Vishnu's Cosmic Sleep: Anantashayanam in Kalamkari by Kanukurthi Guna Sekhar Sai

This monumental and masterfully dense Kalamkari painting by Kanukurthi Guna Sekhar Sai captures the profound cosmic state of Anantashayanam, the primordial sleep of Lord Vishnu upon the multi-headed serpent Sheshnag after the creation of the universe. With creation complete, Vishnu assumes his primary cosmic role as the supreme Sustainer and Preserver. To fulfill this duty, whenever cosmic order is threatened, he manifests on Earth through different incarnations. This textile functions as a highly sophisticated piece of visual scripture, beautifully mapping the Dashavatara (the ten avatars) directly across his reclining form.

The composition is dominated by the monumental, blue-skinned figure of Lord Vishnu reclining diagonally across the canvas, his head resting serenely on the right, adorned with a magnificent, multi-tiered golden crown and heavy pearl necklaces. The divine narrative maps his incarnations precisely across his anatomy and surrounding court. Positioned at the literal and spiritual center near his heart, Goddess Lakshmi is depicted seated gracefully atop a blooming lotus blossom. Near his chest is the iconic form of Trivikrama placing his foot upon the head of King Bali. The fierce lion-headed avatar, Narasimha, is intricately rendered right upon his elbow as he vanquishes the asura king Hiranyakashyapa. Near the navel a lotus emerges atop which sit the avatars of Vaman and Parashuram with his axe, which is usually occupied by Brahma. Moving below is the Kaliya Mardana of Krishna avatar where lord Krishna dances on top of the snake Kaliya, who poisoned the Yamuna river, next to which is the Varaha avatar emerging after rescuing the Earth (Bhoodevi) from the depths of the ocean. Placed along his lower anatomy, the fish incarnation, Matsya, is masterfully detailed upon his knee, while the prophetic final avatar, Kalki, is uniquely located between his legs. Kurma, the tortoise is placed upon his shoulder. Positioned directly near his feet is the heroic Prince Rama holding his divine bow as he takes an aim at Ravan, devoted vanaras (monkeys) and the divine eagle vehicle, Garuda, all gathered in a humble posture as a profound sign of respect.

The entire scene unfolds under a grand upper register filled with celestial elephants, worshiping sages, and other gods and demi-gods looking on in absolute awe. Utilizing a rich, warm color palette of terracotta red, golden ochre, and deep indigo, this complex interior line-work is masterfully executed using a traditional bamboo pen (kalam), resulting in a spectacular theological masterpiece.

Each of our artworks are hand painted by master artists across India. We provide a digital authentication certificate with this artwork signed by the artist which will be sent over email after 3-4 days of delivery of the artwork.

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This artwork will be Made to Order and will take 2-3 weeks to be made and shipped. Returns are not applicable on Made To Order artworks.

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All MeMeraki artworks are hand-painted. In rare occasions, artist may face delays due to weather, health, prior commitments or force majeure. Our team will reach out to you with revised timelines in case of such delays. We appreciate your understanding and patience in such situations.

All artworks on the website are hand painted from scratch by our master artists. This makes every artwork absolutely unique and the actual colour and overall artwork may vary slightly from the artwork image posted here.