Apsaras: The Heavenly Beauties

 [Click here]( to view in browser.   [Logo](  [TEXTILES]( [SCULPTURES]( [BOOKS]( [JEWELRY]( [PAINTINGS]( [According to Indian culture, song and dance are of divine origin. There are present in Indra’s court numerous celestial musicians known as ‘Gandharvas’. Dancers of his court are known as ‘Apsaras’. Often, the latter are said to be the wives of Gandharvas. Apsaras are youthful, elegant and unmatched in the art of dancing. In art, they are the quintessential representations of the Indian conception of ‘feminine beauty.’ The word ‘apsara’ itself is derived from the Sanskrit word for water ‘ap’, which signifies that they dwell amongst the water bearing clouds.]( Dancing Apsara This carefully sculpted brass image depicts apsara in an iconic position, one leg raised backward, symbolizing how they float in the heavens. An Aspara is a protector of vital energy that escapes from the body of a dead warrior. Apsaras are said to have been created after a thousand-year effort to extract Amrita during the samudra-manthan. Apsara Shows an Apsara ideally situated within a prabmahandal frame. Her right hand rests on the curved end of the lower right side of the arch, left hand firmly holding an upper left of the arch at her neck level. The left leg is firmly placed on the stand, and her right leg bent left wise in a dancing position characteristic of an apsara. Heavenly Apsaras Musical Panel Framed in anciently carved perfect borders and the ethnic self textured background, this apsara panel highlights the variety, beauty, purity and charmness of the culture of India as music and dance hold the hearts of the people of India. This sculpture encapsulates India’s heavenly folk tradition in a beauteous rectangular frame. A Classical Indian Dancer The sheer beauty of this classical Indian dancer portrayed in this sculpture is traced to the divinity of the Devi, whose graceful dance is a manifestation of nature, fertility, cosmic force, and celestial nymphs like the apsaras A Young Lady Applying Vermilion (A Sculpture Inspired by Khajuraho) Sindoor or vermilion holds a great importance in Indian society. Married women apply sindoor in the parting of hair as an auspicious symbol and it also ensures good luck, well being and longevity of their husbands. Here, she is applying vermilion with her left hand while looking in the small round mirror with a slight smile on her face, showing off her feminism and feels delighted of her marriage. The thought of her husband in her mind while applying vermilion enables her to dance beautifully in joy. The Musician (Apsara) The beautiful apsara is playing dholak (drum) and it seems as if she is completely lost in the sound coming from it. Her stance is so happy and relaxed; tilted face with a smile and legs bent, dancing to the mesmerizing beats of dholak. The Irresistible Daivika Apsara Her form is ethereal. She is tall; formed in the finest proportions of womanhood. Her long decolletage is overlain with a multitude of bejewelled necklaces. Streams of shringar make their way midway down her slender torso. Inches below the navel, right where her gracious hips take on a sharp, lateral curve to the waist, is tied a richly embroidered silk dhoti. Shringar-Rata Nayika (From Khajuraho) The maiden, represented in this statue, has been modeled on the line on which Khajuraho sculptor, working at its Parasanath temple, modeled his Shringar-rata nayika holding a mirror in her left hand and applying vermilion with the other. The Khajuraho maiden is possessed of the celestial charm and the transcendental beauty, as are the mythical denizens of the Indraloka. Dancing Apsara With a Parrot The lady is standing on a wondrously engraved three layered pedestal. Left leg is slightly bent touching the base and right leg is held high in the air just like her desires, with the knee bent inwards. Her position of legs is showing off her flexibility and fluidity in complete ease. Her left hand is swinging at the side in its graceful pose and right hand is forming a 90 degree angle, holding a twig with a parrot sitting on it. It seems that the magnificent parrot is talking to her and making her smile. The lady is showing her sharp moves in response to the parrot. A Young Lady Applying Vermilion (A Sculpture Inspired by Khajuraho) This image of the Indian woman represented the Indian cult of perceiving the highest beauty as revealing in the highest kind of virtue. Under Indian aesthetic norms the degree of virtue determined the level of beauty, and hence, the most beautiful was also the most virtuous and the vice-versa. It was for such reasons that ancient poets like Kalidasa had no reservations in most sensuously illustrating and admiring the beauty of Parvati, the supreme mother, believing that while describing and appreciating her supreme beauty he was lauding her supreme virtue. Large Size Apsara with the Parrot The apsara here wears a lavish carved low waist dhoti; right hand stretches down towards her navel in a dancing mudra and left hand holds the celestial bird; that expression of her face and the slight and elegant look towards the parrot symbolizes her as interacting about her inner sorrows and happiness, while dancing with her friend in the god’s court. Large Size Yakshi, The Celestial Dancer The statue, an example of excellent craftsmanship, represents a celestial being who appears to be both, a dancer and an accomplished instrumentalist capable of playing two instruments - a 'tanapura' and 'sarangi', simultaneously. A third - a 'mradanga' or long drum, is her third accompaniment, though she is no playing on it. The 'tanapura' one might play by a single hand but it is not so with 'sarangi'. In playing on 'sarangi' one has to apply two hands. Besides, she is not seated as is usually required in playing on these instruments. The sculptor has thus suggested her super-human status. Celestial Nymph with Parrot Passing Message The figure of the maiden, her attendant and the tree she is standing along have been installed on a three-tiered pedestal : the bottom section comprising a plain base moulding with an upwards graded stretch faced with stylized lotus creepers, the middle, styled lotuses, and the top, a plain moulding. A ‘prabhavali’ like arching tree or rather its well-trimmed trunk and branches, a form usual in early Shalabhanjika sculptures, bursting with different sorts of flowers, from lotuses to sun-flower, fruits to include berries and different styles of leaves to include ferns, affords rare perspective to the maiden’s image. Close to its base is posted the attendant icon with her left leg lifted and held in her left hand as if removing a thorn or a sticky irritant. [More Statues of Apsaras]( [Lady with a Mirror]( [Lady with a Mirror]( Brass Statue [Large Size The Musician Apsara (अप्सरा)]( [Large Size The Musician Apsara (अप्सरा)]( South Indian Temple Wood Carving [Apsara (Nymph) Feeding Her Pet Parrot]( [Apsara (Nymph) Feeding Her Pet Parrot]( Stone Statue Artist: Sri Hara Prasad Moharana [Lady Picking Thorn from Her Feet]( [Lady Picking Thorn from Her Feet]( Brass Sculpture [The Apsara Applying Vermilion (A Sculpture Inspired by Khajuraho)]( [The Apsara Applying Vermilion (A Sculpture Inspired by Khajuraho)]( Brass Statue [Large Size Dancing Lady with Mirror (Apsara)]( [Large Size Dancing Lady with Mirror (Apsara)]( South Indian Temple Wood Carving [Large Size Lady with Mirror (Apsara)]( [Large Size Lady with Mirror (Apsara)]( South Indian Temple Wood Carving [The Apsara Applying Vermilion (A Sculpture Inspired by Khajuraho)]( [The Apsara Applying Vermilion (A Sculpture Inspired by Khajuraho)]( Brass Statue [Paintings of Apsaras]( A Young Lady, Perhaps Menaka, Playing with Balls The painting, a large size canvas rendered in oil, portraying a young lady, tall with the sky’s heights, and lustrous, far ahead of gold, in a posture of playing with a ball represents variedly, in modern context, a young sportive woman, and in mythical, Menaka, the celestial apsara, an icon of rare beauty, and the central character in many popular legends, the ocean-churning and the sage Vishvamitra-related being better known. Raja Ravi Varma and other artists of modern painting have painted Menaka identically to the youthful figure as painted on this canvas. Not as a character in a narration, they have perceived Menaka as the model of voluptuous beauty having the same relevance today as she had in the world of legends. Longing Brown Eyes This oil painting depicts the subject in all the beauty of her youth and Indianness. Her skin is glowing, setting off the dramatic makeup she has freshly applied for the sight of her lover. She has chosen a maroon lehenga with a brocaded, low-cut blouse to greet him in. In fact, she has just caught sight of his advancing figure, right when a gust of wind almost stripped her of her dupatta, exposing her to his view. She was trying with both hands to draw the dupatta around her, but paused midway at the sight of him, having forgotten herself. [Books on Apsaras]( [Apsaras in Hoysala Art A New Dimension]( [Apsaras in Hoysala Art A New Dimension]( Hardcover [Urvashi - The Apsara Who Fell in Love With a King (Comic Book)]( [Urvashi - The Apsara Who Fell in Love With a King (Comic Book)]( Paperback [Apsara In Indian Art and Literature]( [Apsara In Indian Art and Literature]( Hardcover [Apsarases in Indian Literature and the Legend of Urvasi and Pururavas]( [Apsarases in Indian Literature and the Legend of Urvasi and Pururavas]( Hardcover [The Power of The Female: Devangana Sculptures on Indian Temple Architecture]( [The Power of The Female: Devangana Sculptures on Indian Temple Architecture]( Hardcover [Karnataka's Rich Heritage - Temple Sculptures and Dancing Apsaras (An Amalgam of Hindu Mythology, Natyasastra and Silpasastra)]( [Karnataka's Rich Heritage - Temple Sculptures and Dancing Apsaras (An Amalgam of Hindu Mythology, Natyasastra and Silpasastra)]( PAPERBACK [Therapeutics In Indian Sculptures: Ranki Vav-Patan]( [Therapeutics In Indian Sculptures: Ranki Vav-Patan]( Hardcover [Kama Katha (Ribald and Sensuous in Classical Literature)]( [Kama Katha (Ribald and Sensuous in Classical Literature)]( HARDCOVER   Exotic India Art 2573 Hamline Ave N Suite A, Roseville, MN 55113 USA  [icon-facebook]( [icon-twitter](  Sent to {EMAIL} | [Unsubscribe]( at any time. 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