The shrine of Vishnu and the fifteen alvars and bhaktas of the Vaishnava cult.
1820
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1820
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
The shrine of Vishnu and the fifteen alvars and bhaktas of the Vaishnava cult. is a 1820 paint by Unknown, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows a bright, layered scene with three rows of figures. The top row has two gods in golden arches, one holding a conch shell, the other a disc. Below them, two rows of smaller figures sit in colorful robes, some holding flags or books. The figures all have big eyes, gold jewelry, and pointy hats. The background is framed by a golden border with patterns. The central figure in the middle row looks different—he’s larger and wears a green-and-gold robe, holding a fan. The text at the bottom is in a script that looks like Tamil. Next, check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more paintings like this.
The artwork depicts the shrine of Vishnu in his form of Shri Ranga Natha, worshipped at Shrirangam near Trichinopoly, where he reclines on the serpent Ananta with attendants on either side. Below, the figures of the fifteen alvars and bhaktas of the Vaishnava cult are shown, with the bhaktas holding square yellow fans. The ten alvars are seated in rows, positioned identically with hands in anjali-mudra and wearing sugar-loaf hats.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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