Topic: Holy Men & Women, and the Beings Who Visit Them

[Nichi]

It is a recurring theme in the old Indian paintings: the holy man or woman -- alone or with visitors. I'm quite fond of the fascination with this theme -- which must have been present since there is such an abundance of paintings with the theme. I especially like the difference: you would not ever see such an affection for, or sanctioning of such a lifestyle in the US -- or perhaps even in the west? There are a few Catholic saints, I suppose, like Francis of Assisi: but he is surely the exception, not the norm.

In any case, the 'holy' characters in this thread include ascetics, hermits, dervishes, yogis, yoginis, gurus, mullahs, and pirs. Visitors include companions, attendants, disciples, angels, tigers, lions, cheetahs, dogs, musicians, nobility, pilgrims, and villagers.

[Nichi]

Ascetic by the water. Unknown origin, from the cover of The Bijak of Kabir, Translated by Linda Hess and Shukdev Singh.

[Nichi]

Detail of the painting below.


The artist Ruknuddin has combined creatively a number of ragamala texts to make this evocative masterpiece. Following artistic precedent and the texts, he shows an ascetic “in penance, adorned, gray [with ashes]” listening to a disciple, who is described as “a young man beauteous in every limb,” playing the rudra vina. Another ragamala text tells us the disciple is “an ascetic, whose mind is drowned in meditation on Shiva . . . crowned by the white moon.” ~Met Museum



Kedar Ragini - Ruknuddin - 17th Century

Best view:
http://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/as/original/DP153180.jpg

[Nichi]

Three women – a hermit with her two companions – are sitting by the tree on the garden terrace at sunset. The lady is sitting on the lion skin and is holding a rosary in her hands. She has a princely turban on her head and a large earring of the Kanphata sect in her ear. One of the ladies-in-waiting is leaning against the tree trunk and smoking narghile. In front of the women there is fan made of peacock feathers, as well as some fruit and drinks. There is a bonfire, which protects the interlocutors from the evening chill. The other lady-in-waiting is writing down a proverb advocating ascetism on a tablet, using a devanagari alphabet. In the distance there is a walled city, with carriages and riders approaching the city gate, as well as pedestrians fleeing from the dusk.

Images of that kind, popular in India towards the end of the 17th century, were linked with customs and religion. In certain situations, such as pregnancy or having to look after small children, widows were dispensed from the ritual sati [self-immolation] after the husband’s death, but they had to spend the rest of their lives as hermits. A woman of high social position was allowed to occupy the estate of her deceased husband in solitude, in a pavilion located in the remote part of the gardens. She still had the right to a certain lifestyle, she could wear jewellery. The hermit and her accompanying lady-in-waiting wore clothes in the colour of a quince flower with capes with pieces of colourful rags sewn onto them, and had their hair pinned up, usually hidden under a turban. The hermits were highly respected and considered saintly. They were visited by women looking for advice, comfort and blessing for their children.

~Ewa Czepielowa

[Michael]

I am about to write something on this subject, at least in principle. So it's apropos.

[Nichi]

I am about to write something on this subject, at least in principle. So it's apropos.

But of course!

[Nichi]

Ragamala - possibly Kedar

[Nichi]

Unidentified ragini. Man sitting on a mat in a field full of birds and animals. Circa 1610, Provincial Mughal style from the Manley Ragamala.

[Nichi]

Meeting with a yogini. Early to mid-18th C. poss. Golconda, Deccan, India

http://mfas3.s3.amazonaws.com/objects/SC155277.jpg

[Nichi]

Bifolio from the Gulshan Album (Left Side) India, Mughal dynasty, ca. 1600-1625; Dazzling in its jewel-like colors, palpably present yogis and atmospheric landscapes, this opening from the great Gulshan album of the Mughal emperor Jahangir represents Nath, Ramanandi, and Sannyasi yogis as members of an amiable collective.

[Nichi]

Mughal, 17th-18th Century

[Nichi]

“A Female Hermit is Entertained by a Musician” India; beginning of the 18th century A holy woman – perhaps a Sufi, perhaps a Hindu yogi – is listening attentively to another woman playing the zither. The painting is from the late Mughal period, when night scenes were especially popular.

http://www.davidmus.dk/files/7/1/2563/Yogini.jpg

[Nichi]

Ascetics under a banyan tree. Signed: Inayat. India, Mughal school, dated 1630-31 AD. Opaque watercolour on paper. This painting was apparently inspired by a similar work of c.1625 by Govardhan. The nude figures are Hindu holy men visited by two elderly Muslim shaykhs and a dervish who holds a begging bowl. This is the latest work by Inayat, who was active at the courts of Akbar, Jahangir, and Shah Jahan.

[Nichi]

A Learned Man/the Venerable Sufi/an Old Sufi, by Basawan, Mughal, 1575-80. Assembled in an album for Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan, r. 1628-57) in 1611-12.

[Nichi]

Title: "Kamoda ragini" Creator/Contributor: Mir Chand, attributed Date: 1770 Format: Painting ink, gouache, and gold on paper India, Eastern India, Lucknow Description: An ascetic sits on an animal skin on a rock with a tree behind him. Contributing Institution: UC Berkeley, Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive