Mandala of the Sun God Surya

Kitaharasa

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This mandala is devoted to the solar deity Surya, seen riding in his solar chariot drawn by seven horses, his charioteer commanding the team. Two goddesses accompany him, shooting arrows to drive away the darkness. The eight planetary deities encircle Surya’s mandala. The painting bears a partially legible date, making it one of only two confirmed fourteenth-century Nepalese paintings. The inscription names the donor, Bhisnudevesvara, and the artist, Kitaharasa, the latter an extremely rare occurrence in Nepalese art. It declares that the work commemorates the donor’s performance of a ceremony to expunge him of negative karma, the result of misdeeds. This ritual appears in the lower register, with a Vajracharya priest at left performing a fire sacrifice and the repentant donor at center undergoing some form of exorcism accompanied by musicians while his family, assembled at right, observes.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art