CC0 · no rights reserved
A girl worshipping the rising sun (Surya puja)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Clad in only her undergarment, an adolescent girl performs a ritual of morning prayer. She pours a stream of water that splashes down the steps of the platform on which she stands, her garland and orange sari on the ground behind her. Devotional practice in India can occur in nature, in the open air, without the presence of a temple, icon, or a priest. Animals stir in the hills, and a goose has caught a fish. The artist appears to have connected the peace and bounty of the land with the pious act of honoring the sun with water.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineA girl worshipping the rising sun (Surya puja), c. 1810. Attributed to Chokha (Indian, active c. 1799–1824). Gum tempera and gold on paper; page: 23.8 x 17.1 cm (9 3/8 x 6 3/4 in.); painting: 20.3 x 13.3 cm (8 x 5 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2018.151
