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Early Paintings of the Goddess in NepalAuthor(s): Pratapaditya PalSource: Ars Orientalis, Vol. 12 (1981), pp. 41-48Published by: Freer Gallery of Art, The Smithsonian Institution and Department of the History ofArt, University of MichiganStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4434248 .Accessed: 17/10/2011 13:25

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EARLY PAINTINGS OF THE GODDESS IN NEPAL

BY PRATAPADITYA PAL

THE MOTHER GODDESS, IN HER MYRIAD MANIFESTA-

tions, continues to enjoy great popularity in Nepal. There is reason to believe that her cult is among the most ancient in that country. Her most common appellation is "Bhagavatli," a term almost uni- versally applied to any image of a goddess, but in particular to that aspect known as Mahisasura- mardini, or "destroyer of the buffalo-demon." Curiously, representations of Mahis-suramardinT cannot be dated much earlier than the tenth century, which is also the date of the earliest surviving manuscript of the DerCimihitmya, a text glorifying Durga as the destroyer of Mahisasura and other asuras.'

For a Sakta, a follower of Devi who is also known as Sakti (meaning "power" or "energy"), the Devimiihitmya has the same significance as the Bible has for a Christian. It is customary for a devout Sakta to read the text himself or to have it recited by a brahmin. Often, a devotee would also commission a manuscript for a special occasion and donate it to a brahmin. The text is recited every day for ten days during the autumn festival of the Goddess. The Newark Museum possesses a fine illuminated copy of a DevTm?ihiitmya manuscript that was commis- sioned on one of these holy days in 1477 by Prince Rdyamalla, very likely to ensure his success in battle.2 In the Devimhiihtmya, the Goddess explicitly says that the person who reads this text will not experience fear from enemies, robbers, or kings (satruto na bhayam tasya dasyuto va na rdjatah/ / chap. 12, v. 6a). Elsewhere we are told that the Goddess protects her devotee from fire, on the battlefield, and from great difficulties and disasters. A recitation of the text also protects the devotee from all sorts of psychological problems, from evil influences of the stars, and from bad dreams. Children are protected from evil eyes and from evil spirits.3 But perhaps the most important reason for commissioning, reading, or reciting the text was to express piety, thereby securing a place in heaven.

It is also interesting to note that the manuscript of the Devizm7ihaitmya (or CanEyf, as it is also called) is often worshipped directly in place of an image of the Goddess. In certain parts of the country, such as Gujarat and Bengal, the Goddess is frequently worshipped as a book. As the NTlamatapurihna tells us, "O twice-born, books should be worshipped in the temple of Durga. "4

The earliest and most beautiful manuscript illus-

trations of Sakta themes known to date portray the Seven Matrkas, or Mothers, along with Gane'a (fig. 1). These figures occur on the inside of two wooden covers now in the British Library.5 Their diminutive size notwithstanding, the depictions are excep- tionally graceful and vibrant. Unfortunately, some of the figures are more damaged than others, but those colors which remain have preserved their freshness remarkably well, considering the age of the painting.

The Seven Mothers are led by Gan.esa, whose white figure is silhouetted against a blue aureole and a red halo. His trunk is outlined in pink; he sits gracefully with his weight partially supported by his gray rat. This is no ordinary rat, however, but is of gigantic proportions. Obviously, the illuminator found it incongruous to depict a rat of normal size carrying such an enormous burden. Among Ganes'a's attri- butes we can recognize the rosary, the battleaxe, and his broken tusk.

Like Ganesa, each Mother is seated upon her respective mount. Mahe'vari and IndrdnT sit with their legs loosely crossed at the ankles; the others sit in the more relaxed and graceful posture known as lalitasana, where one leg is pendant. Each goddess has four arms; the principal two hands hold a skull- cup (right) and display the gesture of exposition (left). This particular combination of the attribute and the gesture with the two principal hands is a feature common to Tantric images of the Goddess in Nepal (fig. 5). It is also rather curious to note that the upper right hand of each goddess holds the same object, viz. a damaru, or "kettledrum." The distin- guishing attribute of each is placed in the upper left hand. Of those that can readily be recognized, Mahesvari holds a trident, Kaumarfia spear, Vaisnavi a mace, V5r5hT an elephant goad, Indran.rTa thunder- bolt, and C5mund- a staff that may be a khatvdhga. As to their mounts, Brahman.i has her goose, M5hesvari a yellow bull, Kaumari a peacock, Vaisnav1 Garuda, V5r5hi a man, Indranii the ele- phant, and C-munda a man. The complexion of Brahman. is yellow, MWhesvarT white, Kaum5rT, V5r5hi, and C-munda- are red, Vaisnavi dark green, and Indra-ni. orange. IndranT. is further distinguished by the third eye placed horizontally on her forehead; M5hesvari does not appear to have a third eye.

