Gates of the Lord

"The Pushtimarg, a Hindu sect established in India in the 15th century, possesses a unique culture--reaching back centuries and still vital today--in which art and devotion are deeply intertwined. This volume, illustrated with nearly 200 vivid images, offers a new, in-depth look at the Pushtimarg and its rich aesthetic traditions, which are largely unknown outside of Asia. Original essays by eminent scholars of Indian art focus on the style of worship, patterns of patronage, and artistic heritage that generated pichhvais, large paintings on cloth designed to hang in temples, as well as other paintings for the Pushtimarg. In this study, the authors examine how pichhvais were and still are used in the seasonal and daily veneration of Shrinathji, an aspect of Krishna as a child who is the chief deity of the temple town of Nathdwara in Rajasthan. Gates of the Lord introduces readers not only to the visual world of the Pushtimarg, but also to the spirit of Nathdwara"--