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VISHNU SLAYS MADHU AND KAITABHA
KANGRA, CIRCA 1820
Gouache on paper heightened with gold and silver
Image: 6.75 x 10.75 in (17.5 x 27.8 cm)
Folio: 9.75 x 13.75 in (24.8 x 35.2 cm)
Rs 10,00,000 ‒ 15,00,000
$ 14,930 - 22,390
NON‒EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY
PROVENANCE
Property from a Distinguished Family Collection
The painting depicts two scenes from the
Bhagavata
Purana
. On the left, Vishnu is seen praising Madhu and
Kaitabha, two demons he had been battling for 5,000 years.
By praising their strength, he attempted to trick them into
their death. He offered to grant them any boon they asked
for, but in their arrogance, they offered to grant Vishnu a
boon instead. Using this to his advantage, he asked that
they should die at his hands. Madhu and Kaitabha, bound
by their promise, agreed on the condition that they not
die in water. The scene on the right shows Vishnu placing
them on his thighs and beheading themwith his Sudarshan
chakra
.The swirls in the background represent the ocean,
setting the scene for the story to unfold.