Aesthetically, the illustrations are rendered in the finest Nepali tradition. The outline of the figures is firmly drawn, enclosing the elegant forms with a soft

42 PRATAPADITYA PAL

but sensuous grace. Very little shading is employed to delineate the form, yet a remarkable sense of volume is achieved solely in terms of line and color contrast. Each deity is set off against a background of a different color. Thus, the yellow Brahmd7ii, red Kaum5ri, green Vaisnavil, and orange Indrdn7i are presented against white; the white Mahesvari and red VTr5hT against olive green; while Cmuunda's red gains added intensity by being placed against a deep green aureole. The haloes, too, are painted in different shades of red, green, and mauve. In addition, darker hues are applied to reinforce the outlines of the aureoles, providing even greater relief to the figures. Thus, a perceptible sense of depth is created simply by manipulating the various color surfaces.

In addition to the rich complexions of the goddesses, the use of variegated drapery designs confers both a sense of volume and an impression of liveliness upon the various deities. All of these (except Camunda) wear garments of beautifully printed material of diverse colors. C-munda alone wears an exquisitely rendered tiger-skin which is more suitable to her depiction as an ascetic with an emaciated body.

The earliest known painted representations of the Goddess in her Mahis-asuramardini form occur in three stray palm leaves which may have belonged to a DevTmdhitmya manuscript and which are now in the British Library (fig. 2). Only a single sentence is written on the back of one of the folios (fig. 3), and it may be read as follows:

om bhujendra [or bhujahga] kutilakara gajendra kadall-laya tha salstra-madhye pradhanena likhitah kinna mucyate //

The inscription is written in poor Sanskrit and is difficult to understand. I am indebted to Dr. Gauriswar Bhattacharjee of the Berlin Museum for the following comments and translation. It is not quite clear whether the first word is bhuljendra or bhujanga. If it is bhujendra, then it must have been abbreviated by the author from bhujagendra, the use of which would have disturbed the meter. A tentative translation, as suggested by Dr. Bhattacharjee, is as follows: "[Though] lord of the serpents [yet he has a] shape, [and though] lord of the elephants [yet he has] his resort in the banana plant [which is so weak] [and therefore the person] who has written the foremost of the scriptures, will he not be liberated?"

The inscription indirectly informs us that the text must have been of the DevTmadhtmya, as this text alone would be described as "foremost of the scriptures" by a S-kta. We can also surmise that the text was written by a literate scribe who, however, was no Kalidasa. The style of writing, which is quite

beautiful, does help us to corroborate the date of the pictures arrived at by stylistic analysis (see discussion below).

In spite of the effaced condition of one of the illustrations, it is clear that all three representations of the Goddess are identical except for complexion color; these are, respectively, red, green, and blue. Each image is placed within a circular aureole of red flames and is framed by red and yellow borders. The space between the edge of the aureole and the yellow border is painted deep blue. In each instance, the Goddess is nimbate, has twelve arms carrying identical attributes (mostly weaporns), and stands astride her lion-vdhana and the decapitated buffalo. No human being, however, emerges from the buffalo's neck; instead, in each illustration the Goddess releases two serpents which wrap them- selves around the necks of two asuras. An identical formula has been employed to represent each of the asuras. Their militancy is apparent in their posture. Each asura wields a club with one hand and, with the other, attempts to loosen the coils of the deadly snake. It is interesting to note the way in which the figures of the asuras spill over the frame of the illustration. In each of the representations, the Goddess wears a fine, transparent dhoti that reveals her firmly modeled legs. In addition, a jacket designed like a cuirass hugs her voluptuous body. The red goddess wears a blue jacket, while the green and blue goddesses wear red jackets. On one of the folios, a male and female devotee are seen worship- ping the Goddess. They may represent the donor of the manuscript and his wife.

