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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1974.126
Title
Jarasandha’s siege of Mathura (painting, recto; text, verso), folio from a Bhagavata Purana series
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: The 'Dispersed' Bhagavata Purana Series; also known as the 'Palam' Bhagavata Purana or 'Sa Mitharam - Sa Nana' Bhagavata Purana.
Classification
Manuscripts
Work Type
manuscript folio
Date
c. 1520 - 1540
Places
Creation Place: South Asia, India, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-Agra region
Culture
Indian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/216410

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Ink and opaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions
17.5 x 23.2 cm (6 7/8 x 9 1/8 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bienstock
Accession Year
1974
Object Number
1974.126
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
At the center of the folio is a walled fortress, which serves as our vantage point for the circular chaos below. Along with the four women on the terrace, we watch the battle unfold between Vasudeva’s sons, the blue-skinned Hindu god Krishna and his elder half-brother Balarama, and the king of Magadha, Jarasandha. After the death of Kamsa at the hands of Krishna, Kamsa’s widows persuade their father, Jarasandha, to mobilize the armies of demons against Krishna. To avenge his daughters, Jarasandha lays a siege to Mathura, the capital of the Yadus, on all sides. Krishna and Balarama decide to intervene and arrive on the battlefield in chariots sent to them by the gods. The story's antihero, Jarasandha, is seen on the left side of the folio, facing the two warriors with his hands joined together—in a position of surrender. The folio captures the moment in the narrative when Jarasandha’s chariot was struck by Balarama’s plow, killing his charioteer. Jarasandha realizes the divine nature of Krishna, and surrenders.

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, 1974.127, 1992.283, 1995.66, 1995.67, 1995.68. Caurapancasika-group style.

Text on Verso: Bhagavata Purana, Book Ten, Chapter 50, verses 25-35.

Exhibition History

  • Re-View: Arts of India & the Islamic Lands, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/26/2008 - 06/01/2013
  • Re-View: S231 (Islamic rotation: 4) Strolling Through Isfahan: Seventeenth-Century Paintings From Safavid Iran, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 01/08/2010 - 06/13/2010

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu