas an AoliceHermn ecCollewthincrition.i rl_ _ A r- 'n I T v %A


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PAL PPLATE 4

FIG. 5. Mahisarasvati (?), folio from a Devimihitmya ms.; colorson palm leaf. Fourteenth century. Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi.Photographs of figs. 5-15, courtesy, American Institute of IndianStudies, Varanasi.

FIG.7. Universal form of Durga, same ms. as fig. 5.

FIG. 6. Durga and Kill (?),same ms. as fig. 5.

4MG.

FIG. 8. Maha-k1il,same ins. as fig. 5.


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PAL PLATE 5

wilw~~~~T~

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FIG. 9. Visnu fights Madhu and Kaitabha,same ms. as fig. 5.

FIG. 11. Devi destroying asuras, same ms. as fig. 5.

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FIG. 10. Devi conversing with Sugriva, same ms. as fig. 5.

FIG. 12. Devi destroying asuras, same ms. as fig. 5.


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PLATE 6PAL

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FIG. 13. Devi-destroying asuras, same ins. as fig. 5. FIG. 14. Devi- and Kal11ight with Raktabi-ja,same ms. as fig. 5.

FIG. 15. Devi fighting Mahisasura, same ms. as fig. 5.


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PAL PLATE 7

FIG. 16.Navad mandal; colorson.cott ..on. -40

FI.1.Naaug mnaa clr ncotn 37-40 LsAgls onyMuemo At h NsiadAlc eraaekColcin

nepal - early paintings of the goddess in nepal

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