This particular formula for representing Ma- hisasuramardini has remained popular in Nepal. Several representations in stone and bronze are known. The interesting feature of all these de- pictions is the convention that shows the Goddess, in addition to killing Mahisasura, invariably attacking two other asuras as well. It is difficult to ascertain whether they depict a particular pair of generals, such as Canda and Mun.da, or Sumbha and Nisum- bha. In such representations, Mahisasura is usually seen emerging from the buffalo's neck, but in these particular illustrations, the artist has omitted the human form (as is also the case with another version of the subject rendered on a gilt-bronze manuscript cover).6 At any rate, it seems clear that this particular iconographical variation, as well as the composi- tional formula, was a peculiarity of the Nepali artistic tradition.

Although diminutive, the illustrations are re- markably animated and vibrant. They exhibit the elegance of manner characteristic of better-known Buddhist manuscript illuminations. They are, in

EARLY PAINTINGS OF THE GODDESS IN NEPAL 43

fact, stylistically comparable to some fine Pani- caraksii illuminations in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (fig. 4). There, too, we notice similar compositions which depict kneeling figures repre- senting forces of disease and evil, who tum away as if unable to bear the wrath of the Goddess. In both manuscripts, the drawing is exceptionally fine and the compositions lively. The donor couple in the Dev-m&hiitmya folio is especially engaging. Less than an inch in size, they are fully modeled figures, at once dignified and elegant. The details of their garments and physical features, as well as the offerings before them, are precisely articulated. In general, the luminous colors of these small pictures reflect the intensity and richness of early Buddhist manuscript illuminations.

The most richly illustrated Nepali manuscript of the Dezimdhdtmya is in the Bharat Kala Bhavan (figs. 5-15). In terms of both narrative intent and iconographic feature, this is the most elaborately illuminated manuscript known to date. The pic- tures, which are generally placed in the center of the folio, illustrate literally the themes narrated in the text. A few of the illustrations depict hieratic representations of the goddess Durga, or Ambika. In addition to these, the artist has provided some remarkably lively renderings of combat scenes.

A typical hieratic representation (fig. 5) shows us three devotees, wearing dhoti, ornaments, and tiaras, engaged in adoring a white-complexioned goddess who is seated on a blue lion. The four hands on the right hold a skull-cup, an elephant goad, an arrow, and a sword. Those on the left display a shield, a bow, a noose, and the gesture of exposition. Although the image does not correspond to any particular description in the text, it may represent the Goddess as Mah5sarasvati, the presiding deity of the third part of the text. The red background is strewn with flowers; these are seen in the majority of the illustrations. The three devotees, shown in three- quarter profile, stand or kneel quite naturally. Two of them may represent King Suratha and the merchant Samadhi, for whom the text was narrated by the sage Medhas.

In another hieratic representation, two goddesses, one white and one black, are shown seated in an identical manner on a single lotus (fig. 6). The skull- cup and the gesture of meditation are common to both, but the white goddess carries a bow and an arrow and the black goddess a sword and a noose. Once again, the images do not agree with any of the descriptions in the text but are obviously two different manifestations of the Devi.

In two other folios (figs. 7, 8), two very spirited images are shown being worshipped by devotees.

Although both assume the same militant posture, there are striking differences between the two figures. One of the goddesses is double-complexioned (fig. 7). Her face, torso, shoulders, and upper arms are painted white, but her forearms, hips, and legs are black. As far as I know, deities with two complexions are encountered in the Vajrayana Buddhist pan- theon, but there the two complexions are divided along a vertical axis. Because of the damaged condition of the illustration, it is not clear how many arms the Goddess has, but the number appears to be eighteen. In the second of these two images (fig. 8), the Goddess is uniformly dark and is given at least ten heads and probably an equal number of legs and arms.

