Ashtadikpala “Eight Guardians” Ganjifa

Above: Bengaluru and Chikiti, in India.

Eight deities, each a guardian of a cardinal or interacardinal direction, are assigned to suits in this magnificent ganjifa format celebrating Hinduism’s cosmic geography.

We’ll be comparing two Ashtadikpala decks: one from Bengaluru (Karnataka) in western India, and one from Chikiti (Odisha) in the east. Each deck consists of eight suits with twelve cards each. The pradhan (minister) court cards display the deities in their finery, riding the mounts associated with them (in Hindu iconography, gods carry particular items and ride specific animals). For the raja (king) higher court cards, the Chikiti deck shows the god riding in a chariot while the Bengaluru deck has the deity together with what I assume is his or her mate.

The pip cards use symbols associated with the deities: their weapons and their mounts for the Chikiti and Bengaluru decks, respectively.

The Chikiti deck was done by Appana Mahapatro in 1992; the Bengaluru deck by Sudha Venkatesh in 1996. These decks are boutique decks, not widely seen in ganjifa circles.

Kubera pradhan card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Kubera pip card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Indra pradhan card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Indra pip card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Above: Kubera pradhan, Kubera pip, Indra pradhan, and Indra pip cards by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Kubera pradhan card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Kubera pip card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Indra pradhan card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Indra pip card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Above: Kubera pradhan, Kubera pip, Indra pradhan, and Indra pip cards by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

The guardians are not simply personifications of compass points like the Greek god Boreas, who represents the north wind. In Hinduism, each guardian deity is a full god in his or her own right who also happens to rule one of the eight main directions. The gods, their mounts, and weapons are:

• North: Kubera, lord of wealth, who rides a human/mongoose and carries a mace/money bag
• Northeast: Ishana (a form of Shiva), who rides the bull Nandi and carries a trident/drum
• East: Indra, king of the gods, who rides the white elephant Airavata and carries a vajra (thunderbolt)
• Southeast: Agni, fire deity, who rides a ram and carries fire
• South: Yama, the god of the dead, who rides a buffalo and carries a staff/noose
• Southwest: Nirriti, goddess of destruction and decay, who rides a donkey and carries a shield/sword (sometimes represented as a male who rides a corpse)
• West: Varuna, a water deity, who rides a makara (fantastical sea creature) and carries a noose/water vessel
• Northwest: Vayu, the god of wind, who rides an antelope/deer and carries a banner/bow

The two styles are vastly different, each carrying the flavor of the region it's from. The Chikiti deck is painted with loose, folksy brushstrokes, employing bright hues. It stands in sharp contrast to the Bengaluru deck, which draws on the reserved and precise tradition of Mysore ganjifa, with emphasis on gold and deeply saturated colors.

Artist: Appana Mahapatro

Agni pradhan card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Agni raja card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Varuna pradhan card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Varuna raja card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Above: Agni pradhan, Agni raja, Varuna pradhan, and Varuna raja cards by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Yama pradhan card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Vayu raja card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Nirriti pradhan card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Ishana pradhan card from the Chikiti Ashtadikpala deck by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Above: Yama pradhan, Vayu raja, Nirriti pradhan, and Ishana pradhan cards by Appana Mahapatro (1992).

Artist: Sudha Venkatesh

Agni pradhan card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Agni raja card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Varuna pradhan card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

God raja card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Above: Agni pradhan, Agni raja, Varuna pradhan, and Varuna raja cards by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Yama pradhan card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Vayu pradhan card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Nirriti pradhan card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Ishana pradhan card from the Bengaluru Ashtadikpala deck by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Above: Yama pradhan, Vayu pradhan, Nirriti pradhan, and Ishana pradhan cards by Sudha Venkatesh (1996).

Footnotes

1. All card images courtesy of: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Digital Cultural Resources, IGNCA.
2. IGNCA, Chikiti deck.
3. IGNCA, Bengaluru deck.