In the Realm of Gods and Kings: Arts of India Selections from the Polsky Collections and The Metropolitan Museum of Art Asia Society
The Realm of Kings The Temple and Sacred Text Krishna Rama Devi Shiva Saints and Sadhus The Realm of Gods
Himalayan pilgrimage of the five siddhas
Himalayan pilgrimage of the five siddhas
From a series of the Kedara Kalpa
Guler, Punjab Hills; early 19th century
Opaque watercolor on paper
Cynthia Hazen Polsky Collection (8070-IP)

 

 

Sultan Ibrahim ibn Adham of Balkh visited by angels
Attributed to the Lucknow/Faizabad artist Hunhar
Sultan Ibrahim ibn Adham of Balkh visited by angels
1760-70
Opaque watercolor with gold on paper
Cynthia Hazen Polsky Collection (1009-IP)

Saints and Sadhus

Much of Indian art is devoted to celebrating nature and its energies and to the joyous sides of human life; however, the corresponding ascetic impulse, the renunciation of the world and its seductive illusions, also forms a main strand of Indian life and culture. Charismatic holy men—Muslim Sufi teachers, Hindu yogis, or Jain acharyas—have been venerated by emperors, sultans, and maharajas, as well as people of lesser rank. Often sought out for their advice or blessing, such saints and religious ascetics (sadhus) may live in a settled community or as a solitary recluse in the wilderness, or they may wander the country begging and giving instruction. In paintings and photographs on view, dating from the sixteenth through the twentieth century, these holy men are portrayed as they follow their spiritual path.