The story of the Bhagvadgita. Seated on the throne and served by an attendant waving a whisk made of peacock feathers, the blind king Dhrtarastra listens as the visionary narrator Sanjaya relates the events of the battle between the Kaurava and the Pandava clans. Ink and gouache and gold
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Krishna and Satyabhama fighting Naraka’s armies Krishna Battles the Armies of the Demon Naraka: Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana (Ancient Stories of Lord Vishnu) The Bhagavata Purana describes Vishnu’s avatars (manifestations), Krishna being the most significant. The demon Naraka and his consort are shown (upper right) sitting in the fortified city of Pragyotisha. Krishna
The Prachetas This painting illustrates the Hindu tale of the ten Prachetas brothers, the great grandsons of Prithu, the primordial being. They spent ten thousand years in the great ocean meditating on Vishnu, the ultimate deity, and were consequently granted the gift of becoming the progenitors of mankind. Without rule, however, forests (chaos) had overgrown
Vishnu as Varaha Raising the Earth Medium: Opaque watercolor with gold on paper Geography: Made in Bundi, Rajasthan, India, Asia Context: Dynasty: Hada Chauhan Dynasty, Bundi (1569-1949)
Sugriva roars out his challenge to his usurping brother Bali Outside the palace of Kiskindha, Sugriva roars out his challenge to his usurping brother Bali, so that the very birds fall out of the sky in fright, while Rama and Laksmana and the other monkeys look on from the right. On the left is the
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Dasaratha promises to banish Rama per Kaikeyi’s wishes In the second book, the Book of Ayodhya (Ayodhya Kand), Kaikeyi has become jealous of Rama as his father has announced that he is to be installed as regent. In this picture, she is first seen on the left lying on the ground in a dishevelled and
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Sita Agni Pariksha With Ravana finally dead, Sita has prepared herself for seeing her husband once again. But Rama has repudiated her: she has lived in another man’s house and hence it would not be fitting for him to take her back. To prove her chastity and vindicate her honour, Sita has a great fire
Rama’s ascent Rama and his procession reach the banks of the river Sarayu outside Ayodhya, while Brahma and the other gods appear above to witness Rama’s ascent. Rama enters the waters at bottom left and ascends to heaven. His brothers, monkeys, bears and other humans accompany him. They willingly sacrifice their lives in order to
Shiva’s hosts destroying the sacrifice of Daksha Prajapati An illustration to the Bhagavata Purana. The episode of the Daksha yajna mentioned in the fourth skandha of the Bhagavata Purana, is vividly illustrated in this painting. The Purana mentions how Daksha, father of Parvati, deliberately avoided inviting Parvati and Shiva to the sacrifice he was performing.
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Krishna Swallowing the Forest Fire This painting illustrates an episode from the Bhagavata Purana, when Krishna rescues the gopis (cowgirls) and the cows from a forest fire. This is one of the popular exploits of Krishna illustrated by the painters of various schools of miniature painting. Forest fires were a constant hazard during those times