AN ILLUSTRATION TO A RAGAMALA SERIES: A LORD HOLDING A CRESCENT-TIPPED ARROW (WITH HIS BELOVED)

A blue-skinned Lord stands holding a bow and feathered crescent-tipped arrow, his beloved demurely holding her veil with her hair falling into long black curls over her breast. He wears a golden flower-tipped crown, she holds a small jewel or a paan as they gaze into each other’s eyes. 

The subject is perhaps a version of Vibhasa Ragini. The iconography of Vibhasa is traditionally imagined as two lovers in a bedchamber at dawn, he aims flower-tipped arrows to gently wake her. 

In the present work the male figure appears as a heroic warrior outfitted for battle bearing a bow and arrows with a talwar and a katar (fist dagger) tucked beneath his sash, his arrow benignly pointed blade down. The two lovers stand starkly on a glowing yellow ground devoid of horizon line, the vibrant primary colors of their clothing blazing in brilliant reds and blue.  Is our hero Kama the god of love or perhaps a manifestation of the god-hero Rama?

“Love has taken bow and arrow in hands 
and desire is considering in her heart the battle of love ...
Both are hardy and valiant fighters - both are well matched and neither yields.
Both are alike in beauty of form - the tender girl and the lusty youth.
Only if you look with the eyes of love will you see the true tincture of love”.

(Trans. by A. K. Coomaraswamy) 

In a relatable Rajasthani subject from Uniara, described by M. C. Beach, Rama holds a bow and crescent arrow seated beside an adoring Sita and attended by Lakshmana and Hanuman. See Milo Cleveland Beach, Rajput Painting at Bundi and Kota, Ascona, 1974,  pp. LV, fig. 56.

For the iconography of Vibhasa Ragini refer to A. Dallapiccola and E. Isacco, Ragamala, Paris, 1977, cat. 41, p.37 and Philadelphia Museum of Art, acc. no. 1994.148.412.