The Planets (Navagraha)
Artist/Culture
Central Indian
Artist/Culture
Uttar Pradesh
Date550–575
Mediumsandstone relief
Dimensions36.8 x 67.3 x 12.4 cm (14 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 4 7/8 in.)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1923.5
DescriptionNavagraha (Nine Planets) frieze representing planetary deities from Vedic mythology. From the viewer’s left, the first figure represents the Sun (Suyra); he wears a jeweled headdress and holds lotuses in his raised hands. The following six figures are the Moon (Chandra or Soma), Mercury (Budha), Venus (Shukra), Mars (Mangala or Bhauma), Jupiter (Brihaspati), and Saturn (Shani). The last figure is the demon Rahu, the Rising Moon; his twin brother Ketu, the Descending Moon, is missing. The large half-length figure of Rahu holds his hands cupped in the gesture of scooping up the elixir of immortality. Some sculptural details have been worn away over time, but the graceful swaying posture and elegant proportions of the figures attest to the quality and beauty of this navagraha frieze.Label TextThis Navagraha (Nine Planets) frieze represents planetary deities from Vedic mythology. From the viewer’s left, the first figure holding lotuses in his raised hand represents the Sun (Suyra). The following six figures are the Moon (Chandra/Soma), Mercury (Budha), Venus (Shukra), Mars (Mangala/Bhauma), Jupiter (Brihaspati), and Saturn (Shani). The last figure is the smiling demon Rahu, the Rising Moon. His twin brother Ketu, the Descending Moon, is usually depicted as part of the Nine Planets but is missing here. Rahu is usually portrayed as a serpent without a body and is believed to cause solar and lunar eclipses as a rogue planet.ProvenanceMuseum Purchase from Bourgeois Galleries, New York, NY
On View
On view
