Shree Shanker (Shiva in meditation)

Shiva is shown here as radiant young man in deep meditation. He wears a double-strand rosary of rudraksha seeds, and a cobra has affectionately entwined itself around his neck, forming another necklace of sorts. His braids are piled into a conical bun adorned with jasmine and a sprig of rudraksha leaves. The goddess Ganga emerges from the bun’s apex as a slender stream of water, evoking the “Descent of the Ganges” myth. The epithet “Shankar” is associated with Shiva when he is in his manifest form, accessible to devotees. The artist, Narottam Narayan Sharma, was the most famous of the Nathdwara community of artisans, who painted for commercial presses. Here, he has aligned his lithography technique with that of photography, using backlighting to create a divine radiance.