The Goddess Annapurna

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Both these aspects of Annapurna powerfully reveal in her early medieval sculptures, especially in medieval temples in Central India where she has been profusely sculpted. In some of the relief-panels she occupies central position whereas Shiva and Ganesh occupy the space above her, obviously as her family deities, she stands dedicated to, but other goddesses, even a form of Parvati, are sculpted in the space below her on either side usually in a posture of paying her homage. Contrary to this, in some other sculptural panels she has been represented as paying homage to Parvati who has been usually represented in the centre as engaged in ‘panchagni-tapas’ – performing penance in the midst of the five forms of fire. Her association with Bhairavi has given to the personalities of both, Bhairavi and Annapurna, absolutely different dimensions and a new identity to their associated form known as Annapurneshvari-bhairavi. Annapurna is primarily the goddess with a domestic setting and more than anything else belongs to kitchen, and her basic function is to satisfy her husband’s hunger, that is, Shiva’s. Shiva is Pashupati – Lord of all creatures, correspondingly by extension, Annapurna’s primary function is to satisfy the hunger of all creatures, Shiva is whose Lord and who are his inherent parts. Annapurna is associated also with Chinnamasta for like Annapurna Chinnamasta is also the goddess who feeds but unlike Annapurna, and also Shakambhari for that purpose, who only feed and are not fed, Chinnamasta feeds but is also fed. It is for such reasons that in South and some other parts Annapurna sometimes occupies a position in popular worship tradition, if not in hierarchy, higher to Bhairavi or Chinnamasta. With her benign form, not the fierce, as Bhairavi’s, or repulsive, as Chinnamasta’s, Annapurna is the kind mother inspiring love and devotion.

Strangely, major features of her image, iconography and anatomy, are almost the same in her contemporary representations as they were in these early medieval sculptures, perhaps because her image did not transmigrate from the domain of elite to the tribes’, or to the masses, that have been more often responsible for revolutionizing their deity-images rather than the elite. Contrarily, they realised Annapurna’s presence, not in an anthropomorphic form, but merely in ‘Anna’ – food to which they bowed every time they had it. Hence, the image of Annapurna still has the same classical flavour as her medieval iconography had. This contemporary image of the goddess, rendered in a different medium and by using a different technique, rather the technique borrowed from the European world, abounds in same ingenuity and classicism as did her image in early medieval sculptures.

Almost as a rule her image has been conceived with two arms, carrying invariably in the right, a ladle, and in the left, sometimes a rosary but more often a pot containing food – the attributes of Brahma, though as in this painting her pot does not have attached to it a spout and a handle, as has Brahma’s pot – ‘kamandala’, nor her ladle is meant for making offering to Agni in the course of ‘yajna’ : the sole function of Brahma’s ladle. Filled with food Annapurna’s ladle serves the food and satiates the hunger of all creatures. No other deity in the pantheon has such personalised imagery and attributes as Annapurna has. The gold-complexioned Annapurna has been conceived, as in this painting, as the young mother with lustrous timeless youth and unparalleled beauty abounding in inexhaustible stores of food around her as also in her being; hence, she has been conceived with golden jar-like breasts filled with milk and around her lay pots, trays, bowls – all full of food. Nava-ratnas – nine jewels, the whole range of precious stones, symbolically represented in the buckle of the golden girdle that the goddess is wearing in the painting and is an essential component of her imagery, define her ornaments, and a pad made of leaves, her seat, that is, all that the earth contains in its womb, and nature, in its store, are at Annapurna’s command. Besides her own large captivating eyes she has on her forehead the third eye, an attribute of Shiva.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

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Oil painting technique – India centric

Oil painting is the most interesting technique in art. Unlike other paintings or art forms, oil painting is a process in which colored pigments are painted on the canvas with a drying oil medium as a binder. This medium helps colors blend beautifully to create layers and also makes them appear rich and dense. Several varieties of oil are used in this painting such as sunflower oil, linseed oil, etc., and depending on the quality of the oil, a particular consistency of the paint is developed. With the use of an oil medium, the painting gets a natural sheen on the surface which appears extremely attractive. India is famous for its old tradition of making oil paintings. This art form was brought by Europeans in the 18th century and is now practiced by almost all well-known artists. Nirmal, a small tribal town in the state of Telangana is the center of traditional oil paintings in India where the local people practice it with dedication. Most Indian artists still use the traditional technique of oil painting.

Canvas of the required size is prepared

The artists use either a wood panel or canvas made from linen or cotton. Sometimes the canvas is stretched onto the wooden frame to form a solid base, or cardboard may be used. The canvas is coated with a layer of white paint or chalk mixed with animal glue. This mixture is then smoothed and dried to form a uniform, textured surface. The wooden panel is more expensive and heavier but its solidity is an advantage in making detailed paintings with ease.

Sketch is drawn on the canvas

Now the artist starts to draw the subject of the painting on the canvas using the actual charcoal or a charcoal pencil. Sometimes, he may sketch with thinned paint as well.

Oil paint is applied using paint brushes or palette knives

Now that the rough sketch is prepared, the artist is now ready to paint. Oil paint, a special paint that contains particles of pigments suspended in a drying oil (usually linseed oil), is again mixed with oil to make it thinner for applying it on the canvas. Proper consistency of the paint is maintained to avoid its breakage. The most important rule for the application of oil paint is “Fat over lean” in which the first layer of paint is thin and later, thicker layers are applied. This means that each additional layer of paint contains more oil. This results in getting a stable paint film. Traditionally, paint was applied using paint brushes but now the artists also use palette knives to create crisp strokes. To paint using this technique, the edge of the palette knife is used to create textured strokes that appear different from that of a paintbrush. Sometimes, oil paints are blended simply using fingers for getting the desired gradation.

Smaller oil paintings, with very fine detail, are relatively easier to paint than larger ones. The most attractive feature of these paintings is the natural shiny appearance that is obtained on the surface because of the use of oil paint. The blending of colors looks extremely realistic and this is the reason why oil paintings are loved by everyone throughout the world.