№ MMXXVI

RACHNA · A LIVING ARCHIVE

Rachna by M.

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MM · XXVI

Canvas
Shiva and Parvati Playing Chaupar

Shanta

गांजा पीनेवाला जन्मको लहरीरे

Ganja Pinewala Janmako Laharire

Mirabai
1 min read 1 versesशिवshivaश्मशान

1 verses · ~1 min

गांजा पीनेवाला जन्मको लहरीरे॥ध्रु०॥ स्मशानावासी भूषणें भयंकर। पागट जटा शीरीरे॥१॥ व्याघ्रकडासन आसन जयाचें। भस्म दीगांबरधारीरे॥२॥ त्रितिय नेत्रीं अग्नि दुर्धर। विष हें प्राशन करीरे॥३॥ मीरा कहे प्रभू ध्यानी निरंतर। चरण कमलकी प्यारीरे॥४॥

इति

Mirabai

The Poet

मीराबाई

Mirabai

1498 · 1546

In the vast tradition of Indian devotional literature, Mirabai stands as an absolute force of fearless independence. Born around 1498 into a royal Rajput family in Rajasthan, she rejected every expectation placed upon a woman of her aristocratic stature. Following the death of her husband, she refused to commit Sati, refused to mourn according to courtly protocol, and instead declared herself eternally married to Lord Krishna. Her entire life became an act of spiritual rebellion against feudal patriarchy. She left the palace, mingled with the lower castes, accepted the leather-worker Ravidas as her guru, and composed ecstatic, deeply personal poetry (bhajans) that mapped the fierce agony and joy of divine love. According to enduring historical memory, she survived multiple assassination attempts by her furious in-laws before leaving Mewar entirely. Five centuries later, her voice remains universally alive. Her songs are sung in temples, villages, and classical concerts across the subcontinent. She did not merely write Bhakti poetry; she weaponized devotion to achieve total personal liberation.

Shiva and Parvati Playing Chaupar

Paired Painting

Shiva and Parvati Playing Chaupar

This exquisite miniature transports us to the ethereal heights of Mount Kailash, where the divine couple Shiva and Parvati engage in the ancient game of Chaupar. The intensity of their connection transcends the game itself, reflecting a cosmic intimacy that is at once playful and profoundly sacred. Against a backdrop of vibrant yellow, which evokes the sunlit peaks of the Himalayas, the artist Devidasa masterfully captures the stillness of the divine union. Shiva, adorned with his sacred beads and serpents, sits with his characteristic calm, while Parvati, draped in grace, mirrors his focus. Their presence upon the skin of a tiger serves as a potent reminder of their dominion over the untamed forces of the universe. This work is a testament to the Basohli school, where bold colors and expressive lines were used not merely to decorate, but to invite the viewer into a meditation on the interplay between the cosmic and the human.

Open the viewer →

If this held you

Four more, in the same key.

Chosen for their rasa and their register, not their popularity. Each one carries some part of what Ganja Pinewala Janmako Laharire carries.