An illustration to a dashavatara series: Samudra Mathan, the Churning of the Ocean Mandi, circa 1810-1820


gouache and gold on paper, blue and gold floral inner border, stippled pink outer border, numbered 62 verso, cover sheet with seven lines of text in takri text and the stamp of the Royal Library of Mandi 242 x 302 mm.
|ProvenanceFormerly in the Royal Collection, Mandi.The Samudra Manthan depicts Vishnu in his avatar as the turtle, Kurma. In this famous myth, the gods and the demons churn the ocean of milk to release amrita, the immortal nectar, from the depths of the water by using the cosmic mountain Mandara as a churning stick. They each take the head and tail of the serpent Shesha, who was wrapped around the mountain as a rope, with Kurma using the shell to support the mountain so that it would not sink. Vishnu is also depicted seated atop of the mountain as they churn. Many treasures were released from the ocean, alongside Airavata, the four tusked elephant, Surabhi, the wish fulfilling cow and Uchchaihshravas, the seven headed horse, who are pictured as they emerge.The present lot and the following three lots, (Lot numbers 142-144) are all from the same dashavatara series depicting the ten avatars of Vishnu.