The half-white, half-black goddess with her eighteen arms may represent the universal, or visvariipa, form of the Goddess. The DevTmdhdtmya tells us that she is to be worshipped in her eighteen- armed form despite the fact that she has a thousand arms (as!ddasabhujii pu-jya sai sahasrabhuij satU /). The other figure with multiple heads and limbs is almost certainly Mahakll, who is the presiding deity of the first part (prathamacaritram) of the text. She is described as follows:

I resort to Mahakali, who has ten faces, ten legs and holds in her hands the sword, disc, mace, arrows, bow, club, spear, missile, human head and conch, who is three-eyed, adorned with ornaments on all her limbs, and luminous like a blue jewel and whom Brahma extolled in order to destroy Madhu and Kaitabha, when Visnu was in [mystic] sleep.7

Far more visually exciting are the narrative scenes in which the Goddess (or another deity) is seen in combat with various asuras. One of the folios (fig. 9) illustrates a fight between a four-armed deity and two asuras beside a water tank. Menacing serpents coil around the feet of the deity, who has four arms and carries a lotus, a conch, a club, and a wheel. The divine figure is attacked by the two asuras. While it may initially appear that this scene represents Visnu's battle with Madhu and Kaitabha, who emerged from the god's ears while he was engaged in cosmic sleep on the ocean, the form of the deity is in fact unusual. The figure seems to be bisexual. The face with the third eye (unusual for Visnu) appears to be identical with the faces of other images of the Goddess. There is also a slight indication of a breast on the left side of the chest, although this is not as fully delineated as it is in the female figures. However, unlike the Goddess, this figure wears a short dhoti, which would indicate that, despite a few feminine traits, the figure does indeed represent the god Visnu. The composition is enlivened by the fluid interaction between the figures and the ser- pents, and the ocean is depicted conceptually, using

44 PRATAPADITYA PAL

a formula that is typical of contemporary Indian paintings.

One of the curious features of the Devzmdhdtmya is that the Goddess frequently fights a pair of asuras, such as Sumbha and Nisumbha, or Canda and Munda. Another is that the climax of the text is not the death of Mahis-sura; rather, it is the destruction of Sumbha and Nisumbha.

Can.da and Mund.a, the two generals of Sumbha and Nisumbha, spot the Goddess in the mountains and report back to their masters, praising her incomparable beauty. Sumbha sends Sugriva to persuade the Goddess to be his wife. In a charming illustration (fig. 10), the Goddess, poised on a rock, converses with the messenger, who has doubtless just finished extolling his master's masculine prowess and abilities. The Goddess is visualized as a demure country girl who is out tending her goats and has met a handsome young soldier. In a second composition (fig. 11), we encounter the juxtaposition of two different scenes. The seated Goddess appears to be watching herself or one of her emanations destroy the two asuras who had dared to insult her. Her wrath is clearly expressed by the vigorous manner in which she pulls the asura by his hair and simul- taneously thrusts her trident into his body. The second asura has already been slain. Other illus- trations (figs. 12, 13) depict the Goddess engaging two asuras, once with a sword and again with the trident. These conflicts between goddess and asuras are quite credible. The protagonists are the same size, and the Goddess is shown without her divine attributes. She is, in fact, essentially human-a charming young girl who sometimes has a temper tantrum and kills an asura or two. Not even a nimbus is provided to suggest her divinity.

In two remaining battle scenes, however, the Goddess is provided with additional arms so that we are left in no doubt about her divine nature. In one of these paintings (fig. 14), she is shown impaling the asura Raktablija. Raktabija was a privileged asura: every time he bled, another asura would be created from each drop of his blood. Durga, therefore, ordered K-arl to stretch her tongue out and lap up the blood before it could fall upon the ground. In the illustration, K-arl only her bust is shown-stretches out her enormous tongue to swallow not merely a drop of blood, but an entire asura.

The last combat scene (fig. 15) depicts the final battle between Durg-a and Mahisasura. The Goddess is now equipped with eight arms. She stands astride the shoulder of the decapitated buffalo and the attacking lion-vdhana. With one of her left hands, she pulls the buffalo by its tail; with another, she clutches Mahisasura's hair. The lion is about to take

a chunk from Mahis-sura's shoulder. The demon looks around helplessly as he attempts to unsheathe his sword. The composition, which is characterized by considerable drama and action, continues the basic formula which we have encountered in the earlier representations of the theme (fig. 2). Here, however, the human Mahisasura is included, and the two additional asuras are excluded. In a sense, therefore, the earlier illustrations encapsulate in a single composition all of the various battles de- scribed in the DeviTmdhdtmya.

