Raja Ravi Varma was an observed Indian painter and craftsman. He is considered among the best painters in the historical backdrop of Indian workmanship for various tasteful and more extensive social reasons. Initially, his works are held to be among the best instances of the combination of European systems with a simply Indian reasonableness. While proceeding with the convention and feel of Indian workmanship, his artworks utilized the most recent European scholastic craftsmanship procedures of the day.
Besides, he was outstanding for making moderate lithographs of his works of art accessible to people in general, which extraordinarily improved his range and impact as a painter and open figure. In reality, his lithographs expanded the contribution of average citizens with expressive arts and characterized aesthetic tastes among ordinary citizens for quite a few years. Specifically, his portrayals of Hindu gods and scenes from the sagas and Puranas have gotten significant acknowledgment from people in general and are found, regularly as objects of love, over the length and expansiveness of India.
Raja Ravi Varma was born on 29th April 1848, in Kilimanoor, a small town of Kerala, India. He is well known for his unique oil paintings, mainly from the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. Raja Ravi Varma managed to accomplish a beautiful union of the Indian traditions with the techniques of European academic art.
Life history: Raja Ravi Varma was born at Ravi Varma Koil Thampuran of Kilimanoor palace in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore in Kerala. His father Ezhumavail Neelakanthan Bhattatiripad was an accomplished scholar, and his mother Umayamba Thampuratti was a poet and writer whose work Parvati Swayamvaram would be published by Raja Ravi Varma after her death. His siblings were C. Goda Varma, C. Raja Raja Varma and Mangala Bayi Thampuratti, who was also a painter. Raja Ravi Varma was married to Pururuttathi Nal Bhageerathi Amma Thampuran (Kochu Pangi) of the Royal House of Mavelikara and they had two sons and two daughters. Their eldest son, Kerala Varma, born in 1876 went missing in 1912 and was never heard from again. Their second son was Rama Varma, an artist who studied at the JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, married to Srimathi Gowri Kunjamma, sister of Dewan PGN Unnithan.
Raja Ravi Varma’s elder daughter, Ayilyam Nal Mahaprabha Thampuratti, appears in two of his prominent paintings and was mother of Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore. He had another daughter, Thiruvadira Nal Kochukunji Thampuratti, grandmother of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma Maharajah. His descendants comprise the Mavelikara Royal house while two of his granddaughters, including the said Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, were adopted to the Travancore Royal Family, the cousin family of the Mavelikara House, to which lineage the present Travancore Maharajah Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma belongs. Well known among his descendants are writer Shreekumar Varma (Prince Punardam Thirunal), artists Rukmini Varma (Princess Bharani Thirunal) and Jay Varma, classical musician Aswathi Thirunal Rama Varma and others.
At a young age he secured the patronage of HH Maharajah Ayilyam Thirunal of Travancore, a relative, and began formal training thereafter. Raja Ravi Varma received widespread acclaim after he won an award for an exhibition of his paintings at Vienna in 1873.He travelled throughout India in search of subjects. He often modeled Hindu Goddesses on South Indian women, whom he considered beautiful. Ravi Varma is particularly noted for his paintings depicting episodes from the story of Dushyanta and Shakuntala, and Nala and Damayanti, from the Mahabharata. Ravi Varma’s representation of mythological characters has become a part of the Indian imagination of the epics. He is often criticized for being too showy and sentimental in his style. However his work remains very popular in India.
Raja Ravi Varma passed away on October 2, 1906. Major paintings of Raja Ravi Varma Village Belle Lady Lost in Thought Damayanti Talking to a Swan The Orchestra Arjuna and Subhadra Lady with lamp The broken Swarbat Player Shakuntala Lord Krishna as Ambassador Jatayu, a bird devotee of Lord Rama is mauled by Ravana Victory of Indrajit A Family of Beggars A Lady Playing Swarbat Lady Giving Alms at the Temple Lord Rama Conquers Varuna Nair Woman Romancing Couple Draupadi Dreading to Meet Kichaka Shantanu and Matsyagandha Shakuntala Composing a Love Letter to King Dushyanta Girl in Sage Kanwa’s Hermitage (Rishi-Kanya)
Posting some of his great paintings on this post
Krishnaleela Painting by Raja Ravi Varma
The best works of Raja Ravi Varma is with the Sanskrit play, The Recognition of Shakuntala
Shakuntala, also known as The Recognition of Shakuntala, The Sign of Shakuntala, and many other is a Sanskrit play by the ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa, dramatizing the story of Shakuntala told in the epic Mahabharata. It is considered to be the best of Kālidāsa’s works002E Its date is uncertain, but Kālidāsa is often placed in the period between the 1st century BCE and 4th century CE.
