Breaking Gender Barriers: The Mithila Paintings of Krishnanand Jha & Santosh Kumar Das

The exhibition titled ‘Dasa Mahavidya: Gesture, Form and the Feminine Divine’ showcases the intriguing works of Krishnanand Jha (1947–2018) and Santosh Kumar Das. Historically, Mithila painting, a powerful medium of devotion, memory, and ritual, was a woman’s domain, their homes serving as their canvas. The entry of men into this artistic sector challenged the gendered lineage leading to a mix of conflict and innovation. The central subject of a male painting of the goddess in a traditionally female art form breaks the convention; it’s an intrusion into a venerable domain yet also symbolizes rejuvenation, an assertion that the goddess Shakti transcends gendered portrayal.

The exhibition specifically centers on the ‘Dasa Mahavidya’, the Ten Wisdom Goddesses revered in Tantra practices. These deities, however, are not singular entities; they herald the multiple expressions of feminine strength. The chosen goddess is commonly Chinnamasta, the divine entity who symbolically decapitates her own head and partakes her blood, offering nourishment to others at the same time.

In Das’s works, his Mahavidya exude a sense of resilience. His goddesses are presented symmetrically, imposing, and frontal. Their stillness projects a meditative vitality, embodying the living form of powerful spiritual objects known as yantras.

In the schema of Tantra, men traditionally held the power to conduct rituals, whereas in Mithila painting, the aesthetic reign was a preserve of women. Artists like Krishnanand Jha and Santosh Kumar Das, male forerunners of the Tantric tradition, ventured into this woman-centric visual realm. They find themselves at an interesting juncture of being part of a male-majority tradition and newcomers in a specifically feminine sphere of creation.

In this shared space that defies conventional boundaries, no gender exercises uncontested supremacy. The realm truly belongs to the goddess, the ultimate embodiment of femininity, who is not just the inspiration but the supreme authority. The entry of the masculine presents a provocative question: what implications does a man painting a goddess in a form conceived and propelled by women hold?

While the question elicits thought, the art itself unravels a more layered narrative. Neither artist diminishes the role of the goddess to a mere source of inspiration or fantasy. Contrarily, she is portrayed as the ultimate authority, the fulcrum around which the act of creation cycles.

In conventional art narratives driven by patriarchy, women are often created by men as symbols of beauty, objects of desire, or elements of allegory. However, in these artworks, the female divine emerges as dominant, terrifying, and infinite. The power to observe does not rest with the artist but is held by the goddess, who reciprocates with an unwavering intensity.

These paintings symbolize transgression, fracturing of the old, and the ushering in of the new. The exhibition underscores a truth often omitted in art dialogues: the feminine is the master, not the muse. To witness these paintings is not merely to appreciate an aesthetic representation but to be in the presence of an omnipotent entity.

In these powerful depictions, the goddess cannot be tamed. Her presence commands attention, halts time, and alters the viewer’s perspective whether through the energetic lines of motion or the placid symmetry. The female divine, in her various forms, resists being domesticated.

The goddess’s dynamism is evident in her activities. She moves, remains still, annihilates, nurtures, evokes fear, and offers solace. Above all, she rules. The artistic creations of these artists do not minimize her to an inspirational figure or a possession; she is, instead, the reigning authority, the master before whom even the artist himself must pay homage.

By intruding into what was once deemed a purely feminine domain, these male artists staged a form of transgression. By altering the narrative, they instigated a break from tradition. However, by portraying the goddess with such reverence, they signaled a revival: a reinterpretation of Mithila painting where gendered lines fade, but the power of the feminine remains unconquerable.