The revelation of Siva's son Skanda to the sage Jagishavaya
Illustration to the Siva Rahasya

Jodhpur, circa 1827

Opaque watercolour with gold on paper

47.5 by 51 cm.; 18¾ by 20 in.

The revelation of Siva's son Skanda to the sage Jagishavaya forms the third chapter of the Himvat Khanda, a book of the Skanda Purana, which relates to the exploits of Siva.

The Siva Rahasya manuscript in the royal Jodhpur collection at Mehrangarh Fort, dated Samvat 1884/1827 A.D., comprises one hundred and one folios, and describes the "boundaries, mountains and rivers of the three worlds", see Diamond, D., Glynn, C. and Singh Jasol, K., Garden and Cosmos: the Royal Paintings of Jodhpur, London, 2008, pp.238-9, no.54. This painting is a surviving third from a large-scale illustration to the Siva Rahasya.

The stylised rocks and foliage are unique to Jodhpur painting in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and reflect their luxuriant qualities as home to the gods.

Provenance

Private collection, England, acquired in the 1970s