The background of the Bharat Kala Bhavan illus- trations is invariably painted red and is speckled with flowers, symbolic of the divine presence. Most of the figures are modeled by means of outline, with the exception of the buffalo, whose form assumes greater plasticity due to light shading and the reinforcing of its outline. The figure types have undergone slight modifications. The Goddess is always shown with a naked torso, and her features are also somewhat different. Of particular interest, however, are the more convincing (because more naturalistic) representations of the battle scenes in the Bharat Kala Bhavan manuscript (as opposed to their more hieratic depiction in the British Museum folios). The artist has made obvious attempts to enliven the different battles by showing both the Goddess and the asuras in various postures and positions. The compositions, as a result, are more variegated, fluid, and visually exciting. Noteworthy, too, are the colorful and decorative rocks with their cubelike shapes, a hallmark of early Nepali paint- ing.

To establish the dates of isolated book covers and manuscript pages is always a difficult task. For- tunately, we are on rather secure ground here because of the enormous amount of dated Buddhist material that has survived and because of the state of the knowledge of Nepali paleography.

The three isolated folios representing the three Durgas can be dated with fair certainty on both stylistic and paleographical grounds. The script in which the short inscription is written is described by Bendall as the "early hooked Nepalese hand."8 The paleography closely follows the script found in various datable manuscripts in the Cambridge University Library, including that of a Kurukullia Kalpa, dated to 1179, and the Sddhanamdla--tantra of 11 65.9 As we have already pointed out, the paintings are stylistically close to the beautiful Paficaraksa illustrations of the first half of the thirteenth century (fig. 4) as well as to the painted covers of a Sivadharma manuscript of 1139 in the Cambridge University Library.'0 Thus, a date in the second half of the twelfth century for these three isolated leaves

EARLY PAINTINGS OF THE GODDESS IN NEPAL 45

would not be inappropriate. Stylistically, the covers with the Seven Mothers are so close to the Durga paintings that it seems obvious that they were painted at about the same time.

I have elsewhere dated the Bharat Bala Bhavan Devzmdh&tmya paintings to the fourteenth century. A more careful analysis of the paleography seems to favor a date in the first half of that century. The style of writing seems generally to conform to that seen in a manuscript of Riama-nka-Natikia, written in 1360 and now preserved in the Cambridge University Library." However, some of the letters continue to use earlier forms typical of manuscripts of the thirteenth century.

The stylistic elements of the Devzmdhihtmya illustrations are closer to the Indian Museum Astasiihasrika Prajniipiiramita manuscript'2 of 1367 than to such mid-thirteenth-century paintings as those of the Los Angeles Panfcaraksa. While the figures of the hieratic goddesses still retain the soft sensuousness of the earlier representations, the subsidiary figures, including the asuras, are not quite as elegant as those in the Panicaraksii illus- trations (fig. 4). The modeling seems somewhat more attenuated and brittle, and both the propor- tions and the facial features have changed sub- stantially. However, the remarkable continuity of the tradition is demonstrated by the fact that the artist has used the same formula for delineating the rocks as did his predecessor in the well-known illustrations of the Astasaihasrikii Prajfnipdramita manuscript of 1015 in the Cambridge University Library. 'I

A painting on cloth from about the same period is now in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (fig. 16). Stylistically, this cloth painting does not differ from the numerous Bud- dhist paintings surviving from this period. It is, however, a rare art-historical document, for no earlier painting of the Goddess has survived, even in India. The painting has been damaged at the top, but along the bottom are three panels, exactly as we find in Buddhist paintings, which represent the per- formance of various rituals by a priest, a lively scene with dancers and musicians, and a row of donors.

