A FINE KANGRA PAINTING FROM THE DEVI MAHATMYA: SHUMBA SENDS HIS MESSENGER SUGRIVA TO THE GODDESS
A FINE KANGRA PAINTING FROM THE DEVI MAHATMYA: SHUMBA SENDS HIS MESSENGER SUGRIVA TO THE GODDESS
Expert's note: The present scene illustrates Shumbha dispatching the demon Sugriva as his messenger to the Goddess, as recounted in the Devi Mahatmya, an integral section of the Markandeya Purana. The Sanskrit inscription on the reverse quotes Chapter 5, verses 101-104: after Chanda and Munda return from the Himalayas with an account of the Goddess's extraordinary beauty, Shumbha sends Sugriva to approach her on his behalf and persuade her to come to him willingly. The royal command is expressed through the carefully ordered composition. Shumbha sits enthroned within his palace, surrounded by members of his demonic court, while Sugriva departs to carry out his mission. The messenger subsequently reaches the beautiful mountain retreat where the Goddess resides and addresses her in courteous and pleasing words.
India, Punjab Hills, late 18th-early 19th century. Ink, gouache, and gold on paper. Finely painted, depicting the red-skinned demon Shumbha sitting at regal ease in his palace, listening to the accounts of his attendants Chanda and Munda, one is seated at his feet, while the other waits outside. At the lower left, the demon Sugriva departs to carry out the wishes of his master.
Inscriptions: On the reverse, four verses from the Devi Mahatmya, Chapter 5, verses 101-104, inscribed in Sanskrit in Devanagari script:
The sage said: 'Having heard these words of Chanda and Munda, Shumbha sent the great asura Sugriva as a messenger to the Goddess. He instructed him: “Go to her and speak these words on my behalf. Act swiftly, so that she comes to me willingly.” Sugriva then went to the exceedingly beautiful place on the mountain where the Goddess dwelt and addressed her in gentle, pleasing words.'
Provenance: From a private collection in New York, United States.
Condition: Excellent condition with expected wear, minor losses along the margins not impacting the depiction, minimal soiling, the colors very well preserved.
Dimensions: Size 25.5 x 33.4 cm (folio), 40.3 x 46.9 cm (incl. frame)
Set inside a frame. (2)
The Sanskrit hymn Devi Mahatmya, an integral section of the Markandeya Purana. This foundational text from the closing centuries of the Gupta period recounts the origins and worship of Devi, the Great Goddess. By this time, the worship of Vishnu and Shiva had largely superseded the ancient sacrificial traditions of Hinduism. Theologians sought to reconcile these personalized deities with the philosophical principles of Vedanta, broadly identifying them with the eternal, impersonal Brahman, the supreme reality underlying the universe.
The Devi Mahatmya recounts a series of battles between the Goddess and powerful demons who have defeated the devas—the celestial gods led by Indra, ruler of heaven, whose authority helps sustain the divine order of the universe—and thereby disrupted the cosmic order. In the final episode, the powerful demon brothers Shumbha and Nishumbha conquer the three worlds—the celestial, earthly, and underworld realms—expel the gods from their domains, and seize their powers and treasures. The defeated gods invoke the Goddess for protection, and she ultimately destroys the demon armies and slays Nishumbha and Shumbha. With their defeat, the cosmic order is restored, the gods are freed from fear, and the surviving demons are forced to abandon the celestial realm and return to the underworld.
Goddess worship was a major strand of Hindu religious practice in the Pahari region during the 16th and 17th centuries, before the growing prominence of devotional Vaishnavism centered on Rama and Krishna in the 18th and 19th centuries. The earliest known illustrated Indian manuscript of the Devi Mahatmya, although earlier examples survive from Nepal, is a mid-16th-century manuscript from Jaisinghpur, in present-day Himachal Pradesh, now in the Shimla Museum.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related painting depicting Shumba sending his messenger Sugriva to the goddess, India, Himachal Pradesh, Kangra, dated c. 1810, 18.7 x 25.2 cm (image), illustrated in Jeremiah P. Losty, A Picture Book of the Devi Mahatma, 2016, no. 25. Compare a closely related painting depicting demons in a palace, perhaps the demon Munda sending a messenger to the demon Chanda, by a member of the Nainsukh-Manaku family, India, Himachal Pradesh, Guler, dated c. 1800, 21.6 x 28.6 cm, in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, object number 2022.40.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's London, 10 June 2013, lot 14
Price: GBP 6,250 or approx. EUR 10,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A painting from the Devi Mahatmya: Messengers describe Devi's rejection to the demon king
Expert remark: Compare the closely related manner of painting and subject. Note the folio size (22 x 28.6 cm).
