Adishesha with Lord Vishnu (Prints)

Adishesha with Lord Vishnu (Prints)

This is the print of an original 70 x 90 cm oil on canvas painting showing Adishesha together with Lord Vishnu. The artprints of the same are now available in 4 different sizes for you to choose.

This painting was a private art commission that had come along during the summer of 2022. It was my Guru’s vision and he decided to share the same with me on the very next day and asked me to work on it (off-camera). This oil on canvas took about 42 hours. However, it took me almost a year to complete, not due to the lack of time though. This painting demanded a lot of inner strength and a detached-attachment mindset.Even a month ago, I wasn’t sure I was going to complete it. I had to just let go off the “I” and become this tool for this painting to reveal itself.

Although my Guru will prefer his identity to be kept anonymous, he’s willing to share with the world as to the circumstances that led him to this vision of Adishesha with Lord Vishnu. Together we will do a write-up and share with you in the coming days. Also, he wishes that this painting be made available in the print form for anyone to have this TREASURE CHEST OF WISDOM

MY GURU’S VISION:

During the summer of 2022, my Guru had set out on a pilgrimage to some holy places in the northern part of India and around. One of his travel plans was also to Nepal and eventually to the Himalayas. He had planned to visit the holy Damodar Kund, which is in the Annapurna mountain range of Nepal. More on this sacred place and how to reach there can be read in this link:https://www.damodarakund.com/index.html

Visit to such holy places also come with tremendous treking needs. If not, then there are also helicopters available. Unfortunately, around the time that my Guru had travelled, the weather condition was bad and hence, he waited for about 10 days with no progress. He had prayed everyday that the weather should clear and he should get a chance to visit Damodar Kund before he had to leave for India.

During the night, in his deep sleep he had a clear vision wherein he saw Adishesha (the snake God) crawling towards him. Contradictory to the usual nature of fear that manifests when one sees a snake, my Guru had a pleasant feeling because this snake was smiling and his eyes were gleaming with Lord Vishnu’s conch and wheel on either of them. Then the snake turned around to reveal his back which had the exact same image of Lord Vishnu that my Guru always prayed to. The next day morning the weather cleared miraculously and he was able to proceed with his visit to Damodar Kund.

Turning Vision into Artwork:

My Guru considered his vision to be priceless and shared the same with his Maha Guru, who then pointed out that it is such a rare sight and it could bring good to humanity, if all get access to this vision. Therefore, making a painting will be a good idea. He then guided that this divine activity be given to me. I am ever-so-thankful that I was chosen to be this tool.

The very next day, my Guru had called me and shared his experience. He did share the image of Lord Vishnu that he prayed to, which was kind of an easy start. However, the challenge was to show the front and the back of Adishesha (the snake God). Therefore, we decided to show a mirror that could reflect the back of Adishesha. Then the idea came that treasure chests will have mirrors. Treasure chest can also be used to symbolically denote how precious this vision was to my Guru. So, within a week or so after his vision had occured, we had a concrete idea for an artwork to run with.

Challenges down the road – from summer 2022 leading upto July 2023 finish line:

1. Painting Adishesha – the snake: Working on such divine art pieces, I am accusomed to drawing and painting animal images, as well. However, I have never worked on a snake image in detail. So, when I started google searching for ideal images of snakes and will look happy  – well, I didn’t get many. Most of the images were totally scary even on a mobile phone screen and hence, I was struck for a couple of months with my own fear. My Guru understood the challenge and he sent me Rudraksha beeds that he had purchased for me from Naimisharanyam. He had asked me to wear it everyday and think of surpassing the fear. About Naimisharanya: https://holyvoyages.com/uttar-pradesh/about-naimisharanya-naimisharan-pilgrimage-destination-uttar-pradesh-india.aspx
2. Arrival of Ashtalakshmi: Eventually, I was able to shred the fear and move on selecting images and begin work on the painting. Lord Vishnu came in very quickly than I had ancipated. However, to my surprise, I started cracking new ideas on how to work with the Ashtalaskhmis (the 8 forms of Goddess Lakshmi – wife of Lord Vishnu) and that turned out to be a huge project. This was a happy challenge. I had gone into exploring the treasures of wisdom, creating child versions of the Goddess. One experience led to the other and soon, I was out there exhibiting my artworks. Lord Vishnu, Adishesha and my Guru were in the meantime waiting patiently for me to grow!
3. The detached-attachment mindset: While I was working a lot on the outside, there was and there’s still a lot of work to be done within. This last year, was also a journey of self-discovery, into figuring out who I am and who I am not and taking some difficult decisions what to hold back and what to let go. This is still work in progress. However, it has helped me build this detached-attachment mindset. We have taken a loan of this body, time and space and nothing is really ours. Therefore, it is important to respect all three that we have received as loan until that last minute that this loan expires 🙂 I guess, this wisdom was what was missing when I had started and I had to learn it the hard way. Once, I was beginning to feel this clarity – answers, ideas, tools, encouragement – whatever that was needed to practically finish the painting was right there in front of me!

Key Features of the painting:

1. The Jewel Box: My Guru had a rare experience first time in his life and this is so precious to him. To depict this preciousness experience a jewel box has been used symbolically
2. Glass inside the jewel box: Typical jewel boxes also come with such a glass or mirror, so it helps to paint both the front and back views of Adishesha. In the front view, one can see that Adishesha’s eyes have the conch and wheel of Lord Vishnu and the rear view shows Lord Vishnu himself on the body of Adishesha
3. Naga Mani: There is a jewel in purple color on the head of Adishesha. This is called “Naga Mani” and it is a rare jewel that is generated by snakes. It is also called viper’s stone, snake’ pearl. This is actually a bone of the snake and it is also used by folk as a medicine for snake bite in some parts of the world
4. Neelothpalam or the Blue Lotus: The blue lotus flower is a rare flower that can be found in the himalayas. Since my Guru had this vision when he was in the himalayas, this blue lotus has been symbolically added to the body of Adishesha