- Title
- Enshrined Feet of the Hindu Saint Gorakhnath
- Date Made
- dated 1656
- Medium
- Partially gilt copper alloy
- Dimensions
- 17 3/4 x 10 x 10 1/2 in. (45.09 x 25.4 x 26.67 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.86.43
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Gorakhnath (active circa 1200) was a Hindu ascetic and saint who founded the Shaiva Nath monastic movement. He is worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists as the patron saint of Nepal, and is the focus of an annual festival, the Hari-Shankara jatra, observed almost exclusively by Kanphata (ear-split) ascetics (see M.85.283.10, M.81.271.10, and AC1997.30.1). Buddhists regard him as a Mahasiddha (Great Adept). As a Nath, he is generally represented symbolically as an enshrined pair of feet (paduka). Here, his feet are displayed on an inscribed lotus pedestal adorned with a serpent. Behind the feet, is a flaming aureola (prabhavali) surmounted by a three-tiered honorific parasol and streamers.
The inscription reads on the base reads, In the year 1656 [Nepal amvat 776] on the sixth day of the Baishak month [April-May] when the moon was in its waxing phase, a footrest was installed for Shri Gorakhnath [to receive] the milk offering. Offered by Chorañgi Nath, it was handed over to Śhivadasa Manidasa. [Let there be auspiciousness]. (Translation by Deepak Shimkhada.)
