{"AuthorName":"Susan Meller","Description":"

A long time ago, before there were airplanes or automobiles, the means of transport of the Hindu gods and goddesses were their vahanas, according to legend. These vehicles, or mounts, were usually animals or birds that symbolized the spiritual and physical qualities of the deities they served. The attributes associated with the vahanas themselves were often instrumental in helping the gods fulfill their deeds. The strengths of one enhanced the powers of the other.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 01: Ganesha with his wives Riddhi and Siddhi, devotees, and mouse vahana, textile label, circa 1900, 17.78 cm x 13.97 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 01<\/a><\/span>Many legends tell how an animal came to be the vahana of a god. Often, it was a sage or demigod in a prior life who erred and was cursed by being transformed into a creature, such as a mouse. This is how Ganesha the elephant-headed god, remover of obstacles, lord of the intellect, acquired his mouse (mooshaka) vahana. There was once a celestial musician named Krauncha who inadvertently angered a powerful sage. Quick to take offense, the sage cursed him thereby transforming Krauncha into a giant mouse (some say rat). The creature roamed the earth devouring fields of grain and destroying everything in his path. He caused so much havoc that Ganesha intervened and subdued him. When Krauncha showed remorse, Ganesha made him his vehicle. Albeit very small, mice are intelligent and nimble. They use these traits to overcome challenges. They can insert themselves anywhere and delve deeply into hidden spaces. Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 01: Ganesha with his wives Riddhi and Siddhi, devotees, and mouse vahana, textile label, circa 1900, 17.78 cm x 13.97 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 01<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 02: Subramanya<\/em> on his peacock mount, Ravi Varma Press print, circa 1920s, 35.56 cm x 25.5 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 02<\/a><\/span>Some legends describe a demon, who when defeated by a god, repents and is shown forgiveness by being made the god’s mount. Such was the case with the warrior-philosopher god of war, Subramanya. He is a handsome youth, sometimes shown with six heads, whose many names include Kartikeya, Shanmukha, Skanda, and Murugan. The son of Shiva and Parvati and brother of Ganesha, he commands the armies of the gods. When the asura demon Surapadma was ravaging the domain of the devas, they begged Subramanya for help. Using his divine spear, the vel, he was able to defeat Surapadma. The demon, who was disguised as a peacock (mayura), implored the god for mercy. Subramanya obliged by transforming the peacock into his vahana (named Paravani). Peacocks are said to be created from the feathers of Vishu’s mount, the divine vulture Garuda. They represent strength, immortality, spirituality, and beauty. They are also considered vain creatures. By riding on a peacock, Subramanya symbolically reins in its vanity. Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 02: Subramanya<\/em> on his peacock mount, Ravi Varma Press print, circa 1920s, 35.56 cm x 25.5 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 02<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 03: Gajendra Moksha<\/em>, Vishnu and his mount Garuda save the elephant king Gajendra from the jaws of a crocodile, thus enabling him to achieve moksha (liberation), textile label, circa 1900, 14.60 cm x 11.43 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 03<\/a><\/span>
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\r\nThe great blue god Vishnu, the Preserver, soars from heaven to earth on the back of a huge vulture (or eagle) named Garuda who is deemed the king of birds. Often depicted as half-man, half-vulture, Garuda’s mighty wings can stop the spinning of the earth and block out the sun. When he learned that his mother had been enslaved and her freedom could be obtained only by stealing the ambrosia of immortality (amrita) from the gods, he used his powerful wings and beak to make off with the heavily guarded nectar. (After his mother was released, Garuda helped return the pot of amrita.) Vishnu was so impressed by Garuda’s brave achievement that he granted him two boons – immortality, and his wish to be made Vishnu’s vahana. Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 03: Gajendra Moksha<\/em>, Vishnu and his mount Garuda save the elephant king Gajendra from the jaws of a crocodile, thus enabling him to achieve moksha (liberation), textile label, circa 1900, 14.60 cm x 11.43 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 03<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 04: Shiva and Parvati riding on Shiva’s mount Nandi, textile label, circa 1910-20, 20.32 cm x 15.24 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 04<\/a><\/span>
