ABSTRACT

Symbolic representation in Indian tradition has a separate niche from the start when

man started to express his feelings through the mode of painting. It has a parallel growth

along with the growth of various religions, which show depiction of religious deity or

mythical belief. Evidence to support the title are scare in number, where murals which stand

prior to miniature painting in origin show less existence of symbolic representation in

survival state.

Ample existing support to prove this, is seen in deities who are being worshipped till

date. As painting stands prior to sculpture, it shows that there was wide symbolic

representation in painting from the early stage of depiction based on this subject. Miniature

has more number of evidence where it holds both religious and social subjects portrayed with

symbolic representation. Depiction of objects from nature with the determination to convey

implicit meaning would not have occurred to man in all of a sudden. Commonly found

symbolic representation is the icon of the lingam (phallus) set in the yoni, the standard

emblem of the double sexed deity as used in shrines as principal icon which is seen

throughout India where surviving examples can be quoted both from mural and miniature.
INTRODUCTION

Earliest evidence to symbolic representation in painting can be seen in Ajanta caves, II

century B.C.. The fresco depicts arrival of a raja with his retinue to worship the Bodhi

tree. Here Lord Buddha is symbolically portrayed as a Bodhi tree in cave X of Ajanta. The

Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhist art make use of symbolic representation, where lotus,

mandala or endless knot, golden fish, victory banner, wheel of dharma, treasure vase, parasol

conch shell serve as symbol of purity, eternal harmony, conjugal happiness and freedom,

victorious battle, knowledge, treasure and wealth, protection from the elements, thought of

the Buddha respectively. Apart from this hand gestures, describe action of the characters

represented in various attitude. The mudra or symbolism of the hands, is a profound subject

and is found occupying a prominent position in all spheres of indian art. It forms a study in

itself, every pose of the hand, every movement of the finger, having a particular significance.

In Buddhist frescoes a somewhat similar object is discernible, these members full of

animation, are made to express a finger language of their own. The subtle turn of the wrist,

the flexing of a finger, the two hands brought firmly together, the opening of the palm, and

innumerable other graceful combinations, all have their meaning, deprecating, affirming or

supplicating according to the needs of the illustration. Symbolic representation in the frescoes

of Ellora, Kailasnath temple show Lord Shiva as Nataraja and Lingodbhava ,divine dancer

and the linga iconic representation respectively, VIII century A.D. Court paintings found

in Jammu, Bahu, Jasrota, Mankot, Basholi, Chamba, Kangra, Guler, Mandi, Garhwal, Punjab

Hills, Delhi, Bikaner, Mathura, Amber, Agra, Jaipur, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Jhilai,

Isarada, Bundi, Jaunpur, Banaras, Murshidabad, Kota, Udaipur, Raghugarh, Chawand,

Raghugarh, Rajasthan,Gujarat, Bombay, Bijapur, Golconda, Hyderabad, Madras and parts of

Orissa, AndhraPradesh and Karnataka, where painters had liberty in the rendering of dresses,

furnishings and architectural details; sky, water and rocks are depicted in an imaginary way;

background are established through randomly chosen colours, XVI – XIX century A.D.

Symbolic representation is either found as personification, iconographic images or as

abstract form. Abstract form are found in Tantra, Yantras, Mandalas, cosmological and

astrological charts and symbols. Tantric images have a meditative resilience expressed mostly

in abstract sign and symbols. A geometric configuration such as a triangle representing

Prakriti or female energy is a primal root form representing the governing principle of life in

abstract imagery as a sign. The conception of golden embryo, The womb of energy from

which the universe develops is the cosmic egg or Siva - Linga in tantras. Yantras,

diagrammatic equivalent of the deity and consists of linear and spatial geometric

permutations of the deity. The primal abstract shapes such as the point, line ,circle, triangle,

square and lotus are harmonized in composition to provide a formal equilibrium which is

both static and dynamic. Bindu the ultimate point of power beyond which a thing or energy

cannot be contracted or condensed, straight line signifies growth and development, circle is

derived principally from the motion of the revolution of planets symbolizes wholeness or

totality, square symbolizes the elemental earth or the material quality of nature, triangle

represents the three worlds: the neutral, the positive and the negative. The triangle pointing

upward is identified with the male principle, triangle with its apex downwards represents

yoni. Two triangles penetrating each other in a form of five pointed star or a pentagon

represents the five elements earth, water, energy, air and space. Two triangles separated, that

form an hourglass pattern represents dissolution, time and space cease to exist. Yantras are of

various kinds, representing deities like Siva, Vishnu, Krishna, Ganesha and various
manifestations of Sakthi such as Kali, Tara, Bagala, Chinanamata. Mandala

means circle, archetypal image signifies wholeness and totality. It represents the cosmos or

the potent core of psychic energy.

Indian miniature signify symbolic representation through paintings in,

Ragamala, XVI Century A.D.

Chaurapanchasika, early XVI Century A.D.

Padshanama, XVI Century A.D.

Anadi Patan, XVII Century A.D.

Gita govindha, XVIII Century A.D.

Samaranganasutradhara, XVIII century A.D.

RAGAMALA

It is the visualisation of ragas, which brings forth ragamala paintings. The

Ragamala miniature paintings tradition combines poetry and paintings by giving a visible

form to music. The numerous sets of Ragamala produced for unknown bibliophiles and

lovers of music display a high degree of perfection. Somewhat liberally elongated slender

female forms are invariably the central figures of the composition, personifying the ragini

(melody).

