Important Notice

KANGRA, CIRCA 1820
Gouache on paper heightened with gold and silver
Image: 6.75 x 10.75 in (17.5 x 27.8 cm)
Folio: 9.75 x 13.75 in (24.8 x 35.2 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
Property from a Distinguished Family Collection


The painting depicts two scenes from the Bhagavata Purana. On the left, Vishnu is seen praising Madhu and Kaitabha, two demons he had been battling for 5,000 years. By praising their strength, he attempted to trick them into their death. He offered to grant them any boon they asked for, but in their arrogance, they offered to grant Vishnu a boon instead. Using this to his advantage, he asked that they should die at his hands. Madhu and Kaitabha, bound by their promise, agreed on the condition that they not die in water. The scene on the right shows Vishnu placing them on his thighs and beheading them with his Sudarshan chakra. The swirls in the background represent the ocean, setting the scene for the story to unfold.

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