The descent of the Ganges (Gangavatarana)

The Gangavatarana legend describes Shiva’s role in one of the origin myths of ancient India: the source of the river Ganges. The mighty river, personified as the goddess Ganga, is shown here as a young woman enveloped in a cascade of water plunging from the sky, summoned to alleviate a great drought. To prevent the descent of this powerful river from destroying the earth, Shiva catches it in his hair. The god braces himself for the impact of the torrent while his consort, Parvati—perhaps uneasy at the arrival of a beautiful rival—leans nonchalantly on Shiva’s bull. This print was one of the early commercial successes of the Ravi Varma Press.