The painting represents a mandala consisting of a central figure of the Goddess destroying Mahis-sura; both are enshrined within the pericarp of a lotus. Eight other goddesses, identical except for their complexions, are portrayed on the outer petals of the lotus. Each is given eighteen arms; hence, we can surmise that the effaced central figure must also have had eighteen arms carrying different weapons and attributes. Each of the goddesses pulls an asura by his hair and thrusts a trident into his chest. There can be

little doubt that, together, the nine goddesses constitute the Navadurga mandala. The central lotus is superimposed on two intersecting squares which produce eight triangles at the corners. These triangles and the eight interstices contain sixteen representations of the Mother Goddesses ($odas'a Matrka). The octagon is surrounded by an outer circle with a flaming perimeter. This circle is inhabited by the eight guardians of the directions (dikpala), each seated within a gateway and flanked by a pair of goddesses of whom some are dancing, but most are seated. The exact identification of this group of sixteen figures is uncertain. Beyond the fiery fringe, in the two lower corners, are two more terrifying goddesses flanked by animal-headed com- panions. Each goddess stands in pratyadi4ha posture on a corpse; while one is multiarmed, the other holds a chopper and a skull-cup with her two hands. Presumably, there were two other similar groups in the upper corners of the mandala.

The group of Navadurg-as is described twice in the Agnipuriina, once in the Bhavisyapurd-na, and once in the Kiranaigama.14 In all three texts, the nine goddesses are said to be identical except for their complexions and to possess eighteen arms. The attributes and weapons, however, differ in the different lists. The iconography here seems to correspond closely to the description given in chapter fifty of the Agnipura-na.

The nine Durgas have the following names: Rudracan.d, Pracan.d.a, Can.dogra, Candanayika, Candd, Candavatd, Candar-upa, Aticandika, and Ugracanda-." Of these, Ugracan.da is the principal deity and is represented in the center of the mandala. Each goddess stands in alidha posture with the right foot on the lion. With one hand, she pulls the asura by the hair as he emerges from the buffalo and, with another, drives the trident into his chest.

Nothing is said in any of these texts about the other deities to be included in the mandala. Thus, apart from being the earliest example, iconograph- ically this fragmentary painting represents the most elaborate mandala of Navadurgas known so far. In fact, as de Mallmann observed, Navadurga repre- sentations are so rare that she could cite only one damaged example now in the Rajshahi Museum.'6 It is also interesting to note that all nine names of the goddesses contain the word canda, leaving no room for doubt that they are the angry manifestations of the Goddess. And yet, we are told in the Agnipuraina that consecration of the Navadurgas increases sons and other things for the devotee (navadurgaIh syuh sthdpyadh putrdddi-vrddhaye).'7

Despite its condition, there seems no doubt that the mandala was executed sometime near the end of

46 PRATAPADITYA PAL

the fourteenth century. Stylistically, it can be placed somewhere between the Vasudhara mandala of about 1367 and the Los Angeles Visnu mandala of 1420.18 This becomes particularly clear if we com- pare the dancers and musicians in this mandala with those in the Vasudhara mandala. In both paintings, these slim figures are remarkably alike and are characterized by a lively elegance. In general, the drawing in the Navadurga mandala is particularly fine; one can easily surmise how bright and luminous the original colors must have been.

As is to be expected, there is abundant material for the study of paintings related to the Goddess after the fifteenth century. But the early paintings described above are particularly important, not only for their rarity, but also because they push the history of such paintings back to at least the twelfth century. When taken together with other known earlier examples of Hindu paintings that have survived in Nepal, it is evident that the tradition of mandala paintings and manuscript illumination was not confined only to the Buddhists. Meager though they may be, these early Nepali paintings have particular relevance for the study of Indian painting.

Few paintings depicting Hindu themes, either in manuscript form or on cloth, have survived from

pre-fifteenth-century India. Most of the extant paintings are either Buddhist or Jaina. Yet, it would be difficult to imagine that manuscripts of the Devimhiitmya and the Bhagavatapuriina were not copied and illustrated by pious Hindus all over medieval India. It would be wrong to assume that Hindus in Nepal were more interested in painting than were Hindus in India. The fact that so few of the early Hindu illuminated manuscripts have survived on the subcontinent is no reason to believe that they did not exist.

The recent acquisition by the Simla Museum of a richly illustrated manuscript of a Devimiihdtmya, purportedly belonging to the sixteenth century and painted in the Panjab hills, is a case in point.'9 Simply because no example of sixteenth-century paintings from that hilly region had come to light previously, scholars interested in the field were almost convinced that painting originated in the area only in the seventeenth century, very possibly due to Mughal influence. Such assumptions are, of course, absurd.20 It would be worthwhile for scholars of Indian painting to take a closer look at Nepal. It is this area which may provide interesting clues to the lost history of early Hindu painting in India.

