By Coco Banks //
One of the works now on view in “Painted Poetry: Art of the Rajput Courts” (Gallery 212) is Shiva and Parvati with Companions, painted around 1810 in northern India. It’s brilliantly colorful and full of minute details—and only slightly larger than a sheet of paper.
The painting is one of several miniatures acquired since 2020 from the collection of Ramesh Kapoor, a retired dealer renowned for having handled some of the finest paintings from the courts of the Pahari (Himalayan foothills). Created between the 17th and 19th centuries, they were intended for intimate viewing—their size was a feature—and today offer glimpses into the vast array of themes, subjects, and styles of Indian art. With these acquisitions, Mia has become a global destination for courtly Indian paintings.
Another Indian miniature painting from Mia’s “Painted Poetry” exhibition, Lovers Watching an Approaching Thunderstorm (detail), c. 1780–90. The Margaret McMillan Webber Fund, 92.102
Shiva and Parvati with Companions was painted by Purkhu, a leading artist at the court of Sansar Chand, the raja, or prince, of Kangra, a former hill state in present-day Himachal Pradesh. Purkhu was a master of complex compositions and evocative landscapes, and this work is an important example of religious narrative depictions in Indian art. The scene illustrates the poetic text written on the back of the painting, which describes an intimate moment shared by the Hindu deity Shiva and his wife, Parvati:
“Let Shiva be victorious, who is so absorbed with the face of Gauri [Parvati] (his young bride) that he is unaware the snake forming his bracelet has drunk all the water that she pours into his hands during the performance of the evening’s ritual, seeing which [the maid] Vijaya laughs.”
—Translated by Gouriswar Bhattacharya, 2004
Shiva is one of the most omnipresent gods in the Hindu pantheon, endowed with numerous and seemingly paradoxical traits. Indicated in this painting by a thin crescent moon on his forehead, one of his common iconographical attributes, he is both destructive and benevolent, fearsome and familial. It’s the more loving side of his personality that’s portrayed in this painting.
The scene is set in a pleasant green meadow, the trees adorned with pairs of lovebirds and sprays of flowers. It is twilight, and the sunset casts an orange glow over the lovers. Standing upon a smooth rock on the bank of a stream as it swirls behind him, Shiva locks eyes with Parvati. A tiny snake twists around his wrists, having just drunk the water that was cupped in his hands for performing the evening rite of saṃdhyā (a Hindu ritual bath). Shiva, so entranced by his wife’s beauty, doesn’t notice.
Detail of Sita at the Hermitage of Bharadvaja, c. 1810. The Helen Jones Fund for Asian Art, 91.24.2
Parvati stands across from him, upon a slope, and gazes down into his eyes with equal adoration. With a smile, she reaches up to grasp a branch of the flowery tree behind her. This gesture represents a more than 2,000-year-old trope (salabhanjika) in which a goddess touches a tree, allowing it to blossom and bear fruit, embodying notions of fertility and protection. Meanwhile, in the bottom right corner, a group of Parvati’s companions laugh at Shiva’s obliviousness. Their small presence gives the impression that they—and we, the viewers—are secretly spying on the couple’s private passion.
For me, these miniature moments are transportive, drawing me into an enchanting and idyllic world. It is an outsize power, derived from Purkhu’s ability to convey rasa—the emotional essence of a work, which may be difficult to put into words. He uses the wondrous beauty of nature to evoke the inflamed longing of divine love, while capturing the very familiar human feelings of playfulness and mischief.
As Pujan Gandhi, Mia’s former curator of south and southeast Asian art, puts it, “Purkhu has suspended time with fluid harmony, from the flowing lines of the dress to the creeping trees to the arc of the sky. It is pure delight.”
About the Exhibition
“Painted Poetry: Art of the Rajput Courts” is now on view in Gallery 212, showcasing paintings from the royal courts of northern India.
Coco Banks was the curatorial assistant for Mia’s Department of Asian Art from 2018 to 2025.