Shiva Describes the Benefits of Pilgrimage to Holy Kedarnath

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Gallery 331, Asian Art, third floor (Dutt Gallery)

Main Building

Shiva Describes the Benefits of Pilgrimage to Holy Kedarnath

c. 1800-1825

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

The god Shiva and his wife, Parvati, sit on a tiger skin beneath a great flowering tree. Shiva’s bull, Nandi, rests nearby. The divine couple’s many-headed son Karttikeya, the god of war, kneels before them, accompanied by his vehicle, the peacock. Two of Karttikeya’s hands are folded in quiet reverence toward his parents. Shiva is dressed as a prince with courtly jewelry and an elaborate peaked crown with pearl fringe matching that on the royal umbrella above him. The live snake at his waist, the faint forms of a third eye and crescent moon at his brow, and the long, thin staff of the trident he holds tucked under one arm are the only traces of his divine identity.

Gallery 331, Asian Art, third floor (Dutt Gallery)

Object Details

Title:

Shiva Describes the Benefits of Pilgrimage to Holy Kedarnath
Page from a dispersed series of the Kedara Kalpa

Date:

c. 1800-1825

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, Indian

Medium:

Opaque watercolor, gold, and silver-colored paint on paper

Dimensions:

14 1/4 x 19 1/8 inches (36.2 x 48.6 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

125th Anniversary Acquisition. Alvin O. Bellak Collection, 2001

Accession Number:

2001-43-1

Geography:

Made in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India, Asia

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Gallery 331, Asian Art, third floor (Dutt Gallery)

Main Building

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