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Untitled (Shri Ranganatha and fifteen alvar and acharyas)

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Date

c.1830

Description

Opaque watercolour painting of Shri Ranganatha and fifteen alvar (south Indian poet saints) and acharyas (religious teachers). In the upper portion of the page is the innermost sanctuary of the Shri Ranganathasvami temple on Srirangam Island. The god reclines on the coils of the serpent Shesha. Above him, on a cloud, is Vibhisana. The sanctuary is guarded by the Dvarapalas (door guardians) on either side of the door. The processional images at the shrine’s entrance and that of Paravasudeva on the dome are also shown. Beneath the shrine are fifteen seated figures in three rows: the twelve alvars and the most important Vaishnava acharyas. The third figure from the left in the first row, probably showing Nammalvar with the chentu, originally had the same headgear as the others. This detail was later corrected, and now the figure is the only one without headgear.

Image Licence

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Image Credit

Location

Sri Ranganatha Swamy Temple, Tamil Nadu, India

Country

India

Medium

Watercolour