The relief of Uma-Mahesvara was located at Chupping-ghat near Hanumante River in Bhaktapur, embedded in the open ground (PI. 26).
In the panel, the divine couple, Shiva and his consort Uma (Parvati), were shown seated on a simple dais without any cushion or tiger skin. A huge parasol, flanked by the sun and the moon, was depicted at the top of the panel (PI. 27).
It must be noted that, in rendering the figure of Shiva, the upper part of his body above the waist was stiff and disproportionately elongated. In contrast, the figure of Uma gently leaning on the left side of Shiva looked supple and graceful. A four-handed female attendant was seen on her left. The river-goddess Ganga on the right of Shiva’s head and a flying celestial on the left, looked rather stiff and crude. Goddess Ganga was shown holding a rosary and a manuscript in her right and left hands, respectively, while her two front hands were depicted in the act of pouring water over the hair of Shiva. Unlike other Uma-Mahesvara panels, the two guardian deities, shown as the attendants of Shiva on either side, were represented as almost the same size as the main divinity. The head of Nandi, the bull, seemed to be much smaller and the figure of Kumara, holding a lance in his left hand, was crudely treated. As the lower portion of the stele was buried in the ground, the ,gan;rs o f Shiva werc not visible. On stylistic grounds, the relief could nor be assigned earlier than the 15th century A . D . although it was previously dated much earlier. This relief of Uma-Mahesvara was stolen from its site in October, 1984.
PUBLISHED
Pratapaditya Pal, The Arts of’Nepal, Pt. 1, Sculpture
(Leiden/ Koln, 1974), Fig. 1 3 1 .
Details
- Title : Uma-Mahesvara
- Year : 15th century A.D.
- Medium : Grey limestone
- Dimension : Ht. about 20 inches
- Accession No : Stolen in October, 1984.
- Country/ Geo-location : Chupping-ghat, Bhaktapur
- Collection : Stolen Images of Nepal – Lain S.Bangdel