A BLACK STONE STELE DEPICTING UMA-MAHESHVARA, INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 12TH CENTURY

Collection of a Japanese Diplomat, acquired in Bangladesh in the early 1970s

Uma-Maheshvara represents the sacred embrace, alingana, of the Lord Shiva joined with the Goddess Uma. The Great Ascetic, Lord Shiva, who was overcome with the beauty of Uma, Daughter of the Mountain, succumbed to their union for the benefit of his devotees (S. Kramrisch, Manifestations of Shiva, Philadelphia, 1981, p. 57). Their union is principally metaphysical, though during the Pala period, Shiva and Uma's relationship can be most immediately observed through their corporeal interplay. It is through their sensual relationship that they are meant to become a gateway for the devotee to enter their sacred realm.

In this sculpture, Shiva’s primary arms lovingly caress Uma, with one hand brushing the underside of her chin with his fingertips while the other arm firmly holds the underside of her breast and torso. There is contrast between the lightness of his fingers and the strength of his arm around her torso, and this contrast between his tenderness and power is also played out in the attributes he holds. The secondary left arm holds the trishula “representing his invincibility” while in his second right arm, “the peaceful and beautiful lotus signifies a balance of elements in his nature.” (S. L. and J.C. Huntington, The Leaves from the Bodhi Tree: The Art of Pala India (8th-12th centuries) and Its International Legacy, Seattle, 1990, p. 143.

Unlike Shiva’s erect posture, Uma’s body is fluid, soft and seductive, intertwining itself with his. Her full weight rests on Shiva’s leg with her right leg folded inwards, her torso falling towards Shiva’s body and her outer leg opening to the side. She wraps her right arm around Shiva, gripping his shoulder, while her right arm holds a mirror held nearly parallel to her face. For Uma, there is only surrender to Shiva’s powerful embrace. Yet, she holds the mirror in a way that suggests expanding beyond the limitations of their own physicality. The mirror, here, becomes the gateway welcoming the devotee into their sacred realm.

The divine couple are featured here in the moment before their union, the anticipation of which accentuates the possibility of entering the divine realm. This expectancy is what creates a feeling of activity, carried throughout the piece in the swaying movement of the surrounding figures and swirling foliate carvings throughout. Moreover, the bull and lion below, mirror Shiva and Uma, with the bull showing his eager commitment to the lion who lies on its side, in a posture of full surrender.

For another example showing the pair in an identical embrace and with the same iconographical layout, including the trefoil arch, see Sotheby’s, New York, September 21, 1995, lot 93.