Raga Dipaka-Miniature Painting

Dimensions : 9x6 Inches

Raga Dipaka, the song of the earthen lamp, causes such intense excitement that is said to burn the body of the performer. Tan Sen was once compelled by his patron, Emperor Akbar, to give a performance of Dipaka raga. He sang the Dipaka sitting in the waters of the Yamuna, and as the notes rose in pitch, it is said that the water began to boil. Tan sen became unconscious; his body was so burnt by the intensity of the raga that he could not wear clothes and he wandered about naked in the heat of the summer, till a young girl, also an expert musician, came to his aid. She sang the Megha-mallara,

rein fell in torrents and cooled his body. Raga Dipaka is painted in a powerful manner in this painting. The background is yellow, symbolic of the heat of the summer. The prince, undraped to the waist, holding a burning earthen lamp in his left hand, drives elephant. Against the face of the prince, an aura of gold is painted. An attendant holding a chauri is giving him a mild breeze. The trumpeting elephant is also holding a burning earthen lamp at the tip of his truck. The passion of Raga Dipaka is portrayed with deep feeling in this painting.