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
A FINE KANGRA PAINTING FROM THE DEVI MAHATMYA: SHUMBA SENDS HIS MESSENGER SUGRIVA TO THE GODDESS
Expert's note: The present scene illustrates Shumbha dispatching the demon Sugriva as his messenger to the Goddess, as recounted in the Devi Mahatmya, an integral section of the Markandeya Purana. The Sanskrit inscription on the reverse quotes Chapter 5, verses 101-104: after Chanda and Munda return from the Himalayas with an account of the Goddess's extraordinary beauty, Shumbha sends Sugriva to approach her on his behalf and persuade her to come to him willingly. The royal command is expressed through the carefully ordered composition. Shumbha sits enthroned within his palace, surrounded by members of his demonic court, while Sugriva departs to carry out his mission. The messenger subsequently reaches the beautiful mountain retreat where the Goddess resides and addresses her in courteous and pleasing words.
India, Punjab Hills, late 18th-early 19th century. Ink, gouache, and gold on paper. Finely painted, depicting the red-skinned demon Shumbha sitting at regal ease in his palace, listening to the accounts of his attendants Chanda and Munda, one is seated at his feet, while the other waits outside. At the lower left, the demon Sugriva departs to carry out the wishes of his master.
Inscriptions: On the reverse, four verses from the Devi Mahatmya, Chapter 5, verses 101-104, inscribed in Sanskrit in Devanagari script:
The sage said: 'Having heard these words of Chanda and Munda, Shumbha sent the great asura Sugriva as a messenger to the Goddess. He instructed him: “Go to her and speak these words on my behalf. Act swiftly, so that she comes to me willingly.” Sugriva then went to the exceedingly beautiful place on the mountain where the Goddess dwelt and addressed her in gentle, pleasing words.'
Provenance: From a private collection in New York, United States.
Condition: Excellent condition with expected wear, minor losses along the margins not impacting the depiction, minimal soiling, the colors very well preserved.
Dimensions: Size 25.5 x 33.4 cm (folio), 40.3 x 46.9 cm (incl. frame)
Set inside a frame. (2)
The Sanskrit hymn Devi Mahatmya, an integral section of the Markandeya Purana. This foundational text from the closing centuries of the Gupta period recounts the origins and worship of Devi, the Great Goddess. By this time, the worship of Vishnu and Shiva had largely superseded the ancient sacrificial traditions of Hinduism. Theologians sought to reconcile these personalized deities with the philosophical principles of Vedanta, broadly identifying them with the eternal, impersonal Brahman, the supreme reality underlying the universe.
The Devi Mahatmya recounts a series of battles between the Goddess and powerful demons who have defeated the devas—the celestial gods led by Indra, ruler of heaven, whose authority helps sustain the divine order of the universe—and thereby disrupted the cosmic order. In the final episode, the powerful demon brothers Shumbha and Nishumbha conquer the three worlds—the celestial, earthly, and underworld realms—expel the gods from their domains, and seize their powers and treasures. The defeated gods invoke the Goddess for protection, and she ultimately destroys the demon armies and slays Nishumbha and Shumbha. With their defeat, the cosmic order is restored, the gods are freed from fear, and the surviving demons are forced to abandon the celestial realm and return to the underworld.
Goddess worship was a major strand of Hindu religious practice in the Pahari region during the 16th and 17th centuries, before the growing prominence of devotional Vaishnavism centered on Rama and Krishna in the 18th and 19th centuries. The earliest known illustrated Indian manuscript of the Devi Mahatmya, although earlier examples survive from Nepal, is a mid-16th-century manuscript from Jaisinghpur, in present-day Himachal Pradesh, now in the Shimla Museum.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related painting depicting Shumba sending his messenger Sugriva to the goddess, India, Himachal Pradesh, Kangra, dated c. 1810, 18.7 x 25.2 cm (image), illustrated in Jeremiah P. Losty, A Picture Book of the Devi Mahatma, 2016, no. 25. Compare a closely related painting depicting demons in a palace, perhaps the demon Munda sending a messenger to the demon Chanda, by a member of the Nainsukh-Manaku family, India, Himachal Pradesh, Guler, dated c. 1800, 21.6 x 28.6 cm, in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, object number 2022.40.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's London, 10 June 2013, lot 14
Price: GBP 6,250 or approx. EUR 10,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A painting from the Devi Mahatmya: Messengers describe Devi's rejection to the demon king
Expert remark: Compare the closely related manner of painting and subject. Note the folio size (22 x 28.6 cm).
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