Each raga or ragini is based on an emotional situation reflecting a particular mood of love,

either in union or separation. Initially the ragamala painting contained a number of symbols,

animals, birds, humans, divine forms, such as a deer in ragini Todi, tiger in Bangali,

Camel in Maru, snakes in Asawari, swing in Hindol, peacock in Kukubh, Nayika

worshipping Shiva linga in Bhairavi. Later in Indian poetic era both literature and

painting were influenced by nayak – nayika bhed, which became the subject for the song as
nayak – nayika, instead of god and goddess. A landscape effect is achieved by grouping of

attenuated trees amidst oblong and bulky rock cluster rising unhindered above the jagged

shore of a lake in the foreground. Framed with softly modelled clouds, the effect of cool

moonlit nights often lends a special charm of the visualization of a certain melodic mode.

The Ragas are male and in main six in number, corresponding to the order of six seasons.

Each Raga has six wives, the Raginis, thirty six in all. Their probable origin, as the various

names indicate, lies in the age old folk traditions of the Indian music; the names may refer

sometimes to a geographical prevalence (e.g. Todi = Tamil country), or a mythical

background (e.g. Bhairavi, the spouse of Bhairava- Siva). Pictorial representation of the male

Ragas bring out the motif of Mithuna in union, while Raginis or female melodies of Mithuna

in separation and anticipation. Most of the Ragini pictures are based on the incomplete

Mithuna motif. The Nayika, heroine, is often a maiden in her sudden psychic awareness of

the charms of adolescence youth, anticipating, iin her various moods and gestures, the union

with lover. Usually she is depicted alone, that is without her male companion, in her

particular state of mind, with the material world and the natural surroundings treated as a

mirror of the mood. The best depiction are from the XVI and XVII centuries, when the form

flourished under royal patronage, though by the XIX century it gradually faded.

CHAURAPANCHASIKA

Is a short but beautiful Sanskrit love lyric written in the XI century A.D.

by a poet named Bilahana. The legend runs that a young and accomplished Brahman,

Chauras, at the court of King Sundava of Kanchipur, fell in love with the beautiful daughter

of the Maharajah, named Vidya. THE flame was mutual; and when the secret of the pair

became revealed, the incensed Monarch pronounced sentence of death upon Chauras, who
passed his last hours in prison, composing these verses, in praise and recollection of his lost

mistress. The term Panchasika means a set of fifty verses. In the purvapithika of kavyamala,

the poet of the story is the author Bilhana himself, who was engaged at the court of king

Virasimha as preceptor to the young and beautiful princess Champavati, also named Sasikala

or Vidhya. As an aid to the dating of Chaurapanchasika paintings, it will be helpful to

concentrate on two important details of dress, characteristic of the style. The first is the

transparent angarkha or the jama with four sharply cut ends that is worn by Bilahana in the

illustrations. Fastened in front or at the side with tight fitting sleeves, it is reminiscent of

some of the portraits of the time of Akbar. The artist has created a woman (CHAMPAVATI)

of ineffable grace and charm. The transparent odhni is handled in such a way as to

emphasize the gestures. And in the figure of Bilahana, furthermore, we have a fine picture of

a Hindu noble of the sixteenth century, wearing a tight fitting coat of the finest muslin over

pyjama which sometimes cover half the feet, with a long narrow, patka stylized turban and

decorative shoes. He wears long whiskers and moustache and on his forehead a perpendicular

vaishava mark.

PADSHANAMA

Illustrated text of Shajahannama, known as Padshanama or Badshah Nama is a genre of

works written as history of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahans reign. These works are among

the major sources of information about Shah Jahans Reign. Lavishly illustrated copies were

produced in the imperial workshops, with many Mughal miniatures. Although military

campaigns are given the most prominence, the illustrations and paintings in the manuscripts

of these works illuminate life in the imperial court, depicting weddings and other activities.
ANADI PATAN

Illustrated manuscript of Assam, 25 handmade cotton folios are used as base material and

scripts are in Kaitheli, based on the Bhagavatava purana book III, mixed with Vaman purana.

It deals with the hindu theory of creation and describes the cosmology consisting of seven

heavens and seven hills and goes on to tell of the places man goes to after his death

depending on his deeds and how one is tortured in hell for his misdeeds during his earthly

life.

GITA GOVINDA

Written about 1170, by Jayadeva is one of the great poetical expressions of that devotional

wave of Vaishavisim, which swept through India and revolutionized the religious life of the

people in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was a time of great religious, social and

literary upheaval. It witnessed the careers of Chitanya, of the Chandidasa, of Vallabha – the

founder of the popular cult of Vaishavism, the Pushtimarga, and of Tukarama, the spiritual

guru of the great Shivaji, and also of Nanak, the first of Sikh gurus. The cult of loving

devotion, with Radha and Krishna as the central figures, touched the inner most depths of the

popular imagination and an age of beautiful lyrical poetry dawned. The love of Radha and

Krishna threw a mystic sanction over the love of human beings.

SAMARANGANASUTRADARA

Encyclopaedic work on medieval Indian architecture written by king Bhoja of Dhara

(1000-1055 A.D.) of the Paramar dynasty. Mainly deals with classic Indian architecture, it

also says about sculptural arts, mudras, canon of painting. Symbolic representation in

Samaranganasutradara is seen in yantras, which it also includes.

Survival of symbolic representation in Indian traditional painting orients to religious belief,

even Padshanama had influence of European style. Parallel growth is seen in paintings

until there comes the thought to merge with the thoughts of western world in the twentieth

century. At present evidence to symbolic representation is found either as an exact copy of

earlier representation or in an insignificant form. Sole survival of symbolic representation in

painting depends mostly on religious practice and belief. Representation in the contemporary

sometimes even forget to delineate the meaning in symbolic representation, where symbolic

representation is treated as design motifs.