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拍品专文
This painting marks the dramatic commencement of the battle between Krishna and Indra, fought over their wives’ competing claims to the celestial Parijata tree. It follows directly after a folio from the same dispersed series (Christie’s, London, 9 June 2013, lot 16), and captures the moment when divine rivalry escalates into open conflict.
The scene unfolds during Krishna’s visit to the heavens with his wife Satyabhama, where they enter the pleasure gardens of Indra and his consort Sachi. There they behold the celebrated Parijata tree, a miraculous plant born from the churning of the ocean for ambrosia and especially beloved of Sachi. Enchanted by its beauty, Satyabhama demands that Krishna steal the tree for her own garden as proof of his devotion. Yielding to his favorite wife, Krishna uproots the Parijata, loads it onto Garuda, and carries it away to Dwaraka. As they depart, Satyabhama taunts Sachi, mocking Indra’s power and daring him to retrieve the tree if he can. Provoked by this challenge, Indra, accompanied by his son Jayanta, launches an attack on Krishna. Garuda and Pradyumna rush to Krishna’s defense, and the divine battle begins. When the two great gods reach a stalemate, each recognizing the other as an equal, they agree to allow the Parijata tree to remain in Dwaraka.
The episode derives from the Harivamsa (“An Account of the Dynasty of Hari [Vishnu]”), a supplementary text to the Mahabharata. Its three sections encompass the creation of the world and the genealogy of the Yadavas, the life and exploits of Krishna, including narratives shared with the Bhagavata Purana, and finally prophecies concerning the Kali Yuga and other cosmological themes.
Visually, the painting is especially remarkable for its rare and luminous blue background, against which the drama unfolds with heightened intensity. This blue ground amplifies the celestial setting and throws into sharp relief Purkhu’s exuberant treatment of clouds, described memorably as “bold, billowing spirals in variegated hues of pink, grey, white and black” (B. N. Goswamy and E. Fischer, Pahari Masters, 1992, p. 372). These swirling cloud formations animate the heavens, lending a sense of movement and cosmic turbulence that mirrors the clash of divine forces below.
On the verso is an inscription of five lines in Devanagari script, possibly identifying the folio as number 98 within this now widely dispersed series. Two related paintings are published in (ibid., p. 378–381, nos. 164 and 165), while a closely connected scene, depicting a moment just before or after the present episode, was sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 24 September 2004, lot 114. Additional pages from the series are held in the National Museum of Bulgaria (I- A3-M-6) and another sold at Christie’s, London, 19 June 2013, lot 19.
The scene unfolds during Krishna’s visit to the heavens with his wife Satyabhama, where they enter the pleasure gardens of Indra and his consort Sachi. There they behold the celebrated Parijata tree, a miraculous plant born from the churning of the ocean for ambrosia and especially beloved of Sachi. Enchanted by its beauty, Satyabhama demands that Krishna steal the tree for her own garden as proof of his devotion. Yielding to his favorite wife, Krishna uproots the Parijata, loads it onto Garuda, and carries it away to Dwaraka. As they depart, Satyabhama taunts Sachi, mocking Indra’s power and daring him to retrieve the tree if he can. Provoked by this challenge, Indra, accompanied by his son Jayanta, launches an attack on Krishna. Garuda and Pradyumna rush to Krishna’s defense, and the divine battle begins. When the two great gods reach a stalemate, each recognizing the other as an equal, they agree to allow the Parijata tree to remain in Dwaraka.
The episode derives from the Harivamsa (“An Account of the Dynasty of Hari [Vishnu]”), a supplementary text to the Mahabharata. Its three sections encompass the creation of the world and the genealogy of the Yadavas, the life and exploits of Krishna, including narratives shared with the Bhagavata Purana, and finally prophecies concerning the Kali Yuga and other cosmological themes.
Visually, the painting is especially remarkable for its rare and luminous blue background, against which the drama unfolds with heightened intensity. This blue ground amplifies the celestial setting and throws into sharp relief Purkhu’s exuberant treatment of clouds, described memorably as “bold, billowing spirals in variegated hues of pink, grey, white and black” (B. N. Goswamy and E. Fischer, Pahari Masters, 1992, p. 372). These swirling cloud formations animate the heavens, lending a sense of movement and cosmic turbulence that mirrors the clash of divine forces below.
On the verso is an inscription of five lines in Devanagari script, possibly identifying the folio as number 98 within this now widely dispersed series. Two related paintings are published in (ibid., p. 378–381, nos. 164 and 165), while a closely connected scene, depicting a moment just before or after the present episode, was sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 24 September 2004, lot 114. Additional pages from the series are held in the National Museum of Bulgaria (I- A3-M-6) and another sold at Christie’s, London, 19 June 2013, lot 19.