Goddess Bhairavi - Shib Gobin Lal

A nineteenth-century lithograph by Shib Gobin Lal depicting the Hindu deity Bhairavi, featuring traditional iconography and hand-applied colour.

This lithograph by Shib Gobin Lal depicts the Hindu deity Bhairavi, a fierce manifestation of the Divine Mother. Produced in Calcutta during the late nineteenth century, the work reflects the popular religious art of the period, which combined traditional iconography with the technical possibilities of the lithographic press. The print shows the goddess seated upon a throne, her form characterised by a distinct pink hue and multiple arms, a common convention in Indian religious imagery to denote divine power and omniscience. She is adorned with a garland of severed heads, symbolising the transcendence of ego and the cycle of existence.

To her side stands an attendant figure, rendered with a softer, more humanised appearance, providing a visual contrast to the formidable presence of the deity. The architectural setting features arched niches and floral motifs, elements that draw from both Mughal and colonial-era decorative styles. The composition is structured around a central axis, with the goddess positioned as the primary subject. The use of hand-applied colour over the printed line work creates a specific aesthetic quality, typical of the mass-produced devotional prints that circulated in urban centres like Calcutta at the time. These prints were instrumental in making religious imagery accessible to a wider public, moving beyond the confines of temple walls and private shrines. The artist, Shib Gobin Lal, was one of the practitioners who contributed to this visual culture, balancing the requirements of traditional religious representation with the demands of a growing commercial print market. The work remains a document of the intersection between spiritual practice and the industrialisation of art in colonial India.