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Lot Essay
The Mahabharatha is one of India's greatest mythologies, written in Sanskrit as a poem composed of 220,000 lines divided into 18 sections. It relates the story of a great battle that occurred approximately in 900 BC between two sets of cousins, the five Pandav brothers and the one hundred Kaurav brothers. Much more than a story of the battle between good and evil, the Mahabharatha disseminates the foundations of Hindu religion, culture and philosophy through the Bhagavad Gita, the discourse of duty that Lord Krishna related to Arjun on the great battlefield.
In this and the following ten lots, the manuscript pages are illustrated with scenes from the Mahabharatha Some figures, such as Dhritarashtra and his wife Gandhari, Bhishma, Arjun and, of course, Krishna, will be recognizable to those familiar with the classic epic.
In the large painting, the elderly lady wearing the blindfold is most likely Queen Gandhari, the wife of blind Dhritarashtra and mother of the Kauravs, who blindfolded herself for life out of respect for her husband. Her decision increases the protective power of her gaze, later instrumental in bringing about the downfall of her son, Duryodhan.
In this and the following ten lots, the manuscript pages are illustrated with scenes from the Mahabharatha Some figures, such as Dhritarashtra and his wife Gandhari, Bhishma, Arjun and, of course, Krishna, will be recognizable to those familiar with the classic epic.
In the large painting, the elderly lady wearing the blindfold is most likely Queen Gandhari, the wife of blind Dhritarashtra and mother of the Kauravs, who blindfolded herself for life out of respect for her husband. Her decision increases the protective power of her gaze, later instrumental in bringing about the downfall of her son, Duryodhan.