The Glory of Ancient Indian Painting

The Glory of Ancient Indian Painting

Source: https://www.indianetzone.com/57/history_indian_paintings.htm

Indian painting has, unfortunately, been largely erased by time, as in the case of the Ajanta caves. It even went through an eclipse and was revived by the Mughal influence. But the remains of Indian paintings show the immensity of the work and the genius of it. The paintings that have mostly survived from ancient times are those of the Buddhist artists; but painting in India was certainly pre-Buddhist. Indeed in ancient India, there were six "limbs", six essential elements "sadanga" to a great painting which are considered as the prime principles of the art even today. So strong were these principles, that they have found a place even in Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra. The Six Limbs are:

“Roopabhedah pramanani bhava-lavanya-yojanam |Sadrishyam varnakabhangam iti chitram shadakam ||”

1. Roopbedha: The knowledge of looks and appearances

Brief: ‘Roopa’ means the outer form or appearance of the subject. The perception is visual as well as mental. ‘Bheda,’ on the other hand, means difference. In other words, to create a painting, an artist needs to have a sound knowledge about the different forms that exist. He has to know how a form of life differs from a form of death. Both have their own characteristic features and sublimity.

2. Pramanani – Accuracy and precision of measurement and structure.

Brief: This principle is governed by certain laws, which give us the capability of proving the correctness of our perception and delineation. ‘Pramamani’ teaches us the exact measure, proportion and distance of the subjects. It provides an insight into the structural anatomy of objects, too.

3. Bhava – The feelings on forms.

Brief: ‘Bhava’ means an emotion, a feeling, an intention, or an idea. This aspect of art is depicted in the form of feelings expressed by the subject.

4. Lavanya Yojanam – Blending grace in an artistic representation.

Brief: Your painting should be gracefully high in its artistic quality. The pramanani is for stringent proportions, and bhava is for expressing movement. But, lavanya yojanamis for controlling the over-expression of both. The motive is to bring about a sense of beauty in a dignified and organised manner. Ravindranath Tagore, the famous artist from West Bengal, has described lavanya yojanam as a ‘loving mother,’ who is also careful about the rules of raising up her child.

5. Sadrisyam or Resemblance.

Brief: This is perhaps the most challenging task of creating a painting. Sadrisyam suggests the degree to which a depiction is similar to an artist’s vision or the subject itself. In a way, it is also a way of depicting similitude.

6. Varnakabhangam - An artistic way of making use of the brush and colours.

Brief: It defines the proper mannerisms of using the right type of brush and various colours. So, obviously, there shall be the use of brush and pigments. What this principle focuses on, is the way the strokes are being applied to a canvas, and the knowledge of the artist about the different colours.

What is great about our Ancient Indian paintings, Sri Aurobindo remarks that: "the Indian artist sets out from the other end of the scale of values of experience which connect  life and the spirit. The whole creative force here comes from a spiritual and psychic vision, the emphasis of the physical is secondary and always deliberately limited so as to give an overwhelmingly spiritual and psychic impression and everything is suppressed which does not serve this purpose". (Foundations, p.246). It is unfortunate that today most Indian painting imitates Western modern art, but for a few exceptions. There is nothing wrong to copy Westerners but essence of Indian painting can always be put in the backdrop of Western paintings. And it is hoped that Indian painters will soon come back to the essential, which is the vision of the inner eye, the transcription, not of the religious, but of the spiritual and the occult.

Please note:

The description of Shadangas is taken from internet link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sadanga-six-limbs-indian-art-paintings-mohina-singh

and some parts of the text is extracted from Rewriting Indian History by Francois Gautier, p.no 32, 33.

Dr. B. Ravikanth