Shiva’s Mala — The Count of Silence

The hand of Lord Shiva holding the damru, surrounded by falling jata. Original pen and ink drawing, signed, framed and ready to hang.

The drawing shows a hand at rest, turning a rudraksha mala one bead at a time.

The thumb and forefinger hold the strand where it is being counted. A second bead falls away below with its tassel, and a longer strand loops down out of the frame. Two more malas circle the throat above. Every bead is drawn individually — the ridged, furrowed surface of rudraksha rendered bead by bead, dozens of them, none repeated exactly. That is where the hours in this drawing went, and it is what makes it hold up at close range.

Above the hand, the ear with its heavy ring, and the jata falling in long swept locks to the right. Behind, the Himalaya: hatched ridges receding to bare paper, snowfields left almost entirely untouched. To the left, a valley floor with a few broken marks and then nothing.

The subject is stillness, which is the opposite of the damru drawing and the walking feet. There, movement. Here, a hand that is barely moving at all — one bead, then the next. Japa is repetition without arrival, and the drawing was made the same way, one stroke at a time, over many hours.

As with the rest of the series, the figure is cropped. No face, no full form. The hand and the beads are enough.

Tone is built entirely by hand through hatching and cross-hatching in ink, with no shading, no wash, and no correction possible.

Suited to a puja room, a meditation or yoga space, a study, or an entrance hall. Being tonal rather than coloured, it sits against any wall colour, and it hangs particularly well beside the other drawings in the series.

Original pen and ink on artist-grade paper. Signed by the artist. Supplied mounted and framed under glass with a certificate of authenticity. One of a kind — no reproductions of this drawing are sold.

Specifications
Subject: The rudraksha mala of Lord Shiva
Medium: Pen and ink on paper
Type: Original, one of a kind
Size: 29.6 × 42 cm (unframed)
Orientation: Vertical (Portrait)
Framing: Mounted, framed under glass, ready to hang
Signed: Yes, by Aditya Kumar
Dispatch: 3–5 working days with tracking