The protagonist is Shakuntala, daughter of the sage Vishwamitra and the apsara Menaka. Abandoned at birth by her parents, Shakuntala is reared in the secluded hermitage of the sage Kanva, and grows up a comely but innocent maiden.
While Kanva and the other elders of the hermitage are away on a pilgrimage, Dushyanta, king of Hastinapura, comes hunting in the forest and chances upon the hermitage. He is captivated by Shakuntala, courts her in royal style, and marries her. He then has to leave to take care of affairs in the capital. She is given a ring by the king, to be presented to him when she appears in his court. She can then claim her place as queen.
The anger-prone sage Durvasa arrives when Shakuntala is lost in her fantasies, so that when she fails to attend to him, he curses her by bewitching Dushyanta into forgetting her existence. The only cure is for Shakuntala to show him the signet ring that he gave her.
She later travels to meet him, and has to cross a river. The ring is lost when it slips off her hand when she dips her hand in the water playfully. On arrival the king refuses to acknowledge her. Shakuntala is abandoned by her companions, who return to the hermitage.
Fortunately, the ring is discovered by a fisherman in the belly of a fish, and Dushyanta realises his mistake – too late. The newly wise Dushyanta defeats an army of Asuras, and is rewarded by Indra with a journey through heaven. Returned to Earth years later, Dushyanta finds Shakuntala and their son by chance, and recognizes them.
In other versions, especially the one found in the Mahabharata, Shakuntala is not reunited until her son Bharata is born, and found by the king playing with lion cubs. Dushyanta enquires about his parents to young Bharata and finds out that Bharata is indeed his son. Bharata is an ancestor of the lineages of the Kauravas and Pandavas, who fought the epic war of the Mahabharata It is after this Bharata that India was given the name “Bharatavarsha”, the ‘Land of Bharata’
Harihara Bheti [Hari(Vishnu) and Hara(Shiva) meeting] Vrishabha kunjaram
The Story of Ganga :
Survanshi king Dilipa’s son Bhagirath was performing a very harsh penance in the Himalayas. He wanted to bring river Ganga to earth from the heaven because only she could bestow nirvana to Bhagirath’s ancestors who were burnt to ashes because of sage Kapil’s curse.
After many years, Bhagirath was able to please Ganga. He heard the whispers from the heaven above “I am ready to come to earth as per your wishes but who will be able to stop my mighty tides and flow. I might sweep away the whole planet and end up in Patal Lok.”
Bhgirath was perplexed, he asked Ganga to provide a solution. Ganga replied that only Lord Shiva has the ability and valor to channelize her. If he agrees to keep me on his head, things will work out in favor of everyone. Hearing this, Bhagirath started praying to Lord Shiva. Pleased by the penance, Shiva agreed to let Ganga flow from his hair.
It was on the day of Dussehra when Shiva decided that it is time to fulfill his promise. He untied his hair and started looking at the sky without blinking his eyes. Ganga started flowing from the heavens and landed on Shiva’s head…not a single drop of water touched the earth.
The river got tangled in Shiva’s hair.
Answering Bhagirath’s prayers, Shiva took a strand of his hair and from there originated the Ganga that we know today. This place is known as Gangotri now and since Ganga came out of Shiva’s jata (hair), she is also known as Jatashankari.
However while flowing, Ganga demolished the ashram of sage Jahna, who got angry and stopped her right there. On Bhagirath’s appeal he later freed her that is why Ganga is also known as Jahnavi.
Ganga reached sage Kapil’s ashram where Bhagirath’s ancestors were burnt to ashes and liberated them so they could rest in peace. From there she gushed into Bay of Bengal, it is known as GangaSagar.
Photo Credits to RaviVarma.Org
Please Comment your thoughts about these great paintings and share this post across.