EARLY PAINTINGS OF THE GODDESS IN NEPAL 47

Notes

1. The manuscript is preserved in the National Library in Kathmandu. In an article written in 1966, 1 pointed out that a manuscript of the Devimiahdtmya in the museum, which I dated to ca. 1400, was the earliest known illustrated manuscript of the text. See my "Paintings from Nepal in The Prince of Wales Museum," Prince of Wales Museum Bulletin, no. 10 (1967), pp. 4-6, figs. 4, 5. In view of the evidence brought forward by the present article, the date of the Prince of Wales manuscript must now be moved forward to the sixteenth century.

2. For a detailed discussion of this manuscript, see my The Arts of Nepal, 2 vols. (Leiden, 1974-78), vol. 2: Paintings, pp. 33, 60; fig. 12.

3. Swami Jagadiswarananda, Devi Mdhdtmya (Madras, 1953), p. xiv. The verse is as follows:

agnina- dahyam-nastu satrumadhyagata- rane / visame durgame caiva bhaya-rtah saranam gata-h //

Most of chapter twelve of the Devr-mdhdtmya is devoted to the benefits derived from chanting the text in the words of the Goddess herself.

4. Ved Kumari, The Nflamata Purina (Srinagar, Jammu, 1968), p. 164. durgagrhe pustakana-m pija- kairya- tatha- dvija. Also, lingstha-m puijayeddevrm pustakastham tath- aiva ca, from the Yoginitantra, in Brhattantrasa-ra, ed. Krishnanda Agamvagish (Calcutta, n.d.), p. 425.

5. The photographs of these two covers, as well as those for figures 2 and 3, were kindly supplied by Mr. Simon Mathews of London. The illustrations are rarely more than two inches high.

6. Pal, The Arts of Nepal, vol. 1: Sculpture, fig. 14. The tying of the asura with a serpent by the Goddess is described in the Devfpurina (tarjjamianam hatam murddhni nagapa-s'ena vestitam // chap. 32, v. 37).

7. Jagadiswarananda, Devi Maihatmya, p. 2.

8. For a discussion of the paleography of Nepali palm-leaf manuscripts, see Cecil Bendall, Catalogue of the Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge (Cambridge, 1883), Introduction.

9. Ibid., Table of Letters. Mss. ADD. 1686 and 1691.2.

10. Pal, The Arts of Nepal, vol. 2, fig. 54.

11. Bendall, Buddhist Sanskrit Catalogue, Table of Letters, Ms. ADD. 1409.

12. Pal, The Arts of Nepal, vol. 2, figs. 28, 29.

13. Ibid., vol. 2, figs. 14, 15.

14. For a description of the Navadurgas, see Marie-Therese de Mallmann, Les Enseignements Iconographiques de l'Agni- Purana (Paris, 1963), pp. 147-49. The Devzpurina (chap. 42, v. 10) lists an important place of pilgrimage called Navadurgasthala but says nothing about the shrine of the image, except that the goddess was called Trimunda.

15. A different list of names of the Navadurga-s is found in the Ma-rkandeyapurana (see Jagadiswarananda, Devi Mahat- mya, p. xiv). They are: Sailaputri, Brahmacarini, Can- draghanta-, Kusmanda, Skandamata, Ka-tya-yani7, Kalara-tri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri.

16. Mallmann, Enseignements Iconographiques, p. 149.

17. Agnipurina, chap. 50, vv. 10-12.

18. Pal, The Arts of Nepal, vol. 2, figs. 1, 72.

19. This manuscript was discovered in the autumn of 1977 and still awaits publication.

20. That mandalas were painted and manuscripts written and perhaps illuminated by the Hindus prior to the eleventh century is evident from the Devipurdna, a text of immense importance for the Sakta religion. In chapter ninety-three, in connection with the worship of the goddess Nandadevi, Siva says the following about religious paintings on cloth:

patasya laksanam vaksye yatha sidhyanti sddhakdh / granthikesavihi-ne tu ajtrne samatantuke // v. 148 asphitite achidre tu sthalenaiva samalikhet / mangalaruipini karya jayddyaih parivarita // v. 149 vrddhena bhavate vrddho vyadhite vyadhito bhavet / kuriupena kurupastui muirkhena tu na puijyate // v. 150 lekhakasya ca yadruipam citte bhavati teidrsTam // v. 151

