Lord Shiva Holding the Bowl of Poison

The beautiful Batik painting of Lord Shiva drinking poison is given a refine and detail treatment. According to Hindu mythology, when the demons and deities churned the Sea of Milk, 14 jewels appeared, one being poison. With neither the deities nor the demons being ready to accept the poison as the poisonous fumes threatened to devastate the world, Shiva drank the poison. The poison was so deadly that his throat became blue, which is why Shiva also earned the epithet Nilakantha, the blue-throated. To relieve Shiva from the burning sensation of the poison, he was given the moon, which had also come out from the ocean, to cool him down. Thus he wears the crescent moon today.
Drinking of this gross poison was a small matter for Shiva. He is supposed to have said in the Linga Purana that there is still much poison in this world and those who could drink that poison are the real heroes. Indeed, both poison and nectar reside in the hearts of man and only when human souls are free from poison can they experience the joys of nectar.
Every part of the painting has been given a careful treatment. One of the most popular art forms in

India

, Batik as an art form is quite spontaneous and one can open up new vistas through this form.