SidhSen_Rajan

 

Raja Sidh Sen of Mandi

Mandi, c1700-25, Western Himalayas

Size: 292 * 178 mm

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Artist: Unknown

 

“They say that the king is a human being; but I consider you to be a God, whose behaviour, if it in accordance with Dharma and Artha is superhuman”

 

These words of wisdom from the great epic Mahabharat lead us to that ruler of Mandi, Sidh Sen, a Rajan, who gave swarna yuga¹ to his tribe. This yuga² comes when the king brings to any anarchical society that essence of life which is called Purshartha Chaturshtaya – Dharma (virtue), Artha (political utility), Kama (pleasure) and then moving to Moksha (salvation). The question posed to that great old noble man Bhishma in Mahabharat was whether it is the age or the era that determines how the king will be, or if the King determines how good the age will be. “Raja Kalasya Karanam³...” Sidh Sen determined the state of nature of the period in which he lived by being the embodiment of kingship as defined in the ancient Indian thought.

In Purushartha Chaturshtaya, Dharma is the foremost and does not mean religion because it circumscribes much more than what religion can hold. It means virtue, wisdom, righteousness, merit, duty, law, social responsibility and so on. It is a way of living life, the path of completeness, the means to regulate the society. According to the ancient Indian philosophy, Rajdharma⁴ is not an authority but a unique individual possession that has to be achieved by the king for the governance and welfare of his society. This good governance opens the door to swarna yuga.  

Sidh Sen looks majestic in this painting standing tall and large covering the entire canvas as if the master painter is not only drawing the enormity of his physical being but also conveying that message of the complete sway and influence which he had on his people. He wears a red jamma (long coat)  with a gold embroidered Banarasi crape flowing down his shoulders, his right hand carrying a big sword with a gold hilt signifying that courage and strength of a warrior which he always  displayed for the expansion of his territory. This sword had its own belief and which lived many many years even after the death of the great soul. This very sword was used by his people to scare away the demons believed to obstruct child birth in cases of a prolonged labour. Water touched with the sword was given to a pregnant woman to drink for relief. And behold she was soon a happy mother! Devotion and faith has no boundaries.

The king wears a flamboyant turban with feather tassels and a golden jigha⁵ decked with pearls adorn his regal face. He wears his famous gutka or the magical amulet which hangs at the centre of his chest. The garland of white flowers brings a contrast to the rich dress worn by the ruler. The sharp features with large eyes, moustache and stubble give a look of a strong and a well chiselled man. The shakta⁶ tilak mark on his forehead and the rudraksha⁷ necklace are so usual part of the king’s formation. But here he is a monarch in full glory and not in that divine world in which he has so often been displayed. 

Sidh Sen’s reign was marked not only with political supremacy in the immediate region but also with thriving of culture and art in the form of paintings, construction of  temples in honour of Shiva-Shakti and introduction of Tantra through worship of Dasa Mahavidya⁸. Every manifestation of life of his subjects reached a peak of excellence and stability and for which he was much loved by them. But what was also remarkable of Sidh Sen was that he created Mathas⁹ across the four corners of his capital taking cue from the great Shankara. Albeit the scale may have been small, the Mathas amidst his tribe represented that idea of creation of scholarship and debate.

Sidh Sen remains embedded in the memory of this world not through his portraits but for the luminous mind he had and which created that absolute being. His moment of kindness with Gobind Singh, the 10^th Sikh guru, shore up that image of greatness. What has been said by that ancient text of law - the ‘Manusmriti’ for kings may hold true for Sidh Sen. He embodied the eternal particles of Indra, of the Vayu, of yama, of the sun, of fire, of the moon and of Kubera in its true sense – the particles of the Gods¹⁰ in the form of their wisdom.

Sidh Sen was a Rajan, the word has its philosophical Sanskrit root in ‘Ranj’ meaning “to please”. Many ages ago King Prithu pleased his subjects by re-establishing Dharma into this world and received the title Rajan. Sidh Sen symbolises that Puranic King. He may not have been a Samudra Gupta, the ‘Adhipati’¹¹ of the Gupta Empire, in scale but his thought was equal to the best and which made him ‘Isvarkoti’ –of the degree of God for his tribe.

 

 

 

1.Golden Age  2. Age or Era  3. King is the cause of era  4.Duty of a Ruler  5.Brooch  6. Shaktism; From worship of Hindu Goddess. Ornamental spot worn on the forehead  7.Elaeocarpus ganitrus; Symbol of Shaivisim  8.The 10 Wisdom forms of the Goddess  9.Monastic establishment  10.Vedic Gods  11.Lord 

 

Continued from Part 1 where Sidh Sen appears as an embodiment of Shiva,,,,,,,,,,,

 

 

The Missing Link in Pahari Paintings – Lokinder Bisht