31/05/2021
Oil on canvas
‘Shamadon Ayanba’ which translates as ‘the swiftest amongst beasts’ is a powerful mythological creature, ballads of which are sung in the Meitei folklore. The Meitei mythology has it that when the Almighty Sidabamapu anointed Ibudhou Pakhangna as the deity of the humans, his elder brother Ibudhou Sanamahi was furious with rage and in order to exact revenge for losing his birthright to his younger sibling who outsmarted him, he created a powerful beast with wings to descend to earth and trample it under it’s hooves. But the wily and powerful Ibudhou Pakhangna, with the help of nine Goddesses, trapped and wrangled the beast, cutting off it’s wings and mane, thus taming it. Later, it became the stead of Ibudhou Marjing, the God of War and sentinel of the four directions. An epitome of power, grace and elegance, it roamed the four directions guarding Kangleipak. Thus descended from this powerful creature, the agile ponies of Manipur, so it is believed and written in the Kangjeirol.