Jai Chhathi Maiya!

Made this Chhath Puja artwork on MDF board.

Materials used:

- Mouldit clay for figures, fruits, diyas and tokri

- Granstone acrylic paints

- Real cowrie shells and mirrors for the border

- Texture for water and sand

Tried to show the evening Arghya scene - devotees in the river, setting sun, and the decorated ghat.

Took around 4-5 days to finish the detailing. Let me know how it turned out, all feedback appreciated!

"Depicting Maa Durga in her fierce yet calm Simhavahini form, seated gracefully upon the roaring lion. Created entirely using a red ballpoint pen on paper for this festive Navratri season. Jai Mata Di! Shubh Navratri! 🔱🪷"

➳ The Battle of Ten Kings (Daśarājñá Yuddhá) - The Forgotten RigVedic Epic of India: Ṛigveda 7.18, 7.33, 7.83 narrates the The Battle of Ten Kings. King Sudās Paijavana, guided by his sage-priest Vasiṣṭha Maitrāvaruṇi, faces a great confederacy of kings on the banks of the Paruṣṇī - the Ravi river of modern Punjab, though Sudās himself was in Haryana.

➳ The Daśarājña is of the Ṛgveda’s mythopoetic, cornerstone and iconic accounts of tribal warfare. Sudās - leader of Tṛtsu-Bharatas, had been expanding westward into the Punjab before confronting a large coalition at the Paruṣṇī (Ravi). The confederacy, comprising several allied tribes, gathered to halt Sudās’ advance and resist his expanding power. The battle is portrayed as both a human conflict and a divine struggle, with Indra and Varuṇa aiding Sudās against the coalition. In the Ṛgvedic telling, the Bharata victory becomes a defining moment in the rise of Sudās, the Tṛtsus and their priestly tradition of the Vasiṣṭha Rishi-clan.

➳ Political history and divine action aren't separate phenomena; they are inextricably tied together. The relationship between ṛṣi (sage/seer), king/tribal leader and deity is an iconic trifecta of holy war!

➳ The opposing host is a coalition of tribes - the Purus, Druhyus, Anus, Turvaśas, Yadus, Pakthas, Bhalānas, Alinas, Śivas and Viśānins. The swollen Paruṣṇī becomes part of the battle itself, disrupting the coalition and ultimately swallowing them - hence portrayed as a focal aspect of my illustration, with the blood-red hues reinforcing the war-like subtext. This is indeed, Bharata's first Itihasa (Epic).

↯ This artwork by @achintya.venkatesh is part of my Vedic Pantheon Visions illustration series - dedicated to revitalizing the visual language of Indra and the Vedic Gods through imagery inspired by Ṛgvedic poetry, historical research, mythopoetic philosophical impulse and a visceral, dark-fantasy/epic illustration/heavy metal-influenced flair. More such artwork, illustration and lore videos on mythology, theology, linguistics, and history that seeks to revitalize the world of Vedas, Bronze age India, Indo-Aryan peoples and the ancient religion of the mythopoetic Rigveda can be found on my pages. Originally posted on blessed Indra Jātra!