Linga as Jyoti: Cumulative Form of Shiva's Twenty-five Lilas (Illustration to the Shiva Purana)

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Whatever Shiva's forms, or in whichever forms he split himself, or contains in him, are manifestations of Linga, the ante-form of all forms, an entity beyond form. The Shiva Maha Purana has repeatedly emphasised on Shiva's Linga and Ber aspects, Linga being his formless aspect, and Ber, his anthropomorphic. The painting seeks to synthesise this duality of Shiva by portraying within a Linga icon, which is also the 'jyoti' - flame, Shiva's all major twenty-five manifestations or 'lilas', which the twenty-five faces of the image symbolise. Appearing in various parts of the Shiva Maha Purana, as also in other texts, these lilas/manifestations are broadly tabulated as under :

Uma-Maheshvara - living with Uma, the basic image in this painting; Vrashavahana - having the bull as his mount; Chandrashekhara - carrying moon on his coiffure; Tandava, dancing to annihilate; wedding Parvati; Bhikshatana - the beggar; one who burnt Kamadeva; subduing Yama -the god of death; Tripurantaka - destroyer of Tripura; annihilator of the demon Jalandara; Gajantaka - one who killed the elephant demon Gaja; creator of Virabhadra; Hari-Hara; Ardhanarishvara; Kirata - his hunter transformation; assuming the form of Kankala - skeleton; Neelakantha - on who drank poison; redeemer of Chandushvara; one who gave Sudarshana-chakra to Vishnu; progenitor of sons with Uma; one who destroyed all obstacles; manifesting as Eka-pada Rudra; being in Sukhasana - a posture of ease; Dakshina-murti; and, assuming Linga form.

Two forms are basic in this representation of the theme, the flame-like shaped Linga, and with Uma seated on Shiva's left thigh, Uma-Maheshvara. Astonished Uma is looking at Shiva and at this strange phenomenon; thus, astonishment is the leading sentiment of the painting. Numerically, this form combines five forms in his Sadashiva or Pancha-mukha manifestation for besides the main Uma-Maheshvara icon with fifty arms and nine faces in its ascendance it grows with four more torsos, at least the bust-parts, having on them seven, five and three faces; the last one having just one. Thus, the figure combines five forms, in aggregate, assignable to each five faces and ten arms.

In Shivite tradition of thought, Shiva's five faces represent primarily his five manifestations as Tatpurusha, Vamadeva, Aghora, Sadyojata and Ishan. Under another school of Shaivite thought these five faces symbolise 'pancha-bhutas' - five cosmic elements, the constituents of the cosmos, perceiving the cosmos as existing in Shiva. Other traditions perceive variously Shiva's five faces as five jnanendrian - physical senses, five karmendrian - organs of operation, and five directions or cosmic regions. The Tantrika perceives them as five Kundalini-chakra in place of five jnanendrian. Maybe, instead of creating five Sadashiva images for representing these five sets of symbols, the artist has conceived his image combining in it five Sadashiva forms representing their total symbolic breadth.

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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Mastering the Ancient Technique: Exploring the Meticulous Creation of Pattachitra Paintings

The traditional Pattachitra is a scroll painting that is done on cloth. This is revealed in the name; Pattachitra is a Sanskrit term made from two words i.e. Patta meaning cloth and Chitra meaning picture. The main subject of this painting is portraying Hindu mythological narratives, scenes from religious texts, and folktales. Pattachitra paintings are especially practiced in eastern Indian states such as West Bengal and Odisha, and also in some parts of Bangladesh. This art form is closely related to Shri Jagannath and the tradition of the Vaishnava sect. It is believed that Pattachitra art originated in the 11th century and the people of Odisha practice it even today without any discrepancy. Bengalis use these scroll paintings for ritual purposes (as a visual device) during the performance of a song or Aarti.

Pattachitra paintings are characterized by creative and traditional motifs/designs, decorative borders, and bright colorful applications. The outline of the figure and motifs are bold and sharp. Some common shapes and motifs seen in these paintings are trees, flowers, leaves, elephants, and other creatures. The artists of Odisha and Bengal still use the traditional method of painting which gives a unique look to it altogether.

1. Canvas is prepared

The process of painting a Pattachitra begins by preparing the canvas (patta). Generally, cotton cloth is used for making the canvas. The local artists dip the cotton cloth in a mixture of tamarind seeds and water for a few days. The cloth is then taken out and dried in the sun. Now natural gum is applied over it to stick another layer of cotton cloth on it. Thus a thick layer of cotton cloth is formed. This layered cotton is sun-dried and a paste of chalk powder, tamarind, and gum is applied on both sides. The surface of the cloth is then rubbed with two different stones for smoothening and it is again dried. This process gives the cloth a leathery finish and it is now ready to be painted.

2. Natural colors are made using traditional method

The painters prepare and use vegetable and mineral colors for application in the painting. White color is made from conch shells, black is made by burning coconut shells, Hingula is used for red color, Ramaraja for blue, and Haritala for yellow.

3. Colors are filled in

The artist now makes a double-lined border on all four sides of the canvas. The local artists are so expert in painting that they do not draw figures and motifs with pencil but directly draw them with a brush. The paint brushes that the painters use are made of the hair of domestic animals, a bunch of which is tied to the end of a bamboo stick. The figures are now painted with natural colors using the indigenous brushes. The outline is thickened with black color.

4. Painting is given a finishing

Finally, the painting is varnished/glazed to protect it from any damage and to get a glossy shine on the surface.

The making of a Pattachitra is laborious work and therefore, one painting may sometimes take over a month to complete. Due to their classical look, these paintings are admired by people from all over the world. The artistic skills used in Pattachitra are passed down from one generation to another and thus are preserved to date.