I shall now tell you the characteristics of patas or cloth paintings with which the adept achieves his goals immediately. The cloth for the painting should have no knots or loose threads [literally, hair] and it should not be old; all the threads should be smoothly woven. One should rest it on a place without cracks or holes and then paint the images of the auspicious Nanda along with Jaya and other attendants. If the painter is old, then the image also looks old; if he is indisposed, then the image looks ill; if he is ugly, then the picture is without beauty. One should never worship a painting drawn by a fool. The form of the image will always reflect the condition of the artist's mind.

In an earlier chapter (ninety-one), the author of the purana discusses the importance of donating books to brahmins. A detailed discussion of this chapter must be postponed for another occasion, but some of the informa- tion is relevant for us. Rather than quote the original text, I will briefly summarize the pertinent portions. We are told that the manuscript should consist of palm leaves and should have two wooden boards, to be tied together with either red or black thread. One should write very carefully, making sure that the letters do not crowd one another and that the writing is legible. When finished, the manuscript should be placed on a decorated cloth and worshipped along with the painting of the deity invoked in the text.

Although we do not know the exact date of the DezT- purina, that chapter ninety-three is earlier than 1050 is evident from the fact that almost the entire chapter is quoted by Hema-dri and Laksmi-dhara, both of whose dates are known. It is probably earlier than the Kalikapuriana, which is usually dated to the eleventh century, and was probably compiled in its present form sometime between the sixth and tenth centuries. In both chapters ninety-one and ninety-three, the word pustaka ("book") has been used. This is a loan word from Old Persian and could not have been introduced before the sixth century, as it is not included in Amarasim.ha's Amarakosa, generally regarded as a sixth-century lexicon.

In any event, these references to both painted images and manuscripts are among the earliest in Sanskrit religious literature. Especially significant is the discussion of the

48 PRATAPADITYA PAL

patacitras, which confirms the suggestion made above that painted images of the Goddess in India must have existed much earlier than the present evidence indicates. Another passage in the text prescribes both a manuscript and a

painting (among other objects) as suitable images for the worship of the Goddess (pustakasthiim mahiidevi piaduke pratimaisu ca / citre va trizikhe khadge jalasthaim vapi p2u- jayet // vv. 93, 105). See also n. 4 above.

PAL PLATE 1

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FIG.I1. Covers with the Mothers; co o w

FIG. 1. Covers with the Mothers; colors on wood. Twelfth century. The British Library.

PAL PLATE 2

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1 14

FII. 2. Folios representingIMahisisuramardini; colors on wood. Twelfth century. The British Library.

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PAL PLATE 3

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FIG. 3. Reverse of a folio in fig. 2, with inscription.

F. 44

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PAL PPLATE 4

FIG. 5. Mahisarasvati (?), folio from a Devimihitmya ms.; colors on palm leaf. Fourteenth century. Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi. Photographs of figs. 5-15, courtesy, American Institute of Indian

Studies, Varanasi.

FIG. 7. Universal form of Durga, same ms. as fig. 5.

FIG. 6. Durga and Kill (?), same ms. as fig. 5.

4MG. 8

FIG. 8. Maha-k1il, same ins. as fig. 5.

PAL PLATE 5

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FIG. 9. Visnu fights Madhu and Kaitabha, same ms. as fig. 5.

FIG. 11. Devi destroying asuras, same ms. as fig. 5.

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FIG. 10. Devi conversing with Sugriva, same ms. as fig. 5.

FIG. 12. Devi destroying asuras, same ms. as fig. 5.

PLATE 6 PAL

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FIG. 13. Devi- destroying asuras, same ins. as fig. 5. FIG. 14. Devi- and Kal11 fight with Raktabi-ja, same ms. as fig. 5.

FIG. 15. Devi fighting Mahisasura, same ms. as fig. 5.

PAL PLATE 7

FIG. 16.Navad mandal; colorson.cott ..on. -40

FI.1.Naaug mnaa clr ncotn 37-40 LsAgls onyMuemo At h NsiadAlc eraaekColcin