Our Goal:
To complete a gorgeous art installation of eleven powerful Tantric deities at the ancient temple of Goddess Mookambika in the lush forested mountains of Karnataka. This unique project is an international collaboration between two devotees who are professional artists from opposite sides of the globe. These eleven icons will inspire, educate, and bless thousands of people visiting the temple each day as they wait for ritual services and entry into the main sanctum.
Project Summary
Indian muralist and designer Mithun Babu is teaming up with American artist and published author Charles Ekabhumi Ellik. The artists, both goddess devotees, have decades of experience in sacred art and mural painting. This project is spiritual discipline (sadhana) for them; thousands of rounds of mantras will be recited while they work. Each goddess design that is under development will be carefully crafted with the aid of temple priests for accuracy and authenticity.
The deities included are:
- Ganeswari (Female Ganesha, AKA Vinayaki)
- Agni (God of Fire)
- Bhramari (Goddess Bees)
- Dakshinamurthi Rupini (Guru in female form)
- Mahakali (Wrathful Goddess of time)
- Mahasaraswati (She Who Flows, Goddess of arts & language)
- Mookarsura Chedani (AKA Durga/Mahisha Mardini)
- Nanda (Youthful Goddess of Delight)
- Pratyangira (Lion-headed dispeller of black magic)
- Rekadandika (Red-Toothed One, AKA Chamunda)
- Shakambari (Goddess of Nourishment)
For more information, please go to the Project Details page.
How You Can Support
The temple is providing us with lodging and meals; the Abhinavagupta Institute in Kerala is providing us with studio space. However, we need your support for labor, tools, materials, paint, transportation, and installation. As a service to the community, a portion of all donations will also be dedicated to cleaning the bathing area (ghat) on the holy Souparnika river near the temple.
We have many gift packages to show our gratitude to donors and sponsors for all levels of support. These include temple tours, posters, limited-edition signed prints, original drawings, and full-scale original paintings based on the mural designs.
Leads for potential donors and sponsors are also appreciated. Even if you can simply help spread the word and raise awareness of the project, we are deeply grateful.
The Artists
Ekabhumi is an award-winning poet, author, illustrator, yoga instructor, and arts educator with 20 years of international teaching experience. Ekabhumi’s poetry, prose, and illustrations have been published widely, including articles in Tarka Journal; illustrations in Sally Kempton’s Awakening Shakti; and his own Bhakti Coloring Book (Sounds True Press). Eka has been taught by traditional artists in India, Nepal, and California. He is core faculty at LivingSanskrit and co-founder of Mystic Art Retreats. Ekabhumi’s artworks, inspired by daily spiritual practice, can be found along with resources for devotional artists at the One Earth Sacred Arts website.
Mithun, an ardent devotee of goddess Mookambika, resides in Kerala. With the blessing of the Goddess and the guidance of his gurus, he has developed “Chitraupasana,” a spiritual art methodology comprised of a mixture of meditation with mantra, mudra, pranayama, and pooja. He earned a diploma in Mural Painting under the tutelage of Kr Babu of the Malayala Kalagramam School of Fine Arts. Kr Babu was a student of Mammiyoor Krishna Moorthy, founder of the world-renown Devaswom Institute of Mural Painting in Guruvayur, Kerala.