Tripurasundari or Rajarajeswari - Kerala Mural Archive

Detail Photos

Deity: Parvathi Location: Mattancherry Palace Theme: Non-narrative Visual Feature: Background pattern Visual Feature: Facial expression detail Visual Feature: Hand gesture (mudra)Visual Feature: Ornamentation

This panel consists of a depiction of Tripurasundari or Rajarajeshwari seated upon a lotus petal. She is golden-skinned and has four arms. She has flowing black hair decorated with garlands. She is holding a goad in one of her hands and a rope in another. Her lower right hand is holding an arrow that is tipped with a flower. Her lower left hand is holding a sugarcane bow. She is wearing yellow lower garment and is being revered by sages and gods situated around her. She has a floral decoration above her head surrounding her, and birds are seen perching on the creepers and climbers depicted as part of the floral decoration. Towards her right there is white-skinned Shiva with four arms holding his weapons. He is holding his palms together in anjali mudra. To her left, there is green-skinned Vishnu, who is also holding his palms together in anjali mudra. Surrounding her on top are two sages, one green-skinned with anjali mudra, and the other golden-skinned with anjali mudra. There are also several other devas and sages as part of the panel. Beneath her there is Bhutamata situated on a pedestal. She is golden-skinned and having two arms, each in abhaya and varada mudra. She is wearing a golden yellow lower garment. Both of the Godesses are decked in jewelry. She is worshipped by sages and devas who are surrounding her. On her left side there is Lord Indra, who can be recognized by his multiple eyes in different parts of his body. He has also flowing black hair decorated with garlands and a crown, red upper garment, and a red and green banded lower garment. In one of his hands he is holding up the thunderbolt, and the other hand is holding a japamala. There are sages in anjali mudra as well. The backdrop is also drawn in red, decorated with mashipoovu motifs.

Iconography

Primary Deity/Figure: Parvathi
Secondary Figures: Bhoota matha, Shiva, Vishnu, Indra, Sages, Devas.
Iconographic Form: Tripurasundari
Iconographic Attributes: This is the depiction of Tripurasundari, or Rajarajeshwari; and is one of the forms of Parvati; She sits upon a lotus flower, is golden-skinned, wears necklaces, armlets, bangles, rings, crown, and earrings; has long flowing hair, decorated with floral garlands; wears a yellow colored dhoti or lower garment; has a red and green striped breast cloth; four arms; She is holding the goad in her upper right hand, a noose or a rope in her lower upper left hand, an arrow with a flower end is held in her lower right hand, a sugarcane bow is held in her lower left hand; she sits in a Padmasana pose with both her legs folded; is flanked on the right and left by Shiva and Vishnu, respectively. Shiva is white-skinned, holding two of his lower arms in anjali mudra. His upper right hand is holding the axe, and his lower right hand is not very much visible. Vishnu, to Tripurasundari's left, is also similarly depicted with four arms. He holds two of his arms, lower arms, two of his lower arms in anjali mudra, and his upper arm that is visible holds a lotus flower. There is a green-skinned sage towards the right of Tripurasundari and a yellow-skinned sage to the left of her; a backdrop that is ornately decorated with floral motifs and birds perched upon them. There are other figures also predominantly there is Bhutamata sitting underneath Tripurasundari. She is seated on a floral pedestal decorated with gemstones, ornately carved. She is golden-skinned, with two of her arms held in Abhaya Mudra and Varada Mudra. She has necklaces, armlets, bangles, earrings, and rings, and a crown. She has long flowing hair, decorated with floral garlands. She is wearing a yellow with red striped lower garment. To her left stands multi-eyed Indra, green-skinned, holding the thunderbolt in his upper right hand and a japamala in his upper left hand. Both his lower hands are held together in the anjali mudra. He is wearing a red upper garment and a red lower garment that is decorated with red and green bands. Bhutamata sits with one leg crossed and the other hanging downwards. There are several other figures, devas and sages probably, who are golden-skinned and green-skinned, most of them in Anjali mudra. The sages are wearing a string of Rudraksha in their arms as armlets and bangles. They have long flowing beard and mustache. There is Mashipoovu-like motifs set over a red backdrop.
Rasa: Shanta

Spatial & Architectural

Temple: Palace interior
Zone within Temple: Staircase room
Position in Pradakshina Sequence: Not Applicable
Adjacent Panels: Girijakalyanam and Ananthashayanam

Narrative

Textual Source: Non-narrative
Mythological Tale: Two different deities of the Shakti tradition, Tripurasundari and Bhutamata, are being represented in this particular panel. Tripurasundari is seated upon a lotus flower and is considered one of the important manifestations of Shakti or Parvati. Bhutamata is one of the ancient tribal deities who was later adopted by the Shakti tradition.
Episode: Non-narrative

Condition & Documentation

Condition: Good
Deterioration Type: Pigment loss
Restoration Status: Unrestored
Documentation Type: DSLR full panel
Permission Basis: ASI permission
Date of Documentation: 01/08/2024
Artist: Unknown
Identifier: MCP_P015
Rights / Notes: These images may not be reproduced, redistributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior permission.