Collection
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Asian Art

Episode Surrounding the Birth of Krishna, Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana Series

Indian

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

The Hindu god Krishna is said to have lived on earth as a prince. Krishna’s evil uncle, Kamsa, received an omen that he would be killed by a nephew, so he had all his sister’s children killed. To protect their new baby, Krishna’s parents sent him away and presented Kamsa with a decoy infant who was actually a goddess in disguise. This painting shows Kamsa smashing the infant against a rock. As soon as Kamsa kills the child, the goddess rises up from its body. The painting is from Mewar, the region surrounding the city of Udaipur, where artists made highly legible paintings that are flat and graphic.

Caption

Indian. Episode Surrounding the Birth of Krishna, Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana Series, late 17th–early 18th century. Opaque watercolor on paper, sheet: 10 1/8 x 15 15/16 in. (25.7 x 40.5 cm) image: 8 7/8 x 14 5/8 in. (22.5 x 37.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Emily Manheim Goldman, 1991.180.10. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Asian Art

Culture

Indian

Title

Episode Surrounding the Birth of Krishna, Page from a Dispersed Bhagavata Purana Series

Date

late 17th–early 18th century

Geography

Place made: Rajasthan, India

Medium

Opaque watercolor on paper

Classification

Painting

Dimensions

sheet: 10 1/8 x 15 15/16 in. (25.7 x 40.5 cm) image: 8 7/8 x 14 5/8 in. (22.5 x 37.2 cm)

Inscriptions

The text on verso has no relation to the scene depicted on the recto.

Credit Line

Gift of Emily Manheim Goldman

Accession Number

1991.180.10

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Artists and makers

Indian

312 works in the collection