Lord Ganesha and the Incidence of his Birth

Email

Whatsapp

Facebook

Pinterest

Twitter

Copy link

The elephant headed Ganesha, the son of Uma, has been portrayed here in his Nratya Ganapati form. In Indian rituals Ganesha is worshipped in his thirty-two forms, the Nratya Ganapati being one of them, and is commemorated by over a thousand names. He has the same status as have the Trinity of Hindu gods, Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Lord Vishnu himself prescribed his agra puja, that is, his worship before all gods.

Ganesha enshrines the centre which along with the earth under his feet and the void behind symbolise the cosmos. He has eight hands and is in a posture of ecstatic dance. The bow-like held snake depicts his ecstasy. Ganesha combines in his form both human and animal factors and thus aptly represents the cosmos manifest in a deity form and the most accomplished form of the Divine. He has covered by his dance the entire space and the earth underneath which suggests, and the same reiterate many metaphysical treatises, that it is always the Divine presence, an act, mood or whatever, that pervades the cosmos which is but only its reflection. Numerous dancing figures in the ring around are suggestive only of this co-relationship between the universe and the Divine as the entirety seeks to reflect but in the Dance of the Divine.

The outer ring depicts the theme, the more popular legend related to the birth of Ganesh, which the artist, perhaps, intended to render. As has the legend, Parvati once, before bathing, playfully created a child's idol out of the waste of her upatana, the mineral paste used for cleansing the body, and as unmindfully cast it into the waters of holy river Ganges where she had gone for bath. After the idol had submerged into waters she felt that the child created out of her body was her own child and she should not have so thrown him. The bereaved Parvati burst into tears and beseeched mother Ganges to give her back her child. The compassionate mother Ganges, after putting life into the child, flinged him onto her waves and returned him to Parvati. This part of the legend has been portrayed in the compartment just on left to the top centre wherein enshrines the Shiva-lingam. Parvati is seen with the child in her lap beside the river Ganges.

After bath Parvati used to meditate. She asked Ganesha to keep the gate and not to allow anyone to enter the house. The two compartments next to above referred depict this part of the legend. A little after Lord Shiva came there. Ganesha, not knowing Shiva, did not permit him to enter. Shiva too did not know Ganesha. Hence, after hot arguments the enraged Shiva inclined to kill the obstinate child but intervened by two friends of Parvati, he spared him and sent two of his ganas to persuade Ganesha not to come in Shiva's way. Ganesha was however determined to obey but only his mother. Meanwhile Parvati's friends rushed to her and to avoid a mishap Mahamuni Narad to Shiva to persuade him, but nothing prevailed. The furious Shiva raised his trident and beheaded the child. Parvati reached there but only to let her child's torso fall into her lap. Aggrieved Parvati began moaning and accusing Shiva of killing her child. Shiva to appease Parvati sent his ganas to bring the head of the latest born baby, whomsoever it be. The ganas found a just born elephant baby. They dissected its head and brought it to their master Shiva who grafted it on the torso of Parvati's child and brought him back to life. Highly pleased with child's valour and loyalty Lord Shiva nominated him the commandant of his ganas and named him Ganesha, or Ganapati. Meanwhile there emerged Brahma, Vishnu, Indra and other gods. Vishnu and Indra worshipped Ganesha, and Brahma worshipped Shiva. The entire episode has been covered in the sixteen renderings.

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.

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.