ManuscriptsIndian16th century

Indra Pays Homage to Krishna (painting, recto; text, verso), folio from a Bhagavata Purana series

c. 1520 - 1540

Description

Based on chapter twenty-seven of the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana, this folio depicts Indra, the king of the gods, paying homage to Krishna. The blue-skinned Krishna towers over Indra, who joins his hands in veneration. Indra is also depicted in his conventional iconography, with many eyes on his body. Indra’s elephant, Airavata, anoints Krishna with the holy water of the Ganges. Divinities and musicians in the upper register, townsfolk in the middle, and cows on the left celebrate this significant occasion. Indra appears twice in the folio, capturing two separate moments in the narrative– one in which he recognizes Krishna as the avatar of Vishnu and joins his hands in veneration and another in which he kneels before him. The verses from the Bhagavata Purana corresponding to the scene are written on the reverse of the folio. 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, 1995.68. Caurapancasika-group style. Text on Verso: Bhagavata Purana, Book Ten, Chapter 27, verse 1 - 13 (trails off in the end).

Classification

Manuscripts

Medium

Opaque watercolor on paper

Culture

Indian

Century

16th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art