Collection Online as of August 9, 2022
A Prince Performs Austerities (recto); Shiva and His Followers Return to Mount Kailash (verso), from a Romance of Chandrabhanu and Lavanyavati of Upendra Bhanja (1670–1740)
Part of a set. See all set records
Eastern India, Odisha
(formerly Orissa)
Gum tempera and lampblack on palm leaf
Leaf: 5.1 x 41 cm (2 x 16 1/8 in.)
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.175
Location
not on view
Description
In this illustration from the beginning of a popular romance, a prince performed intense austerities and devotions to the Shiva linga in order to obtain a divine woman. He practices yoga surrounded by fires during the hot season and wanders unsheltered during monsoon, as seen on the recto. On the verso, Shiva has answered his prayers and returns home to his "cave on Mount Kailash," as stated in the inscription.