AN ILLUSTRATION DEPICTING GANESHA THE GOD OF AUSPICIOUS BEGINNINGS

Lord Ganesha seated holding his axe and a golden bowl of sweets being fanned by two attendants, perhaps his two wives Siddhi and Buddhi, both holding chowries. On a green hillside Shiva and Parvati sit within a bower, its interior a brilliant red.  

Executed in a “provincial” Mewar style likely originating from one of the thikanas (fiefdoms) of Mewar the present work combines stylistic influences from its capitol Udaipur as well as some aspects from Marwar as seen in our paintings color palette (ie: the earthy red-brown in the distance) manner of drawing and somewhat in the figural arrangement and facial types.

The present miniature is numbered folio “1” from a series which opens with an invocation to Ganesha, the god of auspicious beginnings, wisdom and good fortune. He is prayed to by devotees at the beginning of every birth, marriage and significant new enterprise. Ganesha son of Shiva and Parvati inscribed the Mahabharata as narrated by its compiler the sage Vyasa and is certainly one of the most popular deities in the Hindu pantheon.