Uma and Mahesvara, Find spot unknown, about 6th century Mathura, Curzon Museum
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Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham
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The wife of the Great Lord Siva took many names depending on her personification and activities, As Uma, the gracious, she is the Mother and practices the most rigoour asceticism on the summits of the Himalayas in order to draw Siva's attention and good graces, There is a legend told about Uma in the form of Siva's young bride: daughter of the Himalayas themselves: in which she calls upon the god of desire, Kama, to disturb her husband in his deep meditations and make him come to her, Mahesvara, a lesser but still powerful god in the Hindu Pantheon, he who is shown with Uma in our relief illustration, overheard the plot and struck Kama down with a bolt of light from his third eye, We see Mahesvara and Uma like husband and wife because, in her universal character, Uma is all woman just as she is the universal Mother of living things, This particular scene is very tender, and a warm glow of happiness is suggested by it, Accent is placed on the two figures only, no background competes for their attention, The group is greatly damaged, but must have been handsomely worked in the typically robust style of Mathura when first completed,
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Basham Collection
Date created
circa 1970s
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This image is provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced without the prior permission of the Archives Program, Australian National University.
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