Devi, Dark as the Night of Dissolution

The artwork, ‘Devi, Dark as the Night of Dissolution’ or ‘The goddess Kalaratri, dark as the night of dissolution’, is part of the Tantric Devi artwork series painted at the court of Sangrama Pala (Chandra,1978). At least seventy paintings have been attributed to this series based on the numbers written on the left-hand side of the paintings (Goswamy & Fischer, 2011), with this piece being one of the thirty-two recorded to date. This 22.2 x 21.2 cm (including border)/17.7 x 17 cm (picture only) artwork is attributed to Kripal of Nurpur, the artist believed to be the Master of the Early Rasamanjari. At the centre of the painting, the four-armed, dark-bodied Devi sits cross-legged on the skin of an antelope. She drinks from a large bowl that is held in her upper right hand. The two lower hands rest on her legs. Despite the use of darker colours for her skin, she remains quite gentle in her countenance, which the dhyana verse at the back of the painting compares to the night of dissolution. The lavishly decorated pink skirt, red-stained hands, and green choli seem to emphasise the colour of her skin, giving it an almost glowing, radiant look. Her eyes are large, tinged with red, and her back is erect. She commands regal strength, which is emphasised through the thin, delicate line style of the painting. The Devi is decked out in jewellery, and one can see a multitude of necklaces, rings, anklets, bracelets, earrings, decorative strings, and pom poms. Of special note is her crown, which is decorated with lotus buds. This series was created to be meditated upon, to be able to attain siddhi, or attaining the heart’s desire (Goswamy & Fletcher, 1992). The artist removes all but the most important references in the painting, which is the Devi herself. This is also noticed in the flat, monochromatic yellow background, with a barely visible streak of white and blue at the top of the painting to suggest the sky. The artwork has a broad red border, and a green strip of grassy land at the bottom almost blends into the background. The Devi series was undertaken before the Rasamanjari series, and the stylistic similarities between the two series make it quite clear that the former greatly influenced the latter’s style, with the key difference being that the subjects of the former were iconic in nature. This style would go on to define the Basohli art movement of Pahari miniatures.