MAHARAJA MAN SINGH OF JAIPUR PAYING HOMAGE TO BAHUCHARJI (2513/12)                               

Opaque watercolor / Gilt on paper

Jaipur School: Artist Bhatti Gula; Active in the court of Maharaja Man Singh (r, 1803-1843)                       

Circa 1820

30.5 cm x 38 cm / 12.0” x 15.0”

EXHIBITED:

 Ithaca College Museum of Art Ithaca, New York, 1971

 Lycoming College Gallery, Williamsport,1981

DESCRIPTION: The maharaja of Jaipur paying homage and seeking seeking the blessings of the goddess Bahucharji (Chubal): The goddess Bahucharje   (a form of the great goddess Devi ) who is attended by the youthful gods Shiva and Krishna . The maharaja, perhaps Jagat Singh, is seen in a palace forecourt greeting the goddess who rests sidesaddle on a cockerel vahana ,her vehicle. Behind her are Shiva and Krishna are seen as blue and white twins in a type of tandem dance. : The goddess, though according to Blurton* is popular in Gujarat, Western India: lacks a reference in either Majupuria’s,  or Gupte’s books**.  The three eyed goddess holds in her four hands; a mace, trident. sword and a lotus. She is richly dressed and bejeweled and on her   head is a crown which is surrounded by a golden   nimbus. The blue and white figures are also richly adorn and in their four hands   hold the following: Shiva peacock feathers, sword, drum, and lotus and blue one sword, drum whisk, and lotus. Their nimbus each contain a coiling snake The   floor of the forecourt is a rich pattern, behind  the walls a rich profusion of flowers, in the foreground a marble pool and fountain.

REFERENCES

* Blurton, T. Richard; Hindu Art: Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts,1993, p.158.

** Majupuria,T.C. & Kumar,Rohit: Gods and Goddesses; Know Nepal Series No. 10;Craftsman Press, Bangkok; 1998,

Gupte,R.S.;Iconography of the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains;D.B.Taraporevala Sons & Co. Pvt. Ltd.;Bombay, 1980;