\r\nShiva the Destroyer’s mount is Nandi, the sacred white bull. Nandi guards the Himalayan abode of Shiva and his wife Parvati on Mount Kailash. Nandi can also be found guarding all the temples devoted to Shiva. Before becoming the vahana of Shiva, Nandi was the son of a sage and was raised as an ardent devotee of Shiva. In time, he is made immortal and becomes Shiva’s loyal gatekeeper and vehicle. Nandi’s white color symbolizes purity and justice, his bull body, strength, and virility. Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 04: Shiva and Parvati riding on Shiva’s mount Nandi, textile label, circa 1910-20, 20.32 cm x 15.24 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 04<\/a>.
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\r\nThese textile labels and bazaar prints show a snippet of the fantastical visual world of Hindu gods and their vahanas.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 05: Parvati, Baby Ganesha, and Parvati’s lion vahana, textile label, circa 1910-20, 23.49 cm x 18.41 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 05<\/a><\/span>   Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 06: Sree Durga Mata<\/em>, the fierce, multi-armed warrior form of Parvati shown here with her lion vahana fighting the demon king Mahishasura, textile label, circa 1900, 20.32 cm x 16.51 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 06<\/a><\/span>   Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 07: Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, music, and the arts, is the wife of Brahma the Creator. Depicted playing her lute while on her peacock vahana, this image is based on a Ravi Varma Press print, textile label, circa 1910, 17.78 cm x 13.97 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 07<\/a><\/span>   Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 08: Chandra<\/em>, the pale lunar deity riding in a chariot pulled by his antelope vahana, Ravi Varma Press print, circa 1910, 35.56 cm x 25.4 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 08<\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 09: Shashthi, the protector of young children and the goddess of fertility and birth, atop her cat vahana, textile label, circa 1900, 17.78 cm x 14.60 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 09<\/a><\/span>   Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 10: Agni, red god of fire, the mediator between the gods and men, the protector of the hearth, and the personification of sacrificial fires. His vahana is a ram, the usual animal offered in animal sacrifices, textile label, circa 1920s-30s, 15.24 cm x 12.06 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 10<\/a><\/span>   Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 11: Yama, the god of death astride Paundraka his black buffalo vahana, Ravi Varma Press print, 1920s, 35.56 cm x 25.4 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 11<\/a><\/span>   Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 12: Shani, half brother of Yama, is the god of karma, justice, and retribution, his vahana being a crow, Ravi Udaya & Vijay Press print, 1912, 35.56 cm x 25.40 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 12<\/a><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 13: Ganga the four-armed river goddess is the holy river Ganges personified, her vahana is the legendary makara<\/em> – a hybrid creature with the head of an elephant or crocodile and the body of a fish or river dolphin, late 19th century, 12.70 cm x 10.80 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 13<\/a><\/span>   Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 14: Battle between Krishna and Indra<\/em> with Krishna mounted on Garuda and Indra, god of the heavens, mounted on Airavata, his white elephant vahana, after Krishna had stolen the celestial Parijata tree from Indra’s garden, textile label, circa 1900, 15.24 cm x 12.06 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 14<\/a><\/span>   Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Fig. 15: Sree Bahucharaji<\/em>, the patron goddess of the Indian hijra (transgender or intersex) community shown riding her rooster vahana, Ravi Varma Press print, 1920s, 35.56 cm x 25.40 cm. Susan Meller Collection, California.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 15<\/a><\/span>.  Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Cover of the book LABELS of EMPIRE: Textile Trademarks. Windows into India in the time of the Raj<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Visit https:\/\/labelsofempire.com<\/a> for more details about Susan Meller's book.<\/p><\/h2>\">Fig. 16<\/a><\/span>
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Visit https:\/\/labelsofempire.com<\/a> for more details about Susan Meller's book. More about the author<\/a>.<\/p>","pageBackColor":"#990000","topLineTextColor":"#ffffcc","title":"

Mounts of the Gods:
\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/strong><\/p>","subTitle":"","footNotes":"","authorUrl":"susan-meller","visitgallery":"Mounts of the Gods:\r\nTextile Labels and Bazaar Prints<\/h4>Susan Meller<\/span>

Cover of the book LABELS of EMPIRE: Textile Trademarks. Windows into India in the time of the Raj<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Visit https:\/\/labelsofempire.com<\/a> for more details about Susan Meller's book.<\/p><\/h2>\">Visit the Gallery<\/a>","unsubscriber":1}