Art, Symbol & Imagination
The Birth of Ganga: Khitindra Nath Mazumdar
Original caption: The Birth of Ganga
Mazumdar gives the descent of Ganga the stillness of a close portrait. Shiva’s eyes are lowered, his hands rest near his chest, and the falling stream is received in his spreading locks. In the adjacent legend Bhagiratha undertakes a long effort to bring the heavenly river down for his ancestors, but its force requires Shiva to receive it before it reaches the earth. The image sets immense natural energy against a composed body. The pale water above the head and the dark serpent around the shoulders make the figure a meeting place for flowing and coiled forms.
Read the source pageLoading your collection…
Citation
Khitindra Nath Mazumdar. "The Birth of Ganga: Khitindra Nath Mazumdar" [source caption]. In Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists, Sister Nivedita and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. Original scan, 1914, George G. Harrap & Co.. Source scan leaf 389. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/hindu-birth-ganga
Source details
Title from the printed caption. Editorial description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Artist credited in the printed list of illustrations. Full source leaf and the adjacent narrative reviewed; historical scan colour and texture retained.
Sources
From the book
Myths of the Hindus and BuddhistsSister Nivedita and Ananda K. Coomaraswamy1914More from this book
Garuda: Nanda Lal Bose’s Mythological Bird Figure
Rama’s Marriage: K. Venkatappa’s Ramayana Illustration
The Death of Maricha: K. Venkatappa’s IllustrationRelated illustrations
Explore in the Codex
Entries that reference this illustration.
Cite this illustration
Khitindra Nath Mazumdar. The Birth of Ganga: Khitindra Nath Mazumdar. Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists. Scan leaf 389. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/hindu-birth-ganga