#krishna #radha #gopi #bundi #wallpainting #bhakti #sufi #jalkrida – Rana Safvi

Jal Krida of Lord Krishna and it’s spiritual implications

Rana Safvi — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 05:13:58 +0000

Jal Krida:
Ghoonghat ke pat khol toge piya mile ge.
Ghoonghat: veils of ignorance
Piya : divine

A very popular ( not sure if it’s authentic) saying of Hazrat Ali is : Learn your religion, do not inherit it.
One of our biggest failings is that we have stopped learning & unquestionably accept WhatsApp forwards.
I have heard people classify this representation of Lord Krishna stealing the clothes of the bathing gopi as fun and frolic or even evesteasing whereas it’s a spiritual metaphor, and the meaning is very deep if one knows anything about Bhakti or Sufism.
The water is reawakening / coming out anew as if new birth.
The clothes symbolise moh or materialism/ attachment to physical objects which have to be shed along with ego to achieve union with the Divine.
It’s only when all veils have been dropped between soul and divine that the spiritual union can take place.
Now see this wall painting on the wall of Chitrashala in Garh palace Bundi with new eyes.
#krishna #radha #gopi #bundi #wallpainting #bhakti #sufi #jalkrida

Dervish Leading a Bear”, Folio from the Shah Jahan Album,recto: ca. 1630–40; verso: ca. 1530–40 Painting by Govardhan in Met Museum

ranasafvi — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 13:53:13 +0000

Gallery Text :

This painting of a dervish reflects the Mughal interest in holy men. Prince Dara-Shikoh, Shah Jahan’s eldest son, became a serious student of these spiritual beliefs and this painting was most likely executed under his patronage.
A dervish wearing a brown animal fur covering, earrings, bangles, an anklet leads a dark brown bear by a leash. The red earing and iron bangles are customary accessories worn by dervishes of the Qalandar and Haydari orders. His forearms and chest are dotted with markings, caused by self-inflicted burns. These marks, known as dagh (hot) in Persian, demonstrate faithfulness and love for God.
The scene suggests an allegory familiar to Sufis in which the higher self (here perhaps symbolized by the dervish) struggles to overcome his baser instincts (the bear). His burns, ragged garb, fasting, and wandering give him strength in this struggle.
The Shah Jahan Album, also known as the Emperor’s Album, features fifty illustrated and calligraphic folios, forty-one of which belong to the Metropolitan Museum, and nine of which reside in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art.
In lower part of second border around the portrait, Shah Jahan’s handwriting identifies this as “Work of Govardhan.”

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451258

This explanation by friend Salman Asif:,

Dear Rana ji – many thanks for sharing these truly riveting images. I was thinking of commenting on the previous image of dervish with a tamed lion and now this image of dervish holding a stick and walking with a harnessed bear (both otherwise predatory animals of the wild) lends me a moment to share my reading of the theme and its symbolism in these miniatures.

Although, I have not yet fully read the Persian verses given on the ‘haashia’ of this painting with much attention, however the clearest clue as to what these thematic representations reflect, that one can elicit, is possibly from the choice of verse given on the margins.

The verses refer to duality of human nature (fitrat) – that may acs as noble as a fallen angel at times, while acting as unkindly as a risen beast at other times (insaaniyat Vs haivaaniyat). These seem to symbolise, the mystic/sufic notion of ‘tazkia-e-nafs,’ (taming of the ‘ego’) – humankind’s ability to over come and tame its basic instincts often viewed in self-centred and mean pursuits of worldly pleasures – through a process of integrating one’s self with nature rather than alienating from it in a material goals based social-sphere or an urban setting. The images portray animals of the wild (flights of ego) as tame and at peace with the human figures, who are clearly in control of them.

The verse in this painting (on the top) is quite meaningful in that sense:

Dar Aatish tu dar muntazir aab-e-rehmateem

(To extinguish your scalding desire; our shower of blessings are awaiting)

Saaqi biyaar Jaam-e-arghwaane maa

(O bearer of the chalice, bring me, my share of the purple stained drink of mine)

“Dervish With a Lion”, Folio from the Shah Jahan Album, Artist: Painting by Padarath ~ Met Museum

ranasafvi — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 01:21:50 +0000

Gallery Text :

Persian Inscription (in lower border, in Shah Jahan’s hand): “Work of Padarath”

During the reigns of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, devotees were favorably received, and often indulged, at court. The dervish depicted here has accoutrements associated with a mystic of the time such as a satchel, fur skirt, and distinctive head gear. He also has the dedicatory scars from self-inflicted burns on his upper arm. The floral borders in the Shah Jahan Album, many created by Daulat, combine real and imagined plants with insects, birds, and cloud bands.

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451259

“Shah Jahan on a Terrace, painted by Chitarman- Holding a Pendant Set With His Portrait”, Folio from the Shah Jahan Album,recto: 1627–28; verso: ca. 1530–50 ~ Met Museum

ranasafvi — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 01:07:54 +0000

Gallery Text :

The presentation of the emperor amplifies the formula evolved during the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir. Shah Jahan is exquisitely dressed and richly adorned with jewels, his imperial rank emphasized by his radiating halo and the hovering angels borrowed from European art. The skills of many craftsmen and designers of the Mughal court—jewelers, weavers, architects, feather workers, armorers, stonecutters, and others—are represented here. This is Chitarman’s earliest dated picture, painted soon after Shah Jahan’s accession.

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/451270