Life in the Kathmandu Valley is centered on the rhythms of daily religious practice and the festival cycles of both Hindu and Buddhist traditions. During these annual events and festivals, scheduled according to the lunar and astrological calendar, many of the gods are paraded in chariots throughout the valley.

Much of the art created in the Kathmandu Valley is produced for ritual purposes—to accommodate daily practice, commemorate important rites of passage, or to celebrate seasonal festivals. Works commissioned for special events and holidays portray important deities and sets of divine figures. Beginning in the sixteenth century, these works were more commonly marked with dedicatory inscriptions, precise dates, and images depicting patrons, all of which were important aspects in commissioned ritual works.

Bhimarata, Chariot Ritual, Nepal; Inscription date 1776 , Copper; répoussé. Rubin Museum of Art C2006.66.63 (HAR 700095)

The Chariot Ritual (Bhimarata) is a special birthday celebration ritual common to the Kathmandu Valley. It is practiced by both Hindus and Buddhists and celebrated when an elder reaches the ripe age of 77 years, 7 months, 7 days, 7 hours, and 7 minutes. The festivities of the day require the elder to mount a chariot and ride through the city accompanied by the performance of various religious services in front of a sacred stupa. To commemorate this day, Buddhists are also required to commission the construction of a stupa, an architectural reliquary mound. If unable to build a full-sized stupa, the family can sponsor a small three-dimensional or hammered metal sculpture or a painting (paubha).

The exquisitely crafted gold gilt répoussé depicts the Bhimarata rite. Two horses and two mythical creatures draw the couple in the chariot. In the lower left corner sits a monkey, a sight commonly associated with the famous Swayambhunath Stupa, the most important Buddhist shrine of the Kathmandu Valley. The adjacent painting depicts a 77-year-old elder along with family members in the lower register engaged in a full parade. The key figures in this composition, starting from the top, are the Five Transcendent Buddhas. Below them are the ten astrological deities, representing the planets in the heavens and the calculation of time. At the center of the painting is a stupa containing the Ushnishavijaya (Victorious Crown Ornament Goddess) representing the continuation of an already long-life for the birthday elder. The stupa can also be seen in the répoussé work. Two further auspicious deities included in the birthday rituals are depicted below, Vasudhara (the Goddess of Abundance) and Manjushri (bodhisattva of Wisdom).

Bhimarata, Chariot Ritual, Nepal; 19th century, Pigment on cloth. Rubin Museum of Art, F1997.17.24 (HAR 100024)

The Chariot Ritual (Bhimarata) is a special birthday celebration ritual common to the Kathmandu Valley. It is practiced by both Hindus and Buddhists and celebrated when an elder reaches the ripe age of 77 years, 7 months, 7 days, 7 hours, and 7 minutes. The festivities of the day require the elder to mount a chariot and ride through the city accompanied by the performance of various religious services in front of a sacred stupa. To commemorate this day, Buddhists are also required to commission the construction of a stupa, an architectural reliquary mound. If unable to build a full-sized stupa, the family can sponsor a small three-dimensional or hammered metal sculpture or a painting (paubha).

The exquisitely crafted gold gilt répoussé depicts the Bhimarata rite. Two horses and two mythical creatures draw the couple in the chariot. In the lower left corner sits a monkey, a sight commonly associated with the famous Swayambhunath Stupa, the most important Buddhist shrine of the Kathmandu Valley. The adjacent painting depicts a 77-year-old elder along with family members in the lower register engaged in a full parade. The key figures in this composition, starting from the top, are the Five Transcendent Buddhas. Below them are the ten astrological deities, representing the planets in the heavens and the calculation of time. At the center of the painting is a stupa containing the Ushnishavijaya (Victorious Crown Ornament Goddess) representing the continuation of an already long-life for the birthday elder. The stupa can also be seen in the répoussé work. Two further auspicious deities included in the birthday rituals are depicted below, Vasudhara (the Goddess of Abundance) and Manjushri (bodhisattva of Wisdom).

Rato Macchendranath Temple, Nepal; ca. 1850, Pigment on cloth. Rubin Museum of Art, C2006.42.2 (HAR 89010)

This monumental work, one of the largest Nepalese scroll paintings (paubha) in the world, depicts the temple of Rato Macchendranath in the ancient kingdom of Patan in the Kathmandu Valley. In the center of the composition sits the Red Lord, known as either Rato Macchendranath or Red Padmapani Avalokiteshvara. In the registers above are scenes from the life story of Shakyamuni Buddha, accompanied by images of Hindu gods receiving his teachings. The many patrons and devotees are arranged in rows across the bottom registers, each in a pose of worship and wearing clothes of the time period. They are each identified by inscription.

Shri Yantra Mandala, Nepal; 17th century, Bronze. Rubin Museum of Art, C2006.66.58 (HAR 700053)

Engraved with a layered set of sacred triangular diagrams, this ritual object, known as a yantra, would typically be found in a temple or sacred space and used as a focus for devotion. The series of intersecting lines create triangles that represent feminine and masculine energies in union. These commingling energies are surrounded by a lotus circle, a sea of blood, a ring of fire, and four T-shaped doorways symbolically resting on double vajras on the four sides of the yantra mandala. This object, blending both Hindu and Buddhist symbols, is a composition unique to the Kathmandu Valley.

Vajrayogini, Nepal; Inscription date 1822, Pigment on cloth, Rubin Museum of Art C2006.66.46 (HAR 100015)

An important meditational deity in Tantric Buddhism, Vajrayogini holds a special place in the religious landscape of the Kathmandu Valley. Both Newar and Tibetan Buddhists regularly worship the goddess at her sacred sites scattered throughout the valley. Vajrayogini is looked upon by the Hindu population of Nepal to be an emanation of the goddesses Kali or Durga, making her a universal figure in the valley.

Vasudhara. The Goddess of Abundance. Nepal; 18th century. Pigment on cloth. Rubin Museum of Art C2006.55.2 (HAR 73757)

Vasudhara is the Buddhist goddess of wealth, good fortune, and abundance. She is also regarded as a further development of the early Buddhist concept of Mother Earth, who was called to witness the Buddha’s resolve to reach enlightenment. As one of the most popular household deities of Nepal, she is worshiped in hopes of earthly riches as well as for fertility of the field and the womb. In these two works depicting Vasudhara, the six-armed goddess is seated at ease, the first right hand in a gesture of supreme generosity, the second “raining jewels,” the third in a gesture accompanying singing. The first left hand holds the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, the second a sheaf of grain, the third an auspicious water vessel. In the painting Vasudhara’s stylish clothing and that of the surrounding figures illustrate the styles and textiles of the time period.

Vasudhara. The Goddess of Abundance. Nepal; ca. 16th century. Copper, Gilt. Rubin Museum of Art C2007.27.2 (HAR 65795)

Vasudhara is the Buddhist goddess of wealth, good fortune, and abundance. She is also regarded as a further development of the early Buddhist concept of Mother Earth, who was called to witness the Buddha’s resolve to reach enlightenment. As one of the most popular household deities of Nepal, she is worshiped in hopes of earthly riches as well as for fertility of the field and the womb. In these two works depicting Vasudhara, the six-armed goddess is seated at ease, the first right hand in a gesture of supreme generosity, the second “raining jewels,” the third in a gesture accompanying singing. The first left hand holds the Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, the second a sheaf of grain, the third an auspicious water vessel. In the painting Vasudhara’s stylish clothing and that of the surrounding figures illustrate the styles and textiles of the time period.

Festival Banner. Nepal; 17th century. Pigment on cloth. Rubin Museum of Art. C2007.19.1 (HAR 69050)

This double-sided scroll painting (paubha) was used as a ritual banner and paraded high above the heads of festival revelers. It is a part of a set depicting the Seven Mothers (Sapta Matrika), important Shaktis (feminine energies) that motivate and empower the male Hindu gods. These mothers are often depicted as a group surrounding sculptures of Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati. One side depicts Vaishnavi, the shakti consort of Vishnu, standing on the back of a mythical water monster (makara) and shaded by a multi-headed cobra hood behind her head. Her primary right hand is held in the gesture of blessing (vitarka mudra), while the remaining hands grasp a wheel emblazoned with the Shri Yantra symbol, a lotus, and writhing serpent. Varahi, on the reverse, is the consort to the third incarnation of Vishnu. The boar-headed divinity stands on a bull, his four hands holding a fish scepter and a scull cup (kapala).

These finely rendered paintings are vibrantly colored and elaborately detailed, with a multitude of decorative patterns on the clothing, jewelry, crowns, and hanging textiles. The bright red and green backgrounds, framed by a yellow or white outer border, feature a flowering vine motif, a convention found throughout Nepalese painting.

Festival Banner. Nepal; 17th century. Pigment on cloth. Rubin Museum of Art C2007.19.1 (HAR 69050)

This double-sided scroll painting (paubha) was used as a ritual banner and paraded high above the heads of festival revelers. It is a part of a set depicting the Seven Mothers (Sapta Matrika), important Shaktis (feminine energies) that motivate and empower the male Hindu gods. These mothers are often depicted as a group surrounding sculptures of Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati. One side depicts Vaishnavi, the shakti consort of Vishnu, standing on the back of a mythical water monster (makara) and shaded by a multi-headed cobra hood behind her head. Her primary right hand is held in the gesture of blessing (vitarka mudra), while the remaining hands grasp a wheel emblazoned with the Shri Yantra symbol, a lotus, and writhing serpent. Varahi, on the reverse, is the consort to the third incarnation of Vishnu. The boar-headed divinity stands on a bull, his four hands holding a fish scepter and a scull cup (kapala).

These finely rendered paintings are vibrantly colored and elaborately detailed, with a multitude of decorative patterns on the clothing, jewelry, crowns, and hanging textiles. The bright red and green backgrounds, framed by a yellow or white outer border, feature a flowering vine motif, a convention found throughout Nepalese painting.

Donors Nepal. Nepal; ca. 17th century. Copper alloy. Rubin Museum of Art. C2005.14.1 (HAR 65417)

Merit is the benefit accumulated by donors who commission the creation of sacred art. Donors are commonly depicted in Nepalese art. In paintings, small human figures are depicted in the bottom register and can include the entire donor family. In sculpture, donors are often shown as kneeling figures to the side of the central image.

"From the Land of the Gods: Art of the Kathmandu Valley". Rubin Museum of Art, New York. March 14 – November 10, 2008