Jina Rishabhanatha
South India, Tamil Nadu
Tanjore, late 18th – early 19th century
Opaque watercolor and gold on board
Dimensions: 10 ½ x 8 ½ inches (26.7 x 21.6 cm)

In an unusual departure from the standard iconography of the subject, the Jina Rishabhanatha, or ‘Lord of the Bulls’, is shown without long hair in this superb painting from Tanjore. The characteristically golden Jina meditates in front of a shimmering palace underneath an opalescent white sky. He sits atop a golden pedestal underneath a brilliantly decorated golden arch with a kirtamukha, or face of glory, against a lapis blue ground. The diminutive bull that prances in front of the gem-inlayed plinth is the animal cognizance of the Jina.

Gomukha and Cakreshvari, the divine protectors of Rishabhanatha, sit against contrasting fields of red at each side of the jina. Distinguished by his bull face, Gomukha Yakhsa is positioned on the right. He sits on a throne with his left leg tucked up and his right pendant. His lower right hand displays the varada mudra, or boon-conferring gesture, and the lower left hand holds a fruit. The yaksha delicately holds a rosary in the upper right hand and an ax in the upper left. Like his lord, Gomukha also has a bull vehicle, which appears before his throne. The divine female attendant on the left side of Rishabhanatha is Gomukha’s beloved consort, Chakreshvari Yakshi. Like Gomukha, she holds her lower right hand in varada mudra and the lower left grasps a fruit. Each of the two upper hands holds a chakra, or wheel. She also sits in the posture of royal ease with her right leg tucked and left suspended. Below her right leg kneels a small image of Garuda, the half-human half-avian mythical creature.