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Lot Essay
This scroll is an impressive example of the rich tradition of scroll painting in the Deccan. Whilst narrative scrolls are found throughout India, Cherial in north east Telangana produced some of their greatest examples. These scrolls are used by itinerant minstrels to illustrate stories they narrate at village gatherings. Stories can be narrated over four to seven days. Whilst there is no written text, the performance is held in Telugu language, part in verse and part in prose. Most scrolls are in vertical format with horizontal registers. They are unrolled during the performance.
The subjects of these scrolls are often drawn from important epics but as it is the case here, they also depict local legends about the origin, progenitors and certain heroes of the caste who sponsor the bards’ performance. The present example illustrates the Madel Purana or the story of the sacrifice of Daksha and the emergence of Virabhadra. It relates to the Dhobi caste of washermen.
In this scroll, Daksha, depicted with nine heads, is the father of Sati who was married to Shiva. The marriage ceremony appears on the fifth register (from top). Unhappy with their union, Daksha organised a great sacrifice to which all gods but Shiva were invited. Sati attended the sacrifice but insulted by her father, threw herself on the pyre. To take revenge, the wrathful Shiva takes his terrifying form Virabhadra and destroys the sacrificial site and chop Daksha’s nine heads. The battle of Virabhadra with the gods is the focal point of our scroll. Shiva kills Daksha but later gives him back his life. In the subsequent episodes, the Dhobis set out to clean the place of sacrifice – an illustration of the origin of the Dhobi caste.
According to Mittal, only ‘eight to ten families of painters lived in Telangana’ from the 17th to the 19th century (Jagdish Mittal, Deccani Scroll Paintings, Hyderabad, 2014, p.15). However Mittal records that since 1942 only one family of painters remains in Cherial. A related scroll of the Madel Purana scroll, attributed to the Karimnagar district and dated circa 1840-50 is the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum, Hyderabad (Mittal, 2014, cat.6, pp.144-159). Another scroll signed by Nakashi Venkata Ramaya (first half 20th century) is published in Andrew Butler-Wheelhouse, A Library of Indian Manuscripts, Sam Fogg, London, 2016, cat.34. For a discussion on a modern performance of the Madel Purana, see Kirtana Thangavelu, ‘Oral and Performative Dimensions of a Painted Scroll from Telangana’ in Anna L. Dallapiccola (ed.), Indian Painting, The Lesser-Known Traditions, New Delhi, 2011, pp.127-137.
The subjects of these scrolls are often drawn from important epics but as it is the case here, they also depict local legends about the origin, progenitors and certain heroes of the caste who sponsor the bards’ performance. The present example illustrates the Madel Purana or the story of the sacrifice of Daksha and the emergence of Virabhadra. It relates to the Dhobi caste of washermen.
In this scroll, Daksha, depicted with nine heads, is the father of Sati who was married to Shiva. The marriage ceremony appears on the fifth register (from top). Unhappy with their union, Daksha organised a great sacrifice to which all gods but Shiva were invited. Sati attended the sacrifice but insulted by her father, threw herself on the pyre. To take revenge, the wrathful Shiva takes his terrifying form Virabhadra and destroys the sacrificial site and chop Daksha’s nine heads. The battle of Virabhadra with the gods is the focal point of our scroll. Shiva kills Daksha but later gives him back his life. In the subsequent episodes, the Dhobis set out to clean the place of sacrifice – an illustration of the origin of the Dhobi caste.
According to Mittal, only ‘eight to ten families of painters lived in Telangana’ from the 17th to the 19th century (Jagdish Mittal, Deccani Scroll Paintings, Hyderabad, 2014, p.15). However Mittal records that since 1942 only one family of painters remains in Cherial. A related scroll of the Madel Purana scroll, attributed to the Karimnagar district and dated circa 1840-50 is the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum, Hyderabad (Mittal, 2014, cat.6, pp.144-159). Another scroll signed by Nakashi Venkata Ramaya (first half 20th century) is published in Andrew Butler-Wheelhouse, A Library of Indian Manuscripts, Sam Fogg, London, 2016, cat.34. For a discussion on a modern performance of the Madel Purana, see Kirtana Thangavelu, ‘Oral and Performative Dimensions of a Painted Scroll from Telangana’ in Anna L. Dallapiccola (ed.), Indian Painting, The Lesser-Known Traditions, New Delhi, 2011, pp.127-137.