A yellow sandstone temple lintel from Uttar Pradesh, Central India, carved circa 550 to 575 CE, of a type set over temple entrances in northern and central India to invoke the nine planetary deities for good fortune. Eight figures survive, left to right: Surya the sun wearing a jeweled headdress and holding lotuses, Chandra the moon, Budha (Mercury), Shukra (Venus), Mangala (Mars), Brihaspati (Jupiter), Shani (Saturn), and the demon Rahu, the rising lunar node, rendered here grinning and radiant rather than menacing. Ketu, the ninth planetary figure and the descending lunar node, is missing from the surviving stone. Purchased by the Worcester Art Museum from Bourgeois Galleries, New York, in 1923.
Facts
Custody
Current LocationWorcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts, accession number 1923.5 1 Current Custodian Physical Form
MediumYellow sandstone relief 1 Subject Matter
Depicted SubjectEight of the nine Navagraha planetary deities: Surya, Chandra, Budha, Shukra, Mangala, Brihaspati, Shani and Rahu. Ketu does not survive on this lintel. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Ketu, Deities This source names Ketu directly: "and radiant rather than menacing. Ketu, the ninth planetary figure and the descending lunar node, is missing from the surviving stone."
This source names Mercury directly: "lotuses, Chandra the moon, Budha (Mercury), Shukra (Venus), Mangala (Mars), Brihaspati (Jupiter), Shani (Saturn), and the demon Rahu, the rising lunar node, rendered here grinning and radiant rather..."
Surya, Deities This source names Surya directly: "Eight figures survive, left to right: Surya the sun wearing a jeweled headdress and holding lotuses, Chandra the moon, Budha (Mercury), Shukra (Venus), Mangala (Mars), Brihaspati (Jupiter), Shani..."
This source names Uttar Pradesh directly: "A yellow sandstone temple lintel from Uttar Pradesh, Central India, carved circa 550 to 575 CE, of a type set over temple entrances in northern and central India to invoke the nine planetary deities..."
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