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Pradyumna and Samvara fight with maces, from the “Large Basohli Bhagavata Purana”
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Paintings from this Pahari series often place figures against boldly contrasting backgrounds. Here, the scene that takes place a moment before the prince Pradyumna’s mace, or club, vanquishes the demon Samvara is frozen in time.<br> <br>Years before, the demon heard a prophecy that Pradyumna would one day murder him. Hearing this, Samvara kidnapped Pradyumna as an infant and threw him into the ocean, where a fish swallowed him. The fish was caught and brought to Samvara’s kitchen, where the woman who would become his wife, Mayavati, discovered the baby still alive in its belly. Pradyumna lived to fulfill the prophecy, eventually killing the demon in this fight.
| Artist / Maker | Northern India, Pahari kingdoms |
|---|---|
| Date | c. 1760–65 |
| Culture / Origin | Northern India, Pahari kingdoms |
| Medium | Gum tempera, ink, and gold on paper |
| Dimensions | Image: 28 x 38.3 cm (11 x 15 1/16 in.); Overall: 30.2 x 41 cm (11 7/8 x 16 1/8 in.) |
| Department | Indian and Southeast Asian Art |
| Type | Painting |
About the Artist
Provenance & Source
Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.
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