ManuscriptsIndian16th century

Krishna encounters Kotara, the mother of the thousand-armed demon Bana (painting, recto; text, verso), folio from a Bhagavata Purana series

c. 1520 - 1540

Description

In this folio, the blue-skinned Hindu god Krishna is depicted twice, once sounding his conch as a cry for battle on demon Bana, whose thousand-armed form is seen at the bottom left. Seeing that Bana is losing to Krishna on the battlefield, in the hopes of saving Bana’s life, his mother, Kotara, steps in between Krishna and Bana, naked with her hair loosened. Krishna appears a second time in the act of turning away from seeing the naked Kotara when Bana takes the opportunity to escape. This painting belongs to the 'Dispersed' Bhagavata Purana series, produced in the early 16th century, possibly in Mathura. The series, possibly consisting of 360 such folios, is based on the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana, which describes the story of Krishna, particularly his childhood and youth. This series was one of South Asia's earliest illustrated Bhagavata Purana manuscripts. Each illustration is also accompanied by the text corresponding to the image on the reverse, written in Sanskrit. Other folios from the same Bhagavata Purana series in the Harvard Art Museum’s collection are objects 1963.145, 1974.124, 1974.125, 1974.126, 1974.127, 1992.283, 1995.66, 1995.67. Caurapancasika-group style. Text on Verso: Bhagavata Purana, Book Ten, Chapter 63, verses 17-21.

Classification

Manuscripts

Medium

Opaque watercolor on paper

Culture

Indian

Century

16th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art