Khushi Rawat
Roll no. :- 20
Section B
Department of Painting
III Year
AESTHETIC ASSIGNMENT
SHADHANG
Vatsayana , around 1st Century - 3rd Century AD mentioned Shadhang, or the six limbs of art ( shad - 6 ,
anga - limbs/parts ) in the Chitrasutra of Vishnudharmottara purana.
Hindu God Vishnu , is considered as the first painter according to the hindu mythology, as he drew the image
of urvashi on a mango leaf and infused life to it. Vishnu dharmottarpuran is a detailed research on lord
Vishnu along with the study on the whole universe , dance , music, art and literature .
The third khada or part of Vishnudharmottarpuran is called , Chitrasutra , it deals with the practically
performed topics and the origin of image making, it describes the various methods and ideals and the laws of
painting , these aid the artist with the creation of an artwork and helps him to experience the mysteries which
are far beyond his cognitive intellect . According to Shandhang the real rasa is not in understanding the
artwork but experiencing it . Artist has the freedom to work according to his own psychological preferences
and intellect and shadang aids it with the basic laws .
Indian aesthetic always had a balance between the transcendental duality of sensuous and volitional, and to
achieve so aesthetician laid the foundation of these cannons of art.
Shandhang is described in a sloka, which is,
“Roopbhedha pramanani bhava lavanya-yojanam
Sadrishyam varnikabhangam iti chitram shadakam”
Roopbhedha - refer to the importance of differences and knowledge of forms . Here roop , refers to the outer
form or the appearance of subject and how it is visually perceived , whereas bhedha , refers to the
differences, thus artist must have a sound knowledge of different forms that exists.
Pramanani - it refers to the manifestation of forms, guided by the powers of proportion and emphasise on
perspective , measurement and structural anatomy of objects.
Bhava - this speaks about the emotion , feeling or intention both covert and overt depicting the feelings of
the subject
Lavanya yojanam - it stands for grace which blooms in bodily postures, it works towards expressing the
above two limbs in a controlled manner bringing out a sense of beauty in a dignified and organised manner .
Sadrishyam -it refers to similitude in forms, attributes and virtues , it refers to the degree to which a depiction
is similar to artist’s vision or the subject itself.
Varnikabhangam - it refers to the artistic way of making use of brush and colours and how the strokes are
applied to a canvas which lends soul to an artwork.
Thus , Shadhang is the important limbs of an artwork without which every work is incomplete and in the
hands of a versatile artist these laws will make the artist as well as the viewer experience rasa .
Art in India can be seen in the cave paintings from prehistoric times to the paintings of the contemporary
creation of today , all these works have one or the other limbs of art .
The cave paintings of Ajanta depict jataka tales in a praiseworthy manner , here one can see the limb of
parmanani , here ‘ Maya Devi ’ being Buddha’s mother is shown relatively larger than the servants that
surrounds her in a harmonious composition. Even in the later centuries we can witness shadhanga in the
works of Raja Ravi Verma , in one of his works , ‘ Shakuntala ’ , one can see the limb of bhava , where
shakuntal pretends to remove thorn from her foot while actually looking for Dushyanth , as her friends call
her bluff. ‘ Three girls ’ by Amrita Shergil , an Indian modern artist also uses the principle of shadhang by
using tone and texture . The colourfully dressed somewhat similar looking women shows them
contemplating a destiny they are unable to change . Their bhava is easily comprehended through the
painting . In the contemporary artworks we can look at the example of Bhajju Shyam , a Gond artist he uses
the law of sadrishyam or similitude in his artworks, mostly working around nature and animals he captures
the essence and character of an object and portrays it in a rather abstract manner , which though not exactly
same buy is easily understandable due to the similarity used . The animals like deer may not look like a deer
for real but has the elements like the similar type of eye or horns which makes the viewer believe its a deer.
Shadhang principles are not only found in Indian art but in western art as well, the limb of parmanani or
proportion is an important aspect for an artwork to visually pleasing . The relationship between objects can
also unknowingly disrupts a viewers’s perception and enjoyment, like the work of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘ the
last supper ’ has many clear examples of divine proportions , other example of proportion van be his another
work ‘ the vitruvian man’ . Apart from proportion another limb frequently used is roopbhedha,the paintings
from Sistine Chapel by Michaelangelo where every figure can be differentiated from their facial features .
