The Indian Portrait

An online museum on the fascinating journey of Indian Portraits
from the collection of Anil Relia

Swami Narsimh Bharati

Swami Narsimh Bharati Size: 9.1 x 6.9 in (23.1 x 17.5 cm) Date of printing: 1920s-1930s Sri Sacchidananda Shivabhinava Narasimha Bharathi Mahaswamiji (born as Shivaswami; 11 March 1858-1912) was the head of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from 1879 to 1912. He is said to have played a significant role in the construction of the Sringeri […]

Shri Gautam Swamiji Maharaj

Shri Gautam Swamiji Maharaj Size: 17.4 x 13.6 in (44.2 x 34.5 cm) Date of printing: 1910s-1920s Gautam Swami was the Ganadhara (chief disciple) of Mahavira,  the 24th and last Jain Tirthankara. In Jain traditional accounts, Gautama is believed to have gained Kevala Jnana (omniscience) immediately after the moksha (liberation) of Mahavira. Gautama is connected […]

Parshvnath

Parshvnath Size: 13.6 x 9.6 in (34.6 x 24.4 cm) Date of printing: 1910s-1920s Parshvanatha (or Parshvnath) was the 23rd of the 24 Tirthankaras. The Jain literature places him between the 9th and 8th centuries BC. His animal emblem is the multi-headed cobra. The hood of the snake is painted above the Parshvanatha’s head.

Shri Mahavira Swami

Shri Mahavira Swami Size of both prints: 19.5 x 14.6 in (49.5 x 37.1 cm) Date of printing: 1910s-1920s Mahavira was the 24th Tirthankara (ford makers, prophets of Jainism), the last one of the present cycle of time. He was born in the early part of the 6th century BCE in Bihar into a royal […]

Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708)

Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708) Size: 19.2 x 14.4 in (48.8 x 36.6 cm) Date of printing: 1880s-1890s The couplet Wah Gobind Singh Aape Gur Chela (Wow! Wow! Gobind Singh, himself the Guru and the disciple) was written by Bhai Gurdas Singh, an author contemporary of Guru Gobind Singh. The song is about the actions of […]

Guru Hargobind Singh (1595-1644)

Guru Hargobind Singh (1595-1644) Size: 19.4 x 14.4 in (49.3 x 36.6 cm) Date of printing: 1900s-1910s Guru Hargobind Singh is revered as the sixth of the ten Nanak (gurus) of the Sikh religion. He introduced the process of militarization to Sikhism, as a response to his father’s execution by the Mughal emperor Jahangir.

Sri Vadiraja Tirtharu (c. 1480-1600)

Sri Vadiraja Tirtharu (c. 1480-1600) Size: 9.5 x 14.2 in (24.1 x 36.1 cm) Date of printing: 1890s Mystic poet and philosopher, Sri Vadiraja Tirtharu was a Dvaita philosopher and mystic poet. His favourite deity was Hayagriva (horse neck), an avatar of Vishnu with a human body and a horse’s head. At the left of […]

Shri Raghavendra Swami Mantralayam (1595- c. 1671)

Shri Raghavendra Swami Mantralayam (1595- c. 1671) Size: 13.6 x 9.5 in (34.5 x 24.1 cm) Date of printing: 1910s-1920s The saint and theologian Sri Raghavendra Tirtha made interpretation of the principal Upanishads from the standpoint of Dvaita dualism. His shrine at Mantralayam attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Shri Akkalkot Swami (d. 1878)

Shri Akkalkot Swami (d. 1878) Size: 14.2 x 9.3 in (36.1 x 23.6 cm) Date of printing: 1910s-1920s Swami Samarth was a spiritual master of the Dattatreya tradition. As a widely known spiritual figure, he traveled all across the Indian subcontinent and set his abode at Akkalkot, a village in present-day Maharashtra.

Shri Narasimha Saraswati Swami (Maharaj of Alandi) (1378-1459)

Shri Narasimha Saraswati Swami (Maharaj of Alandi) (1378-1459) Size: 13.5 x 9.75 in (34.3 x 24.8 cm) Date of printing: 1910s-1920s The guru Narasimha Saraswati is revered as the second avatar of Dattatreya in Kali Yuga. A shrine is dedicated to him in Alandi, a pilgrimage town in the Pune district, not far from the […]