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Cheriyal, Warangal (Telangana)
Pigment painting and lacquer on cloth and wood
An exceptional folk image of the Goddess Yellamma. Yellamma, also known as Renuka, is a Hindu goddess worshipped predominantly in Southern Indian. She is also known as the mother of Parashurama, the sixth avatar of the god Vishnu. Images of this goddess are used by travelling story-tellers performing after-death rituals, mandaheccu, among the Yadavs of Telangana.
The goddess sits cross-legged on a throne and is depicted with two main arms and ten subsidiary arms – the topmost on the left carrying a trident, and the one on the right carrying a drum. She wears a black and white checked sari with a blue blouse and is crowned and heavily bejewelled with earrings and multiple necklaces. A blue naga (snake) is coiled around her waist, with its head raised in the front. Orange nagas emerge from beneath her armpits, while two additional ones manifest above the grouping of five subsidiary arms on each side. The base of the throne is decorated with demonic heads with lolling red tongues. The back of the throne is painted with the figure of the Goddess attended by Hanuman and Garuda. At the top are two green birds flanking a kirtimukha. Along the bottom is a scene depicting Yellamma helping the sage Jamadagni perform a penance.
Size (cms): 49.5(H) x 33(W) x 17(D)
Size (inches): 19.5(H) x 13(W) x 6.5(D)
