D O R O T A KA M I N S KA zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUT (Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun) Gods as embodiments of zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfed ra gas The iconography of divinities in rii gamdlii art Rii gamdlii paintings constitute a unique genr e in world art . In this form of art three ki nds: music, poetry and painting are intermingled into one unparalleled masterpiece. Two of them - music and poetry, had developed this association long before visual art did. It was a poet who fi rst embodied a specifi c mood (rasa) in a form of poetry in contemplative verses (d h yiina), which naturally had music added which in turn gave inspiration to visualize it in a form of painting. The earliest preserved examples of r d gamdl d painting date back to the 15 th century . In the present state of our kn owledge it is diffi cult to conjecture earl ier representations of this subject. Riigamiild miniatures were created mostl y in the I 7 th and the is" centur ies under the Hindu royal patronage in two main styles: Ra jast han i (fr om courts of Ra jasthan) and Pahar i (fr om the Hi malaya foothill s). This theme was prevalent also in Muslim schools of painting, mainly in the Deccan area. Rii gamdlii is a Sanskr it term which consists of two words: raga and mdlii and is usually interpreted as a "garland of rag as". Ety- mologically, ra ga is a word deri ved fr om the root rah] denoting "to colour ", "to tinge", also "passion", "love". Taking into account the natur e of this music genr e, the term is genera lly translated as "mel- ody form or type". Since ra ga is not a melody in a popular sense of