Bhairavi Ragini
16th– 17th century CE
TSM Accession: P-1343
Pleach No: PIF/00DMP25
Title: Bhairavi Ragini
Style: Bijapur School – Deccani Miniature
Artist: Unknown
Medium: Watercolor on paper
Dimensions: 30 x 20 cms
Period: 16th- 17th century CE
Rights: Telangana State Museum, Hyderabad
Documented by: Pleach India Foundation, Hyderabad
This miniature depicts Bhairavi (spouse of Bhairava), the personification of a musical mode (ragini) named after Bhairava, the lord of music.
In this art form, “Bhairavi,” a female worshipper stands at the center holding a diya (oil lamp) at a Shiva shrine. A faithful figure kneels at her feet. There is a temple with a Shiva Linga, a bell, arches, trees, and an orange flag in the background. At the top of the painting, hymns praising her Lord are accompanied in Persian script. The intense, glowing colors highlight the central theme of the painting: the passion of devotion (bhakti).
