This complex scene depicts several episodes from one chapter of the Bhagavata Purana. Key characters appear in multiple locations, represented at different points in time. For example, King Yudhisthira can be seen bathing in the river with maidens, then dressing himself on its bank moments later.
This depiction of the king and maidens in the river is a reworking of a popular motif used in many Indian paintings: Krishna at play in the Jamuna River with female devotees. The depiction of this motif was meant to catch the attention of the erudite viewer, communicating the painter’s own knowledge of the tradition in which he worked.
Details
- Title: Folio from a Bhagavata Purana Series: King Yudhisthira Performs the Rajasuya Sacrifice
- Date: 1825-50
- Medium: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
- Dimensions: image: 10-1/2 x 15-5/8 in. (26.7 x 39.7 cm); sheet: 12-1/4 x 17 in. (31.1 x 43.2 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Gift of Ramesh and Urmil Kapoor
- Accession Number: P.2003.02.02
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Museum
Object Information
Painted Poems: Rajput Paintings from the Ramesh and Urmil Kapoor Collection
- Norton Simon Museum, 2004-04-02 to 2004-09-06
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Painted Poems: Rajput Paintings from the Ramesh and Urmil Kapoor Collection, 2004, no. 36 pp. 84-85, 176-177
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