Opaque watercolour painting of the marriage of Śiva and Pārvatī, taking place beneath a sacred tree in the presence of the four-headed Brahma, who, seated in the foreground, performs a homa, a fire sacrifice. Viṣṇu and Pārvatī’s father Himavan stands nearby. Viṣṇu stands behind Parvati and carries the chakra (discus) and shankha (conch) in his upper hands, with the lower pair in abhaya and varada mudra. Brahma carries in his upper right hand a mala (string of beads) and in his upper left the kamandalu (water vessel), while his lower hands carry the sacrificial ladle and other implements. The green-complexioned Pārvatī extends her right hand towards Śiva, who clasps it while Himavan pours water over their joined hands, thus sanctifying their union. Śiva’s upper right hand holds the damaru (hourglass shaped drum), and the mriga (gazelle) is in his upper left. His lower left hand is empty.
India, 1830
The British Museum
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