The ‘Chitra Mantapa’ hall with wall and ceiling paintings is an ancient concept. The term can be applied to the historical cave paintings in India, including the early Buddhist-painted rock-cut chaityas and viharas at Ajanta (2nd century BCE- 5th Century CE). The Ajanta paintings mainly depict the life and Jataka stories of the Buddha.
In the post-Ajanta period, paintings continued to be favoured by many dynasties. In the Karnataka region, the Badami Chalukyas carried on with the tradition of painting in cave temples. However, only fragments of paintings are now found in Cave 3 in Badami.
In the post-Badami Chalukya era, the Rashtrakutas, the later Chalukyas and the Hoysalas concentrated on prolific temple activities and sculptures, and hence, there was minimal space for paintings. The Vijayanagara kings revived the Chitra Mantapa tradition. The Maharangamantapa (1509 CE) in Hampi’s Virupaksha temple has paintings on the ceiling that may be dated to ca. 1520-25 CE.
In the post-Vijayanagara period, the Mysore Wodeyars continued to patronise the art. The kings built a lot of temples, donated for Kalyana Mantapas and renewed grants to many religious institutions. The Shwetavaraha Swamy and Shri Prasanna Krishna temples, situated within the Mysore palace premises, have murals depicting Ramayana and Bhagavatha narratives on the inner walls of the hall.
The Chitra Mantapa at the Shri Prasanna Venkataramana temple in Mysore has significant wall and ceiling paintings. The temple is situated in Sri Krishna Vilasa Agrahara, near Jaganmohana palace. It was built by Subbaraya Dasa, a Madhwa saint in 1836 CE, with grants given by King Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. Another grant dated to 1842 CE mentions the construction of a Chitra Mantapa. It is a small hall, having paintings of Wodeyar portraits and Kshetra Darshana narratives. The latter were the result of Subbaraya Dasa’s religious trips to various places in North and South India.
At the entrance, a painting of Trivikrama is depicted. The images of Kama and Rati on Navanari Kunjara (elephant) and Pancha Nari Turaga (horse) respectively are painted on either side of the main image. There are depictions of the wedding of Rama and Sita, coronation of Rama, Ugra Narasimha, Vata Patra Shayi Krishna and Lakshmi Narasimha on the upper register of the frame. The Bhagavata narratives of Krishna with Rukmini and Satyabhama, Yamalarjuna Vijaya, Gopika Vastrapaharana and a hunting scene are found here.
There are 12 portraits of the Mysore kings who ruled before Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. All portraits are identical in style and form of depiction. The portraits of Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar, Bettada Chamaraja Wodeyar, Kanthirava Maharaja Wodeyar and Khasa Chamaraja Wodeyar are in one framed composition. On the left side wall, the narrations of Kshetra Darshana of Subbaraya Dasa are depicted. The panel depicts Hampi Virupaksha, Vyasarayara Patha and Nava Vrindavana. Next to it are Azhwar Utpatti Sthala (Azhwar Thirunagari) and the other Nava Tirupati temples in Tamil Nadu. In the lower strata, the figures of Cheluva Narayana, Narasimha, Kalyani and Anjaneya in Melukote are depicted. In the next composition, Rameshwaram is depicted.
Here, the Rameshwara Linga and Anjaneya are represented. In the lower panel, Srirangapatna, the erstwhile capital of Mysore Wodeyars, is depicted: the Sriranganatha and Narasimha temples, Ganjam village, Lalbaug, palace and a mosque are represented within the fort area. The hall’s rear wall has four portraits and a central panel. Portraits of Kanthirava Narasimharaja Wodeyar and Immadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar followed by a wooden relief depicting the figures of Sri Vedavyasa are found. The figures of Madhwacharya and Bhimasena are carved flanking the main image.
Dewan Purnaiah, King Krishnaraja Wodeyar III and Subbaraya Dasa as well as Seenappa Dasa in standing posture are delineated in the lower space of the carving. Fine wooden carvings of Dashavatara images, Venugopala, Rukmini-Satyabhama, Srinivasa with Shri Devi-Bhudevi, Rama and Sita with Lakshmana are found all around the frame. On the side wall, narratives of Kumbakonam—the Kumbheshwara, Chakrapani and Nageshwara temples—are to be seen. In Kanchipuram, Vishnu Kanchi, Siva Kanchi and Kamakshi temples are composed.
The Chamundeshwari-Chamundi hill is also depicted. A large picture of Nanjanagudu temple and the Pancha Rathas there are portrayed to show the annual fair. The Beluru Chennakeshava and the Sivagange hill occupy the lower space of composition. The Wodeyar portraits further continue on the right side wall: Raja Wodeyar, Dodda Krishnaraja Wodeyar, Bettada Chamaraja Wodeyar and Chamaraja Wodeyar. The last depiction in the right wall narration is the painting of the Tirumala hill. The artist has done an elaborate picturesque narration of Tirupati.
The Chitra Mantapa ceiling paintings provide more detailed visual descriptions of the Kshetra Darshana of Subbaraya Dasa. Depictions of Udupi, Kolhapur and Pandarapur Vithala are present. There is an elaborate painting of Kashipatna: images of Bhairavanath, Bindu Madhava and Anjaneya temples are painted. Besides these, depictions of Bhim Chandi, Manikarnika and Dashashvamedha Ghats are also seen. Ayodhya, Sarayu river and other places are shown in the upper strata of the composition.
The paintings of Alaknanda, Gomati, Gandaki, Janakapuri, Janakamadi, Trayambakeshwara, Panchaganga, Nasik, Panchamari, Tapovana, Baragi, Niranjana, Haridwara, Saraswati, Brahma Kunda, Devaprayaga, Gangotri and other north Indian religious places are narrated in synoptic forms. The artist has written the names of all the places in early 19th century Kannada script. Visualisation of the places that the artist possibly never visited is a significant aspect of the paintings. All these were created based on the oral descriptions given by Subbaraya Dasa. The royal portraits in the Chitra Mantapa serve as the visual records of the Wodeyar kings.
The uniqueness of these paintings is their uniform style and colour as well as the composition of the theme. Even amidst the influence of colonial art, they retained the local technique and composition. The paintings serve as the precursor to the traditional Mysore school.
R H Kulkarni
Professor, Dept of Art History, College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
(rhkulkarniarthistory@gmail.com)