1995.68: Krishna encounters Kotara, the mother of the thousand-armed demon Bana (painting, recto; text, verso), folio from a Bhagavata Purana series

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1995.68

Title

Krishna encounters Kotara, the mother of the thousand-armed demon Bana (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/310485

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Opaque watercolor on paper

Dimensions

17.5 x 22.5 cm (6 7/8 x 8 7/8 in.)
framed: 38.42 x 48.58 x 2.22 cm (15 1/8 x 19 1/8 x 7/8 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift in gratitude to John Coolidge, Gift of Leslie Cheek, Jr., Anonymous Fund in memory of Henry Berg, Louise Haskell Daly, Alpheus Hyatt, Richard Norton Memorial Funds and through the generosity of Albert H. Gordon and Emily Rauh Pulitzer; formerly in the collection of Stuart Cary Welch, Jr.

Accession Year

1995

Object Number

1995.68

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

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.

Publication History

• Stuart Cary Welch and Mark Zebrowski, A Flower from Every Meadow: Indian Paintings from American Collections, exh. cat., New York Graphic SocietyNew York Graphic Society (New York, NY, 1973), Page 24-25/Figure 6

Exhibition History

• Indian Harvest: Part 1, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/30/1995 - 01/21/1996
• Rajasthani Miniatures: The Welch Collection at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, The Drawing Center, New York, 04/16/1997 - 06/07/1997
• Re-View: Arts of India & the Islamic Lands, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/26/2008 - 06/01/2013
• Beyond the Surface: Scientific Approaches to Islamic Metalwork, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/21/2011 - 06/01/2013

Verification Level