“Trees, Mountains, Rivers, and Rapes: Medieval Miniature Paintings and Scenes of Sexual Assault Amidst Natural Environments”

Anisha Saxena (Assistant Professor, SUNY Cortland) - “Trees, Mountains, Rivers, and Rapes: Medieval Miniature Paintings and Scenes of Sexual Assault Amidst Natural Environments”

In Sanskrit poetry, drama, and literature uddīpanavibhava or secondary excitant is a condition that motivates emotion, especially sexual desire. This emotion is expressed and enhanced through the beauty of natural environment including water bodies, flowers, mountains, moon, or the seasons. In my research on early South Asian Sanskrit literature, I have argued that uddīpanavibhava is often employed to justify rape. Interestingly, this pattern extends into the genre of South Asian miniature paintings.

My paper will discuss miniature paintings from medieval South Asia that depict scenes of sexual assault of women taking place within the natural environment. Additionally, I will examine the patterns of patronage and motives for these paintings. Furthermore, my paper will consider the connections between the elements of nature and painted scenes of sexual assault. I argue that these miniature paintings by placing scenes of sexual assault of women in a natural environment reduces women to being a part of nature, and by making women part of nature they become man’s right to obtain, desire